The Trump 2nd Term

[Vlad Drkulec]

Gabbard helped Bernie Sanders try to win the Democratic nomination in 2016.

Gabbard correctly called Hillary Clinton queen of the warmongers.

Then she did this to Kamala Harris, quickly ending Harris's run for POTUS. It was glorious:

Gabbard Goes After Harris's Record on Prosecuting Marijuana Offenses

Earlier this year, Gabbard claims that she was put on the Quiet Skies Program watchlist (getting extra scrutiny when flying) because she criticized VP Harris. She is now a Republican.

It doesn't surprise me that The Atlantic is butthurt.

She mentioned this on the late night comedy show Gutfeld which a large contingent of the incoming administration have been guests on, including Trump. Gutfeld has been complaining that they are stealing all his guests.

[Vlad Drkulec]

In the 1780s, the U.S. Constitutional creation workers never evidently imagined that a convicted felon, serial bankrupt, and adjudicated rapist, such as Donald Trump, could be elected president, so they didn't think to put those aspects in to disqualify potential candidates.

The drafters of the U.S. Constitution would never have imagined that a political party (which they were against) would twist the justice system into such a pretzel.

Trump is also not a convicted felon though uninformed people keep saying that. You are only a felon after sentencing and he has not been sentenced. It is likely that the jury decision will be reversed on appeal many years later once he is sentenced which may never happen as the Dems would prefer that he have a sword of Damocles hanging over his head..

[Dilip Panjwani]

It doesn't surprise me that The Atlantic is butthurt.

That is why it calls Tulsi Gabbard a gadfly for confronting Harris and Hillary with facts which helped bring about their defeat.

And it forgets that an 'outsider' can bring in some very valuable perspectives which evade those engrossed in a particular activity. That is how the Head of solid organ transplantation had complimented me at Kuwait University (I had joined there to start bone-marrow transplantation and had no previous experience in solid organ transplantation)…

[Frank Dixon]

In the 1780s, the U.S. Constitutional creation workers never evidently imagined that a convicted felon, serial bankrupt, and adjudicated rapist, such as Donald Trump, could be elected president, so they didn't think to put those aspects in to disqualify potential candidates.

[Sid Belzberg]

For me the following alone is more than worth the price of admission:


RFK Jr. tapped to lead Department of Health and Human Services


President-elect Trump is expected to tap Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to a source familiar with the matter.

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By Greg Wehner, Emma Colton

Nov 14, 2024 04:09 PM

3 min. read
View original

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President-elect Trump selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

"I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health," Trump said in his annoucment Thursday.

"The Safety and Health of all Americans is the most important role of any Administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country."

The announcement comes just over a week after Trump won back the presidency.

Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, shake hands during a campaign rally in Glendale, Ariz., Aug. 23. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

RFK Jr. joined the 2024 campaign cycle as a candidate for the Oval Office. Kennedy, who is the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, dropped out of the presidential election in August after initially running as a Democrat, before he switched to an independent run.

Kennedy endorsed Trump shortly after suspending his campaign, and has since hit the campaign trail while touting his plans to "Make America Healthy Again" under a potential Trump presidency.

Kennedy has joined a bevy of Trump campaign events in the lead up to Nov. 5, including speaking at Trump's historic Madison Square Garden rally last month, where he unleashed on the current state of the Democratic Party.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 27: Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks before Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on October 27, 2024 in New York City. Trump closed out his weekend of campaigning in NYC with a guest list of speakers that includes his running mate Republican Vice Presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Tesla CEO Elon Musk, UFC CEO Dana White, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, among others, nine days before Election Day. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

"The Democratic Party is the party of war. It's the party of the CIA. You had Kamala Harris giving a speech at the Democratic convention that was written by neocons. It was belligerent, pugnacious. It talked about domination of the world by the United States through our weapons of war. It's the party today that wants to divide Americans. It's a party that is dismantling women's sports by letting men play women's sports," he said.

"It's the party of Wall Street. It's the party of Bill Gates, who just gave $50 million to Harris. It's the party, and the Harris campaign is very proud that it received the endorsement of 50 former CIA agents and officers and of John Bolton and of Dick Cheney."

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. waves to the crowd at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Kennedy, who has been a key figure in the Trump campaign since endorsing him, was asked about his potential role in the next White House and whether he would begin "clearing out the top level federal service workers that are currently at the FDA and the CDC."

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, shakes hands with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz.

He continued, "In some categories, their entire departments, like the nutrition department in the FDA, they have to go. They’re not doing their job. They’re not protecting our kids. Why do we have Froot Loops in this country that have 18 or 19 ingredients, and you go to Canada, and it’s got two or three?"

"Mr. Kennedy will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!" Trump added.

[Tom O'Donnell]

Gabbard helped Bernie Sanders try to win the Democratic nomination in 2016.

Gabbard correctly called Hillary Clinton queen of the warmongers.

Then she did this to Kamala Harris, quickly ending Harris's run for POTUS. It was glorious:

Gabbard Goes After Harris's Record on Prosecuting Marijuana Offenses

Earlier this year, Gabbard claims that she was put on the Quiet Skies Program watchlist (getting extra scrutiny when flying) because she criticized VP Harris. She is now a Republican.

It doesn't surprise me that The Atlantic is butthurt.

[Vlad Drkulec]

We'll see. He is ahead of his boss-to-be in one respect. Hegseth was on (no pun intended) wife no. 3 at age 39. It took Trump until age 58 to attain that same level of achievement.

If we start limiting appointments on the basis of their marital situation we may not ever have a Democrat take any office. Recall that Trump was a registered Democrat and a Democrat donor when he had all his marital drama including the Stormy Daniels alleged affair. Its good that he had his come to Jesus moment.

[Bob Armstrong]

1. National Security

a. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI)

Director: Former Congressional Rep., Ms. Tulsi Gabbard

"The Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created after 9/11 to remedy what American policy makers believed was a lack of coordination among the various national-intelligence agencies, and the DNI sits atop all of America’s intelligence services, including the CIA.

Gabbard is stunningly unqualified for almost any Cabinet post (as are some of Trump’s other picks), but especially for ODNI. She has no qualifications as an intelligence professional—literally none. (She is a reserve lieutenant colonel who previously served in the Hawaii Army National Guard, with assignments in medical, police, and civil-affairs-support positions. She has won some local elections and also represented Hawaii in Congress.) She has no significant experience directing or managing much of anything.

But leave aside for the moment that she is manifestly unprepared to run any kind of agency. Americans usually accept that presidents reward loyalists with jobs, and Trump has the right to stash Gabbard at some make-work office in the bureaucracy if he feels he owes her. It’s not a pretty tradition, but it’s not unprecedented, either.

To make Tulsi Gabbard the DNI, however, is not merely handing a bouquet to a political gadfly. Her appointment would be a threat to the security of the United States.

Gabbard ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, attempting to position herself as something like a peace candidate. But she’s no peacemaker: She’s been an apologist for both the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Her politics, which are otherwise incoherent, tend to be sympathetic to these two strongmen, painting America as the problem and the dictators as misunderstood. Hawaii voters have long been perplexed by the way she’s positioned herself politically. But Gabbard is a classic case of “horseshoe” politics: Her views can seem both extremely left and extremely right, which is probably why people such as Tucker Carlson—a conservative who has turned into … whatever pro-Russia right-wingers are called now—have taken a liking to the former Democrat (who was previously a Republican and is now again a member of the GOP)."

The Atlantic: Daily Newsletter – 24/11/13

2. Further Appointments

Monday (24/11/11)

- Rep. Mike Waltz - National Security Adviser;
- Sen. Marco Rubio - Secretary of State.

Tuesday (24/11/12)

- John Ratcliffe, former Director of National Intelligence - Director of the CIA.

Japan Times - Top News Stories Newsletter - 24/11/13


Bob A

[Peter McKillop]

He is a decorated war veteran unlike a certain vice presidential candidate who did serve in Italy while pretending he carried "weapons of war". Pete will do fine.

We'll see. He is ahead of his boss-to-be in one respect. Hegseth was on (no pun intended) wife no. 3 at age 39. It took Trump until age 58 to attain that same level of achievement.

[Vlad Drkulec]

Don't forget, Bob, that Hegseth is a political commentator for FOX which, in Trumpworld, makes him eminently well qualified for the job. To paraphrase someone (too lazy this morning to look it up), people get the government they deserve. Good luck America!

He is a decorated war veteran unlike a certain vice presidential candidate who did serve in Italy while pretending he carried "weapons of war". Pete will do fine.

[Peter McKillop]

Americas - USA

Republicans & National Security

Secretary of Defense: Media Personality with Fox News (Trump Supporter), Pete Hegseth

"As we were about to publish this newsletter, Donald Trump announced that he has asked......Pete Hegseth, a military veteran who has no experience in leading large organizations and no serious background as a senior leader in national-security affairs, to be his secretary of defense.

This is exactly the kind of unqualified [Emphasis added] nomination that I was warning could be looming after this first group of nominees were announced—and it explains why Trump is determined to BYPASS [Emphasis added] the U.S. Senate to get some of his nominees confirmed."

The Atlantic (Conservative; David Frum is a senior editor) - The Atlantic Daily Newsletter - 24/11/12
https://www.theatlantic.com/newslett...Atlantic+Daily



24/11/13 (2) Helms Deep Update

Bob A (Democratic Marxist)

Don't forget, Bob, that Hegseth is a political commentator for FOX which, in Trumpworld, makes him eminently well qualified for the job. To paraphrase someone (too lazy this morning to look it up), people get the government they deserve. Good luck America!

[Bob Armstrong]

Americas - USA

Republicans & National Security

Secretary of Defense: Media Personality with Fox News (Trump Supporter), Pete Hegseth

"As we were about to publish this newsletter, Donald Trump announced that he has asked......Pete Hegseth, a military veteran who has no experience in leading large organizations and no serious background as a senior leader in national-security affairs, to be his secretary of defense.

This is exactly the kind of unqualified [Emphasis added] nomination that I was warning could be looming after this first group of nominees were announced—and it explains why Trump is determined to BYPASS [Emphasis added] the U.S. Senate to get some of his nominees confirmed."

The Atlantic (Conservative; David Frum is a senior editor) - The Atlantic Daily Newsletter - 24/11/12
https://www.theatlantic.com/newslett...Atlantic+Daily



24/11/13 (2) Helms Deep Update

Bob A (Democratic Marxist)

[Bob Armstrong]

Americas - USA

Republican Government - Initiatives Intended as of 25/1/20


Energy & the Environment

"restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.....
while protecting access to clean air and water."

Head of Environmental Protection Agency: Former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin - does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president.

Trump Statement: [There will be] fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet"..... his administration would “drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration.


Israel & the Middle East

- to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel’s interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah.

Ambassador to Israel: former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee - a staunch defender of Israel; a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland.

Associate Press (AP) - Politics - 24/11/12


Department of Government Efficiency (New)

- to overhaul the federal government; [to] propel “drastic change” throughout the federal bureaucracy by July 4, 2026.

Co-Heads of Dept.: Two of [Trump's] billionaire supporters, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy

Musk Statement: See Dilip's Post # 23 above

Trump Statement: [It will bring] “drastic change” throughout the government with major cuts and new efficiencies in bloated agencies in the federal bureaucracy.

The New York Times - Breaking News Newsletter - 24/11/12



24/11/13 (1) Helms Deep Update

Bob A (Democratic Marxist)

[Dilip Panjwani]

Finally!

CNN:

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in his second administration.

“Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a statement.

The statement quoted Musk as saying that “this will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!”

[Sid Belzberg]

I don't agree with Bob Gillanders that Bernie Sanders could have defeated Donald Trump in 2016. I do greatly respect Mr. Sanders, however.

Concerning Trump, before he gets to his second term inauguration, set for Jan. 20, 2025, he has a not-so-small matter of a Manhattan court hearing on Nov. 26, for sentencing in his 34 New York felony conviction case.

This is NOT a federal matter, so the federal Department of Justice in Washington cannot automatically shut it down. And it is not a prosecution of a sitting president, nor a prosecution of someone who was president when the offences occurred, which was in the autumn of 2016, before the election in November that year. So, the Supreme Court rulings of this past summer should not come into play Trump was extraordinarily abusive to the New York judge and the court process while the trial was in progress, and he has greatly benefited from several delays in the sentencing. It will be highly interesting to see what Judge Juan Merchan decides to do; the world will most certainly be watching. Trump could receive up to four years in prison for each of the 34 charges, in addition to fines.

Extraordinary circumstances': NY judge in Trump case pauses all court deadlines, sentencing


President-elect Donald Trump was convicted in May by a Manhattan jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records, which if upheld, could have cost him up to four years in prison.

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By Breanne Deppisch

Nov 12, 2024 10:12 AM

5 min. read
View original

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The Manhattan judge overseeing President-elect Donald Trump's trial agreed to grant a stay on all deadlines associated with the felony conviction proceedings against Trump in the final months before he takes office, a closely-watched decision that allows Trump to avoid a maximum sentence of up to four years in prison.

The judge overseeing the case, Judge Juan Merchan, granted the request, which issues a stay on all deadlines, including the Nov. 26 sentencing date, to consider the effect of his election as president.

Prosecutors had asked for the pause in proceedings, which they said would allow them to better evaluate the impact of Trump’s new status as president-elect.

"The People agree that these are unprecedented circumstances," prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said in a letter to Judge Merchan.

Trump's attorneys, who had filed a motion to vacate the charges completely, also backed the stay.

Trump was convicted in May by a Manhattan jury on 34 counts of falsifying business records, stemming from a case about payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels.

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH MOVES TO DROP TRUMP ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE

Former President Donald Trump, left, speaks at the end of the day alongside his attorney Todd Blanche during his financial-records trial in Manhattan. (Michael M. Santiago/Pool via USA TODAY NETWORK)

Merchan agreed earlier this year to a four-month delay for the court proceedings, pushing next steps until after the 2024 presidential election.

He had set Nov. 12 as a self-imposed deadline to decide how best to proceed.

The decision comes after the Supreme Court said in a July 1 ruling that presidents should enjoy presumptive immunity from criminal prosecution for most actions taken as president.

Justices writing for a 4-3 majority said that presidents are entitled to absolute immunity from any actions taken within the scope of "core constitutional powers" as commander-in-chief.

A presumption of immunity also applies to other actions taken while holding office, they said.

It is not clear whether a president is to be afforded the same level of constitutional protections for state convictions, however, and the matter has never been tested in court.

Trump officials praised the pause in court proceedings Tuesday. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital that the pause makes "abundantly clear that Americans want an immediate end to the weaponization of our justice system, including this case … so we can unify our country and work together for the betterment of our nation."

The Nov. 12 deadline is separate from the sentencing hearing for the 34 convictions, which had previously been set for Nov. 26.

Rather, this was a self-imposed deadline set by Merchan that allows him to consider Trump’s claims of presidential immunity and whether the Supreme Court’s July ruling on the scope of immunity should apply to the state level.

Even if Trump’s convictions were upheld, the president-elect has myriad ways to appeal the case or get the charges against him dismissed before the Nov. 26 sentencing hearing — making it all but certain he will face no time behind bars.

STEFANIK SLAMS DEMOCRATS' 'SCARE TACTICS' ON TRUMP'S RECORD WITH WOMEN ON IVF, ABORTION

Former President Donald Trump, left, attends the first day of his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 15. Judge Juan Merchan poses for a picture in his chambers on March 14 in New York. (Angela Weiss/AFP via AP, POOL/AP)

The first would be moving the case from state to federal court — which Trump’s lawyers had twice tried and failed to do in the months ahead of the election. However, their request to elevate the case to federal court now carries more weight, given Trump’s status as president-elect.

If that fails, Trump’s attorneys would likely appeal the convictions ahead of his sentencing hearing, using the Supreme Court immunity ruling as grounds to have the charges dismissed.

They are also likely to use the immunity claim to throw out portions of evidence used by prosecutors in the New York case, including testimony from former White House communications director Hope Hicks.

Even if all this fails, legal analysts and former prosecutors have roundly dismissed the idea that Trump would face prison time for the convictions.

"Understand, Trump is not going to prison even if Merchan metes out an incarceration sentence. Though the charges are felonies, they are not sufficiently serious under New York law to merit immediate detention; Trump will get bail pending appeal," Andrew McCarthy, a former U.S. prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, wrote in an op-ed last week for Fox News Digital.

Judge Juan M. Merchan poses in his chambers in New York on March 14, 2024 in this file photo. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Had Merchan moved to keep the convictions intact, he could have sought additional guidance from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, including on whether Trump should be submitted to state convictions as a sitting president — a question that has never been tested.

STEFANIK SLAMS DEMOCRATS' 'SCARE TACTICS' ON TRUMP'S RECORD WITH WOMEN ON IVF, ABORTION

Trump's legal team would almost certainly have appealed any conviction as far as the Supreme Court, if necessary.

Trump is shielded from federal convictions under longstanding Justice Department policy preventing U.S. attorneys from prosecuting a sitting president.

However, this precedent has never been applied to state convictions, giving Judge Merchan a somewhat wider berth in deciding how to proceed.

Main entrance to the Trump Tower building in Manhattan. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)

His decision comes days after special counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to vacate all deadlines in the 2020 election interference case against President-elect Trump in Washington, D.C.

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Smith had been tapped by Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 to investigate both the alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump's keeping of allegedly classified documents at his residence in Florida after leaving the White House in 2020.

While those charges have not been officially dropped, the special counsel appears to be moving in that direction, and Smith said his team plans to give an updated report on the official status of the case against Trump on Dec. 2.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr told Fox News Digital that state and local prosecutors and judges need to move on from the "spectacle" of prosecuting the president-elect.

Breanne Deppisch is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the 2024 election and other national news.