palmerreport--2020-01-10--The real reason the Republicans are hedging their bets against Donald Trump

On Wednesday , Republican Senator Mike Lee publicly and loudly lambasted the Donald Trump regime for its handling of the Soleimani fallout , before retracting it the next day .
On Thursday , Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz voted to take away Trump ’ s war powers against Iran .
If the pattern holds , he ’ ll soon fall back in line as well .
So what ’ s really going on here ?
We ’ re seeing a lot of discussion of these incidents as if they were about courage , and/or a lack thereof .
I don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re dealing with anyone who ’ s willing to be a member of the current Republican Party , concepts like courage and character don ’ t apply .
These folks have sold their souls to try to hang onto their seats in Congress in the Trump era .
Now what we ’ re seeing is a series of bets being hedged .
Donald Trump has dissolved into a guy who gives orders so erratic and incoherent , even his handlers can ’ t explain it away after the fact .
Trump has also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t get through a speech without sounding like he ’ s either severely drugged , or needs to be drugged .
November is a long way away , and whatever is going wrong with this guy , it ’ s accelerating .
There ’ s a small , but greater than zero , and certainly growing , chance that Trump will be too far gone to even be on the ballot in 2020 .
Imagine you ’ re a Republican in Congress and you ’ ve staked your own political viability to Donald @ @ @ @ @ @ @ watching him fall apart so quickly , you ’ re worried that – in all seriousness – he could end up in some kind of assisted living facility or padded room before election day .
If that happens , the Republican Party will need a new horse to back going into 2020 , and the public will be asking why no one in the GOP did anything about Trump when it first became clear that he was dissolving into a puddle of Jello .
That ’ s the point at which a Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ point back to something , even if just one isolated moment , in which he or she called out Donald Trump for falling to pieces .
I think that ’ s what we ’ re seeing now .
The Republicans are hedging their bets by getting something on the record , just in case they need it later .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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On Wednesday, Republican Senator Mike Lee publicly and loudly lambasted the Donald Trump regime for its handling of the Soleimani fallout, before retracting it the next day. On Thursday, Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz voted to take away Trump’s war powers against Iran. If the pattern holds, he’ll soon fall back in line as well. So what’s really going on here?
We’re seeing a lot of discussion of these incidents as if they were about courage, and/or a lack thereof. I don’t buy it. When you’re dealing with anyone who’s willing to be a member of the current Republican Party, concepts like courage and character don’t apply. These folks have sold their souls to try to hang onto their seats in Congress in the Trump era. Now what we’re seeing is a series of bets being hedged.
Donald Trump has dissolved into a guy who gives orders so erratic and incoherent, even his handlers can’t explain it away after the fact. Trump has also dissolved into a guy who can’t get through a speech without sounding like he’s either severely drugged, or needs to be drugged. November is a long way away, and whatever is going wrong with this guy, it’s accelerating. There’s a small, but greater than zero, and certainly growing, chance that Trump will be too far gone to even be on the ballot in 2020.
Imagine you’re a Republican in Congress and you’ve staked your own political viability to Donald Trump, and now you’re watching him fall apart so quickly, you’re worried that – in all seriousness – he could end up in some kind of assisted living facility or padded room before election day. If that happens, the Republican Party will need a new horse to back going into 2020, and the public will be asking why no one in the GOP did anything about Trump when it first became clear that he was dissolving into a puddle of Jello.
That’s the point at which a Republican politician will want to be able to point back to something, even if just one isolated moment, in which he or she called out Donald Trump for falling to pieces. I think that’s what we’re seeing now. The Republicans are hedging their bets by getting something on the record, just in case they need it later.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-10--The rage of the Trump-thing

The rage of the Trump-thing

One of the reasons I frequently find humor involving Trump unfunny is that I remember ( among other things ) that he is a rapist .
Like Hitler jokes , Trump jokes come with an ominous atmosphere .
Trump ’ s many peccadillos might be amusing , endearing even , were it not for his evil .
Trump is an evil man the way Adolf Hitler was an evil man .
Tony Schwartz , the actual writer of that piece of fiction called “ The Art of the Deal , ” says Trump is the most evil person he has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Trump ’ s evil is multifaceted .
For example , it ’ s in his best political and financial interest to deny climate change , never mind that every climate scientist in the world recognizes climate change as established fact .
His evil concerning his dismissal of climate science is casual , incidental , arbitrary , indirect .
He imperils the lives of every man , woman , child , animal and ecosystem on earth without a thought , let alone an afterthought .
The details don ’ t concern him , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the oil and gas industries are happy then he is happy .
Everyone else can die .
The lives Trump routinely devastates are of no concern to him .
For political expediency alone Trump will destroy the life of a faithful , hardworking ambassador who has dedicated her life to her country .
He needs a scapegoat and she is available .
Her dreams , ambitions and diligence aren ’ t part of the equation .
It isn ’ t personal , it ’ s just the all-important , bottomless need for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other consideration takes precedence .
For the fleeting sake of his own personal gratification he will destroy the life of a child or a woman .
He is a rapist , and like all rapists the devastation he leaves behind is of no consequence .
Indeed , he finds it infuriating when they complain and he tries to destroy them further for daring .
Trump ’ s pleasure is the only consideration .
It is an affront to him to suggest there is another consideration .
Only the the Trump-beast , the Trump-thing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump-thing raped E. Jean Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman department store , it did so with the thoughtless impulse of gluttony .
It needed – and neither a precious human being nor the fragile ecosystem of her life mattered .
Only feeding the Trump-thing mattered .
The Trump-thing was used to having its base instincts gratified .
Its base instincts were therefore gratified .
It could now move on , fed for a while , until it needed more .
The husk of a woman it left behind accounted for nothing .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ core .
This is the world of the Trump-thing .
It once raped a weeping child and told her it would murder her and her parents if the child ever came forward .
Today the child is a deeply damaged woman and the Trump-thing is president of the United States .
It is no wonder this child , now a woman , thinks this is a world without justice .
On Thursday a New York State judge denied a motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit .
The Trump-thing had disparaged the life and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who dared to sue it for raping her and then calling her a liar .
Carroll ’ s lawyer said , “ We look forward to moving ahead in this case and proving that Donald Trump lied when he told the world that he did not rape our client and had not even met her.
” The rage of the Trump-thing against E. Jean Carroll is palpable through the dry , dusty and fusty academic language of the law .
It could not believe anyone would dare to question its appetite nor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump-thing is defeated – for now .
But it will continue to glower and fight .
The Trump-thing must eat , but it hates its food .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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One of the reasons I frequently find humor involving Trump unfunny is that I remember (among other things) that he is a rapist. Like Hitler jokes, Trump jokes come with an ominous atmosphere. Trump’s many peccadillos might be amusing, endearing even, were it not for his evil. Trump is an evil man the way Adolf Hitler was an evil man. Tony Schwartz, the actual writer of that piece of fiction called “The Art of the Deal,” says Trump is the most evil person he has ever met.
Like Hitler’s, Trump’s evil is multifaceted. For example, it’s in his best political and financial interest to deny climate change, never mind that every climate scientist in the world recognizes climate change as established fact. His evil concerning his dismissal of climate science is casual, incidental, arbitrary, indirect. He imperils the lives of every man, woman, child, animal and ecosystem on earth without a thought, let alone an afterthought. The details don’t concern him, only the results. If his masters in the oil and gas industries are happy then he is happy. Everyone else can die.
The lives Trump routinely devastates are of no concern to him. For political expediency alone Trump will destroy the life of a faithful, hardworking ambassador who has dedicated her life to her country. He needs a scapegoat and she is available. Her dreams, ambitions and diligence aren’t part of the equation. It isn’t personal, it’s just the all-important, bottomless need for Trumpist self-promotion, promotion over which no other consideration takes precedence.
For the fleeting sake of his own personal gratification he will destroy the life of a child or a woman. He is a rapist, and like all rapists the devastation he leaves behind is of no consequence. Indeed, he finds it infuriating when they complain and he tries to destroy them further for daring. Trump’s pleasure is the only consideration. It is an affront to him to suggest there is another consideration. Only the the Trump-beast, the Trump-thing and its appetites, matter.
When the Trump-thing raped E. Jean Carroll in a Bergdorf Goodman department store, it did so with the thoughtless impulse of gluttony. It needed – and neither a precious human being nor the fragile ecosystem of her life mattered. Only feeding the Trump-thing mattered. The Trump-thing was used to having its base instincts gratified. Its base instincts were therefore gratified. It could now move on, fed for a while, until it needed more. The husk of a woman it left behind accounted for nothing. To the Trump-thing she was an apple core.
This is the world of the Trump-thing. It once raped a weeping child and told her it would murder her and her parents if the child ever came forward. Today the child is a deeply damaged woman and the Trump-thing is president of the United States. It is no wonder this child, now a woman, thinks this is a world without justice.
On Thursday a New York State judge denied a motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit. The Trump-thing had disparaged the life and besmirched the reputation of E. Jean Carroll, who dared to sue it for raping her and then calling her a liar. Carroll’s lawyer said, “We look forward to moving ahead in this case and proving that Donald Trump lied when he told the world that he did not rape our client and had not even met her.”
The rage of the Trump-thing against E. Jean Carroll is palpable through the dry, dusty and fusty academic language of the law. It could not believe anyone would dare to question its appetite nor the pursuit of its appetite. The Trump-thing is defeated – for now. But it will continue to glower and fight. The Trump-thing must eat, but it hates its food.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-10--Donald Trump is falling to pieces

Donald Trump is falling to pieces

Perhaps we are beginning to see why “ president ” Donald Trump hates President Barack Obama so much , besides the fact that he ’ s an intelligent , much-loved brown man .
Politico put together a piece that can help make sense of Trump ’ s obvious jealousy , beyond the fact that Obama is a better man and statesman .
One of the first things Trump did after stealing the presidency was to begin dismantling everything President Obama ever did .
Mind you , he never said any of it was “ flawed , ” “ wrong , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overwhelming detriment to the U.S .
He couldn ’ t .
It appeared that he was merely trying to undo the very presence of the man he so despised , the origins of which everyone also fails to understand .
Trump ’ s activities typically made him look like a fool .
Politico ’ s piece focuses on the fact that Trump “ ripped apart ” President Obama ’ s Iran playbook and is now haphazardly trying to put it back together .
The thing about a guy like Trump is he ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like his idea .
In a mere 24-hour period , Trump went from bullying and threatening to destroy Iran and its cultural history , to wanting to put economic sanctions in place against Iraq , to wanting to create a new nuclear deal ( like the one he tore up ) , to urging NATO to become more involved in the Middle East .
If all of this sounds familiar , then you ’ ve been paying attention .
These are the steps that President Obama took to help with ensuring peace in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out , this is classic ( schizophrenic ) Trump .
He has tried this ploy with both China and North Korea , and we know how it worked there ( or didn ’ t work , as the case may be ) .
He ended up kissing Kim Jong Un ’ s butt and groveling before Xi Jinping .
Don ’ t hold out any hope that it ’ s going to work here either .
Wendy Sherman , former under Secretary of State for political affairs under Barack Obama describes Trump ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is both the arsonist and the fireman .
He set the world on flames when he left the JCPOA [ the Iran nuclear deal ] and then he decided to kill Qassem Soleimani.
” As Sherman states , Trump now wants to claim victory , blaming President Obama in the process.
” Instead of real estate , Trump should have gone into “ medicine , ” He would be an excellent snake oil salesman .
Like the people who thought snake oil would cure their ills , Trump ’ s supporters believe every @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gospel .
For those with their own minds , eyes , and ears ; however , he is as transparent as a piece of glass .
But I digress .
Politico reports that Republicans and Trump advisors “ expressed relief publicly and privately ” that Trump appeared to be changing his tune .
They more than anyone should know better .
He will simply change direction again as circumstances allow .
Democrats , on the other hand , know better .
Unlike Republicans , they acknowledge Trump ’ s wildly erratic policies and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he will do next .
As Martin Heinrich ( D-NM ) said , “ I think overall there just has been no strategy , no proportionality , no predictability in the administration ’ s response from one event to the next.
” And that , my friends , pretty much sums up the Trump “ presidency .
”

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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Perhaps we are beginning to see why “president” Donald Trump hates President Barack Obama so much, besides the fact that he’s an intelligent, much-loved brown man. Politico put together a piece that can help make sense of Trump’s obvious jealousy, beyond the fact that Obama is a better man and statesman. One of the first things Trump did after stealing the presidency was to begin dismantling everything President Obama ever did. Mind you, he never said any of it was “flawed,” “wrong,” or resulted in some sort of overwhelming detriment to the U.S. He couldn’t. It appeared that he was merely trying to undo the very presence of the man he so despised, the origins of which everyone also fails to understand. Trump’s activities typically made him look like a fool.
Politico’s piece focuses on the fact that Trump “ripped apart” President Obama’s Iran playbook and is now haphazardly trying to put it back together. The thing about a guy like Trump is he’s now trying to make it look like his idea. In a mere 24-hour period, Trump went from bullying and threatening to destroy Iran and its cultural history, to wanting to put economic sanctions in place against Iraq, to wanting to create a new nuclear deal (like the one he tore up), to urging NATO to become more involved in the Middle East. If all of this sounds familiar, then you’ve been paying attention. These are the steps that President Obama took to help with ensuring peace in the Middle East. As Politico points out, this is classic (schizophrenic) Trump. He has tried this ploy with both China and North Korea, and we know how it worked there (or didn’t work, as the case may be). He ended up kissing Kim Jong Un’s butt and groveling before Xi Jinping. Don’t hold out any hope that it’s going to work here either.
Wendy Sherman, former under Secretary of State for political affairs under Barack Obama describes Trump’s flip-flopping best: “The president is both the arsonist and the fireman. He set the world on flames when he left the JCPOA [the Iran nuclear deal] and then he decided to kill Qassem Soleimani.” As Sherman states, Trump now wants to claim victory, blaming President Obama in the process.” Instead of real estate, Trump should have gone into “medicine,” He would be an excellent snake oil salesman. Like the people who thought snake oil would cure their ills, Trump’s supporters believe every lie he tells and spreads it as gospel. For those with their own minds, eyes, and ears; however, he is as transparent as a piece of glass. But I digress.
Politico reports that Republicans and Trump advisors “expressed relief publicly and privately” that Trump appeared to be changing his tune. They more than anyone should know better. He will simply change direction again as circumstances allow. Democrats, on the other hand, know better. Unlike Republicans, they acknowledge Trump’s wildly erratic policies and seem to live in fear of what he will do next. As Martin Heinrich (D-NM) said, “I think overall there just has been no strategy, no proportionality, no predictability in the administration’s response from one event to the next.” And that, my friends, pretty much sums up the Trump “presidency.”
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-10--Lindsey Graham is in need of medical attention

“ This is on par with Reagan ’ s ‘ Tear Down This Wall ’ speech.
” That is how Lindsey Graham characterized the Adderall-themed speech delivered by Donald Trump on Wednesday .
In what was obviously an effort at engaging in the Trumpists ’ favorite pastime – “ triggering the libs ” – Graham also declared that “ this speech will be talked about long after his [ Trump ’ s ] second term.
” The Republican Senator ’ s ridiculous statements earned him a good dose of laughter on MSNBC , and also a comment from Michael Steele @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who stated that Lindsey must be “ smoking stuff none of us should get their hands on because it clearly does something to the brain.
” It ’ s possible that the people who make up Trump ’ s hardcore base will simply take Lindsey Graham ’ s description of the Sniffer-in-Chief ’ s address at face value because they just can ’ t be bothered to watch a ten-minute speech and then make up their own minds .
But outside of this very limited circle , nobody is being fooled .
Neither @ @ @ @ @ @ @ address will be remembered for more than a few days , and history will not look back kindly at what we are witnessing right now .
In fairness to the speechwriters , it should be noted that they were faced with the near-impossible task of having to produce a text which sounded somewhat presidential and that Donald Trump would nevertheless still be able to read off a teleprompter with at least a modicum of authenticity and without tripping up too many times .
Predictably , the result was far from being a rhetorical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ few hurdles – such as the words “ tolerated ” and “ accomplishments ” – that Mr. Trump failed to clear .
Given the botched performance , it was not easy to fully take in the content of Donald Trump ’ s words as he addressed the nation , but it is well worth looking at what the President of the United States actually said on this occasion .
Somewhere in the middle of his speech , Trump – just being his usual self – started bragging about the military and about U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big , powerful , accurate , lethal and fast.
” He then went on to say that “ under construction are many hypersonic missiles.
” This remark has drawn a good number of comments on social media and has sparked a debate on whether Donald Trump – yet again – carelessly revealed highly classified information that might pose a risk to national security .
While the existence of U.S. research programs into hypersonics is by no means top secret information – a research report to Congress on the potential of this type of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for about a year – the words Trump used in Wednesday ’ s speech seem to suggest that the United States has moved on from the research phase to actually building hypersonic missiles .
As it is safe to assume that other nations are listening very carefully to what Donald Trump is saying – they may put more care into parsing his words than he puts into choosing them – this revelation could have significant consequences .
It is no secret that Vladimir Putin is both extremely ambitious and extremely paranoid when it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States in the international arms race .
Trump ’ s words – whether they were accurate or not – might therefore serve to accelerate and intensify existing efforts to build up an arsenal of weapons that would fundamentally change the face of international warfare .
A hypersonic missile , once launched , reaches its target so fast , it leaves no time for interception , an early warning for people to get to safety or an analysis of the threat situation that would work to eliminate errors .
It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ narrative that Trump surrogates are trying to push in public , none of what has been said or done over the past few days has made the world a safer place .
It is time for people like Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell – people who claim to love their country – to step up and end this charade before it ’ s too late .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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“This is on par with Reagan’s ‘Tear Down This Wall’ speech.” That is how Lindsey Graham characterized the Adderall-themed speech delivered by Donald Trump on Wednesday. In what was obviously an effort at engaging in the Trumpists’ favorite pastime – “triggering the libs” – Graham also declared that “this speech will be talked about long after his [Trump’s] second term.” The Republican Senator’s ridiculous statements earned him a good dose of laughter on MSNBC, and also a comment from Michael Steele, former Chairman of the RNC, who stated that Lindsey must be “smoking stuff none of us should get their hands on because it clearly does something to the brain.”
It’s possible that the people who make up Trump’s hardcore base will simply take Lindsey Graham’s description of the Sniffer-in-Chief’s address at face value because they just can’t be bothered to watch a ten-minute speech and then make up their own minds. But outside of this very limited circle, nobody is being fooled. Neither the delivery nor the content of the address will be remembered for more than a few days, and history will not look back kindly at what we are witnessing right now.
In fairness to the speechwriters, it should be noted that they were faced with the near-impossible task of having to produce a text which sounded somewhat presidential and that Donald Trump would nevertheless still be able to read off a teleprompter with at least a modicum of authenticity and without tripping up too many times. Predictably, the result was far from being a rhetorical masterpiece, but it still contained a few hurdles – such as the words “tolerated” and “accomplishments” – that Mr. Trump failed to clear.
Given the botched performance, it was not easy to fully take in the content of Donald Trump’s words as he addressed the nation, but it is well worth looking at what the President of the United States actually said on this occasion. Somewhere in the middle of his speech, Trump – just being his usual self – started bragging about the military and about U.S. missiles which he described as being “big, powerful, accurate, lethal and fast.” He then went on to say that “under construction are many hypersonic missiles.” This remark has drawn a good number of comments on social media and has sparked a debate on whether Donald Trump – yet again – carelessly revealed highly classified information that might pose a risk to national security.
While the existence of U.S. research programs into hypersonics is by no means top secret information – a research report to Congress on the potential of this type of weaponry has been in the public domain for about a year – the words Trump used in Wednesday’s speech seem to suggest that the United States has moved on from the research phase to actually building hypersonic missiles. As it is safe to assume that other nations are listening very carefully to what Donald Trump is saying – they may put more care into parsing his words than he puts into choosing them – this revelation could have significant consequences. It is no secret that Vladimir Putin is both extremely ambitious and extremely paranoid when it comes to trying to keep up with the United States in the international arms race. Trump’s words – whether they were accurate or not – might therefore serve to accelerate and intensify existing efforts to build up an arsenal of weapons that would fundamentally change the face of international warfare. A hypersonic missile, once launched, reaches its target so fast, it leaves no time for interception, an early warning for people to get to safety or an analysis of the threat situation that would work to eliminate errors. It’s a do-or-die scenario.
Regardless of the narrative that Trump surrogates are trying to push in public, none of what has been said or done over the past few days has made the world a safer place. It is time for people like Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell – people who claim to love their country – to step up and end this charade before it’s too late.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-10--This doesn’t add up at all

This doesn’t add up at all

This week the Trump White House send briefers to Congress with so little information about why Iranian leader Soleimani was assassinated , even Republican Senator Mike Lee openly attacked Trump for it .
Mike Pence then tried asserting that the details couldn ’ t be given to Congress , because they ’ re too sensitive .
Then Donald Trump started insisting that it was because Soleimani was about to carry out an imminent attack on a U.S. embassy or embassies .
This wouldn ’ t be the first time in which Trump has blurted out classified intel .
It also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in which Trump simply made up something like this out of thin air .
We don ’ t have any way of knowing what the truth is , but something clearly doesn ’ t add up here .
If the U.S. had intel that Soleimani was planning an imminent embassy attack , it could have at least included the basics of that intel in the congressional briefing , without giving away every last sensitive detail .
Yet Trump sounds like he ’ s repeating something that his handlers told him .
Yesterday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mike Pompeo who pushed Donald Trump into giving the order to take out Soleimani .
Did Pompeo pull this off by feeding Trump a fake story about how Soleimani was about to blow up a U.S. embassy ?
Is this why the Trump regime couldn ’ t give Congress anything during the briefing ?
Something doesn ’ t add up here – and this could turn out to be yet another huge Trump scandal .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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This week the Trump White House send briefers to Congress with so little information about why Iranian leader Soleimani was assassinated, even Republican Senator Mike Lee openly attacked Trump for it. Mike Pence then tried asserting that the details couldn’t be given to Congress, because they’re too sensitive.
Then Donald Trump started insisting that it was because Soleimani was about to carry out an imminent attack on a U.S. embassy or embassies. This wouldn’t be the first time in which Trump has blurted out classified intel. It also wouldn’t be the first time in which Trump simply made up something like this out of thin air.
We don’t have any way of knowing what the truth is, but something clearly doesn’t add up here. If the U.S. had intel that Soleimani was planning an imminent embassy attack, it could have at least included the basics of that intel in the congressional briefing, without giving away every last sensitive detail. Yet Trump sounds like he’s repeating something that his handlers told him.
Yesterday, multiple media outlets reported that it was Mike Pompeo who pushed Donald Trump into giving the order to take out Soleimani. Did Pompeo pull this off by feeding Trump a fake story about how Soleimani was about to blow up a U.S. embassy? Is this why the Trump regime couldn’t give Congress anything during the briefing? Something doesn’t add up here – and this could turn out to be yet another huge Trump scandal.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-11--Donald Trump’s stooge Doug Collins crashes and burns

Republican Congressman Doug Collins just got done making a complete fool of himself by dishonestly defending Donald Trump throughout the House impeachment process .
Having made a national name for himself for being an idiot , Collins then decided to take things even further this week by claiming that Democrats in Congress are “ in love with terrorists.
” Suffice it to say that the remark didn ’ t go over well , as it was a complete misrepresentation of what the Democrats were saying about Iranian leader Soleimani .
The remark made Collins a national pariah , and today @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Doug Collins tweeted a lengthy apology today , which went like this : “ Let me be clear : I do not believe Democrats are in love with terrorists , and I apologize for what I said earlier this week .
The comment I made on Wednesday evening was in response to a question about the War Powers Resolution being introduced in the House and House Democrats ’ attempt to limit the president ’ s authority .
As someone who served in Iraq in 2008 , I witnessed firsthand the brutal death of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by this vicious terrorist .
Soleimani was nothing less than an evil mastermind who viciously killed and wounded thousands of Americans .
These images will live with me for the rest of my life , but that does not excuse my response on Wednesday evening .
I remain committed to working with my colleagues in Congress and with my fellow citizens to keep all Americans safe.
” Okay , fine , whatever , Doug Collins is still an idiot .
We award him no points for belatedly apologizing under pressure .
What does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to apologize at all .
Usually , Donald Trump ’ s goons just say horrible stuff like this and then proudly stick with it .
Perhaps these guys really are afraid of what might happen to them now that Trump is faltering by the day .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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Republican Congressman Doug Collins just got done making a complete fool of himself by dishonestly defending Donald Trump throughout the House impeachment process. Having made a national name for himself for being an idiot, Collins then decided to take things even further this week by claiming that Democrats in Congress are “in love with terrorists.”
Suffice it to say that the remark didn’t go over well, as it was a complete misrepresentation of what the Democrats were saying about Iranian leader Soleimani. The remark made Collins a national pariah, and today the pressure finally got to him.
Doug Collins tweeted a lengthy apology today, which went like this: “Let me be clear: I do not believe Democrats are in love with terrorists, and I apologize for what I said earlier this week. The comment I made on Wednesday evening was in response to a question about the War Powers Resolution being introduced in the House and House Democrats’ attempt to limit the president’s authority. As someone who served in Iraq in 2008, I witnessed firsthand the brutal death of countless soldiers who were torn to shreds by this vicious terrorist. Soleimani was nothing less than an evil mastermind who viciously killed and wounded thousands of Americans. These images will live with me for the rest of my life, but that does not excuse my response on Wednesday evening. I remain committed to working with my colleagues in Congress and with my fellow citizens to keep all Americans safe.”
Okay, fine, whatever, Doug Collins is still an idiot. We award him no points for belatedly apologizing under pressure. What does stand out is that he felt compelled to apologize at all. Usually, Donald Trump’s goons just say horrible stuff like this and then proudly stick with it. Perhaps these guys really are afraid of what might happen to them now that Trump is faltering by the day.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-11--Lindsey Graham is melting down in real time tonight

This week we ’ ve seen various Republicans in the House and Senate finally start to speak out against Donald Trump ’ s worsening idiocy , if only in perhaps a belated attempt at insulating themselves from his ongoing downfall .
But don ’ t tell that to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham , who now seems more intent than ever at sticking with Trump while the ship sinks .
In fact Lindsey is particularly out of control on Twitter tonight .
Lindsey Graham has now decided that if anyone dares to call out Donald Trump for his lies , then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of the CIA .
Based on Lindsey ’ s semi-coherent rambling , it ’ s not clear why he thinks this is the case , but it appears to have something to do with a “ third grader just watching the news.
” Graham also thinks it ’ s “ beyond disgusting ” and that he ’ s the only one who knows what the word “ imminent ” means .
Somewhere in there Lindsey began having some real trouble with how apostrophes work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s been standing so close to Donald Trump , the illiteracy has become contagious .
In any case , even as we see some of Donald Trump ’ s own Republican allies start to call out his BS excuses for the Iran strike , and vote to take his war powers away , Lindsey Graham wants nothing of the sort .
Instead he seems more intent than ever at destroying what little might be left of his reputation , now that it becomes more clear than ever that he ’ s backing the @ @ @

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This week we’ve seen various Republicans in the House and Senate finally start to speak out against Donald Trump’s worsening idiocy, if only in perhaps a belated attempt at insulating themselves from his ongoing downfall. But don’t tell that to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who now seems more intent than ever at sticking with Trump while the ship sinks. In fact Lindsey is particularly out of control on Twitter tonight.
Lindsey Graham has now decided that if anyone dares to call out Donald Trump for his lies, then that person is also attacking the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of the CIA. Based on Lindsey’s semi-coherent rambling, it’s not clear why he thinks this is the case, but it appears to have something to do with a “third grader just watching the news.”
Graham also thinks it’s “beyond disgusting” and that he’s the only one who knows what the word “imminent” means. Somewhere in there Lindsey began having some real trouble with how apostrophes work, which suggests that perhaps he’s been standing so close to Donald Trump, the illiteracy has become contagious.
In any case, even as we see some of Donald Trump’s own Republican allies start to call out his BS excuses for the Iran strike, and vote to take his war powers away, Lindsey Graham wants nothing of the sort. Instead he seems more intent than ever at destroying what little might be left of his reputation, now that it becomes more clear than ever that he’s backing the wrong horse.
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palmerreport--2020-01-11--Turns out Trump’s goons are even dumber than we thought

Why would anyone have ever supported Donald Trump to begin with ?
And even if they did support him initially , why would they still support him after he ’ s turned out to be even more of a disaster than the rest of us were expecting him to be ?
Let ’ s try asking a Trump supporter .
When a reporter attended a Trump rally and asked an attendee to name one thing that Donald Trump has done well , the attendee ended up saying this : That ’ s right , the guy couldn ’ t come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thinks Donald Trump has done well .
He couldn ’ t even make up a fake Trump accomplishment .
This guy has absolutely no idea why he ’ s supporting Trump , other than he ’ s a loser and Trump makes him feel like a winner .
But then that ’ s what Donald Trump has always done .
His one skill in life has been identifying suckers and losers , and convincing them to support him while he gives them absolutely nothing in return .
The guy in this video can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done for him , because Trump hasn ’ t done anything for him .
Yet he supports Trump anyway , because that ’ s how deranged cults work .
This is why we have to work hard and work smart this year to win .

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Why would anyone have ever supported Donald Trump to begin with? And even if they did support him initially, why would they still support him after he’s turned out to be even more of a disaster than the rest of us were expecting him to be? Let’s try asking a Trump supporter. When a reporter attended a Trump rally and asked an attendee to name one thing that Donald Trump has done well, the attendee ended up saying this:
That’s right, the guy couldn’t come up with a single thing that he thinks Donald Trump has done well. He couldn’t even make up a fake Trump accomplishment. This guy has absolutely no idea why he’s supporting Trump, other than he’s a loser and Trump makes him feel like a winner.
But then that’s what Donald Trump has always done. His one skill in life has been identifying suckers and losers, and convincing them to support him while he gives them absolutely nothing in return. The guy in this video can’t name anything that Trump has done for him, because Trump hasn’t done anything for him. Yet he supports Trump anyway, because that’s how deranged cults work. This is why we have to work hard and work smart this year to win.
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palmerreport--2020-01-11--Donald Trump has finally succeeded in something: making himself even more unpopular

This past week , Palmer Report consistently explained why we were probably not going to war with Iran , even as most other pundits and observers insisted that war was a foregone conclusion .
We thought the explanation was self-evident : neither Donald Trump nor Iran wanted war , and they each had a lot to lose from war .
Now we ’ re seeing hard numerical evidence which points to why .
There ’ s a prevailing narrative that says an unpopular president can use war to get himself reelected .
The thing is , it just doesn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s overwhelmingly untrue .
While war can make a popular president even more popular , war can only serve to make an unpopular president even more unpopular .
Even Trump seems to understand this , which is why he occasionally tries to boost his popularity by picking off one bad guy ( al-Baghdadi , Soleimani ) in isolation instead .
The trouble for Trump is , that doesn ’ t work either .
New polling from USA Today says that 55 % of Americans think Trump ’ s assassination of Soleimani has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while just 24 % of Americans think it ’ s made the United States more safe , with the rest unsure .
Of all the Americans who have an opinion on the Iran thing , more than two-thirds of them think Trump blew it .
In other words , Donald Trump ’ s military move against Iran is even more unpopular than he is .
It clearly hasn ’ t gained him a single new supporter , or a single additional vote in 2020 .
And at the rate these numbers are going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more substantial or prolonged military conflict , it would make him even more unpopular .
Trump knows he can ’ t win in 2020 by going to war .
We should stop letting him use that implied threat as leverage against us .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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This past week, Palmer Report consistently explained why we were probably not going to war with Iran, even as most other pundits and observers insisted that war was a foregone conclusion. We thought the explanation was self-evident: neither Donald Trump nor Iran wanted war, and they each had a lot to lose from war. Now we’re seeing hard numerical evidence which points to why.
There’s a prevailing narrative that says an unpopular president can use war to get himself reelected. The thing is, it just doesn’t hold water. In fact it’s overwhelmingly untrue. While war can make a popular president even more popular, war can only serve to make an unpopular president even more unpopular. Even Trump seems to understand this, which is why he occasionally tries to boost his popularity by picking off one bad guy (al-Baghdadi, Soleimani) in isolation instead. The trouble for Trump is, that doesn’t work either.
New polling from USA Today says that 55% of Americans think Trump’s assassination of Soleimani has made the United States less safe, while just 24% of Americans think it’s made the United States more safe, with the rest unsure. Of all the Americans who have an opinion on the Iran thing, more than two-thirds of them think Trump blew it.
In other words, Donald Trump’s military move against Iran is even more unpopular than he is. It clearly hasn’t gained him a single new supporter, or a single additional vote in 2020. And at the rate these numbers are going, if Trump were to seek a more substantial or prolonged military conflict, it would make him even more unpopular. Trump knows he can’t win in 2020 by going to war. We should stop letting him use that implied threat as leverage against us.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-11--Wait, Donald Trump just confessed to WHAT?

Since Donald Trump is one of the least popular presidents in modern history , many people were anxious since day one that he might start a war to boost his own popularity .
The reality is that the so-called “ rally round the flag ” effect is generally a short-lived one .
President George HW Bush did see a considerable jump in his approval ratings following the First Gulf War , but lost his bid for re-election a year later .
Even Winston Churchill , remembered fondly for leading Great Britain through World War II , was voted out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That said , the idea of someone as impulsive and tactically clueless as Trump leading the country into war , especially under false pretenses , should rightfully concern people .
So when the administration targeted Gen. Suleimani last week , many suspected he was either looking to provoke a war with Iran to prop up his re-election odds or to distract from his own impeachment .
Now , a new report by The Wall Street Journal suggests that this is pretty close to why Trump plotted his move .
In some ways @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was caving to Republican senators who have long dreamed of military action in Iran , if we ’ re to believe the words of a foreign policy adviser who spoke to the press .
This suggests that a few senators were considering witnesses at Trump ’ s senate trial and that by ordering the airstrikes , Trump was catering to a few of them – suggesting his foreign policy was influenced by domestic political affairs .
On Friday , we saw reports leak that the administration was looking to take out another senior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the same day that they killed Suleimani .
The reports of an attack being imminent to defend the airstrike are looking pretty weak – especially since the administration doesn ’ t have a consistent definition of what the word “ imminent ” means and they can ’ t share details .
These leaks are also coming out shortly after Nancy Pelosi has announced that she will deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week which seems too well-timed to be coincidence .
We could be seeing Trump ’ s reckless attack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ days to come .

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Since Donald Trump is one of the least popular presidents in modern history, many people were anxious since day one that he might start a war to boost his own popularity. The reality is that the so-called “rally round the flag” effect is generally a short-lived one. President George HW Bush did see a considerable jump in his approval ratings following the First Gulf War, but lost his bid for re-election a year later. Even Winston Churchill, remembered fondly for leading Great Britain through World War II, was voted out of office shortly after the war was finished.
That said, the idea of someone as impulsive and tactically clueless as Trump leading the country into war, especially under false pretenses, should rightfully concern people. So when the administration targeted Gen. Suleimani last week, many suspected he was either looking to provoke a war with Iran to prop up his re-election odds or to distract from his own impeachment.
Now, a new report by The Wall Street Journal suggests that this is pretty close to why Trump plotted his move. In some ways, it’s worse because Trump was caving to Republican senators who have long dreamed of military action in Iran, if we’re to believe the words of a foreign policy adviser who spoke to the press. This suggests that a few senators were considering witnesses at Trump’s senate trial and that by ordering the airstrikes, Trump was catering to a few of them – suggesting his foreign policy was influenced by domestic political affairs.
On Friday, we saw reports leak that the administration was looking to take out another senior Iranian military commander in Yemen, on the same day that they killed Suleimani. The reports of an attack being imminent to defend the airstrike are looking pretty weak – especially since the administration doesn’t have a consistent definition of what the word “imminent” means and they can’t share details. These leaks are also coming out shortly after Nancy Pelosi has announced that she will deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week which seems too well-timed to be coincidence. We could be seeing Trump’s reckless attack turn into a full-fledged scandal in the days to come.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-11--What the heck did Donald Trump just do?

What the heck did Donald Trump just do?

Over the past week , the rate of decline of Donald Trump ’ s mental faculties has begun to rapidly accelerate .
He makes up stories about embassies .
He mispronounces every other word .
He brags about how foreign countries are paying him .
He rambles about how his entire paycheck is going to drugs .
But what Trump did today was new , even for him .
By now we ’ re all familiar with Donald Trump ’ s pattern of making up fake approval rating numbers for himself .
For instance he routinely claims his approval rating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but he doesn ’ t bother to cite any specific poll , and of course no such poll exists .
Trump also loves to quote his overall approval rating from the Rasmussen poll , even though it ’ s widely discredited .
This morning Trump did something different .
Here ’ s what he tweeted : That ’ s right , he made up a fake 53 % approval rating for himself , and then complained that it ’ s not higher .
To be clear , he ’ s not even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at last count has him at 48 % ( legitimate polls all have that number even lower ) .
Donald Trump has now declined to the point where he ’ s making up fake numbers and then complaining about them .
How long before he stands in front of the television cameras and starts punching himself or something ?

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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Over the past week, the rate of decline of Donald Trump’s mental faculties has begun to rapidly accelerate. He makes up stories about embassies. He mispronounces every other word. He brags about how foreign countries are paying him. He rambles about how his entire paycheck is going to drugs. But what Trump did today was new, even for him.
By now we’re all familiar with Donald Trump’s pattern of making up fake approval rating numbers for himself. For instance he routinely claims his approval rating within the Republican Party is 95%, but he doesn’t bother to cite any specific poll, and of course no such poll exists. Trump also loves to quote his overall approval rating from the Rasmussen poll, even though it’s widely discredited. This morning Trump did something different. Here’s what he tweeted:
95% Approval Rating in the Republican Party, a record. 53% Approval Rating overall (can we add 7 to 10 percent because of the Trump “thing?”). Thank you!
That’s right, he made up a fake 53% approval rating for himself, and then complained that it’s not higher. To be clear, he’s not even quoting Rasmussen this time around, which at last count has him at 48% (legitimate polls all have that number even lower). Donald Trump has now declined to the point where he’s making up fake numbers and then complaining about them. How long before he stands in front of the television cameras and starts punching himself or something?
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-11--Everyone piles on after Donald Trump goes completely berserk about a “Trump wall”

What the hell is a Trump wall ?
That ’ s the question everyone is asking , now that Donald Trump has begun bragging about a “ powerful Trump wall ” that looks a lot like a fence to the rest of us .
Everyone started piling on after Trump tweeted this nonsense : The powerful Trump Wall is replacing porous , useless and ineffective barriers in the high traffic areas requested by Border Patrol .
Illegal crossing are dropping as more and more Wall is being completed !
Trump didn ’ t help his cause by including a picture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not a wall .
Respondents began pointing out that Mexico was supposed to pay for the wall , and that no wall is actually being built .
Even Trump ’ s sometimes-ally Ann Coulter began ragging on Trump for the fact that only a couple miles of “ wall ” have been built , which tells you all you need to know .
Others pointed out that the words “ crossing are dropping ” don ’ t go together , and there ’ s buzz that Trump ’ s Border Patrol Chief is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is still babbling about fake approval rating numbers , fake threats against U.S. embassies , and a bunch of gibberish we can ’ t even parse .

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What the hell is a Trump wall? That’s the question everyone is asking, now that Donald Trump has begun bragging about a “powerful Trump wall” that looks a lot like a fence to the rest of us. Everyone started piling on after Trump tweeted this nonsense:
The powerful Trump Wall is replacing porous, useless and ineffective barriers in the high traffic areas requested by Border Patrol. Illegal crossing are dropping as more and more Wall is being completed!
Trump didn’t help his cause by including a picture of what is definitely a fence and not a wall. Respondents began pointing out that Mexico was supposed to pay for the wall, and that no wall is actually being built. Even Trump’s sometimes-ally Ann Coulter began ragging on Trump for the fact that only a couple miles of “wall” have been built, which tells you all you need to know.
Others pointed out that the words “crossing are dropping” don’t go together, and there’s buzz that Trump’s Border Patrol Chief is preparing to resign. Meanwhile, Trump is still babbling about fake approval rating numbers, fake threats against U.S. embassies, and a bunch of gibberish we can’t even parse.
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palmerreport--2020-01-11--Susan Collins is full of it

Susan Collins is full of it

Sen. Susan Collins is at it again with a new get-your-hopes-up stunt , telling reporters on Friday that she is speaking with “ a fairly small group ” of Republican senators about allowing witnesses at Donald Trump ’ s impeachment trial .
The problem is , the only reliable thing about Collins is her unreliability .
Collins likes to present herself as some thoughtful , reasonable moderate who will stand up to Trump , but we know she will almost certainly disappoint .
Fortunately , although voting is several months away , Collins ’ recent reelection campaign announcement is already @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ensure she does not get elected to a fifth term in November .
Majority Forward , a not-for-profit organization that works with Senate Majority PAC , launched a six-figure TV and digital ad campaign across Maine this week .
In the ad , titled “ Half Measures , ” Majority Forward calls out Collins for voting against measures that would have lowered the cost of prescription drugs , pointing out that she meanwhile “ raked in $ 1.4 million ” from drug and insurance companies .
As the ad states simply , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ donors.
” Also this week , the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ( DSCC ) launched a new Web site , whatchangedsusan.com , aimed at exposing Collins ’ hypocrisy , contrasting her statements about Trump ’ s impeachment trial with those she made ahead of President Bill Clinton ’ s trial .
The site accuses Collins of once being “ outspoken in her support of a fair process , including witnesses and evidence ” while refusing to demand the same now that Trump is on the hot seat .
As the site points out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secret meeting with other GOP senators about witnesses comes up short .
Last week , Collins told Maine Public Radio that she is “ open to witnesses ” only to immediately insist it is “ premature ” to make any witness decisions until well after the trial begins .
Although Collins did tell reporters on Monday that former National Security Advisor John Bolton would “ certainly be one ” of the witnesses who would , at least , be “ appropriate for Stage 3 ” of Trump ’ s trial , she failed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News ’ Laura Ingraham on Friday that he would invoke executive privilege to prevent Bolton ’ s testimony altogether .
For three years , Susan Collins has performed the same faux-resistance routine .
Whether it ’ s about Kavanaugh ’ s Supreme Court nomination or Trump ’ s impeachment trial , Collins has proven herself to be a master of displaying great concern only to enable Trump bigly in the end .
It is time to close the curtain on this tired act .
Maine needs a thunderous blue wave to grace its @ @ @ @ @

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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Sen. Susan Collins is at it again with a new get-your-hopes-up stunt, telling reporters on Friday that she is speaking with “a fairly small group” of Republican senators about allowing witnesses at Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. The problem is, the only reliable thing about Collins is her unreliability. Collins likes to present herself as some thoughtful, reasonable moderate who will stand up to Trump, but we know she will almost certainly disappoint. Fortunately, although voting is several months away, Collins’ recent reelection campaign announcement is already leading people to step up efforts to ensure she does not get elected to a fifth term in November.
Majority Forward, a not-for-profit organization that works with Senate Majority PAC, launched a six-figure TV and digital ad campaign across Maine this week. In the ad, titled “Half Measures,” Majority Forward calls out Collins for voting against measures that would have lowered the cost of prescription drugs, pointing out that she meanwhile “raked in $1.4 million” from drug and insurance companies. As the ad states simply, “Collins should work for Mainers, not donors.”
Also this week, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) launched a new Web site, whatchangedsusan.com, aimed at exposing Collins’ hypocrisy, contrasting her statements about Trump’s impeachment trial with those she made ahead of President Bill Clinton’s trial. The site accuses Collins of once being “outspoken in her support of a fair process, including witnesses and evidence” while refusing to demand the same now that Trump is on the hot seat.
As the site points out, even Collins’ talk of this secret meeting with other GOP senators about witnesses comes up short. Last week, Collins told Maine Public Radio that she is “open to witnesses” only to immediately insist it is “premature” to make any witness decisions until well after the trial begins. Although Collins did tell reporters on Monday that former National Security Advisor John Bolton would “certainly be one” of the witnesses who would, at least, be “appropriate for Stage 3” of Trump’s trial, she failed to speak up after Trump told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on Friday that he would invoke executive privilege to prevent Bolton’s testimony altogether.
For three years, Susan Collins has performed the same faux-resistance routine. Whether it’s about Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination or Trump’s impeachment trial, Collins has proven herself to be a master of displaying great concern only to enable Trump bigly in the end. It is time to close the curtain on this tired act. Maine needs a thunderous blue wave to grace its rocky shores this November.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


GENIUS

We ’ ve all spent the past week watching the accelerating decline of Donald Trump ’ s cognitive abilities .
He can ’ t read a speech off a teleprompter without seemingly mispronouncing every third word .
He ’ s so far from coherency , he unwittingly announced that he spends his entire salary on drugs .
He no longer has any understanding of what he ’ s saying .
If your older relative were acting like this , you ’ d be trying to get him into an assisted living facility .
Trump has been in decline for awhile @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accelerating at light speed , the question is just how depleted his cognitive abilities are going to get before the election – and whether his handlers will be able to hide the worst of it .
This brings us to a bizarre new report about how Trump supposedly no longer recognizes the alphabet .
According to Vanity Fair , Republican pollster Frank Luntz is now claiming that Donald J. Trump recently told him that the “ J ” stands for “ Genius.
” Luntz would gain nothing by making up a story like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the moment that it ’ s true .
If someone else were claiming that their middle initial “ J ” stood for “ Genius , ” we ’ d think the person was just trying to be funny .
But we all know that Trump doesn ’ t have a sense of humor , doesn ’ t make jokes , and certainly wouldn ’ t make the self deprecating move of pretending he doesn ’ t know how to spell “ genius.
” So this leaves us with a rather odd question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he now truly thinks it ’ s spelled jenius ?
We ’ ve all seen on Twitter that the guy can ’ t spell worth a darn .
But jenius ?
Really ?
Is he that far gone ?
Does he even still know that the “ J ” stands for John ?
This kind of thing is worth watching , considering the rate of Trump ’ s overall cognitive decline .
Something is very wrong here .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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We’ve all spent the past week watching the accelerating decline of Donald Trump’s cognitive abilities. He can’t read a speech off a teleprompter without seemingly mispronouncing every third word. He’s so far from coherency, he unwittingly announced that he spends his entire salary on drugs. He no longer has any understanding of what he’s saying. If your older relative were acting like this, you’d be trying to get him into an assisted living facility.
Trump has been in decline for awhile, but now that it’s accelerating at light speed, the question is just how depleted his cognitive abilities are going to get before the election – and whether his handlers will be able to hide the worst of it. This brings us to a bizarre new report about how Trump supposedly no longer recognizes the alphabet.
According to Vanity Fair, Republican pollster Frank Luntz is now claiming that Donald J. Trump recently told him that the “J” stands for “Genius.” Luntz would gain nothing by making up a story like this, so let’s presume for the moment that it’s true. If someone else were claiming that their middle initial “J” stood for “Genius,” we’d think the person was just trying to be funny. But we all know that Trump doesn’t have a sense of humor, doesn’t make jokes, and certainly wouldn’t make the self deprecating move of pretending he doesn’t know how to spell “genius.”
So this leaves us with a rather odd question: is Donald Trump so far gone that he now truly thinks it’s spelled jenius? We’ve all seen on Twitter that the guy can’t spell worth a darn. But jenius? Really? Is he that far gone? Does he even still know that the “J” stands for John? This kind of thing is worth watching, considering the rate of Trump’s overall cognitive decline. Something is very wrong here.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-11--Here we go again

Here we go again

Donald Trump just got impeached for having tried to illegally extort Ukraine into helping him rig the 2020 election against Joe Biden , in a plot that everyone suspects leads back to Vladimir Putin .
Now that the whole thing has blown up in Trump ’ s face , it turns out the Kremlin is trying a new tack for helping Trump cheat against Biden .
The United States intelligence committee is now investigating a Kremlin scheme to spread lies about Joe Biden in relation to the 2020 election , according to a startling yet unsurprising new report from Bloomberg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Kremlin spread lies about Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election to try to help Donald Trump .
The key difference this time around is that the media is reporting about how the Kremlin is making up fake Joe Biden scandals , whereas in 2016 the media largely pretended that the Kremlin ’ s fake Hillary Clinton scandals were real .
So that alone represents progress , and it means that the Kremlin ’ s scheming is less likely to work this time .
What ’ s remarkable is that the Democrats don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Joe Biden is currently at least nine points ahead of every other Democratic candidate in the latest average of national polling , but not a single primary vote has been cast yet .
Donald Trump and the Kremlin are going this far out of their way , this early , to try to take down the Democratic frontrunner .
It shows that Trump and Putin know darn well that Trump is far too toxically unpopular to compete in the 2020 election of his own accord .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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Donald Trump just got impeached for having tried to illegally extort Ukraine into helping him rig the 2020 election against Joe Biden, in a plot that everyone suspects leads back to Vladimir Putin. Now that the whole thing has blown up in Trump’s face, it turns out the Kremlin is trying a new tack for helping Trump cheat against Biden.
The United States intelligence committee is now investigating a Kremlin scheme to spread lies about Joe Biden in relation to the 2020 election, according to a startling yet unsurprising new report from Bloomberg. This is strikingly similar to how the Kremlin spread lies about Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election to try to help Donald Trump.
The key difference this time around is that the media is reporting about how the Kremlin is making up fake Joe Biden scandals, whereas in 2016 the media largely pretended that the Kremlin’s fake Hillary Clinton scandals were real. So that alone represents progress, and it means that the Kremlin’s scheming is less likely to work this time.
What’s remarkable is that the Democrats don’t even have a nominee yet. Joe Biden is currently at least nine points ahead of every other Democratic candidate in the latest average of national polling, but not a single primary vote has been cast yet. Donald Trump and the Kremlin are going this far out of their way, this early, to try to take down the Democratic frontrunner. It shows that Trump and Putin know darn well that Trump is far too toxically unpopular to compete in the 2020 election of his own accord.
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palmerreport--2020-01-11--Donald Trump is in complete freefall

Donald Trump is in complete freefall

Donald Trump has reached a point where he ’ s having a hard time even appearing coherent in public , making us all dread what his State of the Union will be like when he gives it next month .
It ’ s hard enough to keep up appearances , nevermind run for re-election , but this has really been the only thing Trump has spent his presidency doing .
Aside from helping to line his own pockets , his presidency is not going very well for him .
Polls consistently show him losing to each of the major Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the swing states that he needs to retain if he ’ s to have any hope at being re-elected .
Trump won Wisconsin by just 25,000 votes back in 2016 , but he may not be so fortunate the next time around .
Under his watch , the state best known for its dairy lost 10 % of its dairy farms last year , the biggest loss in the history of the state .
Even worse is that these losses are directly attributable to the administration ’ s trade war with China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exports in half .
While the administration offered a bailout to reimburse farms for the damage , the money isn ’ t coming close to making up what the dairy farmers are losing .
As Palmer Report mentioned in a previous story , this is a problem for farmers throughout the Midwest , who are also not being effectively reimbursed , with funds being poorly distributed .
The number of farms shutting down is likely only to increase as election season heats up , decreasing the likelihood that these farmers will continue to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump can ’ t afford to lose any of his rural voters if he wants to keep Wisconsin .
Even worse is that with the Democratic National Convention taking place in Milwaukee this summer , much of the media as well as the party will be focusing on the state and its most pressing issues , meaning we ’ ll likely hear about how Trump failed them well into the summer months .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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Donald Trump has reached a point where he’s having a hard time even appearing coherent in public, making us all dread what his State of the Union will be like when he gives it next month. It’s hard enough to keep up appearances, nevermind run for re-election, but this has really been the only thing Trump has spent his presidency doing. Aside from helping to line his own pockets, his presidency is not going very well for him. Polls consistently show him losing to each of the major Democratic candidates in a potential matchup, particularly in the swing states that he needs to retain if he’s to have any hope at being re-elected.
Trump won Wisconsin by just 25,000 votes back in 2016, but he may not be so fortunate the next time around. Under his watch, the state best known for its dairy lost 10% of its dairy farms last year, the biggest loss in the history of the state. Even worse is that these losses are directly attributable to the administration’s trade war with China, which cut Wisconsin’s dairy exports in half. While the administration offered a bailout to reimburse farms for the damage, the money isn’t coming close to making up what the dairy farmers are losing. As Palmer Report mentioned in a previous story, this is a problem for farmers throughout the Midwest, who are also not being effectively reimbursed, with funds being poorly distributed.
The number of farms shutting down is likely only to increase as election season heats up, decreasing the likelihood that these farmers will continue to stand by Trump for re-election, and Trump can’t afford to lose any of his rural voters if he wants to keep Wisconsin. Even worse is that with the Democratic National Convention taking place in Milwaukee this summer, much of the media as well as the party will be focusing on the state and its most pressing issues, meaning we’ll likely hear about how Trump failed them well into the summer months.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-11--Another one bites the dust

Another one bites the dust

Donald Trump isn ’ t going to stop coming up with new plans to try to put himself into contention for 2020 .
The trouble for him is that each time one of his plans fails , he has to resort to trying an even more ridiculous plan , whose odds of working are even more remote .
Now another one of Trump ’ s increasingly dumb plans has bitten the dust .
Trump ’ s Plan A was to conspire with Ukraine to rig the election .
When that didn ’ t work , Plan B was to use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That didn ’ t work either , so Plan C was to force the DOJ Inspector General to announce that the FBI framed his campaign .
That obviously went nowhere , so Plan D was to assassinate Iran ’ s Soleimani , and hope it would somehow boost his poll numbers .
That obviously hasn ’ t worked either , and now Iran has turned into yet another ugly scandal for Trump .
But that ’ s okay , because Plan E was waiting in the wings .
It consisted of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hillary Clinton ’ s emails .
Apparently , in Trump ’ s mind , the DOJ was going to find that Hillary somehow did something wrong with her emails , when we all know by now that it was an overwhelmingly fake scandal .
It ’ s not clear how this was supposed to magically help Donald Trump in 2020 , as Hillary isn ’ t even running this time .
But it is clear that , after a two-plus year investigation , Trump ’ s own DOJ has found that Hillary did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thus “ Plan E ” goes down the drain , as another one bites the dust .
The kicker is that Trump and Bill Barr couldn ’ t even force their own DOJ to put out a falsified report .
We can ’ t wait to see what Trump ’ s “ Plan F ” looks like .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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Donald Trump isn’t going to stop coming up with new plans to try to put himself into contention for 2020. The trouble for him is that each time one of his plans fails, he has to resort to trying an even more ridiculous plan, whose odds of working are even more remote. Now another one of Trump’s increasingly dumb plans has bitten the dust.
Trump’s Plan A was to conspire with Ukraine to rig the election. When that didn’t work, Plan B was to use his impeachment to somehow become more popular. That didn’t work either, so Plan C was to force the DOJ Inspector General to announce that the FBI framed his campaign. That obviously went nowhere, so Plan D was to assassinate Iran’s Soleimani, and hope it would somehow boost his poll numbers.
That obviously hasn’t worked either, and now Iran has turned into yet another ugly scandal for Trump. But that’s okay, because Plan E was waiting in the wings. It consisted of the DOJ investigating – wait for it – Hillary Clinton’s emails. Apparently, in Trump’s mind, the DOJ was going to find that Hillary somehow did something wrong with her emails, when we all know by now that it was an overwhelmingly fake scandal.
It’s not clear how this was supposed to magically help Donald Trump in 2020, as Hillary isn’t even running this time. But it is clear that, after a two-plus year investigation, Trump’s own DOJ has found that Hillary did nothing wrong with her emails. And thus “Plan E” goes down the drain, as another one bites the dust. The kicker is that Trump and Bill Barr couldn’t even force their own DOJ to put out a falsified report. We can’t wait to see what Trump’s “Plan F” looks like.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-12--Rudy Giuliani just reached the Mad Magazine stage of his downfall

“ The Supreme Court should step in and rule this impeachment unconstitutional , to prevent a precedent from forming.
” It sounds almost like an old Mad Magazine parody , especially the second part , but naturally , this is coming from Rudy Giuliani ’ s Twitter account .
He promised a trip to Ukraine that would require two airplane seats to carry his treasure trove of documents implicating Joe Biden in a new scandal , but instead came back with a demented Twitter screed .
We ’ re probably fortunate ( and so is he ) that this is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ news interview that could only serve to further humiliate Rudy .
He argues that the current impeachment effort is actually about impeaching for policy differences or political leverage , which isn ’ t too far off from the popular Republican talking points for just about every Trump scandal .
This is of course , ridiculous , because the House not only turned down impeachment over the Russia probe despite all signs saying the probe should ’ ve pushed deeper , they didn ’ t impeach over the government shutdown which rapidly killed Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 2017 tax cuts that set out to punish the states who tend to vote Democratic .
Since Donald Trump ’ s impeachment trial is still underway , Giuliani thinks that it ’ s up to the Supreme Court Republicans have stacked to come to Trump ’ s rescue .
Despite impeachment being specifically outlined in the Constitution as a remedy for those who commit crimes in executive office , Rudy claims that Congress is abusing the Constitutional separation of powers , so he ’ s asking that the process be stopped by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already ruled that it can not interfere in the impeachment process .
Naturally , the legal experts on Twitter have rightfully called him out for not having a leg to stand on , with Cornell law professor Josh Chafetz daring him to take this up to the Supreme Court .
Of course , he won ’ t and he ’ s probably only made things worse for Trump arguing this at a time when Chief Justice Roberts is determined to keep the court from appearing partisan .
The fact is , the president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his rope – ranting is all he has left .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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“The Supreme Court should step in and rule this impeachment unconstitutional, to prevent a precedent from forming.” It sounds almost like an old Mad Magazine parody, especially the second part, but naturally, this is coming from Rudy Giuliani’s Twitter account. He promised a trip to Ukraine that would require two airplane seats to carry his treasure trove of documents implicating Joe Biden in a new scandal, but instead came back with a demented Twitter screed. We’re probably fortunate (and so is he) that this is all on Twitter and not some cable news interview that could only serve to further humiliate Rudy.
He argues that the current impeachment effort is actually about impeaching for policy differences or political leverage, which isn’t too far off from the popular Republican talking points for just about every Trump scandal. This is of course, ridiculous, because the House not only turned down impeachment over the Russia probe despite all signs saying the probe should’ve pushed deeper, they didn’t impeach over the government shutdown which rapidly killed Trump’s approval rating, nor over the 2017 tax cuts that set out to punish the states who tend to vote Democratic.
Since Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is still underway, Giuliani thinks that it’s up to the Supreme Court Republicans have stacked to come to Trump’s rescue. Despite impeachment being specifically outlined in the Constitution as a remedy for those who commit crimes in executive office, Rudy claims that Congress is abusing the Constitutional separation of powers, so he’s asking that the process be stopped by another branch of the government, which already ruled that it cannot interfere in the impeachment process.
Naturally, the legal experts on Twitter have rightfully called him out for not having a leg to stand on, with Cornell law professor Josh Chafetz daring him to take this up to the Supreme Court. Of course, he won’t and he’s probably only made things worse for Trump arguing this at a time when Chief Justice Roberts is determined to keep the court from appearing partisan. The fact is, the president’s attorney is at the end of his rope – ranting is all he has left.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-12--Donald Trump just screwed up and confessed to taking a billion dollar Saudi bribe

As the rate of Donald Trump ’ s cognitive collapse continues to accelerate , one of the big risks for him is blurting out his own dirty secrets .
For instance , Trump appeared on the Laura Ingraham show on Fox News last night and confessed to having taken a billion dollar bribe from Saudi Arabia – something he surely wasn ’ t supposed to let out of the bag .
Donald Trump was trying to brag about how he only allows the U.S. military to be used by foreign governments if those governments pay for the privilege .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this is something to brag about to begin with , but here ’ s the thing .
We all know Trump couldn ’ t care less about steering money into U.S. government coffers , because he only cares about personally enriching himself .
So when Trump said last night that Saudi Arabia has “ already deposited a billion dollars in the bank ” in exchange for the use of the U.S. military , what bank is he talking about ?
He ’ s clearly not talking about the U.S. Treasury .
Instead he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Saudi Arabian government has deposited a billion dollars into his bank account , as a personal bribe for letting the Saudis order the U.S. military around in the region .
Donald Trump is making this too easy .
Not only did he just confess to taking a billion dollar Saudi bribe , he just told the media and the New York Attorney General to start poking around and figure out which of Trump ’ s bank accounts this money was deposited into .
Trump is now at a point of decline where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public at all , for his own good – but his remaining handlers aren ’ t going to convince him to stop talking and giving things away .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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As the rate of Donald Trump’s cognitive collapse continues to accelerate, one of the big risks for him is blurting out his own dirty secrets. For instance, Trump appeared on the Laura Ingraham show on Fox News last night and confessed to having taken a billion dollar bribe from Saudi Arabia – something he surely wasn’t supposed to let out of the bag.
Donald Trump was trying to brag about how he only allows the U.S. military to be used by foreign governments if those governments pay for the privilege. It’s not clear why he thinks this is something to brag about to begin with, but here’s the thing. We all know Trump couldn’t care less about steering money into U.S. government coffers, because he only cares about personally enriching himself.
So when Trump said last night that Saudi Arabia has “already deposited a billion dollars in the bank” in exchange for the use of the U.S. military, what bank is he talking about? He’s clearly not talking about the U.S. Treasury. Instead he very much appears to be confessing that the Saudi Arabian government has deposited a billion dollars into his bank account, as a personal bribe for letting the Saudis order the U.S. military around in the region.
Donald Trump is making this too easy. Not only did he just confess to taking a billion dollar Saudi bribe, he just told the media and the New York Attorney General to start poking around and figure out which of Trump’s bank accounts this money was deposited into. Trump is now at a point of decline where he shouldn’t be speaking in public at all, for his own good – but his remaining handlers aren’t going to convince him to stop talking and giving things away.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-12--Donald Trump just inched himself closer to ouster

By the day , it looks like Donald Trump ’ s Iran disaster is pushing him closer to ouster .
Of course , Trump ’ s Articles of Impeachment have nothing to do with Iran , but the way Trump has so irritated Republican members of the Senate with his handling of the situation , it ’ s creating excellent fodder to justify a Senate conviction .
Most notably , Senator Mike Lee of Utah made headlines this past Wednesday for speaking to reporters in no uncertain terms about his thoughts on the Trump administration ’ s treatment of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new one .
Senator Lee ’ s castigation comes from a place of reason .
The Senate is entitled to be debriefed on matters exactly like the ones that have concerned Iran the past couple weeks .
I ’ ll let the Washington Post explain the source of Senator Lee ’ s frustration in more detail : Lee , echoing the complaints of many Democrats , blasted the briefing on the intelligence behind the assassination as the ‘ worst ’ he ’ d ever seen .
He also fumed that officials refused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in which they would come to Congress for authorization for future military hostilities against Iran .
The article then goes on to quote an NPR interview in which Senator Lee reveals more deeply troubling information regarding the briefing the senators were given : As I recall , one of my colleagues asked a hypothetical involving the Supreme Leader of Iran : If at that point , the United States government decided that it wanted to undertake a strike against him personally , recognizing that he would be a threat to the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use of military force ?
The fact that there was nothing but a refusal to answer that question was perhaps the most deeply upsetting thing to me in that meeting .
This is exactly the kind of chaos and uncertainty that Trump loves .
This is exactly the kind of chaos and uncertainty that Senators hate .
Trump is , incrementally , justifying his ouster by creating serious animosity among the last meaningful group of people in Washington who can keep him afloat .
The administration ’ s refusal to answer a question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is harrowing .
There is little doubt that such a move would lead to all-out war , and possibly not just with Iran .
Such a decision would be not just unnecessary , crass , or stupid , but violently selfish , destructive , and hateful .
Republican Senators , since day one , have been wishing Trump would just be stable , but with their heretofore acquiescence , he ’ s brought the nation , and perhaps the world , to the brink of war .
This is an excellent reason , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to justify ouster .
Let ’ s hope they realize the consequences of keeping Trump around and vote accordingly .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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By the day, it looks like Donald Trump’s Iran disaster is pushing him closer to ouster. Of course, Trump’s Articles of Impeachment have nothing to do with Iran, but the way Trump has so irritated Republican members of the Senate with his handling of the situation, it’s creating excellent fodder to justify a Senate conviction.
Most notably, Senator Mike Lee of Utah made headlines this past Wednesday for speaking to reporters in no uncertain terms about his thoughts on the Trump administration’s treatment of the Iran disaster: he absolutely ripped them a new one. Senator Lee’s castigation comes from a place of reason. The Senate is entitled to be debriefed on matters exactly like the ones that have concerned Iran the past couple weeks. I’ll let the Washington Post explain the source of Senator Lee’s frustration in more detail:
Lee, echoing the complaints of many Democrats, blasted the briefing on the intelligence behind the assassination as the ‘worst’ he’d ever seen. He also fumed that officials refused to acknowledge any ‘hypothetical’ situations in which they would come to Congress for authorization for future military hostilities against Iran.
The article then goes on to quote an NPR interview in which Senator Lee reveals more deeply troubling information regarding the briefing the senators were given:
As I recall, one of my colleagues asked a hypothetical involving the Supreme Leader of Iran: If at that point, the United States government decided that it wanted to undertake a strike against him personally, recognizing that he would be a threat to the United States, would that require authorization for the use of military force? The fact that there was nothing but a refusal to answer that question was perhaps the most deeply upsetting thing to me in that meeting.
This is exactly the kind of chaos and uncertainty that Trump loves. This is exactly the kind of chaos and uncertainty that Senators hate. Trump is, incrementally, justifying his ouster by creating serious animosity among the last meaningful group of people in Washington who can keep him afloat.
The administration’s refusal to answer a question about the possibility of assassinating the Ayatollah is harrowing. There is little doubt that such a move would lead to all-out war, and possibly not just with Iran. Such a decision would be not just unnecessary, crass, or stupid, but violently selfish, destructive, and hateful. Republican Senators, since day one, have been wishing Trump would just be stable, but with their heretofore acquiescence, he’s brought the nation, and perhaps the world, to the brink of war.
This is an excellent reason, a virtual godsend, for Republican Senators to justify ouster. Let’s hope they realize the consequences of keeping Trump around and vote accordingly.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.


palmerreport--2020-01-13--Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense Mark Esper just completely blew it

Now that Donald Trump ’ s assassination of Iranian leader Soleimani has blown up in his face and caused most Americans to conclude that the move has made us all less safe , Trump is desperate to convince us that he had a good reason for doing it .
He and his surrogates keep insisting that there was intel that Soleimani was about to launch an “ imminent ” attack on one or more U.S. embassies .
The trouble : none of them can even get their stories straight .
The Trump regime ’ s premise this week has been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough times about an imminent attack , it won ’ t matter that no evidence can be provided that any such attack was about to happen .
Donald Trump keeps screwing that up by changing his story each time he addresses it .
First there was supposedly an imminent attack coming against the U.S. embassy in Baghdad .
Then there was supposedly an imminent attack coming against four U.S. embassies .
Even as Trump has been botching this with his ever-worsening hyperbole , his handpicked Secretary of Defense Mark Esper went on television @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s mess .
Instead , when Esper appeared on CNN and CBS News this morning , he admitted that no specific intel existed about an imminent attack , and that he and Trump simply “ believed that it probably and could ’ ve been attacks against additional embassies.
” Nevermind that those words don ’ t even really go together ; Esper just screwed up and admitted that there was no intel .
In other words , Donald Trump decided on a whim to take out Soleimani , and it didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and his White House made up a fake story about an imminent attack , which Trump ’ s Secretary of Defense is now admitting was a lie .
Esper ’ s job was to fix this mess for Trump .
Instead he ’ s made it even worse for Trump , and ensured that this will become an uglier scandal for Trump in the coming week .

Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support Palmer Report's 2024 efforts by donating now.
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Now that Donald Trump’s assassination of Iranian leader Soleimani has blown up in his face and caused most Americans to conclude that the move has made us all less safe, Trump is desperate to convince us that he had a good reason for doing it. He and his surrogates keep insisting that there was intel that Soleimani was about to launch an “imminent” attack on one or more U.S. embassies. The trouble: none of them can even get their stories straight.
The Trump regime’s premise this week has been that if enough voices repeated the lie enough times about an imminent attack, it won’t matter that no evidence can be provided that any such attack was about to happen. Donald Trump keeps screwing that up by changing his story each time he addresses it. First there was supposedly an imminent attack coming against the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. Then there was supposedly an imminent attack coming against four U.S. embassies.
Even as Trump has been botching this with his ever-worsening hyperbole, his handpicked Secretary of Defense Mark Esper went on television today to try to clean up Trump’s mess. Instead, when Esper appeared on CNN and CBS News this morning, he admitted that no specific intel existed about an imminent attack, and that he and Trump simply “believed that it probably and could’ve been attacks against additional embassies.” Nevermind that those words don’t even really go together; Esper just screwed up and admitted that there was no intel.
In other words, Donald Trump decided on a whim to take out Soleimani, and it didn’t play out well, so he and his White House made up a fake story about an imminent attack, which Trump’s Secretary of Defense is now admitting was a lie. Esper’s job was to fix this mess for Trump. Instead he’s made it even worse for Trump, and ensured that this will become an uglier scandal for Trump in the coming week.
Important note: Palmer Report has led the way in political analysis. Now we're gearing up to cover the 2024 election, up and down the ballot. Help support our 2024 efforts by donating now or sign up for our free mailing list.