The unique perspective and provocative opinions of Joe O’Neill
Trumpster Diving
OutHouse Speaker? Among our constitutional anomalies is the one that doesn’t require the Speaker of theHouse to actually be a member of said House. As a result, GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia advocated the drafting of Donald Trump to be Speaker of the current House. Seriously.
“Remember when Kevin McCarthy was the future of his party? Along with Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor?”—Charlie Sykes, The Bulwark.
“Madness in individuals is something rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”—Friedrich Nietzsche.
Some are suggesting an “Unfit to Serve” national-alert tour by disaffected former Trump insiders. It would include the high-profile likes of John Kelly, Jim Mattis, H.R. McMaster, Mark Esper and William Barr. The purpose would be nothing less than an effort to help save the country from a dangerously chaotic Trump sequel.
“A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law. … God help us.”—Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.
“A wannabe dictator.” How Trump was characterized by recently retired Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“White domestic terrorism is part of the MAGA brand, and that comes from the ”—Elie Mystal, The Nation.
“Trump is widely viewed as the leader of our party.”—Ohio Republican Rep. Warren Davidson, the whip of the House Freedom Caucus.
Trump’s de facto Political Action Committee (Save America) has paid more than $37 million to lawyers, representing their client on his personal issues ranging from fraud to insurrection.
“On almost no policy.” According to new House Speaker Michael Johnson, this is what he and President Biden “agree” on.
Nostalgia for John Boehner
It should be unfathomable that Trump’s essence—an unethical, immoral, racist, misogynistic, uninformed, divisive, narcissistic danger to democracy—is a selling point to his cult followers. But it’s not. No more than followers of the Rev. Jim Jones opting for the Kool-Aid over common sense and self-interest.
Trump ally Roger Stone: “Admit nothing, deny everything, launch counterattack.”