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If we lived in a different world, the joke could begin in a familiar, guy-goes-into-a-bar way: "So the president walks into a convention center in Phoenix and "

But this is the Trump era. Only slices of White House life are just comic. Much more of what the president serves up to American voters, legislators, policymakers and the rest of the world routinely smacks of the tragicomic, at best.

The president's speech Tuesday night in Phoenix, is just the latest case in point. It had the requisite elements of vaudevillian propaganda (he accused CNN of not broadcasting his speeches as he spoke into a CNN camera broadcasting his speech); damaging cant (he misrepresented his statements following this month's neo-Nazi violence in Charlottesville, Va., to repackage himself as the morally sensitive leader he isn't); flagrant lies (he hasn't obtained a "historic increase" in military spending); and saber-rattling (he threatened to shut down the federal government unless Congress funds his Great Border Wall).

Trump's Phoenix rantathon also deployed personal broadsides against two members of his own party who are also Arizona's senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake. He slammed McCain for not supporting a Senate effort to repeal and replace Obamacare and he dismissed Flake as a nonentity ("Nobody knows who the hell he is").

Pounding on McCain and Flake lacks political decorum, of course, and the shabbiness of it is only enhanced by the fact that McCain is struggling with brain cancer. And Trump, who managed to secure five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, once questioned whether McCain, who spent more than five years in a Vietnamese prison, was a war hero.

But beyond Trump's seediness looms the larger issue of why he habitually attacks natural allies, even when contrary to his own self-interest.

Remember, Trump's trolling of McCain and Flake is far less perilous to his legislative agenda than taking on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Yet our man is fearless. He's been trying to slap McConnell around so much of late that the two men stopped talking for weeks.

You'd expect Trump to do all that he can to reel in McConnell. The majority leader holds sway over various Senate committees that Trump needs for such things as re-engineering the tax code or keeping fallout under wraps from various investigations into links to Russia.

Yet Trump, after bungling his own role in the Obamacare debacle, found it simpler to blame McConnell than to take responsibility himself. He's been on the warpath with McConnell ever since, so focused on avoiding blame for a losing effort around one piece of legislation health care that he's willing to jeopardize the rest of his White House stay.

This, as it always does with Trump, follows a pattern. Back in the late 1980s, Trump was trying to build a mega-development on the west side of Manhattan. He blew the deal in part because he got into a needless public brawl with the mayor of New York at the time, Ed Koch.

Trump needed Koch's support to get zoning approval and tax abatements for the West Side Yards deal, a project that would have rivaled Rockefeller Center in scale and would have launched Trump into the top tier of New York developers. Plans for the property included a rocket-shaped skyscraper that would have been the world's tallest building.

But Trump antagonized local residents, planning boards and Koch, raising the ante every time he didn't get exactly what he wanted and publicly accusing Koch of "ludicrous and disgraceful behavior." Koch, noting that he thought Trump was being "piggy, piggy, piggy," warned the young developer not to try to "influence the process through intimidation."

Trump kept jousting, however, and the Yards project stagnated. Trump ultimately couldn't afford to carry the property while waiting out City Hall, and as his financial problems worsened in the early 1990s he was forced to sell it to Hong Kong developers.

Had Trump been patient and methodical, had he been interested in outcomes as much as he was interested in being seen as the winner at center stage, he might have done better with the Yards.

That's not who the president is, though.

He doesn't build strong teams, doesn't cultivate sophisticated partnerships and doesn't do his homework. Instead, he stays locked on fostering his own celebrity and guarding against any perceptions that he's not a "winner."

Trump the Developer was so focused on besting Ed Koch and doing things his way that he let a promising development slip from his grasp. Trump the President is so focused on besting Mitch McConnell that he runs the risk of alienating a legislative body that could otherwise help him craft a political legacy and protect him from folks like Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Trumpworld's links to Russia.

Trump doesn't care about outcomes. He has his money and the whole world's bounteous attention. As long as he has those things, he's willing to forfeit more enduring accomplishments while he fosters the illusion of personal strength. By that standard, defeats feel like triumphs, achievements leave him cold and allies are a waste of time.

Bloomberg

Timothy L. O'Brien is the executive editor of Bloomberg Gadfly and Bloomberg View. His books include "TrumpNation: The Art of Being The Donald."

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Why Donald Trump stinks at bromances - Chicago Tribune

A week ago, President Donald Trump appeared to make a tacit endorsement in Arizonas upcoming Senate race when he tweeted his excitement to see former state Sen. Kelli Ward mount a challenge against sitting Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ).

A pro-Trump super PAC quickly followed his lead by putting $20,000 behind Wards challenge soon thereafter.

But by Tuesday night, when the president traveled to Phoenix for a campaign rally, he was already signaling second thoughts over being too closely tied to Wards campaign.

The president huddled with Arizona Treasurer Jeff DeWit, former state GOP Chairman Robert Graham, and Rep. Trent Franks before the rally took place. Part of the conversation was geared toward feeling out whether Graham or DeWit, both early supporters of Trump during his campaign, would mount a challenge in the Republican Senate primary. Ward, notably, was not granted an audience with the president nor was she made a VIP at the event even as DeWit emceed the nights proceedings. And now, Graham is insisting that the presidents keeping his options open.

There was no inclination that he was leaning towards Dr. Ward in any stretch of the imagination, Graham told The Daily Beast in a phone interview. He said he and DeWit talk a lot with people in the White House and the Trump campaign and that theyre leaning on Jeff and I to make a decision.

DeWits office told The Daily Beast that he was not commenting on the race at this time.

The indecision from Trump over how to best approach the suddenly contentious GOP primary in Arizona is a reflection of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants style hes brought to politics in general. The presidents tweet about WardGreat to see that Dr. Kelli Ward is running against Flake Jeff Flake, who is WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. Hes toxic!gave Wards campaign a major boost among pro-Trump media figures and allies like Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity.

It also led conservatives in Arizona to frantically try and pull the president in another direction before it became too late to, or too uncomfortable, to back away from Ward.

Graham said that if DeWit ultimately got into the race, he would support him and vice versa. He also said that Trump seemed primarily concerned about the prospect of losing the seat in next years race.

Look we have two senators in the state of Arizona who have kind of rocked the boat on the presidents agenda. One is in vocal constant opposition, Graham said describing Flake. Our primary is in late August. Whoever decides to get into the race, they have time because the numbers of Jeff Flake are so low.

The White House did not immediately respond to a question from The Daily Beast about the nature of the Ward tweet.

Graham theorizes that should Flake be the GOP nominee, the states Trump-loving Republican base may not show up to vote. One recent survey from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling showed Flake with just a 22 percent job approval among voters who backed Trump in 2016. And while Ward may stand a better chance of animating those particular voters, as she has closely aligned herself with the administration, the concern expressed at the Phoenix rally meeting was that she was not strong enough to win the general election.

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According to Graham, Trump was very clear that he was not endorsing Ward at this time.

A spokesman for Ward did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Beast about Grahams assertions.

Whats clear, at this juncture, is that Trump is keen on unseating Flake in the primary. He lashed out at the Senator during Tuesdays rally and Flake responded on Thursday by saying that the presidents behavior was inviting a 2020 primary challenger. Less clear is the presidents preferred solution. Wards early entrance into the race drew financial support from some major pro-Trump donors. Robert Mercer, a hedge fund billionaire who has been closely aligned with former White House strategist Steve Bannon, donated $300,000 to a super PAC supportive of Ward.

But its unclear if the White House itself views her as the best candidate, perhaps because other challengers are not earnestly making their cases. Graham said Wards inability to defeat McCain in last years primary showed signs of weakness for her general election prospects next year. Theres no specific message outside of her saying she supports president Trumps agenda, he said. Everybody feels this. And it didnt help that Ward recently made headlines for saying McCain should step aside after his brain cancer diagnosis.

Ward already is the primary target of Flakes supporters. The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC with ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), released an ad this week saying Ward has crazy ideas and calling her Chemtrail Kelli Ward, in reference to a 2014 town hall Ward held to discuss chemtrails.

Were not willing to throw this Senate seat away to Democrats by nominating a fringe candidate like Kelli Ward, Steven Law, Senate Leadership Funds president and a former McConnell chief of staff told Politico this week.

But there may be a simpler additional reason as to why Trump remains hesitant on Ward, according to Graham. And thats loyalty. Graham and DeWit have been on Trumps side throughout his turbulent campaign and presidency with the former releasing a statement of support in the immediate aftermath of the release of the infamous Access Hollywood tape.

The president is incredibly loyal, Graham told The Daily Beast. If you work hard for him and he trusts you, he becomes a fan.

See original here:
Donald Trump Is Backing Away From Jeff Flake Challenger Kelli Ward - Daily Beast

Win McNamee

The president thinks hes still the victim.

There has been plenty to criticize congressional Republicans over during Donald Trump's term. On the whole, they've been more than happy to talk about how "troubled" they are by President Trump's behavior, but ask them to do anything about said terrible and terrifying behavior, and suddenly the Mitch McConnells and Paul Ryans of the world are nowhere to be found. Why? Because as much as they understand supporting an openly bigoted president is a bad look for them, they also know that torpedoing this presidency could spell doom for all of their pet policy projects (read: giving tax cuts to rich people while screwing over the less fortunate).

So yes, it is absolutely reasonable to be pissed at GOP members of Congress. Considering the scope and depth of the scandals that currently swirl around the president, Donald Trump should be on his knees thanking House and Senate Republicans for mostly giving him a pass on the myriad things they couldnay, shouldbe investigating. But of course Donald Trump is not grateful. No, in fact, he's resentful and angry with this Congress for giving him a hard time.

Imagine being such an egotistical monster that, when it comes out that your son, son-in-law, and campaign manager all met with a Russian lawyer who claimed to be representing the Russian government in its attempt to collude with your campaign against your opponent, you think it's unfair that Congress wants to sanction some Russians. It is beyond insane, and yet according to a new Politico report, that's exactly what happened. Trump, who is the only person in the world who thinks the problem is congressional Republicans being too hard on him, made phone calls to multiple GOP senators (including a public beef with Mitch McConnell) to fight against the need for sanctions.

Trump expressed frustration over a bipartisan bill sanctioning Russia and tried to convince Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) that it wasn't good policy, according to three people familiar with the call. Trump argued that the legislation was unconstitutional and said it would damage his presidency. Corker was unrelenting, these people said, and told Trump the bill was going to pass both houses with bipartisan support.

But if that didn't scream, "I'm guilty!" loud enough, he also made calls to protest against a bipartisan bill that would protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from being fired by Trump. This would ensure Mueller's investigation isn't stymied by a nervous Trump. If Trump were innocent, this wouldn't be a problem, but apparently it's a problem.

Trump dialed up Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Aug. 7... Tillis is working with Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) on a bill designed to protect Robert Mueller, the independent counsel investigating the president's Russia connections, from any attempt by Trump to fire him.

The Mueller bill came up during the Tillis-Trump conversation, according to a source briefed on the call the latest signal of the president's impatience with GOP senators' increasing declarations of independence from his White House. Trump was unhappy with the legislation and didn't want it to pass, one person familiar with the call said.

And here's the thing: He doesn't even realize how good he has it! He has so many Republicans in Congress ruining themselves out of fear of upsetting Donald and his base, and instead of recognizing how lucky he is, he has taken to attempting to intimidate those who do LITERALLY THE BARE MINIMUM to hold him accountable. One could hope that this would just make these members harder on Trump, but one might be a naive idiot, if the past seven months are any indication.

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Donald Trump Is Now Yelling at Republican Senators Over Russia - GQ Magazine

BBC News

Donald Trump softens tone to urge 'a new unity' BBC News US President Donald Trump has called for a "new unity", a day after a campaign-style rally in which he attacked political foes and media. Speaking in Reno, Nevada, Mr Trump said "we are one people with one home and one great flag". "In America, we ... After angry rally, Trump calls for healing in NevadaCNN Donald Trump Talks Love And Unity Hours After Blaming Sick Media For Neo-Nazis At RallyDeadline Donald Trump's Rally in Phoenix Was an Unhinged Nightmare. Here Are the Lowlights.Mother Jones all 215 news articles »

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Donald Trump softens tone to urge 'a new unity' - BBC News

I went through the transcript of Trump's speech -- all 77 minutes -- and picked out his 57 most outrageous lines, in chronological order. They're below.

1. "And just so you know from the Secret Service, there aren't too many people outside protesting, OK. That I can tell you."

2. "A lot of people in here, a lot of people pouring right now. They can get them in. Whatever you can do, fire marshals, we'll appreciate it."

So many people love me -- it's hard to fit them all in the building! But, try!

3. "You know I'd love it if the cameras could show this crowd, because it is rather incredible. It is incredible."

For the record: The cameras always show the crowd. Have for months and years.

4. "We went to center stage almost from day one in the debates. We love those debates."

The election ended 287 days ago, as of last night.

5. "Our movement is a movement built on love."

6. "We all share the same home, the same dreams and the same hopes for a better future. A wound inflicted upon one member of our community is a wound inflicted upon us all."

7. "I see all those red hats and white hats. It's all happening very fast. It's called: 'Make America Great Again.'"

Trump conflates a call to unity and an end to divisiveness with supporting him. The country is coming together because lots of people at a campaign rally have "MAGA" hats on!

8. "Just like (the media doesn't) want to report that I spoke out forcefully against hatred, bigotry and violence and strongly condemned the neo-Nazis, the White Supremacists, and the KKK."

9. "So here is my first statement when I heard about Charlottesville -- and I have a home in Charlottesville, a lot of people don't know."

Follow this logic: The media says I didn't condemn the white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville. I did -- because I have a house there, which many people don't know.

10. "So here's what I said, really fast, here's what I said on Saturday: 'We're closely following the terrible events unfolding in Charlottesville, Virginia' -- this is me speaking. 'We condemn in the strongest, possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence.' That's me speaking on Saturday."

This is what he actually said (italics/bolding mine): "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence, on many sides. On many sides. It's been going on for a long time in our country. Not Donald Trump, not Barack Obama. This has been going on for a long, long time."

Which is not the same thing. At all.

11. "I think I can't do much better, right?"

No, you could have done much, much better. Just ask your own party -- the vast majority of which condemned your Charlottesville comments. Also, Trump is always doing great!

12. "I hope they're showing how many people are in this room, but they won't"

[narrator voice]: They were.

13. "I call them anarchists. Because, believe me, we have plenty of anarchists. They don't want to talk about the anarchists."

Believe me, I know anarchists. The best anarchists. Bigly.

14. "If you're reading a story about somebody, you don't know. You assume it's honest, because it's like the failing New York Times, which is like so bad. It's so bad."

I have no idea what Trump's point is here. But MAN, the New York Times is failing, right?!?!?

15. "Or the Washington Post, which I call a lobbying tool for Amazon, OK, that's a lobbying tool for Amazon."

Amazon doesn't own the Washington Post. Jeff Bezos does.

16. "Or CNN, which is so bad and so pathetic, and their ratings are going down."

17. "I mean, CNN is really bad, but ABC this morning -- I don't watch it much, but I'm watching in the morning, and they have little George Stephanopoulos talking to Nikki Haley, right? Little George."

A few things: 1. Trump watches TV constantly. 2. "Little George": Trump as bully-in-chief.

18. "I didn't say I love you because you're black, or I love you because you're white, or I love you because you're from Japan, or you're from China, or you're from Kenya, or you're from Scotland or Sweden. I love all the people of our country."

19. "How about -- how about all week they're talking about the massive crowds that are going to be outside. Where are they? Well, it's hot out. It is hot. I think it's too warm."

It was warm! (105 or so.) But, again, multiple media reports -- including CNN's -- show that there were thousands of protesters.

20. "You know, they show up in the helmets and the black masks, and they've got clubs and they've got everything -- Antifa!"

21. "Then I said, racism is evil. Do they report that I said that racism is evil?"

22. "Now they only choose, you know, like a half a sentence here or there and then they just go on this long rampage, or they put on these real lightweights all around a table that nobody ever heard of, and they all say what a bad guy I am."

"Racism is evil -- and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans," Trump said in response to the attacks in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend.

23. "But, I mean do you ever see anything -- and then you wonder why CNN is doing relatively poorly in the ratings"

See #16.

24. "But with me, they wanted me to say it, and I said it. And I said it very clearly, but they refused to put it on."

The issue was that Trump said -- on Saturday, August 12, and then again on Tuesday, August 15 -- that the violence and hate on display in Charlottesville was "on many sides" and then that "both sides" were responsible for it. And, the news media didn't condemn Trump for that; it was his own party who did that.

25. "I hit him with neo-Nazi. I hit them with everything. I got the white supremacists, the neo-Nazi. I got them all in there, let's say. KKK, we have KKK. I got them all."

This is revealing in a way Trump doesn't mean it to be. He views the naming of the KKK and the neo-Nazis who were responsible for this violence as a box-checking exercise. I said their names -- so what's the problem?! (Of course,Trump didn't call out these groups in his initial statement on Saturday, which was the problem.)

26. "So then the last one, on Tuesday -- Tuesday I did another one: 'We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence. It has no place in America.'

27. "So that was my words."

Over 2,000 of them in fact. All dedicated to rewriting what he actually said about Charlottesville.

28. "Now, you know, I was a good student. I always hear about the elite. You know, the elite. They're elite? I went to better schools than they did. I was a better student than they were. I live in a bigger, more beautiful apartment, and I live in the White House, too, which is really great."

29. "The words were perfect. They only take out anything they can think of, and for the most part, all they do is complain. But they don't put on those words. And they don't put on me saying those words."

Trump is not sorry. Not ever. He has convinced himself that what he said initially about Charlottesville was "perfect." And, I realize this may be getting repetitive, but the media reported every word Trump said about Charlottesville. Period. The end.

30. "And yes, by the way -- and yes, by the way, they are trying to take away our history and our heritage. You see that."

This is demagogic language from Trump about the media. "They" are trying to rob us of "our history and our heritage." You don't have to look very hard to see racial and ethnic coding in that language.

31. "I really think they don't like our country. I really believe that."

Trump's claim that the media doesn't "like" America is hugely offensive. Offensive and dangerous. Imagine ANY other president saying anything close to this -- and what the reaction would be.

32. "Look back there, the live red lights. They're turning those suckers off fast out there. They're turning those lights off fast."

33. "CNN does not want its falling viewership to watch what I'm saying tonight, I can tell you."

See #16.

34. "If I don't have social media, I probably would not be standing."

Same.

35. "They'll say, 'Donald Trump is in a Twitter-storm.' These are sick people."

Your guess is as good as mine.

36. "You would think -- you would think they'd want to make our country great again, and I honestly believe they don't. I honestly believe it." The media, in Trump's telling, is rooting against the country. Let me say again: Rhetoric like this is offensive, dishonest and dangerous.

37. "The New York Times essentially apologized after I won the election, because their coverage was so bad, and it was so wrong, and they were losing so many subscribers that they practically apologized."

38. "I must tell you, Fox has treated me fairly. Fox treated me fairly."

39. "How good is Hannity? How good is Hannity? And he's a great guy, and he's an honest guy. And 'Fox and Friends in the Morning' is the best show, and it's the absolute, most honest show, and it's the show I watch."

40. "Oh, those cameras are going off. Wow. That's the one thing, they're very nervous to have me on live television."

41. "I'm a person that wants to tell the truth. I'm an honest person, and what I'm saying, you know is exactly right."

42. "You've got people outside, but not very many."

He is obsessed with crowd size. Obsessed.

43. "So, was Sheriff Joe convicted for doing his job?"

44. "He should have had a jury, but you know what? I'll make a prediction. I think he's going to be just fine, OK?"

The "pardon" tease! Make sure to stay tuned for next week's episode!

45. "It was like 115 degrees. I'm out signing autographs for an hour. I was there. That was a hot day."

It was hot. But I am still very popular. Extremely popular. Believe me.

(And for what it's worth, CNN White House reporter Kevin Liptak emails: "It was 106 degrees and he spent no more than 25 minutes shaking hands.")

46. "But believe me, if we have to close down our government, we're building that wall."

47. "'Extreme vetting' -- I came up with that term."

...he says proudly.

48. "And we have to speak to Mitch and we have to speak to everybody."

49. "But, you know, they all said, Mr. President, your speech was so good last night, please, please, Mr. President don't mention any names. So I won't. I won't. No I won't vote -- one vote away, I will not mention any names. Very presidential, isn't' it? Very presidential."

This is Trump taking a shot at John McCain, who is currently battling brain cancer, for voting against the repeal and replace health care legislation. It's also Trump showing how closely he reads press coverage and how he likes to openly flout suggestions of being more "presidential."

50. "And nobody wants me to talk about your other senator, who's weak on borders, weak on crime, so I won't talk about him. Nobody wants me to talk about him. Nobody knows who the hell he is."

Jeff Flake is a sitting Republican senator. Trump is running him down in his home state at a campaign rally less than a week removed from touting one of his primary challengers on Twitter.

51. "Did you see Gruber got fired yesterday? He got fired because he defrauded somebody or something. Something very bad happened. Check it out. Something happened."

52. "One vote -- speak to your senator, please. Speak to your senator."

53. "I think we've gotten more than anybody, including Harry Truman, who was number one, but they will tell you we've got none."

54. "But Kim Jong Un, I respect the fact that I believe he is starting to respect us. I respect that fact very much. Respect that fact."

Respect. That. Fact.

55. "I don't believe that any president has accomplished as much as this president in the first six or seven months. I really don't believe it." Trump believes that by saying things, he wills them into existence and truth.

He doesn't.

56. "They're trying to take away our culture. They are trying to take away our history."

[dog whistle]

57. "So I think we'll end up probably terminating NAFTA at some point, OK? Probably." Way to throw a major policy pronouncement into the end of a speech while negotiations are ongoing!

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Donald Trump's 57 most outrageous quotes from his Arizona speech - CNN