Stormy Daniels takes the stand in one of Trump's trials, while Judge Aileen Cannon indefinitely delays another! Plus, what's the difference between former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and former Speaker Paul Ryan? One will do the right thing and vote for Joe Biden, while the other can only bring himself to write-in another conservative.
Thank you Sarah. You summed up the "Emperor's New Clothes" analogy beautifully, It's not just about peer pressure and conformity . Tim Scott is a bad person. It's grotesque to watch him and the others try to gaslight their followers, creating the illusion of an alternate reality that they feel safe in. JVL is correct, just keep Stephanopolising them and never stop till the clock runs out on the segment or until they do. Really good show.
Can't watch the "real" Tim Scott without seeing SNL's Devon Walker's sublime capture of the Steppin Fetchit aspect of Scott's public utterances about Trump and the ReTrumplican't party.
Really good show, all. Appreciate the updates and glad I didn't have to sit there and listen to Stormy Daniels give the gory details of sex with the Major Domo Yam Person.
Your discussion regarding the courage of Geoff Duncan and the lack thereof coming from Paul Ryan, Bill Barr, Chris Sununu, and so on, was spot on.
One way to describe their position might be - I hope the Presidential race will turn out this way, but under no circumstances am I willing to do anything to bring about that result.
It’s as if they were all young men, offering to volunteer to serve their country in the Army, as long as they didn’t have to attend basic training, wear a uniform, or take any physical risk in doing so. Oh, and by the way, they might say, only if I can start out as an officer.
You got that right. Joe Biden and his Administration are doing a good job under exceedingly difficult circumstances and these guys and gals are going to throw their vote away for what? A tawdry reality TV star and a bunch of sycophants who would shoot dogs and allow women and children to die because they can't get adequate health care? In what universe is this considered okay? None that I know of and I don't want to get to know one that does. Shame on them.
Im also in the position where Biden feels mentally unfit for the Presidency as much as Trump. I mean his age and decline are just obvious with every public appearance.
Umm . . . did you see this year's State of the Union address? Biden was so good that night that Trump's only attack was to accuse him of being on stimulants!
Remember that he has a stutter! I haven’t seen the problem you are concerned about. And he makes a lot more sense than Trump, who is often in la-la land somewhere, or lying, or both.
We can't deny that Biden often (not always) struggles with the spoken word. And yes, his history of stuttering is likely a factor, but his age certainly is as well. Look at videos of him from 10 years ago. Quite different.
That said, he may very well be cognitively sound and in fact his age and extensive experience in high level politics may give him the judgement and wisdom needed for the role, despite being a piss poor public speaker with a stiff gait.
Bottom line - it's a valid concern that we can't just declaratively deny, but to pronounce him and Trump "equally unfit" is unfounded and reckless, and fails to consider the 100 other ways that Trump is indisputably, grossly, dangerously unfit.
The defense's opening statement denied that there was any sex with the witness. It seems like the prosecution needed to show there was so they can argue that the defense isn't telling you the jury the truth about what happened.
I wonder if Paul Ryan’s write-in claim isn’t just a public stance for his Fox News board position. I wonder if when he’s in his swing-state Wisconsin voting booth he doesn’t just emphatically vote against Trump by voting for Biden. I’m pretty sure he personally despises Trump and doesn’t want him to return, as he plays both sides publicly.
I don't think Paul Ryan can have it both ways. Trump and Co. are just too revolting to justify anybody who isn't full-on MAGA voting for them. It doesn't add up.
I object! Others may have already said this but Stormy Daniels did not go through every lurid detail on the stand. That was not what the judge admonished her for or asked her legal team to talk to her about. Judge Merchan objected to the level of detail Stormy went into before she even got to the sex. She described the pattern of the tile in the hotel room he lured her to, the Old Spice aftershave in the bathroom, (I kid you not,) and other details the judge did not think were pertinent to the case. She wandered a bit on the stand and appeared nervous, and there was copious detail about how Trump manipulated her into going to his hotel room, and extraneous stuff. So I hate to disagree with Sarah, who's always right, but Stormy did not elaborate on the salacious side. Prosecutors got to the actual sex in the afternoon when she was keeping her answers to "Yes" and "No." I think there was just one question like, "And did you have sex with him?", and she answered, "Yes."
P.S. I am glued to the testimony if you couldn't tell already! Trump was very predatory and it was sickening to see how similar this was to the E. Jean Carroll case.
You nailed it. Trump is sickening period. I admire your stamina in following this so closely. I'm reading about it after the fact and trying to focus on just about anything and everything else.
Being a "lib" just might be a good thing. Don't let them brainwash you. Liberalism has been a boon in many ways, just as Conservatism has been. Trump is a damaged and damaging human being and would be no matter what party he belonged to.
Full concur with JVL on forcing every interviewee to commit to answering a question with a real answer for a full 9 minutes and then cut the interview rather than moving on. That should be the news reporter standard from here on out. The "Stephanopolos Standard" if you will.
I don’t usually comment, but I agree with Harry Litman on MSNBC, we had to hear from her. If we didn’t, then the jury and the public would just be wondering why not. she had to take the stand to give context.
I can see both sides of the argument about Stormy's testimony. If her testimony wasn't damaging, the defense team wouldn't have called for a mistrial. That said, the cross-examination is going to destroy her credibility with the jury because she's a self-admitted biased witness. It will come down to which side of the argument 12 NYCers are going to find more convincing. I sure hope the prosecution will at least point out the spaghetti-at-the-wall tactics of the defense to the jury that Tim mentions, because that part is really important to highlight for the jurors.
Her testimony was only foundation. The only issue is whether they had sex. I’d say she was 150% believable about that, no matter how much she hates him.
The defense is doing a crap job. They have no theory of this case. They don’t have to present any evidence but without a coherent theory their crosses are a mess. Necheles was the wrong lawyer for the Stormy cross.
I really don't think we're in "nervous breakdown" territory anymore with Cannon, and I entertained that idea at first via Sarah's logic of don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance. I think we're clearly in she's-in-the-tank for Trump territory, and yes, it matters why, because it's a further politicization of the courts and an escalation of the two-tier system of justice and how visible it's becoming. American faith in the federal court system is vanishing before our eyes.
As JVL likes to sometimes say: "the courts will not save us." This will all come down to the election and how many people vote against Trump.
Sarah's point about fundamental principles and ideas versus party loyalty are really central to what has happened to the GOP since 2015 and who the real RINOs are. It ain't the Bulwark folk, it's MAGA who are the true RINOs.
"She shot a puppy on 5th avenue".
Sarah you won the day, the week, the month!
I think Noem killing her animals cracked her open in a way MAGA could see additional problems (like lying).
Thank you Sarah. You summed up the "Emperor's New Clothes" analogy beautifully, It's not just about peer pressure and conformity . Tim Scott is a bad person. It's grotesque to watch him and the others try to gaslight their followers, creating the illusion of an alternate reality that they feel safe in. JVL is correct, just keep Stephanopolising them and never stop till the clock runs out on the segment or until they do. Really good show.
Can't watch the "real" Tim Scott without seeing SNL's Devon Walker's sublime capture of the Steppin Fetchit aspect of Scott's public utterances about Trump and the ReTrumplican't party.
Really good show, all. Appreciate the updates and glad I didn't have to sit there and listen to Stormy Daniels give the gory details of sex with the Major Domo Yam Person.
Your discussion regarding the courage of Geoff Duncan and the lack thereof coming from Paul Ryan, Bill Barr, Chris Sununu, and so on, was spot on.
One way to describe their position might be - I hope the Presidential race will turn out this way, but under no circumstances am I willing to do anything to bring about that result.
It’s as if they were all young men, offering to volunteer to serve their country in the Army, as long as they didn’t have to attend basic training, wear a uniform, or take any physical risk in doing so. Oh, and by the way, they might say, only if I can start out as an officer.
You got that right. Joe Biden and his Administration are doing a good job under exceedingly difficult circumstances and these guys and gals are going to throw their vote away for what? A tawdry reality TV star and a bunch of sycophants who would shoot dogs and allow women and children to die because they can't get adequate health care? In what universe is this considered okay? None that I know of and I don't want to get to know one that does. Shame on them.
Im also in the position where Biden feels mentally unfit for the Presidency as much as Trump. I mean his age and decline are just obvious with every public appearance.
Umm . . . did you see this year's State of the Union address? Biden was so good that night that Trump's only attack was to accuse him of being on stimulants!
No, that's not accurate.
He can barely form sentences at times. Please be serious.
He forms sentences just fine.
Remember that he has a stutter! I haven’t seen the problem you are concerned about. And he makes a lot more sense than Trump, who is often in la-la land somewhere, or lying, or both.
We can't deny that Biden often (not always) struggles with the spoken word. And yes, his history of stuttering is likely a factor, but his age certainly is as well. Look at videos of him from 10 years ago. Quite different.
That said, he may very well be cognitively sound and in fact his age and extensive experience in high level politics may give him the judgement and wisdom needed for the role, despite being a piss poor public speaker with a stiff gait.
Bottom line - it's a valid concern that we can't just declaratively deny, but to pronounce him and Trump "equally unfit" is unfounded and reckless, and fails to consider the 100 other ways that Trump is indisputably, grossly, dangerously unfit.
The defense's opening statement denied that there was any sex with the witness. It seems like the prosecution needed to show there was so they can argue that the defense isn't telling you the jury the truth about what happened.
Good call.
Exactly. They needed to show that her story was true and that is why there was concern in the campaign.
I wonder if Paul Ryan’s write-in claim isn’t just a public stance for his Fox News board position. I wonder if when he’s in his swing-state Wisconsin voting booth he doesn’t just emphatically vote against Trump by voting for Biden. I’m pretty sure he personally despises Trump and doesn’t want him to return, as he plays both sides publicly.
I don't think Paul Ryan can have it both ways. Trump and Co. are just too revolting to justify anybody who isn't full-on MAGA voting for them. It doesn't add up.
I object! Others may have already said this but Stormy Daniels did not go through every lurid detail on the stand. That was not what the judge admonished her for or asked her legal team to talk to her about. Judge Merchan objected to the level of detail Stormy went into before she even got to the sex. She described the pattern of the tile in the hotel room he lured her to, the Old Spice aftershave in the bathroom, (I kid you not,) and other details the judge did not think were pertinent to the case. She wandered a bit on the stand and appeared nervous, and there was copious detail about how Trump manipulated her into going to his hotel room, and extraneous stuff. So I hate to disagree with Sarah, who's always right, but Stormy did not elaborate on the salacious side. Prosecutors got to the actual sex in the afternoon when she was keeping her answers to "Yes" and "No." I think there was just one question like, "And did you have sex with him?", and she answered, "Yes."
P.S. I am glued to the testimony if you couldn't tell already! Trump was very predatory and it was sickening to see how similar this was to the E. Jean Carroll case.
You nailed it. Trump is sickening period. I admire your stamina in following this so closely. I'm reading about it after the fact and trying to focus on just about anything and everything else.
Definitely blame Biden. Cause you know he’s a lib.
Being a "lib" just might be a good thing. Don't let them brainwash you. Liberalism has been a boon in many ways, just as Conservatism has been. Trump is a damaged and damaging human being and would be no matter what party he belonged to.
I’m sarcastic
Good o know. Thanks 😊 A welcome relief.
Full concur with JVL on forcing every interviewee to commit to answering a question with a real answer for a full 9 minutes and then cut the interview rather than moving on. That should be the news reporter standard from here on out. The "Stephanopolos Standard" if you will.
I don’t usually comment, but I agree with Harry Litman on MSNBC, we had to hear from her. If we didn’t, then the jury and the public would just be wondering why not. she had to take the stand to give context.
I can see both sides of the argument about Stormy's testimony. If her testimony wasn't damaging, the defense team wouldn't have called for a mistrial. That said, the cross-examination is going to destroy her credibility with the jury because she's a self-admitted biased witness. It will come down to which side of the argument 12 NYCers are going to find more convincing. I sure hope the prosecution will at least point out the spaghetti-at-the-wall tactics of the defense to the jury that Tim mentions, because that part is really important to highlight for the jurors.
Her testimony was only foundation. The only issue is whether they had sex. I’d say she was 150% believable about that, no matter how much she hates him.
The defense is doing a crap job. They have no theory of this case. They don’t have to present any evidence but without a coherent theory their crosses are a mess. Necheles was the wrong lawyer for the Stormy cross.
Stormy Daniels has proved Hans Christian Anderson wrong. The emperor DOES have clothes. It's silk or satin pajamas.
Sorry to leave you with that image so close to lunch time.
Laughing to myself on that one!
I really don't think we're in "nervous breakdown" territory anymore with Cannon, and I entertained that idea at first via Sarah's logic of don't attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance. I think we're clearly in she's-in-the-tank for Trump territory, and yes, it matters why, because it's a further politicization of the courts and an escalation of the two-tier system of justice and how visible it's becoming. American faith in the federal court system is vanishing before our eyes.
As JVL likes to sometimes say: "the courts will not save us." This will all come down to the election and how many people vote against Trump.
Sarah's point about fundamental principles and ideas versus party loyalty are really central to what has happened to the GOP since 2015 and who the real RINOs are. It ain't the Bulwark folk, it's MAGA who are the true RINOs.