'What The F*ck?' Former Trump Aide Sam Nunberg's Mueller Meltdown Leaves Friends Petrified
Source: The Daily Beast
Those close to Nunberg said they fear he was drunk while going on a cable news blitz.
LACHLAN MARKAY
ASAWIN SUEBSAENG
03.05.18 5:57 PM ET
Sam Nunberg, an early political adviser to Donald Trump, had a very public meltdown on Monday afternoon, repeatedly daring special counsel Robert Mueller to greenlight his arrest and insinuating that his old boss, the president, did indeed do something wrong during the campaign.
You know [Trump] knew about it, Nunberg said at one point during an interview with CNN, of the infamous Trump Tower meeting between campaign associates and Russian officials. He was talking about it a week before...I don't know why he went around trying to hide it."
Rarely, if ever, has a political operative acted so brazenly when facing the very real prospect of being tossed in jail. Nunberg seemed not to care about how the chips would fall. But several of his friends told The Daily Beast they were concerned that he was putting himself in severe legal jeopardy by going on multiple live cable-news programs Monday afternoon.
They also said that they were worried Nunberg had been drinking prior to dialing in to MSNBC and CNN. Starting Monday morning, Nunberg began calling several close associates that he was flatly refusing, at this time, to cooperate with Muellers investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Three Nunberg friends said they walked away from those conversations fearful that he was drinking again and was about to embark on a personal tailspin. They didnt know it would play out on daytime TV.
Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-the-fck-former-trump-aide-sam-nunbergs-mueller-meltdown-leaves-friends-petrified?ref=home
Ahpook
(2,751 posts)Did it sound like a drunk on some sort of substance or an overdriven ego, power drunk asshole?
These motherfuckers think, and very well may be untouchable. I hope Mueller can burn this house of shit down
SergeStorms
(19,205 posts)actually an Attorney? He must be a graduate of the Trump University School of Law.
Mr.Bill
(24,373 posts)would like to buy him a drink. Anything I can do to help.
TalenaGor
(1,104 posts)Blue Owl
(50,596 posts)babylonsister
(171,111 posts)surprised them?
Gore1FL
(21,176 posts)He is a danger to himself.
He is a danger to (incriminate) others if he remains alive, as well.
Either way, the dude needs a safety intervention.
Rorey
(8,445 posts)If he is realizing just how screwed he is, maybe the best thing for his own safety is to become very vocal and stay in the public eye.
And yeah, I think he's a big danger to others.
Mr. Ected
(9,675 posts)They'll say he was under the influence and goaded on by the liberal media. Blah blah blah.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Hortensis
(58,785 posts)a drink, or two. NOT believable that this was under the influence of alcohol. We all know what that looks like.
I understand conservatives not wanting to recognize mental problems. Their religions AND social structure are built on the notion that people need to be rewarded for doing good and punished for doing bad. It all falls apart if at least 1 out of every 5 people are not always competent enough to be held completely, personally responsible (heaven, hell, freedom and prison all on the line here!) for their behaviors.
But what's the problem on DU? People here don't have those excuses, most of us anyway. Three solid years of watching Trump, and even time the subject comes up many people are still as obtuse as the typical conservative.
Why do people refuse to understand that mental disorders/disabilities/deficiencies are extremely common and are not only as real and pervasive as alcoholism, but often underlie alcoholism?
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Personally, I believe that being a "Conservative" especially now, is a mental disorder.
I also believe that going on the air in a high-stakes situation, with alcohol on board, is folly. If it's enough to make you feel better, it's enough to affect your judgment, even if your speech and physical posture are visibly normal (to my eye though, he looked red like a drunk). And if there's an underlying personality disorder, or other problem with executive function, alcohol only make matters worse.
I have no reason to question Ms Burnett's sensory impression. Nor do I think being drunk is an excuse for being a RW jerk. Is mental illness a suitable excuse for being a RW jerk? I dunno; I guess we're getting into a vast gray area.
The dude apparently got tired of being called a crazy RW crook and went on TV to fix it. I suppose he did, in the sense that he's now known as a crazy RW drunken crook.
Nwgirl503
(406 posts)I'd like to say that he didn't exhibit the signs I usually do. He was very polite to the woman on Ari's show who showed him down. He was seemingly functional on the call-ins I heard. I guess I'm just saying, he wasn't as big a shit-show as I am when I day drink, but that doesn't count it out. He must be way more of a functional drunk than I am, and I am questioning if that's possible. He said some shit, but not like any day drunk I know (or can be).
BigmanPigman
(51,673 posts)"I HAVE smelled alcohol on your breath" not "I SMELL alcohol on your breath". He may NOT have been drunk. Ari Melber said he did NOT smell it on his show half an hour earlier.
BumRushDaShow
(130,043 posts)Remember at this point in the interview, which came right near the end of the segment, the statement that she said just before was - "Talking to you..." and then she said "I have smelled....", meaning over the time that they have been together conversing. Said another way, the same as "while talking to you".
I.e, the interview must have gone on for about 20-some minutes with commercial breaks in between, so she most likely WAS "talking to him" during the commercials as well.
So IMHO, you are interpreting the "past tense" of the phrase going back too far in time and I don't know if she has ever interviewed him before "in the past" before last night's interview. So this doesn't mean that he wasn't "drunk", as he probably was. Maybe not slurring drunk, but probably enough where a shot or two was enough to take the inhibitions away. Heck, you can smell someone who has taken a couple sips of beer too, so something stronger is smellable and probably more potent.
Cha
(298,077 posts)Mahalo!
BumRushDaShow
(130,043 posts)Nor'easter #2 coming tomorrow.
Cha
(298,077 posts)everything else in our lives..
Stay safe and warm!
BumRushDaShow
(130,043 posts)And those warm thoughts have been received!!!!
Cha
(298,077 posts)one, too
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)LisaL
(44,985 posts)She used present perfect tense.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)So she meant it as in "throughout the interview."
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Hanging your hat on Americans correctly using grammar when speaking will get you nowhere.
Cha
(298,077 posts)he'd been drinking.. how far gone he was, is up to the beholder.. since he didn't take that breathalyzer.
BigmanPigman
(51,673 posts)That is PAST TENSE and she has been quoted incorrectly all day. I heard the interview live (here it is if you want to check for yourself). It is at :
As I Melber did not smell it on him 30 min earlier on his own show and he told Lawrence tonight that Nunberg is extremely stressed and that could account for his behavior today. I am not defending him, I am clarifying this statement by Erin Burnett.
Cha
(298,077 posts)She talked past tense.. ok. then nobody knows for sure why he was acting so strangely inconsistent today?
The 42 craziest quotes from Sam Nunberg's absolutely bonkers CNN interviews
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/05/politics/sam-nunberg-analysis/index.html
BumRushDaShow
(130,043 posts)The "past tense" wasn't really "past tense" but grammatically what they call "present perfect" -
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/present-perfect-tense/
I just remember back in high school the whole thing about the tenses.
LisaL
(44,985 posts)LisaL
(44,985 posts)Which can be used to describe something that started in the past and continues into present. Which in this situation would presumably mean she smelled alcohol throughout the interview.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Seriously, we're quibbling over the precise tense she used? She made herself abundantly clear - in the context of "we've been sitting very close".
Buttershrimp
(18 posts)Glad I'm not that dude.
BobTheSubgenius
(11,580 posts)Many times, I came to the conclusion that things could not POSSIBLY get any weirder. So many times...and every time, I was wrong.
Today, things not only got weirder yet again, but someone, somehow, found not only another gear, but afterburners, as well.
YessirAtsaFact
(2,064 posts)I wonder how many of Trump's minions crack up before it's over.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)it's better to stop saying stuff like "it can't get worse" or "it can't get weirder". The universe seems to take it as a dare.
nolabear
(42,006 posts)I may be having too much fun in a dire situation but Id be fascinated.
radical noodle
(8,018 posts)and I think that's who Nunberg is worried about. Stone knew that WikiLeaks was releasing stuff before they actually did it.
leftynyc
(26,060 posts)(can you freaking imagine that lunatic being anyone's mentor?). I also think that's who he's worried about as he said it seemed Mueller was building a perjury case against Stone.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)That was exactly what I said to my wife! A cage match to the death!
truthisfreedom
(23,169 posts)Now!
DeminPennswoods
(15,299 posts)I think that was what was behind Nunberg's performances yesterday. Then again, on Hardball's panel they were saying that Nunberg loves the spotlight. They also all knew and had interactions with Nunberg and related that he says a lot of stuff and it can hard to figure out what's true and what's not.
C_U_L8R
(45,040 posts)I think he was enjoying the attention. Remember, he's one of Stone's ratfuckers, it's in his nature to sow chaos.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)samnsara
(17,665 posts)..i dont know about you but i cant even talk when im drunk..he seemed to be talking 'ok'...
beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)his excuse??? lol