Louisiana Voice

“I don’t know any Russians. I’ve never been to Russia.”

—Donald Trump, May 3, 2017.

“I do have a relationship with him.”

—Donald Trump, on Vladimir Putin (whom he’d never met at the time) at Miss Universe Pageant in Moscow, November 2013, where he met with oligarch Aras Agalarov, whose son, Emin Agalarov, was in a music video in which Trump participated.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/18/trump-in-moscow-what-happened-at-miss-universe-in-2013

“I have had a two-hour meeting with Putin. That’s all I need to know. I’ve sized it all up. I’ve got it. I know more about this than you do.”

—Donald Trump, on July 7, 2017, after meeting Putin for the first time ever, to then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who had had extensive dealings with Putin while ExxonMobil’s leader on Russian exports and later as CEO of the company.

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 “And if a president did something that he believes will help him get elected — in the public interest — that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment.”

—Donald Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz, in his bizarre carte blanche argument against conviction in Trump’s impeachment trial that should make jaws drop like the tailgates in those GMC truck ads.

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“No Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered no casualties. All of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases.”

Donald Trump, right after Iran’s attack on U.S. base in Iraq. (It was later reported that 11 U.S. military personnel were treated outside Iraq for concussion-like symptoms after the missile strike.)

“I heard that they had headaches, and a couple of other things. But I would say, and I can report it is not very serious. Not very serious.”

 —Donald Trump, whose bone spurs were sufficiently “serious” to keep him out of military service, commenting in Davos, Switzerland, on injuries suffered by U.S. forces in the Iranian air attack.

“The VFW expects an apology from the president to our servicemen and women for his misguided remarks.”

—VFW National Commander-in-Chief William “Doc” Schmitz, after a Pentagon announcement that the number of injured people had risen to 34. On Tuesday it was announced the number of traumatic brain injuries to American troops had risen to 50.

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“We have to prime the pump. Have you ever heard that expression before? Because I haven’t heard it. I came up with it a couple of days ago and I thought it was good.”

–Donald Trump, in an interview with The Economist.

The Kingston Trio sang about having to “prime the pump” in their 1963 recording of Desert Pete:

https://www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/the_kingston_trio/desert_pete.html

…and President Franklin Roosevelt used the expression in describing his efforts to speed recovery from the Great Depression, but the expression actually dates back at least to the 1800s.

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“It is worth noting that Bangladesh is NOT Ukraine”

—Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a formal statement Friday following a profanity-laced tirade directed at NPR reporter Mary Louise Kelly after he dared her to identify Ukraine on a blank map—and she correctly did.

(Perhaps it was Pompeo who misidentified Ukraine on the map. Whatever, it’s pretty evident that he ignored the old courtroom tenet known by any good lawyer: never ask a witness a question unless you already know their answer.)

“Why does NPR still exist?”

—Conservative radio host Mark Levin tweet, following the exchange between Pompeo and Kelly.

“A very good question”

—Donald Trump’s (tweeted) response to Levin’s question. (the answer might be it’s the only shred of balance remaining in radio after repeal of the Fairness Doctrine, which required broadcast licensees to present both sides of controversial issues. The policy was eliminated in 1987.)

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