January 26, 2019

"Trump Caves!"

So said the headlines — of left-wing media and right-wing media. But some righties are working on the "Genius!" theory.

I'm reading "‘Trump caves’ or ‘Genius’: Right wing splits after Trump ends shutdown with no wall funding" in the "Internet Culture" section of The Washington Post.

What exactly is the Genius! interpretation here? I know there will be one, and I was trying to sketch it out in my head, but I decided what the hell!, I have better things to do and so many people are going to work on this theory that what do you need me for on this project?
Fox News host Sean Hannity [said] “Anyone out there thinking President Trump caved today, you don’t know the Donald Trump I know.... He right now holds all the cards — he will secure the border one way or another.”

On pro-Trump subreddit r/The_Donald, users rallied to justify Trump’s announcement. A top post on the forum on Friday afternoon declared: “What President Trump did today was show that Democrats would rather starve government employees and watch our airlines crash to the ground rather than have meaningful border security. 3 Weeks. The Wall Is Coming!”
WaPo doesn't link to r/The_Donald, so I will. I see they have a rule — Rule #6 — "Trump Supporters Only. No Cucks or Leftists."

Here's the vibe there:

99 comments:

Original Mike said...

Open Borders! No Security! Let's Celebrate!
(idiots)

The Vault Dweller said...

/r/the_Donald is definitely a very curated experience. It seems to fall in on the category of constantly trying to energize and provide moral support for the troops. I can't recall ever seeing a prominent thread there that was critical of Trump, from either a lefty or righty perspective.

Temujin said...

It looks like there was nothing the Dems could do wrong that the media would not portray as a failure of Trump. He offered concessions, he clearly made an effort to compromise, and it was still portrayed as him being stuck in his ways. I think he saw that this had hit a critical junction with air traffic and had to do whatever to end it....for now.

But with Trump, you know the final tally is somewhere down the road. This is by no means finished and I just don't see him backing down entirely to Pelosi. He's going to get something out of this. He's spent a lifetime in hard core negotiations. There is a time to back off and a time to pounce. The Pounce is yet to come.

That's not genius, but its how successful businesspeople stay on top.

rehajm said...

It's not a bad strategy if that's his plan. He goes nuclear if there's no deal. Nancy and Chuck will blame Trump of course but the hare brained reasons why will harder for them.

Humperdink said...

"Trump caves" ... makes me laugh. As though the game is over.

Tank said...

I think most have missed what is going on with Trump "caving." They continue to analyze him as a regular politician (what they are used to). What he is, and always has been, is a businessman and entrepreneur. He is goal oriented.

I had a small law practice for many years. A small law practice is a small business. One thing you learn being in business for a long time is that you will try many different things, some will work out, many won't. There are many ways to get from A to B, and I always was goal oriented looking for the best way to get to my clients' goals. Trump had many business successes, along with quite a few failures. The lesson, of course, is that, when something is not working for you, you stop doing it and try something else.

That is how I view Trump's change of course, he is trying something else. Maybe it will work, maybe not. He continues to have arrayed against him: the Dems, almost all media, the university complex, all of Hollywood and entertainment, half of the Reps, all of the neverTrumpers, and the Cucks who say they are conservatives but cheer conservative losses and will not fight.

tcrosse said...

Trump caves, but there are caveats.

The Vault Dweller said...

There is a time to back off and a time to pounce. The Pounce is yet to come.

My worry is that this is all part of an effort to pounce on his supporters and convince them he tried his best sort of deal. If he declares an emergency and begins building the wall using military funds, and dems are successful in getting a court to block it, then he might try to turn that around and say, "See base, I tried my darndest, but these dems are awful, that's why we need more republicans in the house and me back in office in 2020!".

ON both the left and right politicians have seemed to specialize in identifying problems for their constituents but not solving them. Instead merely constantly using them as a get-out-the-vote driver for their supporters.

Meade said...

"I had a small law practice for many years."

Thank you for your service.

Chuck said...

Tank you forgot to add “the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel” as one of the forces arrayed against Trump.

You’re welcome.

JayDee77 said...

Nothing has changed. Simply a reset. In meantime, federal workers get paid, air travel will be uninterrupted going in and out of the busiest airport in the world the Super Bowl is being played, and the Democrats continue to look like party of borders Americans last.

rhhardin said...

Scott Adams says Trump won by throwing the question to engineers.

rhhardin said...

Will women and minorities be well represented by the engineers, is the question.

gilbar said...

meanwhile, Trump picked another 51 judges

iowan2 said...

Nobody knows. That's the reality.
If Schummer and Pelosi want legislative movement,on anything of substance, they are going to have to negotiate...in good faith. Until the wall is funded, the new normal is 2/3 super majority. President Trump can start the PR that Democrats, bullied by Pelosi, refuse to consider actions to legalize those living here illegally. If only they could be reasonable, Great things could come to those in need of relief. The only thing blocking their happiness
is Pelosi. President Trump is in his office, waiting, for a serious deal maker to join him.
Republican will explain to President Trump that they are are losers in such a tactic. True only to the extent that they are all political losers. President Trump, not being a politician does not suffer politically. What's going to happen? The media is going to start giving him bad press? Last week the media exposed their comfort in lying to smear the President.

Meade said...

Chuck said...

"You’re welcome."

You, Chuck, are not welcome.

rhhardin said...

Cave canem. A better caption.

Phil 314 said...

He’s not going to get shit from the Dems. He looks weak. Yes, there will likely be some “pen and phone” actions in the near term (and probably a rally or two) but now the Dems have a two prong strategy: 1)resist giving anything to Trump 2) relentlessly investigate, hold hearings and (very likely) get to an impeachment vote.

Bottom line: there was no well planned strategy just Twitter and photo ops.

David Begley said...

Tank has it right.

iowan2 said...

Chuck said...
Tank you forgot to add “the Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel” as one of the forces arrayed against True


Funny. The official documents detail a counter intelligence investigation with no named target, no named crime.

Conclusion, provided by Chuck= The Deep state is on a mission to remove a President from office because the find him gauche.(Lawyer Chuck seem total clueless to the lack of legal or constitution structure for such actions.In other words a lawyer too stupid to learn law)

Not surprising, LLR, democrat activist Chuck leads with Democrat talking points that are fake.

Chuck said...

Trump has no leverage; no bargaining power. None. Alone, he has put himself into a corner.

Trump blew up the Senate deal that Mitch McConnell had worked out, and earned McConnell’s distrust and abandonment on this issue.

Trump is now talking about DACA amnesty as trade bait for wall funding, and is quickly losing his immigration-hawk right flank.

Trump succeeded in getting the last shutdown named in his honor. His “mantle” following his trash talking debacle with Pelosi and Schumer in the Oval Office.

Trump has telegraphed to the entire solar system that his “Wall” is his highest priority, thereby vastly increasing the political price he must pay for it. Everybody knows it now. Trump needs Congressional funding for his wall, and Congress will exact a terrible price for that. It wouldn’t have been so bad (Congress has funded bits of border wall in the past without much fanfare or dispute) but Trump turned it into this gigantic cartoonish campaign stunt. Build that wall! Who’s gonna pay? Mexico is gonna pay!

And Trump’s fallback threat — declaring an emergency — is not going to get a wall built. It will get litigated until Trump is gone from office. It will be Trump’s own “Obamacare,” But even dumber, and more laughable, and a trillion times less consequential. An emergency declaration will earn Trump the wrath of serious policy makers across the spectrum. Conservative writers will ask their readers whether they want the next Democratic president to be able to control federal spending via the declaration of a national emergency for “climate change.” And they will be right.

Meade said...

You, Chuck, are not welcome.

Ralph L said...

Tank you forgot to add “the Department of Justice

mockturtle said...

Trump didn't cave. He is showing concern for the unpaid workers while making it clear that the wall will get built.

Kevin said...

I always chuckle when Chuck comes crashing into a thread with all the breathless self-importantance of the last girl in the class to finally get her period.

chuck said...

Scott Adams thinks it was a good move. I remain undecided, my expertise in these matters is about zero and Adams has a pretty good track record, so will wait and see. The MSM is going with the "cave" narrative, but you can't learn much from headlines, they are all propaganda.

Bob Boyd said...

Usually when a US President is in an existential crisis at home, bombs start falling on somebody somewhere.
I think Trump is different. We'll see.

Karen of Texas said...

"...the last girl in the class to finally get her period."

I lol'ed on this. That has to stick. Now besides LLR, perhaps LGP (last girl period) can occasionally infiltrate Drago's Chuck bashing?

fleg9bo said...

Trump Caves... isn't that where that Thai soccer team was trapped?

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

There will be no wall. Period.

Even if Trump gets the funds from Congress, there will be no wall. The left will sue. The courts will issue injunctions. The EPA, BLM, and DOJ will "Resist!"

If Trump declares a National Emergency, there will be no wall. The left will sue. The courts will issue injunctions. The EPA, BLM, and DOJ will "Resist!"

iowan2 said...

Chuck defending Pelosi and Schummer. Shocked, I tell you.

Could an actual lawyer, not the pretend, Chuck style, Lay out who has standing to stop the Executive to execute his enumerated emergency powers? My reading of the conflict...IF...there is a conflict, rests in the power of the legislature. That would require a 2/3 super majority.
we have a system of checks and balances, the Judiciary keep sticking their nose in where they have no standing

A judge, uninformed of the facts the President has, does not have the power to declare the Presidents declaration wrong. ONLY the legislature would have that power

narciso said...

Chuck is tedious

https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2019/01/the-week-in-pictures-epidemic-fakery-edition.php

Humperdink said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
narciso said...

Probably doesn't mean he won't keep trying, tits like the wet Tories that keep blocking Brexit, the germans dont want to give up what they couldn't do with two world wars.

Humperdink said...

Chuck said:"Trump has no leverage; no bargaining power. None."

That's what San Fran Nan thought as she was boarding the bus to go to the airport a couple of weeks ago.

Ralph L said...

It will be interesting to see what happens if the Dems impeach Trump for building the wall. He could win California if the voting rolls are cleaned up and Gavin hasn't killed the CA economy by then.

narciso said...

Same lyrics different tune:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1078229/brexit-news-uk-mps-douglas-carswell-theresa-may-vote-spt

Fritz said...

Meanwhile, Trump buses all the illegal aliens ICE collects and drops them off in Pelosi's district.

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

There will be no wall. Period. Says BOT.

There are already 580 miles of barriers on our southern border. These will be extended or new structures added to other vulnerable areas.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

True:

"Democrats would rather starve government employees and watch our airlines crash to the ground rather than have meaningful border security. "


Probably False:
"3 Weeks. The Wall Is Coming!”

Ralph L said...

Says BOT

Bill, Republic of Texas is shortened to BRAT in the Midwest.
I think you missed his point, Mde Turtle (watched too much Poirot this week).

Hagar said...

Tank, you also forgot to add the entire educational complex of the country.

roesch/voltaire said...

I really don't like this hyper rhetoric of cave, win, fold, etc just heats up the children when really this is a win for the democratic (notice small d) process and not any one side. Now let congress do its job.

David Begley said...

Mark this comment. This is what Trump does.

The DOJ gets millions of dollars in its civil forfeiture program for drug dealers. Trump redirects that money to The Wall. Much of it will come from El Chapo. Congress doesn’t even need to be involved. Perfectly legal. Genius.

Thanks to Tank for getting my brain going.

William said...

Long time (but yugely disappointed) Trump supporter here:

Lots of claims that the game is not over. I'm just a simple old fool so I'd like to know what possible actions Trump has. State of emergency is a non-starter; you know it is.

Chuck and Nancy ate his lunch, and unless he does something big and good, he's toast for 2020.

That is all.

David Begley said...

And when will the voters realize that today’s Democrat party is actively working against the interests of American citizens?

Today’s Dem’s want millions of illegals to surpress wages, degrade public schools even further and import heroin and opioids into the US. Those are the facts.

alanc709 said...

Chuck, is there anything Pro America you support? One example would be welcome, since you're such a conservative

David Begley said...

William

Read my comment along with Tank’s.

David Begley said...

Executive Order regarding the civil forfeiture plan of DDB and Trump. Stroke of a pen. Genius!

Bob Boyd said...

David Begly said..."The DOJ gets millions of dollars in its civil forfeiture program for drug dealers."

I'm not arguing with you, just asking. Doesn't Congress have to allocate that money too? Or does the DOJ just get to keep it for their own use?

Birkel said...

In a world of options, too many people are thinking all or nothing.

Trump is toast in 2020 (according to the seminar caller above) because the option is socialism under Kamala Harris?

Count me skeptical.

narciso said...

They aren't allowed to figure that out, heck half our own side doesn't get it.

Birkel said...

Civil forfeiture is not money from Congress.
Therefore it does not require Nancy's approval.

Ralph L said...

this is a win for the democratic (notice small d) process
Unlike DACA and Trump's correction of it.

Birkel said...

Chuck can go Schumer himself.

WintersTale said...

There are already 580 miles of barriers on our southern border. These will be extended or new structures added to other vulnerable areas.

Trump won!

Anonymous said...

in this case for Trump it was: "Know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em". The traffic controller thing pretty much did him in. I don't think the game is over, however. I agree with the WSJ for once that Trump needs to lay a complete package of Dreamer/illegally-here path to citizenship with incentives and penalties on the negotiating table. If Congress is not serious about addressing the issue then he should pre-empt it as part of the wall/security package. He needs to show that the Dems are not truly serious about anything constructive re. immigration reform.

What will Trump have to say in the SOU? He still has the bully pulpit. He needs to use it to frame the argument.

Ralph L said...

Or does the DOJ just get to keep it for their own use?
Sounds like Iran-Contra. Only unconstitutional when Republicans do it.

Anonymous said...

Re an immigration deal vs the crazy right wingers. Trump can read the polls like anyone else. The general public wants a solution to all aspects of the immigration question. What Ann Coulter wants is of no consequence.

narciso said...

The general public wants a pony too, they want a solution that doesn't cost them any inconvenience, so did 1st century Rome

Chuck said...

alanc709 said...
Chuck, is there anything Pro America you support? One example would be welcome, since you're such a conservative


Sure! I'll do my best, and see if it is okay with you...

~The U.S. Constitution; the greatest American invention above the cotton gin, the steamship, or the production line.

~The federal judiciary, defining and operating within federalism. Because our constitution would have about as much meaning as Russia's, or Cuba's, or Venezuela's constitutions without them.

~Baseball; college football; jazz; the national parks. Check out Ken Burns for those stories, told beautifully. Uniquely American.

~The automobile industry, which is getting hammered by federal regulations, Trump's tariffs, and an uncertain international trade environment. Nothing has ever transformed America so much, as affordable cars and the roads on which to drive them. Not the Erie Canal; not the Panama Canal; not the transcontinental railroad.

~The SEC, which has overseen the greatest financial engine in human history for almost a century.

~The independent Federal Reserve Board. Ditto.

~How am I doing so far? I'd like to hear your ideas.

Meade said...

You, Chuck, are no longer welcome here.

Birkel said...

Big government is both applauded and jeered by the disinvited racist.
Wouldn't it be lovely if he repressed the hosts?

No conservative, the racist fopdoodle.

Michael said...

Trump should order the immediate dismantling of the wall in San Diego. The moral thing to do.

mccullough said...

Chuck,

Ken Burns got Ty Cobb wrong in his documentary on baseball. He eventually issued an apology.

Bonds is the greatest baseball player of all time. He took steroids and is by far the greatest.

He was charged by the W DOJ but he eventually walked. No one walked as much as Nonds.

Bonds like W had a famous father. But Bonds was much better than his father. W was not.

America

tcrosse said...

You would think Meade might have some influence with the woman whose finger is on the Delete key.

Birkel said...

Bush 43 is the reason I would never be a Republican.
He was a horrible president who expanded government.

Privatize:
Air traffic controllers
Airport security

Disband:
Federal government unions

narciso said...

It would be a shorter list who wasnt on some performance enhancement tool. Japan did take demings recommendations to heart but they also erected a tariff and other barriers

Fernandinande said...

Injun Nathan was trapped in The Trump Caves of Washington DC after Nick Sawyer and Becky escaped.

Bob Boyd said...

It's not very often you can get where you want to go by traveling in a straight line.

WintersTale said...

Official Republican Party tweet today:

"Democrats have held our government hostage for weeks, but thanks to President @realDonaldTrump's leadership, the government will reopen and federal workers will be paid in the next few days."

cronus titan said...

Ever the showman, Trump has made the wall the McGuffin.

Anonymous said...

@Narciso I agree that the public hates inconvenience and that there are innumerable options to the "immigration issue". It should be someone's job to blend these options into something workable, but not likable. Someone has to provide the leadership and only Trump has the position to do it. Pelosi can lead an effective resistance, but her caucus is such a mess that nothing constructive will come from it. Schumer is just full of shit.

Leland said...

Tick Tock

Browndog said...

I'm as MAGA as anybody, but I'm tired of the tweets. DO SOMETHING.

Sometimes he acts like he has no power, and he's trying to convince the real President to do the right thing.

The MAGA crowd like to blame Obama hold overs and deep state in the White House giving him bad advise. Advise he follows.

BTW- I put this entire shutdown fiasco on Paul Ryan.

sonicfrog said...

Browndog... It's more Mitch than Paul. Ryan "probably" could have gotten a funding bill through the House, but obviously the Senate would never be able to pass it. I think that kept Ryan from doing anything because it would make the party look bad.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...


“Trump didn't cave. He is showing concern for the unpaid workers while making it clear that the wall will get built.”

Exactly. How is it not transparently obvious that this is a ploy in the game and not the end of the game itself? You don’t have to be John von Neumann to see this. Some of you haven’t spent enough time raconteur-ing and playing the dozens with the boys.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

The idea that this Administration (as any past Administration would have) hasn’t spent untold hours gaming and strategizing possible outcomes is ridiculous. It’s the moronic Trump Is Stupid narrative. You know, the one they tell right before they step on the upturned rake.

Laslo Spatula said...

"Some of you haven’t spent enough time raconteur-ing and playing the dozens with the boys."

Indeed.

Trump does not like to lose.

He would especially abhor losing to Pelosi.

As such, I have a hard time believing he is simply rolling over at this point.

Being that I do not have a crystal ball, I could indeed be wrong, but I don't see him handing over his balls (brass, not crystal) so easily.

This comes down to him checking off the boxes:

• made his case in his televised speech;

• attempted to compromise with DACA;

• took the furloughed fed workers off the playing board;

• let the public get a few more weeks of Pelosi stonewalling.

The outcome was going to be a wall voted for by Congress, or a wall set in motion by Executive Order.

Either work, because the outcome is the same: Step Two with Here Come The Judges.

Of course, those on the Right who are disparaging him will claim that their outrage is what made him move forward with the Executive Order.

And he will keep moving forward. Because that is what sharks do.

I am Laslo.

Not Sure said...

Before Trump was elected, I thought all his talk about The Wall was just campaign bullshit. And I was ok with that, cuz I thought stricter enforcement via E-Verify was enough.

The derangement of the Dems over the "caravan", and their open embrace of open borders, made me conclude that it's essential to "wall up" before the next Dem president takes over. So I hope Trump wins on this, but I have two nagging questions.

1) What happens when that Hawaiian judge issues an injunction?

2) Why didn't Trump get wall funding through during the two years the Republicans held the House? Yes, I know they're mostly a bunch of cucks, but where were his fabulous dealmaking skills when we needed them?

gadfly said...

WaPo doesn't link to r/The_Donald, so I will. I see they have a rule — Rule #6 — "Trump Supporters Only. No Cucks or Leftists."


So now i know why I will not visit r/The Donald whatever "r/" means. Same old - same old Trump lies and ego blasts.

Rule 6: "The best way to keep a secret? Keep it to yourself. Second best? Tell one other person - if you must. There is no third best." ~Leroy Jethro Gibbs

Hagar said...

Trump sends message to Congress Jan. 29th:
Dear Congress:
The country is doing great!
Winning!
Sincerely yours,
Donald J. Trump

Jim at said...

Trump didn't get to where he is today by rolling over for morons like Nancy Pelosi.

Let's see what the next three weeks brings.

Jim at said...

"Democrats have held our government hostage for weeks, but thanks to President @realDonaldTrump's leadership, the government will reopen and federal workers will be paid in the next few days." - WT

That's what you wanted, right? So what are you bitching about?

Unknown said...

Have people not been paying attention these last three or four years? So quick to gleefully proclaim that Trump caves, just like smirk boy was a racist provocateur. My experience with people like Trump is, if they're caving, my head better be on a swivel because I'm about to get whacked.

Just my humble opinion

Rabel said...

Meade needs a wall but Google won't let him build one.

The slime is in the blog pool.

Chuck said...



Blogger mockturtle said...
“There will be no wall. Period. Says BOT.”

There are already 580 miles of barriers on our southern border. These will be extended or new structures added to other vulnerable areas.


Exactly right. And I agree that would be s good idea. Other Republicans said so during the primaries. But they also said that Trump’s sloganeering about building a great border wall that Mexico would pay for, was nuts. Clearly; they were right and Trump was full of shit.

So now we have to ask again; when Trump was talking about “the wall,” or “build that wall,” or “a great border wall” — all singular — what was he talking about? What’s he talking about now, with funding for “a wall”? Is there no more “Great Wall”? There’s certainly no wall that Mexico will pay for.

Meade said...

Out, Chuck.

Rabel said...

"Out, Chuck."

I think you have to say it in Latin for that to work.

tcrosse said...

Chuck need only utter the Magic Name, and he will disappear in a puff of smoke.

RichAndSceptical said...

Trump is a good executive and a terrible politician.

He had 2 years with Republicans controlling the House and the Senate to get things done, and he let Ryan and McConnell stall over and over again. Same with House hearings that went nowhere. all talk and no action.

Trump should have used his bully pulpit to go after Republicans and got them in line. Now he can't even get Senate Republicans to vote for the wall. He needs to take control of Republican Party now or 2020 is lost.

Ken B said...

Trump caved. Sad.

Ken B said...

Was Tokyo Chuck banned on another thread? I tried taking him seriously for a while but eventually gave up. No evidence of good faith.

Michael said...

Trump should call for the wall in San Diego to be torn down in recognition of the Dem's. Put it to a vote.

Gahrie said...

Was Tokyo Chuck banned on another thread?

I don't think he's been formally banned, but he has been asked to go away several times.

Michael McNeil said...

Many times at this point.

James Graham said...

If Trump really lost as bigly as the left is saying then he is a fabulous actor.

His sangfroid may mean he knows he will win.

Rusty said...


"Out, Chuck."
Or,"Get tghee behind me satan!"
either one works.