Mainstream media bowing to Trump

Joe Scarborough [MSNBC host] went on a long, angry rant today about critics of his visit to Mar-a-Lago: “You can do two things at the same time - you can say he had fascist rhetoric and still go in and talk to him! You know why I do that? To get the read of the man. So I can come back here and tell you what the hell is going on! And give you context, insight and background!”

This comes the morning after frequent Morning Joe guest David Frum wrote an article in The Atlantic about getting kicked off the show yesterday for making a joke about Fox. He said that if Fox hosts were saying that Pete Hegseth had a drinking problem, then he must really have a drinking problem. Frum said he was then asked to leave the show while Joe & Mika read a statement on the air to Fox, since they said they know many people who work there and they should not be disparaged.

Mika: “I just want to say that there’s a lot of good people that work at Fox News who care about Pete Hegseth.”

Frum titled the article, ‘The Sound of Fear on Air'. He wrote that he believed Joe & Mika were too afraid of Trump and right-wingers to effectively do their job. Joe and Mika both went on lengthy rants in response to Frum’s article. It does seem like fear, paranoia, panic and circling the wagons is happening at Morning Joe.

George Conway on Frum’s article: “This is the most-read piece on theatlantic.com. It should be the most-read piece. You should all read it, even though it may make you sad.” Scarborough then also ripped George Conway for making this post recommending Frum’s column on air today.

  Meidas Touch

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 09:32 am:  And Fox, of course, is going even further...

And there it is

👀

Molly Jong-Fast asked George Conway today on her podcast if there is "going to be a change in George Conway's life."  He said, yes, maybe, in a tone of admission.  Is he finally going to divorce the Trumpist lying Kellyanne?

Enquiring minds want to know.

See how rumors start?

UPDATE 03/05/2023:  And there it is...

Oh, Snap!

The White House adviser Kellyanne Conway has announced she will be leaving Donald Trump’s administration at the end of August, citing the need to focus on her family.

  Guardian

Did George finally tell her, "It's him or me" ? Or maybe Trump told her that.

“Our four children are teens and tweens starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at least a few months,” she said.

“As millions of parents nationwide know, kids ‘doing school from home’ requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual as these times.

“This is completely my choice and my voice. In time, I will announce future plans. For now, and for my beloved children, it will be less drama, more mama.”

Conway described her time in the administration and previously with the 2016 campaign as “heady” and “humbling”.

There are a lot of adjectives I can think of for Kellyanne, but humble isn't one of them.

Her husband, George Conway, has also announced he is stepping down from his role at the Lincoln Project, which is working to defeat Trump in November.

Couples counseling at work?

The decisions by the Conways come a day after their 15-year-old daughter, Claudia, said on Twitter that she was seeking “emancipation”.

Whoa. Even better than couples counseling: a teenager who's divorcing you if you don't shape the fuck up.

Conway’s 15-year-old daughter Claudia is in the news for. She made headlines for taking her political differences with her family to the next level and "officially pushing for emancipation" in the wake of her mother's continuous support for President Donald Trump.

  Meaww

Ouch!

The liberal teen has been openly feuding with her parents on social media platforms like TikTok and Twitter for almost the entirety of this summer. Her posts are mostly about her parents for their conservative views, and at one point, Claudia also urged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to adopt her.

Double ouch!

“As for my dad, politically, we agree on absolutely nothing. we just both happen to have common sense when it comes to our current president. stop “stanning” him.”

[...]

She was quick to clarify the statement regarding her mom, according to Today.com. She tweeted, “Y’all love to twist everything. i’m not getting emancipated because of my mom’s job.. it is because of years of childhood trauma and abuse.”

Triple ouch!

So this may be the only instance of a political person stepping down to spend more time with family that's actually the real reason.

THIS is a 15-year-old girl? Certainly APPEARS to be needing attention.

Yeah, "compelling is not the right word," but good luck to you, child.

Indeed, they are quitting their jobs for her.  Or at least because of her.

So, we'll all be waiting to see if Kellyanne is still going to speak.

Also...

WAP, in case you don't know (like I didn't), is a song by Cardi B: Wet Ass Pussy.

Her Twitter account has lots of retweets of AOC and Ilhan Omar, and several of the Lincoln Project.

But...

I wonder why I haven't seen anything about this before.  It didn't seem to make it to mainstream.

Ah.  The New York Post rag.

Physically?

Ummm...no.  It was the TikTok kids who pwned his Tulsa rally that did it.

That was a reply to her mother's Twitter account.  Surely the Conways knew what was happening.

(And, where is Claudia getting her education?  "Suicidality"?)

Those are some pretty serious accusations she's been making.  It's hard to see it as "utmost respect".  And if it's not bashing, I wonder what would be?

Claudia has been screaming for attention.  Apparently, her parents' original solution was to take her phone away for a couple of weeks.

Perhaps not for the first time.  Revolutionize twitter?

“Hi Smelly Kelly! The rumors are true. I have been cured from my radical leftism,” Claudia said in a tongue-in-cheek TikTok video last week — after her parents supposedly booted her offline.

“And now I love Trump and I love our president.”

  NY Post

She kept to that not "speaking on" her family like a real politician.

Hopefully, now they're going to actually get serious and work with this child.

UPDATE 8/27:  Screw the daughter, Kellyanne went for it.

Love it when the elites feign concern for the workers

"Looks her nose down at you."

"...and...and...and...I resent..."

Boy, she's really worked up about those ivy leaguers.

And, by the way, THIS is Kellyanne's HUSBAND:

And that's not the first time he's made a remark that could be aimed at his wife.  I expect one day to read about their divorce.  Or why they haven't gotten one.

UPDATE:

George & Kellyanne: Politics' odd couple

[T]o celebrate the opening of impeachment proceedings against Donald J. Trump, Kathy Griffin posted a photo on Instagram of a party the writer Molly Jong-Fast hosted for boldface members of the Resistance at her Manhattan apartment in May. The photograph shows attendees including Griffin, E. Jean Carroll, Paul Krugman, and Philippe Reines. And then, off to the right, partially hiding behind Soledad O'Brien, but with a recognizable mop of dark hair and what seems to be a sheepish grin, is the unlikeliest Resistance hero of all: George Conway.

[...]

According to three sources close to George, his relationship with Kellyanne has, not surprisingly, become increasingly distant as impeachment has gained steam. “He tells people she’s in a cult,” a Republican who has spoken frequently with George told me. “It’s not going to get better until she’s cast out of the cult,” another person close to George said. Sources say George loves Kellyanne and wants the marriage to survive. He’s told people that if Kellyanne leaves the White House, they can make it work, a friend of George’s told me. “He’s going through a tough time,” a friend said.

[...]

When he sees Kellyanne in Washington, they rarely talk about Trump, except for some “passive-aggressive digs,” a person familiar with the conversations told me.

[...]

Trump has blamed Kellyanne for giving her husband a platform to attack him. “George gets all his power from you,” Trump told her recently, according to a Republican briefed on the conversation.

  Vanity Fair

Sure, blame the woman. Kellyanne Conway is a harridan of the worst order, but she's not "giving" George a platform. Twitter is giving him that.

Multiple sources told me Jared Kushner has lobbied Trump to push Kellyanne out of the administration as a way of neutralizing George’s attacks.

That goes to show what an ignorant turd Kushner is. No wonder we haven't seen an actual Middle East peace plan. George will attack Trump whether Kellyanne works there or not. What control do they imagine she has over her husband?

A former West Wing official confirmed the tensions between Kellyanne and Kushner. The roots of their feud go back to the earliest days of the administration. “Kellyanne has complained that Jared has tried to do a number on her from day one,” the former official said. One source close to Kellyanne says Melania Trump remains a loyal ally and wants her to stay in the administration.

Setting up a conflict between Melania and Jared. Who will win that one?

Kellyanne’s frustration at being caught between the man she married and the man she works for was evident during a contentious CNN interview on Thursday morning. After Wolf Blitzer played a clip of George’s MSNBC appearance [where he said, “If you had told me three years ago it would come to this, I wouldn’t have believed this. I don’t think I could have imagined a president, any president, engaging in this sort of conduct,”] Kellyanne said: “What you just quoted is said every single day by other voices. But you wanted to put it in my husband’s voice, because you think somehow that that will help your ratings, or that you’re really sticking it to Kellyanne Conway.” She continued, “And let me be very clear: You didn’t stick it to Kellyanne Conway. I think you embarrassed yourself, and I’m embarrassed for you, because this is CNN now?”

"I could scratch your eyes out," she might have said later.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

To wit:  (or should I say, to twit?)

Holy shit, George, have you met your wife?!

Is George making a not-so-subtle statement to his wife?  Has he told her to his face?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Speaking of George Conway

More than a dozen prominent conservative lawyers, including George T. Conway III, offered their legal reasoning for an “expeditious” impeachment probe into President Trump, creating a document they hope will be read by Republicans who continue to stand by the president.

The 16 attorneys, many of whom worked in Republican administrations, wrote in a joint statement to be released Thursday morning that Trump’s now infamous call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the text messages between diplomats and Trump’s public call for China to investigate a political opponent are “undisputed” events that amount to Trump violating his oath of office.

[...]

Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and an outspoken Trump critic, helped form a coalition of like-minded conservatives a year ago who wanted to call out what they deemed illegal and unconstitutional behavior by the president. The signatories are members of that group, Checks and Balances.

[...]

“It strikes me that no reasonable attorney can doubt that there was a quid pro quo here,” said [Paul Rosenzweig, who served as President George W. Bush’s deputy assistant secretary for policy at the Department on Homeland Security], referring to Trump’s holding back military aid to Ukraine while requesting the country investigate former vice president Joe Biden.

“I would vote for impeachment, and I would vote for conviction and removal in the Senate as well,” Rosenzweig said.

[...]

“We believe it’s important there be a loyal opposition from the conservative side in defense of the rule of law,” [Stuart M. Gerson, who worked on President George H.W. Bush’s 1988 campaign and in his administration] said. “We feel duty-bound to be able to do it. What’s at risk here is more than our country should stand.”

“There comes a tipping point where you look at this and say, ‘My country first; the party comes second,’” he added.

  WaPo

That should not have to wait for a tipping point. That should underscore everything they do.

“I am disgusted by the conduct of Republican senators who pose as reputable people, but shamelessly hide under rocks instead of calling out the president’s horrendous behavior as the gross misconduct that they know it to be,” [Don Ayer, who served as deputy attorney general under President George H.W. Bush] said.

“But there aren’t that many people defending [Trump] in an affirmative way,” Ayer added. “There are a lot of people who put their heads down and don’t talk about it.”

Rosenzweig said the goal of the joint statement is to give Republicans “intellectual cover” to stand up with other conservatives and say, “the emperor has no clothes” and “do the right thing.”

They'll need to be struck by lightning before that happens.

The Republicans in Congress have “been a greater disappointment to me than Trump himself,” Rosenzweig said.

[...]

“Trump is Trump. His nature is his nature. He’s not any different than the person I knew he was going to be three years ago,” Rosenzweig said.

“But the people who I cannot hold any honor for are the Republicans. There’s lots of really smart Republicans who understand what’s at stake here. They are not stepping up and throwing a flag,” he continued. “They all know it’s wrong. They’re not idiots. They just need the courage, so if others say it first, perhaps that helps.”

I doubt it.  Those that had the courage have already gone.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

The exodus begins

Those who don't want to stay for the handing out of jail terms should be making their way to the exits.

Michael McKinley, a career diplomat and senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, has resigned his position amid rising dissatisfaction and plummeting morale inside the State Department over what is seen as Pompeo’s failure to support personnel ensnared in the Ukraine controversy.

A senior officer who has held a range of diplomatic posts, including ambassador to Afghanistan, Colombia and Peru, McKinley was serving as ambassador to Brazil last year when Pompeo recruited him as a policy adviser and a conduit between his office and the career service.

[...]

A person familiar with the situation said McKinley felt that Pompeo had been a positive force compared to his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, in terms of encouraging alternative views within the department, as well as lifting a Tillerson freeze on promotions and prohibitions against spouses working abroad.

Although he had no direct involvement with Ukraine, part of McKinley’s job involved taking the temperature of the building for Pompeo. Like many others, he was disappointed in the secretary’s lack of public support for diplomats who have been named in the Ukraine controversy and called to testify before House committees conducting the impeachment inquiry into the actions of Trump and his personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani.

Concern has been especially high for Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine whom Pompeo recalled from her post when a right-wing media campaign accused her of disloyalty.

  WaPo

She's scheduled for closed door testimony today.

In an interview with Preet Bharara, George Conway said anyone who doesn't need their job in the Trump administration because they can't find work elsewhere should quit. When Bharara tried to follow up on that about Conway's own wife, Conway cut him off curtly with a not-going-there statement, adding he's made himself clear. I assume that means he's including her in the people he thinks should quit. (That's one of the wierdest relationships I've seen.)  Here's the interview:

Mrs. Kellyanne Conway, yesterday

So far, he's spot on.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE:

Mr. Kellyanne Conway changed his Twitter banner

Dear George Conway, check your wife

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Mr. Kellyanne Conway unleashes his longest Trump response to date

Okay, that wasn't Mr. Kellyanne.  I just thought it was appropriate today.

Here's George:














And on that note, here's an interviewwith the man who was the FBI General Counsel when the Russian interference investigation that became the Mueller investigation began, should you care to check it out.

"On May 10, Brookings hosted a conversation between Jim Baker, former FBI General Counsel, and Senior Fellow Benjamin Wittes. They covered how the FBI thought about the Russia investigation in the fateful months both before and after the President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey."

..but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.