A story about a pathetic man's downfall [34 Felony Convictions]

[Ghost of LL 15,531]

2 hours ago, 'stache said:

If he loses his primary would he run as an independent? That would be the best thing ever for the sake of democracy.

No chance.  Running as an independent is hard.  Apart from getting on the ballot, there is a ton of legwork that needs to be done in developing an organization.  And Trump is just waaaaay too lazy for that.

1 hour ago, YGIFS said:

Depends on what stage the legal proceedings are in when the primary season is declared "Over"  Somebody else could have it wrapped up by April.  Or it could go all the way to the convention in August.  That's about a 4-month window.  

Here are the factors

-Knowing his personality like we do.  Even if it's mathematically impossible for him to overcome a delegate differential between him and the #1 contender, he stays in it and contests the primary at the Convention and calls for a floor vote.  

-He reads the tea leaves and knows he can't win the nomination.  So he pouts about the primary system being rigged by Deep State/Washington Swamp People/Insider Interests/et. al.  And breaks off somewhere between Spring and the Convention and becomes an Independent/MAGA Party/whatever/whogivesashit.  Question here is does he have enough time to get on the ballot in all 50 states?  Obviously some pro-Trumper SOS in many states would expedite and even help.  But all 50 states is a tough deal with just a few months to go, but I bet he could pull it off.  At some point during the primary season, when you start to hear rumors of "ground teams" in swing and blue states collecting signatures for some sort of "pro-Trump" referendum/petition...that's them proactively getting enough signatures to get his name on the ballot there as a backup plan under some other party name.  

If either of these happen, he obviously can't win the General.  He'd lose a floor vote based on delegates and Milwaukee will play out 1968 Chicago all over again.  If he runs alongside a GOP candidate, neither of them would win the general.  But his legal troubles would still be there in either case.  But in case #1, he's outta the race in August, giving the DoJ Five whole months to prosecute him even if the other GOP guy wins the general.  Case #2 is obviously horrible for him because it means even though he rides out his "Campaign Immunity!" bullshit into November, Biden and Garland stay in D.C. for another 50 months and slay him.  

He'll stay in the primaries through the convention, and then he'll contest the convention.

And after he loses the convention, he'll absolutely shit-talk the nominee through November.  Because if there's one thing worse than being beaten by Biden in 2020, it'd be the sight of another Republican beating Biden in 2024.  His ego wouldn't be able to take it, and he'll do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.

[Aqua Buddha 14,597]

Trump will lose the primary, claim it’s rigged and then run as an Ind.  It’s the only way he can keep asking for money.  He’s never stopped doing that since 2016.

”Billionaire” indeed.

[Red Five 40,859]

Wait, am I gonna need to vote for DeSantis in the primary?

[YGIFS 19,450]

2 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

No chance.  Running as an independent is hard.  Apart from getting on the ballot, there is a ton of legwork that needs to be done in developing an organization.  And Trump is just waaaaay too lazy for that.

He'll stay in the primaries through the convention, and then he'll contest the convention.

And after he loses the convention, he'll absolutely shit-talk the nominee through November.  Because if there's one thing worse than being beaten by Biden in 2020, it'd be the sight of another Republican beating Biden in 2024.  His ego wouldn't be able to take it, and he'll do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.

I agree with your take.  but the only wildcard is he shit-talks too much to protect his ego, that person will be deeply un-inclined (is that a word?) to pardon him in 2025.  I'm guessing the volume/degree of shit-talking with have a very marked inverse relationship with that person's poll numbers between August to November.  

[Guest]

Just interesting conjecture, but do the results of the mid-term make it easier and less pressure for DOJ to indict? I mean when Fox seems to cast him aside, would the uproar be near as bad as it would have been two weeks ago?

[chainsaw 9,869]

If Garland does not prosecute Trump Biden must fire Garland immediately.

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

47 minutes ago, C-Man said:

I guess that's funny and all but it just shows what a POS rag the NY Post is. What a joke. Either cover the fucking news or don't. Just further proof that the NY Post is simply GOP propaganda masquerading as legitimate news.

It’s a tabloid just like The Sun and Fox News.

[YGIFS 19,450]

5 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Just interesting conjecture, but do the results of the mid-term make it easier and less pressure for DOJ to indict? I mean when Fox seems to cast him aside, would the uproar be near as bad as it would have been two weeks ago?

I get what you're asking.  But it's also a bad look to just throttle down the investigation/potential indictment because the mid-terms went "okay" for the Democrats.  Either it's illegal to steal classified documents or it's not because he was President when he took them.  I get there's legal and political grey area on most of his other bullshit and lies, most notably inciting a mob.  But the top secret nuclear shit?  It's one thing not to prosecute him because the case isn't air-tight due to Presidential Privilege or whatever the fuck.  It's another thing to back off because you think 2022 went well and 2024 is a lock.  

Trump is gonna ride this out until the RNC Convention in Milwaukee in August of 2024.  That's Garland's window.  21 months, unlimited resources, unlimited budget with some leeway given to the fact that a GOP House will find ways to fuck with the DoJ.  Two dozen Nazis at Nuremberg were investigated, arrested, arraigned, indicted, prosecuted, and sentenced in far less time.  

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

43 minutes ago, Blotto said:

Of course if the GQP manages to pull off an election steal by refusing to certify votes, imposing "alternate" electors, etc... then I guess anything is possible and at that point it doesn't really matter who they run. 

In that case VP Harris would do the right thing.

[kevwun 15,789]

26 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

No chance.  Running as an independent is hard.  Apart from getting on the ballot, there is a ton of legwork that needs to be done in developing an organization.  And Trump is just waaaaay too lazy for that.

He'll stay in the primaries through the convention, and then he'll contest the convention.

And after he loses the convention, he'll absolutely shit-talk the nominee through November.  Because if there's one thing worse than being beaten by Biden in 2020, it'd be the sight of another Republican beating Biden in 2024.  His ego wouldn't be able to take it, and he'll do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.

Also a ton of paperwork to get on the ballot in all of the states.  Think about all the times his organization have screwed up small details.  They aren't capable of getting something like that done.  They only thing they excel at is grifting.

Edited November 16, 2022 by kevwun

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

22 minutes ago, Red Five said:

Wait, am I gonna need to vote for DeSantis in the primary?

No, vote for loser Trump.

[miguelito 11,266]

[Blotto 23,517]

11 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

I agree with your take.  but the only wildcard is he shit-talks too much to protect his ego, that person will be deeply un-inclined (is that a word?) to pardon him in 2025.  I'm guessing the volume/degree of shit-talking with have a very marked inverse relationship with that person's poll numbers between August to November.  

The GQP won't pardon Trump because they give a shit about Trump, they will pardon Trump to pacify the tens of millions of rubes whose support they need in coming elections. Say what you will about Trump, but he is willing to cross lines that nobody else in the party has the balls or ability to do. And crossing those lines brought millions of crackpots into the GQP fold that ordinarily wouldn't bother voting. I'm sure everyone in the party hates his ass by now, but he serves a purpose now that isn't easily duplicated. They made a Faustian bargain in 2016 and now have to live with the consequences of that decision. Watching republicans navigate this Trump dilemma over the next year and a half will be fascinating. 

[RomaVicta 29,908]

2 hours ago, Underdog said:

Did Liz Warren get a haircut, and when did she switch to the dark side? 

This insult to Elizabeth Warren will not stand!

[atomheartbevo 89,674]

34 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

And after he loses the convention, he'll absolutely shit-talk the nominee through November.  Because if there's one thing worse than being beaten by Biden in 2020, it'd be the sight of another Republican beating Biden in 2024.  His ego wouldn't be able to take it, and he'll do whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.

With the benefit that he gets to say that if he had been the nominee, he would have beaten Sleepy Joe.

[MC Fresh Breath 4,074]

Oh the ever slowly turning wheels of justice that just happen to squash the common man while letting this douche nozzle get away with everything.

I watched the Fifth Element for the first time in a few years this past weekend.   Luke Perry has a brief bit in it.  I was then reminded that Luke Perry is dead. Died at 52 from a stroke.  I never watched 90210 but everyone knew of it.  From the brief accounts I read he was a well liked person.  Then I thought of Clarence Thomas.  And now this fat orange psychopath.  And someone posted a Bannon clip earlier.  

Seems evil really does live forever.

[Kyrie Eleison 9,312]

36 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Trump will lose the primary, claim it’s rigged and then run as an Ind.  It’s the only way he can keep asking for money.  He’s never stopped doing that since 2016.

”Billionaire” indeed.

primary?  he'll threaten to run as an independent and blow up the GOP if they have primaries.

that's the play...

[MC Fresh Breath 4,074]

It seems a lot of folks have forgotten Fox didn't want him to win the primary the first go round either.

[Old Freak Nasty 821]

DeSantis is an asshole, but I don't think he's stupid.  He's well positioned to be elected President at some point, but I think his chances in 2024 are basically zero and if he shoots his shot in this cycle he's probably done on the national stage.  I think he will absolutely beat Trump in a primary but the question is what will happen afterwards.

Trump is going to tell MAGA to stay home and they will.  DeSantis will get crushed in the general election.  He needs to wait until Trump is no longer a MAGA turnout machine.  That time will come but not yet.

I suspect Trump will get legitimately primaried, but it'll be by an old like Rick Scott or a last chance hail-mary like Mike Pence.

[YGIFS 19,450]

25 minutes ago, Red Five said:

Wait, am I gonna need to vote for DeSantis in the primary?

If you're in Texas...remember we're an open primary state.  In 2024, there are no statewide races of note (couple for SCOTX and RRC-but even my most liberal friends know those aren't winnable yet).  There is Cruz's Class I senate seat up but I would hope by then, y'all have a clear frontrunner who doesn't have to sweat a primary.  So if these are the assumptions, it means Democrats in Texas can turn out by the millions to vote for the GOP POTUS candidate that would do the most damage to that party.  

There is already an apparatus in place from 2020 in the state that can be reactivated.  Who we should vote for to cause MAGA/GOP chaos is dependent on who is ahed in the delegate count at that point, and when on the calendar our primary falls.  In 2020, we were within the first 30 days.  If that's the case, there probably won't be a clear 2024 frontrunner by that point (particularly with our two weeks of early voting which start practically the day after they finish counting Iowa), so I'd say probably go DeSantis to help him pull ahead of Trump to drive Donald nuts.  

The real prize of our massive delegate haul at such an early(ish) primary is the Run-Off.  You have to take the party run-off ballot that you initially used in the first primary.  There is an internal discussion already underway at the RPT level to strategically select from proportional delegate allocation based on percentage of votes received in primary.  Or do they declare that unless a candidate receives 50%+1 (winner takes all delegates), they move to a run-off between the top 2 (presumably DeSantis and Trump)?  Such a run-off wouldn't happen until 60-120 days later when the frontrunner picture would be much clearer and less likely to favor Trump.  A state and Governor which has carried a lot of water for Trump over the years will have a very difficult decision to make.  

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

9 minutes ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

Oh the ever slowly turning wheels of justice that just happen to squash the common man while letting this douche nozzle get away with everything.

I watched the Fifth Element for the first time in a few years this past weekend.   Luke Perry has a brief bit in it.  I was then reminded that Luke Perry is dead. Died at 52 from a stroke.  I never watched 90210 but everyone knew of it.  From the brief accounts I read he was a well liked person.  Then I thought of Clarence Thomas.  And now this fat orange psychopath.  And someone posted a Bannon clip earlier.  

Seems evil really does live forever.

Henry Kissinger is still alive.

[C-Man 27,230]

13 minutes ago, Blotto said:

The GQP won't pardon Trump because they give a shit about Trump, they will pardon Trump to pacify the tens of millions of rubes whose support they need in coming elections. Say what you will about Trump, but he is willing to cross lines that nobody else in the party has the balls or ability to do. And crossing those lines brought millions of crackpots into the GQP fold that ordinarily wouldn't bother voting. I'm sure everyone in the party hates his ass by now, but he serves a purpose now that isn't easily duplicated. They made a Faustian bargain in 2016 and now have to live with the consequences of that decision. Watching republicans navigate this Trump dilemma over the next year and a half will be fascinating. 

Not to mention it will be tacit acknowledgement that all of the bullshit about stolen elections was just that, bullshit.

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

I guess “Trump will lose the nomination” is the new “Trump won’t run.”

[Brisketexan 105,144]

27 minutes ago, YGIFS said:

Two dozen Nazis at Nuremberg were investigated, arrested, arraigned, indicted, prosecuted, and sentenced in far less time.  

Well, what you seemed to have missed is that the US, particularly the leadership of one of our two main parties, has, ummmm, changed their position on nazis since then.  They're part of the "good people on both sides" that the leader of that party was talking about.  I coulda sworn you got the memo -- to the GQP, nazis are good now.  Xenophobia?  CHECK.  Strident ethnic nationalism?  CHECK.  Anti-semitism?  CHECK.

Seriously, walk through the German history museum in Berlin, and review the displays about the rise and rhetoric of the nazi party.  It's like reading an American newspaper from the past few years.

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

Btw, for those of you wondering if/when Trump will be back on Twitter. I don’t know if it’s been posted here but on Monday Trump sent his lawyers to revive his lawsuit to reverse his Twitter ban. Get this...his lawyers compared him to Galileo.

https://lawandcrime.com/trump/trumps-lawyers-cite-galileo-and-hunter-bidens-laptop-in-9th-circuit-appeal-of-twitter-lawsuit-dismissal/

[YGIFS 19,450]

thanks for picking up on why I chose that specific example of how expedient justice can be sometimes when the stakes are high, but no mistakes can be made.  

And yes, a 2025 GOP president would only pardon Trump to keep his MAGA nation under the tent.  As much of a miscarriage of justice that would be, it'd offer up two lesser parting gifts:

1.  You get to watch MAGA nation, in real time, bounce the contradiction around in their heads.  "IF he didn't do anything wrong, why is be getting a pardon?" 

2.  Any October debate between Biden/whomever v. DeSantis/whomever, is gonna get this question: "If you are elected/re-elected you will of course have the power of the Presidential Pardon.  Would you use that to pardon Donald Trump for the crimes he was just indicted for this past summer?"  That's gonna be the biggest moment in U.S. Presidential debate history.  Obviously, DeSantis or whoever would just waffle it with "it's too early for that, I'd have to wait to examine the case with my legal team, plus more information could come to light or be disproven."  But the stakes would be so fucking high.  MAGA nation gets the vibe you're not going to pardon him, 25 million votes go up in smoke.  Moderates and Independents and Democrats on the fence about bothering to vote get the vibe you will pardon him, 25 million votes go up in smoke.  It will be the tightrope act to end all tightrope acts.  

If I'm team DeSantis, I start making drinking buddies with some mid-level staffers at the Commission on Presidential Debates.  In August of 2024, you make it known that Ron will agree to an additional debate with no other conditions except that a question about a pardon cannot be asked at any debate.  If not, the country will watch him age more in 30 seconds than anybody since that dude in "The Last Crusade" after he chose poorly.  

[Chad Fuck 17,683]

24 minutes ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

Oh the ever slowly turning wheels of justice that just happen to squash the common man while letting this douche nozzle get away with everything.

I watched the Fifth Element for the first time in a few years this past weekend.   Luke Perry has a brief bit in it.  I was then reminded that Luke Perry is dead. Died at 52 from a stroke.  I never watched 90210 but everyone knew of it.  From the brief accounts I read he was a well liked person.  Then I thought of Clarence Thomas.  And now this fat orange psychopath.  And someone posted a Bannon clip earlier.  

Seems evil really does live forever.

Yes, but then again karma has given us Willie Nelson and Keith Richards.

[WhatTheBuck 28,783]

3 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

Yes, but then again karma has given us Willie Nelson and Keith Richards.

That’s not karma, that’s chemistry.

[smuggs 9,353]

2 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

Yes, but then again karma has given us Willie Nelson and Keith Richards.

And through the magic of television re-runs, on lives Dylan McKay.

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by smuggs

[Chad Fuck 17,683]

Just now, WhatTheBuck said:

That’s not karma, that’s chemistry.

Tomato, tomahto. 

 

[Blotto 23,517]

27 minutes ago, Old Freak Nasty said:

DeSantis is an asshole, but I don't think he's stupid.  He's well positioned to be elected President at some point, but I think his chances in 2024 are basically zero and if he shoots his shot in this cycle he's probably done on the national stage.  I think he will absolutely beat Trump in a primary but the question is what will happen afterwards.

Trump is going to tell MAGA to stay home and they will.  DeSantis will get crushed in the general election.  He needs to wait until Trump is no longer a MAGA turnout machine.  That time will come but not yet.

I suspect Trump will get legitimately primaried, but it'll be by an old like Rick Scott or a last chance hail-mary like Mike Pence.

On a side note, watching Pence try to take on Trump in the primary season will be a real-time political snuff film. That spineless cuck spent 4 years with Trump's cock and balls down his throat and was 100% in lock step with dotard on every political initiative. He couldn't even introduce Trump at a routine midday press conference without a standard 5 minute monologue praising Trump for his political wizardry and emphasizing what a blessing it was to be a part of such a magnificent administration. The only time I can remember those two being opposed was on the matter of election certification, and that caused the majority of the GQP to fucking despise the man. AOC has a better chance of winning the republican nomination than Pence, and watching Trump publicly emasculate him every time he opens his cock holster will be a riot.  

[RomaVicta 29,908]

27 minutes ago, Old Freak Nasty said:

Trump is going to tell MAGA to stay home and they will.  DeSantis will get crushed in the general election.  He needs to wait until Trump is no longer a MAGA turnout machine.  That time will come but not yet.

I suspect Trump will get legitimately primaried, but it'll be by an old like Rick Scott or a last chance hail-mary like Mike Pence.

If Pence and Trump debate, they ought to put it on pay per view.

You're a loser who betrayed the people of America who re-elected me. 

Wasn't too much of a loser to stop your little revolution was I, sport? The gallows was a nice touch.

Pence won't go that far but he should.

[MC Fresh Breath 4,074]

28 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

Henry Kissinger is still alive.

he's another on my list of proof there is no God.  but at this point in his awful life he isn't directly influencing things much I don't think.

[Beau Vine 54,230]

1 hour ago, Ghost of LL said:

No chance.  Running as an independent is hard.  Apart from getting on the ballot, there is a ton of legwork that needs to be done in developing an organization.  And Trump is just waaaaay too lazy for that.

Yeah, but Devin Nunes needs something to work on now.

[Beau Vine 54,230]

1 hour ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Just interesting conjecture, but do the results of the mid-term make it easier and less pressure for DOJ to indict? I mean when Fox seems to cast him aside, would the uproar be near as bad as it would have been two weeks ago?

Forget the pressure -- the midterm results make it more likely that lackeys flip on Trump and agree to testify against him, so hell yes, it should be easier to indict him.

[Red Five 40,859]

How is Pence going to distance himself from the Dotard? The closest he’s come so far is saying “we don’t see eye to eye” on the day Trump attempted a coup and almost got Pence killed. Everything else for six years has been rainbows and blowjobs.

[MC Fresh Breath 4,074]

2 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said:

 

It occurs to me there are stricter rules here on Surly.

[Goredho 17,406]

1 hour ago, Blotto said:

In a fairly contested election, there are too many people that detest Trump for being the baby-back bitch, whiny pyschopath that he is. He has a core group of dipshits, and that number isn't growing.

AKA the "basket of deplorables"

[Pato del Muerto 52,499]

My thinking is to follow the money.  Trump wants the rubes to give him small amounts, and he also wants the big pac monies and dark money. He doesn’t want to spend any of it. 
 

if the big money stays away, will he be ok with what’s left?  
 

will he spend as much as needed to fund a run?  Even more as an independent?

will some of the rube money head back to traditional R places?  How much?

also where will the Russian and Chinese action be this time?  Do they still want him, or do they want someone that’s more likely to win the general?  

[henrygandorf 29,191]

national review off the top rope. 

 

[The Original Greaser Bob 2,834]

2 hours ago, YGIFS said:

Say what you want about DeSantis, but he's not stupid. 

Supporting Desantis is stupid.  Supporting Trump is stupid.

Desantis, like Cruz, has IQ.  All three mentioned above are revolting humans.

 

[Fudge Nuggets 19,190]

3 hours ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/day-1-of-the-trump-campaignand-his-donors-are-already-exhausted

 

 

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Jordan Libowitz, communications director at government watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, explained that even though Trump wields a huge bankroll—with nearly three times more cash on hand than the Republican National Committee—Trump has hemmed himself in.

“It comes back to what I see as really the most basic thing: Donald Trump doesn’t like spending money on anything that isn’t Donald Trump—and he doesn’t even like spending his own money on Donald Trump,” Libowitz said. “He loves to spend other people’s money.”

Over the last two years, Trump has chosen to raise money for his personal leadership PAC, which Libowitz described as “just shy of a slush fund.”

“He can spend it on basically whatever he wants, except for his own re-election,” he said, pointing to lavish expenses and sky-high personal legal costs.

But recent data shows that Trump’s once mighty army of small-dollar donors might not be able and willing to give him what he needs.

“That’s a real concern,” Libowitz said. “They’re not megadonors. They only have so much money, and they’ve been getting asked to hand it over consistently for years now.”

While Trump has spent nearly all of the last two years licking his wounds at his Mar-a-Lago resort compound, he has also been bleeding his small-dollar donors dry. And it’s getting harder to convince them to part with their money. Trump’s most recent campaign finance filings revealed a total loss of more than $13 million, and every dollar he raises now is nearly wiped out by fundraising costs alone.

And that’s not just a concern for Trump; it’s also been a concern for the GOP.

To solve that problem, Trump’s allies have created super PACs to solicit money from wealthy backers in unlimited amounts.

But that’s created another headache, because the committees are really starting to pile up.

The full Trump-aligned apparatus counts at least nine separate active political committees. But because they often reuse the same names, it’s maddening to keep track of them. And all the old committees in this armada still have money left over, too—more than $10 million combined, though Trump can’t lay claim to all of it.

Here they are, in all their homonymous glory:

Donald J. Trump for President 2024

Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee

Save America (leadership PAC; $69.7 million in the bank)

Make America Great Again PAC (converted from the old Trump campaign; $1.1 million in the bank)

Save America Joint Fundraising Committee (splits money between Save America and MAGA PAC; $6.3 million in the bank)

Make America Great Again, Inc. (new super PAC; $23.4 million in the bank)

Make America Great Again Action (old super PAC created by Corey Lewandowski; essentially defunct, but with $725,000 in the bank)

Make America Great Again, Again! Inc. (super PAC created after Lewandowski got axed for allegedly sexually assaulting a donor; reportedly winding down; $1.6 million in the bank)

Trump Make America Great Again (small-dollar joint fundraising committee between the old campaign and the Republican National Committee; reportedly started winding down last year; $5.4 million in the bank)

America First Action (old super PAC; reportedly winding down; $1.5 million in the bank)

Trump Victory (high-dollar joint fundraising committee between the old campaign and RNC; reportedly winding down; $1.8 million in the bank)

In all, these committees sit on $111.5 million. And campaign finance rules mean that Trump’s new campaign won’t be allowed to access the vast majority of it—including all that super PAC megadonor cash.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t attempt to skirt those rules. In fact, it appears he’s already trying to do just that.

The first indicator came last month, when the Save America leadership PAC transferred a whopping $20 million to the new Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC (MAGA Inc.).

The move raised eyebrows among legal observers, who said it appeared Trump was trying to get a jumpstart on his campaign by funding a super PAC that would support him in the future. Only problem: That’s against the law.

Brendan Fischer, deputy director of good government watchdog Documented, told The Daily Beast that, with the midterms over, it is “even more obvious” that the MAGA Inc. super PAC “was never really about helping other candidates, and always about helping Trump.”

“When it comes to helping Republicans in the midterms, MAGA Inc. was kind of a bust. It spent money late on races that were already saturated, and the roughly $16 million it spent may not even put it in the top 20 outside spending groups,” Fischer said, pointing out that all this was happening while Save America’s bank account was full to the brim with money he could have spent on those races.

However, Fischer said, since Save America’s funds can’t be used to support Trump’s presidential run, he transferred the money to MAGA Inc.

“The super PAC spent a relatively small amount in the final stretch of the midterms, and the remainder will almost certainly be spent backing Trump’s 2024 run,” he said.

On Monday, the nonpartisan government watchdog Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the FEC, accusing Trump of breaking the law on the eve of his big announcement.

Saurav Ghosh, CLC’s director of federal campaign finance reform, told The Daily Beast that Trump clearly wants to be able to use the money he’s raised for himself, but the law stands in the way of that.

Ghosh said that those coordination rules are “often openly trampled by candidates, particularly ones running for president.”

 

“Presidential candidates want to get a leg up and start out with as big a war chest as possible. It’s clear that Trump saw Save America as that war chest from the very beginning, and his legal team put together one way for this pot to be available on day one,” Ghosh said. “Unfortunately, the law accounts for not when you announce you’re going to run, but when you decided that you were going to run. So the decision to transfer all this money is a violation of that law.”

Still, this all leaves Trump with the enviable problem of what to do with his nearly $70 million in Save America funds—much of which he raised on the back of the Big Lie, and can spend on essentially anything but his own campaign.

“It’s really a question of what does he do next,” Ghosh said. “You can only spend so much money with direct transfers to other candidates and on staging events, but eventually you run out of ways to spend the money. At this point the midterms are over and the only thing he can spend the ads on is for himself. So what he’s doing is putting it into a vehicle that can buy ads for Donald Trump, and attack his opponents.”

Libowitz echoed that point, and said Save America’s millions, which can be transferred directly to campaigns and spent on political ads for other candidates, could serve as a “carrot and stick”—to both incentivize allies and intimidate rivals.

As for those rivals, Trump’s chief concern, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, happens to face a problem similar to Trump.

“DeSantis is raising this absurd amount of money into his state PAC, clearly given to him by donors with the understanding that he’s going to run for president,” Ghosh said. Like Trump, DeSantis can’t put that money toward a federal presidential campaign, and he can’t transfer it to a pro-DeSantis super PAC.

“No one will ever do this, but you can refund it and ask those donors to give it instead to a committee that you’ve set up for a federal campaign,” Ghosh said. “But you can’t just move the money wherever you want.”

 

I guess the author of that piece still hasn’t figured out rules and laws don’t apply to this fuckstick. 
 

He can’t use the funds because that’s illegal. Fuck off, dumbass reporter. 

[YGIFS 19,450]

7 minutes ago, The Original Greaser Bob said:

Supporting Desantis is stupid.  Supporting Trump is stupid.

Desantis, like Cruz, has IQ.  All three mentioned above are revolting humans.

 

It's cute that you think Cruz is human.  Even Cruz supporters know he was cloned from a taint stem cell which later proved to be malignant. 

DeSantis must at least be a decent father and wife, otherwise I don't know why she settled for his demonic troll ass.  She could have done much better, so he must be not-horribly-shitty at home.  His kids seem like, well...kids whenever they're in public.  

Trump and his kids, aside from Baron, seems to have this mutual, unsaid understanding to exploit the ever living shit out of one another for personal gain until it's no longer effective.  Assholes beget assholes who exploit said assholes.  I don't think they dislike or like each other, it's just this awkward Board of Directors that all kinda look alike and decided to form a crime syndicate, or "family" if you will.   

Cruz is the outlier of the three here as well.  His wife and children fucking hate him.  Half the time he's "at home" in Houston, he actually rides over and stays at his Texas Chief of Staff's house in Steiner Ranch so nobody has to see how alone he is in real life at a hotel lobby or some shit. 

Edited November 16, 2022 by YGIFS

[troph 24,806]

3 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

He’ll win the nomination because the nutters in his base who nominated people like Herschel Walker and Dr. Oz and over 300 other election deniers are still breathing. He should lose in his bid to get re-elected again just like last time. And yeah, it’ll probably be to Biden again barring any serious health issues. Biden is your Nick Saban or Urban Meyer if you’re looking for a proven winner who can beat Trump. Choosing an assistant and hoping to get the same result can be a bit risky.

absolutely a possibility.  and he won the nomination last time he tried (not counting the presumptive nomination in 2020) without party support. so it can happen again.

[MC Fresh Breath 4,074]

Two more years of Trump being the center of the US's political coverage is just depressing.  I keep randomly checking in to see if he got indicted knowing he it won't happen.  Kind of like buying that lottery ticket and for a few days fantasizing about being a millionaire.   Instead we'll get the what crazy thing he said today news.  The "oh this is really bad for him this time" news.  That one is the worst, imo.  Oh yeah,  this looks bad but they'll get him real soon news.

Ugh.  

[TexArcher 37,774]

3 minutes ago, MC Fresh Breath said:

Two more years of Trump being the center of the US's political coverage is just depressing.

Keep your chin up -- there's a decent chance he'll drop dead in the next two years.

[The Dog 44,054]

 

[Pato del Muerto 52,499]

6 minutes ago, TexArcher said:

Keep your chin up -- there's a decent chance he'll drop dead in the next two years.

There’s just as decent a chance he drops dead during his term and vp mtg ascends. 

[TexArcher 37,774]

1 minute ago, Pato del Muerto said:

There’s just as decent a chance he drops dead during his term and vp mtg ascends. 

Welp, I think a 4-floor drop onto cement ought to do the trick, so y'all have a good one...

[Bama Chick 28,596]

I guess “Trump will lose the nomination” is the new “Trump won’t run.”

God, no shit.

How many times have we been through this already?

That fat fuck ain’t finished till he’s dead.