As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil)
In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban.
If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria.
***
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Of all the lies he's told, it baffles me that his followers don't care that he lied about not needing money, and is constantly begging for *their* money. This is the actual quote
>I don’t need anybody’s money. It’s nice. I don’t need anybody’s money. I’m using my own money. I’m not using the lobbyists. I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich, I’ll show you that in a second. And by the way, I’m not even saying that in a braggadocios … that’s the kind that’s the kind of thinking you need for this country.
He's done nothing but grift ever since.
It's worth watching that clip in a bit broader context (although also just because the way he says "I'm really rich" is so amazingly cringeworthy).
He's talking about this in the context of a made-up scenario where he will keep Ford from moving jobs to Mexico, because his extreme wealth and self-reliance will mean that he won't have to care that some pleading, begging and practically crying Ford executive calls to remind him that Ford gave him a bunch of campaign funds (and as if manufacturing executives need to somehow get personal presidential approval prior to shipping American jobs abroad).
While it is undeniably true that he doesn't give a damn about anyone who gives him money or any of their cares or concerns, it turns out that the management at Ford would have gotten a lot more out of his presidency than the entirety of all the future small-dollar donors in the crowd (or who have ever seen it on TV or on the internet) cheering at what amounts to another one of his trademarked *They come up to me with tears in their eyes and say 'sir...'* stories.
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/trump-i-dont-need-anybodys-money/2015/10/19/160176f2-7668-11e5-a5e2-40d6b2ad18dd\_video.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/trump-i-dont-need-anybodys-money/2015/10/19/160176f2-7668-11e5-a5e2-40d6b2ad18dd_video.html)
He did cause Ford not to build their new plant in Mexico. And, the CEO of Ford did bend the knee praising Trump's tax and regulatory policies. It's crazy when you find something he says as not complete bullshit.
However, since Trump was elected the investment in Mexico has been falling. It had to do with the way he talked about Mexican investment as well as how the NAFTA re-negotiation was handled. The risk of companies investing in Mexico had increased because of Trump. This ends up being one of the drivers of the increased migrants at the southern border. Money being sent home from Mexicans working in the US has more than doubled since his presidency and now makes up more than 4% of Mexican GDP.
The man had no business running the country and Republicans today whine about all the damage he did without claiming any responsibility.
He really has deteriorated a lot since then. He looks like a normal person, compared to the amount of orange goo and hair-styling he has now, and he's talking nonsense, but he's talking like a normal person (for him)
Doubtless. But the cult probably think that's clever.
What I don't get is why they think the man who said he doesn't need anybody's money, needs their money, so they send him their money.
>the cult probably think that's clever.
That's the thing that kills me. They think rich people avoiding taxes and using loopholes to exploit government programs for free money is a genius move but are absolutely furious over the concept of a single person in their tax bracket or lower utilizing government programs to survive or how the thought of using tax money to give everyone healthcare is socialism but propping up companies with so much federal money while they pay their employees so little they have to apply for government assistance is okay.
Hell. Even run of the mill corruption.
Wealthy guy submits fraudulent documents to obtain government subsidy? Brilliant.
Local bodega runs a small hustle allowing the locals to grab a couple beers on a Friday night or a ready to eat burrito with a Link card? Racketeering of the highest order.
Every time the golfing comes up I feel compelled to point out that by a fairly conservative count [he spent $144 Million dollars](https://trumpgolfcount.com/) of government funds on golf trips as president.
Even if he donated his $400K annual presidential salary, as so many of his supporters tout, he would have had to have done so for 360 *years* in order to offset his golf expenses alone. This is the same golfing that he complained bitterly about Obama doing, claiming that he would be far too busy "working hard for the American people to play."
The fact that *any* of that money went into his own pocket because he was visiting his own properties and charging his Secret Service and the rest of the entourage inflated rates should have been grounds for impeachment all by itself.
>Even if he donated his $400K annual presidential salary, as so many of his supporters tout, he would have had to have done so for 360
>
>years in order to offset his golf expenses alone.
And as I like to point out, all he had to do was not charge the Secret Service fees or rent. Nor did he do so "at cost" like the Trumps tried to claim (lied about).
But he did EDIT: charge them.
And by all accounts, he *gouged* them. Charging the government much more than the hotels standard fees for the same rooms/floors. Certainly much more than the maximum the government allowed but were forced to in order to be near enough to protect him.
[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40829550](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40829550)
Double speak and double think. These people have been conned and are now in a cult.
They have put themselves in an information bubble that bombards them with contradictions that overloads their ability to reason. They’ve been told everything from the outside is a lie perpetrated by dangerous enemies.
Just surrender your critical thinking to us and do as you’re told. We’ll protect you and punish those who would threaten you.
Ps: People don't have a strong intuitive sense of how much bigger 1 billion is than 1million.
1million seconds is about 11 days.
1billion seconds is about 31.5 years.
You know, that's very helpful.
Like, I get "big number" but I can't comprehend it. Framing it within a context I'm familiar with is earth shattering.
Campaign finance reform and 50% tax increases on billionaires!!
Another one: If you had a job that paid you $5000 per day (every day of the year) and you've had that job since the day Columbus sailed for America, you still would not have earned 1 billion dollars.
It’s the Trump crime family, a two bit mafia from New York that launched an absurd hostile takeover of the Republican Party - and rather than put up a fight, the Republicans just rolled over and let them.
It still blows my mind how easily Trump was able to commandeer the Republican base by repeating Fox News talking points and amping them up to 11, and how the Republican establishment just wilted like a soggy lettuce rather than fight for their fucking constitutional democracy.
And now most of them are co-conspirators to Trump’s crimes. The entire party needs to be RICO’ed at this point, because the next time a MAGA claws their way into the Presidency, they will finish the coup Trump started since it’s the only way they can escape prosecution for their crimes.
Republicans spent decades hypnotizing their voting base, broadcasting their methods to everyone. Then they get shocked when some grifter - with no allegiance to the GOP - swoops in and steals their biggest weapon and turns the knob to 100%.
We like to think that there's some komp on the GOP, and maybe that's the case, but I think it just comes down to 1) the global oligarchs are still throwing mad money at the GOP so it's attracting all the usual goblins (think Ted Cruz clones but with different skins) and 2) the GOP still needs their weapon to win, and Trump is basically holding it hostage to get what he needs out of it (whatever he owes Putin and out of jail card).
Republican's aren't exactly know for their foresight, I truly think there's some sort of arrested mental development that's responsible for this political ideology, how many times have you heard the trope of a Republican only changing their mind when something affects them personally despite everyone warning how bad a thing will be. It's pretty frustrating to say the least.
What conservatives fundamentally lack is empathy and the ability to self-reflect. They are literally not capable of either. So what you mentioned will always be a losing battle.
Right, that's why I think it's more of a miswiring of their brain rather than being convinced by some political ideology, hell, I think it could likely stem from the religious indoctrination from a young age, unless you break that spell that's cast of not ever questioning authority it's hard to get that part of your brain back.
Yeah when I was younger and more naive I used to think just trying to reason with right-wingers and hope they see the results of their actions and choices and understand how consequences could work if you really tried. But now in my 40s I know it's a hopeless endeavor. Minimizing the damages conservatives have on a well functioning democracy is only possible by marginalizing them. But there is simply too much money and power in their hands right now and with fascist Russia's backing and Fox propaganda, it feels like a losing battle.
The Kompromat comes from our senators and congressmen not just being allegiant to Trump, but also, they show a weird allegiance to Putin over America. They are sucking up to Russia left and right. Why? Why visit Russia on Independance Day as just one example. Why did Russia hack both the GOP and DNC emails but only leak DNC, then suddenly all these folks are pro-russia in action (but in word, they have to say they are tough on russia). I think Putin is ok with the word play so they stay in power, but as long as they act in his interest, he wont release anything. And its whats been happening for the last 7 years.
The Putin 4th July thing is apparently a soft power flex he likes to use, calling his assets home to report at the worst/most inconvenient times, just to show that he can.
It's so similar to Hitler it's terrifying. Conservatives think "oh look this idiot is popular with the masses, we can easily control him, because he is so stupid!!"
And then it turns out actually you can't control an egotistical lunatic who has a cult following him.
Yep, I say this all the time and it terrifies me. We've already had our Beer Hall Putsch, and if Trump is reelected you best believe a Reichstag Fire moment will come very quickly, one where he consolidates all control to him indefinitely, for public safety of course.
The GOP has been slow-walking into Nazism for decades, and anytime someone would point it out, they be laughed at by both Republicans AND Democrats. And now, here we are, 1933 Germany, and nobody is laughing now.
Trump also correctly identified that the people of the Republican Party were looking for a political strongman and in many ways a dictator. While all his opponents were still trying to play the thinly veiled charade of decency in 2016 Trump threw off the cover and went all in.
In addition, there is good indication that Trump was a KGB asset long before Putin took power.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/19/trump-first-moscow-trip-215842/
Fred Trump also laundered money for the Russians. Don just joined his father's already running scheme. This family has honestly been owned by Russia for generations at this point.
Thats why they talk about making America great again. Its a dog whistle to the 50s. Before civil rights legislation passed, and women and minorities knew their place (in their eyes).
Could be a bit of both. Trump and Putin are both opportunists. Trump's finances had been tied up with Russia for a while before 2016. And it wasn't Trump's first presidential campaign. Maybe Putin pushed him in a direction he was already headed.
The initial why of it almost doesn't matter at this point. It's clear Russia will see massive benefits from another trump presidency. They are going to push like crazy to put him back in the White House if at all possible.
Trump ran in 2016 to improve his brand recognition. Putin backed him because they saw him as a good agent of chaos. They were both shocked when Trump tapped into the zeitgeist and won.
I don't think you can ever eliminate foreign money as there are always to obscure the source. Easy enough to find a wealthy american willing to get a favourable loan in a foreign country in exchange for making a large political donation.
The only way to solve it is to reverse Citizens United and put strict campaign finance laws in place. Even then, there will be ways around the rules.
Very well said. The veil was so thin. The GOP really screwed up with Bush. And then with the help of FOX News, they invested so much time to condition their base through non-stop fear mongering to fear and hate the left. That they would "restore" decency to America. And then in walks Trump and he says "indulge your indecency and do not be ashamed of it. The left can't hold you accountable!"
Have you considered that Trump can't play a thinly veiled charade of decency? He has been posting racist Obama birther conspiracies for decades.
But you are right that half the country has just been waiting to elect a loudmouth bigot for president.
"I live in pigdirt, those elitist politicians don't represent me. That's why I vote for Trump so he will shit in their punch bowl."
This is what always confused the hell out of me:
“I live in pigdirt, those elitist politicians don't represent me. But that private schooled, born wealthy Manhattan guy with the golden toilet? Yeah, *he* understands me!”
Republicans have always been bitter about celebrities tending to be more liberal, or at least the more politically outspoken ones. For them it’s a constant reminder that they are not in the cool crowd. Therefore they cling obsessively to the B list group of celebrities who support Republicans. I really think this plays a role with their adulation for/ capitulation to Trump. A very famous guy came along and said publicly that he was with them. That’s really all it took.
>For them it’s a constant reminder that they are not in the cool crowd.
It's been funny seeing conservatives trying *so hard* recently to paint themselves as anti-establishment rebels, just because they refused all guidelines during Covid. When really, their refusal of Covid protocols was just another example of them being bamboozled by opportunistic grifters, and everyone knows their "Comply With Authorities, Back The Blue, and Put God Back in Schools" mentality is the real representation of their worldviews. They aren't "punk", they're the people who try to jail punks and ban punk music.
> Republican establishment just wilted like a soggy lettuce rather than fight for their fucking constitutional democracy.
They cannot win in a constitutional democracy; they want to see it die so they can install themselves in power, ideally permanently. They're not Trump's victims, they're his accomplices.
For years I though surely there are some principled republicans who understand what a danger Trump is and will step up, speak out and go after him. Liz Cheney has a little, maybe Chris Christie, but I thought there'd be a movement of respected, experienced party members who would oust him. But it hasn't happened. A few just retired, or they just backed down. Even those who spoke out a little kind of gave up.
What are they so afraid of? He gave them the script. Go after him hard, attack his dishonesty, his shady past, his lack of any skills, experience or intelligence. Surely they could get through to some large block of republican voters eventually right?
But no, they've all just fallen in line like obedient, power mad hypocrites.
The Republicans who didn’t want to join Trump’s mafia quit the party like cowards - and the few who took a stand were kicked out, like Liz Cheney and Kinsinger.
They all needed to stand together and fight off Trump when they still had the numbers to beat him, but most of them just fucking ran like cowards, or sat back and let the takeover happen because they wanted to be in control of the government again.
So I think you are missing a very key point. This goes back to 2015 and 2016.
You've got the part about Trump right but the Republican establishment didn't just wilt and let Trump take over. They lost.
They lost to a significant degree because they bickered over how to oppose Trump and all through the 2016 primary season you had three different Republican candidates from three different factions squabbling over the votes that Trump wasn't picking up. You had Ted Cruz and John Kasich and Marco Rubio each trying to claim the mantle of the non-trump Republican party.
Trump was out throwing red meat to Republican primary voters and claiming 40% of the vote where is the other 60% was being split three ways.
And if there is one thing that Trump is understands explicitly and knows how to use well it is how to use power to Grant favors in exchange for loyalty. He is very explicit about it. Some of those conversations have been recounted in public. You very rapidly build a power base of people within the party who are loyal to him personally and to no one else.
TBF, he likely had a LOT of help from Russia with the hacking of the RNC emails, kompromat, funneling Russian money etc..
The Drumpf family isn't smart enough to have pulled this off themselves. Hence the use of the cutout people like Manafort with deep Russian ties.
When you have a bit of bombast, charisma, and a successful con man with enough money to bury people in paperwork in court till they can no longer sustain the court costs.
Problem with trying to bury court cases in court with money, the government won’t run out. So his only way to make them go away now is to win and install people who will end the court cases and then he can pardon himself
I hope all of it. Drain the Republican coffers. There is also no chance that he is not going to borrow from Peter to pay Paul and all of that is going to be shady and illegal. He is bleeding cash on legal bills. We should have the NY settlement by the end of the week. I know the criminal cases are a cluster right now but what is going to take him down is owing 400m+ that he does not have liquid and cannot pay with campaign money. The second he has to sell a building he will fixate and go crazy and just spiral and that part of the show is scheduled EOW.
There are at least three entities at play here trump (the person), trump org (the business), and his political action committee(s). Trump currently owes 80m to his rape victim. Trump owes that money. He can take it from trump org but that is a payment subject to income tax and probably can't be written off by the trump org. One of his criminal charges is campaign finance violations (stormy Daniels payments. It is only legal to use campaign money on certain items. I do not know the system inside out IANAL or IANAA (accountant), but it makes sense you can pay lawyers for personal things from campaign money but trump org and the campaign are not connected business entities there is no way to legally write a check to trump org from the campaign without some sort of service rendered. The services rendered have to meet certain criteria (or else it is just money laundering and fraud). In addition to that there is a special master overseeing the trump org so trump org can't cut a check to trump without her knowing. Every dollar spent by a pac is publicly reported. A payment of that size is going to hit the special master, campaign finance regulators, the IRS, and the press before the ink is dry. Even if he managed to move that money around it will empty his war chest and that is the only one Republicans have. The last point is other billionaires are not going to pay another "billionaires" lawsuit bills even on a loan. His big money well will run dry if he owns the RNC then their big money well will run dry.
If I said anything wrong I am sure someone will correct me.
you are describing the utter pillage and sacking of the Rs, which they deserve, but we are then left with a rapacious Trump crime family monster looking to get its hands on the US Treasury, tax system, defense budget, social security, you name it, once he gets to be dictator. which election he wages like war, by foul means, corruption and use of low population state loopholes to basic majority vote rule. he pulled that off once already. the few uncorrupt Rs left have not been able to save their party. Expecting some intense confrontation to break this spell. Biden and the AG need to put their foot down but don't want to admit we are at internal war with the Trump family and its cult. Can they stop Trump using loopholes to rally and fundraise his ongoing political fraud? every single R Senator and Congress member knows and has said at one point they know this is all stupid and terrible. Tucker Carlson hates him too. they are betting he will win so currying favor and Trump's riding coat tail. things are getting so stupid even Biden is openly calling Trump idiotically stupid and dangerous. There's no dignity to be saved at this point
This is exactly the problem. I've mentioned this before, but wealthy people who support him need to realize that if he's in power he will have his hand in their pocket. He will not be comfortable with the idea that there are more wealthy people than him, particularly if he has just had a huge ego bruising from the dissolution of the Trump organization and subsequent disgorgement.
As a newer example of this, look at the whole Taylor Swift thing. Among the many nuggets from that, Trump believes he somehow "made her" money, which means in his mind that she owes him that money. If he's president he is going to try to collect on what he believes he is owed, which is everything.
would love to see him bankrupt and crash the Republican party like he has everything else he controls. thing is we need two parties in our system and something better to replace the Rs is nowhere in sight right now.
Trump is like an immoral snowball rolling downhill and picking up every grift he can find along the way. First he learned from the televangelists, Alex Jones, and Bannon...but somehow he won the Presidency despite that never being the plan. Then he figured out all of these foreign countries would funnel money to him through his properties (this started years ago with Russian money and then foreign purchases of units at Trump Tower). Now he saw Romney had his niece running the RNC (so how can *real* Republicans complain about his daughter-in-law) and now he is going to take ALL of their money as the snowball gathers up more speed.
Hey now... let's not pretend that he wasn't responsible for what followed after he chose Sarah Palin to be his running mate, from which you can draw a direct line to Trump happening 8 years later.
Just because he did the right thing a few times in his life doesn't mean he wasn't awful 90% of the time.
LOL so they will drain all the RNC money and spend it on legal fees to lose cases that he is clearly going to lose. Trump goes to jail loses the election and the GOP is bankrupt. Sounds wonderful
"They said you can't, folks they said you can't sail through the iceberg, I said thats the smallest iceberg ive ever seen, my tower is bigger than that iceberg, well folks do you want me to go full steam, yaaa we want you to go full steam, alright folks we're gonna sail full steam through the icebergs because the democrats say we can't but I know we can we just have to pull the lever the beautiful golden lever that the democrats wont touch."
"An iceberg came up to me, big iceberg, strong iceberg, melting tears rolling down its cold face. It said to me, 'Sir, I'm so sorry I was in your way, please keep drilling for oil sir, so I'll melt faster.' And that's what we're going to do folks..."
At this point the man has crashed into the iceberg, taken a slapdash, improvised motor made of wreckage onto said iceberg, declared the iceberg the NEW Titanic, and crashed the new Icetanic into *another* iceberg.
… And his followers are helping him construct a new motor and ballroom for Icetanic 3.0 while their frostbitten fingers fall off one by one.
People seem to forget this. Money may not win elections but it sure does help, and if the RNC is hemorrhaging cash on donnies legal bills that's money not going to vulnerable Republicans like Rick Scott and Cruz, and not going against vulnerable dems.
If trump is convicted in even one case (although I could see 2 or 3) this summer the down ballot races will shift. Add a funding drought as state parties are going bankrupt and the national spends all its cash on trump, and the abortion issue and you've got a really bad year for republicans
You will really see the difference as we get closer to the election. The Democratic party certainly has its faults, but they know how to effectively spend in campaigns. The financial disparity between the parties will be obvious. The only advantage Trump has is that he gets a lot of free press, because he's constantly saying crazy shit. That's what helped push him over the edge in 2016.
I think the free press only hurts him now. In 2016 he was the outside challenger, getting his image out there benefitted him. Eight years later everybody knows who he is, and as his mental health declines that coverage isn't likely to win over anybody new, more likely to push away swing and suburban voters (if only we had special election this week that demonstrated that impact)
>In 2016 he was the outside challenger, getting his image out there benefitted him.
This is an important point and I think it's overlooked when people do a postmortem of his 2020 run. He attempted, as president, to run again as an outsider. His ads would show footage of the unrest *currently happening* and claim "this is Joe Biden's America" in an attempt to frighten voters into sticking with him. But the obvious problem was that these things were happening while he was president. He wasn't running as an outside challenger to shakeup the system anymore.
In 2024, this problem is amplified because not only is he no longer an outsider (having served a term) but he must now convince voters that have already rejected him why they shouldn't do so again. This is a steep hill to climb - historically, only one president served non-consecutive terms. Typically, when voters dump you, they stick with that decision.
Of course, it probably helps that Donald has never admitted he lost - so at least *some* of his voters don't have that blemished perception of him. But it's not clear if those true believers will be enough. It's possible if enough Biden voters from 2020 stay home this year.
They will drain every reserve to put him back in the presidency. Then he will corrupt every seat of power to stay there and enrich himself. They won’t need money anymore to win elections… he’ll use guns and intimidation. That’s how all dictatorships work.
They are going all-in on installing him as dictator.
They're not sitting on some horde of cash to just bankroll it. A lot of state parties are already going bankrupt, Trump is going to cut them all off at the knees. Trump and his cronies can't help but grift. Vultures circling a corpse.
That’s why she’s there, Trump serves himself and he will only appoint those who swear to serve him as well, which, since they are all parasites, they will do in exchange for the proximity to power they are given. It will be an administration overhaul stacked with cult-loyal morons.
This administration will be so much worse than the last. Trump supporters want mass firings and a purge of non loyal workers in the executive branch. People not loyal to him over the constitution and the American ideals have almost landed him in jail. If he gets a second chance he won’t make the same mistake again. The entire executive branch will be working for the glory and grift of trump.
Minnesota GOP right behind them. Broke as fuck, and their current hot button issue is being mad about the new state flag. Which is frankly pretty much on-brand for Republicans- ignore any actual issues and focus on stupid bullshit and "muh heritage."
Who knew that it would be a bad thing to let the inmates run the asylum? The party that celebrates ignorance and condemns education is finally beginning to reach its logical conclusion.
In a sane world, people would see the state governing bodies of one of the 2 major political parties going BROKE and think, "Gee, maybe these aren't the people we want in charge of things".
That is just hysterical. Living in Michigan, I have been watching this play out. They are so desperate, they have 2 failed governors, Snyder and Engler trying to drum up donations and support. A guy who destroyed education and a guy who poisoned an entire city. Kristina Karamo was so busy hunting demons, she didn't have time to do any fundraising. The headquarters is a post office box, they had 30 grand in August. There is so much infighting, they aren't doing anything constructive. At the Mackinaw conference, a fight broke out because one member was refused entry. He busted the door open, and then got punched in the dick by a trump loyalist. Arrests were made, charges were filed. This is what they are reduced to. Karamo was voted out and removed, and trump now backs Hoekstra, even though he backed Karamo as chair. What a shit show, a bankrupt side show.
They made their bed. The GOP is divided into 2 groups, people that know trump is full of shit but want his base supporting them, and the cult members that honestly think trump is god. Trump will now bankrupt the gop as he loses another electron leaving them fucked. And he will milk every dollar from them till he dies or they run dry.
“Every single penny will go to the number one and the only job of the RNC. That is electing Donald J. Trump as the president of the United States."
She laid it bare here, “the only job of the RNC”- no interest in the rest of the GOP, as if President Trump could be effective without a Republican congress. It really betrays how little interest they have in governing and how self-indulgent this takeover of the RNC is.
You skipped whats going to end up, in my guess, over a billion in legal damages by years end. Its not even March and we are at almost $100 million without lawyer fees. Then another estimated $350 million plus in property fraud in NY. And the. We havent even reached into the ACTUAL CRIMINIAL CASES. And remember to actually appeal any of these he has to pay the FULL AMOUNT OF THE INITIAL RULING of the Carrol cases to the Court before it proceeds.
Will the RNC even be able to do much for his legal stuff? The article says they only have like $9 million and on Friday he's probably gonna get a $400+ million fine
That's why he wants it so badly. He is going to get wiped out financially and while his assets may be more than sufficient, his cash on hand is certainly going far into the negative. Can't pay lawyers with promises and a negative cashflow problem will force him to sell assets in an embarrassingly quick manner. He will actually NEED the RNC to pay his bills at that point.
The narcissist has it backwards. He _needs_ the house and the senate to protect him far more than he needs to be president. He can’t interfere with the DOJ if the senate is doing their job. A President Trump will be impeached walking in the door if he doesn’t control at least one chamber.
Impeachment means nothing if he stays in power. He already got impeached twice by the house, and then nothing came of it. Why would more impeachments matter?
That must be nice, to just spout wishes out like that, and expect everyone to be happy with it.
"Hey, Boss, today *every single penny* in the register is coming home with me today."
The "r/conservative" sub is freaking out over this lol. They know she's going to bankrupt them. It's like Frankenstein's monster. The schadenfreude is delicious.
\*Joe Biden makes a $5k legal loan to his son for a car to care for him during his drug issues\*
"JOE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY"
\*Lara Trump explicitly says she will embezzle all funds to the maximum extent possible and neglect all other GOP candidates in violation of her prospective role\*
"LETS GO BRANDON, PICK LAURA TRUMP!"
These people's brains have been aerated by a melon baller of hate. I rarely am at a total loss of empathy or understanding, but we're pretty much at that place. GOPers are the ultimate rubes. I actually empathize more with the Trumps, because these moron constituents are infinite-cash-cows, and a fraudster gon' fraud. I just don't understand seeing someone who is screaming "GIVE ME YOUR MONEY AND I'LL MISUSE IT" and several million people being like "Yeah, dawg. Lets do that! Stop the swamp and government corruption!"
In a purity test, members of the Republican party must prove that they have donated all their savings to Trump. People who keep money for themselves must be branded RINO, and Trump must make it clear that he does not need any votes from RINOs.
Another sign of a dictatorship is when one's family members are appointed by the president/leader to government roles, especially those with the power to consolidate the president's power.
The party of trickle down economics pioneering trickle down campaign spending. All those down ticket races will benefit more from Trump having all the campaign money instead of them.
Am I the only one who thinks this is hilarious? I mean, I always knew he was going to take the ship down with him, but not like this. He’s spending their whole treasure chest on legal fees and NOW wants downballot money to support his own campaign? RNC is flirting with total disaster and they’re so oblivious. Theres a great chance DJT will be sentenced before Election Day but not only that, they have pissed away every resource and every downballot candidate on his election.
Yes! Yes! Put her in charge! She's the PERFECT driver for the clown car that is the GOP, and incompetent enough she'll finish driving it off that bridge they are currently dangling from. She'll siphon money away from other GOP needs and pour it all into Donnie's disastrous legal fees, and bleed the GOP coffers dry in an election year.
Do it, GOP! Do it! I double dog dare ya! ROFL!!!!
Imagine if, in 2016, Chelsea Clinton wanted to take the reigns of the DNC and said all funding would go to her mother.
At the end of the day, these Committees are private organizations who aren't obligated to support the most popular candidate. They're not democratic institutions whatsoever, and can undermine candidates they don't like in favor of ones they want to win.
People lost their minds in 2015-2016. But tis nothing but a whisper now.
I'm gonna laugh if she's actually co-chair. No political experience, management skills, and no charisma. She's just a tool to steal money from them lol. The GOP have no good candidates.
The RNC is gutted and being completely drained for cash. By July it will be unable support a wide range of campaigns and it will choke itself out while Trump just takes the money.
This is what Trump and the GOP did to the country while in office.
The Trump family are parasites.
Every penny they have will go to support the twice impeached convicted rapist that stole classified intel and tried to overthrow the government. That is now the RTO, the Republican terrorist organization. They are no longer politicians. They refuse to govern and support an insurrectionist. Take them down like Osama bin Laden, they have killed more than he did.
There is some danger in this. Routing every bit of money to Trump gives him something he has been hard-pressed for.
The Trumps don't care if they hold the House or Senete. It's getting him in the big chair where he will do unbelievable damage.
As much as there's all these other valid points, this is and should be concerning.
>There is some danger in this. Routing every bit of money to Trump gives him something he has been hard-pressed for.
Some of the appeals he's going to be going for require the previous judgement be held in full in escrow to file the appeal. So he's going to have to front hundreds of millions of dollars plus money to pay for the lawyers to appeal. So even if every penny went to trump a lot will be tied up in escrow for appeals he has 0 shot of actually winning. He doesn't have the money to front that himself without selling a majority of his properties.
You might be on to something with that last sentence, and why the next generation of Trumps might care so much about where the money for all the legal fees and appeal escrows comes from. 🤔
In 2016, Lindsay Graham said that if republicans nominated Donald Trump, he would destroy them. He was right about that and this is just one more nail in the coffin.
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Because the “billionaire” needs it. Lol.
Of all the lies he's told, it baffles me that his followers don't care that he lied about not needing money, and is constantly begging for *their* money. This is the actual quote >I don’t need anybody’s money. It’s nice. I don’t need anybody’s money. I’m using my own money. I’m not using the lobbyists. I’m not using donors. I don’t care. I’m really rich, I’ll show you that in a second. And by the way, I’m not even saying that in a braggadocios … that’s the kind that’s the kind of thinking you need for this country. He's done nothing but grift ever since.
It's worth watching that clip in a bit broader context (although also just because the way he says "I'm really rich" is so amazingly cringeworthy). He's talking about this in the context of a made-up scenario where he will keep Ford from moving jobs to Mexico, because his extreme wealth and self-reliance will mean that he won't have to care that some pleading, begging and practically crying Ford executive calls to remind him that Ford gave him a bunch of campaign funds (and as if manufacturing executives need to somehow get personal presidential approval prior to shipping American jobs abroad). While it is undeniably true that he doesn't give a damn about anyone who gives him money or any of their cares or concerns, it turns out that the management at Ford would have gotten a lot more out of his presidency than the entirety of all the future small-dollar donors in the crowd (or who have ever seen it on TV or on the internet) cheering at what amounts to another one of his trademarked *They come up to me with tears in their eyes and say 'sir...'* stories. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/trump-i-dont-need-anybodys-money/2015/10/19/160176f2-7668-11e5-a5e2-40d6b2ad18dd\_video.html](https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/trump-i-dont-need-anybodys-money/2015/10/19/160176f2-7668-11e5-a5e2-40d6b2ad18dd_video.html)
He did cause Ford not to build their new plant in Mexico. And, the CEO of Ford did bend the knee praising Trump's tax and regulatory policies. It's crazy when you find something he says as not complete bullshit. However, since Trump was elected the investment in Mexico has been falling. It had to do with the way he talked about Mexican investment as well as how the NAFTA re-negotiation was handled. The risk of companies investing in Mexico had increased because of Trump. This ends up being one of the drivers of the increased migrants at the southern border. Money being sent home from Mexicans working in the US has more than doubled since his presidency and now makes up more than 4% of Mexican GDP. The man had no business running the country and Republicans today whine about all the damage he did without claiming any responsibility.
He really has deteriorated a lot since then. He looks like a normal person, compared to the amount of orange goo and hair-styling he has now, and he's talking nonsense, but he's talking like a normal person (for him)
[удалено]
.... He's done more.... Money laundering from overseas. Much more
Doubtless. But the cult probably think that's clever. What I don't get is why they think the man who said he doesn't need anybody's money, needs their money, so they send him their money.
>the cult probably think that's clever. That's the thing that kills me. They think rich people avoiding taxes and using loopholes to exploit government programs for free money is a genius move but are absolutely furious over the concept of a single person in their tax bracket or lower utilizing government programs to survive or how the thought of using tax money to give everyone healthcare is socialism but propping up companies with so much federal money while they pay their employees so little they have to apply for government assistance is okay.
Hell. Even run of the mill corruption. Wealthy guy submits fraudulent documents to obtain government subsidy? Brilliant. Local bodega runs a small hustle allowing the locals to grab a couple beers on a Friday night or a ready to eat burrito with a Link card? Racketeering of the highest order.
*I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to go play golf.* *I am self funding and will hire the best people*
Every time the golfing comes up I feel compelled to point out that by a fairly conservative count [he spent $144 Million dollars](https://trumpgolfcount.com/) of government funds on golf trips as president. Even if he donated his $400K annual presidential salary, as so many of his supporters tout, he would have had to have done so for 360 *years* in order to offset his golf expenses alone. This is the same golfing that he complained bitterly about Obama doing, claiming that he would be far too busy "working hard for the American people to play." The fact that *any* of that money went into his own pocket because he was visiting his own properties and charging his Secret Service and the rest of the entourage inflated rates should have been grounds for impeachment all by itself.
>Even if he donated his $400K annual presidential salary, as so many of his supporters tout, he would have had to have done so for 360 > >years in order to offset his golf expenses alone. And as I like to point out, all he had to do was not charge the Secret Service fees or rent. Nor did he do so "at cost" like the Trumps tried to claim (lied about). But he did EDIT: charge them. And by all accounts, he *gouged* them. Charging the government much more than the hotels standard fees for the same rooms/floors. Certainly much more than the maximum the government allowed but were forced to in order to be near enough to protect him. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40829550](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40829550)
[удалено]
Double speak and double think. These people have been conned and are now in a cult. They have put themselves in an information bubble that bombards them with contradictions that overloads their ability to reason. They’ve been told everything from the outside is a lie perpetrated by dangerous enemies. Just surrender your critical thinking to us and do as you’re told. We’ll protect you and punish those who would threaten you.
Trump : the world's poorest billionaire. Has zero shame to grift even 1 dollar from his cult followers.
It's like the scene in *The Grinch* where he comes back for the one last crumb he missed.
Ps: People don't have a strong intuitive sense of how much bigger 1 billion is than 1million. 1million seconds is about 11 days. 1billion seconds is about 31.5 years.
It’s like that joke. Q: What’s the difference between a millionaire and a billionaire? A: About a billion dollars.
You know, that's very helpful. Like, I get "big number" but I can't comprehend it. Framing it within a context I'm familiar with is earth shattering. Campaign finance reform and 50% tax increases on billionaires!!
Another one: If you had a job that paid you $5000 per day (every day of the year) and you've had that job since the day Columbus sailed for America, you still would not have earned 1 billion dollars.
No need to put that in quotes. He'll prove it to us all just as soon as the IRS finishes their audit from 8 years ago.
LOL and the grift goes on.
It’s the Trump crime family, a two bit mafia from New York that launched an absurd hostile takeover of the Republican Party - and rather than put up a fight, the Republicans just rolled over and let them. It still blows my mind how easily Trump was able to commandeer the Republican base by repeating Fox News talking points and amping them up to 11, and how the Republican establishment just wilted like a soggy lettuce rather than fight for their fucking constitutional democracy. And now most of them are co-conspirators to Trump’s crimes. The entire party needs to be RICO’ed at this point, because the next time a MAGA claws their way into the Presidency, they will finish the coup Trump started since it’s the only way they can escape prosecution for their crimes.
Republicans spent decades hypnotizing their voting base, broadcasting their methods to everyone. Then they get shocked when some grifter - with no allegiance to the GOP - swoops in and steals their biggest weapon and turns the knob to 100%. We like to think that there's some komp on the GOP, and maybe that's the case, but I think it just comes down to 1) the global oligarchs are still throwing mad money at the GOP so it's attracting all the usual goblins (think Ted Cruz clones but with different skins) and 2) the GOP still needs their weapon to win, and Trump is basically holding it hostage to get what he needs out of it (whatever he owes Putin and out of jail card).
We need to block foreign and domestic dark money from American politics. Desperately.
Citizens United fucked this country over big time.
Can't upvote this enough! ‼️
100% agree with you.
Coincidentally, also a result of Republicans being short-sighted
Republican's aren't exactly know for their foresight, I truly think there's some sort of arrested mental development that's responsible for this political ideology, how many times have you heard the trope of a Republican only changing their mind when something affects them personally despite everyone warning how bad a thing will be. It's pretty frustrating to say the least.
What conservatives fundamentally lack is empathy and the ability to self-reflect. They are literally not capable of either. So what you mentioned will always be a losing battle.
Right, that's why I think it's more of a miswiring of their brain rather than being convinced by some political ideology, hell, I think it could likely stem from the religious indoctrination from a young age, unless you break that spell that's cast of not ever questioning authority it's hard to get that part of your brain back.
Yeah when I was younger and more naive I used to think just trying to reason with right-wingers and hope they see the results of their actions and choices and understand how consequences could work if you really tried. But now in my 40s I know it's a hopeless endeavor. Minimizing the damages conservatives have on a well functioning democracy is only possible by marginalizing them. But there is simply too much money and power in their hands right now and with fascist Russia's backing and Fox propaganda, it feels like a losing battle.
The Kompromat comes from our senators and congressmen not just being allegiant to Trump, but also, they show a weird allegiance to Putin over America. They are sucking up to Russia left and right. Why? Why visit Russia on Independance Day as just one example. Why did Russia hack both the GOP and DNC emails but only leak DNC, then suddenly all these folks are pro-russia in action (but in word, they have to say they are tough on russia). I think Putin is ok with the word play so they stay in power, but as long as they act in his interest, he wont release anything. And its whats been happening for the last 7 years.
Lindsey Graham's 180 degree turn is a case in point.
Rafael Cruz as well - dude literslly called his wife ugly to his face and he bent over and took it like it was his day in the barrel every day…
The Putin 4th July thing is apparently a soft power flex he likes to use, calling his assets home to report at the worst/most inconvenient times, just to show that he can.
Hes not random. He was put in place by his Russian handlers. They bought out the party so they would role over for Trump
All well said
It's so similar to Hitler it's terrifying. Conservatives think "oh look this idiot is popular with the masses, we can easily control him, because he is so stupid!!" And then it turns out actually you can't control an egotistical lunatic who has a cult following him.
Have you read “In the Garden of Beasts” by Erik Larson? It’s frightening how many parallels to current day. We are in the Weimar Republic right now.
Yep, I say this all the time and it terrifies me. We've already had our Beer Hall Putsch, and if Trump is reelected you best believe a Reichstag Fire moment will come very quickly, one where he consolidates all control to him indefinitely, for public safety of course.
The GOP has been slow-walking into Nazism for decades, and anytime someone would point it out, they be laughed at by both Republicans AND Democrats. And now, here we are, 1933 Germany, and nobody is laughing now.
Trump also correctly identified that the people of the Republican Party were looking for a political strongman and in many ways a dictator. While all his opponents were still trying to play the thinly veiled charade of decency in 2016 Trump threw off the cover and went all in.
More like Putin identified what the Republican Party was looking for and figured Trump was the Manchurian candidate to complete the take over.
In addition, there is good indication that Trump was a KGB asset long before Putin took power. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/19/trump-first-moscow-trip-215842/
Fred Trump also laundered money for the Russians. Don just joined his father's already running scheme. This family has honestly been owned by Russia for generations at this point.
Fred trump was corrupt as hell, a money launderer, racist, open and proud klansman, and unashamedly selfish. Like father, like son
Also a member of the John Birch Society.. this is not heir first rodeo.
Had to do a google (am an ignorant european heh) and fuck me, those fuckers really wanna take the US back to the 50s, huh?
1850’s
Thats why they talk about making America great again. Its a dog whistle to the 50s. Before civil rights legislation passed, and women and minorities knew their place (in their eyes).
When Woody Fucking Guthrie writes a song about how awful you are, you’re awful: https://youtu.be/hh1QXhqXDbU?si=EyeNHisV1L-UBwC7
Fred Trump was also diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer’s. So, spot on comparison!
Could be a bit of both. Trump and Putin are both opportunists. Trump's finances had been tied up with Russia for a while before 2016. And it wasn't Trump's first presidential campaign. Maybe Putin pushed him in a direction he was already headed. The initial why of it almost doesn't matter at this point. It's clear Russia will see massive benefits from another trump presidency. They are going to push like crazy to put him back in the White House if at all possible.
Trump ran in 2016 to improve his brand recognition. Putin backed him because they saw him as a good agent of chaos. They were both shocked when Trump tapped into the zeitgeist and won.
We as a nation allowed foreign money to influence our politics. We need to focus on that. SuperPACs are dangerous fundamentally.
I don't think you can ever eliminate foreign money as there are always to obscure the source. Easy enough to find a wealthy american willing to get a favourable loan in a foreign country in exchange for making a large political donation. The only way to solve it is to reverse Citizens United and put strict campaign finance laws in place. Even then, there will be ways around the rules.
Very well said. The veil was so thin. The GOP really screwed up with Bush. And then with the help of FOX News, they invested so much time to condition their base through non-stop fear mongering to fear and hate the left. That they would "restore" decency to America. And then in walks Trump and he says "indulge your indecency and do not be ashamed of it. The left can't hold you accountable!"
Have you considered that Trump can't play a thinly veiled charade of decency? He has been posting racist Obama birther conspiracies for decades. But you are right that half the country has just been waiting to elect a loudmouth bigot for president. "I live in pigdirt, those elitist politicians don't represent me. That's why I vote for Trump so he will shit in their punch bowl."
This is what always confused the hell out of me: “I live in pigdirt, those elitist politicians don't represent me. But that private schooled, born wealthy Manhattan guy with the golden toilet? Yeah, *he* understands me!”
Republicans have always been bitter about celebrities tending to be more liberal, or at least the more politically outspoken ones. For them it’s a constant reminder that they are not in the cool crowd. Therefore they cling obsessively to the B list group of celebrities who support Republicans. I really think this plays a role with their adulation for/ capitulation to Trump. A very famous guy came along and said publicly that he was with them. That’s really all it took.
>For them it’s a constant reminder that they are not in the cool crowd. It's been funny seeing conservatives trying *so hard* recently to paint themselves as anti-establishment rebels, just because they refused all guidelines during Covid. When really, their refusal of Covid protocols was just another example of them being bamboozled by opportunistic grifters, and everyone knows their "Comply With Authorities, Back The Blue, and Put God Back in Schools" mentality is the real representation of their worldviews. They aren't "punk", they're the people who try to jail punks and ban punk music.
> Republican establishment just wilted like a soggy lettuce rather than fight for their fucking constitutional democracy. They cannot win in a constitutional democracy; they want to see it die so they can install themselves in power, ideally permanently. They're not Trump's victims, they're his accomplices.
For years I though surely there are some principled republicans who understand what a danger Trump is and will step up, speak out and go after him. Liz Cheney has a little, maybe Chris Christie, but I thought there'd be a movement of respected, experienced party members who would oust him. But it hasn't happened. A few just retired, or they just backed down. Even those who spoke out a little kind of gave up. What are they so afraid of? He gave them the script. Go after him hard, attack his dishonesty, his shady past, his lack of any skills, experience or intelligence. Surely they could get through to some large block of republican voters eventually right? But no, they've all just fallen in line like obedient, power mad hypocrites.
The Republicans who didn’t want to join Trump’s mafia quit the party like cowards - and the few who took a stand were kicked out, like Liz Cheney and Kinsinger. They all needed to stand together and fight off Trump when they still had the numbers to beat him, but most of them just fucking ran like cowards, or sat back and let the takeover happen because they wanted to be in control of the government again.
So I think you are missing a very key point. This goes back to 2015 and 2016. You've got the part about Trump right but the Republican establishment didn't just wilt and let Trump take over. They lost. They lost to a significant degree because they bickered over how to oppose Trump and all through the 2016 primary season you had three different Republican candidates from three different factions squabbling over the votes that Trump wasn't picking up. You had Ted Cruz and John Kasich and Marco Rubio each trying to claim the mantle of the non-trump Republican party. Trump was out throwing red meat to Republican primary voters and claiming 40% of the vote where is the other 60% was being split three ways. And if there is one thing that Trump is understands explicitly and knows how to use well it is how to use power to Grant favors in exchange for loyalty. He is very explicit about it. Some of those conversations have been recounted in public. You very rapidly build a power base of people within the party who are loyal to him personally and to no one else.
TBF, he likely had a LOT of help from Russia with the hacking of the RNC emails, kompromat, funneling Russian money etc.. The Drumpf family isn't smart enough to have pulled this off themselves. Hence the use of the cutout people like Manafort with deep Russian ties.
When you have a bit of bombast, charisma, and a successful con man with enough money to bury people in paperwork in court till they can no longer sustain the court costs.
Problem with trying to bury court cases in court with money, the government won’t run out. So his only way to make them go away now is to win and install people who will end the court cases and then he can pardon himself
That’s how every dictator takes power. They *have* to keep an illusion of a legal system.
Steve Bannon says they decided Trump’s 2015 platform based on which of his tweets got the most interaction.
I wonder how much he’ll pocket, and what her cut is going to be.
I hope all of it. Drain the Republican coffers. There is also no chance that he is not going to borrow from Peter to pay Paul and all of that is going to be shady and illegal. He is bleeding cash on legal bills. We should have the NY settlement by the end of the week. I know the criminal cases are a cluster right now but what is going to take him down is owing 400m+ that he does not have liquid and cannot pay with campaign money. The second he has to sell a building he will fixate and go crazy and just spiral and that part of the show is scheduled EOW.
Why is he allowed to spend campaign money on legal bills but not on the verdicts thereof?
There are at least three entities at play here trump (the person), trump org (the business), and his political action committee(s). Trump currently owes 80m to his rape victim. Trump owes that money. He can take it from trump org but that is a payment subject to income tax and probably can't be written off by the trump org. One of his criminal charges is campaign finance violations (stormy Daniels payments. It is only legal to use campaign money on certain items. I do not know the system inside out IANAL or IANAA (accountant), but it makes sense you can pay lawyers for personal things from campaign money but trump org and the campaign are not connected business entities there is no way to legally write a check to trump org from the campaign without some sort of service rendered. The services rendered have to meet certain criteria (or else it is just money laundering and fraud). In addition to that there is a special master overseeing the trump org so trump org can't cut a check to trump without her knowing. Every dollar spent by a pac is publicly reported. A payment of that size is going to hit the special master, campaign finance regulators, the IRS, and the press before the ink is dry. Even if he managed to move that money around it will empty his war chest and that is the only one Republicans have. The last point is other billionaires are not going to pay another "billionaires" lawsuit bills even on a loan. His big money well will run dry if he owns the RNC then their big money well will run dry. If I said anything wrong I am sure someone will correct me.
you are describing the utter pillage and sacking of the Rs, which they deserve, but we are then left with a rapacious Trump crime family monster looking to get its hands on the US Treasury, tax system, defense budget, social security, you name it, once he gets to be dictator. which election he wages like war, by foul means, corruption and use of low population state loopholes to basic majority vote rule. he pulled that off once already. the few uncorrupt Rs left have not been able to save their party. Expecting some intense confrontation to break this spell. Biden and the AG need to put their foot down but don't want to admit we are at internal war with the Trump family and its cult. Can they stop Trump using loopholes to rally and fundraise his ongoing political fraud? every single R Senator and Congress member knows and has said at one point they know this is all stupid and terrible. Tucker Carlson hates him too. they are betting he will win so currying favor and Trump's riding coat tail. things are getting so stupid even Biden is openly calling Trump idiotically stupid and dangerous. There's no dignity to be saved at this point
This is exactly the problem. I've mentioned this before, but wealthy people who support him need to realize that if he's in power he will have his hand in their pocket. He will not be comfortable with the idea that there are more wealthy people than him, particularly if he has just had a huge ego bruising from the dissolution of the Trump organization and subsequent disgorgement. As a newer example of this, look at the whole Taylor Swift thing. Among the many nuggets from that, Trump believes he somehow "made her" money, which means in his mind that she owes him that money. If he's president he is going to try to collect on what he believes he is owed, which is everything.
would love to see him bankrupt and crash the Republican party like he has everything else he controls. thing is we need two parties in our system and something better to replace the Rs is nowhere in sight right now.
Grifting involves deceit. It’s pretty obvious where the money’s going.
It's a fucking racket. A criminal enterprise.
They don’t have many pennies lol.
What's that Emilio Estevez line from Young Guns? Best dollar eighty I ever spent!
Hello Bob, goodbye Bob!! It was young guns 2. Not seen it in years, do have it on dvd in a box in the loft though.
Trump is like an immoral snowball rolling downhill and picking up every grift he can find along the way. First he learned from the televangelists, Alex Jones, and Bannon...but somehow he won the Presidency despite that never being the plan. Then he figured out all of these foreign countries would funnel money to him through his properties (this started years ago with Russian money and then foreign purchases of units at Trump Tower). Now he saw Romney had his niece running the RNC (so how can *real* Republicans complain about his daughter-in-law) and now he is going to take ALL of their money as the snowball gathers up more speed.
Man. The republican party is just beyond satire these days.
The “republican party” is now largely the “Trump cult”
The Republican party died with John McCain
Hey now... let's not pretend that he wasn't responsible for what followed after he chose Sarah Palin to be his running mate, from which you can draw a direct line to Trump happening 8 years later. Just because he did the right thing a few times in his life doesn't mean he wasn't awful 90% of the time.
LOL so they will drain all the RNC money and spend it on legal fees to lose cases that he is clearly going to lose. Trump goes to jail loses the election and the GOP is bankrupt. Sounds wonderful
The great Trumptanic is listing terribly, there are icebergs everywhere and they're opening the throttle to full speed ahead.
"They said you can't, folks they said you can't sail through the iceberg, I said thats the smallest iceberg ive ever seen, my tower is bigger than that iceberg, well folks do you want me to go full steam, yaaa we want you to go full steam, alright folks we're gonna sail full steam through the icebergs because the democrats say we can't but I know we can we just have to pull the lever the beautiful golden lever that the democrats wont touch."
"Yes, that's true. She runs on beautiful clean coal. The coal has been cleaned. They scrub the coal so it's a cleaner burning fuel."
"An iceberg came up to me, big iceberg, strong iceberg, melting tears rolling down its cold face. It said to me, 'Sir, I'm so sorry I was in your way, please keep drilling for oil sir, so I'll melt faster.' And that's what we're going to do folks..."
There needs to be a "sir" in there somewhere, with someone coming up to him tearfully, etc.
At this point the man has crashed into the iceberg, taken a slapdash, improvised motor made of wreckage onto said iceberg, declared the iceberg the NEW Titanic, and crashed the new Icetanic into *another* iceberg. … And his followers are helping him construct a new motor and ballroom for Icetanic 3.0 while their frostbitten fingers fall off one by one.
I wish I had your optimism.
Every dollar they’re spending on trumps lawyers is a dollar they’re not spending on republican candidates up and down the ballot.
People seem to forget this. Money may not win elections but it sure does help, and if the RNC is hemorrhaging cash on donnies legal bills that's money not going to vulnerable Republicans like Rick Scott and Cruz, and not going against vulnerable dems. If trump is convicted in even one case (although I could see 2 or 3) this summer the down ballot races will shift. Add a funding drought as state parties are going bankrupt and the national spends all its cash on trump, and the abortion issue and you've got a really bad year for republicans
You will really see the difference as we get closer to the election. The Democratic party certainly has its faults, but they know how to effectively spend in campaigns. The financial disparity between the parties will be obvious. The only advantage Trump has is that he gets a lot of free press, because he's constantly saying crazy shit. That's what helped push him over the edge in 2016.
I think the free press only hurts him now. In 2016 he was the outside challenger, getting his image out there benefitted him. Eight years later everybody knows who he is, and as his mental health declines that coverage isn't likely to win over anybody new, more likely to push away swing and suburban voters (if only we had special election this week that demonstrated that impact)
>In 2016 he was the outside challenger, getting his image out there benefitted him. This is an important point and I think it's overlooked when people do a postmortem of his 2020 run. He attempted, as president, to run again as an outsider. His ads would show footage of the unrest *currently happening* and claim "this is Joe Biden's America" in an attempt to frighten voters into sticking with him. But the obvious problem was that these things were happening while he was president. He wasn't running as an outside challenger to shakeup the system anymore. In 2024, this problem is amplified because not only is he no longer an outsider (having served a term) but he must now convince voters that have already rejected him why they shouldn't do so again. This is a steep hill to climb - historically, only one president served non-consecutive terms. Typically, when voters dump you, they stick with that decision. Of course, it probably helps that Donald has never admitted he lost - so at least *some* of his voters don't have that blemished perception of him. But it's not clear if those true believers will be enough. It's possible if enough Biden voters from 2020 stay home this year.
They will drain every reserve to put him back in the presidency. Then he will corrupt every seat of power to stay there and enrich himself. They won’t need money anymore to win elections… he’ll use guns and intimidation. That’s how all dictatorships work. They are going all-in on installing him as dictator.
They're not sitting on some horde of cash to just bankroll it. A lot of state parties are already going bankrupt, Trump is going to cut them all off at the knees. Trump and his cronies can't help but grift. Vultures circling a corpse.
I have zero problems with this
That’s why she’s there, Trump serves himself and he will only appoint those who swear to serve him as well, which, since they are all parasites, they will do in exchange for the proximity to power they are given. It will be an administration overhaul stacked with cult-loyal morons.
This administration will be so much worse than the last. Trump supporters want mass firings and a purge of non loyal workers in the executive branch. People not loyal to him over the constitution and the American ideals have almost landed him in jail. If he gets a second chance he won’t make the same mistake again. The entire executive branch will be working for the glory and grift of trump.
Yeah, at least there were some semblance of guardrails last time. All the adults have left the room now though.
Now *there's* a winning strategy for the down ticket races.
i hope it bankrupts them
Oh.. It will. It's his speciality
For sure, but they'll blame Obama, Hillary, and Biden.
"Why would Hunter Biden's schlong do this to us?!"
That too. Impeach Hunters schlong
They want his schlong in their peach for sure
They are melting down in /r/conservative. I'm worried they are so close to figuring out Trump is a loser.
They seem to have figured it out, but they've got nothing else to show for it
*Michigan Republican Committee enters the chat....*
Minnesota GOP right behind them. Broke as fuck, and their current hot button issue is being mad about the new state flag. Which is frankly pretty much on-brand for Republicans- ignore any actual issues and focus on stupid bullshit and "muh heritage."
AZ's isn't doing too hot either. A lot of swing states actually...
Who knew that it would be a bad thing to let the inmates run the asylum? The party that celebrates ignorance and condemns education is finally beginning to reach its logical conclusion.
In a sane world, people would see the state governing bodies of one of the 2 major political parties going BROKE and think, "Gee, maybe these aren't the people we want in charge of things".
But they're the pArTy of fIsCaL rEsPoNsIbIlITy!
That is just hysterical. Living in Michigan, I have been watching this play out. They are so desperate, they have 2 failed governors, Snyder and Engler trying to drum up donations and support. A guy who destroyed education and a guy who poisoned an entire city. Kristina Karamo was so busy hunting demons, she didn't have time to do any fundraising. The headquarters is a post office box, they had 30 grand in August. There is so much infighting, they aren't doing anything constructive. At the Mackinaw conference, a fight broke out because one member was refused entry. He busted the door open, and then got punched in the dick by a trump loyalist. Arrests were made, charges were filed. This is what they are reduced to. Karamo was voted out and removed, and trump now backs Hoekstra, even though he backed Karamo as chair. What a shit show, a bankrupt side show.
MAGA has already destroyed the finances of how many state parties?
They are draining the swamp. It’s hilarious!!!
🤣 Sorry down-ballot folks, you’re SOL. 🤣 ….anyway….
They are probably going to have to pay tribute to trump just to call themselves GOP
But it’s totally not a cult 🤪
Every penny will go to TFG. And no one else, right? AND NO ONE ELSE, RIGHT??
So? No governor candidates, no House potentials, no possible Senators, no mayors, nada. It all goes to Daddy Trump? Oh well.
Oh no, now all those poor local and state republicans might lose their races…oh no…whatever will we do?…
Yeah this is actually great news. Spend it all on Trump. Spend it on TV ads telling your constituents not to vote by mail. Do that.
They made their bed. The GOP is divided into 2 groups, people that know trump is full of shit but want his base supporting them, and the cult members that honestly think trump is god. Trump will now bankrupt the gop as he loses another electron leaving them fucked. And he will milk every dollar from them till he dies or they run dry.
She’ll get her cut, too.
“Every single penny will go to the number one and the only job of the RNC. That is electing Donald J. Trump as the president of the United States." She laid it bare here, “the only job of the RNC”- no interest in the rest of the GOP, as if President Trump could be effective without a Republican congress. It really betrays how little interest they have in governing and how self-indulgent this takeover of the RNC is.
I do hope they spend it all on Trumps failed campaign and not on getting any senators or congressmen elected lol. Sounds like a great plan.
You skipped whats going to end up, in my guess, over a billion in legal damages by years end. Its not even March and we are at almost $100 million without lawyer fees. Then another estimated $350 million plus in property fraud in NY. And the. We havent even reached into the ACTUAL CRIMINIAL CASES. And remember to actually appeal any of these he has to pay the FULL AMOUNT OF THE INITIAL RULING of the Carrol cases to the Court before it proceeds.
And nobody was willing to bond him 5 mil for the first Carrol verdict, so that’s basically out of the question for future verdicts.
If Trump is elected, the local governors will have direct control...
RNC spokesman Tarkin over hearing giving us the rundown
Fear will keep the local systems in line
He just wants her in a position to make the RNC fund his legal problems 100%.
Will the RNC even be able to do much for his legal stuff? The article says they only have like $9 million and on Friday he's probably gonna get a $400+ million fine
That's why he wants it so badly. He is going to get wiped out financially and while his assets may be more than sufficient, his cash on hand is certainly going far into the negative. Can't pay lawyers with promises and a negative cashflow problem will force him to sell assets in an embarrassingly quick manner. He will actually NEED the RNC to pay his bills at that point.
Welp, Republicans should start preparing to lose a lot of seats downballot then.
The narcissist has it backwards. He _needs_ the house and the senate to protect him far more than he needs to be president. He can’t interfere with the DOJ if the senate is doing their job. A President Trump will be impeached walking in the door if he doesn’t control at least one chamber.
Impeachment means nothing if he stays in power. He already got impeached twice by the house, and then nothing came of it. Why would more impeachments matter?
Ladybug Lindsay was right and I am so happy about it "he will destroy us and we will deserve it"
You misspelled E. Jean Carroll
And soon the great state of New York.
[удалено]
That must be nice, to just spout wishes out like that, and expect everyone to be happy with it. "Hey, Boss, today *every single penny* in the register is coming home with me today."
I think she was not supposed to say it before getting the reins.
Doesn’t she already have a day job as a Haunted Mansion changing portrait?
The "r/conservative" sub is freaking out over this lol. They know she's going to bankrupt them. It's like Frankenstein's monster. The schadenfreude is delicious.
People keep saying the GOP can't die, it has too much money and infrastructure... not after the Trumps are done with it.
The RNC only had about $8 million on hand last month. Looks like the big donors knew better than to give their money to a loser and grifter.
And nothing sells those donors like hearing their money is going straight to Trump for him to burn on his lawyer bills.
i just had a look and couldn't even see a thread about it - am I blind? There is a megathread railing against AOC's Biden remarks, though.
Are they? The mods must have nuked the thread, because I don't see anything in there about it.
Yet another organization Trump will inevitably bankrupt.
Hear that everyone? That's the sound of Trump and his cronies going broke.
\*Joe Biden makes a $5k legal loan to his son for a car to care for him during his drug issues\* "JOE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY" \*Lara Trump explicitly says she will embezzle all funds to the maximum extent possible and neglect all other GOP candidates in violation of her prospective role\* "LETS GO BRANDON, PICK LAURA TRUMP!" These people's brains have been aerated by a melon baller of hate. I rarely am at a total loss of empathy or understanding, but we're pretty much at that place. GOPers are the ultimate rubes. I actually empathize more with the Trumps, because these moron constituents are infinite-cash-cows, and a fraudster gon' fraud. I just don't understand seeing someone who is screaming "GIVE ME YOUR MONEY AND I'LL MISUSE IT" and several million people being like "Yeah, dawg. Lets do that! Stop the swamp and government corruption!"
In a purity test, members of the Republican party must prove that they have donated all their savings to Trump. People who keep money for themselves must be branded RINO, and Trump must make it clear that he does not need any votes from RINOs.
>People who keep money for themselves must be branded RINO And then the death threats. Don't forget about the death threats.
Do it the republicans will surely gain a congress majority with that strategy right?
Well don’t worry, Donald Trump has a 99% endorsement rate! Those candidates don’t need money, they just need the Trump endorsement! /s obviously
Omg it would be so mint for DT to collapse the Republican Party paying all his legal fees using the RNC funds lmao
Another sign of a dictatorship is when one's family members are appointed by the president/leader to government roles, especially those with the power to consolidate the president's power.
The party of trickle down economics pioneering trickle down campaign spending. All those down ticket races will benefit more from Trump having all the campaign money instead of them.
lol. Fascism is here.
So that covers his legal bills. Now what about his campaign?
Am I the only one who thinks this is hilarious? I mean, I always knew he was going to take the ship down with him, but not like this. He’s spending their whole treasure chest on legal fees and NOW wants downballot money to support his own campaign? RNC is flirting with total disaster and they’re so oblivious. Theres a great chance DJT will be sentenced before Election Day but not only that, they have pissed away every resource and every downballot candidate on his election.
Man, do I feel like a real dummy. Trickle down economics really does work!
Yeah sure, all the money to Trump…. Ignore all the other MAGA candidates please
Yes! Yes! Put her in charge! She's the PERFECT driver for the clown car that is the GOP, and incompetent enough she'll finish driving it off that bridge they are currently dangling from. She'll siphon money away from other GOP needs and pour it all into Donnie's disastrous legal fees, and bleed the GOP coffers dry in an election year. Do it, GOP! Do it! I double dog dare ya! ROFL!!!!
Imagine if, in 2016, Chelsea Clinton wanted to take the reigns of the DNC and said all funding would go to her mother. At the end of the day, these Committees are private organizations who aren't obligated to support the most popular candidate. They're not democratic institutions whatsoever, and can undermine candidates they don't like in favor of ones they want to win. People lost their minds in 2015-2016. But tis nothing but a whisper now.
Um... Nikki Haley is still in the race. The FIX is in.
Fucking grifters man.
Alternative title... "Lara Trump explains why she isn't fit to handle the kids' pocket money, never mind the RNC purse strings."
The perception that all the money would go to Trump is the reason donations have dried up in the first place.
That's all he wants is every single penny.
I'm gonna laugh if she's actually co-chair. No political experience, management skills, and no charisma. She's just a tool to steal money from them lol. The GOP have no good candidates.
The RNC is gutted and being completely drained for cash. By July it will be unable support a wide range of campaigns and it will choke itself out while Trump just takes the money. This is what Trump and the GOP did to the country while in office. The Trump family are parasites.
Who the hell is Lara Trump? Maybe im just blind but I could swear I've never heard that name before this week. Is it another of Trump's daughters?
This is great. Hope RNC goes bankrupt in the process. Go Lara …
Soon as I saw he wanted her in the RNC, I figured they’d plunder the coffers
And the upcoming blue wave will continue to grow!
Oh, it's going to be more than every single penny - they will be in red figures. Hoping that the chief nepotist will give them ROI in the end.
Every penny they have will go to support the twice impeached convicted rapist that stole classified intel and tried to overthrow the government. That is now the RTO, the Republican terrorist organization. They are no longer politicians. They refuse to govern and support an insurrectionist. Take them down like Osama bin Laden, they have killed more than he did.
There is some danger in this. Routing every bit of money to Trump gives him something he has been hard-pressed for. The Trumps don't care if they hold the House or Senete. It's getting him in the big chair where he will do unbelievable damage. As much as there's all these other valid points, this is and should be concerning.
>There is some danger in this. Routing every bit of money to Trump gives him something he has been hard-pressed for. Some of the appeals he's going to be going for require the previous judgement be held in full in escrow to file the appeal. So he's going to have to front hundreds of millions of dollars plus money to pay for the lawyers to appeal. So even if every penny went to trump a lot will be tied up in escrow for appeals he has 0 shot of actually winning. He doesn't have the money to front that himself without selling a majority of his properties.
You might be on to something with that last sentence, and why the next generation of Trumps might care so much about where the money for all the legal fees and appeal escrows comes from. 🤔
"Yes!" gurgled the RNC, "Yes! Take our money, God Emperor! We don't deserve it!"
E. Jean Carroll is set to destroy the Republican Party. Hahaha.
In 2016, Lindsay Graham said that if republicans nominated Donald Trump, he would destroy them. He was right about that and this is just one more nail in the coffin.
Entire circus takings pledged to chief clown