Cringe

This morning Trump tries, sort of, to pay attention to the misery of the Bahamas, but he makes it about him all the same.

Thank you to Bahamian Prime Minister Hubert Minnis for your very gracious and kind words in saying that without the help of the United States and me, their would have been many more casualties. I give all credit to FEMA, the U.S. Coast Guard, & the brave people of the Bahamas.

Oh lord. That fatal “and me.” What’s that even doing there?

Why does he make it about kind words at all? Why does he lead with thanking the PM for kind words instead of with the tragedy of what happened to the Bahamas? … Read the rest

Oh great.

Business Insider reports:

President Donald Trump’s aides and confidants are growing more and more concerned about his mental state after days of erratic behavior, wild outbursts, and bizarre fixations.

“No one knows what to expect from him anymore,” one former White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations about the president, told Insider. “His mood changes from one minute to the next based on some headline or tweet, and the next thing you know his entire schedule gets tossed out the window because he’s losing his shit.”

The president’s advisers are particularly worried about his stubborn refusal to acknowledge that a tweet he sent over the weekend claiming that Alabama was

NOAA has put out a statement covering Trump’s ass for him, dated today.

From Wednesday, August 28, through Monday, September 2, the information provided by NOAA and the National Hurricane Center to President Trump and the wider public demonstrated that tropical-storm-force winds from Hurricane Dorian could impact Alabama. This is clearly demonstrated in Hurricane Advisories #15 through #41, which can be viewed at the following link.

The Birmingham National Weather Service’s Sunday morning tweet spoke in absolute terms that were inconsistent with probabilities from the best forecast products available at the time.

The call is coming from inside the house.… Read the rest

The National Weather Service wishes Trump would stop distracting people from paying attention to accurate information about the actual hurricane.

The nation’s meteorologists saw the extended presidential eruption as an unhelpful diversion from a serious threat. The National Hurricane Center’s latest estimate on Thursday afternoon showed Dorian approaching the coast of South Carolina and then hovering over or near the North Carolina coast Thursday night or Friday.

“There is a potentially life-threatening hurricane headed for the Carolinas, and any distraction from making people aware of the potential consequences is not doing anyone a favor,” said Dan Sobien, president of the National Weather Service Employees Organization. “This is a distraction from what the official government message should be right now.”

Sobien

Trump is still relitigating the Alabama thing.

Two hours ago:

Just as I said, Alabama was originally projected to be hit. The Fake News denies it!

Also two hours ago:

I was with you all the way Alabama. The Fake News Media was not!

Trump was warming up his arm for when they needed him to throw paper towels. UNLIKE THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA.… Read the rest

Trump goes to FEMA for a briefing on the hurricane that is now hammering the Bahamas, and at that briefing he marvels at the idea of a Category 5 hurricane, says he’s never heard of a Cat 5, says he has heard of a Cat 5 but only as a concept, not as an event.

None of that is accurate. None of it. It’s the babbling of someone whose brain is emptying out at an accelerating rate.

Daniel Dale provides the citations:

President Donald Trump on the existence of Category 5 hurricanes, 2017-2019.

Fall of 2017, Category 5 a new thing on earth. This past May, Category 5 whaaaaaat who ever heard of that, big stuff. Today Category 5 … Read the rest

Trump, adult and responsible as always, says HE CAN IF HE WANTS TO.

Maybe, but that’s not the issue, so let’s try to pay attention.

Kaitlan Collins of CNN:

Asked if the image of the accident at the Iranian space facility was classified, Trump only says, “I just wish Iran well. They had a big problem & we had a photo and I released it, which I have the absolute right to do.” From where? “You’ll have to figure that one out yourself.”

He keeps saying that, and it’s not true.

He may have the legal authority to do this particular thing, I don’t know, but “the absolute right” is a much bigger claim, and he doesn’t have that. … Read the rest

Trump is doing his best to plant a big wet one on Putin’s bum.

President Donald Trump is seriously considering a plan to block $250 million in military assistance to Ukraine, a move that would further ingratiate him with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has directed senior officials to review the aid package.

To be fair he also wanted to slash foreign aid in general and was stymied in that effort.

If Trump ultimately decides to block the aid package, a possibility first reported by Politico, it would likely prompt a bipartisan uproar from members of Congress who believe US military support is essential to countering Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine.

Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a member of

Yesterday Trump was raging at Puerto Rico because Hurricane Dorian was headed towards it. Why did he think that was Puerto Rico’s fault? You’d have to ask him. But now the hurricane’s path has shifted, and Don has changed his tune.

Hurricane Dorian is poised to hit Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club, so the president has canceled his trip to Poland. Bloomberg reported, “President Donald Trump has canceled a trip to Poland this weekend because Hurricane Dorian is poised to strike Florida, according to two people familiar with the matter.”

Trump is sending Pence instead.

Trump was all set to take off for Poland when he thought that the hurricane was going to hit Puerto Rico, but he

What was that about Putin owning Trump, again?

Trump slow-walks Ukraine military aid meant to contain Russia

The Trump administration is slow-walking $250 million in military assistance to Ukraine, annoying lawmakers and advocates who argue the funding is critical to keeping Russia at bay.

President Donald Trump asked his national security team to review the funding program, known as the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, in order to ensure the money is being used in the best interest of the United States, a senior administration official told POLITICO on Wednesday.

By which of course Trump doesn’t mean the literal best interest of the United States, but rather the best interest of Donald Trump, disguised as the best interest of the United … Read the rest