The president-elect was seen stepping off his Trump jet at Reagan National Airport with Conway in tow at about 8pm. She was wearing a white gown and appeared to be carrying a fur coat.The Daily Mail can be so dumb. In the photograph, the garment is obviously a stole, not a coat. Whether it's real or fake fur is unknown. It doesn't look very nice, so I'm going to assume it's fake fur and Conway is baiting anti-Trumpists to lambaste her for wearing fur.
The article says, "Melania Trump did not appear to have made the trip with her husband," and a commenter says: "Don't think we'll be seeing much more of her. Ivanka has taken on the role of first lady." But there's no sign of Ivanka at this event either.
Whether Ivanka or Melania will step into the made-up "First Lady" role, neither Melania nor Ivanka attended the big gala dinner, as far as I can tell, and the glammed up lady at Trump's side was Kellyanne Conway. Conway has a spouse too, but I don't see him there either. Here's why I think all of this is perfectly okay:
1. Trump was tending to donors. There were about "150 diplomats and 300 or so of Trump's biggest donors and VIPs." He flew down from NY to do the political theater, then got back on his plane and returned to NY. It was a quick business trip. Trump graciously and efficiently cranked through it.
2. Conway is Trump's female partner in this political business. She's up for the political talk and comfortable with the exposure, and she deserves the spotlight for all that she has done.
3. Melania and Ivanka are reserved for other occasions, perhaps more exclusive groups than the 300 top donors. Maybe these women are "reserved" in the other sense: private.
4. Melania and Ivanka may have minds of their own and a distaste for being shown off, especially to big donors, people who have bought access to power. If it is possible to buy access to these women, it's not as easy as being 300th on the list of top donors to a presidential campaign.
5. When they appear at inaugural events, Melania and Ivanka's looks will be subjected to extreme attention. Fashion designers have balked at dressing them, and while I'm sure they can overcome that trifling obstacle, they may want their first entrance on the presidential stage to be more beautiful and grand.
6. Melania and Ivanka may love Kellyanne Conway performing this part of the feminine role.
7. The Obamas have — or so it seems — loved parties. Some of that love may be because they have been loved. It's been relatively simple to show up in nice clothes and get perceived as fabulous by everyone in the press and the political establishment. The experience for the Trumps is completely different. Not only have they already had plenty of fancy parties in their lives — it's no big new thrill — but they don't have the hope the Obamas had of inspiring Americans to enjoy the parties vicariously. With the Obamas, many Americans could feel that the first African-American President and First Lady embodied our dream of progress. If they danced together in fancy clothes, they danced in our hearts: How good we are! Not in all hearts, of course, but in many hearts, and the Obamas knew this, and performed in the Theater of Racial Harmony with enthusiasm and grace.
8. The Trumps must follow the Obamas, and they must know very well that their political show is very different. They step into the roles as very rich people. They've already had plenty of parties — fancier parties — for decades. If they party in the public spotlight, they are rich people, enjoying their riches, excluding us. And there's probably little intrinsic pleasure for them. It's just another party, and, really, an inferior party, humoring donors and diplomats.
9. Upgrading Kellyanne Conway like this dilutes the perception that Ivanka is — in some weird, creepy way — the real First Lady. There are 3 important women, and they appear in different settings. It increases the perception that Melania is the First Lady. She's automatically the First Lady by being the President's wife, so what is the argument that she's lost that status? If Kellyanne and Ivanka both do appearances at Trump's side, Ivanka isn't special enough to oust Melania.
10. Trump the billionaire has successfully bonded with millions of working-class Americans. He's convincingly worn a trucker hat and spoken like a tough guy. Trump's wealth is built on branding, and he made his grand political success out of branding: He's a man of the people. He's told us that he had a great life, and he didn't need to do this, but he saw our need, and the left the pleasures and comforts of his billionaire life to do service for us, to make America great again. To preserve that message, he should not be seen to care about big parties. He's coming to Washington to work — for us — and not to enjoy himself.
11. The message described in #10 is consistent with what we will be seeing from Melania: She's staying in NYC to do her work, which is to care for her son and to support him as he finishes the school year. She's not a rich, self-centered lady eager to show off her beauty and her clothes in the public spotlight. She's modest and circumspect and, like so many of the Americans who voted for her husband, focused on doing a good job at the task in front of her — rearing a child.
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134 comments:
This is what it feels like to not have full time politicians running things.
To the Obamas and Clintons, the parties are everything. All they have, really...
Paragraph 7. Typo. Obamas.
Leftwing prog ankle biters are out of power. See increased levels of ankle biting.
Here's a thought: It's cold and flu season, and Melania and Ivanka have kids who might be sick.
Anyway, the first comment is most apt: We don't have a full-time politician as President(-elect) now. A refreshing change.
Female partner?
Bruce Springsteen tribute act B-Street Band pull out of Trump inauguration gala.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jan/17/bruce-springsteen-tribute-act-b-street-band-pull-out-of-trump-inauguration-gala
Inside the White House there will be dozens of Inaugural Balls each costing tens of millions of dollars with all the billionaires, Republicans and the Orange Don's vultures eating, drinking and dancing the night away.
Outside, there will be a show for "the people" just like the Orange Don promised with 3rd rate entertainers no one has heard of.
This is not an allegory of things to come but reality.
Get used to it Trumpland.
Maybe Conway's stole is rendered politically correct because it's made from the fur of jack rabbits that beat each other to death?
"Here's why I think all of this is perfectly okay:"
Why would anyone think this is not perfectly okay? Two married people showing up to a formal event without their spouses--particularly a public event--is perfectly normal unless there's some deep-dive etiquette we're supposed to borrow from the 19th Century. Don't play their game, Althouse! You just went through the looking glass!
On another note, maybe Trump's leaving Melania in NYC to tend to their son will get people to finally get rid of the archaic notion of a "First Lady". I don't really mind meaningless titles, but in our case we're talking about an unelected and completely useless position that occupies prime real estate and has a staff of dozens and a budget. If anyone wants to trim the fat, there's the low hanging fruit.
3rd rate entertainers no one has heard of.
Hillary's Posse
So will there be a boycott now of the Broadway show that performed there?
I recall reading that Trump regretted involving wife #1 in his business. His complaint was that she would talk work at home turning dinner conversation into an extension of the work day. His current wife has a business but it is separate and distinct from his own. I suspect Melania's presence will be a good indication of how he views the event he is attending.
"Get used to it Trumpland."
I find the lack of headliners a feature, not a bug. Inauguration festivities are just a sop to donors and the self-important anyway, and turning them into celebrity gatherings has a distinctly undemocratic feel to it. Trump would do well to be unfazed by this (though "unfazed" isn't what comes to mind with Trump).
Every day that I wake up and there is no news about Hillary Clinton's inauguration or presidency is a good day. LOL. I swear I had so resigned myself to 4/8 years of her and Monica's boyfriend (as he is referred to here in NC), and then I remember ... Trump, the only Republican who could have bested the forces of evil.
Here, Trump and one of his business "partners" (a woman, by the way - Trump hires the best, including women) attended a business event, then went back to NY. Dog bites man.
Paragraph 10 is very insightful. That's how Trump won. He repeatedly said he doesn't owe donors a thing and rally crowds wildly cheered that line. Blue collar billionaire.
I have no problem with Ivanka acting as the First Lady. She seems to be sensible and grounded as well as somewhat involved with the issues of the day. In contrast, Trump's wife clearly wants her old life to continue unchanged. You can't really blame her. Her old life was fabulous.
Why isn't Trump lauded every day for all the great women he is hiring?
A lot of high-level businessmen have an "office wife". There isn't a sexual component to it. Just someone at work who makes sure a business social event goes well, circulates among the guests, reports to her boss when something or someone needs his attention, and plays most of the hostess roles. Depending on the occasion, his real wife may or may not attend. An "office wife" wouldn't attend a purely social event with him, but how many purely social events does a POTUS attend?
"Here's a thought: It's cold and flu season, and Melania and Ivanka have kids who might be sick."
It would then follow that Kellyanne Conway is a bad mother for not being at home with her sick kids. Come here, MadMan. Prepare to have "sexist pig" stamped on your forehead.
The rage and bitterness of Inga is starting to shine through the fake sarcasm.
I have thought for a long time that Obama and Michelle are the more modern incarnation of Adam Clayton Powell. He lived the high life, neglected his duties to his constituents and spent money like water. The constituents of his Harlem district loved it as "sticking it to the Man."
They never realized they were paying for it all and he was ridiculing them.
Obama loves it that poor black women thought he was going to pay their utilities bills. Meanwhile their sons shoot each other in the street.
Unknown/Inga is eating his/her own liver in envy and despair. Good to see.
The Dinner was the traditional one for Foreign Diplomats. It was said to also be an honorary night for Mike Pence. But as the Professor quickly spotted, it was the coming out night for the newly promoted Kellyann as the President's Consiglieri, not as family.
She has earned it. Like Annie Oakly, Conway trick shoots at the MSM better than a man. So DJT uses her off the charts talents. Smart man.
AprilApple wrote: Leftwing prog ankle biters are out of power. See increased levels of ankle biting.
Example: Get used to it Trumpland. That's Abie Someone gnawing toothlessly at our collective hosiery.
Also, when you're the first woman co-president, they let you do anything you want. You can move on them like a bitch. You can wear the big phony fur and everything. You're automatically attracted to the beauty of power—just start kissing it. It's like a magnet. Just kiss.Don't even wait. And when you're a co-president they let you do it. You can do anything ... Grab them by the balls. You can do anything.
But as the Professor quickly spotted, it was the coming out night for the newly promoted Kellyann as the President's Consiglieri, not as family.
Hillary Clinton sleeps with the fishes.
Actually, along w/ the two gals, DJT wasn't there either because DJT couldn't be sucking up to big dough funders. Ya see, in the past, DJT used to give dough to pols because that's how big dough folks get special consideration from the gov. That's why DJT self funded instead of taking money from big dough folks who are buying influence from pols who are selling it.
Y'all are welcome, I'm always pleased to shoot down Fake news.
Carry on.
The Professor can be so dumb. The headwear is OBVIOUSLY a cap not a hat.
Well, everyone has said it of course, but Trump is vastly unlike everyone that has gone before him, so a lot of old ways will change and old expectations are not operative.
They will sort it all out. Probably. Eventually.
It was the hide of Alec Baldwin, dyed white.
I like the idea of treating things like a business event. That's how it should be. So they can all concentrate on the business of government. Hopefully, that means we'll have a first lady who limits herself to social events and doesn't meddle with the business of government, too. For example, it would be nice to have a first lady who doesn't feel compelled to adopt some sort of national program for a change. One that doesn't meddle in drug policy, or school lunches.
Rich and Powerful indeed. That's quite a show. It's not entirely comforting. However, I did like
1. The black and white picture of Pence and his wife dancing. It is the only photo of people paying attention to each other instead of the camera.
2. Rudy Guliani being a trooper after his appointment disappointment. Self interest is involved too. He has a business to run.
3. Tillerson's wife, whose name is St. Clair. There are huge advantages to being named Mrs. Tillerson but she has some other stuff going on as well.
4. Everything about Kelly Ann Conway. A kick ass feminist of the conservative type.
5. All the people I've never heard of before.
I can't think of any first lady function I've ever noticed except for what comedians have siezed on.
The queen role is ridiculous even in England. A bunch of inbred goobers kept as a tourist attraction, as Imus explained once.
I suspect there will be no post-inauguration photographs of the Mall published in the WaPo or the NYT, or any of the usual suspects lest there be comparisons to this one taken eight years ago.
"Inside the White House there will be dozens of Inaugural Balls each costing tens of millions of dollars with all the billionaires,"
Like every inauguration ever? Oh, dear!
It's telling that the Golden Shower Left thinks a freakin' Springsteen cover band pulling out of the inauguration is some kind of indictment of Trump. These people have truly lost any connection with reality.
PB&J,
The diff with Trump of course was he took enormously less from big funders than his predecessors and certainly his late opponent. But that shouldnt depress you.
I suggest you get with the program, call all the big cheeses you know to start contributing to my King Felipe VI of Spain, to assist him towards the righteous goal of restoring the Spanish Empire, as is good and proper.
That should also help the morale of said big cheeses, which may have otherwise been disappointed in their usual desire to throw money at politicians.
I have thought for a long time that Obama and Michelle are the more modern incarnation of Adam Clayton Powell.
I've always thought of Barack and Michelle as George and Weezy from The Jeffersons, movin' on up from middling legal careers to the White House, international jet-setting vacations, playing video games with real armed drones, and golf with celebrities.
Now they'll be retiring to just about as big a house, a lifetime defined benefit pension, lifetime security, international jet-setting vacations, and golf with celebrities.
Not a bad take for eight years fiddling and a few gray hairs.
"I like the idea of treating things like a business event. That's how it should be. So they can all concentrate on the business of government."
The biz of gov = rewarding rich folks who pay for you to be in office.
Got it.
Showstoppers not a Broadway show. A Vegas show at Steve Wynne's casino.
God forbid we should have another First Lady who thinks ipso facto that she's entitled to the Presidency herself.
... as Imus explained once.
rhhardin up to his old tricks again, I see.
"The queen role is ridiculous even in England. A bunch of inbred goobers kept as a tourist attraction, as Imus explained once."
But at least the Queen thing might help British tourism (though if they abolished the monarchy, would Britain really lose much on tourism? People would still come to see the palaces and castles, and they could keep the fancy guards and memorabilia even if the Queen had to get a real job). But First Lady doesn't benefit the country at all. The cost of having one is small, but if we can't even cut that then how can we cut anything that has actual benefits?
And, PB&J, the Spanish Court and State can put together a grand function vastly more prepossessing than the US manages, actually having real palaces filled with artistic masterpieces, Royal Guards, cavalry, and titles of nobility to hand out.
"The biz of gov = rewarding rich folks who pay for you to be in office."
Same as it ever was, and same as it ever will be. Whether it's Clinton, Obama or Trump, anyone thinking "rich interests" will be shut out is dangerously naïve.
It's just a question of which rich interests. The smartest have a finger in each pot so they never get left out.
"Why isn't Trump lauded every day for all the great women he is hiring?"
Let's be honest, they're mediocre women.
/CNN
Lyin'PB:
Robert Cook will be along to explain how rich people were rewarded under Obama. Argue with him.
"People would still come to see the palaces and castles, and they could keep the fancy guards and memorabilia even if the Queen had to get a real job"
Don't forget Silverstone in mid July! I'll be there.
"The Jeffersons, movin' on up from middling legal careers to the White House"
How dare you besmirch the good name of George Jefferson, entrepreneur, self-motivated working man and American success story by comparing him to a politician.
If you believe Trump is coming to work for "us" I have some beach front property in Florida to sell you at inflated price.
"People would still come to see the palaces and castles, and they could keep the fancy guards and memorabilia even if the Queen had to get a real job"
I'll admit I like Harry. There's something real about Harry that even the Royal Family can't squelch or strangle out of him.
Birk/Brand,
I'm just warning folks that Althouse set up this post as a trap where many of y'all would be deep into agreeing that it's great that DJT's vision of gov biz is sucking up to big dough folks.
Maybe she did it accidentally/unknowingly.
I dunno.
If you believe Hillary would have worked for "us" I have some beach front property in Arizona to sell you at inflated price.
Of all the inaugural discussions I've read I think the whole "celebrities refusing to appear will hurt Trump" idea is the least grounded in reality.
As if anybody has ever suffered politically from being attacked by rich celebrities.
It doesn't hurt him in the least and only reinforces the image of him as some working class outsider which further endears him with his base.
Whether it's Clinton, Obama or Trump, anyone thinking "rich interests" will be shut out is dangerously naïve.
Why must they be shut out? They are citizens and their interests are as valid as anyone else's.
Great job, Ann. I shudder to think how the NYT would analyze the situation.
Whether it's Clinton, Obama or Trump, anyone thinking "rich interests" will be shut out is dangerously naïve.
Why must they be shut out? They are citizens and their interests are as valid as anyone else's.
Whether it's Clinton, Obama or Trump, anyone thinking "rich interests" will be shut out is dangerously naïve.
Why must they be shut out? They are citizens and their interests are as valid as anyone else's.
If you believe Bernie would have worked for "us" he has some newly acquired beach front property that is not for sale. In fact, none of his other two properties are for sale either.
None of this could have gone any better.
What a bunch of conjecture. Weaselly words so and so may be or feel this way. No one knows. Good grief. Talk about the fact free right wingers...
Of all the inaugural discussions I've read I think the whole "celebrities refusing to appear will hurt Trump" idea is the least grounded in reality.
But there are plenty of those who are shallow enough to think it's a big deal.
Oh come PB&J, its no good regretting whats happened, move forward!
Now, you dont seem the sort to give in to despair, so asking forgiveness for your sins and praying to be spared the terror of the Trump is not for you.
Whiny backbiting, however, is where you are at, which is a sort of petulance thats unseemly among gentlemen.
What you need is a positive, realistic political project, such as restoring the Spanish empire.
"With the Obamas, many Americans could feel that the first African-American President and First Lady embodied our dream of progress. If they danced together in fancy clothes, they danced in our hearts: How good we are! Not in all hearts, of course, but in many hearts, and the Obamas knew this, and performed in the Theater of Racial Harmony with enthusiasm and grace."
Let's see. There's yours. That's one.
sunsong calls Althouse a right winger?
'Round the bend, much, sunsong?
Buw,
I'm not sure that a year of high school Spanish is enough to get the job done. So, whiny backbiting is the backup plan.
If you believe Trump is coming to work for "us" I have some beach front property in Florida to sell you at inflated price.
No, I agree that he is not likely to work for academic Socialists.
You might spend a bit of time reading what Richard Fernandez writes about what is happening.
The Central European youth, having lived between both worlds, may be the first generation in history to intuitively guess that the socialism which failed in the East is also collapsing in the West. We have seen the future and it sucks. Central Europeans are turning to both nationalism and newer forms of politics -- turning to anything to replace the orthodoxies that no longer work.
Brussels may be trying to charm younger voters with a plan to hand out free InterRail passes but in parts of the Union, that offensive may be too little, too late. Across Central Europe, young voters are moving further right on the political spectrum than their elders, with many expressing disenchantment with the European Union. ...
The causes of the bleak future are easy to understand but difficult for the liberal project to accept. The West has spent its past and borrowed on its future to buy votes in the present. Now the the millennials are stuck with the bill.
The second Berlin Wall is falling.
This is not an allegory of things to come but reality.
Get used to it Trumpland.
Perhaps it's time to use "prosecutorial neglect" and not stress IP violations too hard.
Why isn't Trump lauded every day for all the great women he is hiring?
Because he obviously hates women.
Only Progressives would deem a woman leading a campaign where a "joke" candidate ends up winning as being unimpressive.
It's telling that the Golden Shower Left thinks a freakin' Springsteen cover band pulling out of the inauguration is some kind of indictment of Trump. These people have truly lost any connection with reality.
I loved the cover band's "We don't want to insult Bruce" logic. Because, truly, he gives two shits about them. I hope their gigs dry up.
The biz of gov = rewarding rich folks who pay for you to be in office.
Any thoughts on why the CGI would have to close up now? It was a charity for global relief. Why would it suddenly stop receiving donations to a STARTLING level if it wasn't just an influence peddling operation?
You would approve an investigation, no?
Tom Steyer I think might really want to be the Count of San Francisco.
PB&J, you may want to approach him first. He may be looking for something to fund, as the result of his @$87 million in funding to Democrats this year (yes, all that from just him) was a bit of a disappointment.
Meade (8:25):
If Kellyanne's kids are sick, her husband is available to take care of them. If Melania comes to the event, both parents will be gone, so a hypothetically-sick Barron would be left to the care of nannies, maids, cooks, and chauffeurs - not ideal.
More likely than sickness as a reason for Melania's absence: we are just about half-way through the K-12 school year, so Barron very likely has midterms this week or next. (At my school they start Friday and go through next Thursday.)
Spanish royals are tremendous Anglophiles, and senior Spanish officials are famously well educated. All speak excellent English with charming accents, as I do myself.
Think Antonio Banderas.
So dont be put off by your language skills.
And try Duolingo.
I looked up Kellyanne Conway on Wikipedia to find out more about her kids, and found something interesting: Inauguration Day is her 50th birthday. How's that for a double celebration?
I think your number 10 hits it right on the head. He doesn't need this, either for his ego, his company, his family or just about anything else. It is bound to be a head-ache, certainly ego-stroking but his life and family was a hell of a lot more peaceful and SAFE before he decided to MAGA.
The only quibble I would have with number 10 is that he did make his money branding, but also BUILDING, lot's and lots and lots of building. That seems to get lost in the glitter.
Building stuff requires talking, listening and yes firing lots of regular people making their livings with their hands. People who actually who have had to go through the hurdles the government puts in the way. Meeting very tight and punitive building schedules. It is a very,very different experience than someone who's work consists of pushing words on a paper, talking and trading influence.
I agree with the posters who suggested that bringing Conway, instead of Melanie or Ivanka was very likely strategic and practical. I expect more of this - the use of Conway as an office wife. Problem that Trump is going to have is keeping her from burning out. She was apparently reluctant to take the WH job in the first place, with her 4 kids. And, Trump, for once in his lifetime, can't pay his close staff what they are worth - they are all (except for him) limited by law to what Congress makes, which isn't that much, by D.C. Standards (which is why, I think, that so many long term Senators and Representatives are on the take).
As for her fur - real ones cost money, which I don't think she and her husband have had an obnoxious amount of over the years. Esp full length ones, which this apparently was not. I know - my partner has some full length ones that I have to insure. Had to sell off a couple several years ago, due to hard times. Got the last one in Vail in early fall, when they are dumping last year's models. Less than half price and still expensive.
"Why must they be shut out? They are citizens and their interests are as valid as anyone else's."
No argument from me, but it seems every political candidate has to promise that they're working for "the people" as opposed to "special interests" (which are actually representing interests of people as well, but are somehow evil because they wear fancy suits and can afford to overpay for dinner).
The NYT has been offering the truth for 40% off the last couple of days, in their eternal email offer stream to registered nonsubscribers.
I get aesthetic pleasure from somebody getting the economics right, so that's a special interest too.
Obama is the only one who managed pure generosity, going the potlatch route.
Brando,
rehajm's original comment, "Inga's" snark, and your replies made "Politics is Hollywood for ugly people" come to mind. Full time politicians and the political status seekers who feed off of them need celebrity validation. Trump? Not so much.
I was wondering why he wasn't wearing a Tux, but a couple of the points you brought up help explain that. Also, I think Conway is trying to bait somebody. The weather in DC would seem to be to warm for a fur right now, judging by what other people are wearing in some of the photos.
A bunch of inbred goobers kept as a tourist attraction, as Imus explained once.
Ah, but Kate is delightful, on so many levels, and just what the royal family needed. Clever, beautiful, joyful, dutiful, tasteful, and a well-bred commoner who has produced perfect children.
Put Melania in charge of global warming.
perfect children.
We don't know that. They may be dolts or assholes or crumbums for all we know.
By the way, I really don't think that "Unknown" is Inga. I distinctly remember how irritating Inga's run-on sentences were; she did not know how to use a semicolon. The writing styles don't match.
Signed,
Your friend a fellow longtimer who still misses the Chips, Palladian, and KentuckyLiz.
And Trooper and Methadras, too.
And, ZPS.
We don't know that. They may be dolts or assholes or crumbums for all we know.
Could turn out that way, but they look pretty perfect to me and that's all I need! :)
PB, snort. Well done! You forgot Nichievo!
I agree with ARM'S first comment.
Who cares.
Not to mention Sir Archie.
Ann: I think your #10 is the critical point. For Trump this is all business. The parties are necessary because you have to be nice to donors and supporters, but the rest is business. We have had 8 years of a decent guy but poor communicator and 8 years of a narcissist in chief who has made a mess of this country and the world while he did everything possible to be "loved". Trump is going to be the cold shower we and the world need.
Signs of the times; PM May let the world know yesterday that the Brits are definitely out of the EuroZone; today's WSJ has a story on Marine Le Pen campaigning on taking the French out of the Eurozone; Joe Biden losing his mind over Trump calling attention to NATO members not meeting their obligations.
Will Trump have a Reggie Love "body man"?
Your friend a fellow longtimer who still misses the Chips, Palladian, and KentuckyLiz.
No kidding, but we have Lazlo.
Birches--I agree. ARM was reasonable on that one.
Unknown said... [hush][hide comment]
Bruce Springsteen tribute act B-Street Band pull out of Trump inauguration gala.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jan/17/bruce-springsteen-tribute-act-b-street-band-pull-out-of-trump-inauguration-gala
Inside the White House there will be dozens of Inaugural Balls each costing tens of millions of dollars with all the billionaires, Republicans and the Orange Don's vultures eating, drinking and dancing the night away.
Beyond stupid-far, far, far beyond. Explain how a dance will cost tens of millions of dollars.
Oh, and those death threats against performers and their families seem to be effective.
The Designers who refuse to dress the Trump women will no doubt be chomping at the bit to dress Chelsea Manning when she is released to the celebrity circuit.
I'm sure she will receive awards of some sort.
A girl needs a fancy dress when accepting awards.
Probably something stylish but relatively simple and not too tight fitting: the Designers need to hide the telltale bulge of Girl-Cock.
I am Laslo.
Laslo, I disagree. Designers need to emphasize the bulge of the Girl-Cock. Call it the strapless strap-on.
Hard to believe Trump even wanted the job. Much less the parties.
The Obama's on the other hand hit the welfare jackpot. The only thing missing were gold-plated spinner hubcaps on Air-Force-One. Still, they created a wonderful Marxist playground, a place not only to spend gobs of unearned money night and day, but to put their feet up on the White (House) furniture.
Ironic, too, because neither of them could shine Donald Trump's shoes.
"The Professor can be so dumb. The headwear is OBVIOUSLY a cap not a hat."
The standard term for that item of clothing is "trucker hat." I agree that the term for the baseball item is "baseball cap," but I believe the thing Trump wears is not a baseball cap but a trucker hat.
On the standard distinction between the words "hat" and "cap" in English, I'll start the debate with the statement: Not all hats are caps, but all caps are hats... except perhaps a skullcap.
Trumpland:
The Orange Don (or, is it Golden Don now - geddit? Never mind) has the lowest poll rating of an incoming President except for two others from the 18 hundreds. It is all downhill now because more than 50% of the country viscerly dislike him - actually, they hate him.
Melania made public appearances before the Election. Melania knows for sure what her husband Golden Don was doing in Moscow while on a business trip. What a cliche. It is all going to come out ... Keep watching the media.
"performed in the Theater of Racial Harmony" Huh? Like drinking beer with Gates and the cop, the Trayvon-could-be-my-son business, the soothing response to Ferguson -- that kind of "harmony"? You know Instapundit has that what-I-love-about-O-is-all-the-racial-healing meme going . . . It is one O's biggest failures: he really could have been the uniter, but instead he was a divider. On purpose, I think: he disdains America and Americans, and the presidency was all about him and his CV.
Lyin'PB_Ombudsman said... [hush][hide comment]
"I like the idea of treating things like a business event. That's how it should be. So they can all concentrate on the business of government."
The biz of gov = rewarding rich folks who pay for you to be in office.
Got it.
Rewarding them with dinner.
Got it.
more than 50% of the country viscerly dislike him - actually, they hate him.
Love trumps hate.
Unknown said...
Trumpland:
The Orange Don (or, is it Golden Don now - geddit? Never mind) has the lowest poll rating of an incoming President except for two others from the 18 hundreds. It is all downhill now because more than 50% of the country viscerly dislike him - actually, they hate him.
Melania made public appearances before the Election. Melania knows for sure what her husband Golden Don was doing in Moscow while on a business trip. What a cliche. It is all going to come out ... Keep watching the media.
Well, at least you have not lost your mediocre sense of humor.
Comparing paragraphs 1 and 10. Trump had contempt for "the donors" and ridiculed them during the primaries. (Appealing, it would seem, to a lot of voters who don't normally vote in Republican primaries.). But this was a business trip; aimed at taking care of the business of fundraising.
The Left has drummed up so much fear and loathing about proposed riots, boycotts, disruptions, Putin, Russians, leaks blah, blah, blah, that it has distorted some basic simple facts:
1. Trump will be our President on Jan 20.
2. There will be many parties, where nice people wear gowns and tuxedos
3. The people who didn't vote for Trump will continue to be unhappy.
(nobody likes to lose, and since 1960 each side is batting close to.500 in the Presidential race; GOP 8, Dems 7)
4. There might be a few protests, but so what?
Laslo, I disagree. Designers need to emphasize the bulge of the Girl-Cock. Call it the strapless strap-on.
Perhaps a fuxedo then?
They've already had plenty of parties — fancier parties — for decades. If they party in the public spotlight, they are rich people, enjoying their riches, excluding us. And there's probably little intrinsic pleasure for them. It's just another party, and, really, an inferior party, humoring donors and diplomats.
I'm sure the diplomats are a bore but I looked through the pictures and outside of the staffers (and the billionaire staffers) and other politicians I see three NFL team owners, a MLB team owner, members of a casino/MMA family, another NY real estate mogul, girlfriend of a fashion chairman, and Jon Voight. Excepting Voight all of them in the billionaire tier, all of them Trump friends he has known, many of them for decades.
Who are these 'donors' Trump supposedly has to suffer? Are there pictures of them somewhere else?
Really? Such a long comprehensive blog post about minutiae. Who cares? Why is this important compared to anything else surrounding so many more pressing issues than who is playing the role of his wife on any given night. But if this is interesting to the blog owner, so be it.
I admit to being sensitive about my baldness, so that is why I wear a baseball-type hat in pubic.
Frankly, I'm tired of being discriminated against in Court. The bailiff will admonish you to remove your hat or your cap in front of the judge. I HATE to have to remove it.
I demand that that policy be changed. I will agreed to refer to the judge as "your honor" even though I resent having to ASSUME the judge is worthy of honor. Many are arrogant, ignorant, pigs (my apologies to pigs). Prove to me that you are honorable, and intelligent FIRST. I happen to be an honest person; I've never cheated anyone like Trump has. I'm tired of being walled all over, and ripped off by every Tom, Dick & Harry especially those who finagle a law degree for themselves. Most lawyers I've met, and I've hired quite a few STUNK to high heaven.
Have I made my point? We've all been latched to a sinking ship with the incoming, rotten and ridiculous, ranting Trump-the-skunk administration, having to deal, like me, with sickening, thieving lawyers and home contractors. My they and you (if the shoe fits) rot in hell!!
That is my wish for you on the eve of his imploding, exploding, foreboding administration from the pit of hell.
This is off topic, but is there something wrong with Al Franken?
He mutters, he loses his train of thought, and he's made up like a clown would be made up by a mortician.
"Of all the inaugural discussions I've read I think the whole "celebrities refusing to appear will hurt Trump" idea is the least grounded in reality.
As if anybody has ever suffered politically from being attacked by rich celebrities. "
Plus the stories of entertainers being harassed/threatened/pressured to not perform works against the left, though I doubt they can see it.
" all caps are hats... "
So when someone types in AN ANGRY/EMPHATIC MANNER he is typing in hats?
"The Orange Don (or, is it Golden Don now - geddit? Never mind) has the lowest poll rating of an incoming President"
Oversampling. It's a term you should get to know.
Trumpit,
The proper first response is to go to church, confess your sins, and pray for deliverance from the demonic terrors of the Trump.
And, of course, to establish local rights in your jurisdiction (fueros) whereby you can keep your hat on. I recommend a study of Carlism.
Latest polls show Trump's approval ratings are terrible. These polls have been released by the same experts who haven't been right abnout much this election season.
But when you are desperate for some solace you tend to cling to whatever straw you need to prevent the total collapse of your belief system. Unknown being the perfect example.
I think there are a few other factors at play in this (haven't spooled through the other comment.
1)Melania has been publicly mocked by the press both with that nude shot being dredged up to cause her pain and by the constant mockery of her being an 'illegal immigrant'. I think she is perfectly aware that if she makes the slightest misstep, she will be 'Palinized' by SNL.
2) Unlike essentially every other First Family in the last century of non-political figures (Hillary who was an 'also ran' and Eleanor), the Trump women have already had a taste for the slanderous attacks that they can expect for the next four to eight years and they want none of it.
3) Social whiplash. The Trumps used to have very good relations with a lot of NY luminaries BEFORE Trump started running. Now they are excoriated by quite a few people they knew even though they haven't changed as people. And as insular New Yorkers, the Republicans aren't really their kind of people.
They can't even get celebrities who used to rub shoulders with them socially to attend the inauguration for MONEY!
They are still smarting and reeling from this treatment by their neighbors.
MayBee said...
This is off topic, but is there something wrong with Al Franken?
He mutters, he loses his train of thought, and he's made up like a clown would be made up by a mortician.
Isn't the question actually- Is there anything right with Al Franken?
Latest polls show Trump's approval ratings are terrible.
Trump's favorability seems to be OK with the House and Senate, and soon with the Supreme Court.
""Politics is Hollywood for ugly people" come to mind."
Sometimes the Dems bring in star power, debasing both the politicians (if that's possible) and the star power by having them waste time around the likes of Robert Reich. I recall when Clinton was elected, it was all about the Barbras and Arethas (and Aretha getting in hot water for wearing a fur coat! How times haven't changed) and the whole thing made me despise Clinton more than I already had because who needs showbiz glam?
What'd really be refreshing is a President's team book absolutely no names (and not try to book any names) for the innaguration, limit it to high school marching bands, and make all the inaugural festivities for just top donors behind closed doors. Because there's "control major industries" rich and there's "I sang a popular song" rich, and only the former has interests that matter.
"having them waste time around the likes of Robert Reich"
This is definitely a waste of time.
"and there's "I sang a popular song" rich, and only the former has interests that matter."
Not true. Even the founders of Western democratic politics understood the value of these people. Thats why the Romans held games to please the public.
""Politics is Hollywood for ugly people" come to mind."
As Martin Mull said, Show Business is like High School but with Money.
Most lawyers I've met, and I've hired quite a few STUNK to high heaven.
Have I made my point?
I think you have. Is it that you get sideways with the law and contractors quite a bit, and present lawyers with nearly impossible cases to defend?
"This is off topic, but is there something wrong with Al Franken?"
I caught a bit of the Senate hearings during lunch, and I say this in a non-partisan way, but having the Senators do the speaking during any hearing or investigation is an absolute mess. They're usually far less up to speed on the issues than their staffs, and they are more concerned with how they'll look in news clips than they are about actually accomplishing what the hearings are supposed to accomplish (e.g., questioning the nominee/witness). If the committees were serious about their role at all, they'd have this all done by the majority and minority counsel instead of the members.
Not that it'd ever happen, of course, but it makes these hearings unbearable to listen to. Franken went on a bit about Tom Price owning shares of tobacco companies, as if this has any bearing on the most important stuff HHS is going to be dealing with (does anyone think Price is going to pull off some coup for Big Tobacco in this day and age?).
It may be just me, but as soon as a CSPAN camera picks up Al Franken talking in a Senate committee hearing, I expect laugh lines and audience laughter. Because I expect it to be an SNL sketch. And also because Franken's own choice of words is so often as much of a ridiculous straight-man voice, as what any of the SNL writing staff could come up with.
I think you nailed it.
@readering, thanks. I thought I read Broadway, but I confess to only really looking at the pictures, and it was before coffee!
Unknown: "Trumpland: The Orange Don (or, is it Golden Don now - geddit? Never mind) has the lowest poll rating of an incoming President except for two others from the 18 hundreds."
This is terrible!
So, what's the over/under on how many obambi executive orders will be annihilated on Friday?
Drago:
I'll say n-3, where n is the total issued in the last 8 years. Keeping three (or two or four) is better than deleting all of them, because it makes it clear that you actually looked at them all to see if they were worth keeping. Finding three worthwhile orders is more convincing, and therefore more insulting, than zero, especially if they're quite trivial. Of course, finding even three may be difficult.
What a choice - Melania in an off-the rack from J.C. Penney or Hillary in a $20,000 number from Omar the Tent Maker.
Limited blogger said...
None of this could have gone any better.~
So far. It gets much more difficult starting tomorrow at noon.
You are so good at this_Ann Althouse. Just extremely good at building a case a context for success. Instead of dissembling and constructs to cover the worm droppings. You do see that Trump's view is to build a Truth movement throughout the system. It's like taking a bath after living in a coal mine for so long. You are awesome. I'm sure every visitor says this or a variation. On this we do agree _You are golden.
More Rumors about Kellyann: For her birthday there appeared a frozen package from GRU in Moscow with a genuine full length Russian Sable Fur Coat and a card inside written in Cyrillic offering a huge raise for her to work as Putin's Minister of Political Communication.
Apparently Putin has figured out by now that she is the only hope Russia has of beating Trump.
I'm sorry Ann_I was wrong. After reading a number of the comments I realized what a howl fest looks like. You are awesome. Anyone, who thinks otherwise is beneath respect. Did they read what you wrote. Who are they playing for. Even if the 'great unknowing ones' don't read such a literate blog as yours, they would realize their abject comments are out of place;you are too nice to be rude_in return.. You are a true American Thinker. That is not a poll_That is my personal thinking. Just great ..not my writing. i try.though
Were they foreign diplomats? They probably missed the chance to make small talk with Melania in one of the languages she speaks.
Ann, in LA, MS and AL is is called a gimme cap.
That is my wish for you on the eve of his imploding, exploding, foreboding administration from the pit of hell.
And mine is for you to be tied to a chair in front of a TV loaded with Trump speeches running 24/7.
You lefties have no idea how funny you are.
Whenever there are demons in the picture, it's the Catholic Church you want.
I don't see the point in anyone concerned with the demonic nature of Trump and friends doing silly things like posting scary stories about tweets.
What you really need is the heavy duty ritual. Prayer will get you much further than blogs. Masses, novenas and, should you suspect possession, exorcisms. These are what you really need.
buwaya: What you really need is the heavy duty ritual. Prayer will get you much further than blogs. Masses, novenas and, should you suspect possession, exorcisms. These are what you really need.
What they really need is autos-da-fé. Auto autos-da-fé.
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