Factual leaks infuriate a president who tweets nonsense

[babylonsister]

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-leaks-nonsense-20170215-story.html

Column Factual leaks infuriate a president who tweets nonsense
Donald Trump is drenched by leaks.
David Horsey

snip//

Trump is discovering what he should have known when he first decided to become a candidate for president: running the country is not at all like running a real estate business or playing the part of a brilliant businessman on TV. He cannot just spit out orders and make everyone do his bidding. He cannot hide the unsavory side of his activities. And he cannot avoid accountability and tough questions.

In response to Trump’s latest attack on the “fake media,” CNN’s Jake Tapper attempted to school the fledgling commander in chief.

“The media, of course, did not fire Gen. Flynn. President Trump did,” Tapper said on his program Wednesday. “Now, what the media did do was reveal to the nation that Gen. Flynn had lied to the Trump team — including Vice President Pence — when he claimed he never discussed Obama’s sanctions on Russia with the Russian ambassador. President Trump knew this at least as early as Jan. 26. But he did not act on this until media revealed the truth to you [the public], and, as it turns out, Vice President Pence.”
David Horsey cartoons

Tapper went on to explain the difference between conspiracy theories and real news to Trump. The stories about Flynn were news because they were based on facts provided — yes, leaked — by officials with real information.

“Conspiracy theories are different. They’re false, they’re crackpot, they’re nonsense,” Tapper said, going on to give two examples: the falsehood that President Obama was born in Kenya and the bogus claim that Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s father was involved in the plot to kill President Kennedy.

Trump should be familiar with those two crackpot theories since he was the one pushing them. It is not likely the president is going to gain a new appreciation for facts, though. That is not how his mind works. He perceives the world in starkly simple terms in which only one thing matters: who is with him and who is against him. Any other truth is irrelevant.

[guillaumeb]

1. Recommended. The final paragraph sums up Trump very well.

Ultimately, he is a con man who is angry that his con is being exposed.

[uppityperson]

2. K&r and bookmarked for later

[Orrex]

3. Trump values loyalty above all else.

As do his cultish supporters, who insist that "patriotism" means supporting the Republican President but relentlessly attacking any "Democrat" President like Barry HUSSEIN Obummer or Killary Clinton.

[Grammy23]

4. Don't worry...tRump just said...

"we're gonna catch these leakers and they will pay dearly."

Leakers...you've got your marching orders. Start dumping what you know. It was leaks drop by drop. Time for a flood. Let the leaks flow like a river.

See how he likes that.

[Guilded Lilly]

5. The only things this Cretin complains about are...

The things that unequivocally prove he is a criminally unfit con artist sitting in a seat of power over a nation that he is trying to sell down the drain.

Which basically means everything that comes out of his mouth or bounces off his pudgy Twitter fingers.

The idiocy that this creature is where he is, doing the outrageous damage he is doing simply magnifies that America is not so damned smart.

That is the overwhelming pain of all of this sheer lunacy.

[gratuitous]

6. Flynn's job was safe

Flynn's job was safe as long as it was only officials in President Trump's administration who knew about his back-channel communications with Russia. When the American people found out, Flynn's appointment could no longer be tenable.

The only thing that changed between Flynn's appointment and his resignation was who knew about his activities. As long as that damning information stayed in house, Flynn was in.

[TNLib]

7. I'm not so sure

Other nations have the phone calls, as well and god knows what else, on Trump and his staff. NATO allies aren't going to be as willing or able to share intelligence if they know the President is cozy with Russia which hinders IC.

I'm wondering if the IC could have just decided to pull his clearance even if Trump didn't dump him.

[gratuitous]

8. Certainly the Russians knew about Flynn's phone calls

And other countries may have monitored them, as well. Those other countries probably don't want to disclose that they knew about the contacts, for rather obvious reasons.

The fact remains that as long as the American people didn't know about Flynn's contacts with our good friends in Russia, Flynn kept his job. When we found out, Flynn resigned. Occam's Razor suggests strongly that the two events are closely related.