Oh! THIS is what Trump means by the "Art of the Deal": abandon the supposed war aims and bribe the Iranian regime to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. I get it now. https://t.co/BuAKhZx9Dp
Vance's statement is ignorant and untrue; and if he refuses to admit them, those facts diminish him personally and professionally. But substantively, they're a distraction. It would be great to achieve policy aims through negotiation instead of war. But I suspect MAGA has not achieved their stated war aims; or secured a better deal than Obama.
@JonahDispatch The terms remain secret while the parties describe them differently. What does that tell you? (1) Somebody, maybe everybody, is lying. (2) Until the terms are revealed in writing or by changes in the parties' behavior, there is no deal. (3) Not much more than that.
His brazenness is amazing. But that's the thing: His supporters stood behind his election lies, his Jan 6th lies, and his personal lies. The longer they stand behind them, the higher the psychological price of admitting their complicity. Trump is a bonehead in so many ways, but he comprehends that human weakness brilliantly.
We've all been embarrassed by politicians we've supported, and struggled to own up to that. Trump exploits that brilliantly, training his supporters to accept the lies by "flooding the zone" with them and systematically raising the ante once his supporters have bought into the game.
The irony. No one criticizes America more than MAGA; I'm stunned hearing the terrible country described by Trump's supporters. No one attacks American democracy more aggressively, or with more devastating effect, than Trump and MAGA. Economic statistics, like historical facts, showing our successes in recent decades, are disregarded in the name of dismantling what we've built.
Gain-of-function research is a reasonable topic of debate. What concerns me here are (1) publicly highlighting where pathogens can be found; (2) linking it to attacks on Ukraine; and (3) pretending it was a partisan conspiracy (Covid-19 jumped to human transmission during the 1st Trump administration).
Elon Musk: The World's Greediest Man. And now its first trillionaire. On our backs. A great disappointment. At the end of the day, his conduct confirms he's more interested in taking than innovating. https://t.co/ieUERfCzdk
This morning, millions of ordinary Americans were victimized by Elon Musk, NASDAQ, and the other index keepers who allowed SpaceX to jump the queue without a delay before being added to indices. IPO stocks are extremely volatile and the price usually falls in the days after issuance. They know this. This is *why* IPOs normally face a waiting period. Now I, and ordinary Americans like me who have tried to save for retirement, will take a bath of risk and likely loss so that the rich and connected can get richer.
@LibHeadsExplode@bearmf@HBRabinowitz@PaulaReidCNN@KaraScannell Your contempt for America's citizens, democracy, and an independent judiciary are clear. I understand fury at the dysfunction in US Congress but the American, democratic, and lawful response is to make the system work better; not replace it with authoritarianism.
Consistent with Trump's open threats to seek vengeance against his enemies on the campaign trail in 2024: James Comey, Leticia James, Sen. Mark Kelly, Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Rep. Maggie Goodlander, Rep. Jason Crow, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, Rep. Chris DeLuzio, John Bolton, Adam Schiff, Chris Christie, Jack Smith, Miles Taylor, and Christopher Krebs, for a start (excluding cases where arguably he's trying to force federal employees to break the law on his behalf rather than simply punishing them, e.g., Jerome Powell and Lisa Cook).
1st, under Obama's deal, Iran agreed to and permitted heavy international inspections (in direct contrast to, e.g., Hussein's Iraq). 2nd, Israeli intelligence has clearly and thoroughly penetrated every echelon and rank of Iran's regime. 3rd, Trump is now hoping for a similar deal.
If you're saying politicians encouraged her to seek justice for her abuse and defamation by Trump--which I understand are the torts the two juries found Trump liable for--good! If you're suggesting they encouraged her to make it up, again: could you please provide some evidence?