Ivanka Trump sat in for her father twice during critical G20 meetings

I admire people who can still summon outrage towards anyone in the Trump family. How are those people still able to function? I ask because one or all of them does something or says something completely inappropriate, deplorable and/or treasonous on a daily basis. I made my peace with the fact that the Baby-Fisted One is going to kill us all, and that understanding has made me sort of numb. I’ve been numb for months, basically. It’s all very Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Anyway, Donald Trump and his family – the New York version of the Clampetts – were in Hamburg, Germany for the G20 conference. Bigly met his BFF Vladimir Putin. It was supposed to be a 30-minute meeting but it stretched into two hours. Melania was sent into the room to try to break them up, to no avail. The press coming out of the meeting has been nothing short of horrifying, as Trump and Rex Tillerson are basically lying openly, and we only seem to be getting any kind of reliable account of what happened in the room from the Russian ambassador Sergei Lavrov, who insists that Putin told Trump that Russia had nothing to do with anything and Trump took Putin at his word, because of course. Note: as I’m publishing this on Sunday morning, Trump is currently tweeting about the Putin meeting. We’ll discuss those tweets tomorrow.

We should be concentrating on that side of things, and the fact that we (America) are now in a position where the president and Secretary of State are unreliable narrators for a diplomatic meeting with a leader who actively meddled in the democratic process. But no, of course that’s not the only story with the Trumps. Precious Ivanka Trump tagged along on the trip, and when her daddy left the Group of 20 Meeting, Ivanka “sat in” for her father. She sat in the seat between Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Theresa May.

According to Bloomberg, Precious Ivanka actually sat in her father’s place twice during Saturday’s meetings. Imagine if Michelle Obama – who was actually FIRST LADY – did that during the Obama presidency. Imagine if Michelle sat in for her husband in the middle of one of the largest international conferences of the year. The Republicans would be lighting themselves on fire if that had happened.

Also: Bigly Trump said something about Precious Ivanka on the record. He made a speech where he said: “If she weren’t my daughter it would be so much easier for her. That might be the only bad thing she has going, if you want to know the truth.” No. It’s not the only bad thing she has going. Even if she wasn’t Precious Ivanka Trump, she would still be a baby-whispering fascist.

Photos courtesy of Getty.

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217 Responses to “Ivanka Trump sat in for her father twice during critical G20 meetings”

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  1. Shelley says:

    Twitter​ said it best.. unelected and unqualified. But I’m really wondering if it was meant to detract from the Russian story about her husband and brother meeting to discuss adoption. There is so much inappropriateness, entitlement issues with these folks that it’s hard to envision America being the voice of moral authority anywhere. For minorities it really confirms the real racial divide that exists in this country.

    • Nyawira says:

      What? You don’t believe that in the middle of his campaign, Trump sent his son, his son in law and campaign manager to speak to a Russian lawyer to discuss child adoption policy? How cynical you are! Next you’ll be telling us you think the Russians hacked the DNC

      • Megan says:

        According to their lawyer’s spokesperson they got “played,” because they had no idea who they would be meeting with. I guess they are in so deep with Russia any Russian who calls can get a meeting without identifying themselves and their purpose?

    • Snowflake says:

      I thought I saw an article on Trump and the Central Park five on this website a couple days ago. Now I can’t find it. Did anybody else see it? Maybe I saw it somewhere else.

    • Megan says:

      It’s worth noting that we know about this because a Russian official named Svetlanka Lukash took the photo and posted it to Twitter.

      Trump does not understand Putin’s game at all. He’s not on Trump’s side, he just wants to disrupt the Western world and Trump makes it soooo easy.

      • Raina says:

        Indeed he does. And there goes ivanka who is a calculated snake at the core. Some people think she’s not as bad but make no mistake; the Apple didn’t fall far from that orange

    • Lahdidahbaby says:

      Oh well, it was just the most essential and sacred function of our democracy that Putin fucked with — the vote — so why get our collective panties in a twist? Hell, the GOP fucks with the vote all the time, through voter nullification, so why would they care if Putin messed with our electoral process, especially since he was trying to tilt the vote in Trump’s favor?

      It was just a bloodless coup, you guys, BFD. No one got hurt or anything. And now Putin has what he was shooting for: a malleable, egomaniacal POTUS he can manipulate with compliments about his brilliance while discreetly taking down our country, Russia’s principal adversary and longtime bête noir.

      Jeez, what’s the big deal about a bloodless coup? We still have our freedom. Pretty much. And we have the Internet (though Putin is reportedly looking into that, along with our power grid). And we have our vote, you guys. Though Trump’s new team of voter fraud experts is looking into that.

      And we’ll always have the Kardashians. No one can take that away from us.

  2. Jazzie30 says:

    Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

  3. Lolo86lf says:

    At this point I do not believe anything that comes from the White House. Lying has been and it will continue to be a shameless norm for Trump and his associates. Ivanka did not have the qualifications to sit at that important summit, but then again her father is not qualified either.

    • ORIGINAL T.C. says:

      I believe the Russian liars over Trump. And the NERVE to say Ivanka Trump with no qualifications apart from being Daddy’s favorite would have it EASIER if she wasn’t his daughter? If she wasn’t his daughter she would have barely made it to college.

      Instead she gets into any college Daddy can write a check to, gets hired out of college by Daddy’s company, money thrown at her left and right and now has one of the highesest positions in our country. While actual qualified people are kept out of jobs due to fear of the “deep state”.

      Most world leaders at that table had to work their way up after decades of work as beaurocrats and then run for office for years, working their tale off to get elected. They stay up 18hours a day to run their countries, dealing with a crazy level of stress. Now Princess Ivanka just strolls over to sit at that table like it’s nothing in the world.

      God bless Angela Merkel for being the leader of the free world that we all know worked her tail off to get to her position. I take her words as sarcasm. Like “if Bigly says Ivanka is the US representative, then represent away, I don’t have time for that family’s childish games!”

    • Sarah says:

      I am really in support of a #bluexit, in which we kind-of, sort-of stay together, but we allow the immoral a-hole Republicans to cut federal taxes to the bone. Then the blue states raise their state taxes the same percentages, and we get to decide where our tax dollars go, and how to spend them. We will band together with other blue states and get Medicare for all, great schools, civil rights, etc. The red staters will no longer take our considerably higher tax contributions, vote for backward yahoos, and then try to take away our healthcare, civil rights, etc.
      This will work. We blue states will take care of all of our citizens. The red states will get what they want, no taxes, and be like Ethiopia in 5 years. Sad! The only worry is the red staters fleeing the hell they created, but we will have rules like, “You must be here for 5 years and work full time to get Medicare if you move from a red state.” That will cut down on the backwards yahoos coming in.
      Oh, we will give a grace period of like a year for liberals red staters to move in and so we can send the red states people like my Confederate flag flying, Trump loving neighbors in upstate NY.
      As for Trumps DaughterWife, screw her and that baby lisp she rode in on. I despise her! I troll her on IG and Twitter, told Donny Jr. last night that if she hadnt been born wealthy, she would be hocking cheap crap made in China down on Canal St. in NYC. Grifter, ignorant, entitled, crooked Ivanka. I cant wait until she goes to jail.

      • Addie says:

        “The only worry is the red staters fleeing the hell they created”
        You’ll have to build a wall to keep them out. Blue people in red states can be given refugee status.

        But, yeah, blue states band together to build the alliances they want domestically and internationally. Minimise the Trump WH and the red states to a path of irrelevancy. I don’t think this is farfetched either. Consider how nation states have evolved over centuries in Europe.

  4. Megan says:

    Why is she wearing a pink dress with giant bows on the sleeves? Did she think the G20 was a princess party?????

  5. Beth says:

    I never got to go with my daddy to Bring Daughter To Work Day.

    • QueenB says:

      Probably because he never wanted to date you.

      • FLORC says:

        It’s cringeworthy because it’s true… Or at the very least he has lusted over his daughter. Excuse me while I vomit having typed that out.

    • shannon says:

      Ha. Yeah, my dad has passed away now but he never needed to take me to work with him, he managed to go to his grown up job and do it all by himself. He wasn’t president, but had a demanding job and managed to do it on his own like the rest of the world. Does this buffoon notice that nobody else brought their adult kids along? Ya know why, Donald? Because they are grown ups who shouldn’t have the job they do if they need a minder along everywhere they go. So sick of this crap.

    • yep says:

      I think this iy “Bring your daddy to work” day, remember, we now live in bizarro world.

  6. Thebees says:

    Well, she did have to put the notes in crayon so he would feel comfortable so…..

  7. Bluesky says:

    Imagine if Chelsea Clinton sat in for Hillary Clinton? The GOP would have a complete meltdown. I’m with you, Kaiser. I’ve become so numb that nothing about this shocks me anymore and that there is a blatant double standard between Obama and Trump.

    • lightpurple says:

      I know people every where are bringing up what the reaction would be if the Clintons substituted with Chelsea but this goes far beyond this. No other president in over 200 years has had one of his children substitute in such a way and a fair number of them were actually qualified. Bush I didn’t have any of his kids fill in for him at such events. Neither did Nixon, Johnson, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Truman. John Adams did appoint his son, a trained diplomat, as Minister to Prussia but he did so at Washington’s urging and JQA had already served as Minister to the Netherlands and Minister to Portugal and at no time did he substitute for his father like this.

      • Wisca says:

        & Chelsea has a PhD from Oxford in global governance.

      • Esmom says:

        Yes, exactly. Hillary would never have considered having Chelsea sit in, nor would any previous POTUS. Not to mention Hillary would have the knowledge and the stamina to keep up with the other world leaders at the table.

      • Pumpkin Pie says:

        Chealsea also has a BA in law, and an MA in public health, IICR. From Harvard?

      • AnnaKist says:

        How was this allowed? Why was this allowed. It’s totally against protocol, especially since she holds no official pisotion, despite the fancy title given to her.

        This would not be tolerated here in Australi, nor anywhere else, I imagine. This is unprecedented. Some of our ministers have partners (and children) who are highly educated, extremely capable and held in very high esteem, just like those mentioned above, yet wouldn’t dare try this nonsense, as they’d suffer brutal backlash. What made them think sitting the pink minx at the table with heads of state was a good idea? I’m gobsmacked at their unmitigated gall. Trump needs to be chucked out, and fast.

    • Annetommy says:

      Next time I go to the doctor I will expect them to step out and then send their non-medical offspring in to continue the consultation.

      • nicegirl says:

        annetommy, hilarious. no kidding.

        here comes dr doogie howser, but wait – at least he had a MD

      • Trashaddict says:

        It’s OK Annetommy, under the circumstances my kids could probably do a more intelligent job than Ivanka.

    • holly hobby says:

      Orangino did tweet out Chelsea this am. Chelsea slapped him back and it was glorious!

  8. Jerusha says:

    The trumps are absolutely nothing like the Clampetts. Jed and family had morals and Ellie Mae loved critters. I’ve never seen any evidence that any trump gives a flying fig about animals of any sort unless they’re fried, boiled or steamed on their plate. Uday and Qusay love to kill them, the more endangered, the better. The trumps are unique in their disgusting awfulness.

    • Bettyrose says:

      LOL @ defending the Clampetts from a Trump comparison. Our world really is this absurd now.

    • Christin says:

      That’s true, the Clampetts were not trying to take advantage of others. Orange’s family would have taken someone else’s oil rights and used the money to build overpriced housing for poor people. But I get part of the comparison being how ill-suited they are to power and wealth.

  9. Jerusha says:

    Devastating commentary by Australian reporter.
    http://twitter.com/insidersabc/status/883829926993862656

    • ArchieGoodwin says:

      Thank you for posting this. It’s spot on.

    • magnoliarose says:

      Sigh. It is even more devastating because it is said matter of fact without any surprise that this is the state of things. This is how we look to the world.

    • Prairiegirl says:

      Accurate overview of how the world outside the US views Trump.

      • Lady D says:

        That was bad. I wonder if it will shake up anybody in his inner cabinet? When he said he would make America great again, he neglected to mention it would be in-house only.

    • LaBlah says:

      This Uhlmann piece seems to have gone a little viral for reasons I can’t quite fathom (it’s pretty standard fare really) but just in case any of you have horrid Trumpette relatives who try and say this is just liberal media spiel from a leftie – Uhlmann calls himself a centrist but he’s most certainly not. This is a guy who ranted about wind energy causing a blackout (it didn’t) and ‘cultural Marxists’ ruling the world (they don’t). He is very much of the right wing.

      The ONLY people on earth defending Trump are the deeply ignorant, the deeply racist and the craven GOP who’ll apparently put up with anything if it means they can trash the poor and working class (many of them are obviously in the first two categories as well).

    • AnnaKist says:

      Oops. Sorry, Jerusha, I posted the DM links before reading your post.

      La Blah: Yep, Chris Uhlmann is well-known as a conservative here.

  10. lightpurple says:

    What happened to her being an Orthodox Jew? The ones who don’t work on Saturdays? Did she WALK to the meeting?

    Putting that part of it aside, where the hell was Tillerson? Mnuchin? Haley? Our acting ambassador to Germany? One of those people should have sat in that seat, as our laws direct. Not that idiot who was never approved by the US Senate. Haley’s excuse was ridiculous: “Well, she has issues she cares about…” I have issues I care about too; does that mean we all get to take turns?

    And if Princess Nagini truly believes she belonged at that table, she should be willing to sit herself down, tomorrow if possible – clear all other things on her schedule – and take the State Department Exam. Televise it and score her as she works her way through the full day, multiple choice test that State Department and CIA agents must take before even being considered for a job. If she does not score within the hiring range of the last exam, she must pack her stuff and never set foot in any government meeting ever again. Here’s a hint, Nagini, if any one of the four answer choices says: “Burn the files;” that is the correct answer.

    ETA: We spent the last four years listening to Boehner and Ryan claiming that the President can’t decide where our money goes, only Congress can. Why are they so silent about his pledge of $50 million to Princess Nagini’s pet cause, which would duplicate many existing programs and is currently without anything beyond an extremely vague definition of how it is to be used?

    • SoulSPA says:

      I couldn’t agree with you more, @lightpurple. Does she also have an assistant to use her phone and read/send back-forth messages? What a blow to her image. Mind blowing. All plastic, fake, hypocrite and liar.

      There should be a blanket ban on Drumpf’s daughter and SIL from the rest of the diplomatic community. With their presence in those meetings, their is no purpose whatsoever for those meetings to be held.

      • Esmom says:

        Right. I don’t understand why they even allowed her to sit in. They should have showed her the door immediately.

      • Pumpkin Pie says:

        1. Show her the door immediately.
        2. Protest in formal and unequivocal terms against her presence at the table.
        We are talking about Heads of State who in fact work for the benefit of their countries.

      • Megan says:

        It is normal for senior officials to sit in while heads of state are in bilateral meetings. Each delegation gets to chose for themselves who has a seat at the table. Trump’s decision was stupid, but it did not breach summit rules as poor Merkel was forced to note.

      • Esmom says:

        Megan, I realize that’s true but you’d think he’d choose a senior official with at least a modicum of diplomatic experience.

    • Sixer says:

      I thought that! My first reaction was – but hasn’t Celebitchy written about her being oh so observant?

      As a general impression, watching the G20 was very sad for any American or Brit, I think. It’s blindingly clear the world is moving on from both of us. Even more sad (for us) is that a lot of the world also looks as though it’s breathing a sigh of relief. And it’s all our own fault – not that those who made it our own fault seem to realise this even in the slightest.

    • Annetommy says:

      Given she had her oh so natural rack on display at the Warsaw Ghetto memorial, being Jewish doesn’t seem to influence her clothing choices, although gentiles would have realised that was not the dress to wear.

    • lightpurple says:

      Apparently, she and Jared both flew home on the Sabbath too.

    • Annie says:

      Bravo!

  11. SoulSPA says:

    That much for trying to stay away from politics. That much for being an informal advisor for POTUS but standing in for him at a meeting at such level. Is there no accountability whatsoever? What are the USA, a dictatorship? Was there no one else, with appropriate qualifications in international relations/diplomacy, to represent the USA at the meeting? For how long will this circus continue? It’s not only the image of the USA, but the fate of the country. I am lost in this charade. I pray for the USA.

    • Jerusha says:

      To answer your questions:
      1. No
      2. Getting there
      3. Yes
      4. As long as Rethugs are in power. Vote, vote, vote!

      • SoulSPA says:

        Thanks @Jerusha. LOL!

      • B n A fn says:

        Now I’m wondering if our votes will count. Putin is not going to stop now that he has the blessing of 45 and the Republicans. I honestly don’t believe 45 only mentioned the election hacking with Putin for two minutes. Putin says, “NO” I did not do it, 45 replied, I believe you, I don’t believe too. Next. Then they talked about how to steal the oil from the Middle East, Tillerson is a big oil man and 45 did mentioned last year “take the oil”.

        We will never know know what was said in that meeting because there are no notes, no cameras, and no tapes. 45 and Putin are known liars and tillerson is there to fill their pockets, end of story.

        My only hope is Putin will throw 45 under the bus 🚌 if he does not get those two properties BO seized. The Russians are saying 45 accepted Putin’s denial already and wants to move on. The trump crime family is hard at work scre$$ng the American people.

      • Jerusha says:

        @B n A fn. I’ll repost what I said yesterday. I’m certain this was the most important part of donnie and pootie’s meeting.
        Jerusha says:
        July 7, 2017 at 7:48 pm
        trump’s discussion with putin regarding Russia’s election hacking, “You’ve got everything set up for 2018, right? For 2020? Great! Thanks, vlad.”

      • B n A fn says:

        Jerusha: I see you, I hear you and I agree with you. We are screwed for a very long time. Btw, have you noticed 45 is putting IT in position to take over from him if he has to resign, he looks like a very sick man to me. Who knows what his health is like, no one knows and I don’t believe his hippie dr that his health is great. I bet my last dollar he is trying to figure a way to pass the presidency to her, IVanka and the deplorables will eat it up like honey, jmo.

      • Pumpkin Pie says:

        @B n A fn : Putin’s ultimate goal is not to get those properties back. He wants to weaken the USA AND THE WESTERN WORLD, and solidify his own position. He will continue to keep a tight fist over Drumpf for as long as possible and achieve his goals. He knows Drumpf is STUPID. He knows Drumpf is his marionette. He must be j******* off looking at his photos and that video from that hotel in Moscow. And he’s laughing and he’s WINNING SO HARD.

      • B n A fn says:

        Pumpkin pie, you are right, I did not explained my logic completed. I see 45 and his team are trying to explain what happened in his meeting with Putin. No one knows because donkey boy banned, video, note takers or audio. Only Tillerson and 45 attended on USA side. now who is the people supposed to believe? I’m saying believe the man in the moon, lol.

        OT: We are having a beautiful day here. Low humidity, sunnny skies. Took my dog to the doctor today, he’s feeling better.

  12. Aussie girl says:

    Miss “I stay out of politics”.

  13. S says:

    If this were a country which had been explicitly created to avoid rule by unelected scions, patriots would be really pissed right now.

  14. RBC says:

    What happened to Tiffany Trump? She has certainly dropped off the radar. I have not heard or seen her in the news since he took office. Barron is mentioned more than her. Does she and her father not get along? I would think having donald as president and as her father has not been easy for her as well

    • magnoliarose says:

      Tiffany is the lucky one. A classmate of hers said she was very nice in high school and that Tangerine never came to any of her functions except when she graduated. She knows her father is a dumpster fire and is accustomed to living without him. After this whole thing blows up, she will be the only one left untainted. Barron maybe if he is able to get away from Tangerine and his malignant trio of grifter spawn.

    • Jerusha says:

      Marla managed to save her, it seems. And since precious daughterwife ivanka is the only one that matters, donnie doesn’t care.

      • Pumpkin Pie says:

        I respect your opinion but I don’t think Marla saved her. It’s just that she is of no use to her FATHER.

      • CynicalAnn says:

        @Pumpkin Pie-I agree. I feel like that’s why she’s going to Georgetown Law-she wants to be in DC with him to try and get his attention. Marla didn’t want the divorce-Trump did.

      • Megan says:

        Moving to the west coast was Marla making the deliberate choice to separate Tiffany from the family, and, based on the ceaseless grifting of her siblings, I’d say it was the right choice.

        As for her attendance at Georgetown, I think that was probably the most attractive Ivy League option. Harvard and Yale are way too liberal.

      • Christin says:

        Based on an interview Marla gave last year, I think she plays her cards carefully. When he won, they both joined in some of the festivities and Tiffany was photographed a bit more. Once it became evident this was not going over well, she’s backed away again. Seems daughter stays in step with her mother.

      • magnoliarose says:

        @Megan Georgetown isn’t Ivy League but it is a very law school.
        Marla Maples didn’t start their relationship in a particularly good way and she paid the price during their marriage. I would not be surprised if after the divorce she did some work on herself.
        She knows what Tangerine is and I agree with the above poster that said she moved across the country on purpose. Out of sight and out of reach. It is easier to stay in his good graces if he never sees you and can’t find something to be nasty about.
        Even in a recent interview he said he was lucky because he had great wives and then he said Well two of them at least.

    • swak says:

      She’s been papped in NYC (iirc) out and about with her SS protection.

  15. Indiana Joanna says:

    Ivanka, daughter in thief, places herself at every opportunity next to world leaders in one of her ratty collection dresses. Mind you, her best accessory is her perpetually pouty expressions that belie her poseur mentality. She seems in deep thought desperate to recall any of the quotes she inappropriately used for her ridiculous book. She hopes to insert one of these quotes at the meeting because she is nothing more than a robot. She also loves to accentuate her extreme Barbie -gone-mad-plastic figure, a stark contrast and insult to genuinely brilliant world leaders.

    Angela Merkel graciously defended her saying anyone can be designated a placeholder for a world leader. But for grifter Ivanka it’s ultimately about marketing and shilling her clothing/accessories tat. She is a liar and phoney.

    • hmmm says:

      What exactly is a placeholder here? Is it like placeholders at the Oscars? Could they have roped in the local caretaker? I don’t think anyone should make excuses for this travesty. Merkel just adds to the lie. She could have chosen her words more carefully. Graciousness at this juncture is perceived as weakness.

      • lightpurple says:

        We had people there who had been approved by the Senate. We also had career diplomats there. Tillerson, Mnuchin, Haley (if she was there – she seems to be the most vocal in defending this stupidity) or the acting ambassador to Germany should have been in the chair. Not Ivanka.

      • LAK says:

        Yes. When the leaders leave their seats for whatever reason, a placeholder takes their place for the duration, just like the Oscars.

        They tend to be aides. Theresa May had a placeholder take her place in the same meeting for abit.

        The difference here is that Ivanka is Trump’s aide which rubs everyone the wrong way because as @Indiana Joanna said, it’s about marketing and posing in her fashion line (though in this case her dress is Roksanda) as opposed to taking notes for her employer.

      • lightpurple says:

        @LAK, well, technically, given that she is supposedly an Orthodox Jew and it was the Sabbath, she couldn’t take notes. She also shouldn’t have been working and it is a mystery how she even got to the meeting because she isn’t supposed to ride in a car.

      • SoulSPA says:

        Question around the fact that she is Orthodox Jew. Are Orthodox Jew women allowed to shake hands/touch//be touched by men other than those who are family? She is not Hasidim, but still. Please excuse my ignorance.

      • magnoliarose says:

        @SoulSPA She isn’t Ultra Orthodox so that wouldn’t apply. However, working and doing business is a problem. Not that her father would care and demand she be there because of his sick obsession and she had to be there to help the others manage him. Religion is just like everything else for her. It only matters when it is useful and convenient.

    • lightpurple says:

      I did not take Merkel’s statement as a defense of Ivanka Trump at all. It was more of an acknowledgment that sometimes they have to leave the room and each country has its own rules for who substitutes and she had more important things to do as the organizer of the event and leader of the free world than to comment on what the US policy on chair holding might be. And I believe at this point, Merkel has had more than enough of the airhead that is Ivanka Trump but knows that she will continually be foisted on her because “women!” Merkel seems to have pretty much written off the US for the foreseeable future.

      • Indiana Joanna says:

        Light Purple, That’s how I took it. Merkel is resigned to our pathetic leadership and the antics of baby fists and precious Barbie. It seems Macron also is trolling baby fists with his fake bon hommie at the photo op.

        Did anyone read the Australian reporter’s take on baby fists at the G20? None of the US reporters would give such a clear eyed view of how out of place baby fists is among world leaders and how those leaders avoided him at every turn.

      • jwoolman says:

        Yes, Merkle was right to point out that each country has the right to decide who is the placeholder. It may be silly to put Ivanka there, but her father has put her in a position that if held by anybody else, wouldn’t seem odd to be used as such a placeholder.

    • Trashaddict says:

      Regarding Ivanka’s Orthodoxy, I would guess that would be a bit difficult since she wasn’t born Jewish. I think for the truly Orthodox, that would be a nonnegotiable requirement? Can one convert to Orthodox Judaism and if so, did she actually do so?

  16. poorlittlerichgirl says:

    From my understanding, it is protocol for another representative of the White House to take the seat of the primary person (in this case the POTUS) when they are not in their chair at this meeting. Correct me if I’m wrong but that seems to be the case here. Even though it makes our blood boil that she is in that seat, that seems to be correct protocol for this situation.

    • Jerusha says:

      Tillerson wasn’t available? No one else in an official capacity with actual experience was available? Someone who has not stated they “try to stay out of politics” wasn’t available? For his first G20 meeting trump himself couldn’t stay in his seat? No, the current protocol is that this is a wannabe Mafia family that intends for family members to control everything to maximize their profits and fvck the USA while they’re doing it.

      • lightpurple says:

        Tillerson and Mnuchin were both in the room. And from the comments Haley has made, it appears she was too. And the acting ambassador to Germany would have been there as well. All have Senate approval to fill in for the President. Ivanka does not.

    • magnoliarose says:

      Not just a representative but usually a high ranking official. It is insulting to put her there . It is nepotism. What is her role exactly? Besides making side deals using her father’s position as leverage what does Complicity Barbie do?

    • Pumpkin Pie says:

      Accd to @lightpurple’s comment up-thread there ARE more suitable officials to replace him.

      I am pretty sure Drumpf has the attention spam of a toddler. It was not a potty or Twitter break for him. He does not have the intellectual ability to participate to high-level political encounters.

    • poorlittlerichgirl says:

      Ladies, I feel you 100%. It is nepotism. That’s the only reason (outside of a very loose protocol) that she is there.

      • adastraperaspera says:

        As a feminist, I think we also see a good dose of cynical sexism in play here. Tr*mp would probably not have put a son in that seat. He uses Ivanka’s “pretty little girl” persona to his advantage. He knows that world leaders won’t question or toss out a woman due to the negative optics of a move like that.

    • Prairiegirl says:

      There were a lot of other officials at the summit who could have filled the seat from time to time. What’s really interesting about the Ivanka situation is that the administration either doesn’t understand the optics of her sitting there, or doesn’t care. Each interpretation is troubling in its own way.

    • CynicalAnn says:

      Pence, Tillerson, Haley? She is completely NOT appropriate to be sitting there. She shouldn’t even be in the White House in any capacity.

      • lightpurple says:

        Pence wasn’t there. He stayed stateside to visit NASA and touch objects that had huge DO NOT TOUCH signs right in front of him. But the others were there. Tillerson should have tackled her before allowing her to put her butt in that chair.

  17. Bellagio DuPont says:

    I feel soooo bad for Americans who actively participated in the democratic process and voted for Clinton, because they don’t deserve the horrors of witnessing this buffoon and his family infest the White House. Having said that though (and on a brighter note), it will be fascinating to see how Vladimir Putins “vision” for America develops under Donald trumps presidency.

    • magnoliarose says:

      Yeah I am taking a Berlitz course in Russian just in case. Maybe my Russian roots will help me out in the future. I’ll just amend my last name and add a “vitch” at the end. Since you aren’t American and I don’t mean to be forward but could you maybe set up a safe house for American refugees?

    • Jen says:

      I also feel bad for those Americans who desperately wanted to actively participate, but who couldn’t because their elections are held on a weekday when they had to work, and didn’t have adequate pre-poll options. Or who weren’t physically able to stand in a queue for hours.

      Here in Australia, we are so lucky to have an independent body, the Australian Electoral Commission, control our elections, separate from government. I think we take them for granted a bit, but I think we would be horrified to have happen here what happens over there. I feel bad for anyone who wanted to vote but was denied the opportunity.

      • AnnaKist says:

        Yes, Jen, we are so lucky to have the AEC. The AEC is very good at keeping things above board. We also have compulsory voting, and elections are always held on a Saturday – with sausage sizzles! I always find myself comparing the Trump circus to our political situations. Can you imagine Malcolm Turnbull shoving his daughter into a “special position” as Trump has done? People would go ballistic, and he’d be out on his arse, quick smart. You’ve only got to look at what’s happened to pollies (on both sides) who try to falsify an expenses sheet to see we will not tolerate even basic bad behaviour. Our system is far from perfect, but I know where I’d rather be right now. I feel so sad for Americans.

      • Indiana Joanna says:

        @Jen, Is that you, from KMR? If so, it’s so good to see you as a commenter here!

      • Jen says:

        No, sorry, Indiana Joanna. What’s KMR?

      • Indiana Joanna says:

        @Jen. KateMiddletonReview.com is a terrific blog about Kate and other royals. The site has some wonderfully knowledgable, talented commenters and one of the very best and most articulate has the screen name “Jen”(in the same vein as the high caliber Sixer, Lak or Light Purple) and is from Australia. I no longer comment on that blog, but do miss Jen and a few other commenters.

  18. Annetommy says:

    Spot on as usual Kaiser. The NY version of the Clampetts. It was outrageously inappropriate for Ivanka to even be there never mind sit at the table. And trump doesn’t believe the 17 agencies that said Russia – and Russia alone – meddled. But believes ex-spy despot Vlad. And the lack of openness with the press….awful. And that’s not even mentioning the actual terrible policy on climate change.

    • Pumpkin Pie says:

      It’s not even a matter of Drumpf taking Putin’s word. It. Was. For. The. Show. Drumpf and his clique must know all too well what went down.

  19. Disco Dancer says:

    Sorry Ivanka that you were mistaken- this wasn’t some “Incest R Us” convention, that would entitle you to have a seat at the table. I wish some world leader sitting there told this fake Tittied s**t to f-off from the meeting that she is nowhere qualified to attend.

  20. third ginger says:

    This Ivanka idiocy is one part of the reason Trump did not have and will not have a news conference about the G20. He, of course, has no viable answers. Tillerson and others have to cover for him while he tweets his own deceptive description of the Putin meeting and other issues. Of course, parts of his tweets, as usual, have to insult Obama and bring up the DNC. As for Russin interference [attack], we are “moving on.”

    • Indiana Joanna says:

      I truly doubt baby fists knows/understands why he was there. The meeting with hairless, miniscule alien Putin was pure show biz and reality tv.

      • Esmom says:

        Yes. I have nothing further, lol. Sob.

      • boredblond says:

        We should doubt everything about that meeting..tillerson and trump both owe putin plenty..someone at those meetings should’ve asked the WH barbie what her credentials and authority are to be there..and of course, mrs trump went to a meeting with him where no other spouses were present..is she an official now too? No..he can’t be left alone, family is there to cover up

    • swak says:

      From Politico: “Vowing “to move forward” in his administration’s relations with Russia, President Donald Trump said Sunday that he and President Vladimir Putin talked about “forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit” to safeguard against election hacking when the two leaders met in Germany last week.”

      So we are going to work on cyber security to safeguard against hacking with the country that hacked our election SMH.

      • third ginger says:

        “Fox guarding the hen house” does not even begin to cover it!!

      • Trashaddict says:

        E-f%$king-nough already! Can we please get the truth-tellers a seat at the table?

      • jwoolman says:

        Yeah, the idea of sharing detailed information about voting systems with the Russians right now makes me feel SO comfortable…. Does Trump really think he’ll get away with that?!?

        Russia has been messing with elections in Europe and in Ukraine also. Almost succeeded in Ukraine. So ridiculous to think that this is just about the US and Russia unfairly distrusting each other.

        I wonder if Trump has a way to bypass Congress about giving back those two compounds to the Russians that Obama took last Fall. Congress seems to have been busily getting the sanctions installed legislatively so Trump can’t get his grubby little hands on much of it, but don’t know if that includes those properties and Trump has been making noises about handing them back. Trump might be needing some good faith gestures to satisfy Putin at this point, since I’m sure the original idea was to get rid of the sanctions asap. Trump tried to do it almost as soon as he was inaugurated but Congress found out and passed legislation requiring Congressional review before sanctions could be lifted.

        .

  21. adastraperaspera says:

    Enraging. The inappropriate, illegal and treasonous acts being carried out by the Tr*mp criminal enterprise every day are breathtaking. We have no choice but to continue working to legally oust them. Seeing her sitting there makes me so, so angry. It is dead wrong. It cannot stand.

  22. third ginger says:

    I explained and tried to imitate Ivanka’s baby voice. My husband hasn’t had that look on his face since he got hold of some off brand Cabernet years ago!

    • Jerusha says:

      trump’s incestuous obsession with ivanka started when she was a child. Maybe that’s why she maintains that ridiculous voice.

      • No Dignity in that says:

        Baby-voice

        Baby-voice or childlike-voice in adult women is a sign of submission.
        It was more of a thing in the first half of the last century. Many women maintained that voice even into adulthood.
        I studied linguistics so I heard some stories. One of my older lecturers actually helped a woman to lose her baby-voice two decades ago because she needed to sound more mature to get a shot at a career. As a result her husband divorced her because she did no longer sound submissive. He felt riled up by her new voice. She didn’t even have to say something offensive. But the change of her voice (register) alone did change the power dynamic within her marriage which led to divorce. He probably didn’t deserve her anyway.

      • Honey says:

        Ivanka and the Kardashians (especially Khloe ) have the most obnoxious, fake baby voices ever

    • Beth says:

      Lol. She sounds like a porn star or phone sex operator. While we watched her during an interview, my bf asked me to give him some “Ivanka voice. ” I think he enjoyed hearing me talk like that…

      • nicegirl says:

        Yep, No Dignity. You are spot on

      • third ginger says:

        No dignity, that is fascinating. I associate it with Marilyn M., but it makes sense it goes back earlier. Great information. One more reason I love CB!

    • KiddVicious says:

      She doesn’t want to sound more masculine than Jared. ;D

  23. Shambles says:

    Vladimir Putin kills people.

    He kills people who speak out against him. He kills innocent civilians in orchestrated tragedies in order to consolidate his power. He is a criminal and a murderer.

    And the president is taking 2-hour meetings with him. 49% of republicans are pro-Russia, completely brainwashed. I am so scared.

    • third ginger says:

      And most importantly to Trump, Putin kills journalists!!

      • Esmom says:

        Yes. And the thing is, if Obama had cozied up to Putin, not that he would have, the GOP would have said these exact things. I can’t believe how fully on board they seem to be with this madness.

  24. Eric says:

    GWB: did you order planes into the Towers?
    Bin Laden: No.
    GWB:OK
    Bin Laden: want to work together on terrorism?
    GWB: Sure.

  25. Jerusha says:

    donnie, jr., still trying to win daddy’s love, or at least his attention, posts another video promoting violence against cnn.
    http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-jr-top-gun-instagram-video-shooting-cnn-2017-7

    • No Dignity in that says:

      Don’t worry too much about Donnie Jr.
      That video proves he is a fool. Populist at most.

      Nevertheless all those big media corporations and newsmakers do deserve some hefty kicks to their shins – speaking metaphorically. Because they keep spreading misinformation and fake news and they decline to properly report important things. They aren’t innocents. They need to raise their game and think more long-term.

      • Jerusha says:

        Populist?? What are you talking about?
        pop·u·list
        ˈpäpyələst/
        noun
        1.
        a member or adherent of a political party seeking to represent the interests of ordinary people.

        The only part of your reply I agree with is don jr. is a fool. And, no, most reputable news outlets are not spreading false information. Everyone will misstep occasionally, but NYT, WaPo, WSJ, Atlantic, many others are doing excellent work.

      • lightpurple says:

        What important things?

      • lightpurple says:

        Donnie Jr just admitted to meeting with a Russian operative for the purpose of getting dirt on Hillary Clinton to use in the campaign.

      • Sorry, no dignity in that says:

        @ Jerusha

        Technically your are right, but …there is another meaning for the term “populism”.
        Populism can refer to a type of political statements that are semantically utterly stupid but which catch the attention of the “common man”. Semantically these types of “populist” statments have the same quality as beer hall talk in the later hours 😉 Trump is a master of this type of populism: “You’re fired”. . His son Donnie Jr is trying to do the same: appealing to the “common man” by “physically tackling” some news broadcaster. It is pathetic, really. But unfortunately they seem to think that this works. And it seems to work as this type of “populist” statements helped to secure the Oval Office for Trump.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Populism

        Populism is a mode of political communication that appeals to the “common man”, often contrasted against the “privileged elite”. Populism tends to be centrist on the traditional left–right political spectrum, as it sees both bourgeois capitalists and socialist organizers as having an unfair domination in the political sphere.[1]

        Political parties and politicians often use the terms populist and populism as pejoratives against their opponents. —->>>>> Such a view sees populism as demagogy, merely appearing to empathize with the public through rhetoric or unrealistic proposals in order to increase appeal across the political spectrum.[2] <<<<<<——

  26. Prairiegirl says:

    Morons Are Governing America! (MAGA!) Sad!

  27. Bobbysue says:

    What little knowledge our illustrious leader possesses on any given day on any given pressing concern at hand comes from the Cliff Notes given to him by Precious Ivanka and Jedi Jared. Daddy was heeding nature’s call, or Putin’s call, or maybe he got lost again. At least he spaketh no stupid spiel.

  28. magnoliarose says:

    Either this whole thing will end in a South American style military coup or we storm the White House/Bastille and begin a Revolution. These fools aren’t going to go easily.
    I am tired of daily outrage and I am exhausted by the people in power who could shut down this shizz show down before more damage is done. But they do nothing. The self righteous flag waving family values brigade lick the mottled ass of a tangerine potentate and then thank him for the opportunity.
    What will it take for them to care? Obviously self respect, love of country, pride and humanity isn’t working.

    • No Dignity in that says:

      They aren’t going to leave at all. Ever.
      My bet is that Trump is preparing his precious daugther Ivanka as his successor. That is why she got the office in the White House. That is why she attends all these big meetings although she doesn’t even have a clearly defined “office”. What is she supposed to do? What is the field she is working in? Which ones are her responsibilities? Nobody can really pin point that. Ivanka isn’t groomed as a minister/senator. She is groomed as Trump’s successor.

      This wouldn’t be the first time in history when an incumbent President / Pope / Chancellor / elected Monarch / consul / dictator would prepare his chosen successor to ascend after his office term ends.
      Iulius Caesar had his family pretty much in place and he was the last elected consul. All who followed him were family – he turned the Roman Republic practically into the Roman Empire with a (mostly) hereditary monarchy (plutocracy / timocracy).

      Putin himself had “chosen” Medvedev to serve inbetween his two tenures.
      Russian Presidents can serve only 2 terms in a row, apparently.
      So it went: Putin, Putin, Medvedev, Putin, …

      • adastraperaspera says:

        Bingo. The fix is in for her to replace him, most likely via vote rigging by Kobach (giving us our “first woman president”). Surprising to find that so many white Americans want to live in a dictatorship. They have absolutely no idea what they are signing up for.

      • magnoliarose says:

        I hate to think you are right but you are most likely right. He thinks he is Napoleon and he can install his offspring in positions of power. Not his sons but Complicity is his creation complete with extensive plastic surgery so of course she is chosen. Ugh

      • Sorry, no dignity in that says:

        @ magnoliarose

        I share your feelings. Hereditary political power should be a thing of the past.
        Luckily his sons are neither bright enough nor “populistically” convincing enough in the media to make it. Ivanka however is.

    • Bobbysue says:

      When they drag him out in handcuffs, or a straight jacket, or on a stretcher in a body bag, his diehard fans and the Rethugs will load up like Rambo and take to the streets. And other lunatics who don’t really care one way or the other will join them just to have an excuse to use their Libtard Obliterator 10,000s.

    • Jen says:

      You need recall elections for President.

  29. No Dignity in that says:

    The alleged Russian meddling provides an excellent smoke screen for all the other things Trump doesn’t want his electorate to know about. And worse: the electorate does actively increase this smoke screen by pushing this story.
    Read foreign national newspapers: they all say that the Russians didn’t meddle with US elections and that multi-millionaire and buillionaire businessmen are likely to have contacts to Russia, India or China, like Trump. There is no crap going on with Russia.
    But Trump is trying to deceive and fraud the US electorate.

    • Bobbysue says:

      I’ll wait for The Mueller Report and you can durn shure betcha there will be the comprehensive findings of an exhaustive investigation which will detail Jeffrey-Bo’s malfeasances, Jedi Jared’s misfeasances, Precious Ivanka’s suitcases of cash and trips to dear friend and Rupert’s ex and Putin’s current gal pal, And Veep Mikey’s, Carter Page, and any and all other treasonous transitional transactions of the whole lot of them. Because unlike some who find themselves in positions they never earned nor deserve, I tend to have faith in lifelong honest civil servants who dedicated their lives with honor to this already great country and who would rather be doing anything other than have to be a part of the disgrace and blight upon our citizens.

    • lightpurple says:

      Which foreign national newspapers, dear? The ones I read say Russia interfered.

      • Jen says:

        Same here. Which foreign national newspapers are you reading, No Dignity in that?

    • why? says:

      What foreign national newspapers? Putin controls the press in Russia, they print what he tells them to print. Russia tried to interfere in France’s election(they dropped fake information and hacked Macron a day before the election) and was reported to have interfered in other elections of other countries, so we know that they did the same thing here.

      Trump asked Russia to hack Hillary. He did it in a tweet and during a speech. Just about everyone on Trump’s administration met with Russians and lied about it. Jared met with a Russian bank executive that was under sanctions and excluded it from his forms. Trump gave classified information that he had no business doing to 2 Russian officials a day after firing Comey. According to Clapper, the NSA, CIA, and FBI all said that they have evidence of Russian meddling. Now we have Trump trying to form a “cyber security” (seems to be an easier and more public means to be hack the 2020 elections) team with Putin?

    • Jerusha says:

      I think the intelligence agencies will disagree with you. They say there was and is Russian meddling. And no one is not aware that trump is using the office to enrich bimself. Don’t know where you’re getting your disinformation.

      • Sorry, no dignity in that says:

        Please respond to the argument instead of going against the person.

    • Sorry, no dignity in that says:

      I think the best an ordinary citizen can do is to observe these machinations and try to figure it out over time. They can’t lie to all the people all the time.
      And then take action within legal means.

      I have just checke my sources and they are german so that won’t help much.

      Try this: This guy is a former UK ambassador to some Uzbekistan. He got kicked out of diplomatic services for exposing the torture and corruption of former Uzbekistan President Karimov (died).
      He is very critical both with the media and with politics.

      https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2017/07/stink-without-secret/

      The thing is that you can change the hacking attack path so that it looks as if your local kindergarten had hacked the US elections. And Russian IT-Specialists are usually very good. They would be ashamed to be caught so easily. If they had hacked the US elections then the hacking attack path wouldn’t have led back to Russia.

      Another point is that the report which claims to prove the hacking attack
      1. has been ripped by IT-experts already
      2. isn’t any kind of offical report nor any kind of officially regulated normed report. That is important because officially regulated normed reports required evidence and academic argumentation. As there is hardly any evidence the US administration did the decent thing and refused to write an official report. So they were forced to write some kind of unofficial … unregulated thing.

      First news of those Russian hacking attacks came up in Dez 2016 / Jan 2017. If the US could prove these attacks without doubt then the sanctions against Russia would be far more severe already.

      There is some motivation for these hacking accusations:
      Trump always wanted to relax relations with Russia and start trading with Russia. Which would have been good both for the US and Russa which is rich in resources.
      But in recent times the US foreign politics always tried to make the EU take a more hostile stand against Russia. More and prolonged sanctions against Russia which hit the EU and Russia hard economically as the EU and Russia do trade a lot. Whereas these sanctions against Russia don’t hit the US (much) economically because the US and Russia don’t do that much trade. So my guess is that in order to marginalise and punish Russia some political groups in the US came up with alleged Russian hacking. When Trump got elected the pushing to marginalised Russia increased because Trump intended to normalize relations with Russia.

      • Sorry, no dignity in that says:

        my comment aims to embed the whole Russian-hacking-story into a bigger context which I believes depicts the motives why such stories might be just made up.

        As I wrote above: keep an eye on this story and don’t allow media nor politicians to fool you and everybody forever.

      • Chris says:

        Bot?

      • lightpurple says:

        You said NEWSPAPERS. That is NOT a newspaper. And I’ll go with Sally Yates if that is okay with you.

      • Jerusha says:

        Sorry I doubted you, Vlad. Or is it Sergey? My bad.

  30. Mary says:

    She is not qualified for any of this. But what an eye opening and amazing learning experience for her… Must be nice to have everything handed to you on a silver plate by your father! But she “tries to stay out of politics”…she is a BS’er just like her dad! So maddening listening to BS’ers like them talk, u just want to shake them..

    I wonder if it hurt her feelings when her own father ridiculed the msnbc lady for her plastic surgery because Ivanka has a TON of work done on her face! She can hardly close her fake lips around her fake teeth!

  31. why? says:

    Of course Ivanka sat in on the G20 meeting, she is doing everything possible to be wherever Justin Trudeau is present. Remember she said that she stays out of politics? Since she isn’t there for politics, it must because she is trying to “impress” Justin Trudeau. Ivanka gives Justin Trudeau that same creepy adoring look that she gives her father. You never see her looking at Jared like that. What is up with that creeping adoring look she keeps giving Trump? It’s just weird.

    Nikki Haley is useless. What is it about Trump/Bannon’s administration that makes qualified people become incompetent?

    As for Trump and Putin working together for cyber security, all this means is that they are going to do what they did in 2016 to the voting systems, voter registration, and voting machines, but this time they are going to be very public about it. Trump isn’t even hiding the fact that he put together a Voter Suppression Commission under the pretense that they are looking for voter fraud. This needs to stop. If the GOP don’t impeach Trump now, he is going to be president in 2020. What happens after 2024? Trump remains president because Russia is going to keep doing things to keep him in place. Trump hasn’t even been in office for a year and already he has destabilized every aspect of this country with all those EOs. The reports that the economy are doing well, are false positives because Trump has filled his administration with millionaires and billionaires who haven’t divested from their companies and who are making government rules that will help their stock do well(Tom Price).

    When they brag about Trump’s meeting going for 2 hours instead of 30 minutes and Melania being sent in to break up the meeting, are they trying to give the impression that the meeting went long because it was going well? They didn’t have any note takers, so how do we know that the meeting actually took 2 hours? For all we know they might have talked for 30 minutes and then spent the rest of the time watching tv. Did the meeting include talks about the embarrassing tape that Putin has on Trump? How long after the meeting will Trump remove sanctions on Russia? Did Trump give Putin more classified information about our allies?
    Trump’s tweet sounds like Putin told him to take more aggressive actions towards to the press.

    The press is being played by Tillerson and Putin. Do we really believe that Trump confronted Putin about Russian meddling when the day before he refused to admit that it was Russia? Why is Trump being praised for his speech in Poland? He read from the teleprompter and he didn’t even write the speech(Stephen Miller, the same person who helped write the Muslim Ban wrote the speech, hence why some detected a dark vibe from the Poland speech).

    Trump and his people are blaming Obama yet again. According to Trump administration, Trump didn’t have a hotel because the Obama administration didn’t make the arrangements. Trump can’t blame Obama and his people because he knew that he was going to the G20 when he did his first overseas visits and when Ivanka went to Germany where she was booed. It sounds like Trump and his people waited until the last minute to make hotel arrangements and when they found out that they couldn’t use the “I am president and you are not” line to bully hotels into giving them a room, they decided to blame Obama.

    • Bettyrose says:

      Hard to hate on Ivanka for wanting to get with Trudeau, but the difference between being a love sick teen girl and an adult pretending to be a world leader is that you should use a bit more decorum in pursuing married men.
      BTW, I totally blame Obama for not making hotel reservations for his unknown successor one year ago. What else did he have to do?

      • jwoolman says:

        Yeah, Obama was so unbusy at the time….

        Is it typical for an outgoing President to make hotel reservations for the unknown incoming President? Seems as though there could be a lot of problems doing that, for example the new person may have their own preferences and needs depending on who is coming with them.

        I’m sure the US Embassy is always ready to host the President when necessary, which is what happened here. It’s not as though they put him in a closet.

        Trump has had since November 9 to make such arrangements himself. Usually candidates start planning everything long before the election. The organization that helps with such planning said that it can take a year to prepare, but the Trump people weren’t asking for help even after the election. That’s why it’s been so chaotic and the offices are so empty. Trump tries to blame Congress but actually he just hasn’t nominated enough people, and those he has nominated have been slow to get their necessary paperwork done before hearings can be scheduled if Senate confirmation is needed.

  32. Rapunzel says:

    Trump will not win, folks. He’ll do damage, yes, but he cannot win. His regressive policies and attitude are against the laws of Father Time (who, along with Mother Nature, you cannot successfully fight). Father Time is undefeated; nobody beats him. Time’s rules are constant, and they are immutable and unforgiving. Time is a ruthless son of a b@tch that will not allow Trump and his supporters to violate his number one rule: You cannot go backwards. Time only goes forward. It does not stand still or go in reverse. Ergo, Trump and his MAGA plans are doomed for failure. It’s only a question of when. Time is like a one way street: You can’t make a u-turn without crashing. Trump and the Trumpsters WILL crash. It’s just a matter of Time.

    I know this may seem like cold comfort, as Trump seems to be taking America with him on this crash. But stand strong, folks. Follow Time’s rules and go forward. Time will reward you for your obedience. Have faith in Time, and Nature, to protect us. They are more powerful than any Trump.

    I know this is a sorta weak attempt at optimism… But I feel like people need to keep from sinking into despair. Don’t lose hope folks. Time and Nature,have ways of balancing out our world.

    • Tate says:

      I find myself sinking into despair sometimes. I mean, he is quite casually handing our country over to Putin and nobody is stopping him. I am trying to keep faith that Mueller and team are getting all their ducks in a row and justice will be served in the end. It is just so awful living through this.

      Thanks for the pep talk Rapunzel. We have to keep eachother going.

    • magnoliarose says:

      I will hold on to this because despair is an apt description. Katrina took down W so it could happen. Thanks. 🙂

    • Jerusha says:

      Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but in the meantime he’s appointed one right winger to the SCOTUS, with the possibility of appointing a second and, please god no, a third.
      And National Parks will be degraded. And more White Supremacists will emerge from their holes because their people are in charge. And so much more damage it will take decades to reverse, if at all. Hard to be optimistic.

  33. nicegirl says:

    thanks, Rapunzel.

    Here’s hoping.

    I had an opportunity yesterday to spend time with an amazing group of young folks at Western Oregon University during freshman registration orientation for my awesome Psychology/Criminal Justice interested son; I found them to be intelligent, accepting,friendly people who are excited about global good and it was very inspiring. We can still get there.

  34. notasugarhere says:

    Global governance does not mean “send your Daughter to Work in Your Place Day”, Drumpf.

  35. Ozogirl says:

    So that’s how this “job” thing works?? I can have a relative show up in my place? Good to know!

  36. Vovicia says:

    Republicans would have tried to find some grounds to impeach Obama had he let Michelle sit in for him at something like this. For Christ sake – they went bonkers just because she tried to get America to eat better and exercise. But this – this is fine? And then they try to make some kind of case that it’s not about racism and insanely blind party politics.

  37. Lori says:

    It is just amazing how Trump supporters cheer for these aweful decisions that are being made every single day. It almost makes me want to give up on my faith in humanity. Like, fine, take away womens rights, ban all muslims and change every law to make the richest richer. Nothing matters anyway.

  38. Hannah says:

    The world is laughing at America. This only happens in kingdoms or dictatorships.

  39. Jezza says:

    What are they distracting everyone from now??? I may be giving them way too much credit, but, c’mon!

    The very presence of DaughterWife Barbie should offend career diplomats everywhere. She has no clue how out of her depth she is on issues she has no right to speak about given the large platform afforded her. She spouts things in platitudes and generalities. No depth, no content. All spoken in that annoying whispery baby voice that is annoying AF. FML…at least when bigly goes down, he’s taking that useless moron and her husband too!

    • magnoliarose says:

      HAHAHA! Morons they are. If Complicity Barbie and Crooked J go to prison for money laundering and bribery I hope we get to see photos of their perp walks.

      • Jezza says:

        Imma get the biggest glass of champagne and PVR the hell out of that perp walk. That is your damn must see TV right there!!!

      • Lady D says:

        We’ll get pics of the kids on visiting day to distract from the fact they are visiting in prison.

    • lightpurple says:

      From the breaking news that brother Donnie colluded with Russia.

      • Jezza says:

        shocking…not! And all I’m hearing about is DaughterWife sitting in for bigly, not about how Donnie Jr, Tom Riddel from Harry Potter, and the former campaign manager stooge met with some Russian with Kremlin ties.

  40. why? says:

    Kobach sent the 50 states a letter demanding voter information. When asked by the courts(some states brought the issue before the courts) where and how the voter information was going to be stored, the Voter Fraud Commission said that it would be stored at the WH on some website. Then Friday, Saturday, and today, Trump and Tillerson bragged about starting some sort of cyber security unit with Putin. Well now we know one of the reasons the Voter Suppression Commission wanted voter data from the 50 states. Trump sold us out to Putin.

    • lightpurple says:

      They also wanted it sent by email in unencrypted form. States have laws against sending some personal data unencrypted and they also have rules about cell size.

    • Trashaddict says:

      Link please? And which states (I hope all) are fighting it?

    • jwoolman says:

      Curiously enough, they are asking for the same information that the Russians tried to get for a few dozen states via hacking the voter registration databases. They were partially successful in at least one of them. The speculation at the time was that such information would be valuable for targeted disinformation campaigns and voter suppression. Which it will be. This commission is not about the virtually non-existent problem of voter fraud.

      I would worry about identity theft if such details were easily available. I’m sure the state officials realize that also, which is why they are being so cautious. I don’t think it’s a partisan issue.

  41. Poppy says:

    Not that this is the takeaway (and apologies if somebody else already pointed it out) but Sergey Lavrov is the Russian Foreign Minister not the ambassador.

  42. Deeanna says:

    Today’s story about Trump Jr. taking a meeting with some unknown female Russian lawyer in seems to be getting closer and closer to the top, doesn’t it now?

    I too think I’ve been numbed and then something like these past few days happens and I am incensed once again. And so I do the only thing I feel I can do that might be effective – I email my congresspeople.

    Please keep in mind that despite our image as a country being damaged by Trump, no one president can last forever. It is 8 years max and I don’t think Trump will be in there anywhere near that long. Trump may be the worst of modern day, but there have been other bad presidents in our history. As a country, we survived them.

    My take on the Ivanka/Melania hovering: They are acting as Trump’s “minders” because they know these kind of events are where he can be seen for how deficient he really is. Someone “sent Melania in to the Putin/Trump meeting after an hour had passed”??? That just confirms it!

    • jwoolman says:

      I’m surprised they waited an hour. I suppose they were counting on Tillerson to keep an eye on him. Trump’s attention span is so short and he gets tired and/or bored easily. Plus his knowledge of the topics is so limited.

      I’m sure Putin was doing most of the talking, with the aim of making sure Trump will continue to do what Putin wants. Putin knows that Trump has been speaking against the idea of Russian interference in our election, so his aim must be to reinforce that idea as well as to encourage lifting of sanctions so the oil drilling plans (profitable for Trump and Tillerson as well) will go through. Don’t know what his plans are in Syria, he might legitimately want things to calm down there but may also want to get the US firmly away from the idea of regime change if the current Syrian government is more advantageous for Russia. Trump is such a Putin fanboy that I’m sure hearing such things directly from Putin will help keep him on Putin’s path. The lengthy meeting puffs Trump up, convincing him that Putin thinks highly of him. Flattery definitely works on Trump.

      • lightpurple says:

        Ivanka is not acting as minder. She is there to collect bribes and make personal deals.

  43. Mannori says:

    She’s been watching too much House of Cards. Oh, Ivanka, you are so NOT Claire Underwood.

  44. lightpurple says:

    Daddy is defending his precious Princess Nagini this morning by attacking Chelsea Clinton.

  45. holly hobby says:

    Her dress is hideous. Does she want to choke the Chinese official with them? I am so tired of these idiots. I actually read a bunch of news on Sunday (maybe I shouldn’t). One of them had him blaming the Chinese or Nor. Korea for the hacking instead of USSR. So very racist of him. If he wants to pick a commie to blame, might as well go after ones that look different from him right? Jerk.