trump is serious!!!!!

[Lord Jim]

Donald Trump answered or corrected nearly all of Mike Pence’s questions in 60 Minutes interview

CLEVELAND — For their first lengthy public interaction, Donald Trump and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence opted for a sit-down interview with 60 Minutes. Trump did most of the talking during the 21-minute segment that aired on Sunday night, while Pence sat beside him, gazing approvingly and allowing Trump to answer nearly all of the questions, even those directed at him.

By the end, Trump had uttered more than 2,160 words while Pence’s word count clocked in around 900.

When Pence did get the chance to speak, Trump would often cut him off with a correction or answer of his own.

For example, as Pence tried to explain why he was at first opposed to Trump’s ban on foreign Muslims, he began by pointing out that Trump “clearly … is not a politician” and “doesn’t speak like a politician.”

“He speaks from his heart,” Pence said earnestly.

Trump cut in: “Is that a good thing? I think that’s a good thing. Well, I speak from my heart and my brain. Just so we understand.”

Pence agreed: “Right.”

Here are four times that Trump jumped in to answer a question on Pence’s behalf:

1) Does Pence have chemistry with Trump? Early in the interview, Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes listed some of the glaring differences between the two men, who sat in gold throne-like chairs in Trump’s lavish Manhattan penthouse. She described Pence as “very low-key, very religious” and Trump as “a brash New Yorker.” Trump then insisted that he, too, was religious and that he won the votes of evangelicals. Stahl asked if Trump needed Pence to get evangelical voters.

“I think it helps,” Trump said. “But I don’t think I needed him, no, because I won with evangelicals.”

Pence jumped in to explain: “But I think we have more in common. …”

But then Trump finished his sentence for him: “… what might be immediately obvious.”

Trump continued: “I think we will have very, very good chemistry. I feel that. And I can feel that pretty early on. I don’t think you need to be with somebody for two years to find that out.”

2) Can Pence stomach Trump’s negative campaigning? Stahl brought up an essay that Pence wrote in early 1990s denouncing negative campaigning and asked him what he thought of Trump’s tone. Pence started by simply saying that Trump is “a good man who’s been talking about the issues the American people care about,” but Stahl pressed him on Trump’s name-calling.

“Lesley, Lesley,” Trump said, butting into the question. “We’re different people. I understand that. I’ll give you an example: Hillary Clinton is a liar.”

“That’s negative,” Stahl said, “by the way.”

Trump rattled off a few of his nicknames for Clinton, then came to Pence’s defence.

“He’s not that kind of a person,” Trump said. “We’re different people. To me, she’s ‘Crooked Hillary.’ I don’t think he should use that term. I’ve never said one way or the other. But to him, I don’t think it would sound right, but he will say how dishonest she is by going over the facts.”

3) Would Pence confront Trump in the White House? Stahl told Pence to picture winning the election and having an office down the hall from the president, an image that made the governor gently smile. Stahl asked if Pence would be willing to confront Trump on his name-calling or to tell him when he had crossed a line and needed to apologize. As Pence struggled to answer, Trump smirked.

“Look, I,” Pence started. “It’s probably … it’s … it’s probably obvious to people that our styles are different, but I promise you, our vision is exactly the same. And let me be clear…”

Stahl wanted an answer to her scenario: “Will you answer that? Would you go in?”

“Well the… one of the things I found out about this man is he appreciates candor,” Pence said cautiously, seemingly unable to definitively say that he would not hesitate to challenge his boss.

As Stahl continued to press, Trump jumped in.

“I’d like him to if he thinks I was doing something wrong,” Trump said.

“Would you listen to him?” Stahl asked.

“Absolutely,” Trump said. “Absolutely. I might not apologize … I might not do that, but I would absolutely want him to come in. If he thinks I’m doing something wrong, Mike, I would want him to come in … I accept that from my consultants and my people and if Mike came in and told me: ‘You know, I think you should do this or that,’ I would listen and very likely listen to him.”

4) Does Pence think Sen. John McCain is not a war hero because he was captured? Given that Trump had just given Pence the okay to challenge him, Stahl asked Pence about the comment Trump made last year about McCain, saying that he’s not a war hero because he was a prisoner of war.

“I have a great deal of respect for John McCain,” Pence said carefully. “And …”

Stahl pressed: “Do you think he went too far?”

Trump jumped in: “You could say yes … That’s OK. That one, you could say, ‘yes.'”

As Trump and Stahl bantered about that, Pence eventually jumped back in with his own answer.

“I promise you that when the circumstances arise where I have a difference on policy or on presentation, I can tell you in my heart, I know I would have no hesitation — were I privileged to be vice president — to walk into the president’s office, close the door and share my heart,” Pence said. “And I also know this good man would listen, and has the leadership qualities to draw from the people around him.”

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world ... -interview

[Bicycle Bill]

The more I read about Trump and his campaign, the more I feel like I'm in the grandstand back in 1913.  You know what's gonna happen, but you still can't help but watch....



-"BB"-

[Crackpot]

To be fair Pence uttered more syllables.

Edited because of autocorrect

[Lord Jim]

Hillary Clinton maintains a 5-percentage-point lead over Donald Trump in the presidential race despite the FBI report on her email practices and mounting clamor for change by a restless electorate, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found.

Mrs. Clinton held a 46%-41% margin over her Republican rival heading into the parties’ national conventions, unchanged from a Journal/NBC News survey taken last month. That previous poll was before the Federal Bureau of Investigation report that called the Democrat “extremely careless” for using a private email server while she was secretary of state.

That report has fueled doubts about Mrs. Clinton’s judgment, the poll found, but they don’t seem to translate into increased support for Mr. Trump.

The poll underscores the far-reaching challenges facing the GOP as it heads into its convention in Cleveland starting Monday. Few Republicans—13%—see their party as unified, and just 38% say they are satisfied with Mr. Trump as the party’s nominee.

Still, the poll found one pillar of stability in U.S. politics: Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton remain the two most unpopular people in modern times to be major-party presidential nominees. For both, many supporters are driven by dislike of the opposing candidate.

Asked which candidate showed the right judgment to be a good president, 37% said Mrs. Clinton, and 25% said Mr. Trump. But a notable 32% said neither candidate—a huge difference from 2008, when only 6% said that neither Democrat Barack Obama nor Republican John McCain had the right judgment.

“Let me summarize the poll in four little words: They hate them both,” said Fred Yang, another Democratic pollster who conducted the survey. “But someone has to win, and each candidate has something to point to.”

For Mrs. Clinton, the poll brought good news because she continued to lead Mr. Trump not only in a head-to-head test of support but also when third-party candidates, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Jill Stein of the Green Party, were added to the mix.

In that lineup, Mrs. Clinton draws 41% of the vote, Mr. Trump 35%, Mr. Johnson 11% and Ms. Stein 6% [The decision to include Stein in these polls has probably destroyed any chance that Johnson might have had to reach the 15% level needed for him to qualify for the debates.]That is a stronger performance for Mrs. Clinton than in the June poll, when she ended up tied with Mr. Trump in the broader field.

Fully 55% of those surveyed said her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state was an “important factor” in deciding whether to vote for her. That share rose from 42% when the question was asked in October 2015.

Half of voters said that, based on what they had heard about the FBI investigation, they believed Mrs. Clinton doesn’t have the right judgment to be a good president, with one-third of voters saying Mrs. Clinton does have the right judgment.

The email story is clearly impactful,” Mr. McInturff said. “For lots of people, the last two weeks has been their chance to hear and focus” on the email controversy. “As they focus on the story, it’s not been helpful to Hillary Clinton.”

Mr. Trump is navigating divisions within his party, with 60% saying they would have preferred someone else as the nominee. Mrs. Clinton’s party is more accepting: 45% would have preferred someone else as nominee.[which ain't nothin' to brag about either...]

More here: http://www.wsj.com/articles/poll-finds- ... ?mg=id-wsj

[Lord Jim]

If only people who are in enthusiastic supporters of one or the other of these candidates turned out to vote, you'd be able to fire a cannon through most polling stations and not hit a soul...

[Long Run]

Latest Election Polls

Monday, July 18

General Election: Trump vs. Clinton vs. Johnson vs. Stein Monmouth Clinton 45, Trump 43, Johnson 5, Stein 1 Clinton +2

Sunday, July 17

General Election: Trump vs. Clinton ABC News/Wash Post Clinton 47, Trump 43 Clinton +4

General Election: Trump vs. Clinton vs. Johnson vs. Stein ABC News/Wash Post Clinton 42, Trump 38, Johnson 8, Stein 5 Clinton +4

General Election: Trump vs. Clinton NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl Clinton 46, Trump 41 Clinton +5

General Election: Trump vs. Clinton CNN/ORC Clinton 49, Trump 42 Clinton +7

General Election: Trump vs. Clinton vs. Johnson vs. Stein NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl Clinton 41, Trump 35, Johnson 11, Stein 6 Clinton +6

General Election: Trump vs. Clinton vs. Johnson vs. Stein CNN/ORC Clinton 42, Trump 37, Johnson 13, Stein 5 Clinton +5

I have no idea which pollster is considered the most accurate this year, or if they are within a margin of error of each other. But the spread runs from +2 to +7 for Clinton, which means that in a world where lots of things happen, this is still an open election. As LJ notes, though, this is after a bad stretch for Clinton. It will be interesting to see if Trump gets any kind of convention bounce given what is likely to transpire there.

[Lord Jim]

Well this is interesting...

They didn't get the 28 rules committee members to support a minority report...

But, there is a provision mandating a roll call vote on the adoption of the rules, (as opposed to just a voice vote, which Preibus could call anyway he wanted to) if a majority of delegates from at least seven states call for one...

The Free The Delegates/Unbind The Delegates coalition have submitted a petition for a roll call vote on the adoption of the rules with the signatures from a majority of the delegates from ten states...

(Apparently, in addition to the provision binding delegates on the first ballot, there are a number of other provisions that give greater control to the national party that a lot of the delegates are unhappy about)

ETA:

Now I just saw Kendall Unruh on MSNBC saying that the secretary of the convention, (who technically has to receive the petition) is apparently hiding so she wont have to receive it...

[Scooter]

It will be interesting to see if Trump gets any kind of convention bounce given what is likely to transpire there.

I have no doubt that the star of Duck Dynasty, a Calvin Klein underwear model, and Trump's personal assistant will have no problem convincing the American public that Trump is the right guy for the job.

[Lord Jim]

I have no doubt that the star of Duck Dynasty, a Calvin Klein underwear model, and Trump's personal assistant will have no problem convincing the American public that Trump is the right guy for the job.

I think it's the former underwear model that will really turn the tide...

Or maybe Scott "Chachi" Baio...

I guess they couldn't get Jamie Farr...

This just in....

Former New Hampshire Senator Gordon Humphrey (who apparently is also involved in the Stop Trump effort) was just interviewed saying that he had just delivered the petition from the 10 states for the roll call vote on the rules to a "representative" of the convention secretary, because she refused to come out and take it herself...

[Lord Jim]

Colbert hijacks GOP convention stage to mock Trump



Talk show host Stephen Colbert took his running “Hunger Games” gag to a new level Sunday night when he stormed the stage at the Republican National Convention to deliver a message in character as Caesar Flickerman.

Donning a blue wig as the dystopian young adult novel’s own talk show star, Colbert took to the stage to announce that Donald Trump "has formed an alliance with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence.”

Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, announced last week that he had chosen Pence as his running mate.

The bit with Colbert as Flickerman will be familiar to viewers of “The Late Show,” where it had become the preferred means of informing audience members that a primary contender had been eliminated.

Colbert’s antics were cut short by a convention official who rushed to escort him off the stage.

But the comedian got off one last jab, telling the official, "Look, I know I’m not supposed to be up here, but to be honest, neither is Donald Trump.”

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... mock-trump

[Jarlaxle]

He should've been forcibly removed by armed security.

[Bicycle Bill]

It will be interesting to see if Trump gets any kind of convention bounce given what is likely to transpire there.

I have no doubt that the star of Duck Dynasty, a Calvin Klein underwear model, and Trump's personal assistant will have no problem convincing the American public that Trump is the right guy for the job.

Monday's convention theme: "Make America Safe Again".

From attacks on our own soil and overseas to the tragedy in Benghazi, the policies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have left us vulnerable. Our immigration system is broken, leaving our country open to security threats and the negative consequences of illegal immigration. A Donald Trump administration will listen to and learn from our nation’s heroes who have put themselves in harm’s way and pursue a national security strategy and foreign policy that will strengthen our military and make America safe again.

Besides the three people Scooter listed — Willie Robertson, Antonia Sabato Jr., and whoever the hell the 'personal assistant' is (his wife Melania maybe?) — Scott Baio is also scheduled to speak tonight in primetime.  Really?

Well, yeah, he knows about safety.  As Chachi, he always used a condom when he was banging Joanie.

-"BB"-

[Scooter]

whoever the hell the 'personal assistant' is (his wife Melania maybe?)

Lynne Patton - she is speaking Wednesday.

[Scooter]

And whatever happened to Tom Brady, who we have been told for weeks now would be speaking?

I'm guessing someone told him it wouldn't be good business for future endorsement deals.

[Lord Jim]

Don't forget the manager of Trump Wineries...

Well, we've now had pretty much all the excitement we're going to see here...

Preibus was replaced by the Chairman of The House Rules committee (I don't recall his name) as convention chair when the chairwoman of the Rules Committee gave her report...

The convention chair did a voice vote and announced the rules committee report had been adopted, and tried to move on to a vote on the Platform Committee report...

And then all hell broke lose...and chants of "POINT OF ORDER!" made it impossible him to continue, and he abandoned the podium for about 10 minutes...

Then when he came back, he finally recognized the chair of the Colorado delegation to make the motion for a roll call vote on the rules...

But then he announced that while a majority of nine delegations had petitioned for a roll call, enough delegates had removed their support in three states that they were down to six, (seven was the threshold to trigger the roll call) and therefore there would be no roll call...(there must have been some heavy duty strong arming going on)

And then he refused to recognize anyone else for questions and moved on...

[Econoline]

Charlie Pierce is in Cleveland, covering the convention:

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Tell you the truth, I always wished I had covered the 1919 World Series. By most accounts, the fix was obvious while almost everyone pretended it wasn't. But I watched the last redoubt of the NeverTrump crowd wash away today like a sandcastle at high tide. And that was close enough.

It was a very long shot at best, and its only purpose was to put each state at the convention on the record as regards its support for He, Trump. According to the prevailing rules, if seven states requested a roll call, a roll call had to be granted. The NeverTrumpers managed to get nine states on board and submitted their petitions to the secretary of the convention. For most of the afternoon, nobody could find the secretary of the convention, which probably wasn't an accident. Their last chance was to call for roll call from the floor. Shortly after four, the report of the Rules Committee was put before the convention, including the rules that would keep the delegates bound to their states. Down in the New Hampshire delegation, Gordon Humphreys, an old-school Republican and a former U.S. Senator, kept shouting, "Parliamentary inquiry! Parliamentary inquiry!"

His microphone was dead.

"This not a convention of the Republican National Committee," Humphreys said. "This is a convention of Trump brownshirts. "The microphone wasn't even on."

To be sure, during the proceedings over the rules, there was a nasty edge on the convention floor, a very similar one to the one that was present at most of He, Trump's rallies throughout the primary season. There were the usual barroom bouncer types, buzzcut and sporting their junior G-men earphones, bouncing folks around the aisles and arranging that any contrary voices be drowned out by chants of "U-S-A" and "Trump! Trump! Trump!" There was a lot of genuine anger on the floor between the steamrolling caucus and the steamroll-ees, who kept trying to get recognized and kept getting shouted down. It was like watching The Purge at the nicest country club in Sugarland, Texas.

"Our goal," one Trump delegate wrangled told CNN, "is to destroy them."

Lovely.

Finally, Congressman Steve Womack, wielding a gavel that sounded like she was beating on an oil drum with a baseball bat, called for a voice vote and decided that, well, the ayes had it. Then Womack bailed off the stage, and the floor erupted again. This time, it was Senator Mike Lee, the famous konzsitooshunal skolar from Utah, who was the face of impotent outrage.

"I don't want to occupy that podium. I have no right to occupy that podium," Lee said. "What I want is a roll call vote, which is our right as delegates. We wanted to be able to speak to the rules adopted by the rules committee, to improve the rules. I have never in all my life, going on six years in the United States Senate, and before that as a lifelong Republican, I have never seen anything like this. It's unprecedented in parliamentary procedure. There's no precedent for this in the rules for the Republican National Convention. We are now in uncharted territory."

Your party is about to nominate the person that it's about to nominate and you're just figuring this out now, Sparky?

Meanwhile, Womack of Arkansas had mysteriously appeared at the podium and called for another voice vote. The ayes had it, again. Then they ran the real play on Humphreys and Lee and their entire movement, and I was reminded why I wished I had covered the Black Sox. Asked (again), for a roll call, Womack announced that three states had withdrawn their petition, leaving the NeverTrumpers one short of the requirement for a roll call—not that they ever intended to give them one, anyway. The anti-Trump delegates left the hall and the last of their sandcastle went out with the tide. "We want Trump!" came the chants from the loge seats. And every speaker thereafter made sure to use some variation of, "Make America Great Again!"

Dear leader was coming soon, and the cult is something to see.

http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/po ... ver-trump/

[Gob]

Remarkable. The importance of having z list celebrities "endorse" your candidates has always been a rich source of amusement to me.

This time round it gets even more hysterical.

[Scooter]

Women flocking in droves to show support for Trump

A Women Vote Trump event took place on Monday at the start of the Republican National Convention. Featured speakers at the event included Ann Stone and, of course, the black women who have been stumping for Trump all along, Diamond and Silk. The event was such a success that a whopping 17 people showed up.

No, no zeroes were left off that number:

[Lord Jim]

I have no intention of watching Melania or any of the rest of the second rate carnival show tonight...

[Econoline]

He should've been forcibly removed by armed security.

He was escorted off stage by security.

If the point was to stop his stunt, why would it make any difference if the removal was "forcible" or if the security was "armed"?