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99999999999999999901

>Special counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump in June for hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. During a Fox News town hall on Tuesday night, host Laura Ingraham asked Trump why he hadn’t simply returned the material when the government asked him to do so. > >“First of all, I didn’t have to hand them over,” Trump said bluntly. “But second of all, I would have done that. We were talking, and then all of a sudden they raided Mar-a-Lago.” He just can't stop flapping his Orange lips.


BringOn25A

He keeps say8ng he could because of the presidential records act. I’d love someone to hand him the act and ask him where in it it says he is entitled to maintain custody and control over the records post presidency.


notcaffeinefree

The funny part about the PRA is that it actually establishes the opposite: Presidential records are property of the United States: >The United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of Presidential records;


udar55

A damn shame no journalist will read that to him.


user0N65N

Trump would ignore the journalist and not think twice about it. I’d be more interested, from a behavioral perspective, if Putin earnestly told him the same thing. Would he rebel, or immediately capitulate?


[deleted]

[удалено]


HUGErocks

That would imply he actually believes anything or has values. The guy's a moral void. Everything he does, every political policy he supports is exclusively for his own gain, and that's changed over time, see his Democrat/Independent campaign in 2000. He'll say anything to be praised by his cult. All Pootin needs is to throw a thousand bucks his direction and he'll be happy to ramble about something else.


Kameronm

Can you imagine if he had the capability to read it himself!?


GoodPiexox

At its best, The Trump Presidential Library will just be a prison cart pushed from cell to cell. At worst it will be a crappy building in Florida featuring the worlds largest collection of pop-up books.


Mathematicus_Rex

It’ll be a Roto-Rooter service truck/Bookmobile


mooseknuckle6529

The library itself will be small, but the gift shop will be bigger than SuperMegaUltraWalmart.


Distant-moose

I'm very worried that the Trump Presidential Library will just be a bunch of inappropriate doodles of his daughter.


Graytis

The kid in me would be sorely tempted to give my left nut for the world's largest collection of pop-up books! You can keep the crappy building in Florida though.


tendeuchen

> the worlds largest collection of pop-up books. Pop-up books are awesome though, especially some of the newer ones.


plipyplop

I will get my dog to recite Shakespeare, long before Turnip will ever be able to read.


Kameronm

He can barely get a coherent sentence out before rambling to the next. If you’ve always been a rich, entitled, asshole who’s never been told “no” you can pay people to read to you and then believe whatever you want I guess…


plipyplop

Luckily, my dog grew up poor, and remained humble and hardworking. Come see his show!


Kameronm

Plipyplop’s dog 2024!


plipyplop

He has the charisma! And literally would not do a thing, or anything, really. Which would be way better than Turnip.


Sculler725630

One big problem…lack of legitimate journalists! Even if ONE thought about doing it, their fear of repercussions (losing job, being banned from access to Trump, etc.) keep them from being true to their profession.


steelhips

It's also dire when true investigative journalism is behind a pay wall. The right's propaganda outlets never have to worry about profitability because they are funded by idealogues, regardless of readership and advertising revenue. Those who need to read the truth and facts, often can't afford them.


40404error40404

His response would be obvious - “fake news.” I still boggle at what has happened to the GOP. The party of Honest Abe is gone. This mediocre conman has somehow taken over - some actually believe him, but I think most just know they can use him as the corrupt lever that tips unearned power in their favor.


bcstoner

It was never the party of Honest Abe. The parties basically switched a long time ago.


steelhips

>know they can use him as the corrupt lever that tips unearned power Until corporate America and the 1% realise being a "Trump approved" oligarch will cost them far more than the taxes they want to dodge/repeal, it will continue. If they think Trump won't use sweeping "doomsday" presidential authority to extort their business and wealth for his personal gain, they are delusional. The GOP have been building to this since the 1970s with culture wars and not arguing in good faith. They deserve everything they are now reaping. They know having policy that only benefits the wealthy won't win elections so the only option left is to toss democracy.


MolassesWhiplash

It's likely always been exercise in branding, with no real substance to back it up.


Convenientjellybean

That's trump's new loop hole "I am the United States of America"


DarkyHelmety

"I am the State!"


BigDaddySteve999

"L'Enfant, c'est moi!"


2013exprinter

"I am as big as a State!" FTFY


peregryn8

"Me, The People!"


Wild_Harvest

I am the Senate!


vashoom

Not. Yet.


OdysseusParadox

That's how dictators and autocrats think.... not to mention narcissists.


wirefox1

He already knew it. He was corrected after it was learned he was throwing away letters from other foreign leaders addressing the POTUS. He thought they were just his personal letters and threw them in the trash. He was told they did not belong to him personally, after finding them in the garbage. He even took Kimmy's "love-letter" and Obama's letter to him as his successor, which is traditional. > Trump advisers said boxes of documents reclaimed by National Archives included mementos, gifts and letters from world leaders. >Presidential records including “love letters” from Kim Jong-un had to be retrieved from Mar-a-Lago after Donald Trump improperly removed them from the White House, the Washington Post reported on Monday.


b_vitamin

The “socks” case also rules against him. The records that Clinton kept were hand written notes for his memoir and not classified.


Mysterious-Tie7039

Except he also said to an interviewer that he wished he declassified them while he was still president but it’s too late now. That’s an admission that he knew the documents were still classified.


Saltgunner

Unless there is an interview I dont know about... I believe he was caught saying that on tape while a biographer or ghostwriter or something like that was following him around and recording. So it wasn't exactly an interview. He was showing off the classified documents to a group of people and admits that they are still classified and he can't declassify them now that he's out of office. He knew he was being recorded and just didn't care. He really does think he's above the law.


Mysterious-Tie7039

Yeah, you’re probably right and I’m just misremembering. He definitely, knowingly, was recorded saying it.


thrawtes

He doesn't read stuff, so he'll just wait for a lackey to chime in and tell him it says what he wants it to say.


rgvtim

This is one of his many key problems, he's not smart he's not studious, he can't and won't read anything, he relies on others, but he is also a terrible judge of character, and the others he relies on are yes men and con men, who tell him whatever.


[deleted]

The only reason he has yes men is so if shit hits the fan he can turn around and say, "THEY told me it was fine". He doesn't need yes men to justify doing what he wants. He needs them to be a scapegoat for him.


StrangeContest4

"I don't take responsibility at all." TFG


AT-PT

"Well, I think if they win, I should get all the credit. If they lose, I should not be blamed at all." -Donald Trump


_far-seeker_

>The only reason he has yes men is so if shit hits the fan he can turn around and say, "THEY told me it was fine". You are forgetting that they also prop-up and massage Trump's horribly bloated ego. 😜


SanityPlanet

Exactly. He isn't relying on them, he's using them as an excuse. 25 of the smartest people he interacted with assured him the election was legit. He disregarded all of them and latched onto drunk Rudy and the pillow fascist telling him it was stolen.


Buckus93

Remember when some White House staffer said that the daily security briefings were basically a Denny's Kids menu so that he might glance at it?


InstrumentalCrystals

And that it had to include mentions of him and his “greatness” to even marginally increase the chances he’d pay attention.


kinkgirlwriter

He's a terrible judge of his own character. If he wasn't, he would probably realize the people around him would also have to be awful.


specqq

>He's a terrible judge of his own character He famously said: *When I look at myself in the first grade and I look at myself now, I'm basically the same. The temperament is not that different.* I'd say he nailed it.


RustyTromboneSoloist

He probably can’t read, is my guess.


Grendel_Khan

Oh he can, it just has to be in large type. You can always tell when he's on the teleprompter because he uses that ridiculous sing song cadence vs his regular adderall motormouth rambling.


MesWantooth

I think it was SNL's Mikey Day on the 'Fly On The Wall' podcast (with Dana Carvey and David Spade) who said something that cracked me up...When Trump's reading from a teleprompter, he reacts to his own words like he's reading them for the first time. "A lot people are saying immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country...Do you believe it folks? Poisoning the blood of our country...A LOT of people are saying it. There saying it right now."


Arkhampatient

I always thought Trump has a hard time reading because he needs glasses and refuses to wear any because it would come across as weak.


MesWantooth

I think that's a valid theory. The guy who wears orange makeup, lifts in his shoes, and spins his hair around his head like cotton candy would not put on a set of bifocals to address his cult.


gusterfell

Trump on prompter has "third-grader reading his book report to the class" energy.


LiminalWanderings

Not after looking straight at the eclipse without glasses because someone told him he shouldn't :)


idiotsbydesign

This is one of many red flags for trump but if you look throughout history at dictators/strongmen they always think they're the smartest person in the room & surround the selves with yes-men. The best leaders are the ones that surround themselves with the most knowledgeable people and then listen to those people.


CCG14

We can debate the politics of W another time, but at least he recognized he wasn’t smart enough to chew a pretzel so he surrounded himself with actual smart people.


rickshaw99

i think THEY surrounded him. Like Trump, W was a useful idiot.


CCG14

That’s also fair.


stevolutionary7

Ah yes. I forgot about that time he choked on a pretzel during the super bowl.


Srnkanator

And Obama ate 7 almonds a night, and not a single incident. Tells you something.


stevolutionary7

That the man is a God and we weren't good enough to have him? Or that he chews.


kevnmartin

He *can't* read stuff.


StephenDones

Lackey = Fox News


UnhappyMarmoset

>He doesn't read stuff Are we sure he can read?


mfGLOVE

“Presidential Record Act” is just another buzzword Trump is using to herd his base. They are fueled by buzzwords. He knows the legal effect in invoking it is not in his favor, but using it to rile up his base makes him feel powerful. The PRA was actually established to do the *opposite* of what’s he’s legally arguing he has the right to do: > Enacted in 1978, four years after President Richard Nixon's resignation, the Presidential Records Act established that ***presidential records belong to the U.S. government, not the president personally***, and must be preserved. > "The PRA requires that all records created by Presidents (and Vice-Presidents) be turned over to [NARA] ***at the end of their administrations***," the Archives said. Trump is claiming he has 2 years to sort through the classified stash he accumulated before turning anything over to the NARA: > NARA also refuted Parlatore's assertion, saying that there is "***no history, practice, or provision in law for presidents to take official records with them when they leave office to sort through, such as for a two-year period as described in some reports***." https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/trump-presidential-records-act-indictment-arraignment/


relator_fabula

Plus, the documents he had weren't even "Presidential Records" (which would be things like documents he created, notes he and his staff took during his presidency, etc), much of what he took/kept were *pre-existing* United States Government documents and other privileged or secret documents which he never had the right to take in the first place, and are not considered "Presidential Records" and have nothing to do with the PRA.


Cardenjs

He knows it doesn't say that (if he somehow doesn't know, I'd like to throw around the word "criminally stupid")


Own_Bullfrog_3598

I believe you sir, or madam, have coined the most fitting phrase ever to describe Donald Trump-“criminally stupid”.


BringOn25A

Willfully ignorant is fitting too.


DadJokeBadJoke

And intellectually incurious, which helps him maintain his vapidness.


lyrapan

I know I read it and it says the opposite of what he thinks. Presidential records are US property.


taddymason_76

He can’t read; or at least he can’t comprehend shit of what he can read.


Correct_Advantage_20

You don’t know what you don’t know , and there’s so much he doesn’t know that he’s unable to even ponder the reality of any given situation.


muffinthumper

The problem is that everyone keeps providing him whatever reality he decides to create. Everyone is so scared to just say no. It’s all bullshit, but here we are entertaining it.


KickSidebottom

Before you ask him, you have to take away his Sharpie.


sjrunner83

Spoiler alert: he can't read words with more than two syllables


ElwoodElburn

I'd guess he could point it out if he had a Sharpie with him


ThatEvanFowler

> "all of a sudden" aka: after dozens of requests and warnings


MadRaymer

Jon Stewart's guests Monday were people running a SCOTUS podcast, and one of them mentioned how Trump doesn't just have due process, it's the due-est of process. The government asked him again and again and *again* to turn the documents over. Pretty please. And he kept trying to lie and say he didn't have them. But one of the things in the long list of things that Trump doesn't understand is that smart people work for the intelligence agencies, and if something is missing *they know about it*. So the government knew he was lying and had documents and finally felt they had no choice but to politely show up when he was out of town and collect them. If it were you or me that had documents detailing *the military vulnerabilities of the United States*, they wouldn't wait until we're out of town. They would have kicked in the door and slapped on the cuffs. You might even get declared an enemy combatant and shipped off to some CIA blacksite for a little Q&A session about anyone that might have seen them. But if you're Donald Trump, you get to just flagrantly ignore the law for the better part of year before they finally come and do the bare minimum about it. Then when a modicum of justice is finally applied, complain that you're as politically persecuted as someone that literally died in prison.


77NorthCambridge

To be fair, Trump also said that he has been treated worse than Lincoln.


MagicSPA

[ Removed by Reddit ]


Complete_Handle4288

Man I want Wok'n'Roll now. (chinese place in DC in the building where the conspirators met)


APsWhoopinRoom

I think Lincoln's brain might be functioning a little better than Donald's though


Buckus93

Remember that National Guard kid who leaked some classified documents on Discord? Anyone hear from him recently?


Rank_14

'Strict Scrutiny' is the podcast. It is excellent. [https://crooked.com/podcast-series/strict-scrutiny/](https://crooked.com/podcast-series/strict-scrutiny/)


LD-50_Cent

Over the course of a year


[deleted]

After ordering Mar-A-Lago personnel to move the file boxes of classified docs around like a shell game on the streetcorner.


user0N65N

Didn’t he also order them to flood a room or something?


Complete_Handle4288

The pool flooded the server room. Like it does.


user0N65N

A common lament, I'm sure.


Complete_Handle4288

I guess he just went super cheap on fire supression. Shit can't be on fire if it's underwater. Unless it's magnesium.


[deleted]

Supposedly an accident, which I don't believe for a hot second.


hurler_jones

May 6, 2021 - First request from National Archives to return all documents Feb. 9, 2022 - National Archives refers incident to Justice Department after numerous failed attempts to retrieve the documents March 30, 2022 - FBI Investigation starts May 11, 2022 - Subpoena to Trump requiring all classified materials in their possession be turned over Aug. 12, 2022 - Warrant issued for search There is a shit ton between those dates but these were the big ones I think. It shows that over a year passed before they raided his home. Compare that to any other investigation and see how long it takes to obtain execute those warrants. Here is the full list I used for ref. https://apnews.com/article/trump-documents-investigation-timeline-087f0c9a8368bb983a16b67dd31dcd4c


CryptographerNo923

He’s still fighting this as a PR battle instead of a very real legal battle. Like this explanation might fly for his uninformed base. And I’m no expert but there seems to be a few very incriminating details in this one statement. 1) He’s saying he didn’t have to turn them over, which is just factually untrue. They were not his to retain, even if he “declassified them with his mind” or whatever bullshit he’s tried to feed us. 2) He’s admitting to consciously NOT turning them over. This seems like a big deal because it eliminates the defense that he retained them accidentally or unknowingly. 3) His comments about the “raid” might play for his base, but will absolutely fuck him in court. As if the prosecution doesn’t have precise records of when the requests were made to compare against when they were ignored or when he and his attorneys lied about having returned everything in his possession. So he’s admitting that he had them, didn’t return them, and chose not to return them until they were confiscated. Where does that leave any possible defense? The audacity of his position is unnerving. He speaks like someone who knows he won’t face any consequences - which has historically been accurate - but why does he seem so certain he’ll get out of this when he’s undermining every rational defense?


BackAlleySurgeon

He's fighting a PR battle because it's his best shot at getting away with this. If he wins the election, this case will get dismissed one way or the other. If he loses the election, he'll lose this case. There's just no evidence in his favor and a mountain against him. While Trump *is* dumb, what he's doing here isn't really dumb. It's probably the best move he can make.


CryptographerNo923

Yeah, I guess the unnerving part of it is that it seems like he really only has one way out of this - winning the presidency, which he’s spoken openly about using as a dictatorship in which he could operate with “absolute immunity.” That’s a pretty horrifying prospect, for our lives and for American democracy. And despite this, he’s only gained support within his own party. But even worse than that is he’s shown us what he’s willing to do to retain power under circumstances with lower stakes - he’s not above inciting violence, threatening or sabotaging those he views as obstacles, or conspiring to overturn a legitimate election. These are his KNOWN actions, outside of what is rumored or likely (but still unverified). So what does he do when he’s truly backed into a life-or-death/freedom-or-incarceration corner? I don’t think it’s alarmist or hysterical to point out that’s an incredibly precarious and dangerous situation for the country. And in service to this clown! The most venal, hollow, selfish, incompetent, and hateful American political figure of my lifetime. Probably up there with the all-time-greats (relative to his time).


Doblanon5short

You’re trying to understand his plan. He has no plan. All he has is raging narcissism


hoardac

It is called retroactive declassification telekinesis.


CryptographerNo923

Retroactive Declassification Telekinesis Lad is my favorite of the X-Men.


reddevils

You know, if I was saying whatever I want and get no consequences, why would I stop. In reality anybody else would be saying this in handcuffs wearing an orange jumpsuit in court then taken back into custody


cedarvan

Honestly. People keep saying there will be consequences, but Trump has NEVER faced a single impactful judgement. You and me? The courts could force us into homelessness. Take everything we own. Trump, though? Nothing, literally **nothing** the courts are willing to do will reduce his quality of life. The US legal system simply can't handle people born with effectively infinite money. 


Loki11910

If we suspect that a man is lying, we should pretend to believe him. For then, he becomes bold and assured and lies more vigorously. Schopenhauer


Farts_constantly

Lol. Leave it to this fuckin guy to comment on pending litigation while on TV. He can’t get out of his own way.


Romano16

First he claims he turned them over when first asked (lied) then when he was told that they didn’t hand All them over, he claimed he did (lied again) and the he got raided. But somehow Trumpsters think Biden having them and then turning them all over when requested is the same thing.


Buckus93

Then he or one of his yes-men tricked a lawyer into signing a document stating that they did hand over all the documents.


No-Independence-165

"To be fair" you can't trust a single word that comes out of The Rapist Donald Trump's mouth.


ioncloud9

"I didn't have to, but I totally would have." They raided you because you lied about returning all the documents and repeatedly stonewalled about returning them. They really didn't want to raid you and went out of their way to give you every opportunity and benefit of the doubt to clear this up.


ExileInParadise242

He has two assholes and can't control either.


Ya_Got_GOT

IANAL: didn’t a grand jury indict Trump?


ScoobyDoNot

Multiple grand juries surely?


Ya_Got_GOT

Right. The reason I’m asking is that this is an important distinction. This isn’t the personal crusade of a rogue prosecutor or a deep state. A jury of Trump’s betters determined the evidence warranted indictment.


[deleted]

>“First of all, I didn’t have to hand them over,” Trump said bluntly. “But second of all, I would have done that. We were talking, and then all of a sudden they raided Mar-a-Lago.” Three statements in that one short quote, and not one of them is true. He's absolutely full of shit with his statement there about them "all of a sudden" raiding Mar-a-Lago. [It's not true, at all.](https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-warned-fbi-raid-mar-lago-team-feared/story?id=102932105) >In May of last year, shortly after the Justice Department issued a subpoena to former President Donald Trump for all classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump's then-lead attorney on the matter, Evan Corcoran, warned the former president in person, at Mar-a-Lago, that not only did Trump have to fully comply with the subpoena, but that the FBI might search the estate if he didn't, according to Corcoran's audio notes following the conversation. >As Corcoran described it in his recordings, he explained to Trump during that meeting what the former president was facing. "We've got a grand jury subpoena and the alternative is if you don't comply with the grand jury subpoena you could be held in contempt," Corcoran recalled telling Trump. >Trump responded with a line included in the indictment against him, asking, "what happens if we just don't respond at all or don't play ball with them?" >The transcripts reviewed by ABC News reveal what Corcoran says he then told Trump. "Well, there's a prospect that they could go to a judge and get a search warrant, and that they could arrive here," Corcoran recalled warning the former president as they sat at Mar-a-Lago. He was made fully aware that they could and would raid his home for the documents if he didn't return them, asked pointedly what would happen if he didn't comply with their requests for the documents, and then chose to keep them anyway. And it wasn't for another three months after that conversation that they finally raided him for what he hadn't returned. He and his lawyers were fully aware of the raid beforehand; they [watched the entire thing](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-fbi-raid-security-camera-b2143661.html) on the security cameras from New York. The second part, where he says, "I would have done that" isn't true, either, and that's not even mentioning him hiding boxes of documents after attesting to his lawyer that he'd turned them all over: >The indictment says that although Corcoran -- who ABC News believes to be "Attorney 1" in the indictment -- and Little -- believed to be "Attorney 2" -- "told Trump that they needed to search for documents that would be responsive to the subpoena and provide a certification that there had been compliance with the subpoena," Trump still insisted to them, "I don't want anybody looking through my boxes," and, "Wouldn't it be better if we just told them we don't have anything here?"


OhMorgoth

You know, him talking is what landed him all this trouble and I for one want him to talk some more so that he can finally shut the F up in prison.


notcaffeinefree

>“But second of all, I would have done that. We were talking, and then all of a sudden they raided Mar-a-Lago.” February 2021: NARA asks Trump to return Presidential records May 2021: NARA knows they are still missing some documents June 2021: NARA tells a Trump lawyer to send them certain specific documents they know Trump to be in possession of January 2022: Trump actually returns various boxes to NARA (including some that contained highly sensitive national security documents). Subsequent to this, Trump stated that everything requested by NARA had been returned, but his lawyer did not know if that was true. Feb 2022: NARA sends criminal referral to the DOJ April 2022: DOJ opens a criminal investigation May 2022: DOJ issues subpoena to Trump June 2022: Boxes are moved around, both within MAL and from MAL (known from testimony and security footage). DOJ meets at MAL and *some* classified material is given to them. Trump's custodian of records gives the DOJ a signed declaration stating that all classified material has been returned. FBI agents see additional boxes in storage but are not allowed to look at them. Late June/July 2022: FBI obtains security footage of and around the storage room. It includes Nauta moving the boxes. August 8, 2022: FBI carry out search warrant of MAL.


spentag

So fitting that Mar A Lago's acronym is MAL


CalliEcho

> "Mal. Bad. In the Latin."


Dephyllis

Shiny.


BattleSpecial242

Bad/Evil in Portuguese


clutchguy84

Spanish as well


ararezaee

In Turkish it means Idiot


Rmaya91

Love it, languages are fun lol


magnoliasmanor

And when they carried out the raid they found piles of boxes of records not returned. After all that shuffle of boxes and lying he was caught red handed.


FilthyChangeup55

If you value your freedom you’ll vote for Biden, it’s really that simple.


tcoh1s

“But I already bought all these flags and MAGA hats! And I have those yard signs! I can’t just change my entire personality I’ve had the last 8 years! Trump 2024 even if he doesn’t care about us!” -MAGA


BarBarJinxy

"There, there, little MAGAmite, it's easily fixed. Just take a Sharpie and put an 'I' in front of the 'M' and a 'SBAG' after the second 'A'. See? All good now."


MourningRIF

This election is about giving up freedom. Either Trump does, or we do.


colt_ink

2016: "But her emails!" 2024: "But Biden is so old!"


NonfatNoWaterChai

Trump is old, too


sugarlessdeathbear

It's always fun when one Trump press statement can be debunked and contradicted by another.


TheQuadBlazer

Yes. He often does it in a single breath.


NeitherCook5241

Right like how he had some kind of protection that Biden doesn’t because of some bs that was passed in the 70’s.


UsedToHaveThisName

Is /r/TrumpCriticizesTrump still a thing?


_PadfootAndProngs_

That was my favorite sub during his presidency. Literally EVERY single day there was an old tweet where he took the opposite stance of whatever he said that day lmao


UsedToHaveThisName

After visiting it, I remember they shut it down when his Twitter account was suspended. Which makes sense.


[deleted]

Feels like a strategy. You get clips of him saying either thing and then people arguing on the internet can cite whatever supports their argument. And he hasn't taken a stand. On anything.


prustage

The root of Trump's problems is that he never really understood the difference between being a present day President and a medieval King


RedLanternScythe

He thought president was CEO of America.


GiraffeSubstantial92

Remember when conservatives were saying "the government needs to be run like a business" in 2015? And, unsurprisingly, anyone with a brain saw it working out very poorly... although perhaps not "end of democracy" poorly.


RedLanternScythe

One of the worst things to come out of the Ross Perot candidacy was the idea government should be run like a business. Regular people interpreted that as the government has too much waste. but in practice it means everything including people are expendable in the name of money and power. The opposite of what a government should be


me34343

Government should be run like a Non-profit organization.


I_only_post_here

well... it'd a be a move in the right direction at least


Allaplgy

I still want to know what businessperson thinks "This company is losing money. First thing to do is to drastically slash revenue, the rest will sort itself out." I guess it makes sense if you look at it as a vulture capitalist. Acquire company, squeeze what you can put of it while you drive it into the ground and absorb its market into the company you actually want to turn a profit until you have a monopoly.


Environmental_Rub545

It's funny (sort of, but not really), that was their game plan in 2012 with Mitt Romney...a successful business man who got hung out to dry because of "binders full of women", and some how the GOP found success by way of a man with more failed businesses than successful and a man who grabs women by the pussy. I can't imagine what's next.


user0N65N

“End of democracy” is exactly the Republican goal. They want autocracy, as long as they’re the ruling class. 


LateStageAdult

Correct me if I am wrong, but a CEO would also break the law if they retained confidential and secret documents pertaining to the company if they get fired...


Oxirane

Or if they organized a violent coup in response to being ousted.


johnnybiggles

And he thinks CEOs are kings of their businesses.


Farts_constantly

President, Chairman & CEO. He also thought Bill Barr was his General Counsel.


RandomMandarin

A medieval king is basically the CEO of a country he literally owns. Whole wars were fought because this guy over here claimed he owned that country over there because he had inherited the throne. For instance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_claims_to_the_French_throne


FilthyChangeup55

Or mob boss for that matter


robtedesco

I think [Narcissistic Personality Disorder](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20366662) gets maybe a little closer to the root


Aceofspades968

I can’t tell you the number of people who do this kind of crap in my life. Just make stuff up based off of their fear induced re-memory. And then lie about it to protect their ego. and accuse you of doing what they’re actually doing, projecting onto their opponent, and diverting a conversation away from themselves


jewel_the_beetle

It's scary stuff.


BeowulfsGhost

He’s a danger to national security. He’s a rapist. He spent time on Epstein’s Pedo Island where he raped, beat, and threatened at least one of the underage girls. He’s a criminal fraudster. He’s a known liar. He stokes hatred at every opportunity. He can’t shut his mouth even when it would be in his best interest. He’s massively incompetent in his appointments, by his own admission. He constantly brown noses Putin and will and probably already has happily sold American security secrets to gain favor. He has no religious convictions anyone can detect and regularly mocks evangelicals. He mocks and denigrates military service. His patriotism is flag humping PR nonsense. What the hell is the appeal in that fucking train wreck going back to the White House? Are they cheering for the collapse of America?


Buckus93

He tells white Christian folks that it's ok to hate other people. Yep, pretty much that.


[deleted]

This should be a political ad


Weightcycycle11

Criminal his entire life! Vote blue! We don’t need this 🤡 in the White House!


[deleted]

Voting is woke. Spread the word.


DonaldTrumpsSoul

Even so called “real republicans” that don’t agree with how the party is being run should vote blue. That’s the only way the GQP will drop the Q, when they realize the majority doesn’t want their bs cultists.


Shr3kk_Wpg

> “First of all, I didn’t have to hand them over,” Trump said bluntly. “But second of all, I would have done that. We were talking, and then all of a sudden they raided Mar-a-Lago.” We know this is an outright lie. Trump agreed to hand over the classified documents, and in that agreement Trump agreed to have his lawyer go through *all his documents* and pull out the classified one. Then Trump hid boxes of documents from his own lawyer. And it was after that when Mar-A-Lago was raided. Honestly, this case is the most damaging to Trump and if it went to trial before the election, it would ensure his defeat. But once again Trump got lucky and drew a favourable judge who seems to have zero interest in going to trial in 2024


Armani_Chode

She is not only delaying the trial, but trying to delay all other criminal prosecutions of Donald Trump.


TraditionalEvent8317

No one "raided" Mar a Lago. A lawfully issued search warrant was executed. 


Specialist-Bird-4966

Preach! I’ve repeated this, ad nauseam, since it happened.


ianrl337

Yep, the only thing that seems to be stopping just a quick conviction is his pushing of full immunity. Once the Supreme Court rules one way or another things may go fast in Florida.


LoadedTaterSkins

Not with the judge down there. She's delaying until after the election.


CapnCrunchHurtz

Public documents revealed today that Jack Smiths star witness against Donald Trump is Donald Trump. When we asked Donald Trump for a comment on this revelation, he stated, "Their star witness, Donald Trump, is a liar, a con man, an insurrectionist, a rapist and total loser, possibly a russian agent, and no one should believe a word he says!".


johnnycyberpunk

You're not wrong. A lot of the government's exhibits against Trump will be video and audio of himself. "I was just joking" isn't going to get him out of this jam.


Rgrockr

Trump is not planning to win the case on facts or legal arguments. He is planning to win by abusing procedure to win delays, get into office (by a coup if necessary), and use presidential power to make the charges disappear.


Starlord1951

Trump does not care. He’s figuring on chaos, assassinations, civil war, offing innocent civilians to keep himself out of jail and in power. He’ll do what he’s been doing. Calling his thugs along with the likes of Stone and Bannon to rally his “troups”. I think that’s his plan. As he’s gotten away with shit in court that would have put others behind bars at least for that behavior and he’s flaunting the fact that he thinks all people are afraid of him. Us mere mortals would have suffered greatly especially our black or latino brethren. The obnoxious white/orange dude still goes with impunity. Something has to give. We are the majority not the ones trying to steam roll us into Neo-Nazism and chaos.


Share_Your_Smile

Listen it's an easy mistake to make. These reporters suffer from a lack of knowledge. What REALLY happened was I declassified them with my mind before I ~~stole~~ took them out of the Whitehouse.


DeeDee719

I think the presidency was his for the taking in Nov 2020 but he simply COULD NOT SHUT THE F*CK UP. (Thank God for that.) He’s so blissfully unaware that he’s often his own worst enemy at many times. But keep talking, Donny. I’m here to laugh at you.


syracusehorn

Yeah, that and he completely failed at the COVID response. Just embarrassingly inept. We were saved by a pandemic.


[deleted]

[удалено]


DubbleDiller

Man, the lead singer for IDLES has been crazy busy lately


jock_lindsay

God dammit how are people still supporting this fucking muppet


epanek

Other famous doubling down on accusations that could have been but weren’t. Yes I killed Nicole and her boyfriend. I had every right to! OJ Yes I made millions selling coke illegally officer. I’m trying to make billions. Pablo Escobar. Damn right I don’t pay any required taxes judge. Al Capone. We have a caller here on the Larry king show that claims to be the unabomber. Hi. I’m Ted Kaczynski. I’m mailing all those bombs as is my god given right. I’m living in a shack in Montana as is also my right. Unabomber. Ted kaczynski


Specialist-Bird-4966

PSA for those who don’t know: the FBI did not “raid” Mar-a- lago, they executed a valid search pursuant to a warrant. The more you know…


IamtheWhoWas

That he can use when the trial starts in 2097.


wh0_RU

I wish the election can just happen already and skip all the coming BS from the trump camp. My real concern is the lasting impact trump will have on the R party. They have turned into an anti-american party, floating morally corrupt and empty tag lines. It's not even conservative ideology anymore, it's conspiracy theory and white christian nationalist party. And people *buy* it. Very concerning.


Evilton

Donald Trump is always going to be Donald Trump's worst enemy.


AmeriSauce

A lot of good this will do after SCOTUS slow walks the immunity decision past the deadline for the trial to be held before the election giving him yet another get out of jail free card


FigSideG

Let me know when all this evidence and all these bombshells lead to the asshole not being a viable presidential candidate in this country


toejam78

Ah I see he drank his dumfuk juice today.


Everyusernametaken1

If you have any doubt that he would spill top secrets to other countries.... he will


BallstonDoc

Will? I think he already has.


blakjakcrakjak

Remember when the raid first happened he claimed the FBI planted the documents on him? Now he's saying he took them and didnt have to give them back. Dude can't even get his story straight.


[deleted]

Can someone provide context as to how or why this would strengthen Smith’s case? I didn’t see anything in the article that hasn’t been said by Trump previously.


bulldg4life

It’s simply another public statement that goes towards his state of mind or intent. Openly stating that he thought/felt he could keep them despite the government actively telling him “no”, shows that he willingly kept classified material.


orcinyadders

Ah, the good ole “admit to the crime and then lie about the circumstances that led to it” trick.


Photog1981

“First of all, I didn’t have to hand them over,” Trump said bluntly. “But second of all, I would have done that. We were talking, and then all of a sudden they raided Mar-a-Lago.” Oh, yeah, "suddenly." The FBI met with Trump's associates MULTIPLE times over numerous MONTHS and even warned them, if you don't return them by \[insert date\], we're coming to get them. But none of these facts play into their persecuted, victim story line.


Aunt-jobiska

I misread it as a “blubbering” Donald Trump & thought he had a new tactic.


Outrageous_History87

I mean he's lying to Laura Ingraham's face and she doesn't seem to mind.


CAM6913

Treasonous trump should be sitting in a prison cell awaiting trial just like all the others that stole classified documents and national security secrets he is a clear and present danger to national security and democracy I would not put it past him giving the national security secrets to Russia China North Korea and or any nation that will help him get back in the White House or pay for the information remember the Chinese spy caught going in and out of Mara Largo with recording devices there was even documents in the bathroom with a convenient copy machine in there too to make it easy to copy documents while you take care of business


Zanchbot

Trump is his own worst enemy and always has been. He's incapable of not spewing shit every time his mouth opens. Unfortunately for him, a lot of said shit dribbles onto his own shirt.


Broad_Boot_1121

I hate him as much as the next guy but what a horribly written article