Colorado Republican Senator Corey Gardner is mad. Will he roll over like so many other Republicans have so far?
Bob Corker, Jeff Flake and John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, Rubio, and others have all flopped against what they said they would do - stand up for something (for example on the tax bill). So far, when the chips are down these guys have been just spineless and vote along party lines to McConnell, Ryan and Trump's whims.
Cory Gardner Blasts Sessions Over Pot Policy Shift The Republican senator from Colorado says he is ready to do anything in his power to prevent the attorney general from cracking down on state-legal marijuana.
The idea that any Republican would be surprised that Jeff Sessions would take this stance on marijuana is the some of the most disingenuous BS I have heard all year (granted, it's January 4th, but there has already been ALOT). I would have bet $1000 sight unseen that Sessions would make this move during his tenure when he was nominated and confirmed. By the very same Republicans who are supposedly up in arms about it now. This was 110% predictable based on everything Jeff Sessions has ever said and done as a public figure. I know that. The idea that people who served in the Senate with him DIDN'T know is a bunch of poppycock. They simply know this policy is ridiculously unpopular in 2018, in an election year no less. But these crocodile tears about Jeff Sessions betraying them are hilarious. Anyone who didn't know what they were getting with Jeff Sessions as AG is too stupid to breath. From the moment he took the position, a ramping up of the drug war, crackdown on immigrants and an assault on voting rights were the main priorities. This isn't high level stuff. It was obvious to anyone who has paid attention to the political dynamics of this country for the last 30 years. Jeff Sessions has ALWAYS been this person. And Cory Gardner is just like every other Republican in both Houses of Congress. He will continue to be a syncophant for the madman in the White House until the ship goes down in flames. Frankly, I think the only reason Gardner is actually making this claim is that the word is out that Sessions needs to be removed as AG because of his recusal from the Russia probe, and Trump wants to install a staunch loyalist who will derail the investigation. Tonight's NY Times reporting does nothing but confirm that suspicion.
So Fire and Fury will release today on Friday due to pressure to prevent its release. I love it.
If even half of what is in the book is true, we are looking at an untenable situation. Most people on this country are still coasting along assuming nothing bad is going to happen because they can't wrap their heads around it, but Donald Trump is a dangerous person. And as it becomes more and more evident that he, like Nixon, used the power of his office to cover up crimes of his subordinates, and the Mueller investigation closes in on him, what is his move going to be?? Members of Congress were recently briefed by a Yale psychiatry professor in early December, and she warned them in no uncertain terms that he is, quote, "going to unravel". It seems self-evident that is what has been occurring for months. And again, if you take Trump's speech patterns into account, his slurring at numerous speeches over the last month, and information gleaned from reports both before this book and inside of it, I think there is at least a coin-flip of a chance that Trump, in addition to all his other problems, is actually exhibiting early signs of dementia. It's not really a flippant remark at this point. It seems to me to be a real possibility.
I don't get the big deal. What does a kid call an adoptive female figure in Germany? How is that any different than allowing this person to be called the child's mother? Are there laws/taxes that just benefit mothers in Germany?
I don't get the big deal. What does a kid call an adoptive female figure in Germany? How is that any different than allowing this person to be called the child's mother? Are there laws/taxes that just benefit mothers in Germany?
It says it right there in the article. "German law defines a mother as the person who in fact gives birth to a child." Obviously within their family they can use whatever titles they please.
There are probably all kinds of laws that specify "mother" but not "father." I don't know them, but it would be very surprising if the term had no legal effect.
The decision makes more sense in light of the fact that, according to a lower court, a woman who gives birth to a child and then transitions to male is still legally considered the "mother" and not the child's "father." It sounds like a consistent, biology-based approach to the matter.
As for whether the laws should treat a mother as distinct from a father for any purpose, it really depends.
One of the main oppositions that still exists towards transgender people is that many non-transgender people think it's ridiculous they should have to use and pay attention to using proper pro-nouns or classifications. And I think it's at least 100x more ridiculous that they care at all. It requires next to NO effort to just accept this is important to people in this community. It is meaningless to all the people who get annoyed by it and think it is some sign of impending societal decline. Much like gay marriage, it is a personal hang-up that is 100% due to what is going on in their own heads. And if someone IS bothered by calling someone born a women a male name (or vice versa), the first thing they should do is sit down for a few minutes and ask themselves WHY that is. And I suspect most people, if they were being honest with themselves, would be ashamed of what they discovered.
The real problem is that it is incredibly easy for certain segments of society, possibly unhappy with their own lives, to read a news story like this, which likely goes against everything they learned or believed growing up and say "see, THIS is what is wrong with society, this is why things are going to hell in a handbasket". No, it isn't. It isn't even on the radar. People that are different (and who many people would, let's be honest, sadly consider "gross") have always been the easiest scapegoats. It was the single, solitary reason for Trump's attempted transgender military ban. It was NOTHING but trying to score political points with a certain demographic groups by exploiting their fear of something they don't understand, and haven't taken any time to understand.
So now, in the midst of the entire Trump world's narrative and lies about the Russia scandal falling apart around them, we learn that the DoJ has opened an investigation in the Clinton Foundation. Based on supposed acts that happened over 6 or 7 years ago. It doesn't even matter if this investigation has merit (which I highly doubt it does). The President of the United States ORDERED his Attorney General to prosecute his political opponent in the last election, and now it is actually taking steps to happen. At this moment, there is no rule of law in this country. The Republican Congress is now attempting to criminalize Christopher Steele, the man behind the dossier, as well. Senate Republicans will not release the full transcript of their testimony with the people at Fusion GPS. At this point, the entire Republican Congress are now actively aiding and abetting a criminal conspiracy to cover up massive obstruction of justice and god knows what else. And to distract from it, the Jeff Sessions-led DoJ has taken the unprecedented step of giving in to the demands of the President to attempt to criminally prosecute his rival. This is now a Banana Republic. It is IMPOSSIBLE for this investigation to be valid, because Trump demanded it happen DOZENS of times of Twitter. This is not how this country functions. This is authoritarian to the bone. Today it is Hillary Clinton and Christopher Steele. Who is next?? The answer is anyone who gets in Trump's way. Wave goodbye to your country if this is allowed to stand and progress. Also, I will make a bet right now with anyone willing to take it that this tweet is going to prove to be entirely correct (if we even make it to that point):
I doubt the investigation into Steele will go anywhere, nor do I particularly care either way. The Steele dossier means little to the Mueller investigation and little to me.
I do care if Clinton ends up investigated YET AGAIN, this time because of a Trump order to the DoJ, but I don't think that investigation will go anywhere, either. None of the other investigations into Clinton ever went anywhere, including the ones controlled by Republican figures.
Clinton has already been investigated multiple times by her political enemies. Trump is not doing anything new here.
Nothing will change as a result of these new accusations. There will be no guilty verdict, nor will there be any clearing of wrongdoing. Just more accusations, repeated indefinitely.
I doubt the investigation into Steele will go anywhere, nor do I particularly care either way. The Steele dossier means little to the Mueller investigation and little to me.
I do care if Clinton ends up investigated YET AGAIN, this time because of a Trump order to the DoJ, but I don't think that investigation will go anywhere, either. None of the other investigations into Clinton ever went anywhere, including the ones controlled by Republican figures.
Clinton has already been investigated multiple times by her political enemies. Trump is not doing anything new here.
Nothing will change as a result of these new accusations. There will be no guilty verdict, nor will there be any clearing of wrongdoing. Just more accusations, repeated indefinitely.
Honest question though, do you find it disturbing that this investigation is so obviously being done at the personal behest of the President, against his political opponent in the last election?? Isn't this a fundamental line we can't cross?? Or am I making too big a deal out of the President personally ordering DoJ investigations?? Because I don't think I am. Let's imagine what we would be hearing from FOX News and the right-wing media if the roles were reversed, Clinton had won, had taken to Twitter calling for his prosecution, and then ordered her Attorney General to pursue steps to make that happen. We all know what the reaction would be, and we also all know that would have never taken place in a million years. This isn't normal. This isn't a both sides issue. One side is using their power to criminalize political opposition as a blanket distraction against what is turning out to be a massive scandal. And, again, I don't really see HOW at this point people can still believe there isn't serious wrongdoing at the heart of the Mueller investigation. Just LOOK at the lengths they are going to to stop or distract from it. They are willing to throw away every single democratic norm in this country to protect this man. Something is seriously, seriously wrong right now.
I really don't want to set a precedent for national leaders prosecuting their political opponents. If Clinton must be prosecuted for one thing or another, Trump should not have a role in it. Let somebody else make that call.
In non-democratic and pseudo-democratic countries, it is indeed very common for the winner of an election to prosecute the loser and lock them up under trumped-up charges (no pun intended). I don't think Trump is trying to imitate the leader of a third-world country, but third-world leaders across the globe have been doing exactly the same thing for decades.
No, this isn't normal. Leaders of democratic countries do not do this. It's not a thing.
Gave you guys seen making a murderer? There were like 30 searches of the guys house and on the 30th one they were like omg there's the victims car keys out here in the open! Now because of that the guy is in jail for life.
How many unscrupulous morally bankrupt characters are going to investigate Hillary Clinton before one of them just happens to find a murder victims keys out in the open? How long before they get tired of finding nothing and suddenly find something because their boss told them to find something.
Do I think it's dumb to investigate stuff that happened 7 years ago. Yes, she's completely irrelevant. This is major deflection. Despite what Bill O'Reilly said last month, there is no Clinton administration. Why is Trump investigating his political opponents?
Up next, an investigation into Elizabeth Warren's native American heritage, right. Because it's really important to tell if she lied once. Imagine if they investigated Trump for lying. Where would you start lol.
I really don't want to set a precedent for national leaders prosecuting their political opponents. If Clinton must be prosecuted for one thing or another, Trump should not have a role in it. Let somebody else make that call.
In non-democratic and pseudo-democratic countries, it is indeed very common for the winner of an election to prosecute the loser and lock them up under trumped-up charges (no pun intended). I don't think Trump is trying to imitate the leader of a third-world country, but third-world leaders across the globe have been doing exactly the same thing for decades.
No, this isn't normal. Leaders of democratic countries do not do this. It's not a thing.
That is really the entire point. Even if (hypothetically) Hillary did need to be criminally prosecuted, Trump has destroyed any integrity of any investigation. Because either one of us could go look at half a dozen tweets he made calling for it to happen in no uncertain terms. He called for her top aide to be jailed THIS WEEK. No charges, no trial, just straight to jail. Those are the statements he has made in PUBLIC. God only knows what kind of pressure he has put on Sessions in private conversations in the Oval Office. So even if (again, a MAJOR hypothetical I don't believe exists) criminal wrongdoing needed to be investigated, Trump has destroyed any chance of that legitimately taking place. The key word in that sentence being "legitimately". Of course, how much of the country even knows this isn't normal, that this is not something Presidents do?? I feel like an ignorance of basic civics among the populace in this case gives Trump cover. Make no mistake, this is dangerous stuff. Don't let those Trump rallies over the summer fall down the memory hole. Those fascistic chants of "lock her up" weren't a joke. They were out for blood. I have mentioned numerous times this card was being kept in his back pocket for when the shit hit the fan. Now it is being played. So expect that Mueller is closing in on something very big.
Since Trump has gone full Fredo Corleone defending himself this morning, I'd like to examine how this book "Fire and Fury" even came about. Because it is a fascinating intersection of the role journalistic access and the incompetence of this Administration. What Michael Wolff did here is not what many journalists would consider "ethical". He purposefully ingratiated himself with key figures in the Administration, fully aware he was going to turn around and shiv them when he had the material for his book. He purposefully made himself a trojan horse so he could basically blend into the wallpaper of the West Wing for weeks at a time. He purposefully tricked them.
But WHY did this work?? Two reasons. #1 is the issue of journalistic access. I have zero doubt that most White House reporters already know most of what is coming out in this book. But they can't say or report it, because they don't want to lose their access to Administration figures, or be banned from the press room. Wolff didn't play that game. He managed to charm his way in, and then, instead of holding onto the access he had been given, decided to cash in his chips instead. And while you can argue whether his methods were ethical, SOMEONE had to do it. This Administration has broken so many norms that this was almost required.
But reason #2 this book exists is because Trump, the man who was going to hire "the best people", has a White House staff that is incompetent. It is astounding that this book even exists. Apparently, Trump liked an article Wolff wrote about him during the campaign. And this illustrates such a fundamental truth about Trump. All you have to do to get in his good graces is praise him. He is so fundamentally insecure that he can be manipulated on command by any form of compliment. Since Trump liked the article, his chief communications staffer Hope Hicks thought this was going to be a FLATTERING book. They were absolutely expecting a hagiography. They had no idea this was going to happen. Because they don't know what the hell they are doing. Not even remotely. No one interviewed for this book even had the sense to ask if they were on the record. Because they don't know how journalism works. This was an utter blindside. They allowed a total deathblow to whatever of Trump's image was left to occur because they are totally oblivious to even the basic aspects of their job. And then, of course, Trump COULD NOT help himself, and attempted to prevent the publication of the book. Which has caused it to sell out in bookstores from Alaska to New York overnight. So not only does the book exist (which it, by all rights, never should have), but Trump himself, because of his uncontrollable impulse to lash out, guaranteed every single person in the country would be talking about it all weekend. This entire incident tells you pretty much everything you need to know about this Administration.
Beyond that, what this book illustrates is something profoundly disturbing that has nothing to do with Trump himself. It would be one thing if the people around him, however misguided I believed their polices were/are, actually believed he was a great man who could do great things, and would be good for the country. But they don't. To a person, they think he is an incompetent child at best, and a dangerous idiot at worst. And they defend and stand by him anyway. THAT is the real story here. Everyone around Trump knows exactly what we know from watching him. But they are going along with it for personal gain.
The Senate investigation announced it was going to recommend a criminal probe in the russia investigation. Oh my, maybe Paul Manaford? Don Trump Jr? Jared Kushner? Jeff Sessions? Devin Nunes? Mike Flynn? No of course not.
The only problem for Republicans is that someone told on them about what they are doing. Leakers and whistleblowers and Clintons are the problem, not the criminal activity being reported from the Trump camp.
I don't often post things from blatantly liberal sources because I feel people won't take them seriously, but this rundown of what Republicans have done to halt or stop the Russia investigation that Rachel Maddow did last night is all-encompassing, and more than a little chilling as far as the prospects for our democracy go. It's 20 minutes, but it's well worth watching:
I saw a snippet of a press gaggle or whatever where Trump claimed there was no collusion on his side but there was on Hillary and the DNC. So the DNC colluded with Russia to lose the election. And they colluded to hack their own emails and have them released by russian hackers. And then they maybe gave that info to Donald Trump Jr. though the Russians? I don't get it.
How stupid do these people think people are? It's insulting to Trump fans, if such a thing exists.
There was a famous historical incident that took place in 897 called the Cadaver Synod. It was when Pope Stephen VI put the corpse of his predecessor Pope Formosus on trial. If Hillary Clinton died tomorrow, none of this would end. It will never end. She has been out of public life for 14 months, and she is still not only treated like an actual politician with power, but the entire right-wing media covers her on a nightly basis as if she is actually the President. FOX News leads with a Clinton story every.....single.....night. She is more hated by the right now than she was during the election. It is astounding.
In any normal situation, members of one side of the political aisle would be overjoyed that their mortal enemy was vanquished. Hillary was that enemy for 25 years. But it turns out, since they have no policies anyone actually supports, that they cannot succeed without her as a foil. There is nothing beneath the movement but seething hatred.
In 2009, there was still more than enough hatred of Bush and Cheney on the far-left for Obama to have exploited it. He didn't. He didn't even entertain it. He moved on and got to work trying to fix the mess he was handed. Which in turn let the public and the Democratic Party faithful move on. He never engaged in this nonsense. And he could have. And with a lot more justification.
There's a very excellent article in the Times about modern China and the government's approach to geopolitics and domestic turmoil, for anyone who's interested in modern China or international relations.
Did that douche bag, just call Air Force One, Trump Force One? *smh*
"the plain spoken truth, self made billionaire (his whorehouse owning grandfather might want to have a word with him. He was self made, who died suddenly, where his wife and son (trump's father) took over and made billions), revolutionized reality T.V. (umm, he is no Parsons or Burnett... he was at most an actor/host), and tapped into something magical that is happening in the hearts of this country (yep, those are called heart attacks that Medicare would have covered. He is drilling those government savings and placing them in the bank!)."
Can I ask you a question? "NO you can't ask me a question *ramble ramble ramble*"
Did that douche bag, just call Air Force One, Trump Force One? *smh*
"the plain spoken truth, self made billionaire (his whorehouse owning grandfather might want to have a word with him. He was self made, who died suddenly, where his wife and son (trump's father) took over and made billions), revolutionized reality T.V. (umm, he is no Parsons or Burnett... he was at most an actor/host), and tapped into something magical that is happening in the hearts of this country (yep, those are called heart attacks that Medicare would have covered. He is drilling those government savings and placing them in the bank!)."
Can I ask you a question? "NO you can't ask me a question *ramble ramble ramble*"
Doing even a cursory check into Stephen Miller's background will reveal some very interesting tidbits. That guy Trump sent out this morning to defend him once ran onto the track during the last lap of a race in a girl's track meet to "prove" that male athletes are superior. Others who went to high school with him remember him running for Student Council on the platform that they students shouldn't have to pick up their own trash, because that's what janitors are for. A former friend of his said that the summer before high school, Miller told him they couldn't be friends anymore because he was Latino. He had close ties to Richard Spencer while in college.
Basically, he is the worst internet troll you can imagine, except he is one of the top advisers to the President and his chief speechwriter. Trump's response to Charlottesville was almost without a doubt shaped by whatever discussions he had with Stephen Miller. Of course, we know all this about him because he was the one who, in the first weeks of the Administration, after the travel ban stared causing chaos at airports from coast to coast, went on TV and said that "the President's authority will not be questioned." Which, incidentally, caused people to do some digging on his background. People can grow up an change if they want to. Most young males are assholes (though not to this extent). This guy didn't. He's the exact same person.
Did that douche bag, just call Air Force One, Trump Force One? *smh*
Trump Force One is what Trump calls his private jet. Miller was talking about the campaign, so before Trump had access to Air Force One.
I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse. Put it this way, if you name your own private jet and often refer to yourself in the third person (as Trump does), that's a pretty clear cut sign that you should be kept away from positions of power. People who name inanimate objects have always freaked me out.
Did that douche bag, just call Air Force One, Trump Force One? *smh*
Trump Force One is what Trump calls his private jet. Miller was talking about the campaign, so before Trump had access to Air Force One.
I'm not sure if that makes it better or worse. Put it this way, if you name your own private jet and often refer to yourself in the third person (as Trump does), that's a pretty clear cut sign that you should be kept away from positions of power. People who name inanimate objects have always freaked me out.
Does that include cars? I don't think it's weird at all to name vehicles. I've had many names for my cars over the years. Although, 'Piece of Junk' was the most popular name for most if them...
Comments
Bob Corker, Jeff Flake and John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, Rubio, and others have all flopped against what they said they would do - stand up for something (for example on the tax bill). So far, when the chips are down these guys have been just spineless and vote along party lines to McConnell, Ryan and Trump's whims.
Cory Gardner Blasts Sessions Over Pot Policy Shift
The Republican senator from Colorado says he is ready to do anything in his power to prevent the attorney general from cracking down on state-legal marijuana.
https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2018-01-04/cory-gardner-blasts-sessions-over-marijuana-policy-shift
http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-federal-court-of-justice-declares-transgender-woman-legal-father-of-child/a-42032103
What is the importance of being known as the child's mother from the government's perspective?
The decision makes more sense in light of the fact that, according to a lower court, a woman who gives birth to a child and then transitions to male is still legally considered the "mother" and not the child's "father." It sounds like a consistent, biology-based approach to the matter.
As for whether the laws should treat a mother as distinct from a father for any purpose, it really depends.
The real problem is that it is incredibly easy for certain segments of society, possibly unhappy with their own lives, to read a news story like this, which likely goes against everything they learned or believed growing up and say "see, THIS is what is wrong with society, this is why things are going to hell in a handbasket". No, it isn't. It isn't even on the radar. People that are different (and who many people would, let's be honest, sadly consider "gross") have always been the easiest scapegoats. It was the single, solitary reason for Trump's attempted transgender military ban. It was NOTHING but trying to score political points with a certain demographic groups by exploiting their fear of something they don't understand, and haven't taken any time to understand.
Oh, and for good measure, if you are wondering why women don't come forward about sexual harassment and abuse, this is exhibit A:
I do care if Clinton ends up investigated YET AGAIN, this time because of a Trump order to the DoJ, but I don't think that investigation will go anywhere, either. None of the other investigations into Clinton ever went anywhere, including the ones controlled by Republican figures.
Clinton has already been investigated multiple times by her political enemies. Trump is not doing anything new here.
Nothing will change as a result of these new accusations. There will be no guilty verdict, nor will there be any clearing of wrongdoing. Just more accusations, repeated indefinitely.
In non-democratic and pseudo-democratic countries, it is indeed very common for the winner of an election to prosecute the loser and lock them up under trumped-up charges (no pun intended). I don't think Trump is trying to imitate the leader of a third-world country, but third-world leaders across the globe have been doing exactly the same thing for decades.
No, this isn't normal. Leaders of democratic countries do not do this. It's not a thing.
How many unscrupulous morally bankrupt characters are going to investigate Hillary Clinton before one of them just happens to find a murder victims keys out in the open? How long before they get tired of finding nothing and suddenly find something because their boss told them to find something.
Do I think it's dumb to investigate stuff that happened 7 years ago. Yes, she's completely irrelevant. This is major deflection. Despite what Bill O'Reilly said last month, there is no Clinton administration. Why is Trump investigating his political opponents?
Up next, an investigation into Elizabeth Warren's native American heritage, right. Because it's really important to tell if she lied once. Imagine if they investigated Trump for lying. Where would you start lol.
But WHY did this work?? Two reasons. #1 is the issue of journalistic access. I have zero doubt that most White House reporters already know most of what is coming out in this book. But they can't say or report it, because they don't want to lose their access to Administration figures, or be banned from the press room. Wolff didn't play that game. He managed to charm his way in, and then, instead of holding onto the access he had been given, decided to cash in his chips instead. And while you can argue whether his methods were ethical, SOMEONE had to do it. This Administration has broken so many norms that this was almost required.
But reason #2 this book exists is because Trump, the man who was going to hire "the best people", has a White House staff that is incompetent. It is astounding that this book even exists. Apparently, Trump liked an article Wolff wrote about him during the campaign. And this illustrates such a fundamental truth about Trump. All you have to do to get in his good graces is praise him. He is so fundamentally insecure that he can be manipulated on command by any form of compliment. Since Trump liked the article, his chief communications staffer Hope Hicks thought this was going to be a FLATTERING book. They were absolutely expecting a hagiography. They had no idea this was going to happen. Because they don't know what the hell they are doing. Not even remotely. No one interviewed for this book even had the sense to ask if they were on the record. Because they don't know how journalism works. This was an utter blindside. They allowed a total deathblow to whatever of Trump's image was left to occur because they are totally oblivious to even the basic aspects of their job. And then, of course, Trump COULD NOT help himself, and attempted to prevent the publication of the book. Which has caused it to sell out in bookstores from Alaska to New York overnight. So not only does the book exist (which it, by all rights, never should have), but Trump himself, because of his uncontrollable impulse to lash out, guaranteed every single person in the country would be talking about it all weekend. This entire incident tells you pretty much everything you need to know about this Administration.
Beyond that, what this book illustrates is something profoundly disturbing that has nothing to do with Trump himself. It would be one thing if the people around him, however misguided I believed their polices were/are, actually believed he was a great man who could do great things, and would be good for the country. But they don't. To a person, they think he is an incompetent child at best, and a dangerous idiot at worst. And they defend and stand by him anyway. THAT is the real story here. Everyone around Trump knows exactly what we know from watching him. But they are going along with it for personal gain.
The only problem for Republicans is that someone told on them about what they are doing. Leakers and whistleblowers and Clintons are the problem, not the criminal activity being reported from the Trump camp.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/01/05/gop-senators-recommend-criminal-probe-steele-dossier-author/1008199001/
How stupid do these people think people are? It's insulting to Trump fans, if such a thing exists.
In any normal situation, members of one side of the political aisle would be overjoyed that their mortal enemy was vanquished. Hillary was that enemy for 25 years. But it turns out, since they have no policies anyone actually supports, that they cannot succeed without her as a foil. There is nothing beneath the movement but seething hatred.
In 2009, there was still more than enough hatred of Bush and Cheney on the far-left for Obama to have exploited it. He didn't. He didn't even entertain it. He moved on and got to work trying to fix the mess he was handed. Which in turn let the public and the Democratic Party faithful move on. He never engaged in this nonsense. And he could have. And with a lot more justification.
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/01/comcast-fired-500-despite-claiming-tax-cut-would-create-thousands-of-jobs/?comments=1
To prove Jake Tapper's point throughout the interview, minutes after the interview aired:
"the plain spoken truth, self made billionaire (his whorehouse owning grandfather might want to have a word with him. He was self made, who died suddenly, where his wife and son (trump's father) took over and made billions), revolutionized reality T.V. (umm, he is no Parsons or Burnett... he was at most an actor/host), and tapped into something magical that is happening in the hearts of this country (yep, those are called heart attacks that Medicare would have covered. He is drilling those government savings and placing them in the bank!)."
Can I ask you a question? "NO you can't ask me a question *ramble ramble ramble*"
Basically, he is the worst internet troll you can imagine, except he is one of the top advisers to the President and his chief speechwriter. Trump's response to Charlottesville was almost without a doubt shaped by whatever discussions he had with Stephen Miller. Of course, we know all this about him because he was the one who, in the first weeks of the Administration, after the travel ban stared causing chaos at airports from coast to coast, went on TV and said that "the President's authority will not be questioned." Which, incidentally, caused people to do some digging on his background. People can grow up an change if they want to. Most young males are assholes (though not to this extent). This guy didn't. He's the exact same person.