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Long story short is wasn't Ryan who killed the GOP's chances in '12 it was Romney's.......
I mean, the president starts off with 48, 49 -- he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax.
Seriously? How could he be so dense as not to understand WITHOLDING; for federal income taxes, SS & Medicare? THAT'S what his '47%' are paying, and they heard him loud and clear. Uh, uh, car elevator, dog on the roof boy, they said with their votes.
https://www.mediamatters.org/lou-dobbs/makers-vs-takers-romneys-47-percent-rhetoric-echoes-fox-news
Romney Dismisses “47 Percent Of Americans” Who “Pay No Income Tax” And Won't Respond To “Our Message Of Low Taxes”
https://www.mediamatters.org/lou-dobbs/makers-vs-takers-romneys-47-percent-rhetoric-echoes-fox-news
Mother Jones Reports On May 17 Recording At Romney Donor Dinner. In a September 17 post, Mother Jones reported that Romney, to an audience of donors, disparaged those who don't pay income taxes and receive government benefits. Mother Jones posted video of Romney saying:
ROMNEY: There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what.
I mean, the president starts off with 48, 49 -- he starts off with a huge number. These are people who pay no income tax. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no income tax. So our message of low taxes doesn't connect. He'll be out there talking about tax cuts for the rich. I mean, that's what they sell every four years. And so my job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives. [Mother Jones, 9/17/12]
TheGrio: Romney's “Basic Argument” Is That Obama Supporters "Simply Take From The Rest Of Americans." Zerlina Maxwell wrote on the news site TheGrio:
The message is one that Romney has said on the campaign trail repeatedly, one that he insists he will continue to say, and one that is a tenet of conservative thinking.
[...]
Romney's basic argument is that there are large segments of the country -- Obama supporters -- who are freeloaders and don't contribute to our society. This “47 percent” simply take from the rest of Americans -- in Romney's framing they are taking from the wealthy like the people in attendance at the Romney fundraiser -- and they take disproportionately from government benefits. This entire premise is false of course; wealth inequality is at record levels and it's really the rich that take disproportionately from government by way of tax loopholes and government subsidies. [TheGrio, 9/18/12]
No wonder history is so f'ing bloody. Is earth a Beta test planet where god is working out the kinks before a 'general release' somewhere in the universe?
How much testing before 'hey, maybe I should use perfect people?' 'Not like I don't know how to create what I want'.
'God's used imperfect people all through history': Perry shares why he thinks Trump is the 'chosen one'
William Cummings USA TODAY
Beta testing is an opportunity for real users to use a product in a production environment to uncover any bugs or issues before a general release. Beta testing is the final round of testing before releasing a product to a wide audience.
https://www.productplan.com/glossary/beta-test/#:~:text=Beta%20testing%20is%20an%20opportunity,product%20to%20a%20wide%20audience.
Gov can't forgive corp. credit card debt. Trump's 'policies' left him with shit job growth and over 500K Covid dead because his POLICY was to downplay it rather than confront it by supporting mitigation measures and NOT holding super spreader rallies, choosing instead to riff insanely about junk science remedies and give us moving dates as to when it would go away.
Anyway, he loses the job growth, the no recession, the booming stock market, infrastructure, chips and science, and the insulin price cap POLICY contest to Biden decisively.
And now he has hung his hillbilly VP candidate around his neck.
When Harris announces her VP, I say it will be either the astronaut from AZ or the Gov of PA, Harris will start to pull away in the polls. More family policy statements from Vance about what is acceptable to him, please.
Rave reviews for JD Vance from House Republicans:
It will only get worse for both Vance and Trump when Harris announces her pick.
Rave reviews for JD Vance from House Republicans:
— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) July 26, 2024
"worst choice of all the options"
"so bad I didn’t even think it was possible"
"9 out of 10 on our side would say he’s the wrong pick"
"can do serious damage"
"if Trump loses, [it’s] because of this pick"
"really concerning" https://t.co/uEmVNoL8CX pic.twitter.com/OHRahg9WxZ
Rave reviews for JD Vance from House Republicans:
It will only get worse for both Vance and Trump when Harris announces her pick.
Rave reviews for JD Vance from House Republicans:
— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) July 26, 2024
"worst choice of all the options"
"so bad I didn’t even think it was possible"
"9 out of 10 on our side would say he’s the wrong pick"
"can do serious damage"
"if Trump loses, [it’s] because of this pick"
"really concerning" https://t.co/uEmVNoL8CX pic.twitter.com/OHRahg9WxZ
Rave reviews for JD Vance from House Republicans:
It will only get worse for both Vance and Trump when Harris announces her pick.
Rave reviews for JD Vance from House Republicans:
— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) July 26, 2024
"worst choice of all the options"
"so bad I didn’t even think it was possible"
"9 out of 10 on our side would say he’s the wrong pick"
"can do serious damage"
"if Trump loses, [it’s] because of this pick"
"really concerning" https://t.co/uEmVNoL8CX pic.twitter.com/OHRahg9WxZ
Rave reviews for JD Vance from House Republicans:
It will only get worse for both Vance and Trump when Harris announces her pick.
Rave reviews for JD Vance from House Republicans:
— Aaron Fritschner (@Fritschner) July 26, 2024
"worst choice of all the options"
"so bad I didn’t even think it was possible"
"9 out of 10 on our side would say he’s the wrong pick"
"can do serious damage"
"if Trump loses, [it’s] because of this pick"
"really concerning" https://t.co/uEmVNoL8CX pic.twitter.com/OHRahg9WxZ
It wasn't called the great Depression for nothing. The U.S armed forces were NOT the most formidable in the world by the end of Dec of '41. Fighting an economic depression AND fighting and winning WWII stacks up quite well with GW.
Yeah Obama type years would be terrible. Compare and contrast with the fat f'ing one term felon with the shit new jobs record and over 500K Covid deaths, capped off with inciting an insurrection to retain office illegaly.
But hey, you conspiracy theorizing morons had fun with the birther bullshit right?
Mixed feelings when he announced that we got bin Laden in 2011? Me, I figured that wrapped up his reelection the following year.
https://www.factcheck.org/2017/09/obamas-final-numbers/
Jobs — Over Obama’s eight years in office, the economy added a net total of nearly 11.6 million jobs — a gain in total nonfarm employment of 8.6 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Corporate Profits
Corporations did much better than workers during Obama’s time. Their profits hit several new yearly highs during his tenure.
Stock Prices
Owners of corporate stocks also did quite well under Obama. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock average more than doubled — rising by 166 percent during his eight years in office.
Health Insurance
Coverage — Millions of Americans gained health insurance coverage as a result of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Bullet? Shard of Glass? Welcome to Donald Trump’s Ear Wound Theater
REBEL WITHOUT A GAUZE
What struck Donald Trump on the ear during an assassination attempt has not been established—enabling mystery to swirl around something that should not be so mysterious.
David Rothkopf
Published Jul. 26, 2024 4:30AM EDT
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bullet-shard-of-glass-welcome-to-donald-trumps-ear-wound-theater
Donald Trump
Animated GIF by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty
On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray triggered a firestorm when he told a congressional hearing on the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, “With respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear.”
That’s right. Nearly two weeks after gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on a Trump rally, the director of America’s top law enforcement agency said under oath that law enforcement did not know what caused the injury to the president’s ear that launched a thousand stories of divine intervention and Trumpian heroics. Now, the New York Times reports, the FBI wants to interview Trump, as the agency examines “numerous metal fragments found near the stage” where he was speaking as the incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, unfolded on July 13.
Inevitably, Trump turned on Wray in a characteristically bellicose post on Truth Social Thursday night, claiming Wray’s “only focus is destroying J6 Patriots, Raiding Mar-a-Lago, and saving Radical Left Lunatics, like the ones now in D.C. burning American flags and spray painting over our great National Monuments—with zero retribution. No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘bullet wound to the ear,’ and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!”
Trump is very sensitive about this ear wound, and the potent, symbolic meaning he has insistently imbued it with. The wound became the centerpiece of the Republican National Convention. It was one that was celebrated by Trump himself in remarks in which Trump stated, “As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life.” He then waxed rhapsodic about the incident on that “warm, beautiful day in the early evening in Butler Township in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” There was music. And of course when the crowd saw Trump take the stage it “was cheering wildly.”
Then he described instant by instant what happened next. He turned his head. And then “I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard. On my right ear. I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet.’”
Reflecting on the moment, he said, “If I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit the mark and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together.”
Cries of “No, no!” could be heard from the adoring crowd many of whom were wearing on their right ears little white squares of gauze in solidarity with their president who was also wearing one…despite the fact that he had not been and his ear looked just fine at an event earlier that day.
TV commentators grew misty-eyed as they watched Trump, obviously changed by his near death experience. The president’s supporters sought to turn the event into legend.
Famed, unbiased, completely un-deranged presidential historian Elon Musk said, “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”
He was drawing an analogy to the moment when in 1912 Roosevelt sustained a shot to the chest from a would-be assassin and shortly afterward, despite a doctor’s warning not to, delivered a speech at a Milwaukee auditorium in which he noted that he had a bullet in him and that as a consequence, he could not “make a long speech.” Over 100 million people saw Musk’s tweet.
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump is whisked away by Secret Service after shots rang out at a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Trump and his handlers were infuriated by Wray’s comment. A spokesperson for the former president stated, “Anyone who believes this conspiracy bullshit is either mentally deficient or willfully peddling falsehoods for political reasons.” He then blamed Wray’s statement on the Biden administration, about whom he asserted there is no depth to which they would not go.
But you see, there are a few problems with the theory that Wray’s statement was politically motivated. First, Wray was appointed by Trump. Next, Wray is both a Republican and a member of the conservative Federalist Society.
Thirdly, no credible medical professional had actually said at any point following the assassination attempt that Trump was actually struck by a bullet. Yes, Dr. Ronnie Jackson, now a member of Congress said, “It was a bullet—I’ve seen the wound. Pathetic!!”
But Jackson is no longer a practicing physician as his medical license has expired. Oh, and in 2022 he was demoted from the rank of admiral by the Navy after it an investigation revealed that he ran a pill mill when he served as Trump’s White House doctor. And of course, it was Jackson who said that Trump had the body of a Hemsworth, despite all appearances to the contrary.
There is no doubt that Crooks actually opened fire in the direction of the former president. Crooks and another man were killed in the horrific incident. Two other individuals sustained grave injuries. Crooks wanted to be an assassin. Wray noted that he had searched the internet for information on John F. Kennedy’s murderer Lee Harvey Oswald and that he had in his possession a drone used for site surveillance and explosive devices.
There is no minimizing the gravity of the event that took place that “beautiful day in the early evening.” But the controversy over whether or not Trump was actually hit by a bullet is a self-inflicted wound made by the former president. That is because unlike in past such events, there was no formal medical report from the doctors that treated Trump after the shooting. As Rep. Dan Goldman of New York noted, “We have not seen any medical records. We have not had an independent doctor other than a hyper-partisan elected member of Congress comment on what happened.”
As a result, predictably, controversy has swirled. It might not have had the president been forthcoming with medical records. It might have had the big MAGA myth machine not immediately turned the event into an operatic tale of the hand of the Lord Almighty reaching down to save the heroic president who dodged death by mere millimeters.
Donald Trump supporter in front of Trump Tower a day after the former U.S. President has been injured during shooting at campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania.
It might not if the president had not insisted on the ridiculous and clearly unnecessary ear bandages and had not all the little Trumpinis followed suit like the good little mindless lemmings that they are. But all those things happened. And they raised very real questions about whether the Ear Wound Theater was all costume drama, and posed the possibility that, if it was, it was one of the most craven, cynical displays by a politician ever. Which is saying something, given Trump’s history as a pathological liar.
It is therefore not surprising that even very serious people have publicly questioned what actually happened that day including a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Observers have correctly argued that Trump could have been, like several police officers, hit by flying debris. Doctors have noted that the wound from an assault rifle, even a minor one, would have been much more severe.
Therefore, it is entirely on Trump and his team that rumors and doubts are swirling around the former president just like the debris kicked up by the eight shots fired by Crooks. Had they been more forthcoming with the details of the shooting, the event still would have been dramatic, the president still would have been targeted, the terrible loss of life and the injuries sustained by innocent bystanders would have been a powerful story without embellishment. Or without unnecessary mystery.
It might not have been quite the combination of the Roosevelt story and the second coming that the MAGA bards were hoping for. But it would have been a compelling drama nonetheless had it just been left to play out as “Rebel Without a Gauze.”
Bullet? Shard of Glass? Welcome to Donald Trump’s Ear Wound Theater
REBEL WITHOUT A GAUZE
What struck Donald Trump on the ear during an assassination attempt has not been established—enabling mystery to swirl around something that should not be so mysterious.
David Rothkopf
Published Jul. 26, 2024 4:30AM EDT
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bullet-shard-of-glass-welcome-to-donald-trumps-ear-wound-theater
Donald Trump
Animated GIF by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty
On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray triggered a firestorm when he told a congressional hearing on the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, “With respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear.”
That’s right. Nearly two weeks after gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on a Trump rally, the director of America’s top law enforcement agency said under oath that law enforcement did not know what caused the injury to the president’s ear that launched a thousand stories of divine intervention and Trumpian heroics. Now, the New York Times reports, the FBI wants to interview Trump, as the agency examines “numerous metal fragments found near the stage” where he was speaking as the incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, unfolded on July 13.
Inevitably, Trump turned on Wray in a characteristically bellicose post on Truth Social Thursday night, claiming Wray’s “only focus is destroying J6 Patriots, Raiding Mar-a-Lago, and saving Radical Left Lunatics, like the ones now in D.C. burning American flags and spray painting over our great National Monuments—with zero retribution. No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘bullet wound to the ear,’ and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!”
Trump is very sensitive about this ear wound, and the potent, symbolic meaning he has insistently imbued it with. The wound became the centerpiece of the Republican National Convention. It was one that was celebrated by Trump himself in remarks in which Trump stated, “As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life.” He then waxed rhapsodic about the incident on that “warm, beautiful day in the early evening in Butler Township in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” There was music. And of course when the crowd saw Trump take the stage it “was cheering wildly.”
Then he described instant by instant what happened next. He turned his head. And then “I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard. On my right ear. I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet.’”
Reflecting on the moment, he said, “If I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit the mark and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together.”
Cries of “No, no!” could be heard from the adoring crowd many of whom were wearing on their right ears little white squares of gauze in solidarity with their president who was also wearing one…despite the fact that he had not been and his ear looked just fine at an event earlier that day.
TV commentators grew misty-eyed as they watched Trump, obviously changed by his near death experience. The president’s supporters sought to turn the event into legend.
Famed, unbiased, completely un-deranged presidential historian Elon Musk said, “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”
He was drawing an analogy to the moment when in 1912 Roosevelt sustained a shot to the chest from a would-be assassin and shortly afterward, despite a doctor’s warning not to, delivered a speech at a Milwaukee auditorium in which he noted that he had a bullet in him and that as a consequence, he could not “make a long speech.” Over 100 million people saw Musk’s tweet.
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump is whisked away by Secret Service after shots rang out at a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Trump and his handlers were infuriated by Wray’s comment. A spokesperson for the former president stated, “Anyone who believes this conspiracy bullshit is either mentally deficient or willfully peddling falsehoods for political reasons.” He then blamed Wray’s statement on the Biden administration, about whom he asserted there is no depth to which they would not go.
But you see, there are a few problems with the theory that Wray’s statement was politically motivated. First, Wray was appointed by Trump. Next, Wray is both a Republican and a member of the conservative Federalist Society.
Thirdly, no credible medical professional had actually said at any point following the assassination attempt that Trump was actually struck by a bullet. Yes, Dr. Ronnie Jackson, now a member of Congress said, “It was a bullet—I’ve seen the wound. Pathetic!!”
But Jackson is no longer a practicing physician as his medical license has expired. Oh, and in 2022 he was demoted from the rank of admiral by the Navy after it an investigation revealed that he ran a pill mill when he served as Trump’s White House doctor. And of course, it was Jackson who said that Trump had the body of a Hemsworth, despite all appearances to the contrary.
There is no doubt that Crooks actually opened fire in the direction of the former president. Crooks and another man were killed in the horrific incident. Two other individuals sustained grave injuries. Crooks wanted to be an assassin. Wray noted that he had searched the internet for information on John F. Kennedy’s murderer Lee Harvey Oswald and that he had in his possession a drone used for site surveillance and explosive devices.
There is no minimizing the gravity of the event that took place that “beautiful day in the early evening.” But the controversy over whether or not Trump was actually hit by a bullet is a self-inflicted wound made by the former president. That is because unlike in past such events, there was no formal medical report from the doctors that treated Trump after the shooting. As Rep. Dan Goldman of New York noted, “We have not seen any medical records. We have not had an independent doctor other than a hyper-partisan elected member of Congress comment on what happened.”
As a result, predictably, controversy has swirled. It might not have had the president been forthcoming with medical records. It might have had the big MAGA myth machine not immediately turned the event into an operatic tale of the hand of the Lord Almighty reaching down to save the heroic president who dodged death by mere millimeters.
Donald Trump supporter in front of Trump Tower a day after the former U.S. President has been injured during shooting at campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania.
It might not if the president had not insisted on the ridiculous and clearly unnecessary ear bandages and had not all the little Trumpinis followed suit like the good little mindless lemmings that they are. But all those things happened. And they raised very real questions about whether the Ear Wound Theater was all costume drama, and posed the possibility that, if it was, it was one of the most craven, cynical displays by a politician ever. Which is saying something, given Trump’s history as a pathological liar.
It is therefore not surprising that even very serious people have publicly questioned what actually happened that day including a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Observers have correctly argued that Trump could have been, like several police officers, hit by flying debris. Doctors have noted that the wound from an assault rifle, even a minor one, would have been much more severe.
Therefore, it is entirely on Trump and his team that rumors and doubts are swirling around the former president just like the debris kicked up by the eight shots fired by Crooks. Had they been more forthcoming with the details of the shooting, the event still would have been dramatic, the president still would have been targeted, the terrible loss of life and the injuries sustained by innocent bystanders would have been a powerful story without embellishment. Or without unnecessary mystery.
It might not have been quite the combination of the Roosevelt story and the second coming that the MAGA bards were hoping for. But it would have been a compelling drama nonetheless had it just been left to play out as “Rebel Without a Gauze.”
Bullet? Shard of Glass? Welcome to Donald Trump’s Ear Wound Theater
REBEL WITHOUT A GAUZE
What struck Donald Trump on the ear during an assassination attempt has not been established—enabling mystery to swirl around something that should not be so mysterious.
David Rothkopf
Published Jul. 26, 2024 4:30AM EDT
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bullet-shard-of-glass-welcome-to-donald-trumps-ear-wound-theater
Donald Trump
Animated GIF by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty
On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray triggered a firestorm when he told a congressional hearing on the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, “With respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear.”
That’s right. Nearly two weeks after gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on a Trump rally, the director of America’s top law enforcement agency said under oath that law enforcement did not know what caused the injury to the president’s ear that launched a thousand stories of divine intervention and Trumpian heroics. Now, the New York Times reports, the FBI wants to interview Trump, as the agency examines “numerous metal fragments found near the stage” where he was speaking as the incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, unfolded on July 13.
Inevitably, Trump turned on Wray in a characteristically bellicose post on Truth Social Thursday night, claiming Wray’s “only focus is destroying J6 Patriots, Raiding Mar-a-Lago, and saving Radical Left Lunatics, like the ones now in D.C. burning American flags and spray painting over our great National Monuments—with zero retribution. No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘bullet wound to the ear,’ and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!”
Trump is very sensitive about this ear wound, and the potent, symbolic meaning he has insistently imbued it with. The wound became the centerpiece of the Republican National Convention. It was one that was celebrated by Trump himself in remarks in which Trump stated, “As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life.” He then waxed rhapsodic about the incident on that “warm, beautiful day in the early evening in Butler Township in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” There was music. And of course when the crowd saw Trump take the stage it “was cheering wildly.”
Then he described instant by instant what happened next. He turned his head. And then “I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard. On my right ear. I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet.’”
Reflecting on the moment, he said, “If I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit the mark and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together.”
Cries of “No, no!” could be heard from the adoring crowd many of whom were wearing on their right ears little white squares of gauze in solidarity with their president who was also wearing one…despite the fact that he had not been and his ear looked just fine at an event earlier that day.
TV commentators grew misty-eyed as they watched Trump, obviously changed by his near death experience. The president’s supporters sought to turn the event into legend.
Famed, unbiased, completely un-deranged presidential historian Elon Musk said, “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”
He was drawing an analogy to the moment when in 1912 Roosevelt sustained a shot to the chest from a would-be assassin and shortly afterward, despite a doctor’s warning not to, delivered a speech at a Milwaukee auditorium in which he noted that he had a bullet in him and that as a consequence, he could not “make a long speech.” Over 100 million people saw Musk’s tweet.
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump is whisked away by Secret Service after shots rang out at a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Trump and his handlers were infuriated by Wray’s comment. A spokesperson for the former president stated, “Anyone who believes this conspiracy bullshit is either mentally deficient or willfully peddling falsehoods for political reasons.” He then blamed Wray’s statement on the Biden administration, about whom he asserted there is no depth to which they would not go.
But you see, there are a few problems with the theory that Wray’s statement was politically motivated. First, Wray was appointed by Trump. Next, Wray is both a Republican and a member of the conservative Federalist Society.
Thirdly, no credible medical professional had actually said at any point following the assassination attempt that Trump was actually struck by a bullet. Yes, Dr. Ronnie Jackson, now a member of Congress said, “It was a bullet—I’ve seen the wound. Pathetic!!”
But Jackson is no longer a practicing physician as his medical license has expired. Oh, and in 2022 he was demoted from the rank of admiral by the Navy after it an investigation revealed that he ran a pill mill when he served as Trump’s White House doctor. And of course, it was Jackson who said that Trump had the body of a Hemsworth, despite all appearances to the contrary.
There is no doubt that Crooks actually opened fire in the direction of the former president. Crooks and another man were killed in the horrific incident. Two other individuals sustained grave injuries. Crooks wanted to be an assassin. Wray noted that he had searched the internet for information on John F. Kennedy’s murderer Lee Harvey Oswald and that he had in his possession a drone used for site surveillance and explosive devices.
There is no minimizing the gravity of the event that took place that “beautiful day in the early evening.” But the controversy over whether or not Trump was actually hit by a bullet is a self-inflicted wound made by the former president. That is because unlike in past such events, there was no formal medical report from the doctors that treated Trump after the shooting. As Rep. Dan Goldman of New York noted, “We have not seen any medical records. We have not had an independent doctor other than a hyper-partisan elected member of Congress comment on what happened.”
As a result, predictably, controversy has swirled. It might not have had the president been forthcoming with medical records. It might have had the big MAGA myth machine not immediately turned the event into an operatic tale of the hand of the Lord Almighty reaching down to save the heroic president who dodged death by mere millimeters.
Donald Trump supporter in front of Trump Tower a day after the former U.S. President has been injured during shooting at campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania.
It might not if the president had not insisted on the ridiculous and clearly unnecessary ear bandages and had not all the little Trumpinis followed suit like the good little mindless lemmings that they are. But all those things happened. And they raised very real questions about whether the Ear Wound Theater was all costume drama, and posed the possibility that, if it was, it was one of the most craven, cynical displays by a politician ever. Which is saying something, given Trump’s history as a pathological liar.
It is therefore not surprising that even very serious people have publicly questioned what actually happened that day including a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Observers have correctly argued that Trump could have been, like several police officers, hit by flying debris. Doctors have noted that the wound from an assault rifle, even a minor one, would have been much more severe.
Therefore, it is entirely on Trump and his team that rumors and doubts are swirling around the former president just like the debris kicked up by the eight shots fired by Crooks. Had they been more forthcoming with the details of the shooting, the event still would have been dramatic, the president still would have been targeted, the terrible loss of life and the injuries sustained by innocent bystanders would have been a powerful story without embellishment. Or without unnecessary mystery.
It might not have been quite the combination of the Roosevelt story and the second coming that the MAGA bards were hoping for. But it would have been a compelling drama nonetheless had it just been left to play out as “Rebel Without a Gauze.”
Bullet? Shard of Glass? Welcome to Donald Trump’s Ear Wound Theater
REBEL WITHOUT A GAUZE
What struck Donald Trump on the ear during an assassination attempt has not been established—enabling mystery to swirl around something that should not be so mysterious.
David Rothkopf
Published Jul. 26, 2024 4:30AM EDT
https://www.thedailybeast.com/bullet-shard-of-glass-welcome-to-donald-trumps-ear-wound-theater
Donald Trump
Animated GIF by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty
On Wednesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray triggered a firestorm when he told a congressional hearing on the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump, “With respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear.”
That’s right. Nearly two weeks after gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on a Trump rally, the director of America’s top law enforcement agency said under oath that law enforcement did not know what caused the injury to the president’s ear that launched a thousand stories of divine intervention and Trumpian heroics. Now, the New York Times reports, the FBI wants to interview Trump, as the agency examines “numerous metal fragments found near the stage” where he was speaking as the incident in Butler, Pennsylvania, unfolded on July 13.
Inevitably, Trump turned on Wray in a characteristically bellicose post on Truth Social Thursday night, claiming Wray’s “only focus is destroying J6 Patriots, Raiding Mar-a-Lago, and saving Radical Left Lunatics, like the ones now in D.C. burning American flags and spray painting over our great National Monuments—with zero retribution. No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel. The hospital called it a ‘bullet wound to the ear,’ and that is what it was. No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!”
Trump is very sensitive about this ear wound, and the potent, symbolic meaning he has insistently imbued it with. The wound became the centerpiece of the Republican National Convention. It was one that was celebrated by Trump himself in remarks in which Trump stated, “As you already know, the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life.” He then waxed rhapsodic about the incident on that “warm, beautiful day in the early evening in Butler Township in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” There was music. And of course when the crowd saw Trump take the stage it “was cheering wildly.”
Then he described instant by instant what happened next. He turned his head. And then “I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me really, really hard. On my right ear. I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that? It can only be a bullet.’”
Reflecting on the moment, he said, “If I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit the mark and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together.”
Cries of “No, no!” could be heard from the adoring crowd many of whom were wearing on their right ears little white squares of gauze in solidarity with their president who was also wearing one…despite the fact that he had not been and his ear looked just fine at an event earlier that day.
TV commentators grew misty-eyed as they watched Trump, obviously changed by his near death experience. The president’s supporters sought to turn the event into legend.
Famed, unbiased, completely un-deranged presidential historian Elon Musk said, “Last time America had a candidate this tough was Theodore Roosevelt.”
He was drawing an analogy to the moment when in 1912 Roosevelt sustained a shot to the chest from a would-be assassin and shortly afterward, despite a doctor’s warning not to, delivered a speech at a Milwaukee auditorium in which he noted that he had a bullet in him and that as a consequence, he could not “make a long speech.” Over 100 million people saw Musk’s tweet.
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump is whisked away by Secret Service after shots rang out at a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Trump and his handlers were infuriated by Wray’s comment. A spokesperson for the former president stated, “Anyone who believes this conspiracy bullshit is either mentally deficient or willfully peddling falsehoods for political reasons.” He then blamed Wray’s statement on the Biden administration, about whom he asserted there is no depth to which they would not go.
But you see, there are a few problems with the theory that Wray’s statement was politically motivated. First, Wray was appointed by Trump. Next, Wray is both a Republican and a member of the conservative Federalist Society.
Thirdly, no credible medical professional had actually said at any point following the assassination attempt that Trump was actually struck by a bullet. Yes, Dr. Ronnie Jackson, now a member of Congress said, “It was a bullet—I’ve seen the wound. Pathetic!!”
But Jackson is no longer a practicing physician as his medical license has expired. Oh, and in 2022 he was demoted from the rank of admiral by the Navy after it an investigation revealed that he ran a pill mill when he served as Trump’s White House doctor. And of course, it was Jackson who said that Trump had the body of a Hemsworth, despite all appearances to the contrary.
There is no doubt that Crooks actually opened fire in the direction of the former president. Crooks and another man were killed in the horrific incident. Two other individuals sustained grave injuries. Crooks wanted to be an assassin. Wray noted that he had searched the internet for information on John F. Kennedy’s murderer Lee Harvey Oswald and that he had in his possession a drone used for site surveillance and explosive devices.
There is no minimizing the gravity of the event that took place that “beautiful day in the early evening.” But the controversy over whether or not Trump was actually hit by a bullet is a self-inflicted wound made by the former president. That is because unlike in past such events, there was no formal medical report from the doctors that treated Trump after the shooting. As Rep. Dan Goldman of New York noted, “We have not seen any medical records. We have not had an independent doctor other than a hyper-partisan elected member of Congress comment on what happened.”
As a result, predictably, controversy has swirled. It might not have had the president been forthcoming with medical records. It might have had the big MAGA myth machine not immediately turned the event into an operatic tale of the hand of the Lord Almighty reaching down to save the heroic president who dodged death by mere millimeters.
Donald Trump supporter in front of Trump Tower a day after the former U.S. President has been injured during shooting at campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania.
It might not if the president had not insisted on the ridiculous and clearly unnecessary ear bandages and had not all the little Trumpinis followed suit like the good little mindless lemmings that they are. But all those things happened. And they raised very real questions about whether the Ear Wound Theater was all costume drama, and posed the possibility that, if it was, it was one of the most craven, cynical displays by a politician ever. Which is saying something, given Trump’s history as a pathological liar.
It is therefore not surprising that even very serious people have publicly questioned what actually happened that day including a former chairman of the Republican National Committee. Observers have correctly argued that Trump could have been, like several police officers, hit by flying debris. Doctors have noted that the wound from an assault rifle, even a minor one, would have been much more severe.
Therefore, it is entirely on Trump and his team that rumors and doubts are swirling around the former president just like the debris kicked up by the eight shots fired by Crooks. Had they been more forthcoming with the details of the shooting, the event still would have been dramatic, the president still would have been targeted, the terrible loss of life and the injuries sustained by innocent bystanders would have been a powerful story without embellishment. Or without unnecessary mystery.
It might not have been quite the combination of the Roosevelt story and the second coming that the MAGA bards were hoping for. But it would have been a compelling drama nonetheless had it just been left to play out as “Rebel Without a Gauze.”
Figures, anything happening outside of your provincial state that helped the country didn't count for 💩.
FDR tried a lot of different measures to ease the Depression left to him by (R) Herbert Hoover, who did jack💩.
Lifting peoples' spirits was not the least of his efforts. The TVA was on of his best efforts.
You are one parochial mfr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Valley_Authority
Even by Depression standards, the Tennessee Valley was in dire economic straits in 1933. Thirty percent of the population was affected by malaria. The average income in the rural areas was $639 per year (equivalent to $11,947 in 2024),[34] with some families surviving on as little as $100 per year (equivalent to $1,870 in 2023).[34]
Much of the land had been exhausted by poor farming practices, and the soil was eroded and depleted. Crop yields had fallen, reducing farm incomes. The best timber had been cut, and 10% of forests were lost to fires each year.[29]
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act (ch. 32, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 73–17, 48 Stat. 58, enacted May 18, 1933, codified as amended at 16 U.S.C. § 831, et seq.), creating the TVA. The agency was initially tasked with modernizing the region, using experts and electricity to combat human and economic problems.[35] TVA developed fertilizers, and taught farmers ways to improve crop yields.[36] In addition, it helped replant forests, control forest fires, and improve habitats for fish and wildlife.
The Authority hired many of the area's unemployed for a variety of jobs: they conducted conservation, economic development, and social programs. For instance, a library service was instituted for this area. The professional staff at headquarters were generally composed of experts from outside the region. By 1934, TVA employed more than 9,000 people.[37] The workers were classified by the usual racial and gender lines of the region, which limited opportunities for minorities and women. TVA hired a few African Americans, generally restricted for janitorial or other low-level positions. TVA recognized labor unions; its skilled and semi-skilled blue collar employees were unionized, a breakthrough in an area known for corporations hostile to miners' and textile workers' unions. Women were excluded from construction work.
TVA immediately embarked on the construction of several hydroelectric dams, with the first, Norris Dam in upper East Tennessee, breaking ground on October 1, 1933. These facilities, designed with the intent of also controlling floods, greatly improved the lives of farmers and rural residents, making their lives easier and farms in the Tennessee Valley more productive. They also provided new employment opportunities to the poverty-stricken regions in the Valley. At the same time, however, they required the displacement of more than 125,000 valley residents or roughly 15,000 families,[8] as well as some cemeteries and small towns, which caused some to oppose the projects, especially in rural areas.[9][39] The projects also inundated several Native American archaeological sites, and graves were reinterred at new locations, along with new tombstones.[40][41]
The available electricity attracted new industries to the region, including textile mills, providing desperately needed jobs, many of which were filled by women.[5][42] A few regions of the Tennessee Valley did not receive electricity until the late 1940s and early 1950s, however. TVA was one of the first federal hydropower agencies, and was quickly hailed as a success. While most of the nation's major hydropower systems are federally managed today, other attempts to create similar regional corporate agencies have failed. The most notable was the proposed Columbia Valley Authority for the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest, which was modeled off of TVA, but did not gain approval.[43]
And why do you suppose that your preferred 'scholars' would come up with anything different? Keep on searching for the ratings that you WANT.
NEW SURVEY OF SCHOLARS FINDS LINCOLN REMAINS AMERICA’S GREATEST PRESIDENT
FDR Passes Washington for #2, Biden in Top 15
https://uh.edu/news-events/stories/2024/february/02152024-presidential-greatness-survey.php
By Bryan Luhn — 713-743-0954
February 15, 2024 —
Policy, Law and Government
Mount Rushmore
A new poll of experts on the American presidency reveals several intriguing new findings, including a shakeup among the top-ranked presidents and an early assessment of where President Joe Biden stands.
This is the third survey conducted by co-directors of the Presidential Greatness Project, University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus and Coastal Carolina University political science professor Justin Vaughn. Results are based on nearly 200 responses from scholars across multiple disciplines whose work engages presidential politics. https://presidentialgreatnessproject.com/
The survey shows that while presidential scholars continue to consider Abraham Lincoln the nation’s greatest president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt has passed George Washington as the second-greatest president. President Biden enters the rankings at #14, behind recent Democrats Barack Obama (#7) and Bill Clinton (#12), but ahead of recent Republicans Ronald Reagan (#16), George H.W. Bush (#19), George W. Bush (#32) and Donald Trump (#45).
“As presidential scholars reassess the impact of the modern presidency from administrative and cultural standpoints, we see significant shifts over time in what constitutes presidential greatness,” Rottinghaus said.
Previous surveys were released in 2015 and 2018.
“In the first post-Trump survey, we see a significant bump for recent Democratic presidents with each one moving up in the rankings while each of the recent Republican presidents dropped down, with the exception of President Trump who remained at the bottom of the rankings,” Vaugh
Who is more likely to look comprehensively at presidential performance, you or university professors?
There's only one old man in this race...and it's Donald Trump.
Goose-gander….’s fair.
There's only one old man in this race...and it's Donald Trump.
Goose-gander….’s fair.
There's only one old man in this race...and it's Donald Trump.
Goose-gander….’s fair.
There's only one old man in this race...and it's Donald Trump.
Goose-gander….’s fair.
The birtherism runs deep in these constitutionally illiterate dummies.
What's null and void is an attempted revival of the discredited birther argument. The only unqualified candidates in the race so far are Trump and Vance.
DEBUNKING VIRAL CLAIMS
Kamala Harris Is Eligible to Serve as President
By Bala Thenappan
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/08/kamala-harris-is-eligible-to-serve-as-president/
Posted on August 11, 2020
Quick Take
Kamala Harris, former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate, is eligible to serve as U.S. president, contrary to the false claims of viral posts on Facebook. Her mother is from India and her father from Jamaica — but Harris was born in Oakland, California.
Full Story
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, announced on Twitter on Aug. 11 that his vice presidential running mate is California Sen. Kamala Harris.
But multiple posts on Facebook falsely claim that — in the event Biden is unable to serve out his term –Harris is ineligible to serve as president because she’s an “anchor baby” whose parents are immigrants.
Days before Biden had even announced his choice of running mate, the posts said: “Joe Biden chose Kamala Harris as his VP.” The posts go on to claim, “If crazy Joe cannot serve his full term, Kamala cannot by constitutional law become President. She is an anchor baby, mother is from India, father is Jamaican, and neither were american citizens at time of her birth.
That means the Presidency would fall on Speaker of the house. Recently Nancy Pelosi stated that she was next in line to become President. THAT in itself is reason to vote her out in November. Democrats have worked the whole scenario out and I believe that is why they chose Kamala Harris.”
In an email to FactCheck.Org, Josh Chafetz, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center who specializes in constitutional law, described the Facebook posts as “racist nonsense.”
Chafetz explained: “To serve as president, one must be at least 35 years old, have been a resident of the United States for at least 14 years, and be a ‘natural born Citizen’ (Article II, sec. 1 of the Constitution). Additionally, one cannot have already been president for more than a term and a half (22nd Amendment).”
As we’ve reported before, Harris, whose mother is from India and whose father is from Jamaica, was born in Oakland, California, which makes her a natural born U.S. citizen and eligible to serve as president. She was born Oct. 20, 1964, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
Chafetz added that the fact that Harris’s parents are immigrants is “wholly irrelevant.”
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here.
Sources
“Biden’s VP Pick: Who is the Front Runner Kamala Harris?” BBC. 11 Aug 2020.
“Biden Picks Kamala Harris as His Running Mate.” Bloomberg News. 11 Aug 2020.
Cadelago, Christopher. “Biden picks Kamala Harris as VP nominee.” Politico. 11 Aug 2020.
Chafetz, Josh. Professor of law, Georgetown University Law Center. Email to FactCheck.org. 11 Aug 2020.
Detrow, Scott. “Kamala Harris Is Seen As the Clear Front-Runner to Be Joe Biden’s Running Mate.” NPR. 22 Jun 2020.
Fichera, Angelo. “Meme Uses Deception to Accuse Harris of ‘Lies.’” FactCheck.Org. 5 Jul 2019.
U.S. Constitution. Article II. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed 11 Aug 2020.
The 'wobbly' remark was made by Thatcher to GHW Bush after Iraq invaded and occupied Kuwait. Shortly into the next conflict with Iraq someone remarked 'real men go to Bagdad', an implied criticism of Bush I.
As it turned out the real man thought things though as in 'then what'? We saw the 'then what' tragically play out over the next 8 years.
But matched against Trump Harris comes up YOUNGER, better educated and uniquely qualified to run a prosecutorial campaign.
What is really stupid is thinking that the present economy is weaker that not just the first three years of Trump, but especially his last f'ing year. It WAS a four year term after all.
but I do not expect some dem to shout at harris "it's the economy, stupid" -- like one did so many years ago
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/economy/jobs-report-august-2020/index.html
US adds 1.4 million jobs in August, but is still down 11.5 million jobs since Covid hit
By Anneken Tappe, CNN Business
Updated 11:55 AM EDT, Fri September 4, 2020
A weak job market in an election year
The economic recovery is slowing at a critical juncture, just months ahead of the presidential election. President Donald Trump is heading into the general election with the worst jobs numbers of any president, based on records that go back to World War II.
As of August, the US economy is down 4.7 million jobs since January 2017 when Trump took office, according to the Labor Department.
Why it WAS about 'the economy stupid', in 1992.
https://clintonwhitehouse5.archives.gov/WH/Accomplishments/eightyears-03.html#:~:text=President%20Clinton's%20Record%20on%20the,rate%20since%20the%20Great%20Depression.
President Clinton's Record on the Economy: In 1992, 10 million Americans were unemployed, the country faced record deficits, and poverty and welfare rolls were growing. Family incomes were losing ground to inflation and jobs were being created at the slowest rate since the Great Depression. Today, America enjoys what may be the strongest economy ever.
In 1993, President Clinton and Vice President Gore launched their economic strategy: (1) establishing fiscal discipline, eliminating the budget deficit, keeping interest rates low, and spurring private-sector investment; (2) investing in people through education, training, science, and research; and (3) opening foreign markets so American workers can compete abroad. After eight years, the results of President Clinton's economic leadership are clear. Record budget deficits have become record surpluses, 22 million new jobs have been created, unemployment and core inflation are at their lowest levels in more than 30 years, and America is in the midst of the longest economic expansion in our history.
Strong Economic Growth: Since President Clinton and Vice President Gore took office, economic growth has averaged 4.0 percent per year, compared to average growth of 2.8 percent during the Reagan-Bush years. The economy has grown for 116 consecutive months, the most in history.
Most New Jobs Ever Created Under a Single Administration: The economy has created more than 22.5 million jobs in less than eight years—the most jobs ever created under a single administration, and more than were created in the previous 12 years. Of the total new jobs, 20.7 million, or 92 percent, are in the private sector.
Median Family Income Up $6,000 since 1993: Economic gains have been made across the spectrum as family incomes increased for all Americans. Since 1993, real median family income has increased by $6,338, from $42,612 in 1993 to $48,950 in 1999 (in 1999 dollars).
Unemployment at Its Lowest Level in More than 30 Years: Overall unemployment has dropped to the lowest level in more than 30 years, down from 6.9 percent in 1993 to just 4.0 percent in November 2000. The unemployment rate has been below 5 percent for 40 consecutive months. Unemployment for African Americans has fallen from 14.2 percent in 1992 to 7.3 percent in October 2000, the lowest rate on record. Unemployment for Hispanics has fallen from 11.8 percent in October 1992 to 5.0 percent in October 2000, also the lowest rate on record.
Yeah, Vance is as dumb a prick as Trump. Open mouth, make sweeping generalization, don't think about all the exceptions to the dumb ass generalization, and then try to deny what you said.
Vance will be Trump's biggest mistake since Covid and 'stop the steal'.
I think it’s so wrong to attack Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott like this. https://t.co/VjB6pAx7e6
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 25, 2024
Price gouging corps keep inflation higher than it should be. Anyway it's come down and the Fed is ready to f'k the GOP.
Tax increases for the wealthy and corps. Remember how the GOP lost there shit over Clinton's tax hikes and what happened? Budget surplus, that's what.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tax-reform-act-of-1993.asp
Impact of the Tax Reform Act
The Tax Reform Act of 1993 had a wide-ranging impact on tax collection. In 2006, U.S. Treasury analysts estimated tax receipts had increased by $42 billion annually (in 1992 dollars) in the four years following its passage.
By 1998, the Federal government produced its first budget surplus in almost 30 years.
Economic models suggest the Act had a mildly negative impact on GDP growth, but this was minor compared to the relatively strong, overall economic growth of the period.
Tax Foundation. "Modeling the Economic Effects of Past Tax Bills." Accessed Feb. 11, 2021.
He was photographed shaking hands with Netanyahu today, or a Weekend at Bernie's version of him was.
Updated 7:29 PM EDT, Thu July 25, 2024
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/25/politics/biden-netanyahu-meeting/index.html
And, keeping it Homeric, Vance is Trump's Achille's heel.
This is worse and it's likely to be repeated if Trump is reelected.
https://www.propublica.org/article/national-debt-trump
Donald Trump Built a National Debt So Big (Even Before the Pandemic) That It’ll Weigh Down the Economy for Years
The “King of Debt” promised to reduce the national debt — then his tax cuts made it surge. Add in the pandemic, and he oversaw the third-biggest deficit increase of any president.
One of President Donald Trump’s lesser known but profoundly damaging legacies will be the explosive rise in the national debt that occurred on his watch. The financial burden that he’s inflicted on our government will wreak havoc for decades, saddling our kids and grandkids with debt.
The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s time in office. That’s nearly twice as much as what Americans owe on student loans, car loans, credit cards and every other type of debt other than mortgages, combined, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. It amounts to about $23,500 in new federal debt for every person in the country.
The growth in the annual deficit under Trump ranks as the third-biggest increase, relative to the size of the economy, of any U.S. presidential administration, according to a calculation by a leading Washington budget maven, Eugene Steuerle, co-founder of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. And unlike George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln, who oversaw the larger relative increases in deficits, Trump did not launch two foreign conflicts or have to pay for a civil war.
Economists agree that we needed massive deficit spending during the COVID-19 crisis to ward off an economic cataclysm, but federal finances under Trump had become dire even before the pandemic. That happened even though the economy was booming and unemployment was at historically low levels. By the Trump administration’s own description, the pre-pandemic national debt level was already a “crisis” and a “grave threat.”
The combination of Trump’s 2017 tax cut and the lack of any serious spending restraint helped both the deficit and the debt soar. So when the once-in-a-lifetime viral disaster slammed our country and we threw more than $3 trillion into COVID-19-related stimulus, there was no longer any margin for error.
Our national debt has reached immense levels relative to our economy, nearly as high as it was at the end of World War II. But unlike 75 years ago, the massive financial overhang from Medicare and Social Security will make it dramatically more difficult to dig ourselves out of the debt ditch.
The Debt to GDP Ratio Is the Highest It's Been Since World War II
Federal debt held by the public as a percentage of gross domestic product since 1900.
Trump is worse for himself and for the 500K Covid dead conservatively attributed to his 'downplaying' it, his words, and choosing overly optimistic predictions, contempt for common sense mitigation measures and junk science over public health.
The junk science morphed into anti-Covid vax conspiracy theories leading to the death of many more, mostly his supporters. Voters will be reminded of all of that, count on it.
'truth' is where you fall short of Harry.
No, they're NOT smart enough to know that your litany of misinformation is just that.
That's why you Mountain Dew Light swigging mfrs continue to fall for the GOP which, like clockwork, leaves the economy in recession to be jump started by the Dems. Read the link to that chart I posted,💩 for🧠s
It's not the job of economists to fight inflation, it's the Feds. If they cut rates in Sept you'll know that we're on track with inflation and, take this to the bank, the GOP and junk economists like you will lose your 💩 and whine about the Fed trying to elect Harris DESPITE the f'ing fact that they have aggressively raised rates for over a year without tipping the economy into recession, a remarkable feat as you read and didn't comprehend.
One thing the GOP and its Trupanzees are good at is mocking expertise; junk science, junk economics, Trump, Margie and her Jewish space laser, Boobert, Gooberville and on and on and......