Trump now sees things differently
As we’ve seen, in one of the least surprising “surprises” of the week Trump said hahaha I was just kidding, I’m not going to throw Crooked Hillary in jail.
The Washington Post reported this morning that Trump “has decided that his administration will not pursue criminal investigations related to former rival Hillary Clinton’s private email server or her family foundation.” We learned of the decision by way of Kellyanne Conway, who appeared on MSNBC earlier today.
…Conway said Trump now sees things differently. “I think when the president-elect, who’s also the head of your party, tells you before he’s even inaugurated that he doesn’t wish to pursue these charges, it sends a very strong message, tone and content” to fellow Republicans, she said. “Look, I think he’s thinking of many different things as he prepares to become the President of the United States, and things that sound like the campaign are not among them,” she added.
Notice how casual she is about admitting that he’s not going to do what he repeatedly said he was going to do. Notice how casual she is about admitting he lied to the voters, as if they should have known that all along.
I suspect much of the political world will perceive this as a conciliatory, and perhaps even magnanimous, decision…
Oh surely not. It was just his typical scuzzy lying bullshit and projection, seeing as how he’s the actually corrupt one of the two. His fans will be pissed off that he lied to them, and his non-fans can’t possibly think it’s magnanimous to say he’s not going to do something he had no business doing in the first place.
It was a scandal of sorts during the campaign that Trump saw himself as some kind of unhinged strongman, threatening to lock up those who stood in the way of his pursuit of power, in large part because he was claiming a legal authority that did not exist. Today’s news may seem reassuring – Trump won’t keep a ridiculous campaign promise – but look just below the surface and you’ll see that it’s actually a continuation of the scandal because Trump is still acting as if he has a power that remains imaginary.
Certainly. I wouldn’t dream of looking at it any other way.
Yes, I’m sure the frothing millions will be impressed by Trump’s magnanimity. I only hope they realize they’ve been played.
“At least we still have the wall!”
“No, he changed his mind about that one, too.”
“Damn it!”
“And now he loves Syrian refugees.”
I have to admit to feeling some relief. Doesn’t make me LIKE Trump though, any more than I like a bully who says they’re no longer going to kick my puppy.
Has anyone pointed out to Trump that America’s (arguably) premier tech company was co-founded by the descendant of a Syrian immigrant? then again, maybe that’s why he hates Apple, along with it’s socially liberal and tolerant attitude.
According to the BBC World Service an hour or so ago, he has also disavowed the various white supremacy groups that had responded to his dog whistles throughout the campaign, as well as changing his stance on AGW, saying now that there’s a possibility that the climate scientists he’s derided until now for falling for the ‘Chinese hoax’, might be on to something after all.
Of course, he’ll probably claim that these were his positions all along and the lying media had lied through their lying teeth to make him look bad.
President Flip-Flop de l’Orange! A man who has violated all but one of the Ten Commandments, and that on a technicality: the only ass he covets is his daughter’s.
“His fans will be pissed off that he lied to them”
Nah. All that “lock her up” stuff was mostly a way of signaling that he really, really, really hated Hillary. Maybe a few rubes actually bought it literally, but most of them knew the game.
And the game continues. After Conway’s comments, Trump made sure to wink at the base by leaking to Fox News that “well, maaaaybe she’ll still be prosecuted.”
@Ben: That swamp is still looking pretty swampy, too.