Trump just tweeted.
ADDED: I like the Astros photo-op that's the top of Trump's twitter page right now:
I love the blue checked jacket on Altuve and that other guy (who's got an entire suit in blue plaid).
I liked the way Trump pronounced "Jose Altuve," making it sound like poetry:
Awkward moment between Donald Trump and José Altuve. #Astros pic.twitter.com/BQHgclZEYa— Richard W. (@IceManNYR) March 12, 2018
You see the spin there. For more of that kind of ideating, see "Jose Altuve's Day At The White House Looked Pretty Awkward" (Deadspin). I look at the same pictures and think, Altuve, #1, looked great, and, #2, was behaving in a careful, controlled way that's exactly what you should do when you are on camera and in the background for a 20-minute photo op. Anyone taking constant photographs in that situation can frame an instant — like this — where he seems to be thinking what you'd like to project into his head, but that strikes me as propaganda. I don't know if Altuve talks about politics, but I don't think he's even an American citizen. He's Venezuelan. If I were Venzuelan, I'd be most worried about Venezuela, and looking at Trump, I'd be thinking, is there some way he can help Venezuela?, or, if I was inclined to the hostility anti-Trumpers are seeing in his face — Why hasn't President Trump done something yet about Venezuela?
AND: What's up with the "plaidgate" tag? I was seeing if I had a tag for "plaid" — I didn't — and the old tag "plaidgate" came up, so I added it. It's presence on this post just represents the subject of whether plaid means something.
ALSO: From last December, "A former top national security official says Venezuela is one of Trump's top 3 priorities — alongside Iran and North Korea" (Business Insider).
Posts
100 comments:
Mueller will this to his list of obstruction and conspiracy charges.
What? I thought he resigned weeks ago!
That's too bad. I liked the idea of Tillerson as SoS. Pompeo seems good, though.
MSM narrative: Trump chaos. Beginning in 1, 2, 3.....
Chaos!
Tears for the Tillerman.
There can only be one reigning king. Now he's Ex-Rex.
Democrats pounce.
Trump's presidency has become a bit predictable at this point. To keep up the ratings he needs to introduce a few novel elements. Maybe he could go water skiing and jump over some aquatic predator.
When this was forecast a month ago by the NYT the regulars here claimed it was fake news, but I guess with this president fake becomes real and the real is fake.
The Dems would be dancing in the streets at the "historic first!" of a woman as head of the CIA, but...Trump
I don't like Pompeo coming from the CIA. The CIA already thinks it ought to be running our foreign policy rather than the State Dept.
Who in their right mind would take a job working for Trump? He will fire you in a tweet.
History is going to have a fun time sorting all of this out.
As his own staff will tell you, Trump is a moron.
"The Dems would be dancing in the streets at the "historic first!" of a woman as head of the CIA..."
She's not a woman. She's a Republican.
RV- the MSM predicted Tillerson would resign about 5-6 months ago. So, in your mind, they were right. I predict the Browns will win the Super Bowl [some day]. I will be right too.
The appointment of Haspel to the CIA big chair is a mighty “fuck you” to progdom. They’re going to spend the next few weeks telling America that pampering Muzzie terrorists is more important than American lives. Sure to be a winner.
New York Times, November of 2017: Trump plans to replace Tillerson with Pompeo.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/us/politics/state-department-tillerson-pompeo-trump.html
Gina Haspel's confirmation may not be a slam dunk. This from Wikipedia:
"Haspel ran a "black site" CIA prison located in Thailand in 2002. The site was codenamed "Cat’s Eye" and held suspected al Qaeda members Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri and Abu Zubaydah for a time. The Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture specifies that during their detention at the site they were waterboarded and interrogated using no longer authorized methods. Declassified CIA cables specify that Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times in a month, was sleep deprived, kept in a "large box", had his head slammed against a wall and he lost his left eye. Zubaydah was deemed, by the CIA interrogators, to not be in possession of any useful intelligence."
While the "enhanced interrogation" techniques employed at "Cat's Eye" while Haspel was in charge were not thought to be illegal at the time, we have a different view of the matter today. The idea of a torturer as Director of Central Intelligence gives me pause and should give a lot of other people pause as well. That waterboarding was employed on an individual 83 times in a month suggests to me that this woman likes to dish out pain and suffering just to dish out pain and suffering.
Cue all the people who said Tillerson was a friend of Russia's to now condemn his firing.
@roesch/voltaire:When this was forecast a month ago by the NYT the regulars here claimed it was fake news, but I guess with this president fake becomes real and the real is fake.
When they said it, it was false. Is this hard?
Just as if I said OJ Simpson was a murderer in 1993. That would have been false, and a lie. His becoming a murderer in 1994 does not work backward in time to make the lie true.
Pandering and setbacks, according, perhaps, to a heavily advertised crooner.
Not sleeping well? Become Secretary of State.
Overrun with stress? Become Director of the CIA.
Trouble in the Middle East? Get a lavender-vanilla pillow spray.
So Putin must not have liked Rex after all. That was a reason Trump picked him if you believed the media. Politico December 2016:
A top political concern — especially amid accusations that Russia hacked the emails of a top Hillary Clinton aide and the Democratic Party to help Trump — was the ExxonMobil CEO’s close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. As the final line of Tillerson’s official biography on the ExxonMobil website reads, “In 2013, he was awarded the Order of Friendship by Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation.”
Why is everyone assuming Tillerson was fired in a tweet? It was announced in a tweet, but Trump could have talked to Tillerson, no?
A top political concern — especially amid accusations that Russia hacked the emails of a top Hillary Clinton aide and the Democratic Party to help Trump — was the ExxonMobil CEO’s close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. As the final line of Tillerson’s official biography on the ExxonMobil website reads, “In 2013, he was awarded the Order of Friendship by Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation.”
In this era of reporting there is no price to pay for getting things wrong. There is no price to pay for doing a 180.
Our first female Speaker of the House- who just donated her shoes to a museum!- knew about the enhanced interrogation and is still celebrated as a woman.
New York Times, November of 2017: Trump plans to replace Tillerson with Pompeo.
Chuck's on it!
I had to laugh when I read this comment.
This is another example of confirmation bias run amok. “Oh look, Altuve must be showing how much he agrees with me!” Signs, portents, omens.
Sad.
Why hasn't President Trump done something yet about Venezuela?
Why hasn't Venezuela done something yet about Venezuela? Why is it our responsibility?
Pompeo is an insider who knows the score at Foggy Bottom and is well aware of how well the establishment had captured Tillerson's thinking.
There will be none of that with Pompeo...which is why the lefties and their LLR allies are really upset.
Remember, the State Dept weenies that Pompeo will be cleaning out gave us the following (provided by Sundance at The Conservative Treehouse):
"From the insufferable Iran deal… to the appeasement “Russian Reset”… to the Libya fiasco… to the rise of ISIS… to installing the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt… to the explosion of terrorism in Yemen… to civil war in Syria… to the crisis in Ukraine… to the 2010 State Department apology tour (WikiLeaks cables scandal)… to their inability to stop North Korean nuclear ambitions and the rise of China as an influential power… there were/are zero foreign policy successes in eight years of the Obama administration."
No wonder LLR Chuck is crying in his cereal this morning. More of his lefty allies will be hitting the bricks soon.
Humperdink: "Chuck's on it!
I had to laugh when I read this comment."
LLR Chuck keeps forgetting to keep the mask on firmly....
Trump does that to many on the left....
TRUMP
Well you just do what I tell you to do! Goddamn it! If I had a wartime consiglieri — a Sicilian — I wouldn’t be in this shape! Pop had Genco — look what I got.
(then, after exhaling)
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. Ma made a little dinner — it’s Sunday…
REX (walking away)
It’s alright
TRUMP
You’re not a wartime Consiglieri, Rex. Things may get rough with the move we’re trying.
VITO CORLEONE (sitting next to Rex on the couch)
Rex — I advise Donald. I never thought you were a bad Consiglieri. I thought — Santino was a bad Don, rest in peace. Donald has all my confidence, as – as you do. But uh — there are reasons why you must have no part in what is going to happen.
REX (to Donald)
Maybe I could help…
TRUMP (curtly)
You’re out, Rex.
A two year tour seems to be the pain limit for Cabinet members in this administration.
Poor Tillerson... replaced by a creature from the swamp. A Tea party creature...
LLR Chuck yearns for the "stability" of Hillary and Kerry as SOS.
LOL
This is very disappointing to me. Will he get his job at ExxonMobil back? As above I'm not that fond of the CIA to State move.
I'm not crying about this.
I like Mike Pompeo, and I rather like him in the post of Secretary of State.
I had nothing against Rex Tillerson, and Tillerson will always be a bit of a hero to me for having called Trump a "moron," and then not denying it in interviews.
And I don't like the New York Times -- as Althouse knows, I have always wondered why someone with her select conservative proclivities doesn't just shitcan her subscription to the Times and buy a subscription to the Wall Street Journal as I do.
My one and only point was to rub it in, with those Althouse commenters who for the past 100+ days have been laughing at the purported reporting error on the part of the Times and many others, for having reported that Tillerson was going to leave and be replaced by Pompeo.
As for the Cleveland Browns-championship metaphor posted above. This was not like predicting that someday, the Browns will win a championship. This was more like predicting that the Browns will win the Super Bowl next year, along with the name of their starting quarterback in that game.
Yes the tactics against zubeydah were not all that, soufans account compared to Greg gaudin his sere trained ex ranger partner. Is of note.
"Who in their right mind would take a job working for Trump? He will fire you in a tweet. "
The already crashed markets must be crashing even more. We're doomed. Better run for it while you still can.
pacwest: "As above I'm not that fond of the CIA to State move. "
I am fine with Pompeo.
Once Tillerson allowed the lefty State Dept flunkies that LLR Chuck adores to convince him that the Iran Deal really is a great thing there was no way he could continue as SOS.
Also, little noted, the new CIA Director candidate is a "chick", so Trump is appointing the first woman to head the CIA.
Just like Hitler.
"buy a subscription to the Wall Street Journal as I do"
Fascinating.
“When this was forecast a month ago by the NYT the regulars here claimed it was fake news, but I guess with this president fake becomes real and the real is fake.”
LOL! So true.
Drago most embarrassed.
It want true at the time, and it came from anonymous sources, its a little like the haig/schultz switch in reverse, haig was more proactive in central America and in support of Israel.
Ford is up 10 cents a share. (still bankrupt but there is hope...)
I need it to get to $13 so I can make $1 a share... (sigh)
LLR and #StrongNYTDefender Chuck: "My one and only point was to rub it in, with those Althouse commenters who for the past 100+ days have been laughing at the purported reporting error on the part of the Times...."
LOL
The NYT said, last NOVEMBER, that Tillersons exit was imminent.
It wasn't.
Tillerson, if he had used his common sense instead of being swayed by obama hack holdovers, would still be Sec of State.
At the time the NYT wrote that it was wrong. Demonstrably so.
Tillersons continued refusal to get in line with the priorities (Iran Deal) of the Trump admin made this move inevitable.
But LLR Chuck's continued defense of the hack MSM is duly noted.
"Why is everyone assuming Tillerson was fired in a tweet?"
I have not seen that assumption being expressed. It never occurred to me. Did you read my post as assuming that?
gspencer @ 9:10: Nicely done! ;-)
Last month, last November, what's the difference, says Inga.
LOL
Tap dance as fast as you can Drago!
Hahahahaha!
Althouse: "I have not seen that assumption being expressed."
It is being reported that Tillerson was asked to resign last Friday but did not. Hence, "you're fired".
It's clear Trump is going to rid us of the Iran Mullah Payoff hack deal that obama saddled us with.
No more fake cover to be provided to obama's beloved Iran mullahs.
Inga hardest hit.
Get ready Inga. Your Mullah buddies are going to go back under the microscope.
Deal with it.
Inga: "Tap dance as fast as you can Drago!"
Tap dance, actually look at dates of stories. Apparently its a fine line.
Inga says whatevs......
No more pallets of cash for islamic supremacist terrorists.
And Inga weeps.....
LOL
Now with Tillerson gone, there are a few others who will need to go over the next 6 months as well.
Rosenstein and Mueller can never let the fake collusion investigation end because as soon as it does Rosenstein is gone.
Changes at the VA and Labor are also due, but can wait.
Watch Drago’s feet, not his mouth.
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper allegedly leaked information to CNN early last year regarding the classified briefings given to then President-Elect Donald Trump and President Barrack Obama on the salacious dossier claiming the Russians had compromising information on the president-elect, according to government sources, who noted the evidence of the leak was collected during the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia investigation. Clapper, who was one of four senior Obama administration officials to attend the briefing with the presidents, also stated his “profound dismay at the leaks” in an official statement issued in January, 2017
That’s how a responsible party handles the executive. I sure miss Obama’s lying weasel CIA director!
O yeah, and Clapper was the guy who assured us that Russia was behind the DNC hack.
Inga pounces!
Chuck said...
I have always wondered why someone with her select conservative proclivities doesn't just shitcan her subscription to the Times and buy a subscription to the Wall Street Journal as I do.
I think the answer is obvious.
“The Dems would be dancing in the streets at the "historic first!" of a woman as head of the CIA..."
She's not a woman. She's a Republican.”
——————————————————————-
“She played a direct role in the C.I.A.’s “extraordinary rendition program,” under which captured militants were handed to foreign governments and held at secret facilities, where they were tortured by agency personnel.
The C.I.A.’s first overseas detention site was in Thailand. It was run by Ms. Haspel, who oversaw the brutal interrogations of two detainees, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.
Mr. Zubaydah alone was waterboarded 83 times in a single month, had his head repeatedly slammed into walls and endured other harsh methods before interrogators decided he had no useful information to provide.
The sessions were videotaped and the recordings stored in a safe at the C.I.A. station in Thailand until 2005, when they were ordered destroyed. By then, Ms. Haspel was serving at C.I.A. headquarters, and it was her name that was on the cable carrying the destruction orders.”
NYTs
Inga: "Watch Drago’s feet, not his mouth."
Better yet, look at a calendar.
LOL
And pay attention to the covers being ripped off LLR Chuck's "magnificent" obambi's hack Iran Deal.
No more cover for the Mullahs.
Inga is going to have a real problem with that.
Again, we still need a few more changes before the end of this year. Probably post-election.
Pompeo hates the Iran Deal. Hates. It.
And he's right. And he's going to slam dunk the State Dept flunkies who keep pushing for us to keep it.
Every few months even an old hen lays an egg, then cackles like she just laid an asteroid.
Amazing how with POTUS everything is superlative.
Ah yes.
LOL
Inga and the dems go all in on attacking the female nominee to head the CIA because she fought back hard against Inga's beloved islamist supremacist terrorists!
How. Utterly. Unexpected.
I'm shocked. Really.
readering: "Amazing how with POTUS everything is superlative."
Pompeo, who is in alignment Trump admin desired policies across a number of issues, primarily Iran, is a definite upgrade.
The fact that Pompeo is an insider who knows exactly what is going on at State and comes from an Intel and congressional background is also an upgrade.
Obviously.
But I understand your disappointment.
We'll put you down as opposed to holding the Mullahs accountable too.
Like Inga.
The best part of getting rid of Tillerson now is that the nominees for roles within State that are in process will now be reviewed and I'm betting most of them are withdrawn.
So we'll have dodged those bullets as well before anymore holdover obambi policies at State are locked in.
tim in vermont said...
Every few months even an old hen lays an egg, then cackles like she just laid an asteroid.
I assume this is an allegory for Trump's presidency.
Churchill was a bad boss too.
Drago all I see was this was in the works a long time ago and just waiting for Trump to pull the trigger and the inside information that was given to NYT reporters was accurate and put out there for any number of reasons one of which may have been to indirectly let Tillerson know what was in the works.
And let's not ignore the possibility that Trump delayed firing Tillerson after the leak in order to be able to crow about fake news. Because for Trump scoring points against the press is clearly vastly more important than running a coherent foreign policy.
If I were Venzuelan, I'd be most worried about Venezuela, and looking at Trump, I'd be thinking, is there some way he can help Venezuela?
If I were Venezuelan, I'd worry my visa would be revoked and I'd be sent to live there.
I saw the picture of the Astros last night. Altuve looked great. Everyone was on their best behavior. Definitely some projection going on. If they were going to project, they should have gone with Verlander.
Because for Trump scoring points against the press is clearly vastly more important than running a coherent foreign policy.
Trump was running a coherent foreign policy. Tillerson just wasn't part of it.
"Who in their right mind would take a job working for Trump? He will fire you in a tweet. "
Or you could be a competent person carrying out his policy. That too is an option.
Kevin said...
Trump was running a coherent foreign policy. Tillerson just wasn't part of it.
Then he should have fired him rather then engage in pathetic games playing.
Inga posted - {“She played a direct role in the C.I.A.’s “extraordinary rendition program,” under which captured militants were handed to foreign governments and held at secret facilities, where they were tortured by agency personnel.
The C.I.A.’s first overseas detention site was in Thailand. It was run by Ms. Haspel, who oversaw the brutal interrogations of two detainees, Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri.
Mr. Zubaydah alone was waterboarded 83 times in a single month, had his head repeatedly slammed into walls and endured other harsh methods before interrogators decided he had no useful information to provide.
The sessions were videotaped and the recordings stored in a safe at the C.I.A. station in Thailand until 2005, when they were ordered destroyed. By then, Ms. Haspel was serving at C.I.A. headquarters, and it was her name that was on the cable carrying the destruction orders.”}
You say that like it was a bad thing.
Then he should have fired him rather then engage in pathetic games playing.
News flash: Tillerson fired.
I suspect in this environment where it's difficult to get anyone confirmed by the Senate, Tillerson was given ample opportunity to get on board. As we've all learned through our careers, you reach a point where having a vacancy is preferable to having it filled by the current occupant.
How long to get Pompeo confirmed?
Do the Dems want to drag this out? Or are they willing to risk Trump getting KJU to disarm while the SecState post went unfilled?
Wouldn't that be the ultimate bitch slap to the Barack/Hillary World Reset Superteam?
Trump's pronunciation of Jose Altuve was similar to how the Astros home field public address announcer says it, but with the appropriately less bravado for the smaller setting of the White House vs Minute Maid Park.
"I liked the way Trump pronounced "Jose Altuve," making it sound like poetry"
Holy fuck I laughed. Just when you think it can't possibly get any more stone cold ridiculous..
The player in the plaid suit is Alex Bregman.
He’s a young Jewish American player from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Both his dad and mom are lawyers.
I only point out that he’s Jewish because there are relatively few in MLB.
I love watching this lad. He’s going to end up with Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax as the greatest Jewish American players if he doesn’t get hurt.
He’s also a charming young man. He’s listed at 6’0 tall, which is a bit generous.
When a reporter jokingly asked him about it, he replied: “If Altuve is 5’6” then I am easily six-feet tall.”
I don't pretend any knowledge of the inner workings of the decision process in the Whitehouse, and I'd actually expected more turnover than we have seen due to having a novice in the Presidency. I thought Tillerson was an excellent choice since he was not a part of the swamp, his worldwide business connections, his seeming integrity, and the size and type of the business he headed.
One of the problems of having a mere billionaire run a country is a matter of scale. 1 to 10,000-or more. It's not an easy transition on that basis alone, let alone the difference in scope. I saw Tillerson as a partial bridge across that gap. Trump may have authored the "Art of the Deal", but Tillerson practiced it in a much tougher international setting.
Of course, baseball is special and one would expect the Astros to behave, but does anyone seriously believe that any of them would take a knee as part of the Oval Office ceremony? Could the same be said of any random collection of NFL brats?
- Krumhorn
Many, if not most, of these players are foreigners who are delighted and grateful to be playing baseball in the US and getting well paid for it. Many send most of their earnings home to their families. Unlike the spoiled Kaepernicks of the NFL, these fellows know how fortunate they are.
BTW, I’m all in favor of the CIA waterboarding enemy combatants who are captured not wearing military uniforms. It’s a simple calculation. Wear a uniform indentifying yourself as a combatant in an organized military unit, and you get the benefits of the Geneva Conventions. Hide among the civilians while you snoop and poop, and you end up answering a few tough questions with your head lower than your feet while water trickles into your nasal passages.
I’ve been through it, and I’d tell you anything you want to know.
- Krumhorn
My one and only point was to rub it in
I think I see your mistake then. You assume that since you have the maturity of a sixth-grader, so does everyone else.
Perhaps when (if?) you achieve the mental sophistication of a high-schooler, you’ll understand why your efforts were so unsuccessful. (We’re not too hopeful.)
Here are the 20 Americans on the 2017 Astros World Series roster (25 man roster):
Beltran
Bregman
Centeno
Correa
Devenski
Fisher
Giles
Gregerson
Harris
Keuchel
Maybin
McCann
McCullers
McHugh
Morton
Musgrove
Peacock
Reddick
Springer
Verlander
McCullers
5.
Inga is reverting back to her junior high school thinking. Well, it's not thinking, it's emotions.
She doesn't want to waterboard people bent on killing as many Americans as possible because the smart set girls don't approve.
However, she would waterboard Trump because the smart set approves.
That logic seems to apply to a whole lot of lefties these days.
Inga beclowned herself once again.
She's the Althouse Anxiety Clown.
Sad, sad, Anxiety Clown Inga!
Snark: "Holy fuck I laughed. Just when you think it can't possibly get any more stone cold ridiculous.."
I guess you missed this one: Newsweek Editor Evan Thomas: Obama Is "Sort Of God"
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2009/06/05/newsweek_editor_evan_thomas_obama_is_sort_of_god.html
43 Democrats voted AGAINST making Tillerson Secretary of State.
43.
Love the black ties.
> 43 Democrats voted AGAINST making Tillerson Secretary of State.
Yeah. Remember the good old days when he was a sneaky oligarch with ties to the Russia?
Tillerson was worthless. He was against Trump on Paris Climate Accord, against him on Iran deal, opposite him on how best to deal with N Korea, he had that pathetic diversity day where he pledged to be Mr. Diverse Hiring ... and he had zero accomplishments.
And of course he called his boss an effing moron and didn’t deny it.
Good riddance. Trump’s biggest failings have been in his hirings but the good news is, he’s not afraid to say, “ You’re fired.”
What COULD Trump do to help the Venezuelans? Can't go shoot Maduro. Can't bail him out; he has all the money already.
Blogger Drago said...
Snark: "Holy fuck I laughed. Just when you think it can't possibly get any more stone cold ridiculous.."
I guess you missed this one"
I think you missed this one.
https://www.vertex42.com/calendars/images/2018-calendar-with-holidays.png
“I liked the way Trump pronounced "Jose Altuve," making it sound like poetry"
—————————-
“Holy fuck I laughed. Just when you think it can't possibly get any more stone cold ridiculous..”
———————————-
Yes! I agree that was damn funny and that thing Trump does with his nose, that schnurfy thing he does, it’s so sexy...
Just so we're clear, had the NYT published their November piece in February, it would have been a successful prediction happening within one month.
In that alternate universe, fopdoodles and their oddly-aligned Leftist Collectivist fellow travelers are rightly celebrating.
There; now we can all be happy.
Snark: "I think you missed this one"
No, I'm pretty sure that calling obama a god transcends the calendar.
But then again, I keep forgetting that the left insists that history begins anew each morning.
So, to sum up Snark: calling obama a god is totally cool.
Calling something Trump said "poetry" is the most astonishing and ridiculous thing in the history of mankind.
Got it.
Thanks for the clarification.
I have not seen that assumption being expressed. It never occurred to me. Did you read my post as assuming that?
Althouse- no, not you. Other commenters.
I see Inga is back.
I must've missed the Trump indictment and her throwing it in our faces since those were her conditions upon returning.
Link?
Inga forgets.
Senile dementia does that to you sometimes.
Sam L. says: What COULD Trump do to help the Venezuelans? Can't go shoot Maduro. Can't bail him out; he has all the money already.
I thought Hugo Chávez's daughter took all the money.
Leave Venezuela to the Venezuelans.
Or let a coalition of neighbors invade and set it right. It is not our business. Give those other beaners a wink and a nod and let them straighten it out. Or let the people of Venezuela rise up and kill their masters.
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