Tucker Carlson might be Trump's best pick to run with him for VP

 

By Hal Brown

Anyone who says the following might be the best pick for Trump to ordain as his running mate:

From The Washington Post:

How a small-town train derailment erupted into a culture battle

The East Palestine train accident is one of hundreds each year, but it’s become a significant political flashpoint

Fox News host Tucker Carlson used his show to bring race into the discussion, decrying an alleged lack of urgency by the government for a blue-collar community with few people of color. “Is it because these are not their voters?” he asked Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who agreed with the premise.

This is small potatoes compared to Tucker Carlson's latest coup enabled by Kevin McCarthy. Whether or not other media are able to get all the J6 videos of the Capitol attack his getting first dibs will score big time points with Trump.

What puzzles me is, even though the word is in quotes, why Carlson refers to this as "insurrection day" instead rebranding it with a term that most people peacefully entered the Capitol and were there to make sure the election wasn't stolen. 

With the speculation as to whether Trump would prevail in the GOP primary leaning heavily towards it being the former president there has also been chatter in the punditry about who is angling to be his vice presidential pick. There's no similar discussion about who might be currying favor with Ron DeSantis to persuade him they would be his best running mate choice.

Look at this web search:

First, what would be in it for Tucker Carlson? 

While he's the top banana at Fox News, being second banana to a president of the United States who might die in office would make him president, and assuming Trump lived it would position him to run for president in 2028. The answer for him in one word is "power". He'd have to be patient and should Trump win he knows he'd be hand maiden to a megalomaniac but time would be on his side. In addition, what would he have to lose since if Trump was defeated he could simply go back to his former Fox News gig.

The second and more important question is what would be in it for Trump. What would Carlson bring to the ticket that nobody else would, and what are the drawbacks of having his as a running mate?

The only drawback I can think of is that Tucker is another crowd pleasing performer, an actual star. It's possible he could upstage Trump. He's Marjorie Taylor Greene without being certifiably insane.

The benefits include Carlson's star power. Trump could make sure Carlson never upstages him when they are literally appearing on the same stage by warning him about this. Carlson is smart enough never to do this. 

The only possible better lead-in act for a Trump rally than Tucker Carlson is Marjorie Taylor Greene, but does Trump really want a screaming manic introducing him? Besides, he can include her as a member of his rally show cast and she can appear before Carlson. Greene, Carlson, Trump: now that would be a MAGA crowd pleaser. 

With Trump who would make the best, i.e., the most competent vice president is irrelevant. It was a fluke that he picked Mike Pence who actually had some governing experience. He picked him because he was a national unknown who wouldn't upstage him. He believed in his grandiose self-confidence that he didn't need anyone to help him win.

With Trump running again he may have rethought this and want to run with someone who has their own huge fan base. He may have a moment of humility and want to run with someone that may actually bring him additional votes in the primary coming from those who lean towards DeSantis because they see him as Trumpian without being Trump. 

For Trump it is always about winning. Who can forget this?

The question I have is whether the star of a long-running hit show is if he'd be willing to allow an equally talented understudy to be hired.

Addendum: 

As a reward to Marjorie Taylor Greene Trump could make her his Chief of Staff. She's adept at sucking up and has demonstrated this with Kevin McCarthy. No puns intended here...

Click above to read snarky replies to this tweet.

Can you guess who just tweeted this?

Hubris is the delusion that causes people to mistake themselves for God. They imagine they have power, wisdom and foresight they don’t actually possess. It’s a species of mental illness. 

It is Carlson's latest tweet:

I am sure that the graduate of Harvard and Yale Law knows the meaning of the word "hubris". He's obviously not referring to himself, a high priest of hubris.

-------------------------------------------

Scroll down the page for Archie with links to these articles and more.

Trump's secret plan for easily ending the war in Ukraine, Santos, and other schadenfreude tidbits

 Trump's secret plan for easily ending the war in Ukraine, Santos, and other schadenfreude tidbits

By Hal Brown

A link to this was in my email this morning:

Click above to read article

The article leads with these points:

• Donald Trump appeared to criticize a decision by the US and Germany to provide tanks to Ukraine.
• "FIRST COME THE TANKS, THEN COME THE NUKES," Trump said on his social media platform.
• Trump also suggested ending the war in Ukraine would be "easy," without elaborating.

At first blush on reading this I wondered what easy plan the man with the biggest brain had for ending the war which he was withholding, perhaps figuring he could sell it to President Zelensky or his pal Putin or even the fake president, Joe Biden.

Then it occurred to me. What a dummy I was. Of course the easy way to end the war would be for Ukraine to unconditionally surrender.

This would no doubt make Marjorie Taylor Greene happy:

Her tweet led to these replies:

In case you read my blog about Greene's aspirations before I tweaked my original illustration which just depicted her inside of the presidential seal, here's the new improved photoshop.

Back to Trump:

I wrote a few days ago that Trump's having Truth Social is a gift to prosecutors. I wrote that Trump behaves like a child who has problems with impulse control who is having a temper tantrum when he doesn't get his way. Once a tantrum starts there's a point of no return where the child, or adult in people like Trump, is no longer considering the negative consequences. 

Trump can't restrain himself and perhaps with no-one around to vent to or make ridiculous self-aggrandizing claims to he takes to Truth Social where what he expresses can't be erased. From journalists tasked to monitor Truth Social to ordinary citizens there are many people making screen grabs of whatever he posts there.

Here's an example. He posted this on Truth Social:

 “Does Coco Chow have anything to do with Joe Biden’s Classified Documents being sent and stored in Chinatown?” Trump wrote. “Her husband, the Old Broken Crow, is VERY close to Biden, the Democrats, and, of course, China.”

This led to articles like this in the Murdoch owned NY Post: Mitch McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, breaks silence on Trump’s racist ‘chow chow’ nickname for her.

Excerpt:

Former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao fired back at former President Donald Trump for his racist remarks about her — insisting his attacks reveal “a whole lot more about him than it will ever say about Asian Americans.” 

Chao, 69 — who has frequently been referred to by the former president as “Coco Chow” — issued the rare rebuke on Tuesday.

Yesterday's National Review article referencing Truth Social was just reported on again on Morning Joe:

And then there's George, or whatever his name is:

This offers a lot of schadenfreude: 

Kevin McCarthy "stands by" George Santos: Now the MAGA caucus owns his lies

The Republican Party's illicit affair with a con man has already gone south. But Kevin McCarthy can't let go

It is unusual, if not unprecedented, for a freshman member of Congress to make the top of the Washington Post website the way Santos has.

The illustration in one of the articles is even animated with moving blackout lines over lies he told:

Here's another story from the Post:

This is breaking news Friday evening - I did add something to the photo:

I thought it was interesting that website of The New York Times (see image) didn't have a single article about Santos.

I blogged about George Santos yesterday and by this morning couldn't keep up with the new revelations about him to add to that story.

George Santos made 'offensive' past joke about Hitler and 'The Jews': report

View - Screenshots from over a decade reviewed by Patch show Rep. George Santos has what the ADL called a "deeply offensive" social media history.

George Santos was 'sweet and caring' — until he started stealing from everyone: ex-boyfriend

Posted Fri. Jan. 27:

George Santos appears to admit drag queen past in Wiki post

A user with the name Anthony Devolder wrote in 2011 that they won several drag pageants. Anthony Devolder is a Santos alias.

The last story above demonstrates how a dogged investigator with nothing more than internet access and determination can dig deeply into information available online about someone and come up with information that a person like Santos very likely forgot he posted.

Click above to read article

Excerpt:

The Wiki entry, last edited in 2011, appears to match up with biographical information currently provided by Santos, including his birth date and being born to a Brazilian family with a European background, Politico reported Friday.

It also claims “Devolder” acted in a movie starring Uma Thurman and appeared in the TV series “Hanna Montana,” an apparent misspelled reference to a Disney show that starred Miley Cyrus, noted The New York Post.

Any appearances as a drag queen by Santos could cause a meltdown within the Republican Party, whose members have very specifically attacked drag performances as part of their anti-LGBTQ hate campaign.

On Jan. 11th I wrote Santos leads the GOP in eliciting Schadenfreude, no doubt more to come. No doubt, indeed, here it is Jan. 27th and he has been a gift that keeps on giving me pleasure, or schadenfreude if you prefer: 

Schadenfreude is the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, or humiliation of another. It is a borrowed word from German, with no direct translation, that originated in the 18th century. . Wikipedia

There's more schadenfreude eliciting news. 

While the report that John Eastman seems likely to get disbarred, and that Marjorie Taylor Greene had an amendment about releasing oil from the reserves defeated in the House 418 to 14. 

The most promising pleasure I am hesitant to let reach the level of schadenfreude is the news reported here:

Click above to read article

Also read: 

Bill Barr asked Italian officials to discredit Russia probe — they responded with evidence linking Trump to crimes

I am hesitant to let myself feel too optimistic about this. It could lead once and for all to proving that the dots are clearly connected proving Putin attempted to get Trump reelected. Ideally we may learn that the attempt to prove that the there was no effort by Putin to influence the election could prove the very opposite.

I just don't want to get my hopes up since Trump seems to have the most tenacious Teflon in the world. Not only that, whenever I indulge in schadenfreude in excess I come across articles like this: 

The quiet takeover of the Tea Party: GOP establishment is now full MAGA

Click above to read

Excerpt:

Meanwhile, the MAGA movement, under Trump, took up what was once the undercurrent of the Tea Party movement, the culture war, and brought it to center stage. No longer did anyone have to pretend that all they cared about was spending cuts. They could hate on immigrants and Black people and gays and liberals right out in the open and could do it in the crudest terms possible. Conspiracy theories were encouraged to flourish and loyalty to Trump was the only "issue" they needed to care about.

This new Congress finally brings it all to the fore. It's all come together. The anti-tax, government-slashing extremists are one with the revolutionary MAGA culture warriors. Today Speaker Kevin McCarthy embraces Freedom Caucus member and MAGA heroine Marjorie Taylor Greene while Freedom Caucus founder and MAGA leader Jim Jordan leads a crusade to "take down the deep state" and Freedom Caucus member and MAGA superstar Matt Gaetz plots ways to destroy the economy if they don't get their way. They are all one. These former gadflies and bomb throwers are the establishment now. They are the Republican Party. The metamorphosis is finally complete.

File these under semi-schadenfreude:

Trump slapped down by judge in bid to avoid Jan. 6 Capitol cop trial

'Trump has run his course': Top NH GOPer's have moved on as he prepares for Saturday speech to party

McCarthy allies scrambling after leadership fight eroded his power: report

CNN's Manu Raju turns tables on George Santos when he accuses network of 'lying to the American people'

 

Anybody think Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn't want to be president?

 Anybody think Marjorie Taylor Greene doesn't want to be president?

By Hal Brown

Two days ago I also wrote about Marjorie Taylor Greene: 

Kevin and Marjorie, sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G

Newsweek article shown above 

Donald Trump and Kevin McCarthy Share Love-In After 'Crazy' Speaker Race

NBC News article shown above

Marjorie Taylor Greene aims to be Trump's VP pick in 2024 -- "She sees herself on the short list for Trump's VP," said former Trump aide Steve Bannon, who has spoken with Greene.

What a no-brainer question my title is. 

I have no doubt that MT Greene aspires to higher office. In her dreams I think she sees herself;f as the first woman president.

She has only three options for higher office unless you count being appointed to be a Supreme Court Justice (one doesn't have to be a lawyer). 

She could run for governor. 

She could run for the Senate. 

She could be Trump's choice as his VP running mate, no inference meant by using the term "mate" intended. This would be her most likely ladder to the presidency since  Trump might not live to complete a term should he be elected. 

Considering her narcissism and need to be the center of attention I think if she had a choice she'd want to run with Trump. If Trump won or lost the primary  she would be thrust into the spotlight in ways that only ever happened when she was featured at a Trump rally.

If horror upon horror Trump won I have little doubt she would be even less in the news than Kamala Harris. Trump doesn't want anybody upstaging him.

Unless Greene has some plans to hasten his demise - not to say she'd take active steps - but stress can be a big factor in life expectancy, she would be advised to consider the fact that he, like Biden, may be what is called a super-ager. Research suggests that both of them are very likely to life our another term if they are elected.

The key findings of the study:

• Biden and Trump are likely to be "super-agers," a subgroup of people that maintain their mental and physical functioning and tend to live longer than the average person their age.
• Both candidates have a higher than average probability of surviving a four-year term in office, relative to other men their age. For Biden, the probability of surviving the next four years is 95.2% (vs. 82.2%). For Trump, this is 90.3% (vs. 86.2%).
• Biden is expected to outlive Trump, even though he is three years older. In the paper, the researchers note Biden's "nearly perfect health profile for a man his age," compared with Trump's "significant but modifiable" negative risk factors.
• While Trump is noted to have an elevated familial risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease, neither candidate is expected to have major cognitive functioning challenges now or during the next four years.

What she has to be careful of if she wants to be Trump's VP selection is that for the present she serves two masters, Kevin McCarthy and Donald Trump. If these two have a falling out she will have to chose sides. 

That might not be easy. McCarthy has the power to derail her ambitions to be the unofficial Speaker of the House calling the shots whenever she thinks it will accrue to her benefit. On the other hand if she crossed Trump he would never select her to run with him.

If Trump won and became president then Greene, like Harris, wouldn't be a particularly viable national presidential candidate, although I think Harris would be a much better candidate since, well, she's both very smart and sane.

Comment below:

Kevin and Marjorie, sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G

Kevin and Marjorie, sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G

By Hal Brown

Scroll down for Jan. 25th update

The insert was manipulated by me to bring McCarthy within kissing distance of Greene.

When I looked at Salon this morning this was the main article:

Click above to read article

From Salon:

McCarthy's nauseating adoration for Greene continues throughout the article (in The NY Times), leaving it impossible to believe there's anything resembling reluctance on either side of this alliance.

The title uses the words "hopelessly devoted" plus the texts say nauseating adoration, indeed... I rather doubt these words were chosen at random.

And then there's this quote:

There are non-too-subtle implications here, so I'm going to come right out and say it. If it looks like an amorous duck, walks like one and talks like one, perhaps it is one.

I suppose you can say that the Devil made me do a wee but of tinkering with the image when I saw, like how anyone could miss it, how intimate these two appeared to be in the photo.

The "Kevin and Marjorie sitting in tree, K I S S I N G" was too euphonious not to use it in a blog for a title.

Democrats are  reveling at the level of Republican dysfunction within the House. Angry non-MAGA Republicans may be saying "you made your bed, Kevin, now sleep in it" bring up the image of Kev and Marge under the sheets. If I could draw I'd make a cartoon showing this.

The notion of a political marriage was not lost on journalists. Consider:

Lawrence O’Donnell Spots Kevin McCarthy’s ‘Strangest' Vow To Marjorie Taylor Greene

“He was not talking about his wife of 31 years, the mother of his two children,” the MSNBC anchor said of the House speaker's promise to the far-right congresswoman.

Excerpt: 

O’Donnell pointed to a New York Times article in which McCarthy was quoted as telling a friend: “I will never leave that woman. I will always take care of her.”

McCarthy wasn’t “talking about his wife of 31 years, the mother of his two children,” noted O’Donnell.Instead, McCarthy was reportedly making a political marriage vow to extremist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). 

The Times article — titled “How Kevin McCarthy Forged an Ironclad Bond With Marjorie Taylor Greene” — explained how Greene’s help was crucial in McCarthy finally winning his drawn-out bid for the speakership.

McCarthy “can only hope no one back home in Bakersfield, California, was reading The New York Times today,” O’Donnell added.

If you have a subscription to The New York Times you can read the article O'Donnell was referring to. Here's the photo used to illustrate it. The background suggests it was taking at the same time but a few moments after the photo Salon used was taken.

There's nothing wrong with hugging, however I don't see lots of photos of male Republicans hugging each other.

Excerpt:

Their political union — a closer and more complex one than has previously been known — helps explain how Mr. McCarthy rose to power atop a party increasingly defined by its extremes, the lengths to which he will go to accommodate those forces, and how much influence Ms. Greene and the faction she represents have in defining the agenda of the new House Republican majority.

“If you’re going to be in a fight, you want Marjorie in your foxhole,” Mr. McCarthy said. Both he and Ms. Greene agreed to brief interviews for this article. “When she picks a fight, she’s going to fight until the fight’s over. She reminds me of my friends from high school, that we’re going to stick together all the way through.”

It is a relationship born of political expediency but fueled by genuine camaraderie, and nurtured by one-on-one meetings as often as once a week, usually at a coffee table in Mr. McCarthy’s Capitol office, as well as a constant stream of text messages back and forth.

From reading this and other articles one might conclude that for the most part McCarthy a savvy political tactician and is manipulating Greene by giving in to her demands. I wonder whether the reverse is true with Greene using her wiles to manipulate McCarthy.

.......

Greene and her husband Perry divorced in 2022. Here they are in presumably happy times for the couple celebrating their 25th anniversary.

More photos here.
.......

Addendum:

Related or  not...

Click above to read 2015 NY Post article

Perhaps the gentleman prefers blondes.

Up close and personal with Marjorie Taylor Greene:

Update: Jan 25, 2023

Newsweek article 

Donald Trump and Kevin McCarthy Share Love-In After 'Crazy' Speaker Race

NBC News article 

Marjorie Taylor Greene aims to be Trump's VP pick in 2024 -- "She sees herself on the short list for Trump's VP," said former Trump aide Steve Bannon, who has spoken with Greene.

What a no-brainer this is. Of course MT Greene aspires to higher office.  This leaves only three options. She could run for governor. She could run for the Senate. She could be Trump's choice as his VP running mate, no inference meant by using the term "mate" intended. This would be her most likely ladder to the presidency since actuarial tables suggest Trump might not live to complete a term should he be elected. 

What she has to be careful of is that for the present she serves two masters, Kevin McCarthy and Donald Trump. If these two have a falling out she will have to chose sides. 

That might not be easy. McCarthy has the power to derail her ambitions to be the unofficial Speaker of the House calling the shots whenever she thinks it will accrue to her benefit. On the other hand if she crossed Trump he would never select her to run with him.