Leo

Well-known member
sane republicans are fine with Chris Wallace and reporters like him, they understand he's just doing his job and calls out both republicans and democrats equally on their bullshit. the trump base, which makes up a third of the GOP, think everything aside from hannity/carlson is country-hating fake news.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
It doesn't seem that far-fetched to see a scenario in which Trump gives an order that some security forces feel they can't follow and some feel they have to because he's the president (possibly connected to him staying in power after losing an election, possibly not)... and then what happens, civil war?
 

Leo

Well-known member
it's all worth a look but particularly interesting to skip to about 14:45. not a lot has changed since '86. back then, Japan was the bad guy.

 

woops

is not like other people
i watched a load of these old interviews recently and he seems reasonably sane, rich, but has sense of humour and even modesty showin' through
 

Leo

Well-known member
another example of his well-worn effort to distract attention away from the deep shit he's in, saying something outrageous.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
another example of his well-worn effort to distract attention away from the deep shit he's in, saying something outrageous.
Yeah, it's tried and tested by this point, isn't it? Oh shit, I'm getting flack for being a lecherous creep, better remind everyone how much I hate Mexicans. Oh shit, everyone's calling me a racist, better launch an unprovoked attack on Crooked Hillary...
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
That's true... but at the same time there is also a very real risk that he will try to delay or cancel the election or declare it void when he loses. That's why it's such an effective tactic I suppose.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Oh, I don't doubt he'll try. He may even succeed. I don't know whether the power to decide this lies in the SC or the Senate or what. Both of which appear to be packed with Trumpist yes-men, which doesn't bode well.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Apparently congress only can decide on the election date but there might be some tiny wriggle room if he declares some kind of state of emergency but that seems debatable. Apparently, the basic rule is that he has to leave office on 21st Jan unless re-elected ie even if there is no election. So just delaying the election is not enough in itself.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
Yeah true, as they should be, but the most important ones - Moscow Mitch, Barr, Lindsey Graham etc - haven't said anything or, worse, have said a kind of "maybe".
 

Leo

Well-known member
actually...

Whatever his motivation on Thursday, senior Republicans and an array of senators wanted no part of it, diverging from their standard practice of walking on eggshells after a Trump eruption.

“Never in the history of the federal elections have we not held an election, and we should go forward,” said Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the House minority leader and an enthusiastic supporter of Mr. Trump’s, adding that he understood “the president’s concern about mail-in voting.”

Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, echoed Mr. McCarthy, saying “we’ll find a way” to hold the election on Nov. 3.

Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, rivals for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination who have since become staunch Trump supporters, both dismissed the idea that the date for the election could change. Senator Lindsey Graham, Mr. Trump’s foremost public defender in the Senate, said there would be a secure vote in November. And officials in key swing states showed little interest in engaging on the topic.

“We’re going to have an election, it’s going to be legitimate, it’s going to be credible, it’s going to be the same as it’s always been,” Mr. Rubio told reporters at the Capitol in Washington.

Mr. Cruz agreed. “I think election fraud is a serious problem,” he said. “But, no, we should not delay the election.”
 

Leo

Well-known member
there's a humorous supercut of Fox News hosts mocking Biden a few months ago as a conspiracy theorist when he speculated that trump would do exactly this.

no coincidence on yesterday's timing...

As is often the case, Trump dashed off his attention-hoovering tweet at an opportune moment Thursday morning. The worst economic decline ever recorded in U.S. history had just been announced. An aid package to save tens of millions of consumers was stuck in a deadlock. The rampant pandemic at the core of the problem was spiraling further out of control. And his poll numbers were floundering just three months away from the election.

So Trump did what he so often does when under pressure: He tried to change the subject, giving himself cover for any future failures.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/30/trump-delaying-2020-election-suggestion-389059
 
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