Now she stroked his pretty skin and then she kissed and held him tight
But instead of saying thanks, that snake gave her a vicious bite.
(The Snake, by Al Wilson)
“I do listen to people. I hire experts. I hire top, top people. And I do listen.” (Donald Trump, Greenville, South Carolina, February 13, 2016).
I’ll readily jump out in front of the parade on this one: Omarosa Nanigault Newman is an opportunist. After taking full advantage of her close association with Donald Trump to score a top-paying ($179,700) job, she is now trying to sell her tell-all book about his ugly side that was already in full view for anyone with any degree of objectivity to see.
So, am I saying there are no good guys in this little dust-up?
Exactly.
You see, no one really knows what her job duties were in pulling down almost $180,000 per year and Trump’s justification for hiring her? Try this tweet on for size:
Wacky Omarosa, who got fired 3 times on the Apprentice, now got fired for the last time. She never made it, never will. She begged me for a job, tears in her eyes, I said Ok. People in the White House hated her. She was vicious, but not smart. I would rarely see her but heard….
…really bad things. Nasty to people & would constantly miss meetings & work. When Gen. Kelly came on board he told me she was a loser & nothing but problems. I told him to try working it out, if possible, because she only said GREAT things about me – until she got fired!
Half-an-hour later, unable to resist his addiction to Twitter, he again tweeted:
While I know it’s “not presidential” to take on a lowlife like Omarosa, and while I would rather not be doing so, this is a modern day form of communication and I know the Fake News Media will be working overtime to make even Wacky Omarosa look legitimate as possible. Sorry!
So, he paid her 179,700 U.S. taxpayer dollars per year “because she only said GREAT things about me,” only to end up calling her “a lowlife” and “wacky.”
Good God.
I’ve heard more intelligent taunts on an elementary school playground.
People, this is the so-called leader of the most powerful nation with the biggest and baddest military might on the planet reduced to exchanging insults on social media with a subordinate he hired for no other reason than she said nice things about him—and he let you pay her salary.
It just doesn’t get any more embarrassing than this.
Or does it? He has brought on board the weirdest assortment of amateurs to ever grace the West Wing, appointees whose job it is to always tell him how brilliant he is and to never tell him he’s wrong or that he should cancel his twitter account. I know this is sacrilege to those who voted for Trump, but Bill Clinton has co-authored a pretty good book with James Patterson called The President is Missing. A single sentence on page 192 caught my eye, a sentence most likely written by Clinton: “Surrounding yourself with sycophants and bootlickers is the surest route to failure.”
Without even addressing his bizarre appointments (like Wilbur Ross, Scott Pruitt, Tom Price, Steve Bannon, Ajit Pai, et al), let’s examine the record.
- Trump is opposed to CHAIN MIGRATION, yet his own mother and Melania’s parents took full advantage of chain migration to enter this country and to become citizens. This is no negative reflection on his mother, his wife, or her parents. No one can blame them for taking advantage of that law. But it does provide stark evidence of Trump’s double standard, or hypocrisy.
- While he is quick to sing the praises of Vladimir Putin, Trump was unforgivably remiss in deliberately ignoring war hero JOHN McCAIN in announcing—to a military audience, no less—the signing of the Defense Authorization Bill named after the cancer-stricken Arizona senator. That in itself is inexcusable, an insult that matches—or even exceeds—the misdirected criticism of NFL players kneeling during the National Anthem for any perceived lack of respect. (A clue, Trump: the kneeling isn’t even about the anthem. Anyone with any perceptive skills knows it’s a silent protest of the profiling and shooting of blacks by police. Let’s at least try to stay on subject, Mr. Number-One-Putin-fan. You think you can do that? Never mind, foolish question.)
- Trump hired PAUL MANAFORT as his campaign manager in June 2016 but after Manafort ran into legal problems, Trump tried to throw him under the bus as is his wont by claiming Manafort “came into the campaign very late and was with (them) for a short period of time.” I have only one answer to that: You hired him.
- After praising personal attorney MICHAEL COHEN for his loyalty, Trump did a quick 180 and turned on his former legal counsel bigly when it was learned Cohen had taped evidence that revealed that Trump knew of the $130,000 payment to porn star STORMY DANIELS.
- Two days after he was elected, Trump was cautioned by PRESIDENT OBAMA not to hire Michael Flynn. Did Trump listen? Hell, no. He knows more than Obama, he knows more than his generals, he knows more than the Department of Justice, he knows more than all the intelligence agencies combined, so why should he listen to anyone else? He hired Flynn. He even allegedly tried to get former FBI Director Michael Comey to go easy on Flynn. Acting Attorney General Sally Yates also tried to warn Trump. Of course, Trump would end up firing both Comey and Yates and, of course, ANDREW McCABE, just two days before he was eligible for retirement. But when things went south for Flynn, Trump tried his damnedest to SHIFT THE BLAME to Obama and Yates because, as everyone knows, Trump is never wrong.
- GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS served as a foreign policy adviser and on a presidential international business advisory council but when he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his communications with Russian nationals on behalf of Trump during the presidential campaign, Trump couldn’t run fast enough or far enough, tweeting (of course) “Few people knew the young, low level volunteer named George, who has already proven to be a liar.” Well, someone knew him well enough to trust him and to try and use him to set up meetings with a Russian oligarch.
- And then there’s Sen. Jeff Sessions who Trump was quick to recognize on election night. He was the first member of the Senate to endorse Trump and Trump made him his attorney general. But today (August 14) he had this to say about Sessions: “If we had a real attorney general,” there would be no Russia investigation. The man does not know the meaning of loyalty.
- And as for that infamous TRUMP TOWER meeting with that Russian lawyer, Donald Trump, Jr., said the discussion was about Russian adoptions. Turns out Donald Trump, Sr., dictated that response himself and he only last week acknowledged that the meeting was about getting “information on an opponent,” which he said was “totally legal.” Except it’s not. Trump Sr. says he knew nothing of the meeting. Omarosa says he did. Place your bets.
Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower. This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics – and it went nowhere. I did not know about it!
Do you detect a trend here?
He’s a walkin’ contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction,
Takin’ ev’ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home.
(The Pilgrim, by Kris Kristofferson)
Donald Trump’s entire 19 months in office have been marked by one CONTRADICTION after another, a character flaw he has made no apparent effort to address. Yet, those who blindly follow him in the expectation that their lives will be better under his policies (which change daily, sometimes hourly), continue to blindly follow. They demand no explanation as to why Trump feels he has to suck up to Putin while disparaging our own intelligence agencies, why he thinks he can trust Kim Jong Un when he has violated ever agreement he’s ever signed, why massive tax breaks for the very rich are supposed to benefit the very poor, why divisiveness among whites and blacks is supposed to be healthy, why caging children is a good policy, why depriving millions of people of health care is wise, why removal of policies to protect the environment, consumers, borrowers, and the economy can possibly make sense, or why he constantly—CONSTANTLY—finds himself embroiled in controversy of the crudest, crassest sort.
In their book One Nation After Trump, writers E.J. Dionne, Jr., Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann note that Alexander Hamilton warned that “Disorienting the public by blurring the line between fact and falsehood is the trick of the despot whose ‘object is to throw things into confusion that he may ride the storm and direct the whirlwind.’” (Emphasis mine)
That’s an apt description of Donald Trump if ever there was one. When it comes to disoriented the public by blurring the line between fact and fiction and throwing things into confusion, he owns franchise rights.
Oh, shut up, silly woman,” said the reptile with a grin
You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.
Take me in, oh tender woman
Take me in, for heaven’s sake
Take me in oh tender woman, sighed the snake
One of my favorite Trump quotes: “Extreme vetting. We will use extreme vetting to get just the best people.”
As idiotic as he is, he has nonetheless taken complete control of the Republican party. Senators Rubio and Cruz who he so viciously attacked and demeaned now seek his endorsement. Businesses large and small criticize his economic policies and sanctions on so many imports yet they continue to send him money. Millions of people that claim American allegiance, adherence to Christian principles, and belief in family values praise a man that runs roughshod over all of these. Thank God for the vigilant, brave, and sensible media for standing up to him. May their writing stem the descent of the American political system and the erosion of a thinking and reasoning populace.
Amen. These contradictions between reality and actions are the most frightening things about this administration, but are instructive of how despots are able to rise to power. The free media must never give up no matter how he tries to stigmatize them.
I think Omarose Onee Manigault-Newman is the best thing that could happen. She is the closest thing to a Trump analog we have. For that reason, maybe his adherents will trust her.
Maybe Omarosa and Trump could stage a WWE battle to work things out. It would certainly get the ratings Trump craves and would be only slightly more ridiculous than a lot of other things he has done.
We knew by watching Trump campaign that he loves being in his own “TV reality world”. It should come as no surprise that he has created his own “TV reality White House and Presidency.” If there is no drama, he creates some. If there are no personal enemies, he creates them. If he needs to be the ever valiant victim, he finds a foe. The bigly problem this presents Americans is that Trump has actually and successfully reduced our office of Presidency to nothing more than an ever “entertainment” TV reality show – while our Rome burns…there is nothing entertaining about this!
Really!! I thought I had found a good news source. Mostly dirt digging on the left. How much money has President Trump cost you? What happened to fair and balanced reporting?
If, by “fair and balanced,” you mean someone who would like to see some dignity restored to the White House instead of a daily flow of drama, tweets, and accusations, then thank you. (and by the way, I’m keenly award that Bill Clinton contributed his part to the destruction of that dignity and I don’t for a moment give him a pass). If, on the other hand, you are looking for someone who has drunk the Trump Kool-Aid and who subscribes to the Fox News version of “fair and balanced,” then keep looking.
Question: Why is most reporting about our president negative? For the answer, simply watch him, listen to him, and read his tweets. You may believe the media is somehow manipulating his own unfiltered behavior, but they are certainly not, nor have they been accused of, altering his tweets. This truly is about the kind of person he is and that he clearly shows himself to be daily.
Thanks for an extremely accurate accounting of the circus that is Trump. I am still holding out hope that eventually, some revelation about his warped character will finally be a bridge too far for supporters. Omarosa Manigault-Newman, like Trump, may not have credibility, but audio tape recordings have credibility. If she is able to demonstrate that Trump’s signature NDAs have no legal place in government, the floodgates for new, perhaps even more shocking allegations from other silenced employees, are likely to appear. Hold on to your seats!
Miss Omarosa was apparently hired and fired by the Clinton administration also. If tweeting had been the rage in Clinton’s years, I bet he would have used that media but probably not as “in the gutter” as Mr. Trump. I believe Trump is against illegal immigration, his family and in laws did things the legal way, chains or no chains. John McCain is a poster child of what’s wrong with Washington, entrenched politicians who represent those who send the money. Clinton and Obama both hired and fired numerous appointees during their terms. We never heard much about that did we? Sally Yates needed to be let go as did many of the people you list in your piece. Granted Mr. Trump comes across like a Neanderthal with his tweets, but even though he was not my favorite he is doing what he said he would do. He is fighting the establishment and I kinda like it. The attacks are non stop and that’s because he’s ruffling some feathers in DC.
Sid, did I say a single complimentary thing about Omarosa? Yes, she was fired what, three times by the Clinton administration? Still, Trump hired her. What happened to all that vetting he promised? And yes, Trump is against illegal immigration but he is also against chain migration. He has said so repeatedly. That alone makes him a hypocrite. And he has most definitely NOT done what he said. He said he would build a wall and Mexico would pay for it. Now who is he asking to pay for it? Us. He was going to pass a historic tax bill but instead, passed one that benefited the wealthy—as usual. He’s turned on NATO, our most reliable deterrent against enemy aggression. And yes, all administrations have turnover but how how many have this many combined turnovers, scandals, and indictments—in only 19 months? How many previous presidents have flip-flopped on positions within mere hours? How many other presidents have repeated so many OBVIOUS lies and misstatements? I believe the Trump administration surpasses even Nixon in all of these areas. As for John McCain, despite the scandal of the Keating 5, he remains, even in his condition, one of the few voices of reason in Washington. It was he and Sen. Russell Feingold who tried to pass meaningful campaign reform that was dismantled by Citizens United.
Tell you what, Sid, you keep looking at Trump through those rose-colored glasses. Keep believing in a man with no conscience, no remorse, no humility. Keep staking your future on a man who doesn’t give a damn about you or anyone else. Keep clinging to that sliver of hope. Meanwhile, I’ll take the more realistic route without hanging my hat on any person or political party, but on what’s right and just.
Mr. Aswell, apparently Clinton didn’t do very well in the vetting process either. Obama was a walking contradiction who changed positions to suit his political agenda. Chain migration regarding Trump,refers to the large group of South/Central Americans who marched through numerous countries including Mexico to come to the US. Did they seek asylum or were they pawns? Trump is against illegal immigration, just like Obama, the Clintons, et al. He is just enforcing the laws. John McCain, Diane Feinstein, Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, and many other entrenched politicians are why we are in the shape we are in. And although my glasses are not rose colored, I believe we are so much better off than if Ms. Clinton had been elected – now there is a person who is full of lies, misstatements, no conscience, no remorse, no humility, and no soul.
Good job describing this latest Trump circus act. I am so sick and tired of incompetence from this WH, I can’t wait to get back to some semblance of normalcy. I hope never to have to hear another “tweet” and get back to just governing instead of this childish nonsense.
Those supporting trump (sic) are by default teaching their kids that it’s OK to behave like trump and lambast those who disagree with them. This same group of supporters is OK with schools and universities hiring professors and instructors who embody trump’s personality. The educators would have to waffle on everything taught, leaving students confused and unprepared for life. They would all teach (K12 through PhD) that the Holocaust is simply an untrue story, as was the moon landing, publicized by purveyors of Fake News!
The sooner he is ejected from the Oval Office the better this country will be. BTW, have you been able to calculate the real benefit of our supposed tax cut?
Trump is having to fight decades of corruption, and it’s just not an easy job. You must consider all the whack jobs in Congress that the man must try and reason with and, at some point, any sane person is going to blow his stack. That’s to say nothing of the circus that is the FBI. About the only stabilizing force up in all of DC is Trump, and this nation is fortunate beyond comprehension to have him willing to serve this great nation!
Wow. Just Wow. Did you ever say “it’s just not an easy job” when discussing Obama? Did you ever give him the same benefit of the doubt you’re giving Trump. Not beating Obama’s drum for him, but my guess is for his entire 8 years, you wouldn’t have given him the time of day.
You see whack jobs in Congress but not in the White House?
You say the FBI is a circus but not the Oval Office?
Trump is a stabilizing force? A STABILIZING FORCE? Really?
If you think we’re fortunate to have him, that really is beyond comprehension. The way he talks about grabbing women, the contractors he’s cheated, the Trump University students he’s swindled, the children he’s thrown into cages, his ties to the Russians, his appointments, his position flip-flops, his constant lying, his rule by tweet, the press is the enemy of the people?
Seriously?
He is the very embodiment of decades of corruption.
Have some more Kool-Aid.
sh** just gets crazier and crazier doesn’t it
This is what I mean about losing control. Contrast my calm statements with Angelo’s characterization of me drinking Kool-Aid just because he disagrees with my assessment of Trump.
The bottom line is that Trump supporters in 2016 knew we faced long odds. We were told repeatedly by the in-the-tank-for-Clinton media that it was hopeless. He would have to run the tables to pull off a win which, ironically, as the night wore on, they indicated Clinton would end up having to do when the handwriting appeared on the wall that she was going down.
The bottom line is we hit the jackpot and the other side, which clearly must include the vast majority of this publication’s readership, simply can’t deal with it, nor can they handle the fact that we’re taking our country back by erecting a wall to stem illegal immigration, unemployment is at its lowest level is decades (and that’s particularly the case among African American workers), the stock market is soaring (up about 30% just since he was elected), and he’s negotiating hard-ball trade tactics rather than it being the one-sided tariffs prior administrations permitted for decades.
So, we hit the jackpot. Enjoy the benefits and be thankful because he’s going to be around for another six years. Get used to it even if you can’t find a way to embrace it.
Hello, you all. Been away dealing with the insurance company after a fire at my home. Some of you all know what that is like. Anyway, good post Tom. Particularly, the comment about the kneeling. Why is it that quite a number of us Americans misunderstand this action? You are on point. I wrote a letter to The Advocate, trying to make the same point. I prefaced my letter by letting every reader know that my father served a tour in Vietnam and my older brother served two tours in Vietnam. I also mentioned, that in the fall of 1973, I did my duty and registered for the draft.
Good to see you back, Clifford, and sorry about the fire.
So sorry Clifford. Hopefully the Red Cross still helps people after fires.
Tom, thank you for your excellent post which gives us the big picture of Donald’s strange behavior.
While we are distracted by what he says, I feel that he is delivering for some special interests.
I saw a headline that said the Pentagon cannot account for $13 trillion! Now that is something worthy of his attention and his supposed financial expertise.
Are we swatting at a gnat while we swallow a fly? (My Grandmother use to say this to me)
Thank you president Trump for what you have accomplished in your short time in office. Lower taxes stronger military more jobs better economy. Don’t worry President Trump they hated President Reagan more than you. Keep up the good work when you finish draining the swamp in Washington we need you in Louisiana.
So Rod just who did he lower taxes for? Better economy? I think Obama added more new jobs his first year than Trump. And I, for one, certainly did NOT hate Reagan. He, in stark contrast to your boy Trump, was a good and decent man who had reverence and respect for the Oval Office as opposed to making it a pulpit for launching sophomoric tweets and outright lies. To try to compare Trump favorably with Reagan is a bad joke from a sick comedian. Stronger military? For what, so they can march in a parade to honor Trump, who was a draft dodger? You have completely lost track of which shell the coin is under.
[…] At Louisiana Voice, Tom Aswell writes—Is Omarosa an opportunist? You bet. Is Trump a pathological liar? Of Course. Are there any good guys…: […]
What’s wrong with making America great again? President Trump has done more for this country in his short time in office than President Obama did in eight years. What is wrong with you liberals? You want to destroy this country. The United States is 20 trillion dollars in debt. The left answer is more taxes more give aways.
Just a couple of quick questions:
Do you seriously believe that Trump can/will make American great again? That’s just another empty political slogan that means no more than “hope and change.”
What exactly (and please be specific) has Trump actually accomplished other than typical hot-air rhetoric? The tax cut only helped the wealthy and yes, employment is up, but it was rising every year of the Obama administration after the 2008 recession which occurred on George W. Bush’s watch, so you cannot attribute employment gains to Trump. And it was Obama who finally got Osama Bin Laden, not Trump.
And let’s address that $20 trillion debt. Who is responsible for that? I believe if you check, you’ll see that Bill Clinton, for all his character flaws (and he had/has many) is the only president since Eisenhower to actually lower the national deficit and he lowered it significantly. The bulk of the $20 trillion debt can be laid at the feet of George W. Bush and his decision to invade Iraq even though the WMD simply were non-existent.
And if you cannot see the horrific results of less than two years of Trump, I really don’t know what can open your eyes. The man is an idiot and barely literate enough to read at a sixth-grade level, much less interpret complex diplomatic issues.
Rather than terminating your reading at MAGA, continue reading about the actual man and his pathetic personal and business record. Six bankruptcies and forced to borrowing money from a money-laundering bank after all other banks cut him off pretty much speaks for itself.
You cannot look at his Russian connections and conclude there was no collusion.
You cannot look at the contractors on his buildings and the students at Trump University who he cheated and not come to the realization that he is just another sleazy crook.
You cannot look at the way in which he treats women and not know in your heart that he is a pathetic human being.
Great reply, Tom. Hit them with the facts.
President Trump soundly defeated Hillary Clinton 306 to 232 in the electoral vote get over it she’s not going to be president. President Trump doing a great job. The liberals wake up each morning thinking what lie can I say about trump today.
So, Rod, please tell me: who was talking about Hillary Clinton? You’re the one who can’t seem to get over her.
Oh, and for the record, she “soundly defeated” Trump in the popular vote by about 3 million votes—but I got over it.
President Trump putting more money in the working mans pocket and people are loving it. You Democrats follow your great leader Mr Schumer he will lead you to the promise land.
Trump is putting more money in the working mans pocket!! What working man are you talking about?
It was Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels who said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie.”
Trump’s supporters, unfortunately, are living proof of that.
Tom, is your reply directed to me? Believe me I am not a trumpster(lowercase intentional). I was asking Rod who is the working man he is talking about.
Rod, I asked you for specifics and you couldn’t even do that. You just bellow Sean Hannity’s and Trump’s lame talking points with absolutely nothing to back it up. If you cannot offer specifics (and it’s quite obvious you can’t), then please stop spewing out the same B.S. You’re starting to be a bore.
(And it’s “promised land,” with an “ed” on the end, not just promise land.
Wake up World President Trump is still in charge