August 8, 2019

"It is rare for Trump to express regret or admit mistakes. But he said his brother’s short, tragic life scarred him like no other event..."

"... and he said he remains haunted by watching Fred Jr.’s handsome features fade.... Freddy, as everyone called him, was the firstborn son, so he was given the name of his father. His friends said in interviews that he was the opposite of Donald Trump — soft-spoken, playful, and often joking.... Fred Jr. saw flying as an honorable profession, his friends said. He applied to be trained as a pilot for TWA and passed a rigorous set of requirements to enroll in a 1964 class of about a dozen students. He flew for a number of months as a secondary pilot. 'What he loved doing was flying airplanes,' Donald Trump said. 'I remember being at the house and other pilots from TWA would come to the house and they’d come to work with Fred because he was a very natural talent.' Three pilots who trained with Fred Jr. said in interviews that they saw signs of his alcoholism emerging. The pilots said they didn’t know anything about the pressure Trump was under from his family to join the business, but they said he clearly was under stress that he could not handle.... [O]ne of Fred Jr.’s friends, Annamaria Forcier, who as a teenager in 1958 moved to the Queens neighborhood where the Trump family lived, thought Fred Jr. left TWA because of the pressure from the family. 'My impression of it was that he was basically forced to go work for the family firm,' she said. 'There was a lot of tension between not only the old man but also between him and Donald. There was a lot of tension because they didn’t want him to be an airline pilot.'"

From "Trump pressured his alcoholic brother about his career. Now he has regrets" by Michael Kranish (WaPo). Donald Trump is quoted saying to his brother, “Come on, Freddy, what are you doing? You’re wasting your time." And we're told that their father, Fred Sr., said that to be an airline pilot is to be "a chauffeur in the sky."

177 comments:

Michael K said...

WaPoo. Nothing worth reading.

Infinite Monkeys said...

opposite of Donald Trump — soft-spoken, playful, and often joking

So they were the same except for the "soft-spoken" part.

n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rhhardin said...

Alcoholism movies are the world's most boring. Just stop fucking drinking. It's the poverty of a script-writer's mind.

This adds the twist that it's Trump's fault.

rhhardin said...

Airline pilot payed a lot back then, thanks to unions and competition regulation. My impression is that it's poverty-line now.

chickelit said...

Complete waste of time.

wild chicken said...

People drank back then. Really drank. Especially pilots and stewardesses! They had their own bars, like doctors and nurses had theirs. Get outta the way, swing shift is coming in. Lol.

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

How common is it for any President to admit mistakes?

deepelemblues said...

So Donald and his father are responsible for Freddy's terminal alcoholism. Bad Orange Man has caused and is causing all the ills of the world small or large private or public individual or social. Utterly disgusting and totally predictable that the media would jerk around his brother's dead body because he's Orange Man and that's just so Bad it justifies any ghoulish behavior.

deepelemblues said...

n has forgotten the dry drunk theory already crashed and burned when tried out against Dubya. Get some new material for the e-diagnoses.

Wince said...

Career advice to come work with the family, not shunned by them in any way, triggered Fred Jr's alcoholism and death?

If Fred Jr. was a drinker as an airline pilot, it probably was a career dead end, or worse.

A 2016 New York Times article details Freddy's decline into alcoholism, revealing that the eldest Trump's issues began in his mid-20s, and that by 1968, his drinking started to severely impact his life. "He got divorced, quit flying because he knew his drinking presented a danger and failed at commercial fishing in Florida. By the late 1970s, he was living back in his parents’ house in Jamaica Estates, working on one of his father’s maintenance crews," reads the article.

Again, he was never shunned by the family.

And with a quick Google search WaPo might have discovered commercial flying isn't great for a marriage...

Why is the Divorce Rate so High for Pilots? (Airline Pilot Central)

The divorce rate is high throughout the country, but you may be shocked to learn that in the transportation industry the rate is approaching epidemic levels. Nearly 75% of some pilot groups have been divorced at least once. Some have been divorced even two or three times. Are you kidding me? Why can’t all these individuals that have remarkable backgrounds, ranging from high ranking military positions to flying all over the globe, seem to make their relationship last?

Only if you believe Fred Jr. took up drink for the first time due to family pressure because of becoming a pilot does this WaPo hit-piece narrative have any salience whatsoever. That's why the WaPo uses the weasel word "emerging" rather than being revealed.

Three pilots who trained with Fred Jr. said in interviews that they saw signs of his alcoholism emerging.

tim maguire said...

While I can believe Fred Sr. and The Donald put a lot of pressure on him to give up his dream and join the family business, that happens to a lot of people. It has nothing to do with why he became an alcoholic, though Fred's death from alcoholism may have everything to do with why Trump doesn't drink.

doctrev said...

Nope, rhhardin. There are only so many quality pilots, preferably ex-military, and the best can still command high salaries. I'm not sure what possessed the WaPo to try and make Donald Trump the cause of his brother's alcoholism: what I do know is that taunts like this make rivals become implacable enemies, and I won't be too surprised or sorry to see the people responsible for this article dangling from meat hooks at some point in the future.

Bob Boyd said...

If Fred Trump Jr. was still alive he'd probably be a Trump advisor and the WAPO would be telling us he was a white supremacist who sources say may have left TWA rather than work with a black stewardess assigned his flight.

Owen said...

This piece makes me more sympathetic to Trump, not less. It must have hurt like hell to watch his beloved brother come apart. Was it despite his efforts or because of them? He will never know. That’s part of the pain. We all run these one-sided experiments all the time: coulda woulda shoulda. I have to think that ordeal humanized Trump. Made him less likely to taunt the weak and broken, more likely to stand up for them against the smug and powerful. Which IMHO he does.

Big Mike said...

I have a complete list of every politician at the national level who has ever admitted a mistake -- it's a sheet of paper blank on both sides.

readering said...

If Fred Trump Jr was alive he'd be in his eighties and as uninvolved as POTUS's other siblings.

Otto said...

Another hit piece on Trump aided and abetted by Ann.

Robert Cook said...

"Alcoholism movies are the world's most boring. Just stop fucking drinking. It's the poverty of a script-writer's mind."

If they could do that so easily, they wouldn't be alcoholics, but people who liked to drink.

"This adds the twist that it's Trump's fault."

No, it's Trump's father's fault. For that matter, Trump is his father's fault, too.

Hagar said...

Eisenhower said he could think of two - unfortunately both of them now sat on the Supreme Court.

traditionalguy said...

Maybe Freddy Jr sensed his racist white privilege and chose suicide by drink.

Seriously, the older son, like many first born, probably felt the high expectations of Daddy and wanted to fly away. The younger son had the same parents and same household life but was able to handle the stress coming from his father's high expectations and to excel. One more proof that DJT has the strength to do whatever it takes to win for us.

buwaya said...

The concept of a "dry drunk" seems like a sort of resentment-fantasy by actual drunks, or recovering alcoholics. Or propaganda by their therapists, looking for another market.

Jeff said...

People who write this kind of stuff are beneath contempt.

Michael K said...

Quote, not quite.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Family pressure is a thing. If you've had it, you get it. If not, good for you. It takes a lot to tell the family to go to hell. When the stakes for your own family are high, it's really hard to do. Being a pilot would have meant getting his family disowned from the fortune, and that's a lot of stress. Must have sucked to feel trapped like that.

Alcoholism is a thing. Yeah, it's the alcoholic's fault. I don't buy into the alcoholism is a disease thing, but it's certainly a psychological problem which is really hard to beat. If you know a drunk or two, you've seen it.

The President having a close relative who died from addiction is illuminating. Most therapists have a similar background. They're a bunch of caretakers and co-dependents. Imagine Donald Trump as a counselor in some alternate future... sitting in an office with a plant...

Curious George said...

Well at least The Donald didn't start fucking Freddie's widow.

FrankiM said...

You’re a sick old dog Michael K. Don’t you have a new grandchild to be happy over instead of obsessing over former commenters?

narciso said...

Similar to why I didn't pick up smoking In college, I saw two relatives die from co sequences

Leland said...

MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace falsely claims that Trump is “talking about exterminating Latinos”

She gave a non-apology apology. She said it was wrong for her to say those exact words but that Trump still hates Hispanics and that his hatred forced her to make hyperbolic statements.

However, that's kinda small compared to the WaPo intimating that Trump helped drive his older brother to alcoholism which eventually led to suicide. I wonder if WaPo ever wrote such things as to what pushed Ted Kennedy to alcohol and driving?

Nonapod said...

I don't fully understand the psycology of addiction. All I know is that for whatever reason, some people seem predisposed towards substance addiction. The percentage of people who are alcholics is evidently somewhere around 13%. Research suggests about a 50/50 split between genetics and environment.

In the Freddy Trump case, it certainly seems like you can't really fairly hardly any blame on Donald.

- It seems highly likely that Freddy may have been heading down the path of alcoholism long before his airline pilot days.

- You have to remember that back in the 50s and 60s we society in general didn't really have as much of an understanding of the nature of alcoholism, the signs of it and ways to deal with it and a general tolerance and forgiveness for it.

- Donald was also pretty young, late teens to early twenties, when all this went down. Young people do foolish things. They can be insensitive to the problems of others. They lack maturity and experience.

- Donald was also the younger brother. Any pressure he may have put on his elder brother would certainly pale in comparison to that applied by his father.

Is Donald Trump completely blameless? Perhaps not, but the fact that Trump himself has admitted feeling guilty about the whole issue suggests that he learned from the experience.

Narr said...

My older brother couldn't handle reality, and made sure that everyone else's was as awful as he could make it.

I could point to parental discipline that by today's wimpy standards would have had our father in jail, and a violent and disorderly household after he was dead, and bitch and whine and complain and fail and flail like him and the late Fred Jr., or I could take responsibility for myself.

Narr
Eldest sons are overrated

Brian said...

My impression is that it's poverty-line now.

It is almost that for new pilots (low experience). Minimum hours to be insurable for airline operations is 1500 hours, as I recall. Preferably a majority in jet time. Preferably multi-engine jet time.

At ~1500-6000 dollars an hour that's over $2 million dollars in time. This translates to new pilots (non-military) doing anything to get in the right seat in any airplane. A lot of regional pilots will work for less to build up time. And a lot of them before working as airline pilots work as Flight instructors making $30/hour (flight time). Around $10/hour real time, and you end up working a lot of weekends and weird hours.

Average "regional" jet salaries are around 50k. For the majors it's in the 120k-150k range. It peaks out in ~400k range.

Salary is a misnomer though, since I believe they still get paid by the hour. And they are mandated to not fly more than a 1000 hours a year.

It's not poverty, but it has a definite pecking order based on seniority and flight time.

If you were a pilot in TWA you did good dollar numbers, until TWA didn't exist anymore. Then you were back to zero on your seniority.

Shane said...

This isn't news. Its psychological warfare by The Post in going after The President on a purely personal level because everything else they have thrown at him has fallen flat and had no effect.

Meade said...

“I have a complete list of every politician at the national level who has ever admitted a mistake -- it's a sheet of paper blank on both sides.”

Fire your research assistant. How did he miss President George Romney’s admission that he had allowed himself to be brainwashed?

Michael K said...

My impression is that it's poverty-line now.

It is almost that for new pilots (low experience). Minimum hours to be insurable for airline operations is 1500 hours, as I recall. Preferably a majority in jet time. Preferably multi-engine jet time.


A good friend of mine is an American captain. Former Marine F 18 pilot. He has been with American about 15 years and a captain for 10. He told me one time that his salary was cut by about half ten years ago. He also runs another business when he is home. He flies an airbus and does long trips to South America and Hawaii.

Michael K said...

Research suggests about a 50/50 split between genetics and environment.

Yes, Plomin's book makes the point that all behavior in adults is 50% genetic, I agree it is true of alcoholics.

My older son was an alcoholic from age 16 to 26. He is a successful lawyer but does not drink now. Both his grandfathers were alcoholics.

Ann Althouse said...

Stop naming commenters who are not here, especially commenters I have kicked out. It's not fair. And it's hijacking the threat. I am deleting comments like this and would appreciate not having to do this work. Generally, it doesn't work to address other commenters by name if you are being negative. Look to the substance of the post and say something substantive.

~ Gordon Pasha said...

The story of President Theodore Roosevelt and his younger brother, Eliot, is analogous.

Michael K said...

Look to the substance of the post and say something substantive.<

I have been. Trolls change ID.

Molly said...

(eaglebeak)

Trump has written about Freddie many times, and spoken about him many times in interviews going back decades.

Every time Trump has spoken of Freddie it has been with obvious deep emotion, including the memorable time at the White House in October 2017 when he teared up talking about Freddie's death.

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/10/26/trump-opens-up-about-late-brothers-alcoholism-in-rare-emotional-moment-it-caused-him-a-very-very-very-tough-life/23257344/

So the sadists at the WaPo thought this would be a good week to twist the knife a bit.

brylun said...

Maybe Ann hasn't caught that Inga has changed to FrankiM.

rhhardin said...

Minimum hours to be insurable for airline operations is 1500 hours

Just missed out. I quit flying and took up bicycling with 1200 hours.

Drago said...

brylun: "Maybe Ann hasn't caught that Inga has changed to FrankiM"

And that LLR Chuck still posts here quite often.

narciso said...

Consider that the previous owner of the post katherine Graham came into its possession after her husband committed suicide, he protected jfks dalliances no matter how reckless, was vindictive against Nixon in a way she wasnt against lbj

Drago said...

In any event, another day another set of lies pushed forth by the dem/left/LLR-left MSM.

Remember, this is the same media that called Romney a Theocratic Hitler who gave a woman cancer AND caused a some guy from Romney's high school to commit suicide 40 years later!

It's no wonder the NeverTrump LLR's love the MSM so very very much.

Yancey Ward said...

I can't read the article because it is behind the paywall- but are these actual quotes from Trump given to him by the journalist writing the article, or are they just hearsay from other interviewees? My impression from the short blurb cited is that they are the latter.

I never met my paternal grandfather- he died in his mid 40s the month following my parents' marriage (I was born a year later). He had been an alcoholic from late adolescence, and died from heart failure caused by a huge drinking binge following an attempt to dry out (maybe related to my father's marriage at the time, but I am not sure). My father never really spoke about his dad's addiction, but I could see its effect- I don't remember watching my father ever consume a single drop of hard alcohol, and I can only remember one instance where he even drank a can of beer. He never said it was so, but I always assumed that his attitude to alcohol was due to his father's addiction and its consequences.

Thuglawlibrarian said...

"Well at least The Donald didn't start fucking Freddie's widow."

Curious George wins the thread!




narciso said...

What angles aren't covered:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/hero-of-el-paso-shooting-says-trump-showed-softer-side-during-visit?fbclid=IwAR2_IRQi40sbHFPUlWoJIHPg7tq-vCg7jlaG2TCaGPj9RP_1Mk0cq8V_PzI

Yancey Ward said...

Only very late in his life did my father consume a glass of wine on occasion, and that is probably because of my tastes.

Bay Area Guy said...

This is actually an interesting story, and a decent piece of journalism. We are interested in the early years of the President. Looks like his older brother, Freddy, foundered a bit, and DJT took over the family construction reigns.

Ralph L said...

the family construction reigns

Hence the gold leaf and marble.

tim in vermont said...

Alcoholism is genetic. You don’t “become” an alcoholic due to pressure, you excuse it with “the pressure” or whatever else you think will make you look like the victim of external forces.

tim in vermont said...

Anyway, Thanks God he never became an airline pilot.

Nichevo said...

brylun said...
Maybe Ann hasn't caught that Inga has changed to FrankiM.

8/8/19, 10:48 AM

Maybe she knows it very well and wishes to be left alone to sockpuppet in peace.

Emerita, would you like to comment on the allegation that you employ various false commenters' identities in the mode of sockpuppeting? Have you ever posted, or caused to be posted, comments here under the identity of another commenter? Besides Meade? Does/did Meade do sockpuppeting on your behalf?

Bonus questions: as I am not a professional liar, er, lawyer, would you please reframe my question in a more binding manner? Do you think you could evade an honest answer to my question as put, other than ignoring or otherwise not responding to it?

mockturtle said...

We didn't need any more drunk airline pilots.

Nichevo said...

"This adds the twist that it's Trump's fault."

No, it's Trump's father's fault. For that matter, Trump is his father's fault, too.

Cook, are you your father's fault?

Drago said...

This is simply another sign of many of the sheer desperation of the dems/left/LLR-left given Trump's refusal to simply capitulate and curl up in a ball so the dems can kick him and us.

Trump is demonstrating the fire and effectiveness necessary to take on these lefties and LLR-lefties and win.

Biggest irony?

The dems could have gotten 40%-60% of what they wanted across the board had they simply decided to cooperate with Trump.

It is my belief that in addition to the dems/left/LLR-left's hatred of Trump and his voters, the most important and key reason for this resistance is the astonishing scale of corruption that Trump's predecessors put in place that Trump is exposing with the Stasi-like spying and dirty tricks ops at the heart of it.

Sept cant come quickly enough for the reports to be made public.

And whaddya know, hack obama judge Amy Berman Jackson "just happened" to pick up the Strzok case!!

What a complete and "unexpected" "surprise".

FullMoon said...

Fredddie was responsible for his behavior.

He felt better when he drank. He felt worse when he didn't.

If he remained sober, or mostly sober, he could have supported himself without help from the family. Plenty of functioning alcoholics and drug addicts.

Michael K said...

We are interested in the early years of the President. Looks like his older brother, Freddy, foundered a bit, and DJT took over the family construction reigns.

That is the real story, which could be interesting if it didn't reflect positively on Trump. Fred could never be an alcoholic and an airline pilot. There have been a few stories about drunk airline pilots and all have ended their careers.

Some alcoholics can stay dry for life and I know a couple. They can never go back to social drinking. The trouble Amerindians have with alcohol is genetic.

narciso said...

it's just a coincidence, drago,

Rosalyn C. said...

I'm reminded that when Trump spoke to the Boy Scouts he was very insistent in telling them that to be successful they must find something they really love doing. The pleasure that comes from the work is what keeps a person engaged, not the money. If people are just looking for the money they will end up very disappointed and unhappy.

I think President Trump might have learned that in part because of the tragedy of his brother.

readering said...

DJT probably thought his older brother was a coward, like the El Paso shooter, of whom he also said, "He gave up, just gave up."

RigelDog said...

I highly recommend watching old interviews with Trump---I got a completely different understanding of him from seeing them. One interview delved into his reasons for not drinking and he talked movingly about his brother. Another interview was of Trump on the Letterman show maybe 30 ish years ago. What I saw there was his absolute implacability and confidence. Letterman was trying eighteen different ways to get Trump to say or hint or become uncomfortable enough to discuss any plans he had to eventually enter politics. I have never seen any person be so immune to these strategies.

Drago said...

readering: "DJT probably thought his older brother was a coward, like the El Paso shooter, of whom he also said, "He gave up, just gave up."

Hoax gang rape accuser checks in and in precisely the way you would expect.

DanTheMan said...

Meanwhile, Obama’s half brother lived in poverty. But that’s different and totally nothing to do with Obama.

Drago said...

narciso: "it's just a coincidence, drago,"

Apparently Strzok had to be a part of every single political "investigation" and Jackson is the only judge in DC who can handle the hoax collusion cases and those cases flowing from that hoax.

Who didnt see that coming?

langford peel said...


Blogger brylun said...
Maybe Ann hasn't caught that Inga has changed to FrankiM.

Of course she didn’t catch on. She isn’t very bright you know.

readering said...

Cases in federal district court are randomly assigned. Parties can file a notice of related case but that didn't happen for Strzok. Even when such a notice is filed, the judge with the older case has the discretion whether to take the newer case and frequently rejects the relatedness claim.

DanTheMan said...

Randomly assigned? Your naivety is really something to behold...

traditionalguy said...

Inside info on older and younger brothers: The younger brother is born loving the older brother and looking up to him. And he deeply wants to help him but has no power to help him and is resented when he tries.That dynamic makes the older brother's death into an extra tragic failure event, after which great effort is made to save others whom the younger brother can save.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...
How common is it for any President to admit mistakes?


Remember W's "mistakes" press conference. It was the most shameful media pile on I had ever seen.

Up to that time.

Seems halcyon now..

narciso said...

right, judge amy, treats stone and manaforts like zeks, treats the sisters of the poor like kulaks, but carries water for greg craig and now strzok,

readering said...

There are 15 judges on the DC court (not including senior judges with reduced loads). They all have their share of "political" cases, it being DC. Happen to be 11 Democrat and 4 Republican appointees (all by Trump).

Big Mike said...

@Meade, good point, but George Romney was never President so perhaps that’s where the business about never admitting mistakes started?

ICELLTECH said...

Loved the post <3
Mobile phone repair Chatham

Drago said...

readering: "They all have their share of "political" cases, it being DC."

Right, right.

And it was similarly impossible to find a single non-Clinton ally in the FBI to join the 19 partisan dem/Hillary donors and 40 FBI "investigators".

Just a coincidence.

And it was just a coincidence that Comeys bestest buddy Mueller became the Special Counsel.

And its just a coincidence that Strzoks pal Judge Contreras just happened to be the judge approving the FISA warrant for Strzok.

And its just a coincidence that Hillarys pals funneled $700,000 into an obscure state senate race involving McCabes wife just before McCabe launched obstruction "investigations" into Trump AND Sessions!!

Hundreds more "coincidences" like that, including Mueller Rosenstein and Comey involvement in the Uranium One giveaway....followed closely by Putin energy oligarch pals funneling $500,000 directly into Clintons pockets and $145 MILLION into the Clinton slush fund.

Hundreds of "coincidences" that always flow in precisely the same direction.

Coincidentally.

Unexpectedly.

readering said...

Okay (stepping backwards slowly).

Drago said...

readering: "Okay (stepping backwards slowly)."

Point out a single point that is untrue.

Just a single one.

And that comment coming from you, a hoax dossier/hoax collusion truther as well as hoax gang rape truther and now hoax white supremacy threat truther is particularly amusing.

Martin said...

And if Fred had become a pilot and his plane had crashed, it would now be Donald's fault for not talking him out of it.

F**k them all. Every last lying SOB of them.

Drago said...

readering is the perfect embodiment of the reason Trump should simply keep pushing ahead ignoring completely any and all complaints from the left.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

Trump doesn't need to admit mistakes. The LSM does all that for him. They do a very thorough job of it.

Drago said...

Char Char Binks: "Trump doesn't need to admit mistakes. The LSM does all that for him. They do a very thorough job of it."

They also helpfully conjure up "mistakes" where none exists in order to "help" Trump.

Who can forget the hilariously moronic editing of the Japan Trip fish feeding episode where they carefully showed an earlier moment with Abe putting a small amount of feed into the pond than cut right to Trump dumping the whole box in?

They media cut out the part where Trump mimic'ed Abe's actions for both the small feeding and then dumping the whole box in.

This is another of those "coincidences" readering claims does not exist.

MadisonMan said...

It does completely flip your world around when a sibling dies. Especially when you're not very old.

Hey Skipper said...

[rhhardin:] Airline pilot payed a lot back then, thanks to unions and competition regulation. My impression is that it's poverty-line now.

Just like some other professions — medical doctor being a good example — the early years serve as an apprenticeship, and pay accordingly.

After getting through that, though, things change substantially.

I'm a 757 Captain — last year I made $350,000. First Officers are in the low to mid twos.

Not exactly poverty line.

LA_Bob said...

Meade said, "“I have a complete list of every politician at the national level who has ever admitted a mistake -- it's a sheet of paper blank on both sides.”

Fire your research assistant. How did he miss President George Romney’s admission that he had allowed himself to be brainwashed?"


On a more serious note, Barry Goldwater admitted he had been wrong about Vietnam. And Ronald Reagan admitted he had once been a Democrat.

There's three politicians who admitted mistakes. They were all Republicans!

El Supremo said...

I love aviation, but an airline pilot is a pretty boring career, and the requirements really interfere with your private life, especially for an alcoholic. It's hard to get there, takes smarts and discipline, but once you are a commercial pilot, you pretty much drive a bus in the sky - a bus that drives itself most of the route.

Drago said...

MadisonMan: "It does completely flip your world around when a sibling dies. Especially when you're not very old."

Even more so an older sibling.

Drago said...

Did Bill Clinton ever apologize for biting Juanita Broaderick's lip while he was raping her?

Drago said...

I wonder if lefty/dem/LLR heroic figure Teddy Kennedy offered a mild apology to Mary Jo Kopechne just before "bravely" swimming away to leave her to die alone?

Paul Doty said...

It seems there is literally NOTHING Trump can't do and nothing for which he can't be held responsible.

Drago said...

I wonder if John F Kennedy ever eventually apologized to the White House intern he ordered to give a BJ to a Secret Service agent?

I mean, a real gentleman would have at least apologized, right?

Drago said...

Paul Doty; "It seems there is literally NOTHING Trump can't do and nothing for which he can't be held responsible."

The left/LLR-left did the same thing to Reagan and both Bush's.

If a butterfly falls to the ground in a forest it is the responsibility of a republican.

El Supremo said...

I'm not at all diminishing the talent and skill it takes to be a pilot, but it seems to be long hours of nothing most of the time. Then again, boredom is a small price to pay for that kind of money.

Michael K said...

Blogger readering said...
DJT probably thought his older brother was a coward, like the El Paso shooter, of whom he also said, "He gave up, just gave up."


Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.

There may be a pattern of these radical shooters killing, then giving up instead of "Suicide by Police."

They have "manifestos" that they publish, sort of like the Unabomber another enviro wacko who killed,.

The El Paso shooter was following the pattern of the New Zealand shooter and the Norway shooter,

They have a sick desire for the stage so they can promote their crazy politics, sort of like Steyer,

Drago said...

Do you think Bill Clinton properly tipped all the underage girls he and Epstein assaulted?

If not I hope he properly apologized later on.

purplepenquin said...

I gotta give Trump credit for remaining booze-free while being a wheeler-dealer & big-time player in the real estate game, entertainment business, and the political arena. The drinking culture is a big part of all three of those areas, and it is extra-hard to succeed in any one of 'em (let alone all three) as a total teetotaler.

tim in vermont said...

Trump is so incompetent he couldn’t even turn his brother into a mass shooter! Not to mention that he turned his brother into an alcoholic! If his brother had only become an airline pilot... he probably would have never touched a drop!

readering said...

The fate of the Dayton shooter, fatally shot within half a minute, demonstrates that no mass shooter should expect that his rampage will end in surrender.

tim in vermont said...

I think that mass shootings are about anger. One of the things about managing your anger is that you need to avoid feeding it, because it will grow like Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors. If you get on a website with other angry people, everybody is going to egg everybody else on. It’s a recipe for disaster. The only reason I support abortion rights is because I don’t want to live in the kind of society where it could be effectively prevented. I feel the same way about mass shootings.

Trading freedom for safety is a recipe for serfdom.

Drago said...

MK: "The El Paso shooter was following the pattern of the New Zealand shooter and the Norway shooter,"

Step 1: Find a "gun free zone".......

tim in vermont said...

MSNBC feeds anger too. Which is why a couple of the shootings have been done by their fans.

purplepenquin said...

And it's hijacking the threat.

Simple typo or Freudian slip? Whatever the reason, made me chuckle.



(and please note it is a kind-hearted chuckle and not mean-spirited)

tim in vermont said...

On the other hand, they could spend the kind of effort they spend chasing down kiddie porn to find and contact these people. Infiltrate chat rooms, etc. Of course it won’t be long before they will be coming after other people for wrongthink.

langford peel said...

The cause of young white men becoming shooters is the demonization of White people by the media, academia, feminists and the culture. It radicalizes them and turns them into violent terrorists.

Isn’t that what we hear Muslim terrorists every time there is a mass murder? It’s not their fault but the fault of the people that demonize them.

Drago said...

AAT: "MSNBC feeds anger too. Which is why a couple of the shootings have been done by their fans."

Dick Durbin's big fanboy was Hodgekinson.

Bernie and Liz and the rest of the dems own the Dayton Shooter as well.

AOC owns the Portland attempted murderer.

The SPLC owns the guy who tried to shoot up Focus on the Family.

And of course, CNN/MSNBC/et al own all of them.

I mean, if we are all going to be following the same rules around here.....

madAsHell said...

I highly recommend watching old interviews with Trump

Absolutely!! Trump has been running for President since the 80's. I also saw a Letterman interview. Trump was so unflappable that Letterman flapped out!!

tim in vermont said...

Sounds to me like this is another case of The Donald saving America from a potential tragedy by keeping his brother out of the pilot’s seat. Liberals are all upset that his alcoholic brother was denied his dream of taking the lives of dozens to hundreds of people into his hands.

purplepenquin said...

Trump has been running for President since the 80's

Was gonna run as a Democratic, no? I recall hearing something about him trying to talk Jesse Venture into being his running-mate, but please don't hold me to that one

narciso said...


His positions on trade and burdensharing go back 30 years



https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2019/08/08/they-will-still-hate-you-even-if-you-disarm-n2551257?fbclid=IwAR2mIr3blj5YaQM2xJk7kmsPDbV590gfkF5Je3L_5A5n-1ZyCabz2aTA4NM

rhhardin said...

Scott Adams says mass shootings are suicides. But the guy tries to make it meaningful.

rhhardin said...

I don't drink at all either. Also no drugs except aspirin. It's not an indication of moral purity, just contentment.

rhhardin said...

I'm not at all diminishing the talent and skill it takes to be a pilot, but it seems to be long hours of nothing most of the time. Then again, boredom is a small price to pay for that kind of money.

Planes are so easy to fly these days that even girls can do it.

readering said...

I asked my dad, who followed service as a navy pilot with a career in the travel industry, why he didn't become an airline pilot. He said flying a jet had as much appeal as driving a bus.

Jim at said...

DJT probably thought his older brother was a coward, like the El Paso shooter, of whom he also said, "He gave up, just gave up." - readering

And to think I actually used to read your comments. Click.

Unknown said...

Was Freddie a woman?

Eric said...

Okay, now that this guy has made up this stuff everybody can quote him!

Modern journalism!

Ignatius Acton Chesterton OCD said...

I find this desire for Trump to admit a "mistake" fascinating. I don't know many presidents who admit to mistakes.

Obama rarely admitted to mistakes. When he did, he was on his 2016 swan song. And most often, his "admissions" were couched in phraseology that made it other peoples' fault, de facto.

I didn't find Obama self-deprecatory at all. He had this soaring oratory, but his actions/choices always testified to his being a nasty guy. He and his Administration were a bunch of Chicago thugs. And the fish rots from the head.

Obama's Administration used the domestic and national security intelligence apparatus to spy on his domestic political opposition. That's despicable. There is no way an independent secretary or bureaucrat made those kinds of calls on their own. That message came from the top, with no paper trail. That's how they do it in Chicago.

readering said...

Now Andrew McCabe has filed suit in DC for wrongful dismissal, using different high powered lawyers. We'll see whom it gets assigned to . . . .

FrankiM said...

“Now Andrew McCabe has filed suit in DC for wrongful dismissal, using different high powered lawyers. We'll see whom it gets assigned to .”

McCabe says he was fired because he refused to pledge allegiance to Trump.

Michael K said...

Blogger readering said...
Now Andrew McCabe has filed suit in DC for wrongful dismissal, using different high powered lawyers. We'll see whom it gets assigned to . . . .


Can they sue from prison ? Asking for a friend.

MacMacConnell said...

Drago said...
"AAT: "MSNBC feeds anger too. Which is why a couple of the shootings have been done by their fans."

Dick Durbin's big fanboy was Hodgekinson.

Bernie and Liz and the rest of the dems own the Dayton Shooter as well.

AOC owns the Portland attempted murderer.

The SPLC owns the guy who tried to shoot up Focus on the Family.

And of course, CNN/MSNBC/et al own all of them.

I mean, if we are all going to be following the same rules around here....."


You forgot Obama's Black Lives Matter speeches got cops assassinated in Dallas and elsewhere.

rcocean said...

Wow, this is news to me. I thought as President of the Executive Branch the POTUS could fire anyone with cause. And any political appointee with no cause. Then Trump comes along, and it seems the POTUS can't fire anyone. If he does, it either wrongful dismissal or "obstruction of justice". When do Sessions and Comey sue?

rcocean said...

McCabe's wife got $400,000 or more from the D's to run for office. But McCabe never got around to mentioning that on his ethics disclosure form. Or all his hatred for Trump - his ultimate Boss.

But Trump couldn't fire him cause...reasons. That being said, if he finds a Democrat Judge he'll get $Millions.

rcocean said...

People have been enjoying alcohol - in moderation - since Oog the caveman. 95% of us, can handle it and it adds to the enjoyment of life. The other 5% can't. Too bad trump's brother couldn't handle it.

Those kind of people have to become tee-totlers.

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

Freddie is nickname for Frederick. German immigrants in the 1800s often named towns and boys for Prince Frederick of Prussia. The genius level of Germans named Frederick is known. We had a German named Nimitz from Fredericksburg , Texas who won the War in the Pacific by using both his brains and his understanding of men for us.

Fred Trump mellowed out his brain some by about marriage to a Viking Scot lady named McLeod from the outer Hebrides. But his brain power and her kindness lives on in DJT.

gilbar said...

Jo Biden said that Democrats "Choose Truth Over Facts"

One people figure out what that means, President Trump will be in Real Trouble!!

Matt Sablan said...

This is pretty low.

Gunner said...

Liberals are now pro-alcoholic pilots because Trump made them.

gilbar said...

Big Mike said...
@Meade, good point, but George Romney was never President so perhaps that’s where the business about never admitting mistakes started?


Big Mike, you Know he was Governor of Michigan, right?

DavidUW said...

Besides being a garbage article, you don’t think the siblings and parents of young children (to young adults like Freddy) torment themselves on what could have been.

Ghouls.

BUMBLE BEE said...

My sister just finished her suicide by alcohol in late May of this year after 2 years of my family's interventions and 3 wellness checks by the county sheriffs. The third time, she was hospitalized, diagnosed with advanced cirrhosis treated and released. She bled to death when her esophageal varices ruptured. Bled out both ends of the body actually. Spent 12 hours cleaning up blood spattered floor and tossing out every stitch of clothing as they were caked in blood. Alcoholism runs in families, the tragedies are immense. The promise of alcoholism is recovery, or insanity and death. The Donald learned his lesson, hence a teetotaler. If you haven't lived it, shut the fuck up. If you can't shut the fuck up, you have defined yourself quite clearly, but you'll be the last to know.

Molly said...

(eaglebeak)

1, Fred Trump, Jr. was an airline pilot. He lost that job because he drank, but he started out as a pilot. He lost his marriage for the same reason.

2. Donald Trump was initially very proud of Fred, had a photo of Fred in pilot uniform on his bureau all through college (Fred was eight years older than Donald and was an early mentor). By the way, Donald got into University of Pennsylvania/Wharton, but Fred, who obviously applied earlier, did not.

3. One of the driving forces in Freddie's life was the desire NOT to be part of the family business. He couldn't handle the father's harshness and demands, a fact that shocked and upset Donald. Donald, whom the father sent to military academy for five years to discipline him, seems to have used military academy to toughen up enough to resist the father.

n.n said...

Twitter deplatforming Republican senators. WaPo, of Water Closet fame, shaming the President. The political myths, the witch hunts, and warlock trials, in progress.

Molly said...

(eaglebeak)

Bumble Bee: I am very sorry to hear this. My condolences.

I had/have a very high percentage of alcoholics in my family--both sides. Genetically my family was a combination of WASPs and Celts (Scots, Welsh). There is no question in my mind that the tendency toward alcoholism is a genetically determined one.

narciso said...

so sorry to hear that bumblebee, the son of a neighbor, died under mysterious circumstances some months back

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

msnbc and CNN are not only FAKE NEWS they are HATE NEWS.

Rhonda said...

A new low, though I will write that again in 90:days or less.

steve uhr said...

He doesn't drink, is terribly concerned about the harm caused by alcohol to society, but yet owns a winery and Trump Vodka. And casinos that profit from addiction. Hard to figure.

Drago said...

rcocean: "McCabe's wife got $400,000 or more from the D's to run for office."

Careful!
Readering says thats a conspiracy, even though its a matter of public record.

Drago said...

Steve Uhr: "Hard to figure."

Not at all. Just hard for you.

Like everything else.

readering said...

Waste of space

Narayanan said...

https://youtu.be/e9iwgupTDcQ

Trump on Letterman 1987

Fen said...

BUMBLE: My sister just finished her suicide by alcohol in late May of this year after 2 years of my family's interventions and 3 wellness checks by the county sheriffs.

I'm sorry for you. I'm a child of two alcoholics, and while my story is different it's the same. Stay strong. You are not the only one to go through this, and if others have endured it you can too.

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

twitter - run by radical leftists, will let you make death threats to R senators, but if the R senator's team films leftist-D's making the death threats, the films will be removed on twitter.

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

Twitter platforms death threats to Republican Senators.

stevew said...

Right on Bumble Bee. I have five siblings, three are AA members and one died in a DUI accident, the other two of us drink responsibly. My parents struggled with drink most of their lives. My paternal grandfather gave up alcohol in his late 20's in order to woo my skeptical grandmother to be. His father died young of alcohol related illness. Family legend has it that my great grandmother said, as great grandfather's casket was lowered into the ground, "Well at least we'll know where he is tonight.".

WaPo and all these advice givers and blame assigners should just stfu.

readering said...

Folks should just stop using twitter. I've never used it.

tim in vermont said...

It’s best to let uhr’s comments stand for themselves. The ridiculousness is obvious to any fair minded person.

Josephbleau said...

Observation inclines me to hypothesize that the intelligence of boys is only dependent on the qualities of the mom. In girls inheritance from the father can be up to 100 pct. My daughter is about 90 pct me.

In good families fathers tell sons; marry a very smart girl.

readering said...

Worth mentioning that one does not have to suffer from alcoholism, one can be among the 95%, and yet be severely damaged by alcohol use. And a recent scientific survey of my profession, lawyers, showed 20.6% screening positive for hazardous, harmful, and potentially alcohol-dependent drinking.

narciso said...

That would be unilateral disarmament:



https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/04/09/london-mayor-knife-control/500328002/?fbclid=IwAR0bWsVETaWTJqjgXoxzIU8oQ-rwbS2pdmPics5laC0PRGdhttbVRFkBYpQ

minnesota farm guy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
minnesota farm guy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Comanche Voter said...

Did this Washington Post moron have a brother? If he didn't he's not qualified to talk about the dynamic between older and younger brother. In my case I was the older brother but not by much--11 months or so.

My wife has an older brother--3 years or so her senior. And in her mid 70's she still worships him.

Family dynamics are interesting--and different. Let this guy talk about his family--but not someone elses.

minnesota farm guy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Josephbleau said...

You say we are diving for gold, we say we are diving for pearls; we say we are diving for pearls, we say we are diving for love

minnesota farm guy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
minnesota farm guy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Narr said...

My parents were social drinkers only; my father didn't need to drink to be hot-tempered, especially in the 3-4 years he spent misdiagnosed before the cancer got him--he hurt, and had a fat wife and four unruly sons . . .

Older bro was a user and abuser of any and all substances; I was a binge drinker from the age of 15 to 30; my two younger brothers in between, but they eventually had to go tee-total. I drink less now in a year than I used to drink in an evening, even if I wanted to drink a lot, which I don't, having rurnt my stomach for it.

And I have no patience for drunks and druggies now.

Narr
Loo-zers!

stephen cooper said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
narciso said...

Well repentance was his message, but that was is anathema to this world:



https://mobile.twitter.com/paulsperry_/status/1159627700455333888

narciso said...

Is anathema, that was the deeper meaning of 'man does not live by bread alone,' that's spiritual sustenance, not material

Bruce Hayden said...

“Worth mentioning that one does not have to suffer from alcoholism, one can be among the 95%, and yet be severely damaged by alcohol use. And a recent scientific survey of my profession, lawyers, showed 20.6% screening positive for hazardous, harmful, and potentially alcohol-dependent drinking.”

Surprised it is that low. And I wonder what the level of illegal drug usage is.

My father attributed his law career to a binge drinker. He tried hanging out his shingle, and wasn’t doing very well. Then my mother got pregnant (with me). He was forced to give up his dream of practicing law. He applied for and received a job using his business degree at an S&L. The first day at work at his new job, one of the attorneys in the firm representing the S&L went on a bender. They borrowed my father for a week or two until this partner was back at work, and he ended up retiring from representing that client (among others) 47 years later, when the S&L was sold to a bigger bank.

stephen cooper said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
stephen cooper said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JML said...

Bumble, I had my last drink in 1987. Dad was an alcoholic and died at the age of 50, and my brother choked on his tongue when he fell in a drunken haze. I went thru a 30 day treatment at Clark AB. I self ID'ed, and as a young Captain, I figured I ruined my career. It didn't - other than my wife, sons and finding a deeper faith in God, it was the best thing that happened to me. I lost track of the 29 other graduates, but when I was keeping track, all but two of us started to drink again. Hard to stop, easy to start, and hard to understand what the evil it is that drives one to insanity and despair. Thoughts and prayers for you and your family.

Lewis Wetzel said...

"It is rare for Trump to express regret or admit mistakes."
Is this true when compared to previous presidents? I don't remember Obama expressing any regret or admitting any mistakes.

Fen said...

The first day at work at his new job, one of the attorneys in the firm representing the S&L went on a bender. They borrowed my father for a week or two until this partner was back at work, and he ended up retiring from representing that client (among others) 47 years later, when the S&L was sold to a bigger bank.

Interesting. My story is from the other angle. My father recruited a great legal mind as a law partner, guy was brilliant, bright future. And an alcoholic who spent most his billing hours settling cases out of court so he could stay drunk. It was such a waste. He could have been a Scalia.

Nichevo said...

readering said...
DJT probably thought his older brother was a coward, like the El Paso shooter, of whom he also said, "He gave up, just gave up."

8/8/19, 12:00 PM


Do me a favor, readering.

Since I am not there, wherever you are, would you kindly take a windup and slap yourself in the face? As hard as you can?

Please repeat until you are sorry for being a person who would say such a thing. If you break your hand first, keep going, but you can quit when you are just sorry that you said it.

readering said...

Devise something more elaborate and get back to me tomorrow.

Crazy World said...

BUMBLE BEE - speechless. Thank you very sharing that.
What a subject! Definitely runs in my family as so many have shared here.
Once again, all The Donald’s fault!

alanc709 said...

I was a heavy drinker for probably 40 years. Tried quitting several times without result. Finally, about 7 years ago, just got so tired of how horrible I felt on mornings after, and just decided to stop drinking. AA didn't work, but in the end, plain disgust did. Very fortunate.

Nichevo said...

Or you could just kill yourself.

JAORE said...

"I had my last drink in 1987."

Me too, same year (May 24 to be exact). Cold turkey....

Necessary. Life is good.

narayanan said...

"It is rare for Trump to express regret or admit mistakes."

what the ghouls want is "in public" so they can gloat.

Drago said...

readering: "Folks should just stop using twitter."

Filed Under: Things Lefties Never Said Prior To Trump Using Twitter To Beat The Left