Trump: Trojan, Traitor, or Tried and True?

By John Phelan (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I risked losing my fellow anti-establishment readers in September by suggesting Trump may be an establishment Trojan horse. After seeing Trump choose Pence as VP and a Goldman Sachs exec as campaign finance manager, I was concerned the establishment knew a citizen’s revolt was brewing and made sure that even the road to revolt led back to Rome. Now that we are seeing Trump make actual decisions, we can test that hypothesis.

Trump’s INSTANT reversal on major campaign promises

Trump has not simply backed off on some of his campaign promises, but has backed away from the promises that seemed to fire up his supporters the most. That he scaled the wall across the Mexican border down to a wall in some places and mere fences in others is, frankly, less significant than the main-stream media is playing it to be. If the border patrol thinks a fence will do as well as a wall in some places, why spend more money on a wall? Scaling down the wall could just be Trump, the pragmatist, applying common sense as he listens to the border patrol about their needs and seeks the most cost-effective solution. Trump is a pragmatist.

Of course, a wall was never the right solution in the first place IF Trump actually wants to stop illegal immigrants in a cost-effective manner from taking US jobs. Jailing the people who knowingly hire illegal immigrants (in addition to fining them) would end the problem in about a month at almost no cost, and the best part is that those who are illegal and couldn’t get work would find their own ride home (so long as you also cut off welfare). As for stopping terrorists and drug smugglers, the job of catching them becomes much easier once you stop the flood of illegal laborers that make up 95% of the total flow of illegal aliens — with or without a wall.

Much more problematic for Trump supporters is Trump’s rapid melting back from sending all illegal aliens back to their home countries to just sending back those that are criminals. Trump says that, at some later phase, his administration will evaluate who among the remaining illegals should also go; but even that clearly says he has no intention of sending all illegal aliens home.

That is a sea change from his campaign position because, apparently, it no longer matters if millions are here illegally for the sole purpose of taking jobs, so long as they are behaving themselves. Trump even tested this on one audience, after securing the Republican nomination, asking if they really want to see him break up good families and good workers if they’re behaving themselves; but the audience wasn’t receptive to the idea of just sending out the bad actors.

Trump strongly indicated in an interview on 60 Minutes as soon as he was elected that he is not inclined to lock Hillary up because he feels she needs time to heal from her loss. Isn’t that sweet? That is another overnight turnabout from constantly shouting that Hillary is crooked and stating that he would put her in jail if elected. Ain’t gonna happen. Apparently, she wasn’t THAT crooked:

Lesley Stahl: Are you going to ask for a special prosecutor to investigate Hillary Clinton over her emails? And are you, as you had said to her face, going to try and put her in jail?

Donald Trump: Well, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do, I’m going to think about it. Um, I feel that I want to focus on jobs, I want to focus on healthcare, I want to focus on the border and immigration and doing a really great immigration bill. We want to have a great immigration bill. And I want to focus on all of these other things that we’ve been talking about.

He’s going to think about it? I’m sorry but selecting a special prosecutor is how you stay focused on other things while letting the special prosecutor take on Hillary. Doesn’t that sound an awful lot like President Obama at the beginning of his reign when asked what he was going to do about the Wall Street banksters who had just broken the entire global economy? His establishment answer was that we could not afford as a nation to waste time looking back and pinning blame on people because we needed to focus all our energy on looking forward. Is that how Trump will also be toward all the banksters he threatened to bring down? Time to just look ahead … again?

Lesley Stahl: You called her “crooked Hillary,” said you wanted to get her in jail, your people in your audiences kept saying, “Lock em’ up.”

Donald Trump: I don’t want to hurt them. I don’t want to hurt them. They’re, they’re good people. I don’t want to hurt them…

[Then, as if to change the subject, Trump turned to his wife and said,]

You look great, honey.

Crooked people are good people? Why did Trump spend so much energy railing against a good person? Is he willing to rip good people to shreds just to get ahead? Will he also pronounce the Wall Street banksters “good people?” If Trump had called Hillary “crooked” just once, you might say, “OK, he got a little carried away back then and said more than he meant,” but Trump continually did everything he could at every chance he could find to work his supporters up with the hope that crooked people like the Clintons (his words) would go to jail. Less than a week after he was elected, he washed his hands of it and rendered his judgment that Hillary and William are good people.

He also emphasized three times that he doesn’t want to hurt either one of them. I’m glad to discover Trump has a conscience and cares more about how is actions hurt people more than he apparently does about how his words hurt them; but is not wanting to hurt the crooked people the way you turn the US back into a nation of law-and-order that starts in getting the crooks out of Washington?

Says Trump’s campaign chief, Kelly Ann Conway,

When the president-elect who’s also the head of your party … tells you before he’s even inaugurated he doesn’t wish to pursue these charges, it sends a very strong message….. I think Hillary Clinton still has to face the fact that a majority of Americans don’t find her to be honest or trustworthy, but if Donald Trump can help her heal, then perhaps that’s a good thing. (New York Post)

Said Trump,

I don’t want to hurt the Clintons. I really don’t. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways. (The Washington Post)

It’s time to move forward and let the healing begin … even for the crooks.


[amazon_link id=”1455568872″ target=”_blank” ]A White House Secret Service Officer Discloses His Firsthand Experience with Hillary, Bill, and How They Operate[/amazon_link]


Trump also said on 60 Minutes that, rather than scrapping Obamacare as he had promised, he’d keep the best parts of it — the parts that people like — and replace the rest. That’s not likely to work out too well, as the plan’s funding doesn’t work when the pieces get parted out. We’ll see.

As 60-Minutes said in its summary of the interview,

What we discovered in Mr. Trump’s first television interview as president-elect, was that some of his signature issues at the heart of his campaign were not meant to be taken literally, but as opening bids for negotiation.

Apparently so.

Seems like the only thing Trump is certainly sticking with is his tax plan. And why not since every part of his tax plan benefits him and his family directly? They’ll save enough millions to fill a bank vault! That is apparently the only sacrosanct part of all of his promises. The rest wilted down in less than a week.

Trouble in the Trump transition team

All of that, is however, does not say as much about whether Trump is sold out to the establishment as as what his first actual decisions say, starting with the transition team he assembled:

Lesley Stahl: Your own transition team, it’s filled with lobbyists.

Donald Trump: That’s the only people you have down there.

Lesley Stahl: You have lobbyists from Verizon, you have lobbyists from the oil gas industry, you have food lobby.

Donald Trump: Sure. Everybody’s a lobbyist down there–

Lesley Stahl: Well, wait….

Donald Trump: That’s what they are. They’re lobbyists or special interests—

Lesley Stahl: On your own transition team.

That’s the only people you have down there? He admits that’s what his team is? If your plan is to drain the Washington swamp, why would you be starting with a team that is mostly swamp dwellers?

Trumps transition team started off looking like the Who’s Who of the Wall-Street-Washington corridor — i.e, “the establishment.” Many of his transition team members came from industries that will be under regulation by people the transition team is putting in place — some of the biggest corporate lobbyists that Trump said he was going to drain out Foggy Bottom — lobbyists for Goldman Sachs, Aetna, Microsoft, etc.. The consultant who was helping Trump pick the head the Environmental Protection Agency is a lobbyist for Koch Industries!

I can see that you might work with some people in Washington who have been around the block a few times and know where others stand … if you can find some who have been pretty straight players or people whose loyalty you are for some reason certain will supersede their corruption (mafia style loyalty); but why would you load your team with lobbyists as the ones to preselect all candidates for the Team Trump when lobbyists are the main ones you said you want to get rid of? Won’t they just make sure that every option that is presented to you is someone who will give them a back door of access?

Trump’s process looks a lot less like draining the swamp and more like putting the alligators in charge of protecting the flamingos.

The transition team met regularly with the Financial Services Roundtable, an association of lobbyists formerly named formerly called the Bankers Roundtable that represents Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and other large banks. One would presume, since Trump’s transition team has 4,000 positions to fill in a very short time, that the team was going to the bankster’s roundtable to form a list of candidates for several of those positions. Aren’t they an organization whose business is to make certain they, in the very least, have back doors of access to the president?


[amazon_link id=”0767928261″ target=”_blank” ]Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World[/amazon_link]


The oldest game in the swampy Wall-Street play book is to get your own executives in charge of all the government’s regulatory agencies. I mean, who would be better to head the Food and Drug Administration than a former vice president at Monsanto — the experts in what food should be … or become?

Our movement is about replacing a failed and corrupt political establishment with a new government controlled by you the American people [Trump said in his campaign].

Hmm. Really?

“I have disavowed all Super PACs,” Trump, the campaigner, said.

This is what disavowed looks like?

Putting the Super PACs (the biggest lobbyists) like the bankster’s roundtable in charge of nominating the people who will form your future government is the way you reduce their influence in your government? I know that if I ran a lobbyist consultancy, I’d want to make sure my organization had a seat at that table where the future government is being assembled.

Trump repeatedly assured his supporters that being a billionaire did not mean he was committed to serving the desires of the 1%. It meant he would not be beholden to big corporate money because he had enough of his own money to fund his campaign. After Trump secured the Republican nomination, however, he quickly started raising money through big corporate lobbyists, who have now gained seats on his transition team.

With all of that — and that’s just my opening bid, a mere introduction to this exposé — is it still unreasonable that I wonder if Trump is a Trojan horse for the establishment that he was born into and has lived in and had as customers all of his life?

In Trump’s defense — his anti-establishment moves

There is, however, a balancing side to the story. Once the prosecution introduces its case, the defense takes over. It is amazing sometimes how the prosecution can convince you someone is a dirty as mud; then the defense starts building its case, and suddenly you’re not so sure things looked all that bad for the defendant. I want to look objectively at both sides of Trump’s words and actions to try to see where Trump is heading. So, here’s the other side:

Trump moved quickly and dramatically to oust New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as the head of the Trump transition team and put Mike Pence in his place after the revelation that Christie was fully knowledgeable and likely responsible for the politically motivated “Bridgegate.” (Two of Christie’s top aides were convicted for closing the George Washington Bridge to retaliate against the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee for not endorsing Christie for governor — dirty politics that made the populace suffer just to get even with a political enemy.)

Christie was one of the first big-name Republican candidates to boost Trump by endorsing him, and Christie became a dedicated helper to Trump throughout the remaining campaign. Does this show Trump is willing to hurt crooked people if that is what he needs to do to keep his own government clean, even if they are his friend and supporter? It could be evidence that Trump is willing to drain the swamp, even if he finds some swamp slime on his own team or among his own friends. Reports said Trump really laid into Christie, but the mainstream media that said Trump royally balled him out will say anything today as it makes up fake news for headlines, so who knows about what happened behind closed doors? What we do know is Christie is off the team, and that it was a sudden and decisive move.

The Christie transition is evidence that Trump is responsive to legitimate criticism against his efforts, such as he got from Leslie Stahl. (Notice, he also didn’t attack her as he did Megan Kelly for going after him with tough questions. He remained as calm as he has said he can be once in the president’s role.) It shows Trump is willing to quickly move key players out if they’re connected with scandals, but is that because Trump wants to keep corruption off his team or because Trump will forget loyalty the second it gets in the way of his own image?

Who can know the motivations of any man or the inner workings of his heart, but Christie had other flaws besides his scandalous connections. As the head of Trump’s transition team prior to the election, Christie was the person responsible for loading the transition team with lobbyists, establishment politicians, and with his own cronies from New Jersey, as Trump was learning through the criticism of 60 Minutes and other reporters. It was all politics the old-fashioned way:

In the days following the election, Trump expressed deep frustration about how Christie was handling the transition. In particular, he vented about how the governor had loaded up the team with lobbyists, the very class of people Trump had campaigned against…. The president-elect also noticed that Christie had stocked his team with old New Jersey friends and allies…. Once the dust settled from their surprise win, the Trump team noticed that Christie had done little to vet potential administration picks or to dig into potential conflicts of interests. With Democrats eager to pounce on any early mistake, it was an oversight they simply couldn’t afford. (Politico)

Christie, on the other hand, believed that Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had it out for him from the beginning because Christie, when he was a US attorney, had prosecuted Jared’s father. Their relationship on the team was always strained, and Kushner objected to Christie from the get go.

At the same time Trump jettisoned Christie, he also lobbed the lobbyists off of his transition team. Was that evidence of a leader who is rapidly responsive to legitimate criticism or does it reveal someone expeditiously doing what he needed to when he got caught and people started to get upset? Either way, you have to wonder how the lobbyists made it on the team in the first place. Was Trump that inattentive to something absolutely critical to his success from this point forward so that his government immediately went the opposite way of where he wanted it to go? The huge and rapid course correction makes it look like Trump got off to a bad start; but it says he is quick to correct course if that happens. He didn’t mince any words or waste any time.

Other evidence that Trump actually does want to change the establishment is that his transition team also included people like Rudolph W. Giuliani and Stephen K Bannon who embody the promises Trump made to his supporters, even though nearly all Democrats (and establishment Republicans) passionately hate them.

Giuliani aggressively battled down crime in New York. He boldly pursued an enormously dangerous task of cleaning up a mafia-ridden city. Described by Time magazine as “The Rotting Apple,” NYC had developed an ugly, violent reputation and was teetering on bankruptcy. Giuliani has proven he can do a lot to drain one of the worst swamps in the nation and make it place people like to be again. (Far from the alabaster city’s Ross Perot said we should have, but nowhere near as dark and gritty as it was.)

One of Trump’s major promises was to restore the US as a nation of law and order. Giuliani is a man who would have the courage and determination to do that; yet he didn’t make it as Attorney General, which is where that would be accomplished. It may be that Trump really wanted to put him there, but Trump is pragmatist and knew the Dem’s hate Giuliani enough to filibuster Senate approval of Giuliani in that key post. (Or is Trump going to try to do something even more surprising like put Giuliani up to be his first appointment of a supreme court justice to fill Scalia’s position, even though Giuliani only has legal experience as a prosecutor — something equally unlikely to make it past Senate approval?)


[amazon_link id=”0688174922″ target=”_blank” ]Rudy Giuliani: Emperor of the City — By the force of his will, this man with no experience in municipal government ended up changing the face of his city.[/amazon_link]


By Ben Alexander from United States (Trump protest) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsNo one, other than Trump, has been as vilified by the main-stream media’s fake news as much as Stephen Bannon. They have repeated the lie that Bannon, former Editor-in-Chief at Breitbart News, hates Jews while never mentioning that Breitbart’s founders were both Jews, who obviously did not find him anti-semitic when they put and kept him in charge of their publication. Founder Andrew Breitbart was a protegé of Matt Drudge, also a Jew, who often links to stories on Breitbart News.

These are major balancing facts that are ignored every time the MSM made sure to mention their two shreds of anti-semitic evidence against Bannon: 1) his ex-wife said he didn’t want his children educated with or by Jews; and 2) that a writer at Breitbart made some seemingly anti-semitic comments when he called a Jew who was a renegade … a renegade. Odd that a site with so many Jewish connections would be considered anti-semitic. The MSM actually reviles Bannon because he is so anti-establishment and oversees one of their strongest rising competitors.

Who are you going to trust most — someone’s disgruntled ex or the people who continue to work daily under Bannon’s management who now speak in favor of him out of their own volition? His Jewish staff speak positively of him, as do his own words about Jews and Israel. Breitbart is so pro-Jewish that it established an office in Jerusalem that Breitbart openly claims is dedicated to supporting Israel as a Jewish state. But you NEVER hear that on the mainstream media that is so disingenuously incensed against fake news … as it fails completely in recognizing its own fake news. Ironically, it is the alt-press that they are attacking that published all the balancing facts about Bannon.

Bannon is so central to Trump’s intent to go against the establishment that Trump took the extraordinary measure of creating an all-new cabinet position that he has indicated is co-equal to the Chief of Staff, a Chief Strategist position. Since Bannon made it to cabinet position, I’ll have more on Bannon in Part Two of this exposé, which will examine Trump’s cabinet. Clearly, you pick people to lead your government agencies who already have a strong track record of working in the direction you intend to head; so, the best way to see what direction Trump is really going to move the nation is to look carefully at the top-level team of national leaders he has assembled.

As a followup to this article, here is a list of all the articles, including this one, that laid out the entire swamp-infested plan, starting from just before Trump was elected to the days between the election and his inauguration and a followup partway through his first term:

Trump: Trojan Horse for the Establishment or Mighty Mouth for Mankind” (Forewarns of the moves)

Trump: Trojan, Traitor, or Tried and True?” (Pt. 1 of the main series)

Team Trump (Pt. 2): Top of the Crop is a Mixed Bag

Team Trump (Pt 3): Trunk Loads of Establishment Baggage

And the followup, half a year into his term: “Team Trump Transmogrifies into the Swamp Thing

 


62 Comments

  1. Ping from fadestyle:

    quoting you “After seeing Trump choose Pence as VP and a Goldman Sachs exec as
    campaign finance manager, I was concerned the establishment knew a
    citizen’s revolt was brewing and made sure that even the road to
    revolt led back to Rome.” accusing Trump of being controlled by establishments means you have not done your history on Trump to know he is anti-establishment regardless of who he meets with and appoints. He is a leader and relishes in getting his enemies to do his bidding and he does it well. Throwing Trump into the “establishment” pile with out seeing the fruits of his labor is presumptuous. You have made many accusations without siting your sources and the sources you do site are from self admitted fake news sites like NY times and Washington post… are you kidding, as if you can get accurate information from them to accuse Trump of anything. If you really think Hillary is home free then you are poor at understanding Trump and how he hides his business hand to let his enemy feel like they have gotten away with their deeds until he lowers the boom.

    not sure if youll allow links so search for this article aver at WND “trump-insider-hillary-still-could-face-prosecution”

    being too quick to accuse Trump is establishment or asking whether he is a trojan or not shows you have no idea who Trump really is. I get keeping his feet to the fire, but goodness buddy, he’s not in office yet and has not done anything but keep his word so far. he’s not potus yet and is doing what he said by bringing jobs back, companies and making America great. Not that i respect the fake MSNBC, but even they are saying Trump will still build the wall. You have not researched the History on Trump. you article leans more towards “minority report” than holding this feet to the fire.

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      Time will tell.

      Trump has also always been a snake-oil salesman, meaning the kind of person who hypes everything he does as being the “greatest ever.” Sometimes his projects have been great. Other times, he has left numerous people, high and dry and broke. (Not just a few other times, but QUITE a few other time.) At the end of every day, the Donald has always been a man who looks out for himself, first.

      I lived in Honolulu for a few years. While there, Trump was on television talking about how he was so excited to be building a new Trump tower in Waikiki — a place that he said the Trump Organization had been looking to build in for a long time. He bragged about what a great success it was going to be with the Trump brand on it. By the time the building was halfway finished, Trump backed out of the project entirely (after most of the condos had been presold). I don’t know why, but things clearly fell apart. The building still got finished, but that was far from the first project that Trump didn’t see through to the end.

      Tell me one sacrificial thing Trump ever did for America. That’s not to say he won’t, but I cannot think of anything he’s done for this country, other than run for president. How well that turns out, we have no idea. It may be great like some of his projects have been; it may make us all bankrupt, like some of his projects have done for everyone involved.

      Trump talks about Trump all the time — even when not running for anything. Trump has placed himself in the limelight his entire life, so it is clear he eats that up. Now he is circling the country making a victory tour when he has a government to build, spending a huge amount of time in front of people and in front of cameras, doing what Trump does best — telling everyone how great he is going to do. I’m not saying he shouldn’t be doing that or that he’s not attending to business, but it certainly seems he cannot bring himself to step away from cameras or out of the public eye. I cannot recall other president-elects doing huge victory tours — a few speaking engagements, sure, but traveling the circuit, no.

      So, if Trump is not clinically narcissistic then truly no human being has ever been a narcissist. And that is something to be concerned about, as Narcissists tend to become despots. They certainly never make good leaders. I’ve never seen any human being as full of himself as Trump has always been. Narcissists ALWAYS look out for their own interests ahead of everyone.

      “narcissist |ˈnärsÉ™sÉ™st|
      “noun

      “a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves: narcissists who think the world revolves around them | narcissists preening themselves in front of the mirror.”

      Certainly fits the general definition to a tee, just translate “camera” for mirror because the only difference there is that one shows you to everyone else, while letting you see yourself on glass (televisions) everywhere you go; while the other only lets you see yourself on one glass.

      I am also not aware of Trump having an anti-establishment inclination. Trump has spent most of his life working with the establishment and using it to his benefit, including buying politicians (to which he readily confesses). Trump is not anti-establishment; Trump is pro-Trump. So he uses the establishment when it serves him, kicks against it whenever it gets in his way … but it has ALWAYS been to serve himself. I have never seen or heard of him doing anything to serve someone else.

      Let’s hope being elected gives him pause to take stock of himself. I think there is a chance he will rise to the higher calling. His appearance, after meeting with the president, was one of a man a bit in awe of the responsibility he has taken on and the trust given to him. He might rise to that. But, for now, all we have is his track record, which has never been magnanimous or focused on the benefit of others that I have ever heard or seen.

      I hope he does a good job, a GREAT job. I’m glad he’s shaking things up. I DO believe he cares about America, but I don’t believe he cares about anything more than he cares about himself (and maybe his kids) — certainly not his wives, whom he has always dumped on a ten-year cycle in order to upgrade to the newest MODEL. His kids, however, seem to really esteem their father, and that’s a good sign. They also seem extremely capable and like they are pretty decent people (from the very little that I know about any of them).

      We only have a lifetime of evidence to go by AND LOTS OF IT, throughout which he has been telling all of us that he’s the best.

      Let’s hope he is.

      –David

      • Ping from fadestyle:

        Lets review your comment and reply.

        “hypes everything he does as being the “greatest ever.””

        Well if you had not noticed This is the richest PE in history so in order to be able to make the billions he has, you have to be and do pretty great things.

        “Other times, he has left numerous people, high and dry and broke.”

        again, you make claims without giving sources. I am sure you can scrape up some fake MSM news sources that claim such so those wont carry much weight.

        “Donald has always been a man who looks out for himself, first”

        You sure as heck have not done your research or history on Trump and it shows in the following link.

        http://www.thepoliticalinsider.com/a-man-was-being-beaten-to-death-with-a-bat-then-trumps-limo-rolls-by/

        You mentioned the Trump tower in Hawaii… “but things clearly fell apart.” it looks as you still dont do your research as Hawaiilife says its very successful and compares other hotels to it.
        http://www.hawaiilife.com/articles/2011/04/trump-tower-waikiki-sales/

        You say without even trying to look into what Trump has done in the past… are you really that young you dont know, poor at doing research or a closet Trump hater? “Tell me one sacrificial thing Trump ever did for America.”

        The following article shows his letter and interview demonstrate how Trump has always been concerned about American interests and how the government spends taxpayer money by spending ten of thousands if not hundreds of his own money trying to push true American standards, beliefs and founding fruits of his labor. http://conservativetribune.com/trump-spent-100000-on-an-ad/

        doing things for America is his plan as he has also proven what he says is what he has done in the past and that is care for the American tax payers including not taking the potus paycheck http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/09/21/trump-on-presidential-salary-i-wont-take-even-one-dollar-if-i-become-president/

        I can mention more but it would make this reply more lengthy than it will be, do your own research on what the other things he has done.

        “Now he is circling the country making a victory tour when he has a government to build”

        wow, seeing you say that makes me cringe… really? For one you dont review Trumps history, you also dont review other PE in the past as well. You forget what PE Obama did before he was sworn in, going around taking interviews telling us how he was going to bankrupt our coal industry http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/04/13/promise-kept-barack-obama-breaks-coal-industry/

        and youre worried about Trumps rally, his actions and what he does to speak directly to the people before he is sworn in because the MSM distorts him in their studios. Not only is Trump not obligated to do a single thing until Jan 20th, he is making big moves and he in not even POTUS yet.

        You really dont think highly of me and your readers by posting the definition of the word narcissist. I think we are the ones that know how to research things if we didnt know them so thanks for the help. “Narcissists tend to become despots.”

        You call Trump a narcissist and ignore Obama? Goodness. It seems you must be confusing Trump confidence with Narcissism.

        “I have never seen or heard of him doing anything to serve someone else.”

        apparently you have been out of the news loop showing what Trump does for others and he doesnt even mention it or toot his own horn about it. Seeing that he does NOT brag about these many things, shows he is not seeking the attention for the good things he does for others which is proof he is NOT narcissistic, because a narcissist would seek praise for such actions to promote himself from those actions.. http://www.americasfreedomfighters.com/2016/12/08/trump-black-homeless-years/

        “But, for now, all we have is his track record, which has never been magnanimous or focused on the benefit of others that I have ever heard or seen.”

        How could an informed person say such things after reviewing his history and seeing he doesnt brag about the great kind and thoughtful things he does for others regardless of their skin color.

        “I hope he does a good job, a GREAT job.” Lets hope you are being sincere and not patronizing.

        “We only have a lifetime of evidence to go by AND LOTS OF IT, throughout which he has been telling all of us that he’s the best.”

        I dont see anything wrong with confidence… something that has been lost in America and removed by design… you should try being the best at something sometime, its what Americans used to be.

        “WND, by the way, is ABSOLUTELY the worst fake news website there is…….As one example, One story was all about the savage attacks Ayatollah Khamenei was plotting against the US while Obama was negotiating his nuclear pact.”

        Trying to redirect into an opinion of WND instead from what i mentioned that your MSM sources have admitted to being FAKE news. pick another source wnd was a random selection. Youll have to post the source so i may review since you have shown us all we can not trust your researching capabilities.

        • Ping from Knave_Dave:

          I probably won’t have time to address all of that with the proper research it merits, but I’ll come back to it if I do. For now, I’ll just note that you are spending a lot of time ridiculing me for lack of research, but you are responding to things said in a comment, not an article. I spend a lot of time researching my articles. I spend little time researching comments, certainly not all the time it takes to quote sources, etc. That would take as much time as writing another entire article. I write from the hip in comments like nearly everyone else here. They’re just comments.

          I’ll respond off the top of my head, however, about Trump Tower in Waikiki where I lived at the time it was being built. Trump Tower Waikiki is hugely successful because of those who continued on and took charge AFTER Trump turned tail and ditched the project, not because of Trump.

          More importantly, I’ll note from my personal familiarity with it that Hawaii Life is entirely puff pieces, not journalism. It’s essential a Chamber of Commerce kind of magazine focused on showcasing the best things about Hawaii. In fact, the article you quote was written by a real-estate agent selling condos out of the Trump tower in Waikiki: “For appointments to view my featured units at Trump Tower Waikiki, feel free to contact me.” Hardly a legitimate or objective “news” source, just as WND is not. It’s written by someone with something to sell you.

          • Ping from Knave_Dave:

            Real research takes time; so I took a fair amount of time to research another one of your referenced articles, which appears on numerous sites all over the web (but looks to be a hoax). The stories wherever I find them refer back to two original sources — either a story titled “Mugger’s Trumped Donald Stops Attack,” which it is always claimed was published on Philly.com. However, the provided links to Philly.com always suspiciously go to a page that indicates there is no article there. Since some say Philly.com got the story from the New York Daily News, which supposedly published it under the title “Trump Strikes Out Would-be Mugger” in 1991, I went there, too.

            I’ve searched both supposed source sites, trying both variations of the title and find nothing. Philly.com claims it has its articles are archived all the way back to 1981, but only shows “no results” when either title is entered.

            I’ve also emailed both sites to ask if the articles are legit and have placed research requests at http://www.sopes.com and truthorfiction.com, which have no info about either story; but do a pretty good job of researching hoaxes.

            That’s how research is done. As usual with these kinds of stories this one APPEARS to be a hoax since the original sources don’t have the story that others all claim they do. That is often the case with stories that fly all over the internet with no one researching the original claim and seem too good or too bad to be true.

            Maybe you should have done more research on that one yourself. It takes time to research all of these, and it appears your own research is 0-for-2 right now. Responding to the first two is all I have time for. Maybe the publications will actually get back to me and confirm the truth of the story. If so, I’ll let you know here. Not saying it absolutely isn’t true until I hear back from the publishers (if I ever do), but it seems odd that they have archives going clear back to 1981, but cannot find the story when the sites that quote it say it was first published in 1991.

  2. Ping from Larry Deavenport:

    At best Trump may only do about 10% of what he claimed. A Hillary presidency would have been continue of the same as the Obama administration.

  3. Ping from endofwatchersbegan1/28/2011:

    Donald is an artist, who actually has not taken office yet. So we will have to wait a while yet before we run around town screaming the sky is falling. Whatever he is, America will benefit from it. He is an AMERICAN first, and has always loved the foundation of America. That is what we need right now. Let us hope for now that the sky does not fall. Either way, with or without Trump, it is likely inevitable. Been RIGGED for it.

  4. Ping from Farmer John Maine:

    And then there is this old classic….

    http://youtu.be/4IrE6FMpai8

    Weird strange World we sre in the end times the veil is lifted.

  5. Ping from anonymous4u4me:

    He gives many hope, and as long as you have hope you will not revolt. Man cannot and will not ever govern himself, it is impossible regardless of party affiliation or other wise. The evil one Satan is not going to relinquish anything just because he said the right things and gave you hope. What all of a sudden the evil ones have a change of heart and allow someone that is not a puppet to run thing lol lol lol. Your fools if you think that and deserve what you get for being so gullible. Enjoy the ride we deserve it.

  6. Ping from Chris:

    I think the trumpster will make good moves and pick and choose the right place and time to enact his promises made during campaign. Some might see his comments as vascillating, but I say give.him a.chance. he is not even in office yet. Contrary to this op ed piece above, I think Trump is learning to make even smarter moves. With the lock her up thing he could be stating compassion but behind the scenes he could allow due process to be unimpeded, unlike the complicit Obama administration. There are enough attack dogs in the Republican party that will go after her. Kind of a good copy bad cop Potomac 2 step. I commend the unbiased fair assessment of the above op Ed, but the trumpster has one big enchilada on his plate that we should give him a chance.

  7. Ping from Gunner55:

    Buzz off! Trump is staying true to his word and you know it. He just reiterated all his campaign promises last Thursday in Cincinnati.

    Go screw yourself.

    • Ping from joe schmo:

      Right. So a man that hasn’t even been sworn in yet that has so far either appointed to a cabinet job or met in secret with a laundry list of establishment hacks, warhawks, and those with questionable allegiances to the banking system, IS GOING TO KEEP ALL HIS CAMPAIGN PROMISES?
      God people wake up!!. I hate to break it to you but you’ve been sold another batch of snake oil from a modern day PT Barnum. Trump will do NOTHING that his international bankster handlers won’t allow him to do. For CHRIST’S sake this guy had the unmitigated gall to meet with the likes of Mitt Romney and Henry Kissinger!! What does THAT say about who this man is willing to break bread with? Stop telling people to go screw themselves because they’re questioning Trumps actions and backpedaling on major campaign promises. We’re not a bunch of simpletons and cognitive dissidents.

      • Ping from Knave_Dave:

        While I do believe it is fair to give Trump a chance, as Chris has suggested, I find it hard to believe that putting the alligators in charge of protecting the flamingos is going to come out any way other than a lot of feathers floating on the swamp and a lot of richly satisfied alligators.

        It’s one thing when someone like Bannon has left Goldman Sachs as a high-level exec. and has put in years that show he either left because he couldn’t stand what Goldman was doing or he had a change of heart. He’s got years of making as much noise as he can against banksters who got bailed out. Someone like that is vital on the team because he knows EXACTLY how the game is played, but is clearly no longer part of it.

        It’s quite another thing when you put in GS execs who have done nothing in life that indicates they ever turned over a new leaf. I don’t think anyone like that every changes just because all of a sudden he got a government position. Those are almost always (based one what we’ve seen many times) people who are put in place by their corporations to make sure the government operates as the corporation thinks it should.

        On the other hand, Bannon is playing a close role, so we can hope that he knows who the good guys are at GS and who the bad ones are and that the GS people Trump is installing are ones that Bannon knows have a better heart. (Is that even possible at GS?) Looking at their track record, though, as I do in my next segment that I’m finishing up today, it doesn’t appear that they have better hearts.

        Time will tell. Again, not suggesting any supporter turn on Trump, but do note that there is LOTS that looks fishy, do be vigilant, and DO hold his feet to the fire in any way that you can (though I know for most there is not much one can do).

        It is time for him to EARN his regard. Big boasts demand big proofs.

        –David

  8. Ping from Alleged Comment:

    The man has no political record. Only a business and family record. Sift through them and you might get a good idea what this man is about.

    I know he is not religious, he is not a politician and most importantly not a SODOMITE!!

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      He seems to have done a great job with his family, which kind of surprised me. Very impressed with how well-spoken and pleasant Ivanka seems to be. All his kids seem to really like him and support him. His business record is mixed with several spectacular failures but apparently overall success (though we don’t know because we can only take this word for it, and we know his losses have been so great they’ve kept him from having to pay taxes for years). He’s surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of law suits, but maybe that is typical of all billionaire developers. One thing for sure, it will be interesting.

  9. Ping from Farmer John Maine:

    Do you all remember the dinner after the last debate?

    If you want to see who controls the world take a look who is sitting behind Trump at this function.
    http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-trade-jokes-al-smith/story?id=42947939

    Watch this on YouTube, very telling, seems like Trump is a bit of a rebel or the entire thing is Bread and Circus.

    I want to believe he’s going do what he said he was going to do, he first has to get in office first…he does not like to show his hand..he’s stated that.

    Humans of late seem to believe that someone is going to fix their problems…it’s our Achilles Heel..so we are easily controlled this way.

    https://palemoonfarm.com

    • Ping from RecoveringPublicEducated:

      Funny, I can’t see a damn thing but Hillary AND THAT FAKE ASS, STAB YOU IN THE BACK SMILE. SooOOooo glad that she’s not PE right now.

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      It’s pretty much just a Bread and Circus affair — a chance for all the press to gather, eat great food and watch the candidates roast themselves; but Trump was a rebel by breaking with tradition and roasting Hillary, instead.

      Glad to see a fellow farmer here.

  10. Ping from hammerstamp:

    I think Trump is playing the medias to keep them on their heels and chasing their tails. I’ll wait and judge the man based on what he actually does after he becomes President. One thing I’m convinced of is that Trump will be far better for this country than Hillary if the only thing he manages to accomplish during his term(s) is to appoint constitutional originalist justices to the Supreme Court.

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      That thought about keeping the media in knots, trying to figure out where he’s going, has crossed my mind, too. Best, however, to be vigilant and not extend trust too far. If the middle class doesn’t look out for its own interests, no one else is likely to; and, if a man makes enormous boasts, he’s got a lot to PROVE by his own doing.

      Hillary had written plans to get us into all kinds of war in the Middle East. She believes she can mastermind nation building in the Middle East, and she wanted to prove herself strong — prove that being a female president doesn’t mean being weak. Her own plans show she would have overcompensated in the direction of trying to reshape the middle east, and the results would be as horrendous as they have already been, probably much worse because Obama actually constrained her quite a bit (i.e, was far more reluctant to go to war than Killary.)

      –David

      • Ping from immxdmta4:

        She is a wicked woman, filled with greed and a blood thirsty lust for power. I don’t think she cares about showing anyone that a female president can be strong. I think the status of first female president is of paramount importance to her due ONLY to satisfy her narcissism. Everything is about her, it’s that simple. That is why she and obola clashed so badly. Two egos of that size cannot work together.

        • Ping from Knave_Dave:

          I don’t mean she cares about showing that for the sake of women. I mean her narcissism requires that people see and believe she is strong, and she is likely to overcompensate because of that narcissism. Her image will matter most.

  11. Ping from immxdmta4:

    Great article. I have been concerned about Trump since the get go. He spoke to the anger of the American citizen in much the same way as obola spoke. I have watched from the beginning and the similarities of this election to the 2008 election are overwhelming. Trump, imho, does not appear to be an honorable man which causes me much concern. Yet there was not one guy, besides Dr. Carson, who was not establishment – and Rapheal T. Cruz is not a natural born citizen either (note to all: please spare me your version of what it means – I’m old enough to know and you are wrong, not I).
    Glad you are speaking these things and attempting to get people to THINK and keep Trump’s feet to the fire.
    I, personally, do not believe America will be saved outside of our repenting and turning back to God. I do believe that God can save us, even through a man like Trump (who supports homosexual fake marriage and ‘gender neutral’ bathrooms) but I do not believe that He will unless we repent and turn back to Him. I don’t see that happening – I have only seen more and more rejection of Him.

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      Thanks, IM. I hope it gets through to a few people that, if the middle class doesn’t look out for itself at every turn and blindly trusts billionaires to do it for them, then it is no wonder they have been getting their hind ends eaten off while the size of the herd diminishes every year. If you’re going to put a lion in charge of the sheep, the sheep had better be keeping an eye on the lion. I’m not saying Trump won’t do the job and maybe even do it better than anyone else could, but you had better be vigilant to make certain he does … and you’d better question moves that appear to go in the wrong direction … like his move to load his transition team with lobbyists. Clearly wrong, or he wouldn’t have rapidly reversed by firing them.

      • Ping from immxdmta4:

        Only time will reveal who Trump really is as a president. BUT we have far more hope if we remain vigilant and demand that he keep the promises he made to the voters during the campaign.
        I’m glad to see you and a few other discerning writers saying the hard things in spite of the vilification they will get from the trumpites. God bless.

  12. Ping from DEPLORABLE ME:

    Trolls and SHILLS commenting on things they are STILL getting paid for! Take your BLUE PILLS little TROLLS/SHILLS!!! NAP TIME FOR YOU.

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      Not sure if you’re writing this to me or someone who commented, since I don’t know what it would be I’m “still getting paid for,” but I assume it’s to me since it doesn’t come under anyone else’s reply.

      If there is anything you should have learned by now it is that, if you don’t look out for your own middle-class interests with a vengeance, you’re likely to get duped one more time. Asking questions about things that certainly look to be going the wrong way can accomplish no worse than letting the person in charge know your vigilant and that you DO expect FULL delivery on all those “great” promises. Hold his feet to the fire, or you’ll only get defeat.

      • Ping from RecoveringPublicEducated:

        To me, this election has always been as easy as A B C. ANYBODY (up to and including Putin) But Clinton. I’m already overjoyed with Trump. No mushroom clouds in the near future: DEFCON backed down from 3 to 5 (although Erdogan seems to be doing his best on leapfrogging it up to 2 before Jan. 20). Yeah we’ll watch him (Trump) on the other issues, but i’m overjoyed that the only winter we’re currently facing is ARCTIC, not NUCLEAR.

        • Ping from Knave_Dave:

          Those are some great positives. To be sure, Hillary had a spelled out war plan for the Middle East and was foolishly certain Russia would stay out of her way. I always found it peculiar that people actually thought Trump was more likely to get us into a war than the woman with the I’m-going-to-eat-you smile.

  13. Ping from jnarcus:

    You haven’t even seen what he will propose to congress and you start yelling nonsense.

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      Those who walk with their eyes closed at this late juncture in our economic reconstruction zone and avoid questioning things that appear to be going opposite of what was promised deserve to bump their heads on all the low-hanging pipes.

      • Ping from RecoveringPublicEducated:

        Lotta crap in that swamp. Why not use some of the rats to remove the turds? Someone needs to swim to the bottom to pull the plug. Why not a current inhabitant?
        Patience, vigilant patience. Thank you for bird dogging current situations, but lets see his first 100 days or something where he actually has the handles of administration, then we can truly be critical. I think he will thump Hillary, just keeping his hand close to his chest for now. One thing Trump is masterful at is playing the presstitutes.

        • Ping from Knave_Dave:

          You could be right on Hillary. If he says he’s going after her, Obama would pardon her before she is charged (if that is possible), otherwise have her charged just so that he can pardon her. So, maybe Trump is beguiling them into thinking they don’t have to dirty themselves with charges and pardons, and then Sessions will dig up some new dirt on her and say she has to be charged, and Trump can say, “Well, I didn’t want to hurt them as you know, but my attorney general is telling me this stuff is so bad that we have no choice.” Could be. Trump has been in the real estate business for so long that you know he is as seasoned as you get at not tipping your hand before you make your move unless tipping your hand will strengthen your move.

  14. Ping from shropster:

    Did these changes in Trump’s policies come before or after the “facts of life” Kissinger meeting?

  15. Ping from SZ:

    I feel you need to chill and see what happens. It’s not like there is a great reservoir of totally perfect people to pick from at this point.

    “Traitor Trump” Ranger? Isn’t that what you are doing already when you don’t know that to be true at all? Give it some time before you jump
    to conclusions.

    This is a step-by-step situation that shouldn’t be torn down as the steps are taken.

    I suggest putting your energy into positive and forward thinking actions rather than putting forth information that may not be true.

    So far Donald Trump has taken more action and accomplished more work before he takes office than any other previous President Elect.

    Energy is important and we can all be a part of putting good energy towards our country and the new leaders that will take charge shortly instead of second guessing at this point in time.

    What you need to remember is what we have had for the last eight years and would be looking at had Donald Trump not won the election.

    Hillary Clinton would have been all of our worst nightmares. Our country would have been completely taken down under her Presidency.

    Watch Trump’s steps through a bigger picture rather than a day to day judgement call.

    He is definitely making the world leaders sit up and take notice and there is more respect already than there has been in years especially with what we had with Obama as President.

    I, for one, am very thankful PE Donald Trump will be leading our country and feel he will accomplish a great deal of his promises in spite of the ones who keep throwing obstacles in his way.

    I am going to give him a chance and trust what he has done to date and will do as time goes by. If he is other than what he has said, he is still better than the alternative we were looking at in Hillary Clinton. She already had a track record of lying that showed what she did over many years.

    In my opinion, we shouldn’t be a part of the problem right now until we know for sure.

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      I’m asking, not saying. Where did I make a conclusion? Raising questions that I think need to be raised. Trump has, as noted in this article, already been hugely responsive to criticism that he had too many lobbyists on his transition team. So, he fired them and Christie who put them there. That is exactly why you need to remain vigilant and see where things appear to be going off the rails. They already went off the rails. Trump responded and quickly corrected course. He didn’t fire them until after the 60-minutes interview that made him look like he was betraying his supporters.

      So, I am critical, but I also give hims some benefit of the doubt. I think that KNOWING people are keeping a critical eye on what he’s doing and are EXPECTING him to deliver on his promises makes it more likely that he will. Trump is completely unproven. I’ve seen him walk away from building projects that had his name on it in my town. Maybe he was justified in walking away, maybe not. So, I’m not going to throw blind trust at him. When I see him appearing to do exactly the opposite of what he has said he will do, then I think he needs to know that people are keeping a close eye on him.

      There has alway been plenty to make me question Trump and not trust him, starting with the fact that he’s the most egotistical human being I’ve ever witnessed and the fact that he ALWAYS (and I do mean ALWAYS) says anything and everything he is going to do will be great. Some of his projects have turned out great. Some have been abject failures. So, I am hoping he delivers; and, as will see more in the next article if you missed it here, trying to give some positive rationale as to why the things that appear to be seriously wrong moves MIGHT not be so that people can consider that, too.

      I’m not suggesting anyone form an opinion on him, but that you keep a close eye and make it clear you’re keeping a close eye on him and are EXPECTING him to deliver. He’s done almost endless boasting about how everything he’s going to do is going to be great, so he has a lot to deliver on. Just be vigilant and don’t give him blind trust. Already his tax plan serves his own interests 100%. It certainly gives him far bigger breaks (not just in total dollars but as a percentage of his income) than it likely gives most readers of this blog.

      –David

      • Ping from RecoveringPublicEducated:

        All taxes suck. And i would prefer to see a “flat tax” ala Forbes old plan (think postcard sized 1040). But i agree reduced corporate taxes and regulations are better for everyone for 1 simple reason: middle class people (like me, anyway) don’t hire anyone. The de-industrialization of this country began with outrageous corporate taxes and regulations. It made the grass look greener elsewhere.
        Cabinet picks? Maybe using some Michael Corleone wisdom?

        Who knows, but thank you for keeping these issues at the forefront of our thinking. We The People do have power for change. Lets keep it INFORMED power.

        • Ping from Knave_Dave:

          Exactly, and thank you. We are way past the point of trusting any politician blindly or cutting anyone slack if they don’t follow through and do as they have said they will, especially if APPEARANCES are that he’s moving in the opposite direction before he’s even in office.

      • Ping from SZ:

        Dave, with all due respect, when I read what you write, you first like to be negative and look at anything you can find to point out flaws in Donald Trump. You are looking for problems instead of looking to be positive in his solutions.

        I have researched everything there is to know about Donald Trump. I have never been political, however, after finding out about him personally, his strengths, and his tenacity for telling truth more than anyone ever has in the political arena, I have great respect that he will do what he says considering he has hurdles with everyone else that will be in government with him.

        Can he do everything he has said exactly…probably not…considering there are a myriad of other factors that will throw hurdles at him.

        He has a great way of dealing with people…and most Americans love him. They want to hear what he says because he says it like it is instead of being politically correct which people are sick of hearing to include myself.

        You could just as easily look at all the wonderful, decent things Donald Trump is documented as doing for the common person over many years instead of pointing out ego which is one factor that won the election for him. He never quits.

        You could look at a President Elect that isn’t taking more than $1 for a salary to do a task that is unprecedented in its complexity.

        You could acknowledge him for his kindness and care regarding Vets.

        You could talk about his continual hard work and how he pressed hard to do all the rallies that won him the Presidency.

        Now, you can thank him because he is intent, after the hard campaign over so many months, on doing a “thank you” tour for the people of this great Nation.

        Who has ever done these things on the political scene before?

        All the prior Presidents and politicians did was take, lie, and cheat Americans in order to give to the rest of the world.

        You could look and be thankful for all the Globalist candidates that he took down like dominoes so we didn’t have to endure their lies and inaction anymore.

        You could be the most thankful that we never have to see Hillary Clinton as President of The United States with her war even on the most vulnerable…the unborn.

        Of course, he has an ego but look at the arena he has had to transit in business.

        He definitely is in the bigger picture…a picture neither you nor I have access to so to judge him at this point after all the great things he has done to get to where he is presently, I feel is very unfair.

        Let history judge him since history will record what he does and the outcome he achieves.

        Only then, I feel, you will see even more greatness in him that no other President has had.

        Mr. Trump is our President Elect and we all owe him a great debt of gratitude for taking on the task that he has willingly taken on for us.

        Instead of knit-picking on a daily basis from a very limited view why not rejoice that we finally have a President that wants the government to be of the people, by the people, and for the people.

        He says it all when he says: We will be one people, under one God, saluting one American flag…people will not be burning our flag on his watch.

        I say…Thank God for that let them all go live somewhere else.

        • Ping from Knave_Dave:

          Well, SZ, I won’t fault any of the points you’ve made, though I don’t agree with every one of them, but there are quite a few good ones there.

          I will, however, save my being thankful until he actually does something. So far, the team he is assembling looks as suspicious as a bunch of men in black stocking suits walking out of a bank at 1:00 in the morning. Some look fairly good, but most look like the black-stocking-suit guys.

          Right now I have no idea what to be thankful for because he hasn’t done anything, and all of this talk has leaned heavily in the direction of not doing many of the things he said he was going to do. I realize, as others have said (and I’ve realized it all along) that he could be feinting left only to dodge back to the right. But I don’t know that, and his past doesn’t give me any reason to invest trust in him on that until his actions prove differently.

          (Yes, he has done the Carrier deal, but the Carrier CEO didn’t sound like their decision had a lot to do with Trump, though he did play a part, and he did have to entice them with tax incentives to stay, and I do have some problem with giving SPECIAL tax incentives to some that you don’t give to every company out there at the same time. Go a little too far in that direction, and the proper economic term for it is fascism. Hopefully, he doesn’t go too far in that direction, but his talk has gone that far many times. When government’s and private investors team up to make projects happen, that’s fascism. It’s how Hitler stimulated the German economy. It works, but it has serious good-ol’-boy pitfalls, too, often moving money out of the public sector into the benefit of the private sector. That means your tax dollars going to help rich people build projects that they, then, collect further tolls on when you use them.)

          As I’ve said, he has left many, many people standing out in the cold when he’s declared bankruptcy on deals that went sour. He’s even said in the past that he sees bankruptcy as a form of finance that is allowed by our government. (I don’t have an issue with it being allowed by our government, but seeing it as a form of finance sounds a little too international.)

          Not saying he will go too far with public-private partnerships or that bankruptcy many times over PROVES anyone bad. Just saying I see a lot of red flags, and since he does a very astute job of telling everyone all that is good about himself all the time, and telling everyone all of his good intentions, I’ve focused on pointing out the red flags; but I’ve tried to balance the red flags with notes along the way about how they MIGHT not be as bad as they appear.

          –David

          • Ping from SZ:

            Where you see red flags, Dave…I see all the red states that voted for PE Donald Trump…sometimes it is wise to “trust” at this point in time with the new direction that the people voted for in the election.

            We know we can’t trust what has been leading our country to date.

            I feel energy is very important and our positive energy can change outcomes. Positive energy is what I choose to use right now instead of negative energy…remember energy creates.

            We have to use our energy now, in my opinion, to counteract all the disinformation regarding “fake news”, “Russian interference” in the election, etc. that these monsters on the left want the public to buy.

            It isn’t wise to use our energy against PE Donald Trump or each other so we are all divided…use it against the ones who are sabotaging the election results and let us all stand together.

            If there are problems later on with what the President Elect does then we will deal with those issues “when” and “if” they ever happen.

            I always agree to make people accountable for their actions that they have put their words behind. Sometimes, however, a different way of accomplishing what is said is used especially at the high level of President of the United States.

            I have already seen PE Trump’s wisdom in how he handles things…it is a very fine balance especially right now before he is inaugurated.

            Remember almost everything out of the left’s mouths is a “lie”. They are afraid of being caught in a most horrendous ring of corruption and they will do anything to cover it up.

            However, we have entered into a time of “truth” even if it isn’t pretty so they are constantly trying to cover their behinds…

            Masses of people are awakening all over the world and truth is willing out.

            These people never stop in their attempt to fool people and stay in power at any cost.

            Scrutinize the ones that need scrutiny is what I say, otherwise, they may upend everything that has happened on a positive note to rid our country of their corruption and lies.

            The swamp can be drained but it is a perilous job and PE Trump is the only one I know of that has the ability to get it done if we continue to stand behind him.

            Thank you, Dave, for listening to my reply and hopefully you will see what I am saying here. I wish you the best through these trying times.

            • Ping from Knave_Dave:

              Well, we’ll see what happens, SZ, and I wish you the best, too. Once I finish my last piece on Trump’s team sometime this week, I plan to move on to other topics anyway so as not to stay too political (though I am focusing on the political aspects that affect the economy).

  16. Ping from Ranger:

    Since Trump liked to assign names to his opponents, we have one for him.

    “Traitor Trump” !

  17. Ping from Virginia:

    As a foreclosure defense paralegal and blogger (DeadlyClear) I was needless to say uncomfortable with the Mnuchin appointment and certainly crooked Wilbur Ross. I realize there is an oligarchy and a major movement toward the “One World” government that Hillary so openly expressed as her “Global Initiative” that has been somewhat subdued by the election and the recent events in Europe. And it’s obvious to me US land and properties have become the backing for the fiat currency so highly manipulated in the Wall Street securitization and rehypothecation process.

    It appears obvious with the $700 TRILLION in Wall Street unregulated derivative debt and our $20 TRILLION gov’t deficit that there will be a crash…an ugly crash – and it won’t be Trump’s fault but the fake newsers will surely blame him. However, in the end I believe we’ll return to a gold or silver backed system. In the meantime, we need to be more self-sustainable and united as a country and as individuals.

    Mnuchin may be needed to guide the monetary transition and this WILL take insider knowledge, but WTF Ross is doing in the Commerce dept is beyond me, other than it is a meritless position. Neither one of these guys has anything to be proud of in their housing related careers despite the sound bits.

    Mnuchin ought to apologize to the over 30% of homeowners he foreclosed on (with forged documents) from his OneWest/IndyMac deal with the help of the Obama/Geithner HAMP scam and try to move forward…’cause he’s got nothing to be proud of pursuant to the OCC Consent Order. And Ross ought to thank God and Obama that he’s not in prison for the same thing through the now defunct AHMSI aka Homeward Residential.

    But even with all of this, I think where I’d be most concerned would be if George Soros suddenly ended up in a cabinet position or even walking into Trump Tower. We need to just take it one day at a time.

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      Thanks for the insights, Virginia. I agree that we need to take it all one day at a time because he’s not even president yet, but the weirdness of his transition team and his actual governing team continues to stack up into a peculiar looking structure for an anti-establishment candidate, as you’ve noted with a couple of the people above, which I’m writing about today.

      I wonder about the part of returning to a gold-backed system. If Trump is really the anti-establishment candidate he presented himself as being, then we might move that way; but I’m certain the establishment is moving toward a cashless fiat money system, as all moves around the world are trending in that direction quite noticeably. (See http://thegreatrecession.info/blog/cashless-society-global/ with its updates for this year.)

      Putting Mnuchin in charge of the Treasury is akin to putting Dillinger in charge of reconciling the till. The man never saw an underwater homeowner that he didn’t want to drown. After all this, even seeing Soros get out of his limo and walk up to Trump Tower wouldn’t entirely surprise me. It all certainly bears pointing out the peculiarities for people to keep their eyes on.

      –David

      • Ping from RecoveringPublicEducated:

        Trumps whole candidacy AND election reeks of weirdness. Fourth Turning? Hand of providence? Both? Neither? Its a great show so far, and again we’re at DEFCON 5 not 3.
        This article and comment section have caused me to be more vigilant, and for that i Thank You!

  18. Ping from jakartaman:

    Why don’t we let Donald get in the Oval office before we nail him to the cross.
    Remember the other option

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      Just pointing out the problematic area so you can keep an eye on them.

    • Ping from joe schmo:

      Why don’t we stop buying into the illusion that the reassurance ritual, otherwise known as the political process of voting, actually counts, and that when another puppet figure head occupies the oval office it’ll somehow make a difference in a country desperately overdue for an ACTUAL revolution. Trump will do NOTHING that his international bankster handlers don’t allow him to do, hence the rreal reason for surrounding himself with establishment goons and military idustrial complex cronies.

  19. Ping from Recyvuym:

    Trump’s between a rock and a hard place. Partly he put himself there by making stupid promises that would destabilise the country and economy (arrest Hillary Clinton, build a wall…) Partly it’s just the zeitgeist, and he’s shit out of luck. And then on the other hand, there’s a strong case to be made he could never have won the presidency without making such radical promises. He knows this. As much as he, and I, would love to see that pedophile-protecting piece of human excrement Hillary Clinton tossed into solitary for the rest of her days, fact is it would radicalise the left, kick up a huge storm among the oligarchy and divide a country that’s already teetering on the brink. It can’t happen, because there’s no justice in this world.

    The horrible irony here is that half the policies he’s backing off from are, as you mentioned, bad policies. It’s a relief he isn’t going to be wasting billions of dollars during the coming super-depression building a giant wall, or otherwise forcing Mexico to do it. Yet in failing to do this he has not only angered his supporters, but also given his rabid Democrat opposition free ammunition. They’re going to keep going after him for every little backstep he takes and then for a whole bunch he doesn’t take to boot (just look at some of the BS coming out about things like his Twitter habits or culinary habits). The refusal of the left to cooperate with their new president could easily create a backlash effect and push him further right.

    And the other half of the policies, namely draining the swamp, were never possible to begin with, even if he did have honest intentions (which, being that he’s a billionaire, I was extremely skeptical of from the start). Even people’s hero dem-socialist Bernie Sanders couldn’t have pulled it off. That’s because these swamp creatures are too deeply embedded in the system to retrench. The world is now seeing just how broken and unfixable America has truly become.

    If only Obama had been the man he claimed to be back in ’08, when he was swept into office on a wave of public adoration. He could have bailed out the taxpayers for half the money he spent on the crooked banks that caused the crash. Had he then stomached the resultant depression, he could have used it as a chance to radically reform the system. Most of your readers would probably disagree with the reforms in question, but at least they would have extricated the tics and leeches who have now nestled even deeper into the Statue of Liberty and are currently in the last stages of sucking her dry. And then we might not be in this mess.

    But it was not to be. Now, even if Trump was the saviour many people wish him to be, the reality of his presidency is going to be a Great Depression and, as I have mentioned elsewhere, a likely war with China due to the Thucidydes Trap among other factors. And none of that is his fault, exactly. The most painful part of all is this all shapes up just GREAT for the globalists, in the long run. He’ll be the ultimate scapegoat. If he messes up badly enough, they might even get to execute him at the Hague. It’s like watching a slow-motion train wreck.

    In closing – Italy just voted no, like I said they would, and the euro plunged, predictably. I reckon we’ll see Monte dei Paschi go down before the coming week is even out. So everyone in the Eurozone is going to be making for the exits even faster than predicted. You should really get onto that, it’s going to be just as bad as what’s happening in America if not worse. Tomorrow we find out just how bad the crash in Italian bonds will be.

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      A good summary of the probabilities and possibilities. I wish I had time to cover all that is falling apart in Europe right now, too. From the start of the Great Recession, I’ve said it will play out like a great tsunami that starts from the US, travels across the ocean and slams Europe and then reflects back to the US and slams the US again.

      Banca Monte dei Paschim di Siena, the oldest bank in the world and Italy’s third-largest, was badly damaged by the first wave of the Great Recession and has carried a lot of bad debt on its books ever since, as I’ve reported here before when I did have the time. You are right that there is a good chance this leaning tower will start to topple this week, as it will be undermined further now that it is clear that Italy is headed for its own exit from the EU.

      Italy, unlike the UK, is also a member of the Eurozone; so, Monte’s fall and the flight of money from Italy will create pressure throughout the Eurozone, including on Germany’s oldest (and failing) bank Deutsche Bank, meaning the Eurozone could start crumbling seriously well ahead of any vote by Italy to actually exit. The Eurozone might not even withstand the now very real threat of Italy leaving the EU.

      • Ping from Recyvuym:

        Exactly. I know you tend to focus on what’s happening in your own country, but Italy right now is collapse in action. I have a feeling you’re gonna have a LOT of writing to do over the coming month. And months. The gradual meltdown of the US economy and the anti-globalist uprising in Trump is one thing, but Europe is where all the action’s at right now.

        Today, Renzi decided to effectively nationalise Monte dei Paschi. He’s increasing government holdings in the dying bank from 4% to 40% in a last-ditch bid to encourage investors. I believe they call this the sunk cost fallacy, or maybe they just call it throwing butane onto an inferno? We’ll get to see if his plan works in just three days now (it won’t).

        • Ping from Virginia:

          Have you tweeted any of this? We see very EU little here inthe US unless you hunt for it. Renzi nationalizing Monte die Paschi would be an excellent tweet.

          • Ping from Knave_Dave:

            Once I finish the series I’ve started here that reviews Trump’s team, I think that shifting my focus to Europe is a good idea. It’s going to be months before we can really see how Trump’s plan pans out. I have major reservations about it, and will point out problems along the way because we don’t have the luxury of time for more mistakes. We’ve used up all the time that Fed stimulus could buy. The Donald’s plan looks like it might buy a little more time, but there are so many other economic forces in play, such as you mention in Europe, that I’m not sure Trump is going to have that time.

            Clearly, they already have lost resolve to control interest since it is rising all over the country … or they have lost the ability to because the market has taken over. As bond interest, mortgage interest and other kinds of credit now climb at a clip as great as the “Taper Tantrum” in 2013, it doesn’t appear the Fed is doing anything to hold interest down. Maybe they have reached their limit, or they’re doing what I said might start to happen as soon as the election is over and letting it slip to put the blame on Trump. I’ve said all year, that I think the Fed will let things go after Trump is elected, but may try to hold on until Obama is out of office so that they are more certain the blame will rest on trust. (An easy sell for the mainstream media.) I think, by the time they decide to raise rates in December, their raise will already be irrelevant, other than whatever symbolic power it has because interest rates are running out way ahead of them already.

            • Ping from Recyvuym:

              I completely agree, the US economy will mostly remain stable until February or so for that exact reason. The flood of capital to the US will probably look like a windfall at first, but there are already plenty of articles out about the dangers of a hyper-strengthening US dollar. And as usual, the monolithic crash of China looms ever closer in the background.

              Worth noting Australia just went into recession. Won’t be official for another three months but there’s no way in hell our growth is getting better over the next quarter.

              We’re finally here. It’s been such a long wait. Holding my breath and bracing for impact.

          • Ping from Recyvuym:

            Don’t have Twitter I’m afraid. But rest assured I’m telling everyone I meet.

            Me: “Did you know the Italian banking system is about to either crash or get bailed in, and either result is going to bring down the entire European banking system within twelve months?”

            Cashier: “… No I did not, sir, but that’ll be $12.50 for your groceries.”

            I did tell one woman whose daughter is an exchange student in Italy. She said she’d look into it and that her daughter might be coming home for Christmas if it’s true. I’m noticing a growing sense of pessimism regarding the future of Europe, and the world at large. It’s starting to become undeniable.

  20. Ping from Chris P:

    Great job as always Dave. Can’t wait to read part 2. If I had to say what Trump’s strongest asset is I would say his ability to manipulate the media and masses. Not sure what he is going to do with it but time will tell.

    • Ping from Knave_Dave:

      Thanks, Chris! A couple of other things that stand out to me about Trump is that he is a pragmatist (so many of his choices for cabinet officers are based on what will work, rather than on idealism). That makes where he is going a mystery. He is also the quintessential leader by delegation who keeps his eye on the big picture, avoiding all micromanagement. (In my view, the best style of leadership.) He’s certainly got some powerful leadership skills.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *