I just came across this in my “Google News” app and could NOT resist sharing it!
Analysis by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large
(CNN) Donald Trump needs you to know that Republican candidates don’t just like him, they love him. And they need him. Badly.
At a rally on Saturday night for Ohio GOP Senate nominee J.D. Vance, Trump made sure the crowd knew that Vance was subservient to him — big time.“J.D. is kissing my ass he wants my support so bad,” Trump said.Trump was reacting to a New York Times story that reported Vance had not actually invited Trump to campaign with him in the state. Instead, Trump’s team had simply told Vance that they would be coming to Ohio for a rally.Trump’s campaign stops have always been, primarily, about Trump. You can tell that by the amount of time he spends talking about himself (a lot) versus how much time he spends talking about the candidate for whom he is ostensibly campaigning (very little).But he has rarely thrown a candidate he endorsed so directly under the bus as he did Vance over the weekend. “He made J.D. Vance look like a mouse, not a man,” former Virginia Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock told CNN of the moment. “It was humiliating.”Comstock is right. It’s hard to see Trump’s characterization of Vance as little more than a lackey benefiting him in his surprisingly competitive race against Democrat Tim Ryan this fall. Even for those voters who like Trump, the portrayal of Vance as little more than a lickspittle isn’t terribly appealing.But that’s not what Trump cares about. Not really.Sure, he visited Ohio to campaign for Vance — at least on the surface. But what Trump is really doing is burnishing his own brand — and basking in the adulation of his most dogged supporters. To quote Trump from more than three decades ago: “The show is Trump, and it is sold-out performances everywhere.”That’s what you always have to remember when you are trying to understand the strategy or motivation behind something Trump does. Trump is all about Trump — first, last and forever.And so, the most important thing Trump wanted to get across to those in attendance in Ohio over the weekend is not why they should vote for Vance. It’s that he remains uber-popular among Republicans and that every GOP candidate — Vance included — is desperate to have his endorsement.That such an argument is belittling to Vance and makes him look both small and desperate is of no concern for Trump. The key (and only) concern is how does it make Trump look — strong, powerful and still very much coveted.That’s all that matters.
Nan's Notebook 
Those with long memories might recall that that new index finger in the air “Q” sign is the old One God One Way “Peace sign” the Jesus Freaks adopted as their gang sign in the seventies.
Not the finger I have in the air …
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Trump can probably see that J.D. Vance is likely to lose. And T**** does not like losers.
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Years before the 2020 presidential election and January 6, Trump’s fans believe his tripe about him challenging the Deep State. Yet, a revelatory review (by Geoff Olson, 01/10/2018) of the book The American Deep State: Wall Street, Big Oil, and the Attack on U.S. Democracy notes that the book’s author describes big oil CEOs and lobbyists in the U.S. as being a very large part of the American Deep State.
Therefore, it would be a large part of the national Capitol’s ‘swamp’ that Trump claims has corrupted DC and, ergo, was supposedly seeking to destroy him and his presidency. But, considering the Trump administration’s kowtowing to big fossil fuel (mostly via the loosening of environmental protections), he, far from genuinely trying to “drain the swamp”, would likely be content with wallowing in it.
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“This notion of a supranational deep state does not seem to be far-fetched to me, though I remain agnostic about rumors involving the [Trump administration] Offal Office. I certainly don’t buy the alt-right notion that Trump is playing ‘four-dimensional chess’ against the deep state. The six-time bankruptee would probably lose at checkers to a nine-year old and tweet that he whipped Garry Kasparov.” [Geoff Olson, “A Deep State of Confusion”]
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J.D. Vance doesn’t deserve to even be running … he is among the most UNqualified candidates on the roster. Trump never deserved to even set foot in the Oval Office … the single most UNqualified ‘president’ ever. Those two deserve each other and whatever they do to each other. I just hope that next time Trump has the gall to darken the air in the state I live in, he leaves in a pine box. Yeah, I’m in a grumpy mood. 🤬
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Trump might love Trump, but come November Trump is going to find out the women of America DO NOT LOVE TRUMP. In fact, they are going to watch the Republican Party shoved up Trump’s huge rump!
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Nan, quotes from long ago are telling. “I know taxes better than anyone in the history of taxes.” Of course, he continues to not want to show us his taxes. He also said “I alone can solve our problems,” which is equal parts hubris and false. Financial reporters have long reported Trump is a much better sales person than manager. I would add the first roll out of the travel ban early in his presidency was so incompetently done, it was pulled in two days (who knew you had to tell people doing the work about the change?)
Many things about Trump did not surprise me once he got into the White House, except for two things. I was amazed how poorly he communicated basic finance which was supposed to be his strength and I was amazed by what conservative pundit David Brooks repeated from others about the Trump White House – equal parts chaos and incompetence.
Too many in the White House had to run around with delete keys and erasers to make his unforced errors go away. Keith
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“I know taxes better than anyone in the history of taxes.”
I can only imagine what Alan Weisselberg thinks about that.
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Good point. A funny story about Weisselberg is he was listed as a board member of the Trump Foundation and had no idea he was. This became important when a judge ordered Trump to repay $1.6 million he used from the Foundation for his personal benefit, then ordered the Foundation to be terminated and the funds distributed to charity, with no one named Trump overseeing the process. Keith
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PS – A dumb question is how would it make you feel if the person you are beholden to says to everyone that you are really kissing his hind end for him to be there? Another dumb question, how would rubbing his nose in it make the followers – here is a person who is groveling to me? It sounds like a high school quarterback telling his dates you are lucky that I am dating you. Keith
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It wasn’t a sold-out show by a long shot.
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I’ve seen more people at a Nickelback show …
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RIMSHOT!
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I hope this is the “nail in the coffin” for the election chances of J. D. Vance (polls have been showing him and Democrat Tim Ryan running neck and neck)….and to think that Trump-toady Vance will have Trump to thank for his defeat!
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I’m sure that the vast majority of those of us reading this already knew the man well enough that nothing in the CNN piece surprised any of us. All one has to do is go back in history and read the news stories and photos of him to see what the fellow is really like. He’s always been like this and always will.
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No, I wasn’t surprised by any of it. But I just love it when those in the news media point out what a loser he is. 🙃
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Well, what’s not to love about Trump, eh? He’s handsome, fought in over 6 wars for his country, was awarded, like, what, 78 purple hearts, was a massive, no pun intended, porn star in the 70’s–Donny “The Wad” Trump, I believed he was called, and he’s got more empathy in his large, orange heart than any group of 6000 humanists anywhere on the planet! What. Is. Not. To. LOVE!!!!! 🙂
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You pinpointed all of his masterful qualities so yes, how can ANYONE resist?
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That “speech” he gave in Ohio over the weekend with the QAnon music playing underneath it was truly frightening. This is a sick, demented man hell-bent on annihilating our democracy with a following of drones and minions so mindless and puppet-like it’s as terrifying as it is sick and repulsive.
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Absolutely! And what is truly SCARY is these mindless and puppet-like minions are ready and willing to do his bidding … no matter who gets hurt (or killed) in the process. Yes … he’s a VERY dangerous man!
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Trump’s ass is continually damp from the kisses of the GOP but it’s certainly big enough to take them all. How upset he’s going to be if all his choice fall at the last hurdle on election day. It will be back to cries of ‘We were robbed’ again. But maybe he’ll be in jail by then or seeking Asylum from Viktor Orban.
Hugs
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It’s obvious to the world what a dud President Biden is. I look forward to the day when Democrats, Dr Jill and the press, friendly to them are made to pay for foisting a cognitively declining Joe Biden on the world. And let’s not forget Biden’s minders who are actually running the country and wrecking it.
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Biden’s not perfect (and yes, he’s getting old), but at least he’s more interested in helping the people of this nation than his own wants and needs and pocketbook. Plus, he knows how to treat people and not belittle them or given them kindergarten names. And if he DOES lose the next election, you can be assured he won’t fight and/or whine about it … or send supporters onto the Capital grounds to try and change the results.
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Biden is not getting old. He was already not fit for purpose when the Democrats put him up as candidate. You tube is littered with examples of his gaffs and clips of him sniffing the back of a child’s head and the back of a woman’s head. He was caught out looking out for a woman in the audience who had recently died. I frankly don’t trust any politician. I try to judge them by their achievements. Biden and his minders haven’t done anything to earn my respect.
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My tube???? I don’t have a “tube.” I have a blog. And it is not “littered with” (or includes) the examples you suggest.
But there is ONE thing we can agree on — lack of trust in any politician. It’s ALL about M.O.N.E.Y.
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Not sure what you mean about the cute remark about your tube, Nan. If you have opinions, though, it’s up to you to check things up to back them up. I’d say, though that it’s less about money than power. I will also reiterate that there are people who need to be made accountable for putting a damaged Joe Biden up as best candidate for such a powerful job. You say old, I say obviously in cognitive decline before the election. And if you were to seriously consider that it’s the president’s minders who are doing such a bad job of running things, you would find it shocking. These shadowy people were not voted in on a policy platform and can’t be made accountable but are the ones pulling the strings.
I’m not sure that we will convince each other on our points of view, so let’s leave it.
🌺
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