Whom Do We Trust

I came across this: APNews being the trusted source of news for half the world. 

And there is Truth Social which also is read and trusted by half of America, the Republicans. Truth Social is Trump's own Twitter like platform.

Are APNews and Truth Social at the same level and alike then? Imagine if the CEO of AP News and Trump were both invited to be felicitated for adhering to the highest standards of truth! 

I am reminded of a comedy scene in a Tamil movie where a beggar, waiting for some money from a vegetable shop owner, finds himself standing next to a police constable who has come to the shop for hafta ("wet his beak" in Mafia terms) - both of them being shooed away by the shop keeper who is busy attending to his paying customers!

Having half the world read your news or listen to you is hardly a great thing. Truth Social does that too. I wish APNews would try to differentiate itself from Truth social.

Trump's Election Interference

I can think anything that may not be true. And I can say untruths because I have a right to freedom of speech.

Based on that thought and words of mine I can allege anything. And incite others with my words to take any action, even illegal ones.

If people claim what I said was wrong and that my actions of incitement to violence was wrong, I can claim that I acted on advice of my counsel.

I do not recognise the concept of right or wrong. A man's purpose is to win. Losing is not an option.

I am not accountable for any words or actions of mine. I will continue to fight until I get what I want.

George Santos

• https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2023/george-santos-resume-lies/
• Harbor City called George Santos a ‘perfect fit.’ The SEC called the company a fraud. Quote: "J.P. Maroney, Harbor City’s founder and the man who hired Santos, claimed in podcasts and hireliably profitable ways to generate sales leads online for other companies."
• A man with the same ethics as Trump, but without the arrogance, yet. https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/02/10/george-santos-amish-puppies/

Additional reading

• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2023/01/kevin-mccarthy-another-clown.html
  
• Rudy Giuliani: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/08/26/rudy-giuliani-biography-fearless-ukraine/

Kevin McCarthy, Another Clown

• How Kevin McCarthy Forged an Ironclad Bond With Marjorie Taylor Greene
• In Sharing Video With Fox Host, McCarthy Hits Rewind on Jan. 6
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/10/kevin-mccarthy-i-know-nothing-insurrection-questions/
  

Additional reading

• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2023/01/george-santos.html

Nikola Trump And Special Effects

Nikola Founder Trevor Milton Convicted of Securities Fraud https://www.wsj.com/articles/nikola-founder-trevor-milton-convicted-of-securities-fraud-11665779578

"Among the misrepresentations cited by prosecutors in the trial were Mr. Milton describing an undrivable prototype to a crowd as “fully-functioning” and saying that Nikola was producing hydrogen fuel at a cost of $4 per kilogram when it cost other companies much more. In fact, Nikola wasn’t producing any hydrogen fuel at all, prosecutors said.

Mr. Milton’s lawyers said the Nikola founder acted in good faith and argued that the government had cherry-picked portions of his public statements."

Is this cherry picking?

"It is a distortion to say that Trevor Milton intended to commit fraud,” defense attorney Mr. Mukasey said during his closing argument. He said Mr. Milton’s statements were supported by those around him and cheered on by his leadership team, adding that important facts about Nikola’s business were fully disclosed to investors.  It’s not a crime to use special effects in a commercial,” he said of the Nikola One video. “Otherwise the government would have to indict the Energizer Bunny.” "

What is the line between special effects and blatant lying? Matter of fact, is special effects ok when the purpose is to mislead? Put another way blatant lying can be euphemistically said to be special effects or "alternate reality" as we say in the context of Trump.

“If someone wanted to commit fraud,” he said, “they would do it behind closed doors.” 

This is exactly like what people say about Trump. If a person does something in the open then it cannot be a crime? Putin is conducting a war in Ukraine. And the whole world knows about it. There is no camouflage. So it's not a crime?

Trump's Modus Operandi And America's Weakness

Trump Lawyer Told Justice Dept. That Classified Material Had Been Returned https://nyti.ms/3w1NTZk

It's not just that Trump lies.

• His lawyer said to the govt that all sensitive documents had been returned.
• He then said as president he had the right to convert sensitive documents to non sensitive. (Declassify at will.)
• He told the press that FBI had probably planted evidence.

And the biggest issue is that the American legal system will allow Trump to say that he himself had no clue what was brought to his house and no clue what his lawyers said to the govt on his behalf and the legal system will want to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he intended to sell the sensitive documents to Russia China Iran North Korea. How can anyone prove it?

Just like he claims that he had no idea what his accounting firm submitted as data to various financial entities. Atleast the Indian income tax says that ignorance is no excuse. We are that much better than Americans.

Trump is narcissistic. He feels entitled. That's why he wanted to win the 2nd term badly. With the weight of the presidency working for him and with his ability to redefine what executive privilege meant he would literally have been King.

Additional reading:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/13/opinion/trump-sics-the-gop-on-the-fbi.html
• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2020/11/trumps-character.html
  
• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2021/07/trumps-character-my-take.html
  
• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2020/11/trumps-stress-test.html
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/13/trump-mar-a-lago-classified-documents/
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/12/trump-obama-national-archives/
  
• https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/trump-flat-circle/629431/
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/16/trump-speeches-extreme-agenda-2024-bid/
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/19/trump-kash-patel-declassification-mar-a-lago-search/
  
• https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/opinion/trump-fbi-republicans.html
  
• Trump, Without the Presidency’s Protections, Struggles for a Strategy: "That approach — demonize investigators, intimidate allies to keep them from straying, paint himself as persecuted and depict every criticism as a political witch hunt — was Mr. Trump’s go-to strategy to discredit the investigation into his 2016 campaign’s possible ties to Russia, and in his first impeachment trial."
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/05/16/trumps-slow-moving-friday-night-massacre-inspectors-general/
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/26/trump-mar-a-lago-affidavit-lloyd-green?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/08/trump-2024-reelection-viktor-orban-hungary/671264/
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/08/28/trump-special-master-fbi/: Appointing a judge should have it's benefits.
• https://news.yahoo.com/trump-truth-social-qanon-4chan-memes-messages-184803844.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=1_02&guccounter=1
  
• If Trump did ‘declassify’ records (he didn’t), it would be no less damning
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/02/kevin-mccarthy-joe-biden-semi-fascism-trump/
  
• Judge Grants Trump’s Request for Special Master to Review Mar-a-Lago Documents
  
• An ex-professor spreads election myths across the U.S., one town at a time
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/09/20/trump-lawyers-special-master-fox-news-judge-cannon/
  
• https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/09/trump-threats-violence/671458/
  
• The latest case against Trump shows history favors the rich
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/30/trump-audit-tax-returns-plane-chris-christie-maggie-haberman-book?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other: Very nice
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/10/10/country-after-second-trump-term/: Scary
  
• 5 takeaways from the latest Jan. 6 hearing : What more does one want?
  
• A Guilty Ex-President
  

Boris Johnson (And Trump)

Boris has fallen. Trump is in still standing strong.

I wonder if this is any reflection on the strength of the system in UK vis-a-vis USA

Boris being far more silly and less vicious a scum than Trump, his eviction seems to indicate a lot less tolerance for bull in UK.

This is an article comparing the two. Boris Johnson faced revolt in his party. Trump never had that problem.

This is my comparison of the two.

Boris was thrown out by his own people (Tories). Trump is revered by his GOP. 

I was wondering why. Maybe because Boris is just a one man con-man. Trump is a movement. Trump created a legacy. 6 conservative judges out of 9.

Boris just got Brexit done and that too is a mess.

Additional reading:

• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2022/03/trump-vs-boris.html
  
• https://www.thenational.scot/news/19858214.boris-johnson-school-letter-eton-teacher-despairs-pms-effortless-superiority/
• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10398617/amp/Letter-PMs-Eton-classics-master-emerges.html
• Even diehard Tories can’t stand another minute of Johnson’s rollercoaster government | Rafael Behr e_btn_wa
  
• Boris Johnson’s Fight for Survival, Explained
  
• Boris Johnson Made a Terrible Mistake: He Apologized
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jun/11/boris-johnson-stands-make-millions-after-no-10?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/07/boris-johnson-next-big-headache-is-finding-somewhere-to-live-says-biographer?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/07/boris-johnson-conservatives-resign-leadership?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jul/14/boris-johnson-brussels-bashing-stories-shaped-politics
  
• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/b7c43982-fe0d-11ec-88db-ae1b6b9bdd3e?shareToken=8094d9e2e7911ce01465fb037da75426
  
• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/f8b8e5ee-fe2d-11ec-88db-ae1b6b9bdd3e?shareToken=003dca738e8f0226f79cfd3688695c61
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/08/boris-johnson-resignation-donald-trump-republications-tories-gop-conservatives/: Very nice. Germany couldn't do it in 1930s. Russia and Turkey and Hungary aren't able to do it now. USA couldn't do it between 2017 and 2020. It's rather unfortunate that we can only cure now, at best. We aren't able to restrain a Boris from getting his hands on power. Eton and Oxford didn't see him as a person to be shackled. Nor did Princeton or the other alma maters!
• https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0a94b7fe-ffa3-11ec-b9c1-d737fca5ec6a?shareToken=67b596e342b9762d2557e3d6436ea1e7
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/09/boris-johnson-accused-of-trying-to-derail-rishi-sunaks-bid-to-be-next-pm?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/07/07/boris-johnsons-resignation-shows-the-limits-of-shamelessness/
  
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jul/23/boris-johnsons-plan-to-create-large-number-of-new-peers-comes-under-fire?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
  
• https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2022/07/liz-elizabeth-truss.html
  
• Boris has gone Trump

Baby Faced Bad Guy - Mitch McConnell

Inside Mitch McConnell’s decades-long effort to block gun control

This is also the guy who caused Trump to recruit the "wrong" justices to the supreme court 

Additional reading

• Republican Drive to Tilt Courts Against Climate Action Reaches a Crucial Moment
• Kavanaugh Gave Private Assurances. Collins Says He ‘Misled’ Her.: Anatomy of an untruth: "Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky who, as majority leader, played a monumental role in creating the current makeup of the court, said he did not believe the nominees he steered through during the Trump administration broke faith with the Senate."
• https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/01/strict-obstructionist/308344/
  
• ‘Unchecked’ book excerpt: Inside McConnell’s decision not to convict Trump: Really? We have a saint here?
  

Trump Vs Boris

A friend sent me this article: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/mar/19/pms-comparison-of-ukraine-resistance-to-uk-brexit-vote-criticised-as-crass?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Now I think I am beginning to understand Boris. I am not sure he is like Trump. True they both share indifference to protocol, do what they please. 

Trump has motivations that are evil. He is an alpha male. I doubt Boris is one.

Boris seems to be a person who wants to be "free", lead a life where he is free to do what he pleases, and not be bothered with do's and don'ts. He has to follow his heart all the time. There isn't much head in him except for that unruly hair. I think he saw this Ukraine thing and thought he could drain himself out of the quagmire he had found himself in as a result of Partygate.

He went one step further and compared Ukraine's situation with Brexit. Possibly he that he would make a martyr out of himself by putting his pet baby on par with a much more legitimate issue. 

Like when someone talks about their brain cancer don't we have the urge to say "yes, I know what you mean, I too had my tooth extracted last week". 

Trump's Stress Test

Trump Stress-Tested the Election System, and the Cracks Showed: This is a lovely article. 

The article focuses only on the election and howit took the stress. Congress would hopefully ensure that elections can handle stress better.

But what about the other issues that Trump stressed - such as meddling with special counsel Mueller's investigation or violating campaign finance laws (paying off the women through Cohen) or expecting the Ukrainian president to investigate Biden in order to get American aid? 

Trump stressed the system and the system was found to be weak in responding. 

There is a general belief that Trump did everything in broad daylight and the belief that whatever is done that way cannot be duplicitous. Here is an example below:

What we do know is unquestionably it was too many people,” De Blasio told reporters on Tuesday. “It appears that there was a very conscious effort to conceal what was going on. And that’s what makes it even more unacceptable.” from https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/11/25/hasidic-wedding-fined-new-york/

Is the act by itself culpable or the fact that it was concealed culpable? What is our moral stand? 

Who is going to address these?

Additional reading

1. https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2020/11/preening-narcissism.html
2. https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2020/11/trumps-character.html
   
3. Donald Trump and the Damage Done
   
4. The Indian Express: When history is written, US courts may be singled out for protecting nation’s election integrity.
   
5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/08/fast-track-trump-impeachment-pointless-revenge/
   
6. Mint: The real lesson of Trump’s coup attempt that shocked everyone.
   
7. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-kendall-censure-trump-congress/2021/01/10/9bed6330-537f-11eb-a08b-f1381ef3d207_story.html
   
8. Joe Biden’s Impeachment Moment
   
9. The Scary Power of the Companies That Finally Shut Trump Up
   
10. Mike Pence Reached His Limit With Trump. It Wasn’t Pretty.
    
11. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/how-the-media-handled-trump/2021/01/12/0f13a0a8-54da-11eb-a817-e5e7f8a406d6_story.html
    
12. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/14/trump-twitter-megaphone/
    
13. https://www.washingtonpost.com/tablet/2021/01/14/whats-next-trump/ - lovely voice
    
14. There’s as Much to Learn From Trump’s Success as His Disgrace
    
15. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/20/biden-inauguration-day-live-updates/ - Is this the end?
    
16. Fauci on What Working for Trump Was Really Like
    
17. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-investigations-lawsuits/2021/03/17/1ca3806c-8379-11eb-81db-b02f0398f49a_story.html
    
18. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/02/trump-case-may-be-unusual-if-true-its-brazen-tax-fraud/
    
19. https://apple.news/ARAuaUILdRrKqj2Tc0mIZCA
    
20. Will Trump Face a Legal Reckoning in Georgia?
    
21. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/29/trump-investigations-litigation/
    
22. Before Jan. 6, Aide Warned Secret Service of Security Risk to Pence: About Mike Pence, Vice President
    
23. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/14/how-prosecutors-sidestep-question-trump-intent-jan-6/
    
24. Despite Growing Evidence, a Prosecution of Trump Would Face Challenges and https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/19/trump-charges-january-6-hearings-capitol-attack?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
    
25. Prosecute Trump? Put Yourself in Merrick Garland’s Shoes.
    
26. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/25/trump-jan6-hearings-sundaytake/
    
27. Cassidy Hutchinson Changes Everything: Small steps forward.
    
28. The End of Roe, the End of Trump: Very interesting
    
29. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/13/criminal-investigation-donald-trump?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
    
30. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/07/prosecute-trump-january-6-doj/670511/
    
31. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/06/january-6-hearings-trump-cassidy-hutchinson/661414/: "Some of Trump’s defenders will, of course, seek to explain Hutchinson’s testimony away and apologize for him. They will contend that if the president wasn’t heard explicitly saying, I want a violent mob to topple Congress, harm members, and overturn the election that I lost, he cannot be held responsible for what happened that day. This is nonsense. If you pour gasoline all over a building, tell some people it is essential the building burn, and make sure they’re carrying matches and lighters, you are to blame for the arson that follows—especially if you then decline to call the fire department and condone the inferno. What Trump wanted to put up in flames on January 6 was American democracy."
32. Cassidy Hutchinson Changes Everything
    
33. We Can’t Afford Not to Prosecute Trump
    
34. Trump Faces Questions About His Net Worth in Interview He Tried to Avoid
    
35. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/nyregion/mazars-trump-organization-financial-statements.html?searchResultPosition=1
    
36. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/nyregion/trump-questioning-investigation.html
    
37. Did the F.B.I. Just Re-Elect Donald Trump?
    
38. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-payback-for-mar-a-lago-will-be-brutal-trump-raid-fbi-justice-department-president-investigation-11660255311?mod=djem10point
    
39. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/11/trump-fantasy-collective-persecution/
40. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/us/trump-investigation-takeaways.html?smid=url-share
    
41. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/13/nuclear-or-not-classified-or-not-mar-a-lago-files-spell-out-jeopardy-for-trump?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
    
42. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/08/12/seditious-conspiracy-insurrection-trump-charges/
    
43. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/08/13/trump-mar-a-lago-search/
    
44. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/16/trump-reckless-national-security-serious/
    
45. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/16/trump-crime-gop-support/
    
46. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/18/trump-pardon-biden-benefit/
    
47. Trump’s Legal Team Scrambles to Find an Argument: ""Mr. Trump, people familiar with his thinking say, sees the attorney general, Merrick B. Garland, not as the federal government’s chief law enforcement officer, but merely as a political foe and someone with whom he can haggle with about how much anger exists over the situation. Shortly before Mr. Garland announced that he was seeking to unseal the search warrant, an intermediary for Mr. Trump reached out to a Justice Department official to pass along a message that the former president wanted to negotiate, as if he were still a New York developer. The message Mr. Trump wanted conveyed, according to a person familiar with the exchange, was: “The country is on fire. What can I do to reduce the heat?” The essence of Trump - Dealing and negotiating and posturing.
48. 3 big things we learned from the Mar-a-Lago affidavit
49. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/29/roy-blunt-republicans-trump-wrongdoing/
50. The Guardian: New legal filings paint Trump as a flailing liar surrounded by lackeys.
    
51. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/02/trump-republicans-biden-maga/
    
52. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/09/judge-cannon-trump-mar-a-lago-special-master/671349/: Judge Cannon failed the stress test
    
53. https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/trump-nuclear-documents-mar-a-lago-rcna46638
    
54. Trump’s ‘Muddled’ Claims About the Presidential Records Act, Explained
    
55. The Story So Far: Where 6 Investigations Into Donald Trump Stand
    
56. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/09/21/nyregion/trump-fraud-lawsuit-ny-james/donald-trump-fraud-lawsuit-letitia-james?smid=url-share
    
57. Inside the Completely Legal G.O.P. Plot to Destroy American Democracy - The video is terrifying
    
58. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/dec/06/trump-organization-tax-fraud-guilty-verdict-analysis?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other: Breath of fresh air
    
59. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/06/herschel-walker-reputation-georgia-football-politics-senate-trump/
    
60. Trump Faces a Week of Headaches on Jan. 6 and His Taxes
    
61. https://www.forbes.com/sites/irswatch/2016/02/28/no-ordinary-audit-donald-trump-is-facing-the-irs-wealth-squad/?sh=4017439b4d71
    
62. For Cassidy Hutchinson, ‘I don’t remember’ wasn’t good enough
    

Preening Narcissism

This post is an exception - this is a scrapbook containing only links. But this post is included here only because it's an excellent collection of links on Trump. 

President Trump Is Unfit for This Crisis. Period.  Quote: "His preening narcissism, his compulsive lying, his vindictiveness, his terror of germs and his terrifying inability to grasp basic science..."

Panel Suggests Trump Knew He Lost the Election, Eyeing Criminal Case https://nyti.ms/35qWxX3 quote "Even though none of Mr. Trump’s persistent claims about election fraud turned out to be true, prosecutors will most likely have to grapple with the question of his state of mind at the time — specifically, the issue of whether he believed the claims were true, said Alan Rozenshtein, a former Justice Department official who teaches at the University of Minnesota Law School." 

Extrapolating liberally if I were to rob Barclays Bank, the prosecutor will have to determine if I thought Barclays Bank was my bedroom.

Additional reading

1. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/05/06/george-conway-trump-lashed-out-me-twitter-its-because-he-knows-truth/
2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-pandemic-briefing-focus-himself/2020/04/13/1dc94992-7dd8-11ea-9040-68981f488eed_story.html: Nice with a good video
3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/fascist-dictatorship-trump-second-term/2020/07/10/63fdd938-c166-11ea-b4f6-cb39cd8940fb_story.html - very nice. Jul 12, 2020
   
4. In Trump’s Marathon Briefings, the Answers and the Message Are Often Contradictory
5. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/george-conway-trump-unfit-office/599128/
6. https://www.theatlantic.com/unthinkable/
7. Donald Trump the Narcissist Is Running the Coronavirus Crisis
8. Why Does Trump Lie?
9. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/opinions/mary-trump-book-opinion-dantonio/index.html
   
10. https://time.com/5704178/trump-character-unfit-office/
    
11. Bill Barr, Not Geoffrey Berman, Should Have Lost His Job This Weekend 
    
12. Donald Trump Is the Best Ever President in the History of the Cosmos : NY Times Op-ed. Vocabulary
    
13. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/29/three-big-takeaways-trumps-awful-new-admission-about-putin/
    
14. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/maryanne-trump-barry-secret-recordings/2020/08/22/30d457f4-e334-11ea-ade1-28daf1a5e919_story.html - interesting
    
15. At His Core, Trump Is an Immoralist 
16. Donald Trump: The Worst President in Modern History? 
    
17. In a First, New England Journal of Medicine Joins Never-Trumpers 
18. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientific-american-endorses-joe-biden1/
    
19. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/outlook/siskind-list-trump-norms/
    
20. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/rap-sheet-trump-crimes/2020/10/16/c6a539da-0e61-11eb-8a35-237ef1eb2ef7_story.html
    
21. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/23/trump-era-so-far-10-drawings-fewer-than-200-words/
    
22. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/10/30/state-department-wouldnt-reveal-its-payments-mar-a-lago-heres-how-we-found-them/
    
23. President Trump's Taxes: A Reader’s Guide 444
    
24. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/10/trump-covid-denial/616946/ -Wow
    
25. Donald Trump's Foreign Policy Hurt American Alliances  - Nice
    
26. https://time.com/5907546/america-divided-2020-election/
    
27. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/05/george-conway-trump-election-lies/
    
28. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/11/what-if-trump-refuses-concede/616424/ - Great. If Trump contests the election.
    
29. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/lifestyle/magazine/trump-presidential-norm-breaking-list/
    
30. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-white-house-purge/2020/11/13/2af12c94-25ca-11eb-8672-c281c7a2c96e_story.html
31. Lady And The Trump
    
32. https://eand.co/how-many-american-idiots-are-there-73-million-bded995868cf
    
33. Trump Stress-Tested the Election System, and the Cracks Showed
    
34. Over 30 Trump Campaign Lawsuits Have Failed. Some Rulings Are Scathing.
    
35. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/25/trumps-legacy-by-numbers/
    
36. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-lays-the-groundwork-for-a-massive-government-purge-on-his-way-out-the-door/2020/11/30/280519ac-333d-11eb-a997-1f4c53d2a747_story.html
    
37. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/12/18/biggest-pinocchios-2020/
    
38. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-election-voter-trust/2020/12/20/00282aa6-407a-11eb-8db8-395dedaaa036_story.html
    
39. President Trump: Unhappy, Unleashed and Unpredictable
    
40. Trump's Most Disgusting Pardons
    
41. https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2020/11/trumps-character.html
    
42. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/d45acb92-4dc4-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html and https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-transcript-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/2768e0cc-4ddd-11eb-83e3-322644d82356_story.html: Phone call recording, Trump talking to Brad about Georgia elections. "There is nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you recalculated,’ the president told Brad Raffensperger". Just like the call where Trump told the Ukrainian president to launch an investigation into the Bidens. If Brad did recalculate, Trump would use that fact to portray a very different story. Full transcript: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-transcript-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/2768e0cc-4ddd-11eb-83e3-322644d82356_story.html. Quote: "At one point, Trump told the secretary of state: “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes [Biden won the state by 11,779 votes], which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.”" Note that Trump STARTS with the belief that he won and hence he is hunting for 11,780 votes. 
43. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/carl-bernstein-believes-tape-of-trump-seeking-votes-from-election-official-is-the-ultimate-smoking-gun-051034190.html
    
44. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/05/trump-keeps-kinda-sorta-admitting-he-lost/
    
45. Trump Is to Blame for Capitol Attack - I now list articles which William Shirer might caption "The beginning of the end"
    
46. Impeach and Convict. Right Now. : Quote "From the moment Trump became the G.O.P. front-runner in 2015, it was obvious who he was and where, if given the chance, he would take America. He was a malignant narcissist in his person. A fraudster in his businesses. A bully in his relationships. And a demagogue in his politics.He did not have ideas. He had bigotries. He did not have a coalition. He had crowds. He did not have character. He had a quality of confident shamelessness, the kind that offered his followers permission to be shameless, too... Every decent society depends for its survival on its ability to be shocked — and stay shocked — by genuinely shocking behavior. Donald Trump’s entire presidency has been an assault on that idea."
47. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-resignations-25th-amendment/2021/01/07/e131ce10-50a3-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html: Quote: "Kelly also seemed to voice regret about Trump’s election. “We need to look infinitely harder at who we elect to any office in our land — at the office seeker’s character, at their morals, at their ethical record, their integrity, their honesty, their flaws, what they have said about women, and minorities, why they are seeking office in the first place, and only then consider the policies they espouse,” Kelly said."
48. The Disgrace on Capitol Hill - Quote: "As for Mr. Trump, to steal some famous words deployed in 1940 against Neville Chamberlain: “In the name of God, go.”" Is this the same paper which believed that impeachment (of Trump) was uncalled for? Whoa.
49. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-republicans-capitol-mob/2021/01/07/f56300ac-5111-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html - Humpty Trumpty starts falling.
    
50. Republicans Splinter Over Whether to Make a Full Break From Trump
    
51. President Trump Criticizes Twitter’s Decision to Ban Personal Account
    
52. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/fox-news-blame-capitol-mob-media/2021/01/07/f15f668a-50ee-11eb-b96e-0e54447b23a1_story.html - Disparaging reference to WSJ
    
53. The Capitol Attack Shocks the World
    
54. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/14/trumps-future-looks-rotten/
    
55. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-fact-checker-tracked-trump-claims/2021/01/23/ad04b69a-5c1d-11eb-a976-bad6431e03e2_story.html
    
56. "In an interview with Fox News, former president Donald Trump said Putin had undertaken the military maneuver “because of a rigged election” in the United States. In the days leading up to Russia’s attack — amid escalating tensions — Trump had praised Putin, saying it was a “smart move” by the Russian president to send “the strongest peace force I’ve ever seen” to the Ukraine border." From Russia launches attack on Ukraine, Biden says
57. ‘This Was Trump Pulling a Putin’
    
58. Woodward and Bernstein thought Nixon defined corruption. Then came Trump.: Comparison with Watergate
    
59. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/13/jan-6-committee-hearing-dangerous-trump/: very nice "In a kind of collective act of self-gaslighting, much of the public has been disarmed by Trump’s tendency to unabashedly project his corruption, as if blithely signaling his intentions somehow drains them of corrupt intent."
    
60. A Day After a Portrait of Pence in Danger, Trump Attacks Him Again
    
61. Trump’s had bad moments, but few worse than Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony: very nice.
    
62. A President Untethered
    

Trump's Character

This is an interesting compendium of links. My posts in this blog never contain only links. This post is an exception to the rule. There is no personal content, only links. My contribution is the identification of appropriate links.

• https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/the-mind-of-donald-trump/480771/
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-situation-lab/201509/the-personality-donald-trump
• https://time.com/5704178/trump-character-unfit-office/
• Trump’s Company Gets Maximum Punishment for Evading Taxes: Quote from lawyers of Trump organization: "The Trump Organization’s lawyers on Friday sought a smaller penalty, pinning the blame on an outside accounting firm, Mazars USA, which they said should have halted the wrongdoing. They also blamed Mr. Weisselberg, who they say carried out the scheme without intending to benefit the Trump Organization."

Additional reading:

1. https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2020/11/preening-narcissism.html
2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/jerrold-post-cia-trump-covid-death/2020/12/04/6dd566cc-35b2-11eb-b59c-adb7153d10c2_story.html - nice
3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/29/trump-pardons-stephanie-mohr-prince-georges/
4. In Trump’s Final Chapter, a Failure to Rise to the Covid-19 Moment
5. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/johnson-is-not-trumps-transatlantic-twin-cshzqzlj2: Nice - Trump, Boris comparison
6. Trump Condemns Violence at Capitol, Acknowledges Election Loss - Bunker mode, just like Hitler.
7. Prospect of Pardons in Final Days Fuels Market to Buy Access to Trump  - Atta boy. 
8. https://news.yahoo.com/trumps-white-house-staff-alumni-140908014.html - Inauguration Day
   
9. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/01/20/trump-legacy-diplomacy-foreign-travel/
   
10. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-justice-department-overturn-election/2021/01/22/b7f0b9fa-5d1c-11eb-a976-bad6431e03e2_story.html
    
11. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-pardons-lobbying/2021/02/05/896f0b52-624b-11eb-9430-e7c77b5b0297_story.html
    
12. News18: 'If You Cheat in Golf...': Video of Donald Trump Playing Golf in Miami Goes Viral.
    
13. Meadows Pressed Justice Dept. to Investigate Election Fraud Claims
    
14. https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/06/28/trump-lawsuit-golf-course-bronx/
    
15. https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2016/11/03/i-bought-the-website-trump-org-then-donald-trump-came-after-me/
    
16. Inside Donald Trump’s Last Days in the White House and Plans for a Comeback
    
17. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-rosen-phone-call-notes/2021/07/30/2e9430d6-f14d-11eb-81d2-ffae0f931b8f_story.html
    
18. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/10/27/14-things-you-need-know-about-trumps-letter-wall-street-journal/
    
19. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2021/what-happened-trump-jan-6-insurrection/?utm_content=attack-during
    
20. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-hang-mike-pence/2021/11/12/64a17142-43b0-11ec-a88e-2aa4632af69b_story.html
    
21. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/02/the-deflating-difference-between-boris-johnson-and-donald-trump/: very funny comparing Boris with Trump
    
22. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/04/newt-gingrich-started-us-road-ruin-now-hes-back-finish-job/
23. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/when-it-comes-to-whataboutism-boris-johnson-has-learnt-from-the-master-donald-trump-cpv907s09
    
24. "Federal law makes it a crime to destroy government records, but it requires that a person know specifically they are breaking the law when doing so. That could be difficult to do for Trump, who advisers say tore up documents out of habit," from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/09/trump-archives-justice-department/
25. Trump Fraud Inquiry’s Focus: Did He Mislead His Own Accountants?
    
26. https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/12/politics/list-investigations-trump/index.html
    
27. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/16/trump-accountants-warning-do-not-trust/
    
28. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/12/trump-15-boxes/
    
29. https://vbala99.blogspot.com/2022/02/putin-character.html
    
30. N.Y. judge rejects Trump’s attempt to countersue E. Jean Carroll
    
31. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/15/marc-racicot-trump-ukraine-nato/
    
32. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/24/mo-brooks-turns-on-donald-trump-endorsement-jan-6-committee/
    
33. Inside Ted Cruz’s last-ditch battles to keep Trump in power: Trump and Ted Cruz
    
34. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/29/trump-putin-political-help/
    
35. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/mar/29/trump-phone-logs-capitol-attack-january-6?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
    
36. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/29/us/politics/trump-jan-6-eastman.html
    
37. She Took the White House Photos. Trump Moved to Take the Profit.
    
38. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/06/is-trump-crazy-or-conniving/
    
39. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/15/why-trump-hates-wind-turbines/
    
40. Trump walks out of interview after challenge on false voter-fraud claims
    
41. A leading Trump sycophant may soon get the humiliation he deserves
    
42. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/28/the-trumpian-right-keeps-pushing-rule-of-law-to-the-brink-but-the-law-is-winning?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
    
43. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/07/abortion-movement-roe-wade/
    
44. What Trump aides who wrote tell-all books said, before and after
    
45. Trump Said to Have Reacted Approvingly to Jan. 6 Chants About Hanging Pence
    
46. Trump Is Depicted as a Would-Be Autocrat Seeking to Hang Onto Power at All Costs
    
47. Why the media won’t say Donald Trump is lying
    
48. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/10/house-january-sixth-committee-evidence/
    
49. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/11/opinion/trump-january-6.html
    
50. 7 questions I want the Jan. 6 committee to answer at its upcoming hearings
    
51. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/13/trump-and-fox-news-told-the-big-lie-for-profit/: "One of two things has to be true. Trump completely lost touch with reality. Or he decided to lie in an attempt to cling to power....this assault was in service of not just political power but also Trump’s grubby, unrelenting pursuit of profit."
52. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/14/donald-trump-january-6-hearings-big-lie?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other: "Barr added: “There was never an indication of interest in what the actual facts were.” In other words, Trump refused to let reality get in the way of a coup." Classic example of not letting reality come in the way of opinion.
53. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jun/18/donald-trump-election-defense-fundraising-defrauded-fans?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
    
54. Alone in Washington, Rusty Bowers tells world what happened in Arizona: Nice quote "He remembered something Giuliani said: “He said, ‘We’ve got lots of theories — we just don’t have the evidence.’ ” isn't that nice? The theory or opinion is more important than the data!
55. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/will-donald-trump-destroy-the-presidency/537921/
    
56. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/opinion/sunday/why-i-cannot-fall-in-line-behind-trump.amp.html: Very nice. Look when it was written.
    
57. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/the-outer-borough-president/514673/
    
58. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/06/the-mind-of-donald-trump/480771/: Very nice
    
59. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/07/20/even-day-after-jan-6-trump-balked-condemning-violence/?noredirect=1
    
60. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/07/21/us/jan-6-hearing-trump/trump-could-not-be-moved-to-stop-the-mob-the-chairman-of-the-jan-6-committee-says?smid=url-share
    
61. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/07/donald-ivana-trump-death-funeral/670953/
    
62. The Fake Electors Scheme, Explained
    
63. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/i-wrote-donald-trumps-infamous-best-sex-i-ever-had-story-guest-column-1101246/
    
64. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/07/trumps-america-first-speech-revealed-a-plan-for-power/670963/
    
65. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/02/hes-going-cheat/606643/: Wow
    
66. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/02/andrew-mccabe-fbi-book-excerpt-the-threat/582748/
    
67. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/02/nyregion/donald-trump-tower-heights.html
    
68. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/08/01/ivana-trump-buried-tax-break-grift/
    
69. https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/trump-second-impeachment-trial/card/fJwBp6fJTrqHGmS8Q0jk
    
70. Mar-a-Lago Search Shows the Swamp’s Trump Obsession: After FBI raid
    
71. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/08/donald-j-trump-guide-getting-away-anything/671165/: Very nice summary 
    
72. The Guardian: I am grateful to Trump for one thing: mainstreaming ‘gaslighting’.: Very nice
    
73. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/04/politics/trump-teddy-roosevelt-parallels-blake-cec/index.html: Comparison with Ted Roosevelt 
    
74. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/05/trump-constitution-termination-rant-crazy/
    
75. The Guardian: I am grateful to Trump for one thing: mainstreaming ‘gaslighting’. Gaslighting Trump
76. Trump Greenland NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/world/europe/greenland-denmark-trump.html#commentsContainer&permid=102124023:102124023
77. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/19/trump-defamation-suit-hoax/
    

Remote Debate With Biden

 Trump Objects to Commission’s Virtual Debate Plan

This brought up the question: what kind of person hates a virtual debate (or needs a face to face (FTF) meeting? 

A person whose primary skill is soft skill and the person who uses body language would hate an impersonal medium like a telephone or a virtual video meeting. In such a stage, Trump may not be able exert his influence on Biden. His interruptions while Biden is talking won't unnerve the latter as much. 

I wonder whether Trump would be able to articulate the real reason why he hates the idea off a virtual meeting.

From 

Religion, Negotiation vs Nature

India Today: It’s time to stay in mosques, Allah will save us: Tablighi Jamaat chief told followers in leaked audio.

https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/it-s-time-to-stay-in-mosques-allah-will-save-us-tablighi-jamaat-chief-told-followers-in-leaked-audio-1662297-2020-04-01

This is the time when some (like the maulana) follow faith and disregard science. This is also the time when we find that the bluster and negotiation skills of people (like Donald Trump) doesn't work with nature. 

I used to wonder what exactly was different with people like Trump. Trump with his grandstanding, with his tendency to bamboozle, berate, belittle others, lie pathologically has been effective with humans. 

His tendencies fail to be effective against nature. This is typical of people without content.

There was an article in New York Times on Apr 6, 2020 along similar lines: Autocrats’ Dilemma: You Can’t Arrest a Virus