April 15, 2017

"Even allies acknowledge Mr. Trump is impulsive, indifferent to preparation and prone to embracing the last advice offered."

"He needs a strong hand to guide him, but insists on appearing in firm command, so any aide perceived as pulling strings can face his wrath sooner or later. It was Mr. Trump, not his children, who pushed Mr. Bannon to the margins, motivated less by ideology than by dissatisfaction with recent failures and his perception that his chief strategist was running an off-the-books operation to aggrandize himself at Mr. Trump’s expense.... [Ivanka] Trump has never been close to Mr. Bannon, although she appreciated the ferocity of his work.... In recent weeks, she has spoken bluntly about Mr. Bannon’s shortcomings to the president. She was especially incensed by articles she believed were planted by Mr. Bannon’s allies suggesting he, not her father, honed the populist economic message that helped sweep the Midwest. She made that point in the strongest terms to her father, who agreed, according to a family friend...."

From a NYT article about the role of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

71 comments:

Once written, twice... said...

Thank god for Democrats Ivanka and Jared. We would be screwed otherwise.

Once written, twice... said...

They are serving the role Nancy did to Ronnie.

JackWayne said...

The NYT. Therefore, fake.

Anonymous said...

Who's buying any of this?

Anonymous said...

Exactly, Once Written.

iowan2 said...

Bannon is to blame for the Health care fiaso? Not the director of legislative affairs, but Bannon?
We know who is effective, making progress with the agenda, and therefore who the left fears. The one they are attacking. If the left succeeds in marginalizing Bannon, there is always the next victim waiting in the wings. The left needs to make it personal. Its part of their play book.

rhhardin said...

The NYT is great at detecting bad character.

Once written, twice... said...

Bannon is a right wing buffoon. He will be gone by June.

Drago said...

The NYT has to offer up make-believe red meat stories to its base readers like Once and Inga because the lefties at the NYT don't have any real contacts in this administration.

It's hard to blame them really now that their collusion fantasies have collapsed and more information about domestic spying by the dems is trickling out.

Not to worry though as some new shiny object will be thrust before the lefty lunatic base soon to keep them dazzled.

Anonymous said...

Hahaha, ya think so Drago? So, tell us how do you know this?

gspencer said...

When your power, such as it may be, is derivative in nature, it's best to remember the source from which it was derived.

Michael K said...

Oh, if the NY Times said so....

Once and Inga are being foolish, as usual.

walter said...

Inga,
To start with..we have documented collusion between MSM and Hil.
In that context, does Drago's post seem so far fetched?

Achilles said...

Inga said...
Hahaha, ya think so Drago? So, tell us how do you know this?

Key democrat officials are telling you not to get your hopes up.

As far as domestic surveillance?

It is right there in the headline.

Obama was centrally involved.

Obama expands surveillance powers days before leaving office.

Napolitano was right about the Brits and that is the tip of the iceberg here.

The European intelligence agencies detected multiple communications over several months between the Trump associates and Russian individuals — and passed on that intelligence to the US. The US and Britain are part of the so-called “Five Eyes” agreement (along with Canada, Australia and New Zealand), which calls for open sharing among member nations of a broad range of intelligence.

This is pure police state tactics.

According to a report earlier in the day, House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes (D-Calif.) told reporters that members of the president’s transition team, and potentially Trump himself, were under surveillance during the Obama administration following November's election, told reporters Wednesday.

According to Nunes, not only was “significant information” gathered on the Trump team, but identities of those surveilled were unmasked in the process.


I will note that Obama has been out of the country away from his family for months. He faces numerous depositions. It seems we are not going to see our little tin pot ex pres. return for a while.

Heywood Rice said...

She was especially incensed by articles she believed were planted by Mr. Bannon’s allies suggesting he, not her father, honed the populist economic message that helped sweep the Midwest. She made that point in the strongest terms to her father, who agreed...

They were Bernie Sanders speeches almost word for word, re branded as Trump product.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

DADDYYYY!!!

MayBee said...

Where is the evidence that he embraces the advice of the last person who spoke with him?

I know this was the word in the media back when everyone in the media was hoping Obama would be able to tell Trump how to keep all of Obama's plans in place. But I've never actually seen any evidence of it being true.

Jason said...

The man builds skyscrapers and hotels, and these heel-nipping yap dogs think he's averse to preparation.

Drago said...

Poor Inga. Her Dem betters are trying to let her and the rest of the voice-actuated mob down easy but they just can't help themselves.

Looks like Inga and pals are quite content to be "blindsided" again...and again ...and again...

Drago said...

I still find it almost, almost, inexplicable that the obambi-ites may very well have used the 2013 Russian contact nothingburger with Carter Page where Page was cleared by the FBI of any wrong doing as the basis for a FISA warrant to spy on Trump, yet all the leaks are pointing in precisely that direction.

Amazing.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

"In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, President Trump made a remarkable admission. He was describing his conversations with President Xi Jinping of China, whose nation he had insisted could solve the North Korean nuclear standoff easily if only it set its minds to it. Xi argued otherwise, Trump recalled:

He then went into the history of China and Korea. Not North Korea, Korea. And you know, you’re talking about thousands of years … and many wars. And Korea actually used to be a part of China. And after listening for 10 minutes I realized that not—it’s not so easy. You know I felt pretty strongly that they have—that they had a tremendous power over China. I actually do think they do have an economic power, and they have certainly a border power to an extent, but they also—a lot of goods come in. But it’s not what you would think.

The anecdote is telling for a couple reasons. Many people have said Trump is ignorant on policy issues, but in this case Trump himself fessed up to having had no real understanding of the history of the Korean peninsula. In fact, he knew so little that in just 10 minutes, his own view of the conflict was turned around.

Trump’s tendency to take up the position of the last person with whom he spoke on a given issue has been widely noted. Xi’s claim that North Korea is an intractable problem is a widely held one, and North Korea bedeviled Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton, too, but it’s disconcerting that a foreign leader could so quickly dazzle Trump. The combination of little knowledge and practically no ideological commitments also makes the ongoing battle between factions in Trump’s White House much higher stakes than they might otherwise be."

MayBee said...

Trump’s tendency to take up the position of the last person with whom he spoke on a given issue has been widely noted.

What position did Trump "turn around"?
Do you want him to talk to world leaders and have them *not* affect him in any way?
When is someone being further informed by another world view, and when is someone taking up the position of the last person they spoke with? There is a big difference, no?

Anonymous said...

Insider info Drago? Hahahahaha, tell us how you are so sure there was no collusion. Bluffing won't get you anywhere but but laughed at.

Drago said...

Inga is such a trusting little waif.

It's easy to see why she was so easily duped by the media during the run-up to the election.

Anonymous said...

Easily duped, hahaha! As a Trump voter I can't believe you said that, ohhhhhh hahahaha!

MayBee said...

Trump’s tendency to take up the position of the last person with whom he spoke on a given issue has been widely noted.

Always with this assertion. But again, no actual evidence.

Drago said...

Inga: "Hahahahaha, tell us how you are so sure there was no collusion."

Poor Inga. Now she abandons the entirety of her beloved MSM to "keep hope alive.

And I guess Sessions didn't have to leave after just 3 days on the job ad you predicted.

Time and again every Inga comfort-food prediction heads South.

Take another look at Achilles post Inga. But not to worry. That's not an on coming train...really. it's the light at the end of the TDS tunnel. Really.

Lol

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Drago said...

Inga: "Easily duped, hahaha! As a Trump voter I can't believe you said that, ohhhhhh hahahaha!"

Yes, Inga actually thought it would be a good idea to run with that comment re: being duped.

Yes Inga. I was a Trump voter. And Trump won. And Gorsuch is on the supreme Court. And around 90 of your beloved islamist supremacist fighters in Afghanistan were just "cut from the squad".

Gee, who can forget those heady pre-election days when Inga basked in the glory of her betters pronouncements of Hillary invincibility? Or those fleeting glory-filled moments of hope derived from the hilariously false fake oppo-research "dossier"?

Good times, good times.

Drago said...

I'll bet Inga goes to bed each night muttering "kompromat, kompromat".

Such innocence and such wide-eyed obliviousness.

Anonymous said...

Drago,

Вы фиктивная

iowan2 said...

Inga said
"The anecdote is telling for a couple reasons. Many people have said Trump is ignorant on policy issues, but in this case Trump himself fessed up to having had no real understanding of the history of the Korean peninsula. In fact, he knew so little that in just 10 minutes, his own view of the conflict was turned around."

You are wholly ignorant of sales, and negotiating. That is Trumps world. Always,24/7 He is either making the sale, or prepping the sale.
Pay attention to his comments. Brusque, brash, firm, with a fair amount of braggadocio. In public, Then, if face to face, demure, supple, asks lots of questions, and allows himself to be the student, to his marks Professor. He gets them to agree with him on some points, then quickly move past them, on to something different, again allowing his mark to to explain how they are smarter than President Trump, and he agrees, but, before moving on gets a small agreement or concession. Repeat, and repeat, and repeat, over, and over.
Did you hear the Chinese message to the Norks? Pretty stern stuff.
You think you are smarter that President Trump, (he agrees with you) and that's exactly how President Trump wants you. You are putty in his hands and you will do his bidding...willingly.

MaxedOutMama said...

Unless I am completely confused, the excerpt contradicts itself.

Maybe I'll try again after a night's sleep, but I've come also to expect the "NYT moment" when reading NYT articles, in which a hapless reader finds her mind suddenly spinning in circles, trying to figure out what is even being claimed. This moment either coincides with or just follows the sudden conclusion that the writers of the article didn't know anything at all about what actually happened.

It makes me disinclined to try again. If I want to go on the merry-go-round, I'll find a fair.

Big Mike said...

There's probably a grain or two of truth in this story, mixed in with half truths, wild guesses, innuendo, and wishful thinking. You still think the Times is an authoritative source, Professor? How quaint.

Drago said...

MaxedOutMama: "Unless I am completely confused, the excerpt contradicts itself."

Because you, not being a leftist, are not comfortable with the cognitive dissonance required to be a leftist-like thinker.

Anonymous said...

Alan West is has a sick feeling in his belly and is concerned.

http://www.allenbwest.com/allen/im-starting-get-sick-feeling-just-happened-white-house

"And what is most disconcerting for me is that fact that Jared Kushner is not, shall we say. aligned with the governing philosophy of the party that nominated Donald J. Trump. The concern is whether President Trump’s national security and foreign policy vision will be a constitutional conservative one, or more so a liberal progressive leftist perspective, since Kushner was not a registered Republican.

Let’s be honest here, many of us railed against the shadowy figure of one Valerie Jarrett and her influence upon Barack Obama. I referred to her often on these pages as a Rasputin-like figure. I’m having the same reservations about young Mr. Kushner. There was no doubt about national security and defense policy not being run from the Pentagon during the Obama administration, and it would seem we have a repeat performance.

The greater issue is whether or not President Trump trusts those he’s put into critical positions in this vital area. We’ve written here previously about the emergence of “Kushner Kommissars” spread across the agencies overlooking those placed into cabinet positions. This is not an effective means of governance, and who’d want to exist in such an untrusting and toxic environment?

Yes, I’m very happy we have Justice Gorsuch, but there are some key indicators and warning signs that are causing me, and should cause you, concern. And this expansion of the powers of an untested, inexperienced, and unknown figure such as Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of the president, whose wife also has a White House office just doesn’t sit well with me. I abhor nepotism and cronyism, and we don’t have a constitutional monarchy or a palace for familial rule. Sorry folks, gotta call it as I see it, because my oath was never taken to any individual, but to our Constitution.

I didn’t care for Valerie Jarrett and the power she wielded in the Obama administration. And I’m starting to get that same sick feeling in my belly about Jared Kushner. And yep, I’d tell him or President Trump that right to their face."

MPH said...

Those who say they haven't seen any evidence that Trump is influenced by the last voice in his ear have their own heads in the sand.

Gk1 said...

What will the legacy media write about now that they are frozen out of this administration? They will be reduced to the status of the Kremlin watchers in the west who would conjure up whole theories on who was in or out depending on how close the stood to Brezhnev during a May day parade in Red Square. Now its whether Bannon waves a manila folder during a meeting and walks out of a room. Is this what we have to look forward to the next 8 years? What will the press do to try to gain meaningful access. Sad!

MayBee said...

MPH- although not well supported for sake of argument I'll agree he is influenced by the last voice in his ear. But that isn't "embracing the last advice offered".

MayBee said...

This assertion seems much like the campaign assertion that Hillary was the "most famous woman nobody really knew'.

Just something put out by a PR group, hoping it will become common knowledge.

Dude1394 said...

The NYT's. That's funny.

Quaestor said...

Even allies acknowledge Mr. Trump is impulsive, indifferent to preparation and prone to embracing the last advice offered. He needs a strong hand to guide him, but insists on appearing in firm command, so any aide perceived as pulling strings can face his wrath sooner or later. It was Mr. Trump, not his children, who pushed Mr. Bannon to the margins, motivated less by ideology than by dissatisfaction with recent failures and his perception that his chief strategist was running an off-the-books operation to aggrandize himself at Mr. Trump’s expense.

Notice this is not sourced.

Quaestor said...

Those who say they haven't seen any evidence that Trump is influenced by the last voice in his ear have their own heads in the sand.

The last time I stuck my head in the sand, I noticed yours in there before mine, MPH.

Quaestor said...

Inga,

Cосать мой член.

MayBee said...

I mean, if Trump just adopts the position of the last person to have his attention, Bannon should be able to win him back easily.

David said...

"She made that point in the strongest terms to her father, who agreed, according to a family friend...."

Yeah, their good buddy who takes family secrets to the New York Times. Or what buddy-buddy says are family secrets.

How about some sourced journalism, NYT? Because we do not trust your unsourced work.

Darrell said...

Trump knows more than the guy who didn't know how car and health insurance worked. I reject the initial premise that came from Left-wing reporters, analysts, and politicians.

David said...

So Inga is now using Allen West, whom she can not abide, as her source of truth. Holy Confirmation Bias, Batshitman, is there anything this woman can not do?

Anonymous said...

Well David, if Allen West is so concerned, shouldn't you also be concerned? As for me, I'm glad Kushners are in charge.

roesch/voltaire said...

Not to worry Trump/Bannon supporters Mike Cernovich has promised to drop a Motherlode of stories about the dirt in the Trump administration if Bannon is ousted--that and all the lobbyist and lawyers that Trump is filling the swamp with will make sure things go well.

ga6 said...

creative writing 202

Michael K said...

Those who say they haven't seen any evidence that Trump is influenced by the last voice in his ear have their own heads in the sand.

It's amusing to watch the Hillary fans try to understand what happened to them months after they had their heads cut off.

Chickens would understand.

Drago said...

R/V appears quite intent on convincing himself of something.

I hope he doesn't pull a muscle.

Ambrose said...

We got ourselves a loose canon in the White House - but he's our loose canon. He's not Hilary and he is not Barack and he makes the NYT very worried. Someday they will name an office tower on 5th avenue after him. Oh wait, ....

Drago said...

Inga: "Well David, if Allen West is so concerned, shouldn't you also be concerned? As for me, I'm glad Kushners are in charge"

It's always amusing to see which person gets selected for todays "Strange New Respect"/"Who's REALLY running the White House" sweepstakes.

It changes so often and there are so many winners it's hard to keep up. But it does seem to provide some comfort for the voice-actuated automatons on the left.

dreams said...

Trump has picked good people and he has already proven his good judgement by being very successful in life so while I can understand that the hardcore conservatives might be worried, I'm less concerned because I think Trump has good instincts. And besides, even if he is ultimately influenced too much by the more liberal advisers, he is still way better than Hillary or any Dem.

Achilles said...

roesch/voltaire said...
Not to worry Trump/Bannon supporters Mike Cernovich has promised to drop a Motherlode of stories about the dirt in the Trump administration if Bannon is ousted--that and all the lobbyist and lawyers that Trump is filling the swamp with will make sure things go well.

Are you going to cry if Obama takes the 5th under deposition?

If he ever comes back to the country that is. How long do you think he will hide out overseas?

Earnest Prole said...

Mon Dieu, this sounds more like Eighteenth Century French politics than modern American. Are we sure Trump's real name isn't Louis?

Jon Ericson said...

@EP:
Yuk, yuk.

Jon Ericson said...

Comment by Once written, twice... blocked.
I thought it was funny.

traditionalguy said...

Amazingly, Trump has been having one success after another success by accident. An unending string of accidents. Must be beginner's luck. Either that or he not a befuddled child after all.

Matt Sablan said...

"Where is the evidence that he embraces the advice of the last person who spoke with him?"

-- Honestly, I've stopped expecting evidence for claims about Trump Nazi.

Michael K said...

" Either that or he not a befuddled child after all."

Nah. The LA Times is convinced that none of Trump's plans are working out.

The story has proved effective with Trump’s audiences, but it’s not an accurate description of what he did. It took the White House only a couple of weeks after the signing to acknowledge that the “Buy America” rule would not apply to Keystone. That would be unfair, officials said, because TransCanada, the company building the line, had long ago bought its pipe, some of it made in the U.S., and the rest in Canada, Italy and India.

Of course, all those regulations that have been cancelled don't count.

Matt Sablan said...

"I still find it almost, almost, inexplicable that the obambi-ites may very well have used the 2013 Russian contact nothingburger with Carter Page where Page was cleared by the FBI of any wrong doing as the basis for a FISA warrant to spy on Trump, yet all the leaks are pointing in precisely that direction."

-- That, of course, assumes Page isn't right when he says that they just lied about him to get the warrant (which I don't know how he would know, since I doubt they showed him the paper work.)

Matt Sablan said...

"The anecdote is telling for a couple reasons."

-- It is the sort of thing people always say when trying to flatter someone. "Oh, I spoke with him for just a few minutes and he REALLY MADE ME THINK."

Let's see if anything actually changes before we assume this is anything other than diplomatic boiler plate. It isn't like he had to admit failure, like, for example, that well, darn it, there really AREN'T shovel ready jobs.

jg said...

They've finally settled on a semblance of a real strategy.
According to them, Trump is sensitive to being portrayed as a confused, weak, figurehead.
Okay, that's a narrative they know how to manufacture. Obviously they have no real access except as insiders want to use them as a tool momentarily.
Look for both sides to play the game until Trump wises up. Or maybe he's immune to it now - a more serious man now he's in office.

Dave said...

I don't believe a gd thing the NY Times or the Washington Post write about what is going on inside the Trump administration. Not a scintilla of anything to do with Trump's WH. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Niente. Nulla.

And while I'm on the subject of the NYT and WAPO, are there no Democrats who can grasp the absolute truth that if there was ANY evidence of collusion between the Trump team and the Russians it would have been splashed across the front pages of those two fishwraps months ago?

FullMoon said...

Trump said:"You know I felt pretty strongly that they have—that they had a tremendous power over China. I actually do think they do have an economic power, and they have certainly a border power to an extent, but they also—a lot of goods come in. But it’s not what you would think."

Unsaid is: "So, I guess the USA will have to take care of the problem if China thinks they cannot"

J. Farmer said...

@FullMoon:

Unsaid is: "So, I guess the USA will have to take care of the problem if China thinks they cannot"

Unsaid was probably closer to, "Oh shit, what do we do now?"