The news cycle today is going to be chewed up by NATO Allies weighing in on his comments last night, pretty much right up to Trump taking the stage (time differences can be a real bitch).
Even if Trump doesnāt say anything outlandish tonight, (which is highly doubtful), this interview is going to overshadow his acceptance speech. And while the political and global ramifications of the interview are far, FAR more troublesomeā¦even at a PR level, this is a disaster.
A tiny country thatās still watching āDragnetā thinks Trump is a buffoonā¦God help us.
Smoke that in your crackpipe, Grinch. I guess youāre as good at geography as you are history.
John Kerry is going to be very busy over the next 3 1/2 monthsā¦
Yeah, but they a bad job building the slot-machine cabinets, so screw 'em!
Odds on Trump reading a tightly written speech tonight or a wild rant to send the opposition candidate to jail.
From the NYT interview:
TRUMP: [I]f we are not going to be reasonably reimbursed for the tremendous cost of protecting these massive nations with tremendous wealth ā you have the tape going on?
SANGER: We do.
HABERMAN: We both do.
TRUMP: With massive wealth. Massive wealth. Weāre talking about countries that are doing very well. Then yes, I would be absolutely prepared to tell those countries, āCongratulations, you will be defending yourself.ā
Latvia.
Estonia.
Massive nations with tremendous wealth.
Republicans, I donāt care if Clinton actually DID everything you believe, come to your senses.
And Newt, the time to decide not to go to war for the Baltics was BEFORE DUBYA LET THEM INTO NATO!
I am leaning towards wild rant. A tightly written speech isnāt what his fans want to hear, they want āTrump t be Trumpā, and he has been on a bit of a leash for a few weeks now. I think he slips the collars and goes all out.
Trump views international relations the same way he views people - entirely disposable. As long as they show unabiding loyalty and fealty to him, itās all good. But if you have any expectations from him, forget about it. Loyalty is a one way street in Trumpville.
Ditto on rant.
[quote]HABERMAN: What do you think people will take away from this convention? What are you hoping?
TRUMP: From the convention? The fact that Iām very well liked. Look, I got more votes than anybody in the history of the Republican Party. Almost 14 million votes. I got 37 states. Kasich has one. As an example, Ted had, you know, not many. Thirty-seven states. Now, with the roll call, I had 44 states. It was 44 to seven and the seven was everybody else: 44 to seven. It was 44 to six because we are including the different islands. And when you are in that hall and you see those people, like yesterday, my daughter called up, she said, āDad, Iāve never seen it ā itās total love.ā[/quote]
Total disconnect from reality. Heās going full-on crazy.
But will they be able to fill the hall? Love to see one of those CSPAN-Special Orders style (lack-of) crowd shots like the nomination.
As a very minor point, the quote from Ivanka is actually pretty telling. She knows how to fluff him up, and thatās what she is doing to prepare him for his speechā¦feeding his ego and telling him that everyone loves him.
Its complete bullshitā¦I mean you literally had a guy on stage refuse to endorse you and calling for people NOT to vote for him. The Texas delegation is in full on melt down mode this morning after Cruz spoke to themā¦reports of tears, people accusing each other of being cowards. Its hardly a love fest.
And just to add to the spectacleā¦their apparently is an outbreak of a norovirus making its rounds on the floor. Though I am sure the CDC is having a hard time determining if its a virus or if people are just literally throwing up from watching these speeches.
The Clinton campaign must be giving each other high fives.
Yeah, Iām with you on that, daveyjones64, and you can bet that there will be plenty of slamming of the media for hurting Melaniaās fee fees. It would be a beautiful thing if that same media all started having ātechnical difficultiesā during his rant/speech and feeds were lost, one after the otherā¦
Trump: āThese nations must seek protection under Chapter 11, The USA canāt afford to protect themā
That may be. If so, sheās doing him no favors by feeding his delusions. Heās delusional enough that he imagines winning 44 state delegations full of diehard crazies predicts that he could win 44 states in the general. Thatās so far removed from reality that heād need one of Jeff Bezosā rocketships to get back.
Yup, and heāll bring the same empathy to the ālittle guyā here at home once elected. An epochal disaster, Nero redivius, if Nero had orange hair.
In between the high fives (and turning Donnie Dipstickās NYT interview into a whole slew of attack ads), they are putting the finishing touches on a convention that will be the textbook definition of the phrase, āa well-oiled machine.ā
Oh, and Mondayās speakers include FLOTUS (get the aloe out, Melania, youāre about to get burned), Bernie Sanders and a DREAMer. You can be assured their speeches have been triply-vetted. After next week, I expect Hillary to be up by a solid 10 percentage points.
Iām always ready to bet that Trump canāt find Ukraine or Syria on a map, but Newtās ignorance of middle school geography is more surprising. And Estonia, with a population of only 1.3 million - āmassive wealth?ā Itās astonishing that people who aspire to leadership of the free world can be so ignorant of basic facts.