US Politics: Impeachment & Inauguration

[Thriller]

I'm surprised this is actually beginning to happen, really thought he would go down in flames and take as much as he could with him.

I saw a clip yesterday from the year 2000 where Ruby Wax interviewed Trump about his presidential aspirations and it was interesting to see how his ideology had been in the works behind the scenes for such a long time; it's almost as if he chose the exact moment after 8 years of a black president to finally strike. She also interviewed a young Melania - so strange to see her as a smiling functioning young woman.

[bm08]

Cabinet announcements:

[heppolo]

why do Dems make their loser candidates as the proponents of climate action? First Al Gore, now John Kerry.
Anthony Blinken is apparently a warhawk, so more sanctions on Russia are expected.

[menime123]

I'm surprised this is actually beginning to happen, really thought he would go down in flames and take as much as he could with him.

I saw a clip yesterday from the year 2000 where Ruby Wax interviewed Trump about his presidential aspirations and it was interesting to see how his ideology had been in the works behind the scenes for such a long time; it's almost as if he chose the exact moment after 8 years of a black president to finally strike. She also interviewed a young Melania - so strange to see her as a smiling functioning young woman.

I believe Trump had explored moving into politics as far back as the 1980s, but it wasn’t the right time. Clearly he spent a lot of time making the right friends and building connections and learning how to exploit people’s fears.

I still don’t think he ever expected to win and some of the more outrageous things he has said no sane person could believe - and he’s not a stupid guy.

But a large part of his supporters are.

[heppolo]

So far Biden's picks are exactly as centrist and identity-politics based as it was expected. Someone was joking about putting a rainbow flag on Raytheon logo.

[bm08]

[menime123]

Disappointed to read that Biden has already spoke to the UK, Ireland and other EU countries about Brexit and the possibility of an Irish border in Ireland. No one wants a border, but what has it got to do with him? It's a dick move, something Trump would have done. What makes him think he has the right to speak to elected world leaders 5 years into a process about stuff that doesn't concern his country?

Okay, so he has Irish ancestry... who doesn't? Can you imagine the uproar if the Australian Prime Minister started calling The POTUS and discussed the Mexican border? They'd hang up

[bm08]

Not sure if you're being sarcastic but it's an international issue that may impact on trade and other issues. I think the incoming President will definitely want to be briefed about what's going on with one of America's closest allies.

[menime123]

Not sure if you're being sarcastic but it's an international issue that may impact on trade and other issues. I think the incoming President will definitely want to be briefed about what's going on with one of America's closest allies.

He needs to butt out. Brexit was a public mandate, not a party policy. It doesn’t matter what Biden wants or thinks is best, he has no influence on it and it will be sorted before he becomes president.

He can be briefed along with the rest of the world once it’s sorted.

[heppolo]

He needs to butt out. Brexit was a public mandate, not a party policy. It doesn’t matter what Biden wants or thinks is best, he has no influence on it and it will be sorted before he becomes president.

Biden is powerful enough to pressure Boris to make a U-turn.
Imagine the scenes - Boris finalizes the Brexit and then re-joins the EU the next day

[Rihab]

I really like the idea of a US president who cares about peace and stability in Europe and the world.

[menime123]

I really like the idea of a US president who cares about peace and stability in Europe and the world.

Much prefer a US President that focused on peace and stability in the USA to be honest.

Biden is only interested in this because he feels a connection to Ireland because his great-great-great-great grandparents are from there. It has nothing to do with him or the US. Especially as it be settled before he is President.

[Wayne]

Biden is powerful enough to pressure Boris to make a U-turn.
Imagine the scenes - Boris finalizes the Brexit and then re-joins the EU the next day

Sadly, I don't think he is - the days of the US President enjoying a dominant relationship with the UK Prime Minister are gone.

And also, Biden needs to focus on sorting his own country out - he absolutely should have a say in global affairs (as any world leader with a super economy should), but he's got to sort his own crap out before interfering elsewhere. I'm with menime123 on this.

Ugh, hate Brexit.

[heppolo]

Meanwhile, AOC continues to explore the world of gaming for the good cause.

[clh_hilary]

Nixon was a bit different in a way, all of his crimes were done in office and were "political". Trump's situation is a little more reminiscent of a mob boss being charged for not paying taxes.

Crimes are crimes, and they can be pardoned with a presidential pardon. Unless you mean Vice-President Pence would have a principled objection to non-political crimes.

[clh_hilary]

When the lone uninformed Trump supporter in the thread goes from hoping for re-election to hoping for a pardon.

I was not hoping for a pardon. I believe most rich people don't go to jail in the US, whether it's President Trump or Secretary Clinton or anyone else who is rich.

I mentioned a pardon because apparently you guys don't know anything.

[clh_hilary]

Biden's admin is not looking good so far, we're in for Bill Clinton 2.0 era (for some left-wingers Bill Clinton 3.0 because Barack Obama's admin was a replay of neoliberalism). I hope Democrats will finally figure out that pandering to identity politics and doing largely symbolic gestures aren't going to cut it anymore, especially since Democrats are held to a much higher standard by their voters than Republicans.

Leftist identity politics is interesting. They say Secretary Clinton wasn't elected because "America was not ready for a woman president", yet they don't say anything about their gender when it's Prime Minister Theresa May losing her majority, or when it comes to Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel, or State Councillor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, or Marie Le Pen. Or indeed when Senator Harris withdrew from the Democratic primary, which ended with none other than a privileged college jock straight white man who is going to make history as the oldest American president ever.

[heppolo]

Crimes are crimes, and they can be pardoned with a presidential pardon. Unless you mean Vice-President Pence would have a principled objection to non-political crimes.

There are state crimes and federal crimes, President can pardon federal ones only.

[clh_hilary]

Honestly, the only good think to ever come out of Donald Trump becoming President is the fact it made Will & Grace return.

Interesting. So it wasn't good that President Trump turned the US political field against the largest dictatorship on Earth, which is putting Muslims into concentration camps, striping off liberty and democracy from what once was the freest city in the world, prosecuting Christians and Buddhists, building a neo-colonial empire with its debt-trap diplomacy in Africa, South America, and South Asia, which has included making the respective governments to "loan" lands to China with extrajudicial rights, destroying the environment and cutting off much of the water supply to Southeast Asia (while at the same time claiming their new dam had nothing to do with their extraordinary drought down the river), drawing its border into The Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Bhutan, India, South Korea, Japan, threatening to take over all of Taiwan, funding secessionist movements in Myanmar, overfishing all the way to South America, covering up the spread of a highly infectious disease then withholding supply of PPE, arresting random Canadians, including a diplomat, for Canada's refusal to release Huawei's CFO (supposedly a private company) over their own courts, pressuring American companies such as the NBA, Apple, Google, Blizzard...to self-censor over Hong Kong, etc.

I suppose this also means you consider the peace treaties between Israel and the UAE as well as Bahrain to not be good things because you prefer America warring in the Middle East.

[clh_hilary]

There are state crimes and federal crimes, President can pardon federal ones only.

We will see whether he gets prosecuted for anything, then. I don't believe any former president would have been charged for any crime they may or may not have committed during and prior to their presidency.

[heppolo]

We will see whether he gets prosecuted for anything, then. I don't believe any former president would have been charged for any crime they may or may not have committed during and prior to their presidency.

Trump had broken many protocols, so maybe there are some operatives being really crossed with him and his shenanigans. But in my opinion it's really unlikely. I'd say there's more possibility of another Trump (or Trump Jr) presidency.

[JeremySpears]

Meanwhile, AOC continues to explore the world of gaming for the good cause.

I stan that legend.

[menime123]

Interesting. So it wasn't good that President Trump

This is as far as I got. I’m sorry that I couldn’t go on, but there’s so many things wrong with the first 8 words I couldn’t be bothered.

I just put my tree up, I’m watching Dolly Parton on Netflix and enjoying a glass of wine. Reading any further will ruin my good mood, you won’t like what I’ve got to say which would probably be something like me pointing out that out the last 20 years, the US has been the butt of the world’s joke for at least 12 of them, aside from the 8 years in the middle there.

So no, not today. Not going there. Not interested. Call me when Biden has his inauguration.

[Rihab]

I was not hoping for a pardon. I believe most rich people don't go to jail in the US, whether it's President Trump or Secretary Clinton or anyone else who is rich.

Hillary didn't go to jail because she never committed a crime.

Trump did.

[KEY9481]

Hillary didn't go to jail because she never committed a crime.

Trump did.

Basically!