;)
The Commentariat -- June 21, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
This Just Gets Better & Better. Jacob Knutson of Axios: "Just under 6,200 people attended President Trump's rally in Tulsa Saturday, well below the BOK Center's total capacity of 19,200, a public information officer for the Tulsa Fire Department told Forbes Sunday.... Trump's campaign had planned to turn the rally into a massive pro-Trump festival to energize his re-election bid amid the coronavirus pandemic and nation-wide protests against police brutality." ~~~
~~~ Monica Alba, et al., of NBC News: "... Donald Trump is 'furious' at the 'underwhelming' crowd at his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday evening, a major disappointment< for what had been expected to be a raucous return to the campaign trail..., according to multiple people close to the White House. The president was fuming at his top political aides Saturday even before the rally began after his campaign revealed that six members of the advance team on the ground in Tulsa had tested positive for COVID-19, including Secret Service personnel, a person familiar with the discussions said. Trump asked those around him why the information was exposed and expressed annoyance that the coverage ahead of his mega-rally was dominated by the revelation.... 'This was a major failure,' one outside adviser said. ~~~
~~~ Anatomy of a Disaster. Kevin Liptak & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Once viewed inside the White House and Trump's campaign as a reset button for a presidency beset by crises and self-inflicted wounds, Saturday evening's campaign rally in Tulsa instead became plagued with pitfalls, a disappointing microcosm of the blindspots, denial and wishful thinking that have come to guide the President as he enters one of the most precarious moments of his first term. By the time he strode out to the strains of Lee Greenwood on Saturday evening into a partially-full Bank of Oklahoma Center, the event had devolved from a triumphant return to the campaign trail after a 110-day pandemic-forced absence into something else altogether. The launch of a new assault on ... Joe Biden fizzled, replaced by recycled grievances and race-baiting. The sparse crowd was a reminder that many Americans, even Trump's supporters, remain cautious of a pandemic that continues to rage in places like Oklahoma...."
The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Sunday are here. "Nationwide, cases have risen 15 percent over the last two weeks. Cases are rising in 18 states across the South, West and Midwest. Seven states hit single-day case records yesterday, and five others hit a record earlier in the week.... At the same time, overall deaths have dropped dramatically. The 14-day average was down 42 percent as of Saturday. Strikingly, the new infections have skewed younger, with more people in their 20s and 30s testing positive, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said." ~~~
~~~ Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: "New York City's ambitious contact-tracing program, a crucial initiative in the effort to curb the coronavirus, has gotten off to a worrisome start just as the city's reopening enters a new phase on Monday, with outdoor dining, in-store shopping and office work resuming. The city has hired 3,000 disease detectives and case monitors, who are supposed to identify anyone who has come into contact with the hundreds of people who are still testing positive for the virus in the city every day. But the first statistics from the program, which began on June 1, indicate that tracers are often unable to locate infected people or gather information from them. Only 35 percent of the 5,347 city residents who tested positive or were presumed positive for the coronavirus in the program's first two weeks gave information about close contacts to tracers, the city said in releasing the first statistics. The number ticked up slightly, to 42 percent, during the third week.... Contact tracing is one of the few tools that public health officials have to fight Covid-19 in lieu of a vaccine...." ~~~
~~~ Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd., Coronavirus Edition. Jessica Silver-Greenberg & Amy Harris of the New York Times: "More than any other institution in America, nursing homes have come to symbolize the deadly destruction of the coronavirus crisis. More than 51,000 residents and employees of nursing homes and long-term care facilities have died, representing more than 40 percent of the total death toll in the United States. But even as they have been ravaged, nursing homes have also been enlisted in the response to the outbreak. They are taking on coronavirus-stricken patients to ease the burden on overwhelmed hospitals -- and, at times, to bolster their bottom lines.... They are kicking out old and disabled residents -- among the people most susceptible to the coronavirus -- and shunting them into homeless shelters, rundown motels and other unsafe facilities..." to make room for more profitable Covid-19 patients.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: Journalist Maria "Ressa was convicted, in her native Philippines, on trumped-up charges of cyber libel.... While [a highly-respected journalist in] the Philippines' fragile democracy was under attack by the authoritarian Rodrigo Duterte, a Trump appointee was purging highly respected news executives within the United States taxpayer-funded agency whose intended role is to counter disinformation around the world.... All of [the] departures stemmed from Trump's appointment of Michael Pack, a conservative filmmaker and associate of his longtime adviser Stephen K. Bannon.... [According to John Bolton,] at a summer 2019 meeting in New Jersey, Trump said journalists should be jailed so they have to divulge their sources, according to the former national security adviser's account. 'These people should be executed. They are scumbags,' Trump said. Maybe he didn't mean that literally, but it's still language that ought to shock every American."
~~~~~~~~~~
Presidential Race, Schadenfreude Edition
What if you hosted a rally for a million people and only 10,000 6,200 showed up?
Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times deliver a withering assessment of the Traveling Trump Show: "President Trump's attempt to revive his re-election campaign sputtered badly on Saturday night as he traveled to Tulsa for his first mass rally in months and found a far smaller crowd than his aides had promised him, then delivered a disjointed speech that did not address the multiple crises facing the nation or scandals battering him in Washington. The weakness of Mr. Trump's drawing power and political skills, in a state that voted for him overwhelmingly and in a format that he favors, raised new questions about his electoral prospects for a second term at a time when his poll numbers were already falling. And rather than speak to the wide cross-section of Americans who say they are concerned about police violence and systemic racism, he continued to use racist language, describing the coronavirus as 'Kung Flu.' While the president's campaign had claimed that more than a million people had sought tickets for the rally, the 19,000-seat BOK Center was at least one-third empty during the rally. A second, outdoor venue was so sparsely attended that he and Vice President Mike Pence both canceled appearances there. Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, falsely blamed the small numbers on 'radical protesters' and the news media who he said had frightened away supporters. But there were few protests in the area and no sizable effort to block entrances, and there was a strong security presence." ~~~
~~~ Here's how Trump tried to explain away the sparse attendance. It's 100% false. "Look at what happened tonight. Law enforcement said, 'Sir, they can't be outside, it is too dangerous.' We had a bunch of maniacs come and sort of attack our city. The mayor, the governor did a great job. But they were very violent. And our people are not nearly as violent, but if they ever were, it would be a terrible, terrible day for the other side." ~~~
~~~ Philip Rucker & Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "To a nation broken by a pandemic and a recession -- and with a racial justice movement roiling communities across the country -- Trump offered neither reconciliation nor rapprochement. Instead, he put up a fight.... With cities coast to coast pulsating in protest of racial injustice, Trump used his bully pulpit to exacerbate the chaos and division in hopes of capitalizing on the nation's fraying bonds. He condemned what he called 'this cruel campaign of censorship' and, in reference to the debate over removing monuments and memorials to Confederate generals, declared: 'They want to demolish our heritage.... We have a great heritage. We're a great country.'... His 101-minute address was rambling and discordant, ranging from some of his favorite hits, such as attacks on CNN and the 'fake news' to dark imagery about 'Joe Biden's America' as overrun by rioters and looters to a lengthy monologue explaining his slow and unsteady walk down a ramp and two-handed sip of water last weekend at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point." Here's a portion of Trump's reconstruction of his harrowing afternoon at West Point: ~~~
~~~ Washington Post live updates are here. "In a speech lasting nearly two hours -- filled with grievances, falsehoods and misleading claims -- Trump said that because more testing means higher numbers of known coronavirus cases, his direction was to curtail it. 'So I said to my people, "Slow the testing down,"' he said. A White House official said later the president was 'obviously kidding,' but he has previously expressed skepticism about testing, which public health experts say is required to contain the outbreak." ~~~
"A Tulsa mayoral aide resigned Saturday in response to the city's handling of the president's campaign rally. Jack Graham said the decision has been building since the pandemic began, but the lack of enforcement of CDC guidelines at the presidential rally was the last straw.... Graham told the Post...., '... I started becoming unsupportive [of the mayor] when people kind of just passed the baton along and didn't want to make a firm decision to adhere to the CDC guidelines or social distancing that any other event like this should deal with,' he said. 'Someone told me the basic test for anything is: Are people going to die? In this case, people are going to die.'" ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates of Trump's Tulsa rally are here. "Inside the arena..., most of the attendees were not wearing masks or social distancing. But the bigger concern for Mr. Trump was that as the rally started the arena appeared only a little more than half full. Campaign advisers, who had hyped a mega-rally that would help undercut polls that show Mr. Trump's support sagging nationwide, claimed that their supporters had trouble entering the arena, and blamed 'radical' protesters and the media. 'Sadly, protestors interfered with supporters, even blocking access to the metal detectors, which prevented people from entering the rally,' said Tim Murtaugh, the campaign communications director. 'Radical protestors, coupled with a relentless onslaught from the media, attempted to frighten off the President's supporters. We are proud of the thousands who stuck it out.' But in reality, there were few protests across the city, and black leaders in Tulsa called for people to stay away from the rally. There was also a huge security presence around the arena." ~~~
~~~ A Politico story is here.
Donald Judd of CNN: "The Trump campaign confirmed six staffers working on the Tulsa rally tested positive for coronavirus." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Kaelan Deese of the Hill: "The Trump Death Clock truck moved in to join the camaraderie in Tulsa, Okla. ahead of President Trump's rally there Saturday evening. The truck displays digital statistics on three different faces of the vehicle, delivering a real-time tracker of alleged needless American deaths due to Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic, The Guardian reported. The mobilized death clock is strategically placed outside of the Bank of Oklahoma (BOK) Center, where Trump's rally is scheduled for at 7 p.m. CT Saturday. Eugene Jarecki, an award-winning filmmaker, is the administer behind the clock, and said the truck's presence in Tulsa is a public service. 'We want everyone who attends Trump's rally to have an opportunity to make an informed choice based on real numbers,' Jarecki said. The display uses information pulled from the Trump Death Clock webpage, which claims, 'Experts estimate that, had mitigation measures been implemented one week earlier, 60% of American COVID-19 deaths would have been avoided.' The tracker currently suggests around 71,700 American deaths could have been avoided had the administration acted sooner in response to the pandemic." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Michelle Lee of the Washington Post: "... Joe Biden outraised President Trump in May for the first time, outpacing Trump by nearly $7 million as he ramped up his high-dollar fundraising capacity, new figures show. But Trump's reelection committees maintain a significant war chest, entering June with $265 million of cash on hand, according to his campaign. Biden's campaign has not yet released its cash-on-hand figure, but his committees had about $105 million at the end of April, according to filings."
Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump on Saturday personally fired the United States Attorney in Manhattan, Geoffrey S. Berman, whose office has pursued one case after another that has rankled the president and his allies, putting his former personal lawyer in prison and investigating his current one.It was the culmination of an extraordinary clash after years of tension between the White House and New York federal prosecutors. In a letter released by the Justice Department, Attorney General William P. Barr accused of Mr. Berman of choosing 'public spectacle over public service' because he would not voluntarily step down from the position. 'Because you have declared that you have no intention of resigning, I have asked the President to remove you as of today, and he has done so,' the letter read. Mr. Barr said Mr. Berman's top deputy, Audrey Strauss, would become the acting United States Attorney.... Speaking briefly to reporters outside the White House before heading to a campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., Mr. Trump appeared to try to distance himself from the firing.Mr. Trump insisted that he was 'not involved,' despite Mr. Barr's letter, which made clear that Mr. Trump had dismissed Mr. Barr.... In a statement released Saturday evening, Mr. Berman said he would step down immediately in light of Mr. Barr's 'decision to respect the normal operation of law' in replacing him with Ms. Strauss." Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Betsy Swan, et al., of Politico: "Geoffrey Berman ... is ending his standoff with Attorney General William Barr, stepping down voluntarily after Barr reversed course and named Berman's deputy to lead the powerful U. S. attorney's office. 'In light of Attorney General Barr's decision to respect the normal operation of law and have Deputy U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss become Acting U.S. Attorney, I will be leaving the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, effective immediately,' Berman said in a statement, following a tense 12-hour-period in which Barr twice sought to remove Berman, only to see his efforts frustrated.... Barr, who hasn't explained why he issued a false initial statement about the circumstances of Berman's departure, then accused Berman of creating a 'public spectacle' and said he had gotten Trump's authorization to fire him.... Barr's drive to oust Berman hit [another] speed bump Saturday when Trump told reporters he was 'not involved' in Barr's handling of the matter. The episode has prompted the House Judiciary Committee to open an investigation, with the explicit backing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who suggested Barr's involvement had 'base and improper motives.'"
~~~ Harry Siegel & others of the Daily Beast have a good post on this fiasco titled, "Berman Leaves SDNY in Trusted Hands After Bill Barr Fucks Up His Ouster." ~~~
~~~ Renae Merle of the Washington Post: "President Trump's pick to be the next U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, is the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and a longtime corporate lawyer with deep connections to Wall Street. But he has no experience as a federal prosecutor. On his 2017 SEC financial disclosure form, for example, Clayton listed Deutsche Bank as a source of compensation 'exceeding $5,000.... The German bank has repeatedly run afoul of federal and state laws and was implicated in large money laundering schemes. It is also at the center of a battle between the Trump administration and House Democrats over the release of the president's financial records. The bank has played critical role in Trump's real estate business, lending him more than $360 million since 2012.
"Clayton is facing an uphill battle to win Senate confirmation. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has already called on Clayton to drop out. 'Jay Clayton can allow himself to be used in the brazen Trump-Barr scheme to interfere in investigations by the U.S. Attorney for SDNY, or he can stand up to this corruption, withdraw his name from consideration, and save his own reputation from overnight ruin,' Schumer said on Twitter. Schumer also called on the Justice Department's inspector general as well as its office of professional responsibility to investigate why Trump and Barr dismissed Berman. Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said Saturday that he would not move forward on confirmation hearings for Clayton unless the appointment is supported by New York's two U.S. senators, Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)." Mrs. McC: I do wonder what got into Lindsey. ~~~
~~~ Manu Raju, et al., of CNN: "Attorney General Bill Barr's effort to push out one of the most powerful prosecutors in the country ran into headwinds Saturday, with Republicans signaling little appetite to fight to confirm a new US attorney amid Democratic accusations that the move was an effort to shield ... Donald Trump's associates from federal investigation. Republicans on Capitol Hill were blindsided by the late Friday night effort by Barr to seek the ouster of Geoffrey Berman, whose office at the Southern District of New York was investigating Trump confidante Rudy Giuliani and other sensitive matters." Mrs. McC: Maybe Lindsey is just pissed off that Barr didn't tell him he was planning to fire Berman. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: And don't kid yourself. Firing Berman & replacing him with a lawyer for the miscreants at Deutsche Bank isn't about Rudy, Lev & Igor. It's about SDNY investigations into Trump's finances. Full stop. Trump's pretense that he was "not involved" in Berman's firing is as true as his assertion that he had no idea why Michael Cohen had paid Stormy Daniels $130K.
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "... John R. Bolton can go forward with the publication of his memoir, a federal judge ruled on Saturday, rejecting the administration's request for an order that he try to pull the book back and saying it was too late for such an order to succeed. 'With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe -- many in newsrooms -- the damage is done. There is no restoring the status quo,' wrote Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the Federal District Court of the District of Columbia. But in a 10-page opinion, Judge Lamberth also suggested that Mr. Bolton may be in jeopardy of forfeiting his $2 million advance, as the Justice Department has separately requested -- and that he could be prosecuted for allowing the book to be published before receiving final notice that a prepublication review to scrub out classified information was complete.... The judge wrote that after viewing classified declarations and discussing them in the closed hearing, he was 'persuaded that defendant Bolton likely jeopardized national security by disclosing classified information in violation of his nondisclosure agreement obligations.'... Judge Lamberth will also oversee the part of the lawsuit that seeks to seize Mr. Bolton's proceeds...." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: On the other hand, Bigmouth Donald may have hurt the so-called "Justice" Department's case for clawing back Bolton's profits. As Savage notes, "Mr. Trump has accused Mr. Bolton of lying -- and false information is not classified." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Fortunately, Donald Trump accepted the ruling in a mature & circumspect manner: ~~~
~~~ Tax Axelrod of the Hill: "President Trump touted a judge's ruling on former national security adviser John Bolton's memoir that allowed the book to proceed with publishing but panned its author as possibly threatening the nation. 'BIG COURT WIN against Bolton. Obviously, with the book already given out and leaked to many people and the media, nothing the highly respected Judge could have done about stopping it...BUT, strong & powerful statements & rulings on MONEY & on BREAKING CLASSIFICATION were made,' Trump tweeted. 'Bolton broke the law and has been called out and rebuked for so doing, with a really big price to pay. He likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him!'" Mrs. McC: You may find it odd to characterize a loss as a win, but you're not Donald Trump. And you probably don't have a phalanx of obsequious aides telling you, "You won, Sir. You won!" (Also linked yesterday.)
The Washington Post's live updates for coronavirus developments Saturday are here. "New daily coronavirus cases in the United States on Friday exceeded 30,000 for the first time in seven weeks as states in the South and West continued to report alarming spikes in new infections.... The last time new daily cases in the United States topped 30,000 was on May 1...." The New York Times' live updates for Saturday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
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Reader Comments (14)
Perhaps the other 990.000 rally attendees had trouble making their flight transfers at the Minneapolis/St. Powell airport.
Is Fatso wearing thin?
His former act did, declining from near 20 million viewers in The Apprentice's first season to 11 or so four years later to under 5 million in the show's tenth. (Wikipedia)
Maybe the shtick has run its coarse course.
Countdown to coronavirus spike in Tulsa starts now. In two to three weeks we’ll hear that the sudden increase in reported cases has nothing to do with a fat liar trying pack ‘em in to make him look less like a loser.
Tick tock, motherfucker.
Under the Big Top in Tulsa
Reports of a sad, old, doddering fat man saying stupid and racist things to a small audience of drooling losers express surprise that the fat man didn’t address the many problems his tenure has caused, exacerbated, and/or ignored. C’mon guys, people don’t go to the circus and expect the guy in a baggy suit, clown shoes, and an orange fright wig to declaim on the state of the world. They go to laugh while he bumbles around and falls on his face.
THE PUNK'S LATEST PASSION PLAY:
So from all the reports of the rally last night it was the same as it ever was––ginning up fury to further the fool's stance in the stands. Not to worry that the crowd was short of the thousands touted earlier–-Fatty and his minions will come up with someone to blame––some kind of conspiracy, I imagine.
"Four years ago, the mood at Trump’s rallies was electric but heavy, a mix of anger and the possibility of “winning”—winning so much, Trump promised, that we’d get tired of winning. Since then he has won; and won and won and won. The energy now is victorious—and even darker. If the arena is a safe space for Trumpers, a church where the like-minded can join together in a sea of red hats, the world outside is scarier than ever. “Secret murders everywhere,” says Pastor Sean, his voice low and growly. “Pedophiles and evil.” That’s why he loves Trump: because he believes God has chosen Trump for this hour. That which Trump’s critics see as crude and divisive, Pastor Sean takes as proof of his anointing. He is God’s champion, a fighter, a “counterpuncher.” All of which has put Trump’s life in danger, says Pastor Sean. “He knows too much.” Jeff Sharlet
So given that today is Sunday–-the Lord's Day, as we like to say, it is also Daddy's Day! therefore I wish all the Dad's here and elsewhere a happy day although I reserve my wishes for what used to be called "The Father of our country" and certainly for figures like Pastor Sean and his ilk–-who, like their leader, know too little and use that ignorance like a weapon.
`It's Summer Solstice and Fathers' Day, all rolled into one. Upon waking, thought of the sparse Tulsa crowd. Maybe he oughta downsize to a high school gym for the next one, I thought.
My best to all on this fine day.
It's also Sunday, when sermons abound. Will send some version of it to the local paper today.
"Apologists for today’s Republican Party frequently blame Trump for all that ails it.
Michael Gerson, a former Reagan speechwriter, wrote the other day in the Washington Post that when the “erratic” Trump is gone, the party can revisit and refine what it really stands for. His implication? That Trumpism is not real Republicanism.
He suggests that if the Republican Party is able to crawl out from under Trump’s shadow in 2021, the party will look very different.
But state and federal Republican legislatures provide many convincing reasons to doubt it. Across the country, Republican legislative actions and inactions make what the Republican Party stands for very clear.
By failing to convict the president in his impeachment trial, the Republican Senate has said blackmailing a foreign government to help a sitting president get re-elected is fine. Of Trump’s recently reported plea to China’s leader Xi for the same “favor,” they have said nothing at all (thehill.com).
Republican-controlled state legislatures have repeatedly enacted rules to suppress the vote, most recently in Iowa (desmoinesregister.com), certifying Republican disdain for democracy.
Their federal and state level decisions on health insurance, tax policy and the regulatory role of government uniformly favor corporate interests, while they happily degrade the environment, damage peoples’ health, and further widen the gulf between the rich and the rest.
Perhaps most alarming is Republicans’ repeated rejection of evidence-based decision making. The current rush to re-start the Covid-paused economy in Republican states despite their ensuing spikes in Covid cases follows their long-established pattern of magical thinking.
In the face of overwhelming contrary evidence, Republicans act as if guns make us safer (safewise.com), and fossil-fueled climate change is no big deal (nytimes.com—climate/crash/course).
What Gerson loses in the madness of Trumpian chaos is the certainty that even without it, Republicans will still be Republicans."
Just received this from my buddy in D.C. who sees the OK sign in a whole new light––or darkness as the case may be.:
"Thinking again about the Jeff Sharlet article in Vanity Fair. He describes various meanings attributed to the OK sign.
I'm just now remembering that when I was a sniggering pubescent yoot, making the OK sign while moving the hand back and forth symbolized male masturbation. A typical usage: if another yoot was spewing boastful lies, someone behind him would sneer and make the sign to express: "Yeah, right. He's just jerking off."...
Given that The Donald spews boastful lies continuously, this interpretation makes a lot of sense."
PD,
A fine image, that, a perfect metaphor for the elevation of self and its immediate gratification.
Now I can't erase the picture of ten thousand moaning Trumpbots simultaneously indulging in a ritual that while so satisfying in itself is guaranteed to have no issue.
A sort of sin, some have said. Onan got in trouble for it, I believe.
One of those thanks, I guess, moments, PD-- and on Father's Day, no less.
I once read somewhere that the people who go to the Trump rallies are kinda like Deadheads in that they travel around the country going to rally after rally. This seems to be borne out by some of the quotes I read for this one (“I just love these rallies, it’s my seventh one!” or some such nonsense). Would be interesting to know how many unique attendees there are for any given rally; I suspect it may be a smaller number than the campaign would have us believe.
If you think the venue is half-full, you're an optimist.
If you think the venue is half-empty, you're a pessimist.
If you think the venue is full to the brim, you're a Trumpist.
If you think the venue is full of sh!t, you're right.
I hope Randy Rainbow is working on "Leather on the soles of his shoes", after Paul Simon's "diamonds ..."
Started to watch the video of Trump in Tulsa, it was so appalling and embarrassing that a so-called leader of the free world behaved in such juvenile manner. Of course, this wasn't the first time we've seen him like this...but, his actions are worsening. I had to stop the video before I threw up.
@MAG. Yup. Apparently this was a 102-minutes performance. I turned the teevee off last night the minute Trump walked into the room. I was going to embed the Washington Post's 4-minute clip in today's Commentariat, but I couldn't stand more than a minute of it, so I nixed it. However, I kind of enjoyed watching Trump make a fool of himself as he invented excuses for his physical difficulties at West Point. A presidential rally is supposed to be about articulating your vision for the country, not fake-explaining why you can't walk or hold a water-glass.
The water-glass excuse, I gathered, was that he didn't want to drop on his expensive silk tie. A person with ordinary motor skills can drink from a glass held in one hand without dribbling onto his shirt-front -- and most people do so without giving it any thought or special effort.
’ We had a bunch of maniacs come and sort of attack our city.
Of all the places to make this statement! I CAN NOT shake the images and accounts of the massacre in Greenwood almost a 100 years ago. Tulsa is a fitting place for a trump rally.