The White House has now released the transcript of Trump’s dreadful, clumsy statement this morning. It was clumsy because he’s so desperately bad at reading a prepared speech. It was also worse than clumsy.

Good morning.  My fellow Americans, this morning, our nation is overcome with shock, horror, and sorrow.  This weekend, more than 80 people were killed or wounded in two evil attacks.

On Saturday morning, in El Paso, Texas, a wicked man went to a Walmart store, where families were shopping with their loved ones.  He shot and murdered 20 people, and injured 26 others, including precious little children.

Then, in the early hours of Sunday morning in Dayton, Ohio, another twisted monster opened fire on a crowded

How did Trump manage to swap Toledo for Dayton in his hostage video address to the nation today?

He can’t read, so he misread the teleprompter.

… Read the rest

The Trump campaign owes El Paso hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And yet…

President Donald Trump has pledged the federal government will provide “whatever is needed” to help El Paso, Texas, recover from a mass shooting Saturday that killed 22 people.

But Trump’s own 2020 re-election committee still hasn’t paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in police and public safety-related bills and late fees that El Paso city officials say it owes from Trump’s campaign visit on Feb. 11.

“The Trump campaign has not paid the invoice as of yet,” El Paso spokeswoman Laura Cruz-Acosta confirmed to the Center for Public Integrity late Monday morning.

Well. You know. That’s Trump money – money to promote … Read the rest

In the least surprising news ever…

President Donald Trump tried to blame a lot of things Monday for a series of horrific shootings over the weekend. What he didn’t do was take any of the blame onto himself or pledge to change his rhetoric.

Well. This is Trump. Has he ever in his life taken any blame for anything?

I don’t know for a fact that he hasn’t, because I wasn’t there, but I think if he ever had we would have been told. From everything we’ve been all too able to see, he never does and he is incapable of ever doing so. He’s incapable of it in the same sense I’m incapable of speaking Mandarin. I’ve never … Read the rest

Trump says this could be GREAT. It’s up to us. We can do this! We can make it GREAT! Make American mass-murder great again! MAMGA!

We cannot let those killed in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, die in vain. Likewise for those so seriously wounded. We can never forget them, and those many who came before them. Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks, perhaps marrying……..this legislation with desperately needed immigration reform. We must have something good, if not GREAT, come out of these two tragic events!

Come on, kids! Make it GREAT!! It’s in your hands!… Read the rest

Trump gave a “statement” this morning. I tried to watch it but it’s too unbearable, watching him try to pretend to care, try to pretend to be shocked and sad, try to pretend to be an adult.

The Guardian calls the statement “scattered,” which is tactful.

Trump issued a statement on the attacks in El Paso and Dayton in which he blamed violent video games and mental health-care, among other things, for mass shootings.

Condemning the “barbaric slaughters,” Trump called on the nation to reject racism. “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” Trump said.

But he then pivoted to any number of other subjects — including violent video games, access to mental-heath care and

Yesterday Trump retweeted Pastor Darrell Scott saying

There is nothing racist about President #Trump‘s suggesting that those who regularly spew hate at #America might spend their time more productively elsewhere

Trump’s next tweet says

‘God be with you all’: Trump pledges full support for El Paso shooting victims as lawmakers also grieve.

I wonder if the first one is meant to absolve him of any responsibility for the El Paso racist murder-spree. Pastor Scott is wrong, unfortunately, despite being black himself. He’s wrong because the people Trump told to leave are all non-white. Pastor Scott is free to pretend that’s irrelevant if he chooses, but he’s still wrong, wrong on the facts and wrong morally. Trump’s racist … Read the rest

Military Veterans Against Fascism:

Trump offered Putin help with fighting wildfires in Siberia…planes, personnel, money, and materials.

When California was burning from wildfires he blamed the state and threatened to stop federal funding from going to the state.

Analysts believe Trump’s call to Putin was him looking for more support (election meddling on his behalf) going into 2020. Given his pick of nominees for the head of the nation’s intelligence system is a Trump loyalist with no intention of preventing Russia from interfering…we may be seeing Trump actively colluding with Russia to rig the 2020 vote.

Moscow Mitch’s refusal to secure our election suggests the criminal conspiracy extends beyond the White House to several prominent GOP leaders.

The Republicans

What Trump inspires:

A man has been charged after he punched an anti-Trump protester outside the president’s rally in Cincinnati Thursday night. Footage obtained by CBS affiliate WKRC shows Dallas Frazier, 29, being immediately arrested after hitting another man multiple times.

Before President Trump was set to give a speech inside U.S. Bank Arena, video shows Frazier, dressed in a green polo shirt, opening the door of a red pickup truck and going after 61-year-old Mike Alter. (The footage, which contains some profanity, can be seen here.)

Frazier is seen sizing up the victim and asking, “You want some?” –– before swinging at the man three times and knocking his sunglasses off. Officers then arrest him.

They go … Read the rest

Now for Aaron Rupar’s report on the Cincinnati fascist rally:

Trump made it more clear than ever before that he conceives of himself as the president of the states that voted for him, and little more. At various points during his speech in Cincinnati, he ridiculed living conditions and violent crime in blue “inner cities” like Baltimore, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Arguably the lowest point in Trump’s speech came when he escalated his one-sided feud with elected officials representing one of America’s blackest cities by turning victims of gun violence in Baltimore into a political cudgel to wield against Democrats. The spectacle of the American president trying to score partisan points on violent crime in an American

Trump wants to help Putin with the fawrest fiyas because apparently we’re especially good at putting out fawrest fiyas.

It’s funny/disgusting that he twice explains to us how bad the fiyas are by saying they’re the worst he’s ever seen.

One – he hasn’t seen them. Two, why would what he’s seen be the measure of anything? Three, he’s relying on reports by people who do know what they’re talking about, just like the rest of us, but he frames it as if he had taken a godlike trip up above the planet to check on the size of the fires in Siberia. It’s just so dopy and clueless and inept.

Also of course he contemptuously brushes off the question … Read the rest

The churchy people who run “the National Cathedral” in DC have issued a rebuke of Trump. (What actually is “the National Cathedral”? Is that just the name it gave itself? We’re not supposed to have a federal cathedral, surely. But anyway.) Mostly I don’t publicize what churchy people say, but given that presidents are expected to do things there (again, why?), this one is of interest.

The escalation of racialized rhetoric from the President of the United States has evoked responses from all sides of the political spectrum. On one side, African American leaders have led the way in rightfully expressing outrage. On the other, those aligned with the President seek to downplay the racial overtones of his attacks,

Trump’s latest contribution to the conversation:

CNN’s Don Lemon, the dumbest man on television, insinuated last night while asking a debate “question” that I was a racist, when in fact I am “the least racist person in the world.” Perhaps someone should explain to Don that he is supposed to be neutral, unbiased & fair,……..or is he too dumb (stupid} to understand that. No wonder CNN’s ratings (MSNBC’s also) have gone down the tubes – and will stay there until they bring credibility back to the newsroom. Don’t hold your breath!

The “dumb (stupid}” is a nice touch, especially the mismatched brackets.

Anyway, no worries, it’s all political correctness run mad.

“Everybody’s called a racist now,” Trump said in

Hmmyeahno.

Trump to reporters this AM: “I’m the least racist person there is anywhere in the world.” Fact check: False.

— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) July 30, 2019

I can think of less-racist-than-Trump people without even resorting to Google.

He does say it. You can see him say it, and then go on to say a bunch of racist crap.

President Trump: "I am the least racist person there is anywhere in the world…Al Sharpton, now he's a racist. He's a racist."

Full video: https://t.co/nmbeeOLn2i pic.twitter.com/vqWpUOU4L2

— CSPAN (@cspan) July 30, 2019

WATCH: Trump insists he is the ‘least racist person in the world’ as he angrily rails against black leaders https://t.co/a0wcQd6mv9

— Raw Story (@RawStory) July 30, 2019

… Read the rest