LAMP

He'll have to do more than that to overcome the damage ICE is doing to the party image.

It would be odd that Trump allows that damage to continue UNLESS, he has a plan to invalidate the midterms and, by extension, the General.

The clue is, he doesn't appear to be worried about it other than backing a few candidates who don't want him anywhere their campaign.

What will stop him is the vote to flip the Senate in November. While democracy still has a sliver of a chance to survive this nightmare.

leaves office???

LOL ~ the ghost of Trump will remain forever.

LAMP

Rather than the "strong man" image and violence, Trump has to find a way to trick the voters into trusting the Republican Party again.

Extra money in the pocket of the gullible usually does the trick.

I can almost hear the rollout of the new Republican candidate now. Someone with the name of Trump or Kushner, just to keep it in the family.

Of course, if Trump is a full-blown dictator by then, he'll just name his successor or maybe have a mock election like in Russia.

If there's a way, Trump will find it. He and Putin are in too deep now to let a little thing like an election stop them.

There are several ways Trump can win back the hearts and minds of voters ~~ the most obvious, of course, would be the economy, i.e. a drastic drop in prices that hit the family budget the hardest ~ groceries, Gasoline, energy, etc. a month or two right before the General in 2028.

It would be a trick, of course, but remember, it was a trick about the price of groceries that got him elected in the first place. Lesson being: There's no accounting for the stupidity of voters. Give them some extra money and they're as happy as a pig in a mud puddle.

It would be very hard for a Democrat to win the presidency with that kind of headwind.

BBQ

"They were talking about reinstating Kelly to active duty so they could prosecute him."

JAG probably told Hegseth that he didn't have a case.

LAMP

"So, looting Venezuela's natural resources for the benefit of Big Oil?

I'd think that Big Oil would look with a jaundice eye at any plan concocted by Donald Trump.

He's not the best in the business when it comes to long term planning ~ and things could go awry in a flash ~ including the General Election in 2028 and everything in between.

Knowing Trump, anything that can go wrong WILL go wrong and in order of their importance.

My guess is that Big Oil is going to look long and hard before they make any decision. Perhaps even demanding billions of dollars in financial assurances.

Venezuela could very well turn out to be Trump's white elephant.

Surely Trump had this investment strategy with the U.S. oil companies all settled BEFORE he invaded.

(LOL) Don't count on it.

And now you know why Trump went into high gear in Venezuela, with similar threats to Columbia and Mexico.

He's running out of time. And Vice President Vance is nothing more than a Peter Thiel Plug & Play.

Or poll the string.

It's not all Putinization. That's only the Eastern Hemisphere. The Western hemisphere (which includes South America) is Putin's close cousin, Trumpization.

It's pretty obvious that they're both on a rail to carry out the original agreement between Putin and Donald Trump.

However, the obstacle they both face is advancing old age. I can't speak for Putin, but Trump is nose diving straight into dementia. For this long range plan to divide and control the world economy for eternity, Trump cannot run the risk a 2028 fair democratic election ~~ nor even losing the House and a compliant Speaker in the midterms

Take heed. There's skullduggery afoot.

RE REINs comment about aspirin

Trump's admission about overdosing on aspirin sounds more like a self-prescribed attempt to work-around the cholesterol that's clogging the vessels to his heart.

I can't imagine any doctor telling a patient to "just take more aspirin" if indeed the problem is cholesterol blocking Trump's arteries.

My guess is that his REAL health report is a horror show after a lifetime of self-abuse.

ANGRYDAD

"For what"

Throwing America under the bus for a loser like President Dangleberries..

It appears that the word "whirlwind" was a bit too much for Trump's limited intellect. By the end of 2005 it appears that he has totally lost his mind.

The question is: When is somebody going to throw a net over this fruitcake?

As Jack Smith testified in the release of his testimony to the House Judiciary, President Biden did not interfere in DOJ decisions at any time during Jack Smith investigation.

That says a lot about Biden's respect for tradition.

If SHRIMPY has any credible evidence to the contrary regarding collusion between Biden and Pelosi's DOJ decisions, let's hear it. (with emphasis on the word "credible)

If not, then it's safe to assume SHRIMPY's #11 is just blowing farts out his -------, which is the more likely case.

MTG wasn't naive. She was onboard. Everybody on the Hill knew Speaker Johnson was controlled by Trump. It's a little late for her crocodile tears now.

Up until the fallout she was screaming at Trump to "Pick me! Pick me"

Trump is a White Nationalist. The fact that Obama, a black man, won the award is like a knife to Trump's heart. He'll never accept that a black man is better than him and he'll never get over it.

LAMP

I also have to wonder if Peter Thiel will be willing to throw good money after bad if Newsom is the more politically overwhelming candidate in turncoat Republican states.

I'm just saying, it's not too soon to do some "what if" planning for 2028. In fact, I'd be surprised if it isn't alredy being done.

LAMP

Re: Peaking too soon.

Agreed that's a danger in most cases.

But frankly, I'm not convinced there is a "peak" in Newsom's case . . . as long as Trump, with ever increasing desperation and on a completely different (psychotic) rail, keeps feeding Newsom the ammunition.

(And Vance, who can't seem keep his zipper up, isn't helping.) How long before he ditches his Hindu wife who refuses to switch to Christianity?

DOC

It wasn't really a horror show. At least not for me. Actually, I was having a Grand Ol' Time rounding up the thieves and puttin' on the squeeze.

Shame on me. (LOL)

Thanks DOC

It was a busy, busy trip with relatives coming out of the woodwork to see if they were in the Will ~ or try to sneak their way in if they weren't. I caught two of them with over $11,000 in checks that were forged before my mother's death. I got all the money back. It was either that or they get arrested for about 5 different felonies. (It was one of my finer moments ~ LOL)

Probate Commissioner gave me some under-the-table help. Turned out my highschool sweetheart was his father. Small, small world.

Anyway, although I'm a big city girl now I've known those people all my life. Too bad they made the mistake of thinking I was still a hick from the sticks.

While I was in West Virginia to settle my mother's estate, I tried . . . I REALLY tried to warn my mother's friends and neighbors what was in store for them and their families.

But it was Trump country and there was no talking to those people. They were deaf, dumb and blind to everything I tried to explain.

They were so backwards in their beliefs that I'm not even going to call them to say I told you so.

Donald Trump is envious of President Putin.

This is the kind of power without consequences that the current President of the United States can only patiently dream about . . . waiting for his turn to unleash his own true maniacal form of military justice.

Time will tell on this J.D./Erika thing. Let's see what kind of pressure Peter Thiel brings to the decision. Thiel has spent a lifetime and millions of dollars supporting and promoting Vance for just this moment in time. Peter Thiel very much wants to be the Shadow President to (much like Donald Trump) enrich himself.

Vance owes him big time.

DBT2

There's still plenty of time to fight over the spoils of the Trump administration.

The point I was getting to is Vance's personal dilemma. His now wife, Usha, is the daughter of immigrants from India and who is refusing to give up her Hindu religion and adopt Christianity. She has set her foot down on that. That could be a deal breaker for Vance's presidential aspirations.

Vance has to decide (and soon) what is more important to him. His now wife or someone else (like Erika Kirk) who would be the beautiful firebrand First Lady with a constituency of her own to help him get elected.

Assuming you already know that we're dealing with genuine, dyed-in-the-wool sociopaths without a conscience nor respect for personal boundaries, Vance might have to ditch the old and come in with the new (wife, that is) if he wants to be President.

He was lucky to get "adopted" by "Kingmaker" Peter Thiel who paid his freight for all those pre-Trump years and all the way up to the vice presidency, to the tune of multi, multi millions of dollars, a big chunk of that to pay Donald Trump to pick J.D. for Vice President.

There will be no stopping "Kingmaker" Peter Thiel now if Vance runs for President in 2028. He can change his moniker from "Kingmaker" to Shadow President.