2024 US Presidential Election

The US is screwed. It should be Gavin Newsom, RFK and Nikki Haley duking it out.

Biden must pass the torch and it sure looks like he isn't, mother f@cker. I guess TV dinners, religion and and a never-ending subservience to the Billionaire Club has sealed the US's fate. Maybe it is our just comeuppance for having waged such shitty wars and having been suckers for consumption and commercial advertising in the name of cooperate enterprise and profit. Perhaps in the Post Industrialized world we never had a chance?

Joe is way too old to do the Job and Trump is a crooked loser.

We need an option besides these two.
Amen.
 
The US is screwed. It should be Gavin Newsom, RFK and Nikki Haley duking it out.

Biden must pass the torch and it sure looks like he isn't, mother f@cker. I guess TV dinners, religion and and a never-ending subservience to the Billionaire Club has sealed the US's fate. Maybe it is our just comeuppance for having waged such shitty wars and having been suckers for consumption and commercial advertising in the name of cooperate enterprise and profit. Perhaps in the Post Industrialized world we never had a chance?

Joe is way too old to do the Job and Trump is a crooked loser.

We need an option besides these two.
A vast majority of Americans do not want Trump and Biden to run again. Most voters want a fresh start, but this is where we are. America must do better.

I think anyone with a functioning brain feels this way.
 
I like that remark, about shooting shoplifters, lol.

He says these things to get press, and to shock. There is an old saying that to get what you want, politically, you must first demand the impossible, and then settle for something that is doable.

It's gotten to the point where people in NYC rob stores by just taking what they want, and walking out. The drug stores are locking up much of the merchandise, so you have to get a clerk, if you can find one, to get it for you. The result is, that it's easier to just order your supplies online from Amazon, and many stores are closing down. Is this what it's coming to? Apparently, it is.

In order to bring attention to this national crisis, which has been happening more and more since Biden has been in office, Trump is suggesting extreme measures. We have to restore law and order to this country, and if you have not yet come to that conclusion, I'm sorry to say that you probably will, in the not-too-distant future.
Also making waves about crime and punishment, Trump's fraud trial starts today and Trump will be bankrupt as a result. He has already been found guilty via a summary judgment. Now it is about damages. Plus, it is not a jury trial, it is a bench trial.

My guess is the judgement could be around $700 million, maybe more. Because this is a civil action, he could be charged criminally and may owe back taxes. He does not have that much money. He is bankrupt now.

Thank goodness for Mary Trump! She's the one who will get the credit for highlighting Donald's fraudulent business practices and criminality, which occurred from day one.
 
Also making waves about crime and punishment, Trump's fraud trial starts today and Trump will be bankrupt as a result. He has already been found guilty via a summary judgment. Now it is about damages. Plus, it is not a jury trial, it is a bench trial.

My guess is the judgement could be around $700 million, maybe more. Because this is a civil action, he could be charged criminally and may owe back taxes. He does not have that much money. He is bankrupt now.

Thank goodness for Mary Trump! She's the one who will get the credit for highlighting Donald's fraudulent business practices and criminality, which occurred from day one.
Is it a proven fact that Trump is "bankrupt", or is this just a wish?

Nobody has any idea of how long the appeals to these cases will take, or what the outcome will be. People have been saying for years, that he would be going to go to prison. It has not happened, and likely never will.

Trump and his family have many sources of money that will keep them wealthy for a very long time. I don't think that this affects his candidacy in the presidential election at all.

Biden's banana republic government needs to be stopped, and virtually anybody would be better than him.
 
A vast majority of Americans do not want Trump and Biden to run again. Most voters want a fresh start, but this is where we are. America must do better.

I think anyone with a functioning brain feels this way.
I as well would like a fresh start, but it will have to wait till '28. But I don't want Trump, a convicted criminal, as president.

Since Trump is already found guilty of "persistent and repeated fraud", the trial will last until Christmas this year and determine if he's ALSO guilty of:

  • Falsifying business records

  • Conspiracy to falsify business records

  • Issuing false financial statements

  • Conspiracy to falsify false financial statements

  • Insurance fraud

  • Conspiracy to commit insurance fraud
This is likely to lead to criminal indictments, especially when the court appointed receiver takes a fine comb to the books.

Trump's house of cards is imploding this year. The fact that Alina Habba spaced checking the jury trial box on the paperwork is so, so sweet as well.
 
I as well would like a fresh start, but it will have to wait till '28. But I don't want Trump, a convicted criminal, as president.

Since Trump is already found guilty of "persistent and repeated fraud", the trial will last until Christmas this year and determine if he's ALSO guilty of:

  • Falsifying business records

  • Conspiracy to falsify business records

  • Issuing false financial statements

  • Conspiracy to falsify false financial statements

  • Insurance fraud

  • Conspiracy to commit insurance fraud
This is likely to lead to criminal indictments, especially when the court appointed receiver takes a fine comb to the books.

Trump's house of cards is imploding this year. The fact that Alina Habba spaced checking the jury trial box on the paperwork is so, so sweet as well.
Trump is a despicable human being, that's for sure. Most people I know who are Trump supporters know this, but feel Biden is an even worse option. I actually voted for Trump in 2016, but not in 2020. He has now IMHO become too unstable to hold office. I will either not vote or hold my nose and vote Biden. I can't believe it has come down to these two people again.
 
From the Trump Trail in NY, in the news:

BREAKING: President Trump says that 80% of Letitia James' case against him has been dismissed by the judge due to the statute of limitations.

The statute of limitations apparently ran out in 2014. The Attorney General of New York State, Letitia James now looks like she does not even know how to legally process her own cases.

Try again, suckas, lol.
 
From the Trump Trail in NY, in the news:

BREAKING: President Trump says that 80% of Letitia James' case against him has been dismissed by the judge due to the statute of limitations.

The statute of limitations apparently ran out in 2014. The Attorney General of New York State, Letitia James now looks like she does not even know how to legally process her own cases.

Try again, suckas, lol.
That's not what the judge said. Engoron ruled last week that financial statements submitted after 2014 are still relevant regardless of when the original loan was transacted. Judge Engoron comments addressing admissible evidence do not indicate that he will change that ruling.

The Attorney General's office indicated it would connect the testimony to allegations that fall within the statute of limitations.

Guess we need to wait until the trial proceeds beyond opening statements to claim Trump innocent, dontyouthink?
 
That's not what the judge said. Engoron ruled last week that financial statements submitted after 2014 are still relevant regardless of when the original loan was transacted. Judge Engoron comments addressing admissible evidence do not indicate that he will change that ruling.

The Attorney General's office indicated it would connect the testimony to allegations that fall within the statute of limitations.

Guess we need to wait until the trial proceeds beyond opening statements to claim Trump innocent, dontyouthink?
Guilt or innocence makes no difference, he's not going to lose as much money as everybody has been predicting. This is a civil case, about money, not a criminal trial.

Why are these charges against Trump's finances from decades ago, coming up now? Were the IRA auditors, and state and local tax employees all wrong, over the years? It is obviously a strategy by Democrats to impede his presidential campaign.

A man who owns 500 companies, and was the president of the United States of America for four years, is not a "failure", as some would have us believe. He is smarter than the NYS Attorney General, the Governor of NYS, the Judge, and the rest of their team, put together.

Forbes estimated his net worth at 2.5 billion, as of 2022. Trump claims that it is much higher, but it is irrelevant whether he is correct, he's a billionaire even by conservative standards. Two hundred fifty million dollars is only 10% of his net worth, and it is starting to look unlikely that he will even have to pay that much.

Forbes: Here's How Much Donald Trump Is Worth
 
Trump thanks the judge in the NY Fraud case for respecting the statute of limitations ruling.

 
Trump thanks the judge in the NY Fraud case for respecting the statute of limitations ruling.

Trump's attorneys argued yesterday that the relevant conduct is when the loan "closed." But Engoron reiterated in court today that he rejected that theory.

"Every use of a [false] statement of financial condition in business starts the statute of limitations running again," Engoron said on Tuesday morning.

This makes sense. The judge told the prosecutor to only introduce evidence that precedes the statue of limitations date if it can be linked to activity that tells after the statue of limitations date. The prosecutor acknowledges this. Trump views it as an assertion that the statue date is a hard cutoff for relevance because he either doesn't understand nuance or his strategy is to pretend nuance doesn't exist.

His criminal enterprise was active, ongoing, and built on fraud. The fact that the original fraud occurred before the statue date doesn't make the current fraud less fraud.

Trump's utterly impotent. As the cadence of his court appearances picks up, I think even his supporters will lose their capacity for outrage and will be completely overwhelmed by the volume of bad news coming out about him.
 
Trump's attorneys argued yesterday that the relevant conduct is when the loan "closed." But Engoron reiterated in court today that he rejected that theory.

"Every use of a [false] statement of financial condition in business starts the statute of limitations running again," Engoron said on Tuesday morning.

This makes sense. The judge told the prosecutor to only introduce evidence that precedes the statue of limitations date if it can be linked to activity that tells after the statue of limitations date. The prosecutor acknowledges this. Trump views it as an assertion that the statue date is a hard cutoff for relevance because he either doesn't understand nuance or his strategy is to pretend nuance doesn't exist.

His criminal enterprise was active, ongoing, and built on fraud. The fact that the original fraud occurred before the statue date doesn't make the current fraud less fraud.

Trump's utterly impotent. As the cadence of his court appearances picks up, I think even his supporters will lose their capacity for outrage and will be completely overwhelmed by the volume of bad news coming out about him.
It's a matter of opinion what a building is worth, not a hard fact. For example, if there are two buildings for sale, exactly the same, right next to each other and one is owned by Trump, that would be worth more because he is an ex-president. This is not "fraud", and everybody knows this. I understand that this is a simplification of it, but it is true.

He paid off all of the bank loans, with interest, and none had a problem with fraud or debt.

The only reason that this trial is taking place, is because the Democrats want to deny him his right to run for president again. The Attorney General of NYS, Letitia James, actually made a promise to "get Trump", during her campaign. She is doing this, because she wants to run for Governor of NYS, and believes that beating Trump in court will help her to win. Considering the violent crime upsurge in New York, which she ignores, her obsession with Trump is a disgrace.

The Democrats wasted unbelievable amounts of money on the Russia Collusion hoax, which turned out to be entirely false, so they are pursuing other ways of "getting" Trump, for petty things that are not worth the effort, normally.

The attempt to harm him is backfiring in New York. He is now getting free publicity, much more than if he was on the campaign trail, every day that he is in the courtroom.

He will turn everything these Democrats try to do to him, into a win for himself, and the reason for this is that he is smarter than all of them.

His son-in-law Jared Kushner is very wealthy, his wife and family members are multi-millionaires, and even if the Democrats get most of his own current net worth of several billion dollars, which is highly unlikely, he will still be very wealthy, and popular.
 
Kevin McCarthy lol.
 
I watched Victor Davis Hansen talk with Tucker Carlson on X. He said Biden and the Democrats will do anything to stay in power, no matter if they are corrupt or not. Also that Biden's border policy is to encourage illegal immigrants to come into the U.S. for more votes. They shouldn't be able to vote if they are not citizens.
 
Kevin McCarthy lol.
I'm not sure this is a laughing matter.

For anyone not familiar with the most recent developments: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced a resolution to remove Kevin McCarthy from his position as Speaker of the House, because: McCarthy committed the mortal sin to work with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown, and passed a stopgap measure with their votes.

The anti-McCarthy faction inside the GOP is a tiny minority; less than 4% of GOP reps want McCarthy gone. Nevertheless Gaetz's hare-brained resolution to fire McCarthy was successful.

It was only successful because Democrats thanked McCarthy for his co-operation by unanimously voting to fire him:

8 Rs and 208 Ds voted to remove the Speaker,
210 Rs and 0 Ds voted to keep him.

I fear that this will lead to chaos. That stopgap measure will fund the government only for 45 days. The GOP is not able to get a budget passed without Democratic votes. And whoever will become the next speaker, he will have learned his lesson: Work with Democrats and they will stab you in the back. Therefore a shutdown will come, unavoidably so.

Can anyone explain to me why it was a good idea of the Democrats to enable McCarthy's firing?
 
Trump never fails to entertain. Today, on the second day of his $250 million civil fraud trial, he posted a picture of Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron's clerk standing with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Judge issues gag order against Trump over social media post calling law clerk 'Schumer's girlfriend'
It was also entertaining that Trump insisted Tuesday that his organization's financial documents were not the least bit fraudulent—but even if they were, he couldn't be held responsible because it was up to the lenders and insurers to fact-check that.

"Many, many warnings. Page one, page two, and many pages, it says, 'Please, you must understand that you have to do your own due diligence.… Do not rely on anything, do not rely on the financial statements,'" he told reporters at midday.

He just admitted loan fraud. So what he's essentially saying is, "IT'S THE BANK'S FAULT FOR TRUSTING HIM".

"It's their fault they didn't catch me frauding" is quite a bizarre way to try to prove you didn't commit fraud.
Can anyone explain to me why it was a good idea of the Democrats to enable McCarthy's firing?
Why would they save a lying sack of shit that brought an impeachment inquiry without evidence and who reneged on his agreement to fund the government for two years?

Hard to say.
 
It was also entertaining that Trump insisted Tuesday that his organization's financial documents were not the least bit fraudulent—but even if they were, he couldn't be held responsible because it was up to the lenders and insurers to fact-check that.

"Many, many warnings. Page one, page two, and many pages, it says, 'Please, you must understand that you have to do your own due diligence.… Do not rely on anything, do not rely on the financial statements,'" he told reporters at midday.

He just admitted loan fraud. So what he's essentially saying is, "IT'S THE BANK'S FAULT FOR TRUSTING HIM".

"It's their fault they didn't catch me frauding" is quite a bizarre way to try to prove you didn't commit fraud.
It seems that the banks had no problems with their loans to Trump's companies and never filed any complaints. Bankers are not stupid, they know how to detect fraud. The Democrats are attacking his companies for political purposes, because they believe this will help to ensure his defeat in the next election.
 
Can anyone explain to me why it was a good idea of the Democrats to enable McCarthy's firing?
I thought it was odd that 100% of Democrats voted to oust McCarthy. From what I've read they wanted Hakeem Jeffries to be Speaker, which is never going to happen. I've just heard Jim Jordan wants to be Speaker. I think he would be more hard-nosed than McCarthy.
 
Does it seem fair that Trump and his co-defendants are being denied a jury trial in New York, and a biased judge will be the only person to determine their guilt or innocence?

Is this the way Biden and the Democrats intend to change the entire justice system, before long?
 
Does it seem fair that Trump and his co-defendants are being denied a jury trial in New York, and a biased judge will be the only person to determine their guilt or innocence?

Is this the way Biden and the Democrats intend to change the entire justice system, before long?
Yes, of course. The president Biden is the big chief, king of the DOJ and all things government. You should know this by now.
Guilt or innocence makes no difference, he's not going to lose as much money as everybody has been predicting. This is a civil case, about money, not a criminal trial.

Why are these charges against Trump's finances from decades ago, coming up now? Were the IRA auditors, and state and local tax employees all wrong, over the years? It is obviously a strategy by Democrats to impede his presidential campaign.

A man who owns 500 companies, and was the president of the United States of America for four years, is not a "failure", as some would have us believe. He is smarter than the NYS Attorney General, the Governor of NYS, the Judge, and the rest of their team, put together.

Forbes estimated his net worth at 2.5 billion, as of 2022. Trump claims that it is much higher, but it is irrelevant whether he is correct, he's a billionaire even by conservative standards. Two hundred fifty million dollars is only 10% of his net worth, and it is starting to look unlikely that he will even have to pay that much.

Forbes: Here's How Much Donald Trump Is Worth
Forbes estimated Trump's net worth to be $2.6 billion, down from $3.2 billion at the same time last year. The $600 million delta is largely due to Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, being worth far less than previously thought, according to the magazine.

The platform has signed up 6.5 million users, according to Forbes' calculations — a far cry from the company's own predictions that it would have 40 million users this year. That led Forbes to reassess its parent company's value from $730 million to $100 million.

"There is little reason to be optimistic about Truth Social's future," Forbes wrote.
 
Yes, of course. The president Biden is the big chief, king of the DOJ and all things government. You should know this by now.

Forbes estimated Trump's net worth to be $2.6 billion, down from $3.2 billion at the same time last year. The $600 million delta is largely due to Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, being worth far less than previously thought, according to the magazine.

The platform has signed up 6.5 million users, according to Forbes' calculations — a far cry from the company's own predictions that it would have 40 million users this year. That led Forbes to reassess its parent company's value from $730 million to $100 million.

"There is little reason to be optimistic about Truth Social's future," Forbes wrote.
Nobody can predict everything, 100% of the time. His social media platform is still there, and may exist for some time.

Trump was the president of the United States for four years, is worth several billion dollars, and has 500 companies yet, according to those with TDS, he is a failure.

Perhaps he should have enabled a corrupt war that has killed over 100,000 people, the way this current president has, to be appreciated by his detractors.
 
McCarthy makes history, but not in a good way. Now the GOP is running without a leash, or is it a collar? Kinda hard to say.

Next up: Matt Gaetz.
McCarthy: "I gave them everything they ever wanted, and then they turned around and stabbed me in the back."

"Yeah man, those Freedom Caucus clowns can't be trusted."

McCarthy: "Freedom Caucus? I'm talking about the Democrats!"

GOP in a nut shell. Embarrassing.
I'm not sure this is a laughing matter.
What's funny is how much of a failed speaker McCarthy actually was. We're talking about someone who barely got the speakership role after numerous failed rounds of voting. This same dude who can't do basic math and assumes he has the necessary votes to proceed with his agenda (without the Democrats' help I might add). And now his removal from the position of Speaker after only 8 brief months due to a motion to vacate filed by a looney member in his own party. Funny way to go. Historic actually.
For anyone not familiar with the most recent developments: Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced a resolution to remove Kevin McCarthy from his position as Speaker of the House, because: McCarthy committed the mortal sin to work with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown, and passed a stopgap measure with their votes.

The anti-McCarthy faction inside the GOP is a tiny minority; less than 4% of GOP reps want McCarthy gone. Nevertheless Gaetz's hare-brained resolution to fire McCarthy was successful.

It was only successful because Democrats thanked McCarthy for his co-operation by unanimously voting to fire him:

8 Rs and 208 Ds voted to remove the Speaker,
210 Rs and 0 Ds voted to keep him.

I fear that this will lead to chaos. That stopgap measure will fund the government only for 45 days. The GOP is not able to get a budget passed without Democratic votes. And whoever will become the next speaker, he will have learned his lesson: Work with Democrats and they will stab you in the back. Therefore a shutdown will come, unavoidably so.
This past weekend, McCarthy blamed Democrats for the continuing resolution (CR) bill being so hard to pass when all of 1 Democrat voted against it. Meanwhile, 90 Republicans voted against it, and without Democrats it never would have passed.

McCarthy finally reaped what he sow. Made a deal with those nutty MAGA Republicans which backfired spectacularly, and instead of cultivating a good relationship with the Democrats, he constantly attacked them whenever he could. Add some backstabbing to the mix too. And this dude still has the audacity to be angry with the Democrats for not saving him. This is the same person that greenlighted the Biden Impeachment inquiry — a baseless inquiry and a complete sham in the eyes of House Democratics and just a way to suck up to Trump and MAGA. How are you going to move forward with an impeachment inquiry against a sitting Democratic President and then turn around and say "Why didn't the Democrats save me?" McCarthy is acting entitled here.
Can anyone explain to me why it was a good idea of the Democrats to enable McCarthy's firing?
It's not the minority party's job to help the majority figure out their leadership problem. Since McCarthy shat on the Democrats every step of the way and claimed he didn't need them, why would they help him?

Literally no matter what the Democrats did here, they'd get the blame. Over and over again, it doesn't matter what the Democrats do for a large swath of voters. They are damned if they help the GOP and damned if they don't for many including a bunch of supposed "leftists'. So why not point the disoriented and aimless GOP in the direction of further public missteps? And that's the bigger issue here— the GOP fighting a civil war between moderate/normal Republicans and Trumpists that's paralyzing a congressional chamber.
 
Why would they save a lying sack of shit [...]
You are distorting the facts when you imply that the Democrats were merely "not saving" McCarthy. They voted to remove him from his post, which is a quite different matter.

Now, see if we can rephrase your point: "Why would they not assassinate a lying sack of shit [...]?"

This would have the advantage of being honest. On the other hand, the assassins would then have to accept some responsibility for the results of that assassination: A leaderless house while the nation is careening towards a government shutdown.

As a rule of thumb: If you cannot defend an action without distorting the facts, then your position is maybe not as strong as you feel it is.

But then again, I guess you are not really interested in a serious discussion, are you?
 
:dohanimation: Biden will never make it that far. He's toast. RFK Jr. is the only sensible Democrat. He visited the southern border for 3 days, unlike other Democrats.
Are you saying Biden will not be nominee or are you saying he will lose the election?

You may be correct.

My prediction (for better or worse) on how this plays out is Biden wins re-election, passes away during his term, and Trump makes a living for the next 4 years complaining about voter fraud again. LOL.
 
You are distorting the facts when you imply that the Democrats were merely "not saving" McCarthy. They voted to remove him from his post, which is a quite different matter.

Now, see if we can rephrase your point: "Why would they not assassinate a lying sack of shit [...]?"

This would have the advantage of being honest. On the other hand, the assassins would then have to accept some responsibility for the results of that assassination: A leaderless house while the nation is careening towards a government shutdown.

As a rule of thumb: If you cannot defend an action without distorting the facts, then your position is maybe not as strong as you feel it is.

But then again, I guess you are not really interested in a serious discussion, are you?
Catastrophic tinnitus sometimes gets in way of my ability to put forth a reasoned, articulate response. The way I phrased my response could have been better (such as never interrupt your adversary when they are busy making a mistake), but really a minor detail when you think about it since you got my point.

I agree with @ZFire; you can respond to his very articulate response to your post and we'll both carry on.

I believe we can agree that the country is currently fucked because of a nonfunctioning, disorganized GOP.

Cheerio.
 

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