Trump never gave Roger Stone a cabinet position but Stone was more influential than most of Trump's cabinet. And now he's signaling he's about to pardon him for his criminal activities. This should come as no surprise to anyone since Stone held fats to the code of omertà Trump so admires. Stone's supposed to show up to begin his 3 year prison sentence this month. Trump's gaslighting tweet yesterday makes it pretty clear Stone won't be serving any time:Bloomberg columnist Jonathan Bernstein noted how excruciatingly bad Donald "always hires the best people" Trump has consistently been in his hiring choices. As he's demonstrated since the earliest days of his campaign, he always hires the worst people. And not just in the eyes of rational people-- also in the eyes of Trump himself! "[T]he list of Donald Trump’s terrible personnel choices according to Donald Trump gets one name longer, as the president reacted predictably by bashing Mattis. That list now includes a defense secretary, a secretary of state, an attorney general, at least one national security adviser and at least two White House chiefs of staff. Again, there are very few people who are otherwise undecided about Trump who would be swayed by what an awful job-- according to Trump himself-- he has done appointing people for the most important positions in government. But it’s a remarkable record nonetheless."Voters should make it clear that any senator who votes to confirm any Trump nominee for anything from now until he's driven from office will also be voted out of office, especially rubberstampers up for reelection in November, like Martha McSally (R-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Steve Daines (R-MT), Susan Collins (R-ME), David Perdue (R-GA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Joni Ernst (R-IA) and, of course, the architects of Trump's hiring practices, John Cornyn (R-TX) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY).And now Trump wants to fire another Defense Secretary, reflexive lackey Mark Esper, who-- embarrassed by the fascism displayed this week-- strayed from Trump's plans to send in the troops. Jennifer Jacobs reported Trump confronted him over his anti-authoritarian comments and then started the process of finding a replacement.In a separate Bloomberg piece she did with Josh Wingrove, Jacobs wrote that between Esper and Mattis, Trump is in a position no other presidents have even faced before. As Bernstein made clear, "It's hard to get across what a big deal it is that former Defense Secretary James Mattis has not only publicly criticized President Donald Trump, but done so in extremely strong terms. In a statement issued Wednesday, Mattis talked about 'those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution,' and said that 'We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.' He added that Trump was engaged in a 'deliberate attempt' to 'divide us,' something he says no other president in his lifetime has done. (For the record, Mattis is 69, so he’s talking about everyone since Harry Truman.)" Jacobs and Wingrove called it "a direct challenge to his leadership... The double-barreled rebuke from his current and former defense chiefs elevates the pressure on Trump as he falters in handling a pair of crises: a raging pandemic that has killed more than 100,000 Americans, and protests over a painful legacy of racial inequality, injustice and police brutality... Mattis’s criticism echoed attacks leveled on Trump by Biden, but the former defense chief’s key role in the president’s original national security cabinet gives him a standing few outsiders could ever claim... Trump lashed out in a pair of tweets mocking Mattis’s military service and his nicknames, calling him “the world’s most overrated General."
Mattis stepped down 18 months ago after Trump abruptly announced on Twitter that he wanted to pull troops from Syria, but he was a hugely influential member of the president’s first national security cabinet.Trump was so eager to unveil his nomination of Mattis after the 2016 election that he announced the plans at a campaign-style rally. He introduced the former head of U.S. Central Command by a moniker-- “Mad Dog”-- and called him “one of the most effective generals that we’ve had in many, many decades.”It remains to be seen if Mattis’s rebuke will have lasting political repercussions, but it strikes at the heart of what the president has pitched as one of his strengths: his fulsome praise of the military as part of his “America First” approach to the world, even while he frequently criticizes the national security establishment for allegedly trying to undermine his administration.Despite Trump’s praise of Mattis when he took office, by the end of the defense chief’s tenure their relationship was shattered. Upon his departure, Mattis issued a blunt resignation letter that amounted to a rebuke of Trump’s “America First” mantra.“We must do everything possible to advance an international order that is most conducive to our security, prosperity and values, and we are strengthened in this effort by the solidarity of our alliances,” Mattis wrote at the time. “Because you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours on these and other subjects, I believe it is right for me to step down from my position.”Days later, Trump lashed out at Mattis, saying “What’s he done for me?” Singling out the U.S. quagmire in Afghanistan, Trump added, “How has he done in Afghanistan? Not too good.”Wednesday’s events unfolded in rapid fashion. Mattis’s scathing statement landed as Trump renewed his threat to send in the military to quash protests during an interview with Spicer, now a host for NewsMax TV, a conservative outlet. Trump called ongoing protests in New York a “disaster.”“And we could help them a lot, they have to ask,” Trump told Spicer. “If they don’t get it straightened out soon, I’ll take care of it.”
For another generation of Americans K-Pop is a much bigger deal than James Mattis. And according to a report from the L.A. Times, Trump has lost the K-Pop community. "K-pop fans are famous for their persistent and creative ways to make online life miserable for people who demean their favorite artists and groups. But on Wednesday, the genre’s sometimes-toxic community harnessed its digital savvy and mercilessness for more noble causes: shutting down white supremacist social media and overwhelming police tip lines meant to identify Black Lives Matter protesters.
A planned day of social media action from white supremacists, which was being promoted with the hashtag #whitelivesmatter, quickly went sideways. K-pop fans, who on any given day control a meaningful percentage of the trending topics across social media, decided to flood the tag with “fancam” footage of beloved acts like BTS and Blackpink. They also threw in memes ripping anyone earnestly using the tag to search for white-nationalist news.They took aim at several pro-Trump and police hashtags too, renderingmuch of #MAGA and #BlueLivesMatter Twitter useless for the day. K-pop fans also found ways to steer their ire toward police efforts to identify Black Lives Matter protesters. Several police departments, including those in Dallas and Grand Rapids, Mich., had established public digital tip lines where residents could send footage of protesters, which cops could then investigate.“If you have video of illegal activity from the protests and are trying to share it with @DallasPD, you can download it to our iWatch Dallas app. You can remain anonymous,” the Dallas department wrote on Saturday.Over the weekend, jokes about K-pop fandom’s capacity to flood the app with fancam footage quickly became a genuine direct action, as fans filed reams of “tips” that were really footage of Korean groups performing. The Dallas PD quickly pulled back its efforts: “Due to technical difficulties iWatch Dallas app will be down temporarily,” the department announced. A number of K-pop artists have been more plainly supportive of Black Lives Matter protests sparked by George Floyd’s killing, including Got7, Jay Park, Amber Liu, CL and others. They’ve acknowledged the debt that their music owes to black artists and advocated for protests that have swept much of the globe.
NBC News may be ignoring the K-pop generation, but they made sure Americans are aware Trump has been losing support from the officer corp, which seems to have nixed his attempted coup.
But here are three reasons why Mattis’ takedown of Trump matters.One, Mattis was an eyewitness to Trump’s presidency. “In addition to the authority he’s earned over a long and distinguished career, he speaks as one of a handful of high-ranking officials who have been firsthand witnesses to the way Donald Trump has operated as president,” The Dispatch writes of Mattis.Two, he was seen as one of the early guardrails/validators early in Trump’s administration.And three, Mattis isn’t alone in respected military voices speaking out against Trump and his actions, joining former Joints Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen and Martin Dempsey, as well as retired Marine General John Allen.“The slide of the United States into illiberalism may well have begun on June 1, 2020. Remember the date. It may well signal the beginning of the end of the American experiment,” Allen writes.It’s hard to say we’re at an inflection point, because public opinion of Trump rarely changes-- except at the margins.But these are significant breaks with a president who routinely finds himself fighting unpopular battles.
