Some of Trump's vice presidential hopefuls — Governor Kristi Noem, Senator Tim Scott and Senator Marco Rubio — made their rounds to the Sunday morning political shows yesterday.
This Clown Show of morons who are willing to debase themselves for the opportunity to have the Fat Man insult + ridicule them is beyond bizarro world. They should all be running away screaming trying to save what is left of their dignity.
In five years when Fat Man is dead and gone, what is this band of idiots going to do to try and regain control? The world is laughing at you - all of you MAGA lemmings
What we are seeing just about everywhere is the normalization of deviance. We didn't used to see deviant behavior on this scale until recent years. Deviance becomes normalized when people lose their moral compass in pursuit of political power, economic gain, or simply to feel good. It is the same kind of behavior that prompts dot-com entrepreneurs and business people to cut corners, massively. We saw paradigm of this behavior and last week's trial testimony of Hope Hicks, Donald Trump's former Communications Director and chief administrative spokesperson. I've been thinking about that all week, how she conditioned herself to reply to every discrepancy between reality and the Trump Administration's response to evidence that they had been misrepresenting just about everything that came out of the Executive Office of the President, and specifically the Oval Office. Hicks, herself, described their modus operandi as, "deny, deny, deny". This was evident from the very beginning, when right after the inauguration, Sean Spicer, enthused over the "huge"crowds that appeared on the National Mall to celebrate Trump's election victory. Everyone with a pair of eyes who commented on the sparse crowd celebrating the Trump Inaugural contrasted Spicer's enthused description of that mediocre event with its actuality. But that wasn't the point, as we soon learned. Around Trump, nobody could speak the truth and still claim to have a job the next day.
When Hicks took the witness stand last week to state in clear and certain terms that Donald Trump absolutely knew about the source and purpose of the money that was being paid to Karen McDougall, and Stormy Daniel to buy their silence about Trump's sexual encounters with each of them, she was responding to a witness subpoena, ably advised by her own privately hired attorney, about what she could say on the witness stand, and what she could not. Obviously, Hicks was well coached, undoubtedly having been prepped for her testimony by actually seeing copies of trial exhibits already placed in evidence by the prosecutor, that had the effect of reminding her to stay on the straight and narrow. And, as the prosecutor expected, because it is certain that either the prosecutor himself, or one of his staff attorneys, had interviewed Hicks ahead of time, and nail down the particulars over expected trial testimony well in advance of her appearance in court.
When it came time for Trump's attorney to cross examine Hicks, she unexpectedly, but quite conveniently, let flow of flood of tears which pause the trial for a few moments while she gathered her composure. Not a necessary finale to her trial testimony, but certainly effective. In the ensuing chatter online and on MSNBC, among other places, people wondered whether Hicks' lachrymose performance had been planned or otherwise calculated in advance of her testimony. Personally, I don't think so. It takes stage and screen actors a great deal of time effort and training to learn to cry on cue. I don't think that Hicks thought about how much how she would react emotionally in advance of presenting her trial testimony; and I do think that during the entire ordeal of sitting on the witness stand in full view of Donald Trump, the trial judge, and the jury, she was able to hold itself together just long enough to complete her testimony before cross-examination began. Obviously, Hicks' testimony was a body blow to the Trump legal team's theory of their case. It is equally obvious that Hicks had no opportunity to wander off script, because the documentary evidence accumulated by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecutorial team hemmed in Hicks' anticipated testimony the way a stockyard fence hems in and guides animals to the slaughterhouse. On balance, I see Hicks' tearfulness as an expression of her emotional relief that her presence at trial would be over and done with within the next few minutes. And that's the way it happened. She gets to go home to the rich and bountiful life that is ahead of her. The prosecutor gets what he needs to fill in the blanks of his timeline about what Donald Trump knew at the time and when he knew it. And Donald Trump gets the consequences of what he so richly deserves.
A man like Donald Trump normalizes deviance, the way that other authoritarian leaders normalize the deviance that they bring to the politics of coercion, inducement through fear, or hope of reward that is so common in today's world. Authoritarians have no use for morality; it's all about application of the carrot and the stick and almost equal parts.
When I entered law school 58 years ago, for reasons I cannot fathom, we did not have a mandatory course on the obligations of the legal profession, and the ethical constraints under which attorneys are obligated to practice our profession. In June, 1970, when I was sworn in to membership in the California State Bar, we were handed a rather thick pamphlet that include the Rules of Professional Conduct. I remember thinking at the time, all of this would've been more effective if it had been included in a mandatory course during my first academic year of law school. And that seems to be a failing that we see all the way up to today's United States Supreme Court. Again, as I said, it's the normalization of deviance.
I just saw the VP audition video. I’ve been following you for a very long time, since way before The Warning and The Lincoln Project, back in the MSNBC days when you were the Republican point of view for their election coverage. I read “Game Change”, I saw the movie, and as it is said, the rest is history..
Anyway, I am here today to tell you that with this The Warning video, you were masterful in your take down of those retched people. To watch you take them apart as only you can, was every bit worth the wait. Very well done!
I agree,this was a masterpiece analysis of these three repungents. After watching the Sunday morning shows my head was spinning. Are these candidates real and the best the Republican party can offer? Thank you Steve and please continue to blast these idiots to Oblivion!
"Are these candidates real and the best the Republican party can offer?" I take it this is purely rhetorical? I mean, TFG is at the top of the ticket, the biggest liar ever to hold public office, let alone the presidency, the more disgusting and dysfunctional these candidates can be, sadly it seems the better. So hard to believe anyone at the top of the R ticket is a possibility.
So Sunday School was full of “little tyrants” who Kristi “stared down” and that qualified her to….what? Win a staring contest with a man she never met? That’s the same courage she showed in deciding to shoot a puppy instead of rehome it.
A majority of voters in South Dakota decided that she was the best person they had for Governor. Another state that is emblematic of The Great Dumbing Down.
If one ever needed a classic example of the type of people that are attracted to a demagogue, this video is it. Demagogue Trump represents the worst of American society. And a horrible (wannabe) demagogic populist leader like Trump doesn’t want good, ethical, integral people working for him. They would outshine him if they had even a scintilla of decency, which they don’t. These people represent the worst of us- total bottom feeders who would betray themselves and their country in a heartbeat if it would, in their eyes, give them power. They have sold their souls to Trump and he’s cashing in. Just wait, it won’t be long before they are used and abused by Trump and he will throw them away like the newspaper used to line the bottom of a bird cage. What we’re seeing here is the same dynamic that plays out with every demagogue- the worst of us come forward and try to attach as any parasite does to its host. These 3 are beyond disgusting, beyond repulsive. I could bear to watch this video only once because I found them so nauseating.
I’ve already addressed Little Marco and the Puppy Killer. That leaves Tim Scott. I remember that TV image where Trump was actually mocking Scott, to which Scott bounced forward and looked lovingly at Trump and said “I love you.”
I know a few South Carolinians and they tout their tolerance to the point of sounding defensive. But then you look at who they elect to their state legislature (and Governor) and it tells a completely different story.
More than 50 million Americans believe those guys, whatever they say. Steve makes it pretty clear that they're full of shit. Who is this media they keep talking about? Tim Scott's answer was 'no' - he will not accept the results of the election. It's going to be a long 182 days.
I LOVED THIS MASSIVE!! What’s wrong with TIM SCOTT?? He is worse than LINDSAY GRAHAM!! I can’t even look at Noem. She suffers from soul sickness. I loved the comparison to WestWorld. Noem just kept glitching. ZZZZZZT.
One of your best, ever, low-downs on the low down. I laughed my ass off. Thank you for exposing the latest in Trump's Liars' Brigade. Keep it up. I need the levity in these dark, dark times.
Ass kissing grifters and liars one and all. Just like Trump they don't give a damn about America. They only care about themselves and screwing the rest of us - even their blind and deaf supporters...... The gilded age of these bozos is alive and well.
Is there a way to read this article? Or will there be later? I just subscribed today, a $75 annual subscription, and I clicked the button that says “Read”, but there’s only the one intro paragraph and a video link.
I never watch videos or television or listen to the radio or podcasts. I only read text, and was hoping that with a subscription I could access your articles.
Thanks for joining The Warning community. I do a combination of written essays, video commentaries and podcasts. You can expect a daily written essay from me, so I hope that meets your expectations!
This Clown Show of morons who are willing to debase themselves for the opportunity to have the Fat Man insult + ridicule them is beyond bizarro world. They should all be running away screaming trying to save what is left of their dignity.
In five years when Fat Man is dead and gone, what is this band of idiots going to do to try and regain control? The world is laughing at you - all of you MAGA lemmings
Come on, cholesterol...do your thing. Sorry, but not sorry.
What we are seeing just about everywhere is the normalization of deviance. We didn't used to see deviant behavior on this scale until recent years. Deviance becomes normalized when people lose their moral compass in pursuit of political power, economic gain, or simply to feel good. It is the same kind of behavior that prompts dot-com entrepreneurs and business people to cut corners, massively. We saw paradigm of this behavior and last week's trial testimony of Hope Hicks, Donald Trump's former Communications Director and chief administrative spokesperson. I've been thinking about that all week, how she conditioned herself to reply to every discrepancy between reality and the Trump Administration's response to evidence that they had been misrepresenting just about everything that came out of the Executive Office of the President, and specifically the Oval Office. Hicks, herself, described their modus operandi as, "deny, deny, deny". This was evident from the very beginning, when right after the inauguration, Sean Spicer, enthused over the "huge"crowds that appeared on the National Mall to celebrate Trump's election victory. Everyone with a pair of eyes who commented on the sparse crowd celebrating the Trump Inaugural contrasted Spicer's enthused description of that mediocre event with its actuality. But that wasn't the point, as we soon learned. Around Trump, nobody could speak the truth and still claim to have a job the next day.
When Hicks took the witness stand last week to state in clear and certain terms that Donald Trump absolutely knew about the source and purpose of the money that was being paid to Karen McDougall, and Stormy Daniel to buy their silence about Trump's sexual encounters with each of them, she was responding to a witness subpoena, ably advised by her own privately hired attorney, about what she could say on the witness stand, and what she could not. Obviously, Hicks was well coached, undoubtedly having been prepped for her testimony by actually seeing copies of trial exhibits already placed in evidence by the prosecutor, that had the effect of reminding her to stay on the straight and narrow. And, as the prosecutor expected, because it is certain that either the prosecutor himself, or one of his staff attorneys, had interviewed Hicks ahead of time, and nail down the particulars over expected trial testimony well in advance of her appearance in court.
When it came time for Trump's attorney to cross examine Hicks, she unexpectedly, but quite conveniently, let flow of flood of tears which pause the trial for a few moments while she gathered her composure. Not a necessary finale to her trial testimony, but certainly effective. In the ensuing chatter online and on MSNBC, among other places, people wondered whether Hicks' lachrymose performance had been planned or otherwise calculated in advance of her testimony. Personally, I don't think so. It takes stage and screen actors a great deal of time effort and training to learn to cry on cue. I don't think that Hicks thought about how much how she would react emotionally in advance of presenting her trial testimony; and I do think that during the entire ordeal of sitting on the witness stand in full view of Donald Trump, the trial judge, and the jury, she was able to hold itself together just long enough to complete her testimony before cross-examination began. Obviously, Hicks' testimony was a body blow to the Trump legal team's theory of their case. It is equally obvious that Hicks had no opportunity to wander off script, because the documentary evidence accumulated by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's prosecutorial team hemmed in Hicks' anticipated testimony the way a stockyard fence hems in and guides animals to the slaughterhouse. On balance, I see Hicks' tearfulness as an expression of her emotional relief that her presence at trial would be over and done with within the next few minutes. And that's the way it happened. She gets to go home to the rich and bountiful life that is ahead of her. The prosecutor gets what he needs to fill in the blanks of his timeline about what Donald Trump knew at the time and when he knew it. And Donald Trump gets the consequences of what he so richly deserves.
A man like Donald Trump normalizes deviance, the way that other authoritarian leaders normalize the deviance that they bring to the politics of coercion, inducement through fear, or hope of reward that is so common in today's world. Authoritarians have no use for morality; it's all about application of the carrot and the stick and almost equal parts.
When I entered law school 58 years ago, for reasons I cannot fathom, we did not have a mandatory course on the obligations of the legal profession, and the ethical constraints under which attorneys are obligated to practice our profession. In June, 1970, when I was sworn in to membership in the California State Bar, we were handed a rather thick pamphlet that include the Rules of Professional Conduct. I remember thinking at the time, all of this would've been more effective if it had been included in a mandatory course during my first academic year of law school. And that seems to be a failing that we see all the way up to today's United States Supreme Court. Again, as I said, it's the normalization of deviance.
Hey Steve,
I just saw the VP audition video. I’ve been following you for a very long time, since way before The Warning and The Lincoln Project, back in the MSNBC days when you were the Republican point of view for their election coverage. I read “Game Change”, I saw the movie, and as it is said, the rest is history..
Anyway, I am here today to tell you that with this The Warning video, you were masterful in your take down of those retched people. To watch you take them apart as only you can, was every bit worth the wait. Very well done!
Thank you!
Donnie Jr will he his nominee for VP.
It is a longshot but I wonder if he might pick Kimberly Guilgolye who will soon be Mrs Trump?
I agree,this was a masterpiece analysis of these three repungents. After watching the Sunday morning shows my head was spinning. Are these candidates real and the best the Republican party can offer? Thank you Steve and please continue to blast these idiots to Oblivion!
"Are these candidates real and the best the Republican party can offer?" I take it this is purely rhetorical? I mean, TFG is at the top of the ticket, the biggest liar ever to hold public office, let alone the presidency, the more disgusting and dysfunctional these candidates can be, sadly it seems the better. So hard to believe anyone at the top of the R ticket is a possibility.
So Sunday School was full of “little tyrants” who Kristi “stared down” and that qualified her to….what? Win a staring contest with a man she never met? That’s the same courage she showed in deciding to shoot a puppy instead of rehome it.
A majority of voters in South Dakota decided that she was the best person they had for Governor. Another state that is emblematic of The Great Dumbing Down.
If one ever needed a classic example of the type of people that are attracted to a demagogue, this video is it. Demagogue Trump represents the worst of American society. And a horrible (wannabe) demagogic populist leader like Trump doesn’t want good, ethical, integral people working for him. They would outshine him if they had even a scintilla of decency, which they don’t. These people represent the worst of us- total bottom feeders who would betray themselves and their country in a heartbeat if it would, in their eyes, give them power. They have sold their souls to Trump and he’s cashing in. Just wait, it won’t be long before they are used and abused by Trump and he will throw them away like the newspaper used to line the bottom of a bird cage. What we’re seeing here is the same dynamic that plays out with every demagogue- the worst of us come forward and try to attach as any parasite does to its host. These 3 are beyond disgusting, beyond repulsive. I could bear to watch this video only once because I found them so nauseating.
www.tomthedemocratist.com
I’ve already addressed Little Marco and the Puppy Killer. That leaves Tim Scott. I remember that TV image where Trump was actually mocking Scott, to which Scott bounced forward and looked lovingly at Trump and said “I love you.”
I developed a severe case of the dry heaves.
Oh, I needed a good laugh at the end of the day after those depressing interviews!
Tim Scott needs to “come out” already!
I know a few South Carolinians and they tout their tolerance to the point of sounding defensive. But then you look at who they elect to their state legislature (and Governor) and it tells a completely different story.
It’s going to be Donnie Jr.
Going to create a monarchy.
More than 50 million Americans believe those guys, whatever they say. Steve makes it pretty clear that they're full of shit. Who is this media they keep talking about? Tim Scott's answer was 'no' - he will not accept the results of the election. It's going to be a long 182 days.
Not only that. , but Scott looked pretty dumb and boring while saying it. Id say he needs practice saying things he doesnt really want to say.
You are so right. A few years ago I heard him speak and thought he was fairly intelligent. Now he can't seem to admit that he is a liar.
…or a sell out
For sure!
I LOVED THIS MASSIVE!! What’s wrong with TIM SCOTT?? He is worse than LINDSAY GRAHAM!! I can’t even look at Noem. She suffers from soul sickness. I loved the comparison to WestWorld. Noem just kept glitching. ZZZZZZT.
Steve, I love you! Your take on the potential VPs was nothing more than brilliant!!! Kudos for your hard work!!
One of your best, ever, low-downs on the low down. I laughed my ass off. Thank you for exposing the latest in Trump's Liars' Brigade. Keep it up. I need the levity in these dark, dark times.
The toilet is swirling and the candidates are racing for the bottom or the network is bringing back “The Liar’s Club”, and they are auditioning.
Ass kissing grifters and liars one and all. Just like Trump they don't give a damn about America. They only care about themselves and screwing the rest of us - even their blind and deaf supporters...... The gilded age of these bozos is alive and well.
The closer we get to the election the more irrational these MAGA folks become.
Irrational people do irrational things. Violent irrational things.
God help us.
What if Mar-A-Lago had been washed away due to the effects of climate change during this crazy event? Oh but I’m dreaming!
Is there a way to read this article? Or will there be later? I just subscribed today, a $75 annual subscription, and I clicked the button that says “Read”, but there’s only the one intro paragraph and a video link.
I never watch videos or television or listen to the radio or podcasts. I only read text, and was hoping that with a subscription I could access your articles.
Teri,
Thanks for joining The Warning community. I do a combination of written essays, video commentaries and podcasts. You can expect a daily written essay from me, so I hope that meets your expectations!
Steve
Is it possible that she's dumber than Sarah Palin?