Has anyone lifted the lid?
Trump explained his administration’s subtle, carefully considered policy on China and Hong Kong this morning:
After signing an executive order establishing a task force on missing and murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives, Trump was asked by a reporter about the protests in Hong Kong as he continues to negotatiate a potential trade deal with China.
“It’s going very well, but at the same time we want to see it go well in Hong Kong, and I think it will,” Trump said. “I think that President Xi [Jinping] can make that happen and I know him and I know we’d like to make it happen.”
Ahhh good; that’s impressive. I’m relieved to know they’re taking it so seriously and being so thoughtful.
No but seriously. This is total cognitive failure. It’s baby words taken from the tiny basket of baby words, for saying when somebody asks a hard question about a substantive issue. Go well, see it go well, think will go well. Nice Chynah man can make happen, my frend, can make happen. Will go well. Is going well, want to go well, will go well, think will go well. Can make happen, like make happen, will happen make.
He’s drawing on a tiny shrunken vocabulary and just repeating the one ghostly emaciated “idea” over and over and over. “They ask me about Hong Kong. Must say all will be good. Say that. Say that again. Say knowing Xi, big import man, proud be frend, say about him me. Say will good be.”
Why do we not have any system in place for when a president’s brain has mostly evaporated?
Why do we not have any system in place for when a president’s brain has mostly evaporated?
25th Amendment.
Well I meant…you know…a system that actually works.
The 25th amendment wasn’t designed for this sort of scenario. It was crafted in the wake of the Kennedy assassination and had in mind situations such as a president rendered into a coma, brain death or other obvious impairment that would self-evidently prevent them from performing their duties, or that they would agree means they can no longer serve.
This is different. Yes, Trump is impaired and has continued to deteriorate in office. But he’s still capable of the only thing McConnell and co really want, which is sign-offs on the few paltry pieces of legislation that cross his desk and nominating judges, which he doesn’t choose himself anyway. Norquist’s dream of a puppet president has come true. The fly in that ointment is that Trump is a lunatic and keeps issuing commands and orders that everyone has to take seriously because he’s the president. But they’ll continue to tolerate it as long as they get what they want. The minute Trump becomes any kind of a liability, they’ll be trying to push him out the door. That may be harder than they think – Trump is not going to go quietly into that good night.