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His administration was basically stripping the country and selling it for parts for four straight years.
When he wasn't spending your tax dollars to hold weekly pep-rallies for himself, or flying around the world on AF1 to play golf, everything he did do was in the interest of corporations and political adversaries (e.g., he made russia *very* happy)
His offer to big oil was just a glimpse of the president he was.
>flying around the world on AF1 to play golf,
Only at properties he owned, and charged his security detail for their rooms. But Jimmy Carter had to sell his family peanut farm.
He didn't just make Russia happy, he sold our spies to Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Trump met with Putin and then CIA assets just started dying left, right, and center. Now I'm pretty anti-CIA and they've got a terrible track record, but at the very least we should stand by those who put their lives at risk to give us intel. And if you don't care about the morals or justness of doing the right thing, at least look at it from the pragmatic perspective, because if the US has a reputation for selling out our own spies, NOBODY WILL SPY FOR US.
Trump is a traitor. Full Stop.
Some of that damage has already been done in terms of allies. If you were another government, would you want to share intel that could end up in boxes stacked next to an easily accessible toilet?
Oh yeah, the damage is already done and I don't know if we'll recover in any kind of reasonable timeframe. The world was willing to chalk up Bush as an aberration when we elected Obama, but when we got Trump in office, our foreign relations took a nose dive that we may not recover from in decades of time, if ever.
and naturally the so-called “progressive” teens in this country who are too-TikTok addled to actually know what presidents are doing at any given moment in time are Trump’s best shot of winning again
Well I’m not that poster but I’ve sure as shit seen these “progressive” young adults stating how they will never vote for Biden because of Palestine and how the fact that Trump has sworn to “crush them” isn’t their problem.
Lmao the comments section and the articles themselves typically cannot be farther apart on this stupid fucking website. I thought Twitter/X was the worst place online but it’s mostly bots. The people on Reddit are genuinely fucking clueless and are addicted to misery that they themselves create.
The same way they defend everything regarding Trump. Trump deserves to play golf, go on foreign trips, etc etc etc. Obama doesn't deserve to play golf, go on trips, etc etc etc.
Republicans don't believe in right or wrong, they believe in social standing. Trump is part of their team, so whatever he does, no matter how questionable, no matter if they were criticizing Democrats for the same actions 5 minutes ago, no matter what, deserves everything! The opposite team, no matter what, always needs to be criticized and called evil.
They don't care what's done, they care who does it.
We don't talk about this enough. Their whole worldview is through the lens of a bullshit social hierarchy. Anyone at the top can do whatever they want because they inherently deserve to.
1. MAGA formed around Trump because he could embody the revanchist sentiment that is core to their bigotry.
1. MAGA loves Trump as long as Trump doesn't go against MAGA orthodoxy.
2. MAGA likes Trump way more than the rest of the Republican pols.
3. To turn on Trump (before MAGA abandons him) would at best make room for MAGA loyalists in primaries, and at worst lose general elections.
4. Non-MAGA Republicans are strategic voters. Any Republican candidate is more likely to vote for fiscal policy they like than any Democratic.
So the Republican pols can either try to invent excuses for Trump, or they can lose elections. Fascists don't care about consistency or justice. Fascists only care about winning.
The only place they are getting jammed up on is women's rights. Now that they have finally overturned ROE v WADE, some conservative women are learning that a lot of things they didn't think of as "abortions" are and they are wondering if making pregnancy more dangerous is worth everything else.
Some I've talked to have an interesting take. Yes, Trump offered this in the open, and it is problematic. The idea is that the Democrats are doing the same, but secretly. So he is doing something wrong, but because it is in the open he is HONESTLY doing it. And in doing so he is shining a light into the shady things that are going on. He's draining the swamp.
The problem I have with this is that it is unprovable. You can't prove a secret wrong. Also, there IS a level of quid pro quo between legislation and business, but we should be exposing what's there and making it less legal. Find ways to make it less acceptable, not make it mainstream and acceptable.
Let a liberal try.
It's not a bribe, because a bribe is a favor for money, but Trump hates the entire green energy industry and has for years. Being anti-renewable and pro-fossil fuel has always been part of his platform.
So he's not asking for a bribe, he's just telling the execs what will happen if he gets elected, while also telling them how much money he needs to secure the election.
Think about it. He's an awful person. Do you really think he needs to be bribed to fo awful things?
> How can any Republican defend this sort of thing
What's to defend? He's doing exactly what they want him to do. Trump isn't an outlier, he's the apotheosis of the GOP.
Anyone who believes this man is delusional.
The intellectual weakness it requires to still follow this man is a sign of pathology or extreme corruption.
The amount of either willful ignorance or moral depravity to follow him at this point is inexcusable, the only way his supporters can redeem themselves at this point is to openly admit the obvious, and show anything that could be seen as genuine remorse
They’d rather fight to the death than admit failure.
It’s pathetic.
The corrupt politicians that support him probably would face charges or at least lose their jobs—so they will never give up unless they get a pardon.
But there really is no excuse for the followers who vote against their own interests because they would rather stay in the cult than admit it’s a cult.
Trump really has done everything he can to destroy this country.
I hope one day his name is synonymous with Benedict Arnold and the wake of shame hits all of his followers profoundly and to the point of deep shame.
I used to be a teacher, and “survival mode” is not the place you want to be. I feel like the whole world is in survival mode at this point. This is not the kind of world I would want to be coming of age in. You have the former president selling out the world’s future for a chance at holding onto power for a few more years, and it’s going to become unlivable regardless. The everyday people are going to be stuck trying to live without potable water, and the rich bastards that got us here are going to do fuck all to solve the problem.
Seems pretty cut and dry under [18 U.S.C. § 201](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/201) (specifically applying 18 U.S.C. § 201(c)(1)(B))
> **Whoever**— otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty— **being a** public official, **former public official**, or person selected to be a public official, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty, **directly or indirectly demands, seeks**, receives, accepts, or agrees **to receive or accept anything of value personally for or because of any official act** performed or **to be performed by such official or person shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.**
The above had sections/paragraphs removed that weren't relevant, but to trim it down further to just the bolded parts that would apply:
> Whoever being a former public official, directly or indirectly demands or seeks to receive or accept anything of value personally for or because of any official act to be performed by such official or person shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.
I think the only question is whether a campaign contribution counts as receiving anything of value "personally". I think so, but I'd also expect that the defense would claim that all political candidates make statements like "donate to my campaign so I can get into office and implement \[insert specific policy here\]", and I can picture some number of jurists (say, 6 justices in particular) who would agree.
Republican Senators and Congressmen have zero care about very obvious corruption by Trump or any other Republicans. This is why Republicans can not be allowed to control any part of our government. Meanwhile, Biden's Department of Justice is prosecuting multiple Democrats for their alleged corruption.
I can see him nationalizing the US petroleum industry (among others) under “Orange (is the new) Jesus”. Then he can make anyone he wants the controller of our vast supply of petroleum/petroleum byproducts. It would be straight out of the Putin playbook from when he commandeered similar assets after Boris Yeltsin and the gang handed him the keys to his kingdom.
There are no industries in Russia that don’t have financial ties to benefit the Kremlin.
Loyalty will get you Oligarchy, go against him and you may mysteriously die of a fall from a tall building.
Don’t get me wrong, our democracy has its problems, but none that deserve the end of the United States as we know it. Many REAL patriots have bled out for the freedoms that many of us take for granted now, let’s not let these freedoms die by electing an Orange convict.
Vote for democracy this November, or it will likely be the last meaningful election here for generations to come.
Don't forget all this Trump coverage is allowing distraction to Russia, China, NK, and others on the CIA list, to subvert, oppress, kill, and take resources from countries that should be our allies.
Notice China is quiet because.. it put a lander on the moon. And no one noticed.
What is the end outcome they are seeking? What worse things do they think they will dig up? I am all for holding this guy accountable countable but this seems like a waste of time and money. They should be holding inquiries into Supreme Court actions.
It's only the brazen part that bothers them. This is standard operating procedure for most members of both parties. They just don't like the attention he's calling to it.
I saw Trump’s comments where he said he *was* going to deregulate the industry without asking for cash in exchange. This article omits the quote from Trump. Are they lying about the comments I’ve seen or did Trump make other, obviously-corrupt comments, and the author was just too stupid to include them?
That's nice but nothing will come of it.
Trump's only error was doing it out loud
All other politicians trade legislation for donations behind closed doors and not publicly
>“Trump’s request to oil executives is a troubling illustration of the quid pro quo corruption and pay-to-play-style politics that federal campaign laws are meant to prevent. Federal law includes strict contribution limits and bans corporate contributions precisely so candidates do not trade policy favors for campaign cash.”
I mean, let's fucking hope so.
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. We are actively looking for new moderators. If you have any interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out [this form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1y2swHD0KXFhStGFjW6k54r9iuMjzcFqDIVwuvdLBjSA). *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
His administration was basically stripping the country and selling it for parts for four straight years. When he wasn't spending your tax dollars to hold weekly pep-rallies for himself, or flying around the world on AF1 to play golf, everything he did do was in the interest of corporations and political adversaries (e.g., he made russia *very* happy) His offer to big oil was just a glimpse of the president he was.
>flying around the world on AF1 to play golf, Only at properties he owned, and charged his security detail for their rooms. But Jimmy Carter had to sell his family peanut farm.
He didn't just make Russia happy, he sold our spies to Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Trump met with Putin and then CIA assets just started dying left, right, and center. Now I'm pretty anti-CIA and they've got a terrible track record, but at the very least we should stand by those who put their lives at risk to give us intel. And if you don't care about the morals or justness of doing the right thing, at least look at it from the pragmatic perspective, because if the US has a reputation for selling out our own spies, NOBODY WILL SPY FOR US. Trump is a traitor. Full Stop.
Some of that damage has already been done in terms of allies. If you were another government, would you want to share intel that could end up in boxes stacked next to an easily accessible toilet?
Oh yeah, the damage is already done and I don't know if we'll recover in any kind of reasonable timeframe. The world was willing to chalk up Bush as an aberration when we elected Obama, but when we got Trump in office, our foreign relations took a nose dive that we may not recover from in decades of time, if ever.
and naturally the so-called “progressive” teens in this country who are too-TikTok addled to actually know what presidents are doing at any given moment in time are Trump’s best shot of winning again
Quality outreach right here
[удалено]
Well I’m not that poster but I’ve sure as shit seen these “progressive” young adults stating how they will never vote for Biden because of Palestine and how the fact that Trump has sworn to “crush them” isn’t their problem.
Lmao the comments section and the articles themselves typically cannot be farther apart on this stupid fucking website. I thought Twitter/X was the worst place online but it’s mostly bots. The people on Reddit are genuinely fucking clueless and are addicted to misery that they themselves create.
How can any Republican defend this sort of thing? I'd love to hear one try.
The same way they defend everything regarding Trump. Trump deserves to play golf, go on foreign trips, etc etc etc. Obama doesn't deserve to play golf, go on trips, etc etc etc. Republicans don't believe in right or wrong, they believe in social standing. Trump is part of their team, so whatever he does, no matter how questionable, no matter if they were criticizing Democrats for the same actions 5 minutes ago, no matter what, deserves everything! The opposite team, no matter what, always needs to be criticized and called evil. They don't care what's done, they care who does it.
Thanks for laying that out so clearly!
We don't talk about this enough. Their whole worldview is through the lens of a bullshit social hierarchy. Anyone at the top can do whatever they want because they inherently deserve to.
Pretty accurate description and it’s pathetic that it is the case! Even Ronald Reagan would be ashamed!
No he wouldn’t. He would happily cheer on the climate change denial and cruelty to asylum seekers.
HUNTER BIDENS LAPTOP! JOE BIDEN IS A PEDOPHILE! LIZARD PEOPLE! DONALD TRUMP WAS SENT BY GOD! Something like that?
1. MAGA formed around Trump because he could embody the revanchist sentiment that is core to their bigotry. 1. MAGA loves Trump as long as Trump doesn't go against MAGA orthodoxy. 2. MAGA likes Trump way more than the rest of the Republican pols. 3. To turn on Trump (before MAGA abandons him) would at best make room for MAGA loyalists in primaries, and at worst lose general elections. 4. Non-MAGA Republicans are strategic voters. Any Republican candidate is more likely to vote for fiscal policy they like than any Democratic. So the Republican pols can either try to invent excuses for Trump, or they can lose elections. Fascists don't care about consistency or justice. Fascists only care about winning. The only place they are getting jammed up on is women's rights. Now that they have finally overturned ROE v WADE, some conservative women are learning that a lot of things they didn't think of as "abortions" are and they are wondering if making pregnancy more dangerous is worth everything else.
“It’s just being smart to make money” No, it’s extortion and bribery.
Some I've talked to have an interesting take. Yes, Trump offered this in the open, and it is problematic. The idea is that the Democrats are doing the same, but secretly. So he is doing something wrong, but because it is in the open he is HONESTLY doing it. And in doing so he is shining a light into the shady things that are going on. He's draining the swamp. The problem I have with this is that it is unprovable. You can't prove a secret wrong. Also, there IS a level of quid pro quo between legislation and business, but we should be exposing what's there and making it less legal. Find ways to make it less acceptable, not make it mainstream and acceptable.
Let a liberal try. It's not a bribe, because a bribe is a favor for money, but Trump hates the entire green energy industry and has for years. Being anti-renewable and pro-fossil fuel has always been part of his platform. So he's not asking for a bribe, he's just telling the execs what will happen if he gets elected, while also telling them how much money he needs to secure the election. Think about it. He's an awful person. Do you really think he needs to be bribed to fo awful things?
No but he’s not above a shakedown
They don't play defense. They put you on defense by going after Biden or whatever for some falsely equivalent thing and we always take the bait.
It's juat some locker room felonies
They already do it, just less openly. Why wouldnt they find some bs reason to justify it?
> How can any Republican defend this sort of thing What's to defend? He's doing exactly what they want him to do. Trump isn't an outlier, he's the apotheosis of the GOP.
Try not to commit more crimes on the way to the parking lot.
Im 37?!
Anyone who believes this man is delusional. The intellectual weakness it requires to still follow this man is a sign of pathology or extreme corruption.
The amount of either willful ignorance or moral depravity to follow him at this point is inexcusable, the only way his supporters can redeem themselves at this point is to openly admit the obvious, and show anything that could be seen as genuine remorse
They’d rather fight to the death than admit failure. It’s pathetic. The corrupt politicians that support him probably would face charges or at least lose their jobs—so they will never give up unless they get a pardon. But there really is no excuse for the followers who vote against their own interests because they would rather stay in the cult than admit it’s a cult. Trump really has done everything he can to destroy this country. I hope one day his name is synonymous with Benedict Arnold and the wake of shame hits all of his followers profoundly and to the point of deep shame.
I used to be a teacher, and “survival mode” is not the place you want to be. I feel like the whole world is in survival mode at this point. This is not the kind of world I would want to be coming of age in. You have the former president selling out the world’s future for a chance at holding onto power for a few more years, and it’s going to become unlivable regardless. The everyday people are going to be stuck trying to live without potable water, and the rich bastards that got us here are going to do fuck all to solve the problem.
Seems pretty cut and dry under [18 U.S.C. § 201](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/201) (specifically applying 18 U.S.C. § 201(c)(1)(B)) > **Whoever**— otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty— **being a** public official, **former public official**, or person selected to be a public official, otherwise than as provided by law for the proper discharge of official duty, **directly or indirectly demands, seeks**, receives, accepts, or agrees **to receive or accept anything of value personally for or because of any official act** performed or **to be performed by such official or person shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.** The above had sections/paragraphs removed that weren't relevant, but to trim it down further to just the bolded parts that would apply: > Whoever being a former public official, directly or indirectly demands or seeks to receive or accept anything of value personally for or because of any official act to be performed by such official or person shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both. I think the only question is whether a campaign contribution counts as receiving anything of value "personally". I think so, but I'd also expect that the defense would claim that all political candidates make statements like "donate to my campaign so I can get into office and implement \[insert specific policy here\]", and I can picture some number of jurists (say, 6 justices in particular) who would agree.
yeah but you can't prosecute someone who is running for president* \*only applicable if person is a republican
Trump also promised to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht to libertarians if they voted for him.
Shocking that a fraudster and convicted felon and affirmed rapist would habitually cross the line.
Habitual line steppers
Republican Senators and Congressmen have zero care about very obvious corruption by Trump or any other Republicans. This is why Republicans can not be allowed to control any part of our government. Meanwhile, Biden's Department of Justice is prosecuting multiple Democrats for their alleged corruption.
I can see him nationalizing the US petroleum industry (among others) under “Orange (is the new) Jesus”. Then he can make anyone he wants the controller of our vast supply of petroleum/petroleum byproducts. It would be straight out of the Putin playbook from when he commandeered similar assets after Boris Yeltsin and the gang handed him the keys to his kingdom. There are no industries in Russia that don’t have financial ties to benefit the Kremlin. Loyalty will get you Oligarchy, go against him and you may mysteriously die of a fall from a tall building. Don’t get me wrong, our democracy has its problems, but none that deserve the end of the United States as we know it. Many REAL patriots have bled out for the freedoms that many of us take for granted now, let’s not let these freedoms die by electing an Orange convict. Vote for democracy this November, or it will likely be the last meaningful election here for generations to come.
Don't forget all this Trump coverage is allowing distraction to Russia, China, NK, and others on the CIA list, to subvert, oppress, kill, and take resources from countries that should be our allies. Notice China is quiet because.. it put a lander on the moon. And no one noticed.
What is the end outcome they are seeking? What worse things do they think they will dig up? I am all for holding this guy accountable countable but this seems like a waste of time and money. They should be holding inquiries into Supreme Court actions.
How can a convicted felon be running for office?
It's only the brazen part that bothers them. This is standard operating procedure for most members of both parties. They just don't like the attention he's calling to it.
He thinks America is his used car, and he's selling!
I saw Trump’s comments where he said he *was* going to deregulate the industry without asking for cash in exchange. This article omits the quote from Trump. Are they lying about the comments I’ve seen or did Trump make other, obviously-corrupt comments, and the author was just too stupid to include them?
I hope the parliamentarian allows it!
That's nice but nothing will come of it. Trump's only error was doing it out loud All other politicians trade legislation for donations behind closed doors and not publicly
Trump wins this because he literally doesn’t know what “billion” means. He just thinks it’s cool to say. In his defense, it is cool to say.
“Snitches get stitches” - DJT probably /s
>“Trump’s request to oil executives is a troubling illustration of the quid pro quo corruption and pay-to-play-style politics that federal campaign laws are meant to prevent. Federal law includes strict contribution limits and bans corporate contributions precisely so candidates do not trade policy favors for campaign cash.” I mean, let's fucking hope so.