For me, this confirms my theory about the Trump Administration: Trump is running his administration like a reality TV show. The show The Apprentice gave him a lot of power on screen and appeared...
For me, this confirms my theory about the Trump Administration: Trump is running his administration like a reality TV show.
The show The Apprentice gave him a lot of power on screen and appeared to give him a lot behind the scenes as well, but that was part of the illusion of reality TV. It mattered for the brand of the show that he seemed to call the shots, but anyone who knows how reality TV works realizes that he was a figurehead. The thing that really mattered was the appearance of authority.
Fast forward to the campaign, when his son approached Kasich to be VP. His offer was, You'll be the most powerful VP in the history of the United States, and Donald's gonna MAGA. In other words, he'll be the figurehead reality TV star, and you'll run the show behind the scenes.
I don't think Pence has that much power... That was mostly Trump not understanding the President-VP dynamics. But his Cabinet has taken on this role. They let him bloviate because it plays to his base, but when it comes to establishing policy, he's not really in power. People second-guess him at every turn. Sometimes it frustrates him and he pushes back, but for the most part someone talks him off the edge of the cliff and they make statements that sound saner than the President does.
What Trump's supporters call the Deep State is the realization of this state of things. It's the slow, dawning realization that Trump is just a reality TV star in the biggest reality show in human history.
I'd go so far as to speculate that the chain of command for the launch of nukes has been altered in some way. Of course, NO ONE will ever admit it, much less to Trump himself, but I suspect there's a failsafe in the chain of command that means someone will make sure a launch isn't attributable to a lapse of judgment from Trump.
As much as I want this to be true, and sincerely hope it is, I wish there was some evidence of this available to go along with the speculation.
I'd go so far as to speculate that the chain of command for the launch of nukes has been altered in some way. Of course, NO ONE will ever admit it, much less to Trump himself, but I suspect there's a failsafe in the chain of command that means someone will make sure a launch isn't attributable to a lapse of judgment from Trump.
As much as I want this to be true, and sincerely hope it is, I wish there was some evidence of this available to go along with the speculation.
The mental image of Trump wailing on an Armageddon button that does nothing is equal parts amusing and depressing. That said, unless someone else is holding on to the nuclear launch code there is...
The mental image of Trump wailing on an Armageddon button that does nothing is equal parts amusing and depressing.
I never thought that in a million years I would be saying: thank god for John Bolton.
The rushed machinations to get the policy done, as demanded by John R. Bolton, the national security adviser, have not been previously reported. Described by European diplomats and American officials, the efforts are a sign of the lengths to which the president’s top advisers will go to protect a key and longstanding international alliance from Mr. Trump’s unpredictable antipathy.
I never thought that in a million years I would be saying: thank god for John Bolton.
Well the whole deep state thing makes me laugh pretty hard. I mean it sure is convenient that it comes up now, but didn’t come up at all when the Office of Special Plans was created to invent...
Well the whole deep state thing makes me laugh pretty hard. I mean it sure is convenient that it comes up now, but didn’t come up at all when the Office of Special Plans was created to invent intelligence that lined up with the biggest mistake of the millennium, the invasion of Iraq.
It never came up when Saudi Arabia staffed and funded the attacks on 9/11 and we gave them more oil money and weapons, and sent the Saudi ambassador who paid one of the 9/11 pilots money while he was in America, right home with no questions.
Bolton was a big part of all that crap. But now just keeping the greatest peacekeeping force in the history of the world, NATO, functional is somehow a conspiracy.
Some of the reporters at NPR Politics had a funny name for what's really keeping Trump in check: the Shallow State. They argue (pretty easily) that what's keeping Trump in check isn't some shadowy...
Some of the reporters at NPR Politics had a funny name for what's really keeping Trump in check: the Shallow State. They argue (pretty easily) that what's keeping Trump in check isn't some shadowy cabal entrenched in the depths of the political apparatus, but rather Trump's own Cabinet and advisers, immediately below him.
For me, this confirms my theory about the Trump Administration: Trump is running his administration like a reality TV show.
The show The Apprentice gave him a lot of power on screen and appeared to give him a lot behind the scenes as well, but that was part of the illusion of reality TV. It mattered for the brand of the show that he seemed to call the shots, but anyone who knows how reality TV works realizes that he was a figurehead. The thing that really mattered was the appearance of authority.
Fast forward to the campaign, when his son approached Kasich to be VP. His offer was, You'll be the most powerful VP in the history of the United States, and Donald's gonna MAGA. In other words, he'll be the figurehead reality TV star, and you'll run the show behind the scenes.
I don't think Pence has that much power... That was mostly Trump not understanding the President-VP dynamics. But his Cabinet has taken on this role. They let him bloviate because it plays to his base, but when it comes to establishing policy, he's not really in power. People second-guess him at every turn. Sometimes it frustrates him and he pushes back, but for the most part someone talks him off the edge of the cliff and they make statements that sound saner than the President does.
What Trump's supporters call the Deep State is the realization of this state of things. It's the slow, dawning realization that Trump is just a reality TV star in the biggest reality show in human history.
I'd go so far as to speculate that the chain of command for the launch of nukes has been altered in some way. Of course, NO ONE will ever admit it, much less to Trump himself, but I suspect there's a failsafe in the chain of command that means someone will make sure a launch isn't attributable to a lapse of judgment from Trump.
As much as I want this to be true, and sincerely hope it is, I wish there was some evidence of this available to go along with the speculation.
The mental image of Trump wailing on an Armageddon button that does nothing is equal parts amusing and depressing.
That said, unless someone else is holding on to the nuclear launch code there is very little standing between his anger and annihilation.
IMHO this season of America really jumped the shark.
I never thought that in a million years I would be saying: thank god for John Bolton.
Does this mean Bolton is part of the evil Deep State that secretly runs things?
Well the whole deep state thing makes me laugh pretty hard. I mean it sure is convenient that it comes up now, but didn’t come up at all when the Office of Special Plans was created to invent intelligence that lined up with the biggest mistake of the millennium, the invasion of Iraq.
It never came up when Saudi Arabia staffed and funded the attacks on 9/11 and we gave them more oil money and weapons, and sent the Saudi ambassador who paid one of the 9/11 pilots money while he was in America, right home with no questions.
Bolton was a big part of all that crap. But now just keeping the greatest peacekeeping force in the history of the world, NATO, functional is somehow a conspiracy.
Some of the reporters at NPR Politics had a funny name for what's really keeping Trump in check: the Shallow State. They argue (pretty easily) that what's keeping Trump in check isn't some shadowy cabal entrenched in the depths of the political apparatus, but rather Trump's own Cabinet and advisers, immediately below him.