The Muscovite Candidate

[Crackpot]

There was a particularly good bit on “On The Media” this past week about what is and isn’t likely true about the Russia’s influence over Trump.
https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/navig ... ab=summary

Link to audio and transcript

[Econoline]

Thanks for that, CP. Good catch.

[Econoline]

[Guinevere]

No, check your sources again. This was after the public lunch that was after that meeting. Bolton and Pompeo were included, among others.

[Burning Petard]

Thank you Guin. This wrongly identified picture is an example of the bad, sloppy, stupid, intentionally miss leading (multiple choice, you can pick more than one) reporting that has driven our current public discourse to such a low information/noise ratio.

snailgate.

[Lord Jim]

Well, there he goes again...

In Another Reversal, President Trump Calls Russian Election Meddling a 'Big Hoax'

(WASHINGTON) — Capping a week of drama, back tracking, a double negative and blistering statements from allies about his attitude toward Russian election interference, President Donald Trump on Sunday was back to referring to “a big hoax.”

Trump spent days trying to reassure the country that he accepts that the longtime foe interfered in the 2016 election after his public undermining of U.S. intelligence agencies in Helsinki while standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin. But Trump cast doubt once again in a Sunday tweet, diminishing at least the significance, if not the existence, of the interference and the U.S. investigation into Russia’s actions.

“So President Obama knew about Russia before the Election,” Trump tweeted. “Why didn’t he do something about it? Why didn’t he tell our campaign? Because it is all a big hoax, that’s why, and he thought Crooked Hillary was going to win!!!”

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was suggesting that the entire notion of Russian interference — U.S. intelligence agencies unanimously concur it took place and Trump reluctantly accepted their assessment amid the firestorm — was fraudulent, or just the investigation of potential collusion by Trump associates with Russian agents.

Either way, it appeared to keep alive a controversy that had separated Trump from aides and longtime political supporters and brought some of the most striking rebukes of his tenure in the Oval Office.

“The evidence is overwhelming and the president needs to say that and act like it,” said Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, in an interview with “Fox News Sunday” aired hours before Trump’s tweet.

http://www.time.com/5345578/donald-trum ... rter-page/

Trey Gowdy is one of the more interesting players in all of this...

There are times, (usually at hearings) where he sounds like every bit as shameless a Trump water boy as Nunes, Jim Jordan or Louie Gomert...

But then there are other times where he very bluntly and directly undermines the White House smear and divert strategy...

Among other things, he was the guy who completely discredited the whole phony "Spygate" BS...

[Bicycle Bill]

No, check your sources again. This was after the public lunch that was after that meeting. Bolton and Pompeo were included, among others.

Despite when the picture was taken, it still shows the same thing.  Putin is carrying himself like a leader; confident, assured, in command.
Trump, on the other hand, looks like a puppy who pooped on the rug and has just had his nose rubbed in it.

-"BB"-

[BoSoxGal]

Not just that, but he’s intentionally shrinking himself from his 6’ (or 6’1”,6’2”, whatever) to make himself seem equal to Putin’s 5’6”.

He would NEVER do that for anyone else; he’s Putin’s lapdog.

[RayThom]

[Econoline]

Guin and SG are right: I really should've checked more thoroughly before posting that...

...but Bill and BSG are also right. Regardless of exactly when or where the photo was taken, the body language and facial expressions of the two men tell the real story, and that story is worth reporting. I wish that I (and Xeni Jardin, whoever that is) had gotten it right, because the misinformation tends to diminish the truth of the story shown, and with correct information the real story remains the same.

[Guinevere]

SG's comment stands. It's a tweet, turned into a meme, its not journalism.

Xeni Jardins posted a correction within several hours, but it was too late - the original tweet spread like wildfire (I'd seen it in my FB feed several times AND I saw the correction. It also only took a couple of minutes to go check her feed and see the correction). Posting it again without verification only really helps the un-truthers and undercuts real journalism.

So it does matter, regardless of what you think the photo says.

[Lord Jim]

Placed in the correct context, (leaving a meeting where all the support staff was present) my take is that Trump looks the way he does because there were probably a lot of important detailed policy points covered, and he's completely knackered by having his limited, arrested development brain trying to keep up and stay focused...

Trying to pay attention to important, detailed things for a period of time longer than a couple of minutes just wore him out...

[Big RR]

More like he was just awakened from his nap which he took while the "adults" discussed the important issues.

[Lord Jim]

That's another good possibility...

He may have nodded off after two minutes passed without his name being mentioned...

[Econoline]

Sam Bee corrects Trump's tweet:

[Lord Jim]

Oh damn...

I was so looking forward to seeing Vladimir at a campaign rally with Il Boobce in West Virginia:

White House delays Putin visit to 2019 after Republican backlash

President Trump has postponed his invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to Washington until next year, after Republican congressional leaders registered their opposition about a visit initially planned for this fall, around the time of the midterm elections.

Putin never responded to the administration's announcement last week that, at Trump’s direction, "plans were underway" for a fall welcome; a Russian official pointed to the controversy in the United States to explain the hesitance. On Wednesday, the president's national security advisor, John Bolton, issued a statement about the change of plans, citing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's ongoing Russia probe — not political concerns — as the reason.

"The President believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we’ve agreed that it will be after the first of the year," Bolton said.[Maybe they can put it off till after the Impeachment Trial, and then Vlad can meet with Private Citizen Trump]

The statement came just hours after Trump had met with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, both of whom had told reporters Tuesday at the Capitol that Putin would not be welcome in Congress because Russia is not an ally.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-p ... story.html#

[Lord Jim]

It's nice to see that even with the stress of the Russiagate noose tightening around his neck, Il Boobce hasn't lost his sense of humor:

President Trump 'very concerned' Russia will meddle in midterm elections — to help Democrats

The Russians are coming.

President Trump said Tuesday that he’s “very concerned” Russia will try to meddle in November's midterm elections — in order to help Democrats win.

Trump tweeted he's “very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election.”

Without citing any evidence, he added that “they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don’t want Trump!”

Just last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said point blank that he rooted for Trump to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

After the two world leaders met in Helsinki, Finland, Trump faced intense criticism for casting doubt on the U.S. intelligence community’s unanimous agreement that the Kremlin attempted to influence the presidential race in his favor.

Trump’s claim that Moscow is suddenly pulling for the opposition party came hours after a leading election forecaster gave Democrats a greater than 50% chance to reclaim the House of Representatives in November.

With 100 days to go before voters head to the polls, an analysis by Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a service of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, shows the House tilting past 50-50 odds in favor of the Dems. The party needs to flip 23 seats in order to regain the majority.

Trump, while casting doubt on Russia’s influence has conversely expressed unfounded doubts about the integrity of the U.S. electoral system.

During the campaign, he repeatedly claimed the election was “rigged.” After winning the White House, he created a commission to study voter fraud.

The group, following months of controversy and legal challenges, was disbanded before it issued a final report.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... story.html

[Scooter]

He has his own reasons for saying it, obviously, but there are political analysts who have been predicting the same thing, based on the premise that Russian meddling in U.S. elections is not about preference for one party over another, but rather is intended to destabilize the U.S. political system. Getting Trump elected created instability by installing an administration that is wholly incompetent and corrupt. Democratic control of one or both houses of Congress while Trump is president would add another layer of instability, particularly if it results in a drawn out impeachment process. The question is whether the Russians would value that more than continuing to have Trump's actions supported by a feckless Republican Congress.

[Guinevere]

https://www.google.com/amp/thehill.com/ ... idas%3famp

The Adidas soccer ball Russian President Vladimir Putin gave to President Trump at their summit in Finland appears to contain a chip that can transmit information to nearby cellphones, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The publication noted that photos of the ball show a logo for a near-field communication (NFC) tag, a chip that is included in the Adidas 2018 FIFA World Cup ball. Russia hosted this year's World Cup.

Adidas AG soccer balls, similar to the one Putin presented to Trump during a joint press conference last week, contain a small chip that can send content to mobile devices. Users can hold their phones close to the ball to access videos and competitions, according to Bloomberg.

Adidas declined to comment to Bloomberg on whether the device could be used in a Russian cyberattack. The brand's website states that the chip can't be modified.

[Big RR]

Whether the chip can be modified or not, imagine the reaction if Obama had brought something like that into the White House.