Official LRC President Donald J Trump Thread

Rigged for Hillary wrote:

Trollminator wrote:

I'll lay out some facts and let you make the connections:

[quote]Trollminator wrote:

I'll lay out some facts and let you make the connections:

Russia hacked the DNC servers (Podesta falls for a phishing email)- The DNC rigged the primaries against Bernie and refused to turn over the server to the FBI. What did the DNC hide? You didn’t address my fact, you simply pointed to something irrelevant. I get it, you too are sympathetic to Russia since they targeted your enemy.

Putin dislikes HRC - Putin likes Assad. Trump does not. Putin certainly doesn't like Trump especially after the Syrian bombing campaign. You call that a bombing campaign? Hahahaha. Putin loves Trump because he doesn’t get in his way. Repeat after me: we are not in Syria anymore. Trump certainly doesn’t have the balls to speak up let alone act in direct confrontation of Putin. Hillary had Putin shaking as SOS.

HRC would have been a threat to Putin, Trump is not. Wrong. Trump warned Russia against backing Assad. Furthermore, National Security Advisor John Bolton called Putin a liar who aligns himself with America’s enemies, and whose country is a long-term strategic threat to the United States. Everyone EXCEPT Trump stands up to Russia. Remember the most recent sanctions that Trump hastily cancelled? Trump is a joke, he has no credibility on the global stage. Not surprising Putin is having a good laugh at us.

Comey opens an investigation into HRC emails and takes forever to reach a conclusion Really? He shut it down early. Why did Comey draft a statement rejecting the idea of criminal charges against Hillary over her private email account about two months or so before she was interviewed in the FBI probe? They had nothing, nada. They dragged it out until the very end and it only hurt her during the election. Did FOX tell you he drafted that statement? Please provide a link to a credible source.

Trump is full of adulation for Putin and has sought numerous times to meet him and do a real estate deal in Russia. Trump has done deals with and stayed close to many Russian mafiosos and Republicans whose elections were funded by Russian mafiosos. Nothing illegal about doing RE deals in Russia. How about the $100M the Clinton Foundation received from Russia? How about the money Bill Clinton got from a Moscow bank for making a speech? Both parties are funded by Russian oligarchs. Podesta also took Russian money to lobby on behalf of the Obama Administration. Nothing ethical about trying to do real estate deals while you are running for POTUS and right through to your inauguration. The speech payment is a joke - that’s standard, and he was not running for President. What is serious is being completely surrounded by criminal Russians and their tentacles. You do an awful job trying to claim equivalence.

When Comey told Trump the dossier had been going around, Trump freaked out and demanded loyalty even though Comey assured him the dossier had not been a cause for concern since the claims were unsubstantiated. Whatever credibility Comey had is gone today. He leaked classified material and is now under investigation. Again not addressing Trump’s tantrum. Why get so hot and bothered? Do you dispute Trump demands loyalty from those around him despite their responsibility to objectivity and serving the public.

Mueller is a Republican He's a RINO who stacked his team with democrats who openly supported Hillary. Try again, look at his record and stop watching FOX. Explain why all republicans cheered and raved about him when he was appointed and since then they’ve done a 180. Roll the FOX tape back and remind us what the mood was back then.

Trump's administration appointed Mueller True, no argument Yep, probably one of just a few honest moves Trump’s administration have made so far.

A Trump-appointed lawyer approved the Cohen raid

True, no argument Yep, yet the right is still crying foul play and Deep State.

My answers are in bold and you missed a few facts.

Bilge Rat wrote:

You make good points. However, on the matter of conspiracy with a foreign power, I would argue that what Russia and Trump are alleged to have done pales in comparison to what Nixon and Kissinger pulled off in 1968. They conspired with a foreign regime during a military conflict against the actions of the Chief Executive , extending the Vietnam War by seven years leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths on both sides. No serious historian denies that this is what happened, and it was recently revealed that Lyndon Johnson himself knew about it at the time (He was silent because to have confronted the Republicans on the eve of the Nixon vs. McCarthy election would have revealed U.S. intelligence assets and been perceived as vote-meddling). So, yes, I am horrified by what happened during our last election and it should be investigated. But it is important to understand that the United States has faced treason and perfidy in the past and it was thought better to elide the truth for what passes as "the greater good". What is this "greater good"? It passes as looking out for the lives of American citizens, their well-being, their material comfort, and even the integrity of federal government. In reality it is mere the balancing act of plausibility that keeps elites of both the right and left with a vice grip on power.

Fat hurts wrote:

Bilge Rat wrote:

You make good points. However, on the matter of conspiracy with a foreign power, I would argue that what Russia and Trump are alleged to have done pales in comparison to what Nixon and Kissinger pulled off in 1968. They conspired with a foreign regime during a military conflict against the actions of the Chief Executive , extending the Vietnam War by seven years leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths on both sides. No serious historian denies that this is what happened, and it was recently revealed that Lyndon Johnson himself knew about it at the time (He was silent because to have confronted the Republicans on the eve of the Nixon vs. McCarthy election would have revealed U.S. intelligence assets and been perceived as vote-meddling). So, yes, I am horrified by what happened during our last election and it should be investigated. But it is important to understand that the United States has faced treason and perfidy in the past and it was thought better to elide the truth for what passes as "the greater good". What is this "greater good"? It passes as looking out for the lives of American citizens, their well-being, their material comfort, and even the integrity of federal government. In reality it is mere the balancing act of plausibility that keeps elites of both the right and left with a vice grip on power.

You both make good points.

I'll have to agree about the comparison of Nixon and Trump. Both conspired with a foreign power to do harm to the United States. Both schemes amounted to a subversion of our democracy. But it's hard to argue that Trump has done anything worse than Nixon extending the Vietnam war just to get elected.

Super-Secret Squirrel wrote:

Sean Hannity Isn't A Journalist And Fox News Isn't News

by Neil J. Young, 4/21/2018

Earlier this week, Fox News declared its “full support” for Sean Hannity after it was revealed the conservative commentator was also a client of Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney.

Although Hannity has spent months defending Cohen on his nightly program, his failure to divulge such information to his viewers or to his bosses has not jeopardized his standing with the network. It does make clearer, however, the extent of Fox News’ corruption as a propaganda mill for the Trump presidency and its dishonesty as a news organization.

That corruption was evident in both Hannity’s actions and Fox’s defense of itself, as the network said it was “unaware” and “surprised” to learn of the Hannity-Cohen connection. It’s a shocking admission for what is supposed to be a news outlet. It’s also fully in keeping with an organization that is more devoted to stoking conservative indignation than to carrying out truthful investigations and that has a history of turning a blind eye to inconvenient truths. As David Frum pointed out in his recent book Trumpocracy, this is the same media organization that claimed “nobody knew” its former chief Roger Ailes had been sexually harassing women in its own offices for decades.

The channel’s coverage of the president, particularly in its heavily watched morning and evening opinion shows, provides a steady stream of cheerleading and flattery for the president who they know is a regular viewer. Trump has responded in kind, lavishing frequent praise on Fox.

Big show tonight on @seanhannity! 9:00 P.M. on @FoxNews

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2018

In this mutually reinforcing relationship, it’s hard to say who the sycophant is. Either way, it’s a sickness that has despoiled both.

Aside from the puffery, the network engages in constant counterprogramming against damaging or unflattering news about the Trump presidency. In just one recent example, for more than 12 hours following White House staffer Rob Porter’s resignation after his two ex-wives accused him of abuse, Fox News did not mention his name. Instead, Fox & Friends, the morning program that often gives Trump material for his first tweets of the day, devoted its show to criticizing opponents of Trump’s plans for a military parade and other unserious matters.

In February, Fox’s coverage of that month’s two major events ― the school shootings in Parkland, Florida, and Robert Mueller’s indictments of 13 Russian nationals charged with interfering in the 2016 election ― amounted to little more than a protracted defense of the president.

It’s worth remembering though that the network didn’t always operate as a shill for Trump. During the 2016 Republican primaries, the network had several Trump skeptics in its lineup, including George Will and Megyn Kelly, and the coverage leaned more favorably toward the candidates Ted Cruz and Ben Carson. A debate for the Republican presidential contestants hosted by Fox in August 2015 showed such tough questioning of Trump from Kelly, Bret Baier, and Chris Wallace, that Trump later lashed out at Kelly, accusing her of having “blood coming out of her wherever.” He then boycotted the next Fox debate, the type of vindictive move he’s used in the past with business associates and family members alike to get what he wants.

After Trump won the Republican nomination, Fox News also fell in line ― at least in part because its audience had become his supporters. Trump critics Megyn Kelly and George Will were out. In their place, Trump enthusiasts like Tucker Carlson, Eric Bolling, and Nigel Farage were given enviable slots where they could bang the Trump drum loudly.

Through it all, Sean Hannity remained Fox’s strongest Trump backer. An early supporter during the Republican primaries, Hannity’s boosting on air went into overdrive once Trump took the White House.

Outside of the show, Hannity and the president make frequent phone calls to each other. “He basically has a desk” in the White House is how one presidential adviser recently described Hannity’s association with Trump to The Washington Post. In this arrangement, Fox News isn’t the state-run media that some have accused it of being. Instead, Hannity is doing his best to build a media-run presidency.

Hannity is a commentator not a reporter, so his relentless advocacy for Trump doesn’t necessarily violate journalistic standards on its own. But his failure to disclose his relationship with Michael Cohen exposes his lack of credibility and integrity, and that of the network that employs him.

Hannity’s popularity ― his show is the most-watched program in cable news, with over 3 million viewers each night ― means he holds unusual sway at Fox, an influence that guarantees his own immunity while also serving to bend the network’s positions to his. No wonder Fox offered its “full support” to Hannity following the Cohen disclosure. After being forced to part with Bill O’Reilly, its previous ratings king, in the wake of allegations he was a serial sexual harasser, and with advertisers fleeing Laura Ingraham’s primetime show, they can’t afford not to.

Fox has always tacked rightward, but that didn’t mean it served as an uncritical mouthpiece for the GOP. But in turning itself into Trump TV, the network has effectively abandoned any pretense of objectivity or neutrality for the short-term gains that come from embracing Trumpism. In that way, Fox’s transformation resembles the Republican Party’s own remaking under Trump, setting aside whatever principles and policies it may have held for a man who had neither.

In the end, Fox may survive the Trump takeover better than the GOP does. If anything, Trump seems more likely to stay close to the network he’s had a much longer relationship with than the political party he currently leads. It’s been long speculated that Trump’s real purpose in running for the presidency was to establish a platform to launch his own media empire. In Fox News’ fawning coverage of his presidency, he has gotten exactly that.