The imminent disaster which is going to be the American elections

[Coughdrop addict]

What's Trump going to say about him?

Easy. Trump will say all of his accomplishments never happened, he's a woke Marxist who let in billions of illegals to poison the nation's pure white bloodlines, and if he were a real manly man's man like Trump he'd never consent to being the VP of a mere woman. MAGA will eat it up and believe every word.

[Kyriakos]

^His credentials are impressive
Besides, Vance is just about the worst vp candidate. I suppose he was just chosen because Biden was regarded as the candidate till the end=>election won already.

[Alastor]

^His credentials are impressive
Besides, Vance is just about the worst vp candidate. I suppose he was just chosen because Biden was regarded as the candidate till the end=>election won already.

Really? He is white, male and heterosexual. As far as the DNC is concerned these days that's some terrible credentials.

As for Vance, Trump picking him was a show of confidence. Now that Biden is out things have gotten more complicated and maybe that confidence will backfire. Whatever the case Harris is a terrible, terrible, terrible candidate and I'm still incredulous she actually has a chance to be president. I can't believe they made all this noise to oust Biden, so they can get Harris in his stead...

[Kyriakos]

We will need some reliable polling
I too expected Harris to be a terrible candidate - but we shouldn't forget she is also running against a terrible candidate (albeit one who has shown he can win an election campaign).

[Roma_Victrix]

Easy. Trump will say all of his accomplishments never happened, he's a woke Marxist who let in billions of illegals to poison the nation's pure white bloodlines, and if he were a real manly man's man like Trump he'd never consent to being the VP of a mere woman. MAGA will eat it up and believe every word.

Trump could try and say some silliness like that, but Mark Kelly is basically respected on both sides of the political aisle, and he was a registered Independent before he was a Democrat. Trump attempted to diminish John McCain's military service record (another politician from Arizona), but that didn't go so well for Trump in the eyes of most veterans. Any goofy nicknames or criticisms Trump or Vance theoretically try to lob at Kelly would simply fall flat given how he's a freaking astronaut who piloted and commanded space shuttle missions to the International Space Station. I guess they could try to call him a "globalist" for doing that, cuz the nature of his work was collaborative with other countries? Or better yet a solar systemist? Any attempts by Q-ANON to paint Kelly as some lizard person outer space alien will not impress or convince sane swing voter Independents and suburban soccer moms worried about grocery bills and kitchen counter issues.

^His credentials are impressive
Besides, Vance is just about the worst vp candidate. I suppose he was just chosen because Biden was regarded as the candidate till the end=>election won already.

Yes, correct. Also, Vance was clearly chosen by Trump because of his loyalty and explicit statements that he would not have certified the 2020 election like Vice President Mike Pence had done, which Trump attempted to stop with the January 6th riot of his crowd followers who marched to the nearby Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Obviously that's not a thing that constitutionally matters for the end of a president's second term if Trump were to win and be president until 2028, but Vance would otherwise do Trump's bidding as his lackey. By picking Vance (author of Hillbilly Elegy), it's clear enough that Trump didn't care about appealing to demographics outside of right-wing Evangelicals, because he thought he was going against Biden, who would most likely lose if polling is to be trusted. Now the GOP presidential campaign strategy's main narrative has been totally shattered. Who cares about Hunter Biden's laptop (LOL) when Joe Biden isn't even running anymore and is merely coasting to the end of his term?

Really? He is white, male and heterosexual. As far as the DNC is concerned these days that's some terrible credentials.

I mean, Biden - a heterosexual white guy - won the Dem primary again, yes? And until his disastrous debate performance against Trump people were still "ridin with Biden" on the Dem side and making loads of silly Dark Brandon memes. Harris happens to be his Vice President. That's why he chose to elevate her now that his poll numbers are in the toilet. You would also be terribly confused and not know much about American politics if you think Harris is going to choose anyone other than a straight white male as her running mate and VP. It's going to be Arizona Senator Mark Kelly as her VP choice, mark my words (and also maybe read the post I made on the previous page).

As for Vance, Trump picking him was a show of confidence. Now that Biden is out things have gotten more complicated and maybe that confidence will backfire. Whatever the case Harris is a terrible, terrible, terrible candidate and I'm still incredulous she actually has a chance to be president. I can't believe they made all this noise to oust Biden, so they can get Harris in his stead...

Harris did poorly in the 2020 primary, and didn't win any state (whereas Bernie Sanders was at least a serious contender against Biden, and before that against HRC in 2016). However, Harris has won elections in the past, serving as San Francisco's District Attorney, and then Attorney General for California, and then as a US senator from California. That's not exactly a light resume. She was mostly invisible, absent, or maligned in the first two years of Biden's presidency, but in the past two years has been one of his top diplomats (alongside Blinken) sent overseas to conduct US foreign policy and handle foreign affairs. She's been quietly building up her experience as his Vice President, though the media wasn't highly focused on these trips and other ventures. Let's be honest: most of the media is focused on what Trump is doing as a private citizen given his dramatic courtroom appearances, not even what Biden has done as president (Infrastructure act that has provided tons of new engineering and construction jobs, CHIPS act to boost semiconductor manufacturing domestically instead of relying so heavily on Taiwan, lowering of prescription drug costs for seniors like those for insulin, advocating for worker and union reform in the automotive industry and even visiting a picket line of a strike by UAW workers).

[Legio_Italica]

I can't believe they made all this noise to oust Biden, so they can get Harris in his stead...

I am not surprised the liberal establishment casually launched a coup to formally install their preferred figurehead as the next POTUS after trying to convince Americans Trump did a coup on Jan 6 and it was “the worst attack on our country since the Civil War.” Hyperbolic projection is standard procedure for dystopian leadership, the Soviets provided a historical master class on that. Kamala could be considered an ideal successor to Biden because she’s a moron and a careerist, so there’s little chance she will be an obstacle to the status quo, but she’s not so old and infirm as to be a liability to the facade.

What does surprise me is how desperate and incompetent the deep state and the real power brokers in this country must be to do all this in the open. I just hope the alphabet agencies don’t set up another incel to succeed where Crooks failed. I’d like to think they wouldn’t launch another civil war just to get rid of Trump, but we were already a head turn away from that scenario just days ago.

[Alastor]

I mean, Biden - a heterosexual white guy - won the Dem primary again, yes? And until his disastrous debate performance against Trump people were still "ridin with Biden" on the Dem side and making loads of silly Dark Brandon memes. Harris happens to be his Vice President. That's why he chose to elevate her now that his poll numbers are in the toilet. You would also be terribly confused and not know much about American politics if you think Harris is going to choose anyone other than a straight white male as her running mate and VP. It's going to be Arizona Senator Mark Kelly as her VP choice, mark my words (and also maybe read the post I made on the previous page).

Biden is also the sitting president. And I do mean sitting because I doubt he can stand. Also Harris didn't just "happen" to be his VP pick. She was chosen because she was a black woman first and foremost. Biden wanted a woman, preferably of colour, as his VP to appease his base who weren't too happy with yet another white dude. Just look at the VP selection finalists for 2020, look at the more extended shortlist, what do all those candidates have in common?

Harris did poorly in the 2020 primary, and didn't win any state (whereas Bernie Sanders was at least a serious contender against Biden, and before that against HRC in 2016). However, Harris has won elections in the past, serving as San Francisco's District Attorney, and then Attorney General for California, and then as a US senator from California. That's not exactly a light resume. She was mostly invisible, absent, or maligned in the first two years of Biden's presidency, but in the past two years has been one of his top diplomats (alongside Blinken) sent overseas to conduct US foreign policy and handle foreign affairs. She's been quietly building up her experience as his Vice President, though the media wasn't highly focused on these trips and other ventures. Let's be honest: most of the media is focused on what Trump is doing as a private citizen given his dramatic courtroom appearances, not even what Biden has done as president (Infrastructure act that has provided tons of new engineering and construction jobs, CHIPS act to boost semiconductor manufacturing domestically instead of relying so heavily on Taiwan, lowering of prescription drug costs for seniors like those for insulin, advocating for worker and union reform in the automotive industry and even visiting a picket line of a strike by UAW workers).

You can't be seriously praising Kamala Harris' record here. Every election she won she won because she had every advantage. In the 2020 Democratic primary, which was the one time she was playing outside her home turf, Trump got more votes than she did in certain states. The fact that this corrupt, opportunistic, nothingburger now is being praised left and right as the saviour that America didn't know it needed is just ridiculous.

[Roma_Victrix]

@Legio: So you're saying that you have evidence the Secret Service colluded with Crooks to assassinate Trump? LOL. I think we should apply the principle of Occam's Razor here and chalk that one up more to incompetence than anything else. Just recently the head of the Secret Service was forced to resign over that failure. Also, the only time I ever hear about a supposed civil war is when it is coming from a far-right podcast guy with no skin in the game. Judging by Kamala's recent ads and speeches, it sounds like she really wants Trump as her opponent, because he's older than her (and with Biden dropping out, is now the oldest man to run for president).

[Kyriakos]

I am just unhappy that Alex Jones couldn't be the spokesperson for Trump, instead of the boring Tucker

[Alastor]

I am just unhappy that Alex Jones couldn't be the spokesperson for Trump, instead of the boring Tucker

He's probably too busy trying to hide his assets after the Sandy Hook folks took him to the cleaners.

[Legio_Italica]

So you're saying that you have evidence the Secret Service colluded with Crooks to assassinate Trump? LOL. I think we should apply the principle of Occam's Razor here and chalk that one up more to incompetence than anything else.

The evidence Crooks had inside help is Trump was never supposed to be president, the liberal establishment engaged the levers of state to manufacture conspiracy theories in an effort to justify every conceivable non violent method of kicking him out once he was, and has since tried to ensure he is ineligible to ever run again. With time and options exhausted, the Democrats in disarray and Trump in an unexpectedly strong position heading into the election, Occam’s razor suggests the multiple layers of repeated and willful incompetence needed to put Crooks in position to fire multiple shots within boot camp range that day are less likely than the more obvious implication.

The CIA declared back in 2017 they are opposed to Trump and reserved the right to refuse his directives as president. That was after they illegally spied on his campaign in 2016, before the Russia allegations even came up. Can’t imagine they’ve grown to like him any better since. It makes more sense than the prevailing lib left theory that Trump staged it himself lol.

Also, the only time I ever hear about a supposed civil war is when it is coming from a far-right podcast guy with no skin in the game. Judging by Kamala's recent ads and speeches, it sounds like she really wants Trump as her opponent, because he's older than her (and with Biden dropping out, is now the oldest man to run for president).

Hillary really wanted to run against Trump too. I’m not sure conservatives are as organized as the lib left rioters that spend election year summers burning and looting, but murdering their presidential candidate would be the strongest motivation for them to get serious about that. That motivation and the inevitable, sporadic backlash would also present the opportunity to formally declare his supporters enemies of the state, informally the case since Jan 6. The people who were arrogant and stupid enough to try and convince the country Trump is a Russian asset and aspiring Hitler who should be jailed because they didn’t want him to be president, are arrogant and stupid enough to try this when all else failed.

He's probably too busy trying to hide his assets after the Sandy Hook folks took him to the cleaners.

The fact Jones was sanctioned into the dirt for lying because of his relationship with Trump, but no one has faced any consequences for lying about Russian collusion to kick him out of office, tells us alot about the sorry state of the First Amendment in 2024.

[Ludicus]

you know somebody really really needs to hand out birth control in Gaza... Does Ludicus decry why do the Palestinians live in refugee camps in the rest of the Arab Muslim world were is there path to citizenship in Morocco etc...

1- In fact, nazis atempted to sterilize Jewish women in camps with food additives. Btw, do you know that Israel poisoned Palestinian land in order to build West Bank settlements in the 1970s? The poisoning of Palestinian land took place under Prime Minister Golda Meir. In doubt, ask Taub Centre for Israel Studies at New York University. And more: All of Israel’s settlements, and the settlers who live in them, are illegal under international law.

2- The Palestinians have as much or more right as Israel to an independent country on their own land. Israel was created by decree. It would be appropriate for Israel, a pariah state in the eyes of international law, to submit to the decisions of the ICJ.
----
Poor Gaza: American jews see hope in Harris-Shapiro ticket. Jew Josh Shapiro near top of Kamala Harris' VP short list

What exactly is the purpose of hope? will they ask for the ICJ's decision to be respected?
--
In the Congress, the butcher of Gaza spoke for 45 minutes and was interrupted 64 times by standing ovations. It was impressive, I don't think any American president has ever had such fervent, almost religious support from his own congressmen. Netanyahu is now the world leader with the most US congressional speeches under his belt. He asked for more weapons to quickly end the ongoing genocide. Anyway, I am pleased to note that... Around half of Congress' Democrats skip Netanyahu speech

Haaretz’s article. The title says all :” Addressing Congress Is a Personal Triumph for Netanyahu and Yet Another Failure for Israel-Haaretz..

On a side note-the families of Israeli hostages were not particularly impressed by Netanyahu's words.

---
Changing the subject- I can't help but notice the absurdity of Europe's dependence on American swing states. This is because, in the past, the problems of American voters were hardly reflected in their relationship with Europe. Sadly, it was a phase that ended with the radical populist turn of the Republican Party.

[Roma_Victrix]

The evidence Crooks had inside help is Trump was never supposed to be president, the liberal establishment engaged the levers of state to manufacture conspiracy theories in an effort to justify every conceivable non violent method of kicking him out once he was, and has since tried to ensure he is ineligible to ever run again. With time and options exhausted, the Democrats in disarray and Trump in an unexpectedly strong position heading into the election, Occam’s razor suggests the multiple layers of repeated and willful incompetence needed to put Crooks in position to fire multiple shots within boot camp range that day are less likely than the more obvious implication.

That's not verifiable evidence; that's conjecture based on a slew of speculations.

The CIA declared back in 2017 they are opposed to Trump and reserved the right to refuse his directives as president. That was after they illegally spied on his campaign in 2016, before the Russia allegations even came up. Can’t imagine they’ve grown to like him any better since. It makes more sense than the prevailing lib left theory that Trump staged it himself lol.

The CIA is very shady, I'll give you that, but the lib theory that Trump staged it himself is equally as silly to me as the idea that one of the three letter federal agencies were puppet masters of Crooks as an assassin. Evidence, and I mean real evidence gathered by the FBI screening all of Crooks' online activity (such as his online Steam account for gaming and chatting with gamer friends/pen pals), indicates that he was a lunatic who wanted to shoot Trump AND Biden. He even told his friends in a cryptic message to keep an eye out for his debut. LOL. He actually thought he was going to snipe at either one of them and survive the first one, then go after the other and who knows how many targets. That's exceptionally dumb, of course, considering how anyone who snipes at a former or sitting POTUS will be annihilated by Secret Service counter-sniper teams. Unsurprisingly Crooks took one to the face right after taking his own potshots. It's absurd to think this kid was some kind of Jason Bourne being trained by the CIA in their underground dungeon laboratory. He was a complete goober 20-year-old suburban incel loser by all accounts from people who actually knew him and interacted with him in his town and neighborhood.

Hillary really wanted to run against Trump too. I’m not sure conservatives are as organized as the lib left rioters that spend election year summers burning and looting, but murdering their presidential candidate would be the strongest motivation for them to get serious about that. That motivation and the inevitable, sporadic backlash would also present the opportunity to formally declare his supporters enemies of the state, informally the case since Jan 6. The people who were arrogant and stupid enough to try and convince the country Trump is a Russian asset and aspiring Hitler who should be jailed because they didn’t want him to be president, are arrogant and stupid enough to try this when all else failed. The fact Jones was sanctioned into the dirt for lying because of his relationship with Trump, but no one has faced any consequences for lying about Russian collusion to kick him out of office, tells us alot about the sorry state of the First Amendment in 2024.

Lib left rioters are not an organized bunch either. There's no ANTIFA headquarters or ANTIFA commander giving orders to troops on the ground. LOL. It was mainly a bunch of people in a bunch of different protest groups that inspired one another across the country to trash stuff in anger over the murder of George Floyd. Crooks was incredibly lucky to get a shot at Trump at all. That won't be happening again now that the public magnifying glass is all over Trump's Secret Service security detail. This idea that a civil war will spontaneously erupt is also a quaint fantasy that ignores the profound changes made in society since the mid-19th century. At best it would be a localized insurgency that gets squashed by the US National Guard in a matter of days or even hours, not some new Confederate States of America declaring its independence and firing on Fort Sumter. Drones guided by AI tech like Palantir Technology (presently used in Ukraine) didn't exactly exist back in 1861.

I am just unhappy that Alex Jones couldn't be the spokesperson for Trump, instead of the boring Tucker

LOL. Alex Jones must fight Tucker Carlson to the death in the arena of pain and sorrow, Running Man (1987) style! Only the champion may rise and speak for Trump. Only the strongest. Only the bravest. Never the weakest!

[Kyriakos]

I think Crooks was Herostratos to Trump being the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos. But given the lack of Alexander, Artemis was there this time, so there was no kill.
Eh, or rather this is a heavily diminished version of the original polyonym; you know, same roots, but divide by something vast to get to the actual factors

[PointOfViewGun]

The CIA declared back in 2017 they are opposed to Trump and reserved the right to refuse his directives as president.

Can anyone point out where in the linked article does it say that CIA, as an organization, declared that they were opposed to Trump or that its operatives reserved the right to refuse any presidential directive?

That was after they illegally spied on his campaign in 2016, before the Russia allegations even came up.

So, CIA should just ignore any allegation and not pursue them just in case political proponents of a candidate might accuse them of going after the person? If the report by Public Substack is accurate, of course. I see that you somehow take it at face value.

[Legio_Italica]

That's not verifiable evidence; that's conjecture based on a slew of speculations.

Of course it’s speculative. If I had proof I would have died in a freak accident by now. I’m basing my speculation on what we know rather than what we don’t, so it’s a bigger stretch to chalk it all up to a series of coincidences imo.

Unsurprisingly Crooks took one to the face right after taking his own potshots. It's absurd to think this kid was some kind of Jason Bourne being trained by the CIA in their underground dungeon laboratory. He was a complete goober 20-year-old suburban incel loser by all accounts from people who actually knew him and interacted with him in his town and neighborhood.

His background and lack of expertise would be the appeal of using him, of course. Many such cases. There’s also evidence a cell phone that regularly visited Crooks’ house and workplace also visited the FBI in DC. Again, we’ll never know what happened, but it’s less likely a guy who lived with his parents turned out to be a tactical genius who outsmarted and outmaneuvered multiple federal agencies right under their noses on the ground that day. It’s confirmed he had been spotted and reported by state police, with security teams exchanging a thread of messages about him, well in advance of the shooting.

At best it would be a localized insurgency that gets squashed by the US National Guard in a matter of days or even hours

It would be a potential insurgency, yes, and the criminalization of Trump supporters would feed it. I dunno why any normal group of leaders would risk this, but I dunno why any organization or government remotely concerned with “defending democracy” or promoting popular faith in related institutions would do what’s been done to Trump and his supporters so far either. All we can say for certain is the liberal establishment has a proven track record of using state power against him, driven by a hysterical fear and loathing of the man.

[Ludicus]

Oh dear, Republicans rip FBI director's testimony that Trump might hit been hit by shrapnel

How is that possible?...in any case does it really matter?

[Roma_Victrix]

I think Crooks was Herostratos to Trump being the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos. But given the lack of Alexander, Artemis was there this time, so there was no kill.
Eh, or rather this is a heavily diminished version of the original polyonym; you know, same roots, but divide by something vast to get to the actual factors

I would pay good money to see a Japanese manga where Alexander the Great, atop his mighty war horse, charges forth and leaps atop the building, spearing the would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks. He then turns his steed around in the other direction, pointing his bloody lance at the cowering Secret Service agents, castigating them for their failures. He then orders them to make sacrifices to Zeus-Ammon and marry Persian noblewomen at Babylon to atone for this grave insult in failing to protect their chief executive.

His background and lack of expertise would be the appeal of using him, of course. Many such cases. There’s also evidence a cell phone that regularly visited Crooks’ house and workplace also visited the FBI in DC. Again, we’ll never know what happened, but it’s less likely a guy who lived with his parents turned out to be a tactical genius who outsmarted and outmaneuvered multiple federal agencies right under their noses on the ground that day. It’s confirmed he had been spotted and reported by state police, with security teams exchanging a thread of messages about him, well in advance of the shooting.

Uh, you're citing the Oversight Project of the Heritage Foundation on Twitter (X) for cell phone data of the assassin? What?

Where did the "Oversight Project" procure this information, from the literal FBI through a Freedom of Information Act request? LOL. WHAT? This is an ongoing investigation by the FBI who have recently cracked Crooks's phone; they are in possession of the shooter's phone and yet have not succeeded in breaking all the encrypted apps on it. I think maybe, just maybe, your source there on Twitter might be rotten. Plus, you know, it's the Heritage Foundation conservative think tank we're talking about. Not exactly an unbiased source in this scenario (they literally want to tear down all federal agencies cuz they're nuts).

Come on, dude, I know you can use some critical thinking skills here.

[Roma_Victrix]

What the Americans think is best for their country is up to them, but I would like to comment on the impact the election results will have on American foreign policy, which inevitably affects the entire world.

Netanyahu is the only foreign politician who will address a meeting of the American Congress today for the fourth time. It's a distinction that even Churchill did not receive. It is not hard to imagine what will happen: he will be received as a hero by the Republicans, some Democrats will leave the room. Once again, Netanyahu will emerge victorious, military support for Israel will increase, despite the International Court of Justice having already demolished Israel's claims that it does not occupy Palestinian territories.

There is no doubt that the ICJ's decision is an invitation to the ICC to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, as argued by Chen Maanot in Haaretz, in an article titled "Israel Fears ICJ Ruling Will Lead to ICC Arrest Warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant." I quote: "Although not directly connected to ICC's issuing of international criminal warrants, justices will not be able to ignore ICJ's advisory opinion that Israel is violating international law." Israel Fears ICJ Ruling Will Lead to ICC Arrest Warrants

Trump insists he can resolve the Ukraine war quickly, and J.D. Vance has already admitted that he doesn't care about Ukraine at all. Fundamentally, neither of them is remotely concerned with the fate of the Ukrainians. Neither intends to negotiate peace (which will have to involve concessions from both sides. A perfect peace is one that leaves both sides unsatisfied. Negotiated peace is necessary and desirable). But the message they both send to Russia is: do whatever you want.
As little as I sympathize with the Ukrainian regime—and I sympathize very little—the unconditional surrender of Ukraine would be a tremendous injustice.

Neither Trump nor Vance care about the fate of the Palestinian population in Gaza, condemned to die in bombings with American weapons, or from malnutrition and lack of medical care. Nor do they care about the population of the West Bank, constantly occupied and oppressed.

Trump also claims he will end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict quickly. He said the same during his presidency when he handed over the Middle East portfolio to his Jewish son-in-law. Trump's solution will be to increase arms supplies to Israel, decimate the Palestinian population, prevent any two-state solution (which has already been rejected by the Knesset), and hand over to Israel what does not belong to Israel.

The result is obvious: the right to self-determination will remain denied to the Palestinians, the ICJ's decision will be quickly forgotten, and the choice for the Palestinian population will be between expulsion or martyrdom.
In the next four months, until the presidential election, we will not hear about peace in Ukraine or Gaza. In the Palestinian case, Netanyahu achieved an unexpected "feat": the union of Hamas and Fatah, under the auspices of China. Palestinian political factions Fatah and Hamas sign unity

An update on that. Not sure if a ceasefire deal for the release of hostages will go through any time soon (probably not), but Biden and now Harris are putting pressure on Netanyahu following his speech to Congress:

[Ludicus]

My dear Roma, let me say that after her meeting with Netanyahu, which ended a few moments ago, Kamala introduced a factor of great dignity into her statements, which I must praise. Perhaps I'm wrong and have been unfair to her. With regard to Gaza, she went further than Biden, and perhaps further than many Americans would like to hear.