"In the closed-door remarks, a recording of which was obtained by CNN, Trump also praised China's President Xi Jinping for recently consolidating power and extending his potential tenure, musing he wouldn't mind making such a maneuver himself.
"He's
now president for life. President for life. No, he's great," Trump
said. "And look, he was able to do that. I think it's great. Maybe we'll
have to give that a shot some day."
The
remarks, delivered inside the ballroom at his Mar-a-Lago estate during a
lunch and fundraiser, were upbeat, lengthy, and peppered with jokes and
laughter. But Trump's words reflected his deeply felt resentment that
his actions during the 2016 campaign remain under scrutiny while those
of his former rival, Hillary Clinton, do not."
The remark about being "president for life" seems to be a really lame attempt at being funny. But why would he even say it? The filters between his brain and his mouth must have been turned completely off yesterday.
And "crickets" from the constitutional purists in Trump's party. Imagine if Obama had said something similar, in jest.
And at the Gridiron Dinner, a moment of insight:
ReplyDelete"I won't rule out direct talks with Kim Jong Un, I just won't. As far as the risk of dealing with a madman is concerned, that’s his problem, not mine" .....
There we have it!
Excellent, Peggy.
DeleteOh, man. I love it when they hang themselves.
DeleteKatherine,
ReplyDeleteYou wrote, "The remark about being "president for life" seems to be a really lame attempt at being funny." Can I ask what makes you think that? Given his track record, isn't it more likely that he meant it, than that he was joking?
And what makes you think that "the filters between his brain and his mouth must have been turned completely off yesterday." Again, given his track record, isn't it more likely that those filters -- if any really exist -- were in their normal position, and yesterday's remarks were a reflection of the rule, and not an exception to the rule?
Gene, you make good points, especially about the filters not existing or being in their normal position. I was basing my comment about him (probably) joking about being president for life on the observation that he doesn't seem to want to be president in the here and now. At least he doesn't seem interested in doing the tasks that presidents normally do. You know, the parts such as listening to foreign policy briefings, being well informed about military strategy, that sort of thing. Actually being a leader. I don't think he thought he was going to win in the first place, that his intention was to parlay his notoriety into a media platform where he could whine and bloviate to his heart's content. But maybe now he is addicted to the power of the office and doesn't want to give it up.
Deletehe doesn't seem interested in doing the tasks that presidents normally do.
ReplyDeleteNo, but he absolutely loves the idea of being an autocrat - no pesky constitution, separation of powers, checks and balances...... All his most admired heads of state are autocrats, why can't he be also? He's doing what he can via executive orders, and he apparently has just launched a trade war that will hurt far more than it will help and he didn't need the "advice and consent" of Congress or anyone else in order to do it. Yes, he loves what power he has, and he would like a lot more of it. So far the GOP isn't stopping him either.
And he loves the idea of be-bopping around on our dime. He came down here Friday after the Billy Graham send-off. He played a round of golf and attended the aforementioned fund-raiser for the GOP. A trip like that, including overtime and the Skymaster to bring down the helicopter he doesn't use and the armored SUVs he does, costs the various taxpayers around a cool million dollars. If Obama did it, the Ds would have had to pay for at least half the cost of the trip, show it in writing and even then take a week's worth of abuse for wasting tax dollars. He does it nearly every week, and the mean, old media never say "boo."
ReplyDeleteOkay: BOO!!
Delete