Trump's Tailspin
So, America, are we tired of all that "winning" yet?
Yes, that was a facetious question, intended to point out that America is not so much tired of "winning" right now as it is increasingly tired of President Donald Trump's antics. Because his presidency just keeps right on hitting new lows, on a weekly basis (sometimes on a daily basis, in fact). Every time you think: "Well, he certainly can never top that one," he roars back to set the bar even lower, oftentimes with jaw-dropping impact.
The past few days has seen this cycle repeat once again. After some nuclear brinksmanship with North Korea and threatening Venezeula with military force, Trump turned to heal the racial divide in America. Well, no, he didn't. What he actually did was to pour a few gallons of gasoline on the fire, just to make it burn that much brighter.
It's always been pretty impossible to get inside Trump's head to tell what he's thinking, but yesterday he was pretty unequivocal. Some Nazis and white supremacists are "very fine people." It was all those lefties that are totally to blame. Pairing his extraordinary (and unplanned) press conference yesterday with his TelePrompTer statement Monday, it's pretty easy to tell which words were heartfelt and which were not. Everything he said Monday was recited in the monotone of a schoolboy being forced to apologize for something he's really not at all sorry about. Yesterday, however, Trump spoke with emotion and combativeness, quite obviously defending his true thoughts on the matter.
This should have been a slam-dunk for any president to address. It's pretty easy to come out against both Nazis and white supremacists. They're groups which unquestionably fall into the "indefensible" category, after all. Watch the videos of them marching with torches the night before their planned rally, and you will see zero "very fine people" there, because all of them are racist and anti-Semitic deplorables. Every single one, marching alongside their Nazi flags and spouting their racist slogans.
Trump's insistence that he needed time to get all the facts before responding was downright laughable. When -- ever before -- has Trump waited to get the facts on anything before responding? Remember that time he called a shooting incident in the Philippines a terrorist attack when it turned out to be a robbery at a casino? He sure didn't wait for any facts that time, and that's merely one example among many. The difference between the time it took Trump to speak out against racists was a lot longer than, say, the single hour it took him to respond to a C.E.O. announcing his withdrawal from a Trump advisory council. Again, that's just one example -- there are hundreds of others to choose from.
Some Republicans have stepped up to the plate and strongly denounced neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Marco Rubio, in particular, is doing a pretty admirable job of not mincing any words in response to the lack of leadership from Trump. As I said before, this really should be an absolute slam-dunk for any politician. It's like coming out against necrophilia or serial murder -- there's just no conceivable way to explain not being against these things, especially for a politician.
But that didn't deter Trump from trying. Reportedly, yesterday's television appearance was supposed to just be a short statement on infrastructure, after which (it's easy to assume) Trump was supposed to turn the podium over to Elaine Chao for details. Instead, much to the surprise of his own staff, Trump invited questions from the press, fully aware of what the questions would be about. Trump sparred with the press for a good long time, instead of just walking away when the questions got tough. He wanted this fight, as you can plainly see in his demeanor during the entire presser. He obviously was chafing at being told what to say one day earlier, and he really wanted to get a few things off his chest.
Interestingly, Trump failed to offer much support for Steve Bannon, when asked. Rumors have been flying that Bannon is going to be fired by the end of the week, but other rumors are also circulating that Trump is afraid if he fires Bannon he'll lose support from the alt-right voters. Think about that for a second: Trump's base is shrinking so fast that this would be a major blow to his public support if Nazi and white supremacist sympathizers turned away from him.
Trump's job approval ratings have been heading downward, which started even before Charlottesville happened. This is rather extraordinary because presidential job approval numbers usually match up pretty closely with how the economy is doing. The economy is still doing well (although not quite as well as Barack Obama's last year in office), and yet Trump's poll numbers are taking a big dive. Historically, this is unusual. Trump is beginning to lose his base, and he is now flailing around in an effort to shore it up. His big problem is that the more he panders to the farthest of the far right, the more moderates and sane Republicans turn against him.
Or maybe it's even worse than that. Here's the Wikipedia definition (for psychological use) of the word "decompensation":
In psychology, the term refers to the inability to maintain defense mechanisms in response to stress, resulting in personality disturbance or psychological imbalance. Some who suffer from narcissistic personality disorder or borderline personality disorder may decompensate into persecutory delusions to defend against a troubling reality.
Sounds pretty close to the mark, when you think about it. His job approval rating is dropping down into (in some polls) the low 30s, and he's making it more and more impossible for anyone to continue rationalizing their support of him. So many C.E.O.s walked away from his business councils that he disbanded them today (via Twitter, of course). It's getting easier and easier for Republicans in Congress to take a stand against Trump, and many are getting a lot bolder in the language they chose to refute the leader of their own party. Even before all this happened, Trump's legislative agenda was going nowhere in Congress, and the only major bill he's gotten to sign strips him of power in foreign relations because Congress doesn't trust him.
This week was a new low for Trump. It may later be seen as a tipping point, where Trump begins to lose major portions of the base that elected him and where his own party also turns hard against him. Or maybe not -- it's impossible to tell, at this early juncture. Perhaps Mike Pence was seen at the windows of the Oval Office late last night, taking measurements for new drapes, or perhaps it was just one of the guys doing the current remodel.
Kidding aside, I'm going to end where I began. Because the scariest thing to contemplate in this week's tailspin is that Trump always manages to outdo himself. In other words, we have yet to hit bottom. We're all slipping down the slope with Trump, and I am fully confident that within a week or two Trump will do or say something even more outrageous than defending the alt-right. For any other human being, you'd automatically assume that he couldn't go any lower than he went this week, but after all, this is Donald J. Trump we're talking about.
-- Chris Weigant
Cross-posted at The Huffington Post
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
A leading psychiatry group has told its members they should not feel bound by a longstanding rule against commenting publicly on the mental state of public figures — even the president.
The statement, an email this month from the executive committee of the American Psychoanalytic Association to its 3,500 members, represents the first significant crack in the profession’s decades-old united front aimed at preventing experts from discussing the psychiatric aspects of politicians’ behavior. It will likely make many of its members feel more comfortable speaking openly about President Trump’s mental health.
Trump's behavior is seen as such a threat to our nation that the association felt they would be doing more harm if they didn't allow its members to speak out.
@russ,
much like behaviorists on the opposite side of the spectrum, psychoanalysts have diverged pretty far from the mainstream of psychology and psychiatry practice. this is not to say their opinions are without value, but psychological opinions from psychoanalysts are sort-of like political opinions from the world socialist web site - they need to be understood in a larger context than the one they provide for themselves. as professionals from the two main organizations make their voices heard, we'll see what those organizations do.
JL
Nypoet22,
Wasn't endorsing psychoanalysis, just pointing out that one group that work under the APA's Goldwater Rule has decided it is not right to silence its members and chose to do so because of Trump's presidency.
-Russ
threatening Argentina with military force
CW: Easily correctable mental typo; if my memory serves way back to earlier this week, it was Venezuela.
[4] I'm not sure that Trump knew the difference.
Might as well be Argentina.
Yes [4] LeaningBlue it was Venezuela and I also agree with [5] Balthasar that Trump wouldn't know the difference (he'd be hard pressed to find South America on a map let alone Venezuela or Argentina) so it might as well be Argentina!
[1] Russ,
Small correction: APA is the American Psychiatric Association so you were right in saying that it is the leading psychiatry group. :)
In those APA members' professional opinions I've heard or read, they also note that, in the absence of clinical examinations, technology has now made remote diagnosis possible and more accurate. While they still add the caveat that any conclusive diagnosis must include clinical tests, their remote diagnoses are very similar.
I watched as three medical experts discussed Trump's case and it was fascinating. They all readily agreed that he displayed classic symptoms of malignant Narcissistic Personality Disorder which is incurable.
They also agreed that he's also displaying symptoms of a far more recent secondary illness. One of the three specialized in Gerontology with expertise in brain-deterioration afflictions. It was her opinion that Trump was most likely suffering from Fronto-temporal Lobe Dementia. This is a wasting disease that is also incurable.
All three compared the symptoms of FTL Dementia with archived and recent footage of Trump and at the end of a riveting hour, all agreed that FTL Dementia was a very likely candidate for his secondary illness.
Lasting approximately 7 years, it is rarely diagnosed earlier than late in the 4th year/early in the 5th year. In the final 2 years, deterioration of the frontal temporal lobe increases exponentially until the patient dies.
The Gerontologist thought Trump was probably in the final stages of the 4th year when confusion (wandering off and inappropriate behavior) and declining cognitive function, including language, become more obvious and frequent. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 12 months.
As for whether it affects his capacity to do the job, I don't see how anyone could tell. He started out as incompetent so more incompetence will just be more of the same.
@mopshell,
Psychology, psychiatry and psychoanalysis all start with p, so technically all three organizations are the APA. Psychology is the default for publication, psychiatry for medication, but for diagnostic criteria it's ambiguous.
JL
Mopshell wrote:
"Yes [4] LeaningBlue it was Venezuela and I also agree with [5] Balthasar that Trump wouldn't know the difference (he'd be hard pressed to find South America on a map let alone Venezuela or Argentina) so it might as well be Argentina!"
To be fair, that would unfortunately be true of most ordinary Americans. I saw on one of the networks some reporters doing a "man on the street" interview asking people passing by to point out where North Korea was on a map of the world. One woman pointed to Canada!
Tailspin is a bit too charitable.
I'd write the incident report summary as:
"Stall on takeoff with crash into tree line caused by an unqualified pilot unable to control an under powered and marginally stable experimental airplane."
Mechanics hanging around the political hanger would be heard to suck their teeth and mutter "You can send a old man up in crate like that."
Comments 1-8
There was a lot of speculation about Presidential dementia during the 2nd Reagan Administration. It was generally dismissed at the time, but he was formally diagnosed with Azlheimer's in '94. Retrospectively, one son says it affected his Presidency, another said it didn't. From what I've seen in my family, this is typical. Memory lapses, episodes of bad driving, fades outs, tantrums etc. tend to be minimized or ignored....people don't like facing up to the problem. You are losing a loved one and you cling to denial.
Reagan had Nancy whispering cues in his ear. We should all be grateful for that. Trump has Melania, at arms length, when she's around him at all. Everyone at the office is selling something.
Go find clips of Trump from a decade ago on 'Tube.
He spoke in complete sentences back then, even whole paragraphs. Compare and contrast with today.
Houston, we have a mental problem! ... That's what the 25th is for. Congress, exercise it! It's not perfect, but it's the best tool in your updated 18th century kit. History is watching and tapping her foot nervously...."Nazis you idiots!"
I have to assume at some point he'll stop reaching new lows. One can only ask someone to hold their beer for so long before they actually sober up.
As for Jews in White House service. Act like Jewish Men! Resign and go to the nearest news outlet to release your forceful condemnation of Trump Bigotry. That especially includes you Jerad, you pencil necked nepomaniac Trump Puppet! Do want to be known as the next Haman the Agagite?
Beyd-11
I can see your point if you don't mind vomit on your rug...but I wouldn't apply this standard to my Uber driver....the downside is people getting killed.
nypoet and gang
2
Speaking of the Google censored WSWS.org who for some reason find value in reporting news and opinion supporting the rights and needs of workers rather than the rich, and who find fault with an economic system that has created mass inequality that denies billions suitable food, lodging, and healthcare while leading to the destruction of the ecosystems our species depends upon...
(I'm not a socialist, but that is the "larger context" in which WSWS operates, and if you're going to find fault with it you should have the balls to be specific rather than offer a simple dismissive quip)
... here's one of their latest bits of journalism-
Trump Administration Demands Internet Records of 1.3 Million Political Opponents
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/08/17/drea-a17.html
excerpts-
"A Washington DC Superior Court will hear a challenge Friday to the ominous and anti-democratic warrant filed by the US Department of Justice (DoJ), demanding the emails, logs of visitor Internet addresses, contact information and photographs relating to the website DisruptJ20.org, a group that coordinated protests at President Donald Trump’s January 20 inauguration.
The search warrant, issued July 12, was directed at Los Angeles-based provider DreamHost, which hosts DisruptJ20.org on its servers, allowing individuals to access and use the site online. If the warrant is enforced, the activities of some 1.3 million visitors will be revealed to the government through the seizure of their personal Internet records."
"The company’s filing notes: “Scrutiny of this type demonstrates that the warrant lacks the specificity required by the Fourth Amendment and is unreasonable as a whole. In addition, the search warrant violates the Privacy Protection Act and was not authorized by District of Columbia law. For the foregoing reasons, DreamHost respectfully requests that the government’s motion be denied.”
Mark Rumold, a senior staff attorney at the Electronic Freedom Foundation, a digital rights group which has been advising DreamHost in its efforts to fight the warrant, denounced the warrant as an unconstitutional “fishing expedition.”
The warrant is part of a wide-ranging investigation into the DisruptJ20 inauguration day demonstrations in which several hundred people were arrested following several incidents of vandalism in which black bloc anarchists smashed bank and chain restaurant windows, threw garbage cans in the street, set off fireworks and injured six police officers.
While the vast majority of those arrested did not engage in any acts of vandalism, they now face charges of felony rioting, which carries a sentence of up to ten years in prison and a $25,000 fine. While all criminal charges have been dropped against the journalists, medics and legal observers among those arrested, 214 people face the possibility of long prison sentences for allegedly participating in the anti-Trump protest.
It cannot be ruled out that the vandalism was a provocation by the police themselves to justify the mass arrest of protesters and a further crackdown on democratic rights. It is well known that black bloc anarchist groups, whose members conceal their identities by wearing masks, are often riddled with police agents. The Washington Post reported in April that court documents revealed that police agents had infiltrated and participated in logistical meetings in the period before the January 20 protest."
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Did you catch that last part repeated from a Washington Post article about the COINTELPRO type infiltration and possible participation in the violent activities that form the justifications of the search warrant?
Our resident trumpling dismissed such beliefs (as reported in the WashPo) about LEO activities as a "conspiracy theory" a few days ago...
... perhaps that alone should be sufficient in raising red flags for Americans who value the rights guaranteed by our Constitution?
Or, maybe, since this info is coming from me via the WSWS it should just be dismissed?
And the rights of millions who for some reason protested at Trump's inauguration deserve to be violated?
(yes... I know that's not what you were saying at all... but... since we're talking about "larger context", I thought I'd provide some for consideration... originating from those dastardly, misguided socialists)
:)
A
Hey CW
Just lost a somewhat Trump Tailspin related comment to the filter.
It was long... no idea what triggered it.
A
TS-13
I'm just saying, if you have someone hold your beer while you go do something stupid, you're not actually drinking the beer.
TS
12
Gotta agree with you there on two counts.
The silence and continued participation of Jewish Americans in Trump's current enterprise is increasingly difficult to understand.
As for Jared, "pencil necked" is apt, but I just saw a picture of him again wearing a bullet proof vest somewhere, and his chest still looked sunken in despite the extra layer.
"You've got city hands Mr. Hooper... been countin money all your life."
- Quint in Jaws
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Beyd
Damn those homonyms! I get your point ... but the Trump well of stupid seems awfully deep.
The rabbi who oversaw Ivanka's conversion has done the right thing and publicly slammed Trump to the mat for bigotry. No word on son.-in-law Jarhead's enabling of a notable bigot.
Public service note:
Due to popular demand, a prize has been added to the "When will Kelly go?" contest. I just posted a photo of the prize:
http://www.chrisweigant.com/2017/08/15/kelly-exit-contest/#comment-108037
And everyone can thank altohone for suggesting it!
-CW
ListenWhenYouHear [1] -
Yeah, I saw that story too. Doesn't this date back to Goldwater? They instituted the rule for a previous discussion of unfitness for the presidency, I know that much...
[3] -
Aha! I thought it was Goldwater...
LeaningBlue [4] -
Whoops! You are entirely correct, and I have made the edit. The fact-checking department fell down on this one. Mea culpa, and thanks for pointing it out.
OK, let me go check the filter...
-CW
altohone -
Your long comment has been revived.
nypoet22 -
A comment from last week has been revived. Strangely enough, the cite/link that got caught is from my own home ISP (a fairly local outfit). So I'll check what's going on with that...
Sorry for the delay, folks.
-CW
A01
16
As for Jared, "pencil necked" is apt, but I just saw a picture of him again wearing a bullet proof vest somewhere, and his chest still looked sunken in despite the extra layer.
Jared was on a mission in Iraq, and it appears to the trained eye that Jared was dressed for a yacht party, sporting a flak jacket with his name on it (you cannot make this shirt up) along with a navy blazer/dinner jacket and... oh, my... absent the two aforementioned jackets, Jared is wearing the new neo-Nazi uniform... and shades.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/jared-kushner-mocked-wearing-flak-jacket-blazer-iraq-article-1.3026610
Nazi pants and shades... it's the official outfit of the United States Middle East peace process.
A01
http://www.chrisweigant.com/2017/08/15/kelly-exit-contest/#comment-108037
And everyone can thank altohone for suggesting it!
Thanks, Punk. If I win that thing by accident, it's all yours. :)
Hey CW
Thanks for freeing the comment.
nypoet and gang... it's comment 14 and worth a read if you didn't catch the story elsewhere.
I appreciate the credit for the idea of a prize for the contest, but I'm not entirely sold on the idea of a "Hey Trump supporting LEO's! Pull me over!!!" sign on the back of my car given that I live in a red state.
It's more likely to end up on my fridge if I win.
I'll also get to see it more often there... and be able to revel in my prediction skills despite my crystal ball running on a low battery.
A
A01
25
... I'm not entirely sold on the idea of a "Hey Trump supporting LEO's! Pull me over!!!" sign on the back of my car given that I live in a red state.
Exactly my reasoning also.
It's more likely to end up on my fridge if I win.
"Unfit to Serve" plastered on your fridge? *LOL*
Kick
23, 24
It is quite a fashion statement.
You may recall our previous conversation about him... I thought he was little because he looks little... like he might strain himself just counting money little.
As for the bumper sticker, I'll take it as a consolation prize gladly.
Despite the downward spiral/tailspin, I still don't think it's actually going to happen though.
Nor would I want Pence to take his place.
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Kick
26
Unintentional, but perhaps accurate.
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Hey neil and anyone else interested in economics
This is a four part series about a new book put out by the UN.
The Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Development
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=19742
Links for pts 2,3,4 are to the right.
The TRNN host who introduces the story is that awful lady from the last clip on an economics story I shared with you, but her part is again very brief.
The book sounds very interesting.
A
Hey gang
The first glimmer of justice for the US torture program.
Historic Settlement Reached on Behalf of CIA Torture Victims
https://theintercept.com/2017/08/17/cia-torture-settlement-aclu-mitchell-jessen/
It should be noted, no thanks to Obama.
And we also need to thank Bush for making taxpayers liable for the bill (if you didn't make it to the end of the article).
A
Hey gang
This may bum you out, but it's worth recognizing.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/08/17/right-but-wrong-trumps-defense-of-confederate-symbols-and-its-threat-to-color-blind-liberalism/
Excerpt-
"Historically, Trump was right: there really is no moral difference between Lee and Washington or Jefferson."
Ouch.
A
Hey gang
One more.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/08/17/the-story-of-charlottesville-was-written-in-blood-in-the-ukraine/
Excerpt-
"What I find interesting about the current discussion around what many are referring to as the emboldening of the radical white supremacist right is how easy it is to mobilize opposition against the crude and overt white supremacists we saw in Charlottesville. So easy, in fact, that it’s really a distraction from the more difficult and dangerous work that needs to be done to confront the real right-wing power brokers."
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I'm not sure if any of you are ready to read that whole article.
Fair warning.
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altohone [25] -
What the winner does with the bumpersticker is entirely up to the winner, of course.
But I do hear you. I've long maintained that pro-marijuana-reform types are at a disadvantage because it is impossible to put a "I'm a pot smoker AND I VOTE" bumpersticker on your car -- because the cops would read it as "Please pull me over and search my vehicle, officer!"
Funny story: A friend of mine moved to Texas back in the 1980s and slapped a "Washington Redskins Super Bowl Champions" bumpersticker on her car. Many attempts were made to forcibly remove it, but the glue held. When she bought a new car, the dealer offered her something like $700 less for the trade-in "because the entire bumper needs to be replaced before I can sell it."
Heh. Profiles in courage, or something.
:-)
-CW
Note:
Today's post is now up. Just for everyone's information...
-CW
A01
27
It is quite a fashion statement.
Tiki torch sold separately.
You may recall our previous conversation about him... I thought he was little because he looks little... like he might strain himself just counting money little.
You mean the conversation we had about me becoming Queen and making you my "Jared Kushner" in charge of fixing everything in the kingdom... our first order of business to build a wall to keep out all the knuckle-draggers... and make Donald Trump pay for it... that conversation?
Can't say I remember that, Fletch. ;)
Despite the downward spiral/tailspin, I still don't think it's actually going to happen though.
Nor would I want Pence to take his place.
Oh, ye of little faith... sit and watch.
You'll get what you get, and by that point you'll be glad to get it. :)