;)
The Commentariat -- Nov. 24, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Alana Wise & Barbara Sprunt of NPR: "President-elect Joe Biden stressed a return to multilateralism Tuesday as he introduced key national security and foreign policy appointees and nominees for his incoming White House Cabinet, moving forward with the traditional transition process.... The group joined Biden in his announcement on Tuesday. Biden hailed the group, saying the team gathered behind him 'reflects that America is back.'... Following Biden's remarks, each nominee delivered introductory comments.... Four of the six roles Biden announced require Senate confirmation. [John] Kerry and Jake Sullivan, tapped for national security adviser, will not need such a vote." You can watch the event here.
The Washington Post's live election updates Tuesday are here. They are free to non-subscribers. "Pennsylvania certified Biden's victory on Tuesday, effectively handing him 20 electoral votes while further dashing Trump's hopes of overturning a loss in a key battleground state. After receiving official confirmation of the presidential vote totals from all 67 Pennsylvania counties, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar (D) formally certified the result for president and vice president, a news release from her office stated. Gov. Tom Wolf (D) then signed a certificate selecting Biden's slate of electors, which was submitted to the federal government.... ~~~
~~~ "The Dow Jones industrial average reached 30,000 points for the first time in history, after Trump authorized the government to begin the transition processes and Biden signaled his pick for treasury secretary -- steps Wall Street interpreted as further progress in stabilizing the nation's economy." MB: Wall Street is jumping for joy at the prospect of being rid of you, Donnie Boy. ~~~
~~~ Matt Phillips of the New York Times: "Investors of all political persuasions say they are ready to turn the page on what was a profitable but extraordinarily politicized and stressful period for the financial markets, where they had to contend with an unpredictable force whose pronouncements frequently moved stock prices. For the most part, investors supported Trump administration policies; it was the president's unpredictable tweeting they found hard to stomach. In the past four years, Mr. Trump used his bully pulpit to praise and berate companies, escalate a trade war with China and signal the economy's strengths ahead of official announcements. In the process, his Twitter account became a singular source of market volatility."
The Lazy, Good-for-Nothing Twitter King. Karen Yourish & Larry Buchanan of the New York Times: "In the three weeks since Election Day, President Trump's most visible presence has been on Twitter. Since Nov. 3, he has posted some 550 tweets -- about three-quarters of which attempted to undermine the integrity of the 2020 election results. In total, the president attacked the legitimacy of the election more than 400 times since Election Day, though his claims of fraud have been widely debunked.... Mr. Trump's public calendar, meanwhile, has been remarkably light, especially relative to his pre-election schedule, when he often attended multiple campaign rallies in a single day.... He has managed to maintain his weekend golf plans at his club in Virginia, as he has done most weekends in Washington.... Mr. Trump also used Twitter twice to take care of personnel issues, firing the defense secretary, Mark T. Esper, and the top official in charge of election cybersecurity, Christopher Krebs.
Trump's Last Stand for the Confederacy ... and Slavery. Paul Waldman of the Washington Post: "For what may be the last policy fight of his administration, [Trump is] going to bat one last time for the Confederacy. At issue is the National Defense Authorization Act, the yearly bill that funds America's military colossus. For 58 straight years it has never failed to pass; this year's version spends $740 billion.... But included in the bill -- with the support of all Democrats and some Republicans -- is a provision to rename the 10 military installations still named after Confederate officers, people who waged war on the United States of America to maintain the ability of wealthy White southerners to enslave other human beings. President Trump has said that if the renaming provision is not removed, he will veto the defense bill.... Republicans are now urging Democrats to agree to remove the provision so as not to make the petulant toddler in the White House too upset."
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Real Political News
Short People Got Reason to Live! Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Former Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet L. Yellen is expected to be named Joe Biden's treasury secretary, according to three people in close communication with aides to the president-elect. Yellen, who was appointed chair of the Federal Reserve by President Obama, would be the first woman to lead the Department of Treasury." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.
Welcome Back, USA! Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. plans to name several top national security picks on Tuesday, his transition office said, including the first Latino to lead the Department of Homeland Security, the first woman to head the intelligence community and a former secretary of state, John Kerry, to be his climate czar. At an event in Wilmington, Del., Mr. Biden will announce plans to nominate Alejandro Mayorkas to be his secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, his transition office said, and Avril Haines to be his director of national intelligence. He intends to name Mr. Kerry as a special presidential envoy on climate. The transition office also confirmed reports on Sunday night that Mr. Biden will nominate Antony J. Blinken to be secretary of state and Jake Sullivan as national security adviser. Mr. Biden will also nominate Linda Thomas-Greenfield to be ambassador to the United Nations and restore the job to cabinet-level status, giving Ms. Thomas-Greenfield, an African-American woman, a seat on his National Security Council. Mr. Kerry will also be given a seat on the council, although his job is not a cabinet position and does not require Senate confirmation. The emerging team reunites a group of former senior officials from the Obama administration, most of whom worked closely together at the State Department and the White House and in several cases have close ties to Mr. Biden dating back years. They are well known to foreign diplomats around the world and share a belief in the core principles of the Democratic foreign policy establishment -- international cooperation, strong U.S. alliances and leadership but a wariness of foreign interventions after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
U.S. Senate. Marianne Levine & Burgess Everett of Politico: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein [Calif.] plans to step down as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in the next Congress, after facing blowback from progressives for her handling of Amy Coney Barrett's contentious Supreme Court confirmation hearing.... 'After serving as the lead Democrat on the Judiciary Committee for four years, I will not seek the chairmanship or ranking member position in the next Congress,' the California Democrat said in a statement. 'I look forward to continuing to serve as a senior Democrat on the Judiciary, Intelligence, Appropriations and Rules committees as we work with the Biden administration.'... Members of her own party had expressed concern before Barrett's hearing that the 87-year-old wouldn't be aggressive enough. Her approach to the battle over filling the seat left by the late Ruth Bader Ginsberg soon confirmed many Democrats' fears, particularly after she praised Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for his handling of the process and gave him a hug at the conclusion." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I suspect it wasn't easy for Feinstein to step down. But it is what real adults do when they get a vote of no-confidence.
GM Checks Rear-view Mirror. Sees Trump. Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "General Motors turned its back Monday on the Trump administration's legal fight to nullify California's strict fuel economy rules, signaling that it was ready to work with President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. to reduce climate-warming emissions from cars and trucks. The decision by Mary Barra, the General Motors chief executive, to withdraw her company's support for Trump administration efforts to strip California of its ability to set its own fuel efficiency standards was a striking reversal. It was also a signal that corporate America is moving on from President Trump." The AP's story is here.
Crash of the Clown Car
** Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "The General Services Administration has informed President-elect Joe Biden and his team that the Trump administration is ready to begin the transition process. GSA Administrator Emily Murphy sent a letter to Biden on Monday saying that Biden would have access to federal resources and services to facilitate a presidential transition, according to a copy obtained by The Hill. Trump in two tweets wrote that he had asked Murphy to being the transition, though he did not concede his loss to Biden and said he would keep fighting." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The AP story is here. ~~~
~~~ Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: "Hours later, [Trump] tried to play down the significance of Ms. Murphy's action, tweeting that it was simply 'preliminarily work with the Dems' that would not stop efforts to change the election results.... Ms. Murphy said she made her decision on Monday because of 'recent developments involving legal challenges and certifications of election results,' most likely referring to the certification of votes by election officials in Michigan and a nearly unbroken string of court decisions that have rejected Mr. Trump's challenges in several states.... In conversations in recent days that intensified Monday morning, top aides -- including Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff; Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel; and Jay Sekulow, the president's personal lawyer -- told the president the transition needed to begin.... By late Monday, Mr. Biden's team had already taken its first steps toward a more formal transition, moving its website, buildbackbetter.com, to its new home on government servers made possible by Ms. Murphy's decision: Buildbackbetter.gov." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is kinda funny. Dartunorro Clark of NBC News: "In her letter, Murphy also denied that she had been under pressure from the White House to delay the process.... Trump ... said [in a tweet], 'I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same.'" Are we supposed to believe it's just a miraculous coincidence that Trump recommended Miss Emily to ascertain Biden as President-elect at the same moment she made the independent judgment to do so? (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Update. According to Flegenheimer & Haberman of the NYT (also linked below), "... after the administrator of the General Services Administration formally designated President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the apparent winner of the election, Mr. Trump blessed the move on Twitter while still vowing to move ahead with legal challenges." So Trump's "recommendation" was after-the-fact & nothing more than a face-saving effort to pretend he had authorized Murphy finally to do her job. ~~~
~~~ Josh Dawsey, et al., of the Washington Post have the inside story on how Trump finally agreed to give the green light for the transition to proceed. Pathetic old fool.
Tom Hamburger, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Michigan Board of Canvassers voted Monday to certify the state's election results, effectively awarding the state's 16 electoral votes to President-elect Joe Biden, who defeated President Trump with a margin of more than 154,000 votes. The decision dealt another blow to Trump's unprecedented effort to undo Biden's win by attempting to delay the certification of the election results in key states. Three out the four board members -- including one Republican -- voted for certification, capping a dramatic political dispute that had roiled the state. The Michigan canvassing board had never before refused to certify a statewide vote.... In the end, one of the Republican board members, Aaron Van Langevelde, joined the two Democratic board members in voting to certify the vote.... 'There's a lot of misunderstanding about this board's role and the power that we have and the authority that we have,' Van Langevelde said during the meeting. 'The law regarding certification gives us a clear duty,' he added later. 'There's nothing in the law that gives me the authority to request an audit as part of the certification process.'... The lone holdout was GOP board member Norman Shinkle, who told The Washington Post in an interview last week that he was leaning toward seeking a delay. Shinkle cited a debunked conspiracy theory aired by Trump that voting machines made by a company called Dominion deleted thousands of Trump votes." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A Politico story is here. ~~~
~~~ "It's a Felony." Profs. Samuel Bagenstos & Justin Levitt in a Detroit Free Press op-ed: "A canvassing board may not legally refuse to certify an election where no legitimate evidence undermines valid ballots. Michigan courts have repeatedly rejected wild claims of election fraud or improprieties as 'incorrect and not credible.'... Should a member of the state canvassing board seek to misuse their authority, that obstruction won't actually deliver a different result. First, understand what state canvassers do: certification just involves adding county tallies and declaring a winner. Michigan law provides a separate space to review the election process -- a post-election audit, which does not delay or stop certification. The canvassers have one job. State courts can step in to make sure it gets done.... Any refusal to certify an election based on meritless innuendo would likely violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 11(a) makes it illegal to 'willfully fail or refuse to tabulate, count, and report' lawful votes.... It's a felony. And that may help explain why you've rarely heard of officials refusing to certify an election."
Tom Hamburger & Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "A group of leading GOP national security experts -- including former homeland security secretary Tom Ridge -- urged congressional Republicans on Monday to demand President Trump concede the election and immediately begin the transition to the incoming Biden administration.' President Trump's refusal to permit the presidential transition poses significant risks to our national security, at a time when the U.S. confronts a global pandemic and faces serious threats from global adversaries, terrorist groups, and other forces,' said a statement signed by more than 100 GOP luminaries. The signers included Ridge, the former Pennsylvania governor who served as homeland security secretary under President George W. Bush, former CIA director Michael Hayden and John D. Negroponte, who served as director of national intelligence." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Portman Joins the Slow Roll. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) on Monday said there is no proof of widespread voter fraud that could change President-elect Joe Biden;s lead in the vote counts of key battleground states and urged the nation to 'resolve any outstanding questions and move forward.' Portman, who is poised to become the next chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, also called on the General Services Administration to release funds to the Biden transition team to help prepare for Biden's inauguration in January." MB: This is ridiculous. It's as if Republicans feel they must coax Trump out of his hidey-hole (Trump has no public appearances on his schedule again Monday) by offering up, one-by-one, teeny incentives for him to admit something that is an obvious fait accompli. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Carl Bernstein's Fowl List -- Chickens? Turkeys? Both.
In Three Tweets.I'm not violating any pledge of journalistic confidentially in reporting this: 21 Republican Sens--in convos w/ colleagues, staff members, lobbyists, W. House aides--have repeatedly expressed extreme contempt for Trump & his fitness to be POTUS. (1/3)
The 21 GOP Senators who have privately expressed their disdain for Trump are: Portman, Alexander, Sasse, Blunt, Collins, Murkowski, Cornyn, Thune, Romney, Braun, Young, Tim Scott, Rick Scott, Rubio, Grassley, Burr, Toomey, McSally, Moran, Roberts, Shelby. (2/3)
With few exceptions, their craven public silence has helped enable Trump's most grievous conduct -- including undermining and discrediting the US the electoral system. (3/3)
Monica Alba, et al., of NBC News: "While ... Donald Trump has publicly praised his legal team's efforts, he has privately expressed frustration with the slapdash nature of his election defense fight, according to several people familiar with the discussions. The president has been complaining to aides and allies about his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and recently-removed lawyer Sidney Powell's over-the-top performances at a news conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters last week, these people said. Both Giuliani and Powell have continued to make conspiratorial and baseless claims about widespread voter fraud, for which they have provided no evidence. The president is concerned his team is comprised of 'fools that are making him look bad,' said one source familiar with the thinking." MB: Actually, Donald, you've done an excellent job of making yourself look bad. The clown car you chartered was driving down the road you told them to take.
"Just Bizarre and Weak." Josh Gerstein of Politico: "... Donald Trump's campaign filed a narrow appeal Sunday in its long-shot bid to have Trump declared the victor in the presidential race in Pennsylvania despite lagging more than 81,000 votes behind President-elect Joe Biden. With Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar set to certify the results of the election as soon as Monday, the Trump campaign filed an emergency motion with the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals asking that court to compel a lower court to accept a redrafted complaint contending that election officials excluded observers as part of an effort to process thousands of flawed mail-in ballots that largely favored Biden. The campaign did not seek an immediate order from the 3rd Circuit to block certification of Biden as the winner. Instead, the motion filed with the court Sunday evening said the campaign might seek decertification of the results 'if already certified.' Several prominent legal experts expressed puzzlement Sunday at the Trump lawyers'approach." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: If Trump can't get the best GOP lawyers, he apparently can't get the best legal secretaries, either: a CNN reporter said the appeal was full of misspellings & other errors. ~~~
~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post posits what it was about Sidney Powell that got her thrown under the very clown car in which she had been riding shotgun: "It wasn't that Powell said things that were obviously untrue. Giuliani himself delineated a whole battery of nonsense at last week's news briefing.... It also wasn't that Powell's claims themselves met with TrumpJoni Ernst (R-Iowa) complained that Powell had accused "Democratic & Republican candidates" of rigging their elections.] 'Sidney Powell accusing Governor Brian Kemp [R] of a crime on television yet being unwilling to go on TV and defend and lay out the evidence that she supposedly has, this is outrageous conduct,' [Chris] Christie said.... The other obvious failure on Powell's part was that she was unable to give Fox News adequate cover to present her claims uncritically. She had been slated to appear on Tucker Carlson's show last week but backed out after Carlson asked her for evidence to support her claims." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The underlying rule seems to be that only Democrats cheat, especially the Black ones.
** Rick Hasen in a New York Times op-ed: "By the time President-elect Biden takes the oath of office, millions of people will wrongly believe he stole the election. At least 300 times since Election Day, Mr. Trump has gone straight to his followers on social media to declare the election rigged or stolen and to claim, despite all evidence to the contrary, himself as the real victor. Mr. Trump's false claims will delegitimize a Biden presidency among his supporters.... Mr. Trump's litigation strategy also will make things worse when it comes to voting rights.... Following the lead of the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appeals courts now routinely say that federal courts should be deferential when states engage in balancing voting rights -- even during a pandemic -- against a state's interests in election administration and avoiding fraud, even when states come forward with no evidence of fraud. Under the so-called 'Purcell principle,' courts increasingly allow states to make voting harder.... The worst appears yet to come. In one of the lawsuits that remains technically alive at the Supreme Court out of Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump and his allies have advanced a muscular version of something that's become known as the 'independent state legislature' doctrine. Taken to its extreme, the doctrine says that state legislatures have complete authority to set election rules.... At stake is whether this country continues ... to allow elections to be decided by a majority of voters." ~~~
~~~ Wendy Weiser & Daniel Weiner in a Politico Magazine opinion piece: "In the weeks before Election Day, the [Supreme C]ourt weighed in on more than a dozen cases in a way that many portrayed as a mixed bag for voting rights -- allowing voting expansions to stand in some cases and sharply curtailing them in others. But that scorecard approach obscures the principal effect of the court's rulings: In all of the cases, regardless of whether the Trump campaign won or lost, the justices quietly -- yet dramatically -- rolled back Americans' voting rights in ways that could do permanent harm -- that is, unless Congress steps in.... In multiple cases, and often without a shred of explanation, the Supreme Court affirmatively stepped in to make it harder to vote.... These decisions likely disenfranchised tens of thousands of Americans this year, disproportionately people of color.... Second, and even more dangerous, five of the court's justices have signed onto opinions endorsing a brand new legal theory -- that the Constitution gives state legislatures virtually untrammeled authority to set voting rules for federal elections, no matter how arbitrary or unreasonable.... The best way to remedy the Supreme Court's betrayal of its responsibility to safeguard American democracy is for Congress to do it instead. Even the Supreme Court agrees." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I believe it was Mrs. Bea McCrabbie who mentioned that the cure for all this tomfoolery is a right-to-vote amendment to the Constitution.
The First Post-Mortem of the Biggest Turkey's Tenure Is All About ... Turkeys. Matt Flegenheimer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: Donald Trump "preferred the parts of the job that combined pomp, splendor and a world amenable to his decisions. In other words, he always seemed to genuinely enjoy pardoning turkeys.... He has generally relished the aspects of the job that allow him to preside over something, fowl-based or otherwise -- forums well suited to a leader for whom attention can seem less a wish than a psychic need. The trappings and the title have plainly pleased him the most, placing him at the center of major celebrations for the mere fact of being president. He has marveled at the Bastille Day parade in Paris, taken to the 'beautiful phones' at the White House and delighted in serving fast food to college football champions.... While he has effectively abdicated any leadership role in steering the nation's coronavirus response -- generally processing its devastation this year through the lens of how the pandemic would affect him politically -- the president plans to see to it that the turkey pardon proceeds as scheduled on Tuesday."
The Trumpidemic, Ctd.
The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "Anthony S. Fauci ... urged Americans on Monday to get a vaccine when one is available. During a conversation with The Washington Post, Fauci praised pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca's announcement that their coronavirus vaccine candidate is up to 90 percent effective. 'I can tell you that when my turn comes up and the FDA says this is safe and effective, I myself will get vaccinated and I will recommend that my family gets vaccinated,' Fauci said."
Politico: California "Gov. Gavin Newsom [D] and his family are quarantining for 14 days after learning three of their children were exposed to a California Highway Patrol officer who has tested positive for Covid-19, his office announced late Sunday night. The entire family tested negative Sunday for the coronavirus, according to press secretary Jesse Melgar. The family waited until Sunday to take their most recent test under the advice of health professionals, presumably to ensure enough time for the standard incubation period after exposure."
Pope Francis Lambastes the Trump/GOP "Culture"
AFP: "Pope Francis has taken aim at protests against coronavirus restrictions, contrasting them with the 'healthy indignation' seen in demonstrations against racism after the death of George Floyd. 'Some groups protested, refusing to keep their distance, marching against travel restrictions -- as if measures that governments must impose for the good of their people constitute some kind of political assault on autonomy or personal freedom,' he said in a new book. He railed against those who claim 'that being forced to wear a mask is an unwarranted imposition by the state'. 'You'll never find such people protesting the death of George Floyd, or joining a demonstration because there are shantytowns where children lack water or education, or because there are whole families who have lost their income,' he said. 'On such matters they would never protest; they are incapable of moving outside of their own little world of interests.'"
Chico Harlan of the Washington Post: "In a meeting initiated by the Vatican, Pope Francis on Monday hosted a group of NBA players to hear about their social justice activism at a time of deep American polarization. The meeting, with five players who have been vocal on matters ranging from White privilege to police violence, offers a glimpse into what aspects of U.S. society the pontiff feels are most important. The meeting also shows the reach of sports activism in the United States, where athletes, many of them Black, have become some of the highest-profile proponents for social change.... Notably, Francis in September elected not to meet with ... a delegation led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, after Pompeo infuriated Vatican officials by criticizing the church's diplomacy with China.... According to the National Basketball Players Association, a Vatican official had reached out to set up the meeting. Three players' union executives met with the pope, as did players Kyle Korver, Sterling Brown, Marco Belinelli, Anthony Tolliver and Jonathan Isaac." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Marie: I haven't been paying attention. Is there a "Francis isn't the real pope" faction out there? I'd be surprised if there wasn't.
News Lede
New York Times: "David N. Dinkins, a barber's son who became New York City's first Black mayor on the wings of racial harmony but who was turned out by voters after one term over his handling of racial violence in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, died on Monday night at his home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He was 93."
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Reader Comments (10)
Trump, is not much of a note taker, nor does he like his staff to take notes and Jill Lepore tells us he has a habit of tearing up documents at the close of meetings and afterwards the record analysts scrabble to retrieve them and try to scotch tape them back together. When you let that sink in, it makes one, once again, shudder with disgust and at the same time be amazed that NO ONE had the gumption to instruct him otherwise.
In this piece by Lepore we learn everything we ever wanted to know about preserving presidential records ( she takes us back through history on this and it's actually very amusing) and how Trump could endanger official records of one of the most consequential periods in American history.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/11/23/will-trump-burn-the-evidence
Biden's picks make me extremely satisfied–-especially Kerry whose concern for the environment goes back years and his position will not need to be confirmed.
PD,
Kerry won’t be out through the winger ringer but everyone else will. Fatty, because he never picked qualified, competent candidates, ran things with a raft of “temporary appointments” who would have been shown up as the useless monkeys they were in any kind of confirmation process (even though fellow monkeys like Lindsey Graham would praise any creep Trump put out there as one of the great choices in American history).
But I expect the confederate traitors will go into their closets to dig out the knives they put away during the Trump Reich and sharpen them up for Biden.
That’s what weak, fearful, hate-filled, craven traitors do.
Laura Ingraham has hauled down the flag and admitted the Joe Biden is president Elect.
Can Hannity be next to strike his colors? When it happens it should produce a remarkable reaction from Trump. It's just a matter of time.
According to an article in Daily Mail, Colorado's new Republican rep and QAnon follower, Lauren Boebert, wants
to carry her Glock when she reports for duty in D.C.
She wears it strapped to her leg while working in the
restaurant she owns in Rifle, Colorado.
I'm betting no one skips out without paying their bill.
@Bobby Lee
You raise an interesting point. How far will Hannity go to stay in the Pretender's favor? (Or how far will Fox let him?)
Depends on his/Fox's assessment of their audience, I'd think.
Do they feel they should keep faith with die-hard Pretender loyalists? Are there (will there be in a few months) enough of them for Hannity to persist in the deluded. pro-Pretender rantings he has specialized in, or will there be a shift to a simple anti-Biden and anti-Dem message, with more restrained but still perceptible racist tropes and the standard socialism specter?
Whatever direction Hannity takes, it was never about loyalty to the Pretender. It was always about what was best for Hannity.
People like the Pretender alway have friends like these.
"Attorney heading up Trump campaign's Wisconsin recount effort is seeking to throw out his own vote"
It seems to me that the Hannity/DiJiT relationship will consist of Hannity knocking all things Biden all the time and giving DiJiT carte blanche to call in his own kicks any day any time. Good TV. Crappy humanity, but when has TV ever been about that?
The only question may be whether DiJiT expects Hannity to pay him for the show.
In a current Vanity Fair piece by Gabriel Sherman he writes about the Murdochs 'worries.'
( https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/11/will-rupert-murdoch-spring-for-a-post-presidential-fox-gig#intcid=recommendations_vf-trending-legacy
"Trump’s attacks on Fox News are causing alarm in the Murdoch family. Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch is considering a plan to offer Trump a $100 million package that would include HarperCollins publishing Trump’s post-presidential memoir and Fox News giving Trump a contributor deal or his own show, the sources say. On November 10, the Murdoch-owned New York Post reported Trump could land a $100 million book advance, but made no mention of the Murdochs. “Rupert is going to make a humongous offer,” one of the sources said. “The thinking is, Let’s buy Trump off so he shuts the fuck up.”
Just the thought of tRump writing a book gives me the giggles... It will be "ghostwritten" like his other books, I imagine. But wouldn't he leap at the chance of having his own show! And I think he and Fox will have a tearful reunion and declare all is well if that happens. After all, those people are nearer his mindset of nihilism than any others and he already has relationships with the people there. And HIS FOLLOWERS already slavishly watch it 24/7. I don't see him getting a show on the other two crap networks as they are newish. Anyhow, that is what I am envisioning. Call it Trumpnation...which is pretty close to Damnation...ha!
I don't care...just as long as I don't have to see his fat ol' face anymore.
He may actually do it from FL because he has to live there at least six months for Marred Elbow to be a residence. Right now it is being gold-leafed or something...
As he turns from his one-minute YAY TRUMP gathering today, take a look at his hair. He is going to have to paint his scalp soon-- the arrangement is not working. Quick-- floral design experts, Help!! (Maybe Runny Ghouliani will have some tips for him...)
So Trump pardoned a turkey today? Well it seems that there are many more turkey pardons to come. But then, perhaps the use of ‘turkey’ in that context is unfair to the birds. At the same time it is not a sufficiently pejorative representation of the entities in the pardons-to-be.