General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Daily 202: Wiretapping allegations accomplished what Trump wanted but may backfire bigly
THE BIG IDEA: It is easy to pooh-pooh Donald Trumps predawn Saturday tweetstorm accusing Barack Obama of the worst political crimes since Watergate while offering no evidence as an undisciplined rant from someone who has long embraced conspiracy theories.
That neither gives the president enough credit nor reflects the gravity of his unfounded accusations.
It is past time to dispense with the fiction that Trump doesnt know what hes doing. He knows exactly what hes doing. He is trying to distract us. And, at least this weekend, he succeeded.
<snip>
ALWAYS ATTACK, NEVER APOLOGIZE
-- Trumps approach to crisis management continues to be guided by the Roy Cohn playbook. This is McCarthyism! Trump said, as he attacked Obama for supposedly wiretapping him, on Saturday. There was great irony to this. Cohn, after all, was Joe McCarthys chief counsel on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations during the early 1950s. Two decades later, he became one of Trumps biggest mentors during a formative phase of his life.
-- Cohns creed was to always be on the attack, to counter-punch whenever punched and to never apologize. Never, ever, ever apologize. He believed that you never yield an inch, even if youre in the wrong, because your opponents will take a mile.
-- The man who showed Trump how to exploit power and instill fear is how The Posts Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Shawn Boburg described him in a story last June: Trump was a brash scion of a real estate empire, a young developer anxious to leave his mark on New York. Cohn was a legendary New York fixer, a ruthless lawyer in the hunt for new clients. They came together by chance one night at Le Club, a hangout for Manhattans rich and famous. Trump introduced himself to Cohn, who was sitting at a nearby table, and sought advice: How should he and his father respond to Justice Department allegations that their company had systematically discriminated against black people seeking housing? My view is tell them to go to hell, Cohn said, and fight the thing in court. It was October 1973 and the start of one of the most influential relationships of Trumps career.
<snip>
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/powerpost/paloma/daily-202/2017/03/06/daily-202-wiretapping-allegations-accomplished-what-trump-wanted-but-may-backfire-bigly/58bca8bde9b69b1406c75d42/
This is a MUST READ EYE OPENER!
AuntPatsy
(9,904 posts)orangecrush
(19,384 posts)Did an amazing analysis here, i.m.o.
Hortensis
(58,785 posts)as a vulgar joke is a very, very different dynamic for that same person as POTUS. He's not only not so clever, he's self destructing and demonstrating his corruption and astonishing incompetence while the entire world watches.
He wanted to be a reality TV personality. Well, he'll never top this. The daily dramas are riveting, although a good producer would try to stretch them out over a few seasons.
orangecrush
(19,384 posts)In American history.
AuntPatsy
(9,904 posts)I just cannot fathom as of yet...
Many of them are being played, but they are too blinded by their narcissism and greed to realize it might not end well for themselves....
orangecrush
(19,384 posts)My guess on the shielded face(es) are Putin/Tillerson.