Random Politics & Religion #19

QUESTION
Mr. President, you mentioned Russia. Let's talk about some serious issues that have come up in the last week that you have had to deal with as president of the United States.

DONALD TRUMP
OK.

QUESTION
You mentioned the vessel -- the spy vessel off the coast of the United States.

DONALD TRUMP
Not good.

QUESTION
There was a ballistic missile test that many interpret as a violation of an agreement between the two countries; and a Russian plane buzzed a U.S. destroyer.

DONALD TRUMP
Not good.

QUESTION
I listened to you during the campaign ...

DONALD TRUMP
Excuse me, excuse me. When did it happen? It happened when, if you were Putin right now, you would say, "Hey, we're back to the old games with the United States; there's no way Trump can ever do a deal with us." Because the -- you have to understand. If I was just brutal on Russia right now, just brutal, people would say, you would say, "Oh, isn't that wonderful." But I know you well enough.

Then you would say, "Oh, he was too tough; he shouldn't have done that." Look, all of the...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION
I'm just trying to find out your orientation to those...

(CROSSTALK)

DONALD TRUMP
Wait a minute. Wait, wait. Excuse me just one second.

(CROSSTALK)

DONALD TRUMP
All of those things that you mentioned are very recent, because probably Putin assumes that he's not going to be able to make a deal with me because it's politically not popular for me to make a deal. So Hillary Clinton tries a reset. It failed. They all tried. But I'm different than those people.

Go ahead.

QUESTION
How are you interpreting those moves? And what do you intend to do about them? Have you given Rex Tillerson any advice or counsel on how to deal?

DONALD TRUMP
I have. I have. And I'm so beautifully represented. I'm so honored that the Senate approved him. He's going to be fantastic.

Yes, I think that I've already...

QUESTION
Is Putin testing you, do you believe, sir?

DONALD TRUMP
No, I don't think so. I think Putin probably assumes that he can't make a deal with me anymore because politically it would be unpopular for a politician to make a deal. I can't believe I'm saying I'm a politician, but I guess that's what I am now.

Because, look, it would be much easier for me to be tough on Russia, but then we're not going to make a deal.

Now, I don't know that we're going to make a deal. I don't know. We might. We might not. But it would be much easier for me to be so tough -- the tougher I am on Russia, the better. But you know what? I want to do the right thing for the American people. And to be honest, secondarily, I want to do the right thing for the world.

If Russia and the United States actually got together and got along -- and don't forget, we're a very powerful nuclear country and so are they. There's no upside. We're a very powerful nuclear country and so are they. I have been briefed. And I can tell you one thing about a briefing that we're allowed to say because anybody that ever read the most basic book can say it, nuclear holocaust would be like no other.

They're a very powerful nuclear country and so are we. If we have a good relationship with Russia, believe me, that's a good thing, not a bad thing.

QUESTION
So when you say they're not good, do you mean that they are...

DONALD TRUMP
Who did I say is not good?

We know his supporters will consume whatever drivel seeps out of his face hole. It would still be nice if he could answer a question with a complete thought minus the constant self-interjections and hyperbole.

We already know that the leftovers of Obama's admin cannot be trusted, so should we fire the entire administration and start fresh, or make examples of the few bad players?

I'd say the answer is obvious. Get rid of the leftovers, put in your own people. It's the only way to ensure that you don't have people leaking classified information for political gain.

It could backfire though.

The leftovers have experience, which this administration sorely lacks.

If there's a way to identify correctly who's the *** and who's the silent dissent, then it would be easy to fire those who would do more harm towards the US than anything.

"Drugs are cheaper than candy"

Mr.President WTactualF?

That's fair. I just don't know how easy it would be to weed out the rats. I'd probably give them an ultimatum. Keep each other in check, because if it happens again you're all fired.

I'd be interested to see how well the people in here would handle being the subject of an hour long, hostile press conference....

There's another huge issue at hand too.

It will probably be what protects the "anonymous tipster" from getting fired right away.

I could manage coherent sentences without repeating myself. I could never approach his level of mendacity even though I used to be a pretty good bullshitter.

You are right, he is being defensive about this whole shitfest.

But you need to remember, there is a bigger story about this than Flynn. It's about that "anonymous tipster" who allegedly released classified information to the media.

They got what they wanted (Flynn resigned), but at what cost? We already know that the leftovers of Obama's admin cannot be trusted, so should we fire the entire administration and start fresh, or make examples of the few bad players?

That's fair. I just don't know how easy it would be to weed out the rats. I'd probably give them an ultimatum. Keep each other in check, because if it happens again you're all fired.

I didn't realize that the DNC emails were classified (not that I care at all, but still.....).

I didn't say that they were... the point still being that they were still illegally obtained and distributed and trump gave his stamp of approval... he applauded the leaks for exposing information that the public needed to know regardless of the source...

It would still be nice if he could answer a question with a complete thought minus the constant self-interjections and hyperbole.

Again, there is a difference between revealing shenanigans regarding a federal election and revealing national security risks for political gain.

Sure, Trump benefited from the Wikileaks, Assange had a vested, personal interest in making sure Clinton didn't get into the White House. Regardless, that's all minor compared to these types of leaks that basically compromises national security over basically nothing.

Newsflash: Flynn isn't the first incoming adviser who talked to foreign powers prior to being in the federal government.

I'd be interested to see how well the people in here would handle being the subject of an hour long, hostile press conference. I'd also be interested in seeing how well Obama would have done if he wasn't lobbed softballs for eight years.

I'm not saying Trump couldn't have answered the questions better, because he could have. But, as usual, I strongly think the over-coverage is going to backfire on the media.

Serious question. Is this the first time you've listened to Trump speak?

Because I have never not heard him sound like that in the last 37 or so years that he had been in the public eye.

Also ...follow up question...Would you happen to have a miracle on you that you haven't used/have been holding out on us?

It's just funny that "America" wants a 70yr old incoherent narcissist with the memory of Dory, that will more than likely die of coronary failure caused by a Big Mac as president.

Sure there's a difference though I wouldn't refer to them as shenanigans... it did have a very real effect on the most important election we have though so there's something in that...

How have these leaks compromised our national security?

I wouldn't be surprised if they have... care to elaborate on who and what was discussed? I'd actually be interested in seeing the correlation and how it was handled...