Trump Is A Regular Surrender Monkey-- First To Turkey, Now To Lois Frankel

Our art director, Andrei Rublev (Wmxdesign), rarely writes about his creative process. He surprised me by doing so today, when he sent over the above piece: What would Warhol do with this current iteration of Trump? A broken man since childhood, trying to find self-esteem among stolen and borrowed dollar bills-- an insecure man surrounded by purchased women and a thin facade of success. Would Warhol find that Trump is a media icon to be dissected and splayed to see what went wrong? Unknowable at this point-- but he would most likely target the most apparent quality of the Trump psychogenic personality. That distillation would probably be Self Pity. The complete collapse of the Trump myth is unfolding across all media; it repeats endlessly. Donald John Trump is an Andy Warhol installation that has unravelled through the decades. Trump is a raw id, ego, superego catastrophe in plain sight. We all look. We can’t look away whether we watch in disgust or blind adulation. For Trump, the full embodiment of Self-pity amplified across all media repeats ad infinitum. Warhol would retch and then make art from the sputum. I believe he's calling it Self-pity Amplified Across All Media Repeats Ad Infinitum.

On Friday, Lois Frankel (D-FL), Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and Steve Cohen (TN) in the House and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in the Senate introduced the very timely THUG Act (Trump’s Heist Undermines the G-7). The bill was meant to prohibit funding for the G-7 Summit at the Trump National Doral and would require Trump to submit to all documents to Congress that are related to his decision to host the G-7 Summit at his property. There was no question the bill would have passed-- and with the support of some Republicans. Homeland Security Chair Bennie Thompson explained that "The prospect that Trump Administration would set aside the Constitution to line the President’s pockets by choosing to host the upcoming G-7 Conference to prop up one the President’s failing properties is enormously troubling... We need to get to the bottom of how the decision to host this National Security Special Event at one of the President’s resorts was made and whether President’s financial interests may have outweighed homeland security concerns." As Frankel explained, "Trump is unashamed of his corruption. He is abusing the office of the Presidency and violating law by directing millions of dollars of American and foreign money to his family enterprises by holding an important meeting of world leaders at his Doral resort."

Rep. Cohen went even further: "I am deeply concerned about President Trump’s priorities. Rather than focus on the American people, he seems to be busy padding his wallet with taxpayer and foreign money. The federal government isn’t his personal piggy bank nor should it be the promotional arm of the Trump Organization. The announcement that the next G7 Summit will be held at his Doral Miami resort is a brazen example of the corruption and self-dealing that has characterized this administration. I believe this is a direct abuse of the president’s power and an emoluments clause violation. Beyond that, no public official should take any action suggesting an improper motive, and this has impropriety written all over it. The THUG Act would force the Administration to turn over documents on how a Trump property was chosen and prevent federal funds from being spent at the President’s Doral Miami resort to host the G7 Summit."

A few hours later this whiny-bitch tweet appeared, surrounding while defending his bed-bug infested cash-starved resort:

So what happened? Miami Tribune reporters Michael Wilner, Francesca Chambers and Devoun Cetoute were on the case last last. Drowning in criticism from all sides, Trump reversed himself, objected surrounding to public opinion less than three days after the plans were first announced. Democrats, they wrote "vowed to add the case to a sweeping federal lawsuit accusing the president of repeatedly violating the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution."


Trump initially previewed his plan to pick Trump National Doral at this year’s G-7 summit in France over the summer, citing the golf resort’s proximity to Miami International Airport and its isolation from pedestrians.

But the announcement itself was rolled out hastily.

Originally scheduled for earlier in the week, the decision to name the location was delayed until Thursday, when Mulvaney hosted a media briefing.

Mulvaney acknowledged he was initially “skeptical” of the selection, but ultimately came to believe it was the “perfect physical location,” he told reporters. And he insisted there would be “no issue here on him profiting from this in any way, shape, or form” from the selection of Doral.

“I would suggest that he probably doesn’t need much help promoting his brand, so we’ll put the profit one aside and deal with a perfect place,” he said.

The summit was scheduled to take place on June 9-13, 2020, and would have marked Miami’s debut on the international stage. Heads of state from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom would have converged on the site for for their yearly meeting.

The nations rotate hosting duties, and Trump said he was interested in the United States inviting the nations to his golf resort, but Miami Herald records requests to the City of Doral, the office of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and local police found no evidence of communication from Washington about potentially hosting the summit.

Gimenez told The Herald that he spoke to Trump during by phone when Hurricane Dorian threatened Miami in August, in which the president told him that he was thinking about hosting the summit in Miami-Dade.

After two calls to the Secret Service’s Miami office and strong hints from Trump, the City of Doral had assigned an extra $270,000 to the city’s police budget to cover security costs tied to the summit, Doral Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez said.

Midnight Meme Of The Day!

by Noah

Clown time at the G7! With Putin pulling the strings. England's economy has already slid down for 5th to 6th. How low will it go? We may soon find out. And what about ours? Well, maybe Mr. "Only I can fix it" knows, right? He's a very stable genius! Just look at him!

How Do Progressives Look At Trumpanzee's Summit With Kim?

Trump's bluster isn't going away soon but his obvious first priorities to get something accomplished so he can get a Nobel Peace Prize (instead of a Piece Prize for sleeping with hookers. His second priority is to make himself look like he can get something done for his moron base (and the moron media)-- after his catastrophic G-7 donnybrook. And his other priority (which actually be first) is to be able to build a golf course and tower (or even a chain of McDonalds)in Pyongyang.)

Should progressives be rooting for him? Well... yes, if he makes real progressive towards denuclearization and actual peace, peace even beyond just signing a Potemkin-like "eace treaty" that either madman could tear up. Trump is a terrible negotiator-- very much like Kaiser Wilhelm II was. He thinks of himself as the "indispensable" man, like Wilhelm did. That's absurd in both cases. In fact, Trump has been boasting that if North Korea doesn't bend to his will, he'll re-install "maximum sanction." Is that so? Who does he think will join him? Certainly not Russia or China, who were already ignoring his sanctions. And now he'll have a hard time with the leaders of Europe, who all hate him, as does our #1 ally, Canada.

Yesterday Ro Khanna and 14 of his colleagues sent Trump an official letter, explaining what Americans would like to see him accomplish in Singapore. "We are encouraged," wrote Khanna, "by your efforts to pursue direct diplomacy with North Korea with the dual goals of resolving the nearly seven-decade-long conflict and achieving the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. As many of us wrote to you in May 2017, diplomacy is the only path to resolve the tensions between our countries. There is a broad popular mandate for this diplomatic approach: at a time when he has engaged in an unprecedented diplomatic effort, South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in has an 85 percent approval rating, while recent polls indicate that four out of five Americans support diplomacy with North Korea."

We remain concerned that some, from both parties and inside and outside of your administration, seek to scuttle progress by attempting to limit the parameters of the talks, including by insisting on full and immediate denuclearization or other unrealistic commitments by North Korea at an early date. The comments made by National Security Advisor John Bolton, and echoed at times by both yourself and the Vice President, regarding the Libya model-- referencing the complete dismantlement of Libya’s fledgling nuclear program-- was an especially unconstructive approach given the subsequent NATO intervention and overthrow of the Qaddafi regime in 2011. Requiring unreasonable concessions before talking, or early in the negotiations process, is precisely why this conflict remains unresolved.

Instead, we emphasize the tremendous value of incremental progress that advances the potential for future agreements. Among the positive steps that you can commit to right away are: pledges or agreements to formally end the 68-year war, ending the practice of US-ROK “decapitation” military exercises, and support for important cooperative efforts such as vital humanitarian assistance, parliamentarian dialogue and exchanges, reunions between Koreans and Korean American families, and the repatriation of US servicemember remains.

Such steps, combined with commensurate actions by North Korea, could help facilitate the phased denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. One of the world’s foremost nuclear weapons experts and one of the only Americans to visit North Korea’s nuclear facilities, Sig Hecker, notes that the best the United States can hope for is a phased denuclearization, which would manage the greatest risks early on and then address lower priority aspects of the program over the course of ten or more years.

We reiterate that the United States cannot achieve a lasting agreement alone. Allies and partners are vital in making a durable peace. That is why we are gravely concerned with your violation of the Iran nuclear agreement. Your approach to this feat of international diplomacy places substantial obstacles in your path as you seek historic progress on peace.

We once again must remind you that in the unfortunate event of a setback or collapse in talks, you do not have the authority under the U.S. Constitution or U.S. law to strike North Korea. With the sole exception of instances requiring a response to a sudden attack, our founding fathers clearly granted the power to declare war to the Congress under Article I, Section 8, Clause 11. As James Madison explained, “The power to declare war, including the power of judging the causes of war, is fully and exclusively vested in the legislature […] the executive has no right, in any case, to decide the question, whether there is or is not cause for declaring war.”

Further, our close ally South Korea has made clear that a military approach to this situation poses unacceptable risks to their people and nation.  As the previous administrations dating back to that of Richard Nixon determined, any military option could precipitate an unacceptable counter-reaction from Pyongyang, which today could immediately threaten the lives of as many as a third of the South Korean population, put nearly 30,000 U.S. service members and over 100,000 other U.S. citizens residing in South Korea in grave danger, and also threaten our other regional allies such as Japan. Moreover, the Pentagon reported this year that only through a costly, bloody ground invasion would the United States be able to secure all of North Korea’s nuclear weapons. Secretary of Defense James Mattis said that a U.S.-North Korea war would be “catastrophic.” In the event talks break down, the U.S. deterrence that was successful in avoiding nuclear war with the USSR for decades and has been successful with North Korea for years, remains the only policy for which you have constitutional authority.

Accordingly, we stand ready to provide support for potentially historic progress made through diplomacy, but will continue to stand with our ally South Korea in vehemently opposing any return to threats of illegal and unacceptable military action.

Andy Borowitz noted that Kim could offer to host peace talks between the U.S. and Canada.

Speaking to reporters at his hotel in Singapore, Kim said that the rising tensions between the North American neighbors were posing an “intolerable threat to world peace.”

In addition to offering to host U.S.-Canada talks in Pyongyang, Kim urged the immediate creation of a demilitarized zone along the border separating the two hostile nations.

“In exchange for Canadian Mounties agreeing to stand down on their side of the border, the United States, in turn, would dismantle its nuclear weapons,” Kim said.

Although stating that “North Korea stands ready and willing to be an honest broker” in peace talks between the two countries, he urged Trump to dial back the “inflammatory rhetoric” that he aimed at Canadians over the weekend.

“Violent language and threats have no place in international diplomacy,” Kim said.

Midnight Meme Of The Day!

by Noah

The stuff of Putin's dreams. Dividing America from its allies. Mission accomplished. It wouldn't shock me one bit if Putin already has had a copy of this meme enlarged to 12 feet by 5 feet and hung on a wall in the Kremlin. Maybe he has it on the ceiling of his bedroom. As an intelligence agent and agent-provocateur, Putin has an evil genius, regardless of how easy Señor Trumpanzee makes it for him to achieve his goals.

Our aforementioned "leader" is, on the other hand, an inept 71-year-old with the emotional development and maturity of a spoiled, petulant, screaming 3-year-old who is more than willing to pee and shit wherever his desire for instant gratification suits him, leading the world to clean up his mess, just like arrogant despotic mental cases before him.

Indulging in his "if I say what is fake is true, it's true and vice-versa" approach to life, he has claimed big success at the G-7. But, big success for whom? That is a question that too many in Congress and too many in the media refuse to ask. They fall into 3 camps: Those who are accomplices, those who are too dumb to do their job, or those who are too afraid to risk their jobs by putting their country ahead of their own bank accounts.

Expressing his contempt for the G-7, displaying his pathetic economic ignorance and blowing up the G-7 by refusing to sign off on the already negotiated agreement infuriated our allies. Trump has ceded our leadership in the world to those who once trusted us and were our staunchest allies. Working against American workers, and isolating the United States from its allies only serves the economic and geo-political interests of our rivals and adversaries. With each passing week, Trump proves that he places himself and his master, Putin, before Americans. Trump is Russia's hottest asset, or, as he himself would say, most tremendous asset.

In the same week that Trumpanzee turned the G-7 into a disaster for America and its democratic trading partners, we heard that Putin and Trump speak on the phone frequently. Obviously, Putin not only helped Trump get to the White House but he is now coaching his ignorant puppet into seeking a merger of American interests with Russia's interests, if not a merger of the two countries and government styles themselves. Pushing away our allies doesn't make sense unless your aim is to have a new set of allies. Putin is proving to be a master of "Divide and Conquer."

Trump has now greatly expanded and exacerbated the list of inevitable results his dream trade war and marched on to whatever results from the North Korea Summit, and, of course, all of the hidden side meetings with China, meetings whose main goals will be to benefit the Trump family's personal business interests.

Can A President-- Even An Illegitimate One-- Be Guilty Of Treason?

The Diplomat by Nancy Ohanian

Yesterday, the NY Times reported that Señor Trumpanzee "upended two days of global economic diplomacy late Saturday, refusing to sign a joint statement with America’s allies, threatening to escalate his trade war on the country’s neighbors and deriding Canada’s prime minister as 'very dishonest and weak,' In a remarkable pair of acrimony-laced tweets from aboard Air Force One as he flew away from the Group of 7 summit toward a meeting with North Korea’s leader, Mr. Trump lashed out at Justin Trudeau. He accused the prime minister, who hosted the seven-nation gathering, of making false statements."

At the same time, Bloomberg reported that Señor T's comments "undermine the G-7, a bloc that was once a pillar of U.S. foreign policy and has long acted as a defender of the global economic system. It could also cause fresh friction with his northern neighbor as tensions percolate over efforts to redraw the North American Free Trade Agreement." The joint statement Trump refused to sign is the one he had already agreed to, Everyone knows that the fat drug addicted slob in the White House is jealous of the handsome, fit and intelligent Canadian prime minister. Canada's tariffs are about half what the U.S.' are.

Trudeau’s office responded to the tweets with a written statement, saying the prime minister’s comments in public and in private with Trump were “nothing he hasn’t said before” and that he was “focused on everything we accomplished here at the G-7 summit.” Trudeau himself declined to comment during an appearance with Argentina’s president. "Good to see you guys," Trudeau said to journalists asking for reaction. "It’s a beautiful evening, a great weekend."

A senior U.K. government official said Theresa May’s government stands by commitments made in the communique, and a similar statement was issued by the German government. “I think they’ll all come down on Trudeau’s side” with the possible exception of Japan’s Shinzo Abe, Kirton said. “This is clearly six versus one.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has not responded to Trump’s post-summit tweets.

Even before Trump’s shock reversal, Macron bemoaned the lack of G-7 unity, giving a hint that the tensions hadn’t been put to rest. Trump had at one point proposed that G-7 nations eliminate all tariffs, barriers and subsidies.

“I heard President Trump say he wants maximum trade and minimum tariffs for G-7 members. Be my guest,” Macron told reporters Saturday. “We need seven to dance that tango, and the next move needs to be made by the one who first took a step backward.”

In a tweet later, Macron said Trump’s isolation from the international community is “contrary to American history.”

Butcher's Helper by Nancy Ohanian

Later in the day he issued a statement: "We spent two days to obtain a text and commitments. We will stand by them and anyone who would depart from them, once their back was turned, shows their incoherence and inconsistency." Why is Trump doing this? Can an one doubt he was repaying a debt to his benefactor in the Kremlin?

Yesterday, after the damage was done, Putin said he is ready to meet Trumpanzee "as soon as Washington was ready, adding Vienna could be a possible venue for such a summit."

Putin: "As soon as the American side is ready this meeting would take place depending on my working schedule of course. The US president himself repeatedly said that he would consider such a meeting helpful. I can confirm this. It’s true."

Putin asked Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on a visit to Vienna earlier this week to help organise such a meeting and that Washington was considering it.

Under the conservative [neo-fascist, not conservative] Kurz, Austria has strived to act as a mediator between Russia and the West.

While the EU-state imposed sanctions on Russia over Crimea along with the rest of the bloc, Austria did not expel Russian diplomats like other Western nations following the March poisoning of a Russian former double agent and his daughter in Britain, an attack London has accused Moscow of being behind.

Trump's Director of National Intelligence former Indiana Republican Senator Dan Coats told the Atlantic Council that Russia "is attempting to influence the midterm elections in the United States in November as well as divide the transatlantic alliance." His statements are sure to flip Trump out and send him into a rage.

Coats said Russia had already undertaken an “unprecedented influence campaign to interfere in the US electoral and political process” in 2016. Russia, Coats pointed out, has also meddled in France, Germany, Norway, Spain, and Ukraine. "It is 2018, and we continue to see Russian targeting of American society in ways that could affect our midterm elections," he said.

Coats’ comments are aligned with assessments by the US intelligence community and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who in his previous role as director of the Central Intelligence Agency warned that he expected Russia to attempt to disrupt the midterm elections.

...“These Russian actions are purposeful and premeditated and they represent an all-out assault, by Vladimir Putin, on the rule of law, Western ideals and democratic norms,” he said.

“[Putin’s] actions demonstrate that he seeks to sow divisions within and between those in the West who adhere to democratic norms,” he added.

Is Congress going to let this slide? Probably. I don't see Ryan and McConnell standing up to Trump on this; do you? Max Boot is a conservative foreign policy expert but does anyone care that he's saying that "This transatlantic rift is a gift to Russia that amply repays Vladimir Putin's investment in helping the Trump campaign." It's the truth but Republicans aren't ready to hear it. John Kasich is leaving office and he said that Trump's pivot "does not protect or defend the national security interests of the United States or our allies." Who care what he says? Independent voters in November? Or is Putin taking care of that, as Coats alleges?

Trump Is An Embarrassment To Our Country

India and Brazil have much larger economies than Russia? So why not them?

Earlier today, the New York Times reported that Chief of Staff John Kelly told senators what it's like working in the White House for Trump: "a miserable place to work." In Saturday morning's comparison between Trump and a buffoonish predecessor on the world stage from fin de siècle, Wilhelm II, German Kaiser from 1888 until 1918, my favorite similarity was Miranda Carter's observation that "One of the many things that Wilhelm was convinced he was brilliant at, despite all evidence to the contrary, was 'personal diplomacy,' fixing foreign policy through one-on-one meetings with other European monarchs and statesmen. In fact, Wilhelm could do neither the personal nor the diplomacy, and these meetings rarely went well."

Over the weekend Trump claimed that on a 1-10 scale his relationships with world leaders is a solid 10. He's as delusion as Wilhelm was, who was saved by Woodrow Wilson from being hanged. None of the leaders of America's allies can even stand him. He's popular with fascists and authoritarians like himself-- especially Putin, who helped put him in the White House to harm America and break up NATO. Yesterday CNN reported that he doubled down on his call for Russia to be readmitted into the G7 and blamed his predecessor for Russia's aggression in Crimea. I wonder if anyone told the orange orangutan anything about the Crimea or even where it is.

"I think it would be an asset to have Russia back in," Trump said during an impromptu press conference at the summit. "I think it would be good for the world. I think it would be good for Russia. I think it would be good the United States. I think it would be good for all of the countries of the current G7. I think the G8 would be better."

Russia was suspended from the group-- then known as the G8-- in 2014 after the majority of member countries allied against its annexation of Crimea. It was the first violation of a European country's borders since World War II.

Trump suggested that Russia be allowed back into the global group despite their continued occupation of Crimea.

"I would say that the G8 is a more meaningful group than the G7, absolutely," Trump said. He also blamed former US President Barack Obama for Russia's move into that nation.

"You'll have to ask Obama, because he was the one that let Crimea get away" he said when asked about the annexation. "He allowed Russia to take Crimea. I may have had a much different attitude."

Trump's advocacy for Russia's readmittance to the powerful group of industrialized nations-- which he first voiced on Friday-- comes despite consistent opposition from European allies.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a press conference Friday that there was consensus that Russia should not return to the G7.

"We agree that a return by Russia to the G7 format cannot happen as long as there isn't any substantial progress in regard to the problems with Ukraine. That was the common view," she said.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland told reporters on Friday that "there are no grounds whatsoever for bringing Russia, with its current behavior, back into the G7."

"We (have) always been clear we should engage with Russia where it is in our interests, but we need to remember why G8 became the G7, it was because Russia illegally annexed Crimea," a European diplomat said Friday. "Since then we have seen an increase in Russian misbehavior and attempts to undermine democracy in Europe. It is not appropriate for Russia to rejoin until we see it behaving responsibly. Putin should get nothing for free."

This sentiment was echoed by a senior United Kingdom government source.

"The PM has always said we should engage with Russia but beware. We should remind ourselves why the G8 became the G7-- it was after Russia illegally annexed Crimea," the source said. "Before any conversations can take place about Russia rejoining, it needs to change its approach."

Lawmakers in the United States have also condemned Trump's comments, which some have taken as the latest example of the US President's failure to condemn Russia for its interference in the 2016 election.

"The President has inexplicably shown our adversaries the deference and esteem that should be reserved for our closest allies," Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona said in a scathing statement Friday.

Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse said in a statement, "Putin is not our friend and he is not the President's buddy. He is a thug using Soviet-style aggression to wage a shadow war against America, and our leaders should act like it."

Former Vice President Joe Biden denounced Trump's remarks, writing on Twitter, "Putin's Russia invaded its neighbors, violated our sovereignty by undermining elections, and attacks dissidents abroad. Yet our President wants to reward him with a seat at the table while alienating our closest democratic allies. It makes no sense."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Friday that Trump was turning US foreign policy "into an international joke, doing lasting damage to our country."

Trump made a spectacle of himself by arriving late and leaving early, adding nothing to the substantive discussions other than his school yard bullying and laughable bluster. He sat playing with his cell phone and tweeting while the adults talked about serious issues he doesn't like or even comprehend. He seems to think international meeting should be about foreigners kissing his fat ass and flattering him the way dictatorships do. As soon as he was told that the national leaders were to have working session on protecting the world's oceans and redoubling efforts to stave off catastrophic climate change, he fled for the exit-- and an impromptu press conference where he could spout off again and topics he likes-- like Putin, childish threats to our allies and, of course, America First.