A clearinghouse of Links about trump I’ve been saving for reference…
I don’t like to say the GOP presidential candidate’s name out loud. Or write it online. It feels like somewhere he grows stronger every time his name/brand is invoked.
I said Drumpf for a while (see below), but even that gives him a lot of attention. So I settled on permanently lowercasin his name: “trump”.
There is a real risk of normalizing trump’s language and actions that are not only outrageous but in some cases disrespectful, perverse, hateful, and even criminal. None of those are hyperbole.
The sheer volume of his offensive activity makes it difficult to appropriately register how outside the norm some of it is. And that can give comfort and support to others who practice chauvinism, bigotry, greed, and ill manners. I’m not into that. We should be challenging that behavior openly. Raising our standards. Not falling back.
This post is a virtual scrap book I’ve been keeping of trumpian malfeasance. I’ve tried to keep it factual and cited sources with high journalistic standards. That’s in itself a rebuke of a guy who launches irresponsible off the cuff rumormongering and slander in every speech. Sad. Facts are on our side. Let’s hope that helps us avert a disastrous electoral misstep.
Our representative democracy may not be perfect. But an impulsive home surgery session by a small-handed tycoon with no medical degree is unquestionably not going to make us “great again”.
In an earlier version, I wrote…
I prefer to use the version of his family name that John Oliver revealed so memorably a few months back. It has been confirmed that Drumpf was his grandfather’s last name at one time (details of exactly when it changed are sketchy). I say Drumpf not T****. As I prefer to say Daesh instead of ISIL.
Unlike a lot of people, I’m excited about this election. Yes, the stakes are high, but we have a chance for a real mandate for facts and core values like telling the truth. And rarely are the lines of fact and falsehood so clearly drawn. It’s helpful that the Drumpf directly reverses his position in less than 48 hours on a regular basis. Including denying that he said things that are clearly on record.
I am keeping this running list of what I consider important factual articles that document trump lies and other significant information that disqualifies him from holding any public office (let alone the highest in the land). You’re welcome to peruse and suggest additions. I don’t want to get into conjecture and name-calling. There’s no need. There really is so much that is so well documented.
Note: much of this would be hilarious and fascinating, if only it weren’t also true. I hope the biggest legacy of trump’s campaign is a kickass new season of House of Cards that reflects on it.
Now for the links…
July 24: Nick Kristof column examining the record of racism in Drumpf’s business and public life in The New York Times
I’ve waded through 1,021 pages of documents from that legal battle, and they are devastating. Donald Trump was then president of the family real estate firm, and the government amassed overwhelming evidence that the company had a policy of discriminating against blacks, including those serving in the military.
July 30: Countering the Putin Playbook by former US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul in The New York Times
Two champions of the Brexit campaign — Nigel Farage, the former leader of the anti-immigrant U.K. Independence Party, and Boris Johnson, a Conservative member of Parliament and now Britain’s foreign minister — have spoken fondly of Mr. Putin. So, too, does Hungary’s increasingly authoritarian prime minister, Viktor Orban. The Republican Party nominee for president, Donald J. Trump, has frequently praised Mr. Putin. “He’s a strong leader,” Mr. Trump said in December.
Aug 1: a detailed (but not exhaustive) catalog of trump lies by Dana Milbank @ Washington Post:
Certainly, Clinton tells whoppers, too. But Glenn Kessler, The Post’s Fact Checker, tells me that in his six years on the beat, “there’s no comparison” between Trump and other politicians. Kessler says politicians’ statements get his worst rating — four Pinocchios — 15 percent to 20 percent of the time. Clinton is about 15 percent. Trump is 63 percent to 65 percent. […]
Journalists hesitate to call these falsehoods “lies” because it’s hard to know whether ignorance or malice is to blame. But in Trump’s case, there’s a third possibility that is particularly alarming: He may not be able to tell fact from fiction.
Aug 4: “Trump Might Be in Real Trouble This Time” from NPR:
The Trump counterattack alienated millions, including veterans groups and military figures and Republicans for whom the parents of the fallen are sacrosanct. Trump may have thought that, as Muslims who had denounced him, they were fair game. But it was he who got whistled for being out of bounds.
Aug 9: Washington Post flashes back to Drumpf 02007 deposition when he was challenged on the record about numerous questionable statements. When he learn a lot about how he feels about “facts”
“The 30 percent equates to much more than 30 percent,” Trump explained.’ […]
Trump said his personal math included the intangible value of publicity: The Learning Annex had advertised his speech heavily, and Trump thought that helped his brand. Therefore, in his mind he’d been paid more than $1 million, even though his actual payment was $400,000.[…]
“My net worth fluctuates, and it goes up and down with markets and with attitudes and with feelings, even my own feelings,” Trump said. “But I try.”
Aug 9: The greatest hits (7 unabashed times that Drumpf said outrageous things and then claimed he was “misunderstood”) Politico
Aug 17: “The reality of American politics today is, [Hilary Clinton] is the only choice.” says the writer of the ‘Benghazi mom’ speech from the GOP convention in a new op-ed. Yeah. That took a matter of weeks for him to even outrage his own speechwriters.
Below is more, but not as nicely formatted. I’ll add and refine as I have a chance. And I expect the list will keep growing….
July 4: The influence of trump’s son-in-law, Quiet Fixer in Donald Trump’s Campaign: His Son-in-Law, Jared Kushner
July 15: On trump’s VP choice chaos (from Talking Points Memo)
On trump’s pre-convention fundraising blitz and the announcement of his June fundraising numbers
July 21: Keith Olbermann gives trump a clinical sanity test in absentia in VANITY FAIR. It’s methodically approached and makes its point. You can read or watch the video — reading is probably faster and Olbermann… can be a bit much.
August 5: Trump’s Billionaire advisors, Washington Post
The list includes strikingly few academic policy experts, usually the bread-and-butter of campaign policy teams. Instead, the advisory team of 13 men — and no women — reflects a wide range of people from the higher echelons of American finance, including hedge fund managers and real estate investors. The median net worth of Trump’s official economic advisers appears to be at least several hundred million dollars.
August 27: Contrasting debate prep for the two candidates, Washington Post
Amid a combative period of campaigning, during which each has flung ferocious accusations, Clinton and Trump are also taking time to warm up for their biggest showdowns. The first of three presidential debates, on Sept. 26, promises to be one of the highest-rated television events of the year, the first opportunity for voters to evaluate the candidates side by side and one of the last moments for either to alter the trajectory of the race.
September 10: What Trump and Clinton Did on 9/11 from Politico
As the Trump and Clinton campaigns mark this anniversary by going temporarily dark — a brief respite from a toxic, unsettling campaign — it is possible to see their respective experiences on September 11 as turning points that seem especially resonant now as these two candidates with deep New York connections vie bitterly for the job of leader of the free world.
September 15: Trump Criticizes Flint Pastor
Donald Trump is lashing out against an African-American pastor who interrupted him Wednesday to chide him for campaigning in her Flint, Mich., church.
September 26: Trump Picks Top Climate Skeptic to Lead EPA Transition, from Scientific American
October 11: New records suggest Donald Trump misled the public about his income, Mother Jones
That means that Trump’s reported income on the FEC financial disclosure forms regarding just these two projects is $26 million more than what they actually made. If these [golf courses] are representative of Trump’s overall finances — $23 million in “golf related revenue” is really a $3 million loss — his declared $296 million in total “golf related revenue” may well be highly overstated.
October 12: ‘He’s a Very Dangerous Man for the Next Few Weeks’, Politico discussed with 5 people who have covered trump for decades to get their reflections and predictions. This conversation has revelations about the influence of Roger Stone (and through him the late Roy Cohn!!) on trump’s rhetoric and policies. And insights on the whole Putin thing, too. Also “…he’s held James Bond and Hugh Hefner out as role models. And I don’t think that’s evolved for him much since the age of 12.”
I think that’s a really fascinating element to this, especially when you consider Alex Jones. I’ve been wondering who Trump’s brain is, whether it’s Roger Stone or Alex Jones, but it’s a pretty dark personality that’s driving all of this.
October 14:
November 5th, Talking Points Memo: Trump will say anything. Distorting the FBI email story…
“Can you imagine Anthony Weiner has probably every classified email ever sent,” Trump said, drawing attention early and often to Clinton’s email scandal that has plagued her campaign. “Probably studied every single one.” […]
Trump said that Weiner’s computer included “brand new emails” that were “likely including some very, very classified information” even as it is unclear if and what the FBI is looking at.
