bureaucracybusters

Archive for November 28th, 2017|Daily archive page

DONALD TRUMP: WAGING WAR ON HIMSELF

In Bureaucracy, History, Politics, Social commentary on November 28, 2017 at 12:15 am

As a Presidential candidate, Donald Trump repeatedly used Twitter to attack hundreds of real and imagined enemies in politics, journalism, TV and films.

From June 15, 2015, when he launched his Presidential campaign, until October 24, 2016, Trump fired almost 4,000 angry, insulting tweets at 281 people and institutions that had somehow offended him.

Related image

Donald Trump

The New York Times needed two full pages of its print edition to showcase them.

Among his targets:

  • Hillary Clinton
  • President Barack Obama
  • News organizations
  • Beauty pageant contestants
  • Women
  • Blacks
  • Hispanics
  • Asians
  • Muslims
  • The disabled
  • Prisoners-of-war

As President, he has continued to insult virtually everyone, verbally and on Twitter. (One notable exception: Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom many believe has compromising information on Trump.)

His targets have included Democrats, Republicans, the media, foreign leaders (most notably North Korea’s “Little Rocket Man” Kim Jong Un) and even members of his Cabinet.  Among these:

  • After NBC News reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Trump a “moron,” Trump told Forbes magazine: “I think it’s fake news, but if he did that, I guess we’ll have to compare IQ tests. And I can tell you who is going to win.”  
  • Trump repeatedly humiliated his then-chief of staff, Reince Priebus—at one point ordering him to kill a fly that was buzzing about. On July 28, Priebus resigned.  

So it was probably inevitable that, having waged war on virtually everyone, Trump has finally gotten around to waging war on himself. 

On October 7, 2016, The Washington Post had leaked a video of then Republican Presidential nominee Trump making sexually predatory comments about women. 

The remarks came during a 2005 exchange with Billy Bush, then the host of “Access Hollywood.” The two were traveling on a bus to the set of the soap opera Days of Our Lives, where Trump was to make a cameo appearance. 

A “hot” microphone picked up their conversation—which proved damning for Trump:  

Donald Trump: You know and I moved on her actually. You know she was down on Palm Beach. I moved on her and I failed. I’ll admit it. I did try and fuck her. She was married.

Trump: No, no, Nancy. No this was—and I moved on her very heavily.  In fact, I took her out furniture shopping. She wanted to get some furniture. I said I’ll show you where they have some nice furniture….

I moved on her like a bitch, but I couldn’t get there, and she was married. Then all of a sudden I see her, she’s now got the big phony tits and everything. She’s totally changed her look. 

[At that point, they spotted Adrianne Zucker, the starring actress in Days of Our Lives.] 

Donald Trump, Adrianne Zucker and Billy Bush

Bush:  Sheesh, your girl’s hot as shit. In the purple.  Yes! The Donald has scored. Whoa, my man!

Trump: Look at you. You are a pussy.  Maybe it’s a different one.

Bush: It better not be the publicist. No, it’s her. It’s—

Trump: Yeah, that’s her. With the gold. I better use some Tic Tacs just in case I start kissing her. You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful—I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything.

Bush: Whatever you want.

Trump: Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.

When the Washington Post broke the story on October 7, the reaction was immediate—and explosive.

Trump quickly released a statement: “This was locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago. Bill Clinton has said far worse to me on the golf course—not even close. I apologize if anyone was offended.” 

So it no doubt comes as a surprise that Trump has told at least one adviser and a sitting United States senator that the tape was false or had been doctored. 

According to the New York Times, Trump has suggested this at least twice since January. As with his claims that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, he has not offered any evidence to support his charge.

But if the tape was false or doctored, why did Trump issue an apology a year ago?

One point that Trump has not denied: That, on October 18, 2016, NBC News fired “Today” show host Billy Bush for his role in the “Access Hollywood” tape.

The “doctored tape” claim comes after Trump made clear his support for embattled Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore.

At least nine women have accused Moore of making unwanted sexual advances toward them—groping, molesting or pursuing relationships with them when they were teenagers and he was in his 30s.  

Trump is reportedly infuriated by the calls for Moore to exit the Alabama race. Supposedly he sees these as similar to the calls for his own exit from the 2016 Presidential campaign after the “Access Hollywood” tape appeared. 

At least 16 women publicly accused Trump of making unwanted sexual advances toward them. He claimed the women were lying and threatened to sue them for slander (as well as the newspapers for printing their accusations). 

But he never sued anyone.