McConnell, in private, doubts the Trump can save the presidency

[Jacque67 7,328]

The relationship between President Trump and Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has disintegrated to the point that they have not spoken to each other in weeks, and Mr. McConnell has privately expressed uncertainty that Mr. Trump will be able to salvage his administration after a series of summer crises.

What was once an uneasy governing alliance has curdled into a feud of mutual resentment and sometimes outright hostility, complicated by the position of Mr. McConnell’s wife, Elaine L. Chao, in Mr. Trump’s cabinet, according to more than a dozen people briefed on their imperiled partnership. Angry phone calls and private badmouthing have devolved into open conflict, with the president threatening to oppose Republican senators who cross him, and Mr. McConnell mobilizing to their defense.

The rupture between Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell comes at a highly perilous moment for Republicans, who face a number of urgent deadlines when they return to Washington next month. Congress must approve new spending measures and raise the statutory limit on government borrowing within weeks of reconvening, and Republicans are hoping to push through an elaborate rewrite of the federal tax code. There is scant room for legislative error on any front.

A protracted government shutdown or a default on sovereign debt could be disastrous — for the economy and for the party that controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.

Yet Mr. Trump and Mr. McConnell are locked in a political cold war. Neither man would comment for this article. Don Stewart, a spokesman for Mr. McConnell, noted that the senator and the president had “shared goals,” and pointed to “tax reform, infrastructure, funding the government, not defaulting on the debt, passing the defense authorization bill.”

Continue reading the main story

 

Still, the back-and-forth has been dramatic.

In a series of tweets this month, Mr. Trump criticized Mr. McConnell publicly, and berated him in a phone call that quickly devolved into a profane shouting match.

During the call, which Mr. Trump initiated on Aug. 9 from his New Jersey golf club, the president accused Mr. McConnell of bungling the health care issue. He was even more animated about what he intimated was the Senate leader’s refusal to protect him from investigations of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to Republicans briefed on the conversation.

[Jacque67 7,328]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/us/politics/mitch-mcconnell-trump.html

 

strategically leaked.

whilst trump has being trying to distract with statues and "our culture" ( neither he nor his ancestors fought for the confederacy), the wheels have been turning.

Glenn Simpson handed over 40K documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and in 10 hours interview refused to reveal the identities of those who hire him.

christopher Steele provided the FBI with names of sources for the trump russia dossier.

 

ryan said trump messed up with his response to C/ville.

 

NB might yet get his VJ Pulitzer Prize!

[CaliCat 3,957]

But Hillary!!! But Obama!!!! But Pee Wee Herman!!!!!

 

 

[Jacque67 7,328]

Diaper Donnie of the Pepe and skittles memes has been very quiet. Adopting a Russian baby? 

[JimandChristy 1,689]

I have no sympathy for McConnell and GOP, it is all of their own doing. They backed him in the Primary, they backed him during the general. They created the monster that is Trump and now they have to try and work with him.

[Jacque67 7,328]

6 minutes ago, JimandChristy said:

I have no sympathy for McConnell and GOP, it is all of their own doing. They backed him in the Primary, they backed him during the general. They created the monster that is Trump and now they have to try and work with him.

C'mon. Have some sympathy.

 

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

26 minutes ago, Jacque67 said:

C'mon. Have some sympathy.

 

So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
(Woo woo)
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, mm yeah
(Woo woo, woo woo)

[Jacque67 7,328]

10 minutes ago, Il Mango Dulce said:

So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
(Woo woo)
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, mm yeah
(Woo woo, woo woo)

I stuck around St. Petersburg,

When I saw it was time for a change.

Edited August 23, 2017 by Jacque67

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

1 hour ago, Jacque67 said:

I stuck around St. Petersburg,

When I saw it was time for a change.

Prophetic words

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

4 hours ago, JimandChristy said:

I have no sympathy for McConnell and GOP, it is all of their own doing. They backed him in the Primary, they backed him during the general. They created the monster that is Trump and now they have to try and work with him.

Great post although none of it is factual 

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

3 hours ago, Nature Boy Flair said:

Great post although none of it is factual 

Seriously like no one from the Mainstream Republican base backed him in the primaries and they only halfway backed him in the general election. 

[CaliCat 3,957]

8 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

Seriously like no one from the Mainstream Republican base backed him in the primaries and they only halfway backed him in the general election. 

 

Do you blame them? Look at what a disaster He turned out to be!

Edited August 24, 2017 by CaliCat

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

Just now, CaliCat said:

 

Do you blame them? Look at what a disaster He turned out to be!

He is only a disaster if you are looking at the glass as half empty. He is a success to me because I am looking at it as being half full. I like how he is at least trying to fulfill a large amount of his campaign promises. 

[CaliCat 3,957]

Just now, cyberfx1024 said:

He is only a disaster if you are looking at the glass as half empty. He is a success to me because I am looking at it as being half full. I like how he is at least trying to fulfill a large amount of his campaign promises. 

 

I honestly don't think he is trying to do that. He has not tried to negotiate one single position. He has recanted, missed, or altogether misrepresented all the big ticket promises.

 

How do you reconcile the threat to shut down government if he doesn't get money for his wall, when he said over and again that Mexico would pay for it? How about the crumbling infrastructure of the country, and those third-world airports he was so critical about?  And with all the golf, he's not even trying to get congress to unite. We've seen presidents govern with minorities in both houses. Even Obama got a ton of work done, despite the promise from the GOP to block his initiatives. 

[JimandChristy 1,689]

12 minutes ago, CaliCat said:

 

I honestly don't think he is trying to do that. He has not tried to negotiate one single position. He has recanted, missed, or altogether misrepresented all the big ticket promises.

 

How do you reconcile the threat to shut down government if he doesn't get money for his wall, when he said over and again that Mexico would pay for it? How about the crumbling infrastructure of the country, and those third-world airports he was so critical about?  And with all the golf, he's not even trying to get congress to unite. We've seen presidents govern with minorities in both houses. Even Obama got a ton of work done, despite the promise from the GOP to block his initiatives. 

That's the thing, he has no idea about policy, other leaders in his party are looking to him for ideas but he has none. He brings nothing to the table except bluster and sound bites. He has no substance at all.