Althouse: "A few hundred people lined a two-lane county highway near the church, hoping for a glimpse of Mr. Trump from the roadside grass or from the cemetery across the street."

March 8, 2019

"A few hundred people lined a two-lane county highway near the church, hoping for a glimpse of Mr. Trump from the roadside grass or from the cemetery across the street."

"When his motorcade arrived, it passed 23 white crosses, one for each of the storm’s victims. Just before Mr. Trump left the church, he and the first lady, Melania Trump, approached the display. The couple walked the row of crosses, pausing at each one."

From "Trump Surveys Tornado Damage in Alabama" (NYT).

67 comments:

madAsHell said...: This is what leadership looks like. You can’t mail it in.; 3/8/19, 4:50 PM
Quaestor said...: I do not know when it became de rigueur for chief executives to commiserate personally with the victims of natural disasters, but now it is impossible not to, especially for someone as hated by the leftist press (i.e. nearly all of them given that fact that conservatives have been effectively bannished from the J-schools since the end of WWII) as is Mr. Trump. However, whether it involves a Republican or a Democrat, the practice is lamentable. It smacks of paternalism from above and an infantilized citizenry below, which in turn heralds the end of self-government.; 3/8/19, 4:54 PM
Quaestor said...: This is what leadership looks like.

I disagree. Leadership can't be photographed.; 3/8/19, 4:58 PM
Darrell said...: Yeah. Obama used to stop and turn water into wine and beer and heal the sick. Trump just blows by at the speed of social injustice.; 3/8/19, 5:05 PM
Leland said...: Democrats will now write off Alabama. Don't be surprised by editorials of how the victims deserved the storms because they supported Trump.; 3/8/19, 5:18 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: Impeach! Impeachable offense. Russians!; 3/8/19, 5:20 PM
Darrell said...: Chuck now wants Ivanka's kids impeached.; 3/8/19, 5:24 PM
Narayanan said...: Wan't Beauregard Jeff Session's middle name?; 3/8/19, 5:26 PM
madAsHell said...: I disagree

It may have been photographed, but you and I will never see the photos.

I just don’t see Trump to be a never-waste-a-good-crisis crowd.; 3/8/19, 5:33 PM
madAsHell said...: Guy not crowd!; 3/8/19, 5:36 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: Some people asked Trump to sign their bible and it registered a disturbance in the force...

Link; 3/8/19, 5:39 PM
buwaya said...: "I do not know when it became de rigueur for chief executives to commiserate personally with the victims of natural disasters"

Goes back to ancient times. Leadership was personal.
The US presidency is a combination office of Roman consul, Roman tribune, and Germanic king.
For that matter so are US State Governors.; 3/8/19, 5:42 PM
Darrell said...: Some people asked Trump to sign their bible and it registered a disturbance in the force...

That alone violates the separation of Church and State that appears 57 times in the Constitution. It's matter to anti-matter.; 3/8/19, 5:43 PM
Anonymous said...: That's an awful lot of effort for a state that's already in the bag for him. Maybe he's actually a man with a heart.; 3/8/19, 5:47 PM
gilbar said...: Darrell said...
Some people asked Trump to sign their bible and it registered a disturbance in the force...
That alone violates the separation of Church and State that appears 57 times in the Constitution. It's matter to anti-matter.

If this 'religion' thing isn't squashed, and SOON; next thing you know they'll be introducing Bibles into court proceedings to somehow compel truthful testimony!; 3/8/19, 5:48 PM
Narayanan said...: Not horse buggy days anymore.
Air Force One these days and helicopters.; 3/8/19, 5:48 PM
Quaestor said...: Goes back to ancient times.

Did Titus visit the survivors of Pompeii? (A real question. I don't know.); 3/8/19, 5:58 PM
Inga...Allie Oop said...: “That's an awful lot of effort for a state that's already in the bag for him. Maybe he's actually a man with a heart.”

It’s a good photo op to help his image, which needs all the help it can get.; 3/8/19, 5:59 PM
Big Mike said...: Maybe he's actually a man with a heart.

Maybe. Maybe also he understands real people.; 3/8/19, 6:02 PM
Quaestor said...: Did Gaius Terentius Varro visit the families of the fallen of Cannae? (I don't know.); 3/8/19, 6:02 PM
Darrell said...: Did Titus visit the survivors of Pompeii?

Yes. He said they were fab--even if all dead. No fatties.; 3/8/19, 6:03 PM
Quaestor said...: Inga wrote: It’s a good photo op to help his image, which needs all the help it can get.

Not unlike your brain.; 3/8/19, 6:04 PM
Quaestor said...: He said they were fab...

Touché.; 3/8/19, 6:05 PM
h said...: I wonder how many of those people with which he shook hands are same kinds of contemptible people that would eat at an "all you can eat" seafood buffet. My guess is: most of them.; 3/8/19, 6:05 PM
traditionalguy said...: Trump love connects him to his voters with a bond that cannot be broken. And that love is drawing in new voters from blacks, Jews, Hispanics and Asians. All Trump has to do is be authentic and offer them a place at the table that meets their needs.; 3/8/19, 6:05 PM
h said...: Oh my God. I should have written: "of those people with WHOM he shook hands." Mea maxima culpa. (or does the combo of "whom" with "latin phrase" make me look like too much of an asshole?; 3/8/19, 6:07 PM
traditionalguy said...: If you want a political circle to be a part of, you do what Trump did in Alabama Georgia line . The act of attending the funeral of friends of your family is a way to show them your respect and acceptance. It is not forgotten in the south.; 3/8/19, 6:14 PM
Josephbleau said...: "Blogger Unknown said...
That's an awful lot of effort for a state that's already in the bag for him. Maybe he's actually a man with a heart.

3/8/19, 5:47 PM"

He is smarter than Hillary. If Hillary will not go to Wisconsin, Wisconsin will go to Trump. Alabama the same with lower probability.; 3/8/19, 6:18 PM
iowan2 said...: It’s a good photo op to help his image, which needs all the help it can get.

Listen to CNN for a couple of hours today. Compared to msnbc, cnn is a mathmatical annalysis. Still heavy leftist. Not tin foil hat foolishness, and wish casting like msnbc One of the commenters said, 'look at the polls for President Trump, they flicker up, shuffle down, but since the election, unchanged

90% negative fake news reporting, and nothing. He would be over 60% if the 24 hour media would just be honest concerning President Trump 1 hour out of 24, everyday

Your cut and paste talking points are making you look stupid...again; 3/8/19, 6:19 PM
narciso said...: if not for reid Hoffman's fake Russian trolls, and taking Gloria alreds cash jaunt, probably moore would be in the senate, instead of doug jones from hellboy (the fellow who detained Richard jewell on no evidence); 3/8/19, 6:23 PM
buwaya said...: As it happens the Emperor Titus (I don't know if the local Titus has been to Pompeii), visited Pompeii just after the eruption.; 3/8/19, 6:29 PM
Sam L. said...: This is just HORRIBLE...if you're a Democrat.; 3/8/19, 6:31 PM
Darrell said...: As it happens the Emperor Titus (I don't know if the local Titus has been to Pompeii), visited Pompeii just after the eruption.

Because the emperors Summer Home was there, which he visited on his royal barge. Think Camp David.; 3/8/19, 6:32 PM
buwaya said...: From Cassius Dio, Roman History 66:24

"24 1 However, a second5 conflagration, above ground, in the following year spread over very large sections of Rome while Titus was absent in Campania attending to the catastrophe that had befallen that region. 2 It consumed the temple of Serapis, the temple of Isis, the Saepta, the temple of Neptune, the Baths of Agrippa, the Pantheon, the Diribitorium, the theatre of Balbus, the stage building of Pompey's theatre, the Octavian buildings together with their books,6 and the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus with their surrounding temples. Hence the disaster seemed to be not of human but of divine origin; 3 for anyone can estimate, from the list of buildings that I have given, how many others must have been destroyed.

p311 Titus accordingly sent two ex-consuls to the Campanians to supervise the restoration of the region, and bestowed upon the inhabitants not only general gifts of money, but also the property of such as had lost their lives and left no heirs. 4 As for himself, he accepted nothing from any private citizen or city or king, although many kept offering and promising him large sums; but he restored all the damaged regions from funds already on hand."

So Titus was in Campania specifically working on relief himself until he was interrupted by disastrous fires in Rome proper. Or that's how I interpret this.; 3/8/19, 6:55 PM
red 3215 said...: Darrell (at 5:43 pm);
I have my copy of the Constitution in front of me. Please give me a few cites of where you think you see the phrase "separation of church and state" in it "57 times"?

I'd really like to see you do that. I know you can't, but it would be fun to watch you try.

And Leadership does include providing compassion and support to those who have been through terrible times. Anyone who has been near the military knows this.

G; 3/8/19, 6:55 PM
buwaya said...: " Please give me a few cites of where you think you see the phrase "separation of church and state" in it "57 times"?"

Is joke comrade.; 3/8/19, 6:56 PM
Darrell said...: red3215 has sarcasm deficit disorder.
Sad.; 3/8/19, 7:04 PM
Drago said...: Darrell: "red3215 has sarcasm deficit disorder.
Sad."

That glitch wasnt designed out until red3222.; 3/8/19, 7:16 PM
chickelit said...: Titus typically flees after eruptions, as refraction hits hard.; 3/8/19, 7:16 PM
Arashi said...: There is also video online showing The President talking with some of the folks, and a man asks for a hug - which he gets, and the woman stadning next to himk says me next, and sure enough, there is the President giving a hug to both of these folks. I found it heartwarming.

People like Inga can just FOAD.; 3/8/19, 7:19 PM
Drago said...: If Trump doesn't visit: OMG he is such a hateful self-centered person who doesn't care about anyone other than himself!!

If Trump does visit: OMG he is only doing this because he needs a photo-op!!

If Trump is heading in that direction but has not yet reached his destination: OMG he is never actually going to go down there and instead he will probably just play golf!!

When Trump reaches his destination: OMG he is just getting in the way and keeping people from getting the help they desperately need!!; 3/8/19, 7:22 PM
paminwi said...: Headline says ".......signs some BIBLES, too". If you read the article it says he signed a BIBLE of a 12 year old. Then further in the article the NYT says "BIBLES" again. Which, of course, they never reported how whose BIBLES he signed.
O these yahoos at the NYT understand the difference between singular and plural?
Though, I know exactly what they are trying to do here and once again they disgust me.; 3/8/19, 7:22 PM
Darrell said...: Trump didn't sign a single Qurʾān.
The optics couldn't be clearer.; 3/8/19, 7:37 PM
narciso said...: Molly Jong fast, cropped a picture, in classic bulwinkle fashion.; 3/8/19, 7:41 PM
Browndog said...: They told me Trump was a secular liberal with New York values.

I voted for him anyway, for MAGA.

I thank him for defending Christian values amidst this onslaught of decadence.; 3/8/19, 7:42 PM
eric said...: Blogger Darrell said...
Some people asked Trump to sign their bible and it registered a disturbance in the force...

That alone violates the separation of Church and State that appears 57 times in the Constitution. It's matter to anti-matter.

3/8/19, 5:43 PM

This is the perfect bit of fake news.

It doesn't matter enough to debunk or find out if it's true, and it's just enough to diminish the President's visit.; 3/8/19, 7:46 PM
eric said...: Blogger paminwi said...
Headline says ".......signs some BIBLES, too". If you read the article it says he signed a BIBLE of a 12 year old. Then further in the article the NYT says "BIBLES" again. Which, of course, they never reported how whose BIBLES he signed.
O these yahoos at the NYT understand the difference between singular and plural?
Though, I know exactly what they are trying to do here and once again they disgust me.

Imagine with me the headlines throughout the nation if Trump had refused to sign the Bible of a 12 year old survivor.; 3/8/19, 7:54 PM
Josephbleau said...: Blogger buwaya said...
" Please give me a few cites of where you think you see the phrase "separation of church and state" in it "57 times"?"

Is joke comrade.

3/8/19, 6:56 PM

Midnight Petrograd... A Red Guards night watch spots a shadow trying to sneak by. "Stop! Who goes there? Documents!" The frightened person chaotically rummages through his pockets and drops a paper. The Guards chief picks it up and reads slowly, with difficulty: "U.ri.ne A.na.ly.sis"... "Hmm... a foreigner, sounds like ..." "A spy, looks like.... Let's shoot him on the spot!" Then he reads further: "'Proteins: none, Sugars: none, Fats: none...' You are free to go, proletarian comrade! Long live the World revolution!"

Cannot resist joke, tovaritch.; 3/8/19, 7:54 PM
Drago said...: "Molly Jong fast, cropped a picture, in classic bulwinkle fashion."

Molly Jong Fast, a LLR Chuck fave, naturally works for Bill "Cap'n Billy-Ahoy!!" Kristol at the Totally Conservative, Totally "conserving conservatism" The Bulwark.

It goes without saying Molly Jong Fast is a rabid, pro-infanticide, pro-democrat, pro-lefty Far Left fake "journalist" who only exists to attack republicans.

Naturally, she is beloved by the LLR/NeverTrump crew.; 3/8/19, 7:55 PM
narciso said...: From the folks that brought you the dossier:

https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2019/03/08/mother-jones-bureau-chief-fakes-hate-crime-at-sky-harbor/; 3/8/19, 8:01 PM
Josephbleau said...: In Murmansk two men among many are digging new soviet canal. First day man ask worker, "So, for how long are you sentence?" man says, for 20 years. Next day he ask, " What did you do for prison?" Man answer, "I did nossing." Two day later man says, You are LYING! Everyone know for Nossing you get only ten year.; 3/8/19, 8:04 PM
Darrell said...: Everyone know for Nossing you get only ten year.

Now it's 47 months in federal prison.; 3/8/19, 8:08 PM
Browndog said...: Now it's 47 months in federal prison.

Average sentence (for Manafort's crimes) is 17 months.; 3/8/19, 8:19 PM
Big Mike said...: Over at Huffington Post the headline is “Donald Trump signs Bibles as he Visits Alabama tornado victims.”; 3/8/19, 9:16 PM
Birkel said...: Former Senator Doug Jones (projecting 22 months out) will be beaten like Nathan Phillips' drum.
The online trickeration of tech billionaires won't work twice.

President Trump has a common man's touch.
Working around all those union guys in NY/NJ, I would guess.
Plus, he seems genuinely to like people.; 3/8/19, 9:19 PM
Tank said...: The president actually likes people.; 3/8/19, 9:20 PM
Tank said...: Whoa Birkel, how you do that?; 3/8/19, 9:21 PM
Howard said...: He's Jesse Jackson wiping the blood of the victim's on his shirt; 3/8/19, 9:23 PM
The Godfather said...: Trump has begun doing more of the kind of stuff that Presidents do, and this is an example. I hope he keeps it up. If he curtails the midnight tweeting, that would be even better.

I assume Trump is counting on the Democrats nominating a loser in 2020 as they did in 2016. That's a good bet. But just in case the Dems should stumble into nominating a reasonable candidate, Trump should use 2019 to polish his image as a person who is recognizable as a President. His accomplishments speak for themselves.; 3/8/19, 10:10 PM
madAsHell said...: He's Jesse Jackson wiping the blood of the victim's on his shirt

Yeah.... he’s a racist.; 3/8/19, 10:19 PM
madAsHell said...: Trump will win in a landslide in 2020.; 3/8/19, 10:21 PM
Crazy World said...: Great comments most of you.....you know who you are.
God Bless this great President and his beautiful wife. I have not been able to write that for 10 years now.
Hugs to the great state of Alabama.; 3/9/19, 12:52 AM
Drago said...: Howard: "He's Jesse Jackson wiping the blood of the victim's on his shirt"

You should stop recycling previously failed talking points.

Leave that weak tea stuff to LLR Chuck.; 3/9/19, 1:25 AM
Craig Howard said...: with WHOM he shook hands

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I don't know when writers started referring to people as "which" or "that", but it's very ugly. I even see it on this blog!; 3/9/19, 7:46 AM
Dude1394 said...: Trump truly loves this country. I’m not sure you can say the same thing for any open border democrat.; 3/9/19, 10:28 AM
Jim at said...: It’s a good photo op to help his image, which needs all the help it can get.

All that hatred is going to eat you up inside.

Good.; 3/9/19, 3:37 PM
carrie said...: I am in Alabama now and the local tv station reported that Trump received a hero’s welcome here. I assume it wasn’t reported as being like that on the MDM.; 3/9/19, 8:52 PM