The Deep State Loses Another One

Yesterday’s press conference was like a delicious six course meal of bone-in rib-eye with all the trimmings, ending with a chocolate-and-strawberry-topped cheesecake, with a fine single-malt scotch and big fat cigar afterwards.

It was that good.

For starters, the Trumpster humiliated CNN at his first ever press conference. Then he destroyed the entire Golden Showers meme that had been conjured up against him. Worse (for them), he tied it like an albatross around the mainstream media’s neck and –this is the extra delicious part–around the neck of the CIA.

There’s so much here. Not only did Trump not give into the dominant narrative but he put the Intel people on notice that he was not going to roll over for them like Bush 43 did. The fact that James Clapper had to personally call up and apologize to Trump for the “leaking” of the Buzzfeed “dossier” shows to me how complete the CIA’s surrender was.

Now don’t get me wrong. This was a clear attempt by the Deep State to hobble Trump even before he’s sworn in. The fact that this was probably a joke started by some trolls on 4chan is immaterial in the final analysis. Whether these trolls did it as an experiment to see how quickly a meme can spread and then be taken up by the media or whether it was an actual Deep State operation from the start is unknowable at this point. If I had to lay money, I’d say that the former was the case.

There is a third possibility however: that a Trump operative crafted the story, planted it in 4chan and then “guided” it out to Buzzfeed. That CNN picked it up was not necessarily part of the plan but given then antipathy towards Trump, the bait was too delicious to pass up. That Trump’s enemies were part of this was proven when John McCain was caught as being part of the food chain.

Regardless, the Deep State and two of its media outlets (CNN and Buzzfeed) took the bait. And now they have egg all over their faces.

It’s amazing how quickly Trump brought his enemies into line. Not only are they running from this story like scalded dogs but they are well on their way to discrediting themselves in the future. Fewer and fewer people are going to believe anything the mainstream media says about Trump going forward.

Tactically, the left is hobbling themselves for the long term in a very real and dangerous way in that they are making an unnecessary enemy of the President-elect. Trump (lest we forget), is not even a conservative or a life-long Republican. Trump is a businessman not an ideologue; he’s a pragmatist. He’ll make a deal with anybody, anywhere in away in which all parties will have a win. By retreating to such rigid, hate-driven partisanship –and without any trump cards on their own–Trump will be able to pick and choose which remnants of the Democratic Party he will work with.

Really, someone needs to do an intervention with the Dems and soon. In the meantime, well played, Donald; well played.

Comments

  1. He’s on a roll. This is his version of the Putinization of the press, bringing them to heel. It has to be done even in a free country if there is to be any moral order. They can’t simply operate as an overlord.

  2. NEW RULES MSM! The OLD RULES, no longer apply with President Trump. President Trump is giving the same respect, given to him by the MSM. Trump is no fool, just the opposite. Deep state accept your new President, or be swept into the dust pan of the past.

    George, pour me some Don Julio Reposado, and pass one of those Cohibas, OPA!

  3. It has also now come to light that Ukraine interfered in the election on behalf of getting Hillary elected. I can’t paste any links as I am posting from my phone, but a Google search should bring up plenty of information.

  4. Pat Reardon says

    I saw excerpts of the press conference, and they were marvelously entertaining.

    • Archpriest Alexander F. C. Webster says

      I concur, Fr. Patrick–especially the moment when the President-elect was Accosted and then dismissed that out-of-control “journalist.”

  5. Nate Trost says

    The information and allegations in the report, including the salacious unverified tidbits people are fixating on did not come from 4chan, the report predated material that is being alleged as an inspiration.

    The history of the report, and the man responsible for its creation and dissemination is rather well documented at this point:
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/11/us/politics/donald-trump-russia-intelligence.html
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/12/intelligence-sources-vouch-credibility-donald-trump-russia-dossier-author

    It was created and compiled in the private sector and is not, and never has been IC product. It is 35 pages of unverified, raw intel that is going to be some combination of correct, partially correct and outright false. It also ended up getting distributed pretty widely well before Buzzfeed published it. Mr. Michalopulos incorrectly conflates CNN and Buzzfeed in this matter, big surprise.

    George Michalopulos wrote
    The fact that James Clapper had to personally call up and apologize to Trump for the “leaking” of the Buzzfeed “dossier” shows to me how complete the CIA’s surrender was.

    Clapper is DNI, not DCIA, if you’re going to rant about the Deep State, at least give an inkling you know how it is structured. Trump’s account of the call with Clapper is a bit at odds with the statement Clapper put out:
    https://www.dni.gov/index.php/newsroom/press-releases/224-press-releases-2017/1469-dni-clapper-statement-on-conversation-with-president-elect-trump

    Which, especially since Clapper is on his way out the door and doesn’t have to pretend to give one, is a artful bureaucratic middle-finger to 1) Trump’s charge that the IC leaked the report (which wasn’t an IC report to begin with) and 2) The Trump camp acting like the CNN story was bogus (which, again, was a totally separate issue from the Buzzfeed report dump).

    As an aside, it’s hilarious that shortly after posting made up things from 4chan as some kind of smoking gun proof of wrongdoing (remember Pizzagate?), now Mr. Michalopulos is all like “ha! It was made up folks from those trolls at 4chan!” Talk about whiplash!

    At any rate, the salacious bits are really the least interesting, or even important. Ongoing questions over whether there was collusion or communication between people in the Trump campaign and the Russian government, and the unanswered questions regarding Trump’s business and financial ties to Russia are what’s really relevant.

    Well, there were lots of other relevant things from that atrocity of a press conference, but that’s a start.

    • George Michalopulos says

      For the record, Pizzagate is far from over. You could say it’s “simmering” for the time being.

      As for 4chan trolls being the possible originators of the Pissgate memo, that was one possibility. I gave two others. Doubtless there are others yet to be discovered. Yet another example of how you strain at gnats while swallowing camels.

      Clapper, DNI, Brennan, DCI: they’re all the same at this point. I can’t trust any of them in toto, especially when they represent the Deep State. I don’t know whether it’s deceit or delusion. Does it matter?

      Last night I saw Lindsey Graham on The O’Reilly Factor. Oh my God! He actually believes all this Russian hacking nonsense. He has a list of new sanctions he wants to impose on Russia. When asked if this would be another Cold War by O’Reilly, he said “We’re already in a hot war.” Jesus, Mary and Joseph! This shows to me how invincible the Deep State is. They will protect any of their operatives no matter how clinically insane they appear to be.

      What’s sad is how people like you, Nate, buy into their entire mythology.

    • Some idiot put LGBT propaganda into a “report” which was supposed to frame Trump as a Russian agent. They couldn’t help themselves.

      The rest of the report should be discredited by the golden rain part. Why would a heterosexual male with a wife, probably girlfriends, and children pay prostitutes to pee on a bed slept in by Mr. and Mrs. Obama?

      That is a sick fag fantasy if ever there was one. The rest of the report is probably just as reliable. These people know no bottom, just filth.

    • Peter A. Papoutsis says

      Excuse me Nate, but your candidate Hillary Evil incarnate Clinton lost. All I have seen you do on here is cry sour grapes.

      Your side created the “Russia hacked our election” meme with no evidence and no specifics given as to what was hacked.

      Further, the only thing hacked was the DNC and not our voting machines. You are complaining that Hillary’s and the DNC’s evil was exposed by Wikileaks and the truth got out the the American people.

      You do understand that this position you are talking and all prog/libs are taking is total bs and laughable.

      Please stop making a fool of yourself. It is very unbecoming. You lost not because the Russians hacked our election, but because God did and took mercy on us and is now exposing the sins of our Nation. It is about time.

      Peter A. Papoutsis

    • “Ongoing questions over whether there was collusion or communication between people in the Trump campaign and the Russian government…”

      If there is even a shred of evidence that any such collusion occurred we can all be assured that it will be found by the press or any of the other many powerful parties that despise the president-elect and have every means at their disposal to produce it. Until then, “ongoing questions” are nothing but fantastic narratives.

      Does Nate Trost beat his wife? Or is he gay? Such is the substance of “ongoing questions” lacking in evidence.

      It is anyone’s right to ‘believe’ that evidence will be found. But until it is, in fact, found this is nothing by slanderous innuendo. And lest you think this is partisan, I have said the same in defense of those with whom I vehemently disagree.

  6. Nate Trost says

    George Michalopulos wrote
    As for 4chan trolls being the possible originators of the Pissgate memo, that was one possibility. I gave two others.

    Which were also nonsense because the authorship and history of the report that Buzzfeed published is not some kind of mystery. It has been extensively covered in the last couple days and I gave links to some of said coverage.

    George Michalopulos wrote
    He actually believes all this Russian hacking nonsense.

    The available private sector and classified IC evidence doesn’t magically disappear because you don’t believe it exists. Amusingly, the House Intelligence Committee decided the whole House should get access to the classified report (http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/313867-intel-committee-votes-whole-house-can-see-full-hacking-report), so except a lot more leaks from the latter category.

    • George Michalopulos says

      You’re really not getting it Nate. By appropriating the term “fake news” from the left and then weaponizing it against the MSM, Trump is insulating himself from further attacks while at the same time taking down CNN and putting the rest of the MSM on notice that he’ll go after them.

      I take it you’re not in the private sector Nate. Because if you were you’d immediately grasp the long-term financial consequences to CNN as well. Trump hit their brand and by calling them fake news devalued them in one day. There is word today that AT&T is seriously considering selling off CNN.

      It’d be like some prankster putting mouse droppings in Big Macs in several of the McDonald’s in a general area. Mickey D’s stock would plummet.

      • So, George Michalopulos celebrates Trump redefining “fake news” as “negative story about Trump”. That sure is a sweet deal for Trump, he can lie his ass off, get called on it in the press, call it fake news, and George Michalopulos will defend him to the death no matter how blatant the falsehood. Heckuva four years you signed yourself up for there.

        George Michalopulos also apparently approves of Trump using the power of the office of the President to financially attack anyone reporting news he doesn’t like. Even if in the case of the CNN report, it was, in fact, accurate reporting.

        Also AT&T does not own CNN. You get your information from horrible sources that consistently leave you misinformed, or, in this case, almost backward. AT&T is in merger/acquisition talks with Time Warner, which does own CNN. And that whole prospect is, of course is a giant ball of antitrust wax.

        It’s quite something how nakedly you want Trump to be an American Erdogan when it comes to the media. Statism is bad, except when it comes to media coverage of your corrupt Golden Lord!

        • George Michalopulos says

          No Nate, he didn’t “lie his ass off.” CNN and Buzzfeed feed. And he called them out on it. That’s the point. And because he did, people are going to continue to not believe the media, even when they have a credible story. The fact that you don’t get it bodes well for the right for the foreseeable future but that’s just another layer of deliciousness.

          I’ll make it easy for you: are you familiar with Aesop’s Fables? There’s one about a boy who cried “wolf!” Look it up.

          • CNN didn’t lie. Their reporting was correct (see: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/314105-fbi-director-comey-briefed-donald-trump-on-dossier-cnn-reports among others) . Buzzfeed published a document with unverified, salacious allegations. Although there was no representation that it was anything but such.

            See, the thing is, it’s already working. You think CNN lied, because Trump called them out. Except, the thing is, they didn’t, and you are wrong. And Trump was wrong, but you will go to your grave thinking Trump was telling the truth, despite evidence to the contrary.

            George Michalopulos wrote
            even when they have a credible story.

            As we have just demonstrated, it doesn’t matter if a story is credible. If it is critical of Trump even if correct, George Michalopulos will go to the mat to proclaim it is untrue no matter the cost to his integrity or credibility.

            As I said, you signed up for quite a tour of duty.

          • It wasn’t ‘fake’ news.

            It was a headline with omission of details.

            Trump called it ‘fake’ news, but it wasn’t, unless we are talking about two different stories.

            Trump and CNNs readers got baited with ‘compromising’ info on Trump, but there was no disclosure.

            How convenient for the Commander in Tweets to have a major news outlet that had his name on the screen 24 hours a day to distract from Trump’s foolish association with the US traitor Assange.

            Trump had every right to let them have it, but they still won’t stop talking about him.

            This is the joke of right wingers thinking the msm is left. If they were, they’d never cover Trump. The anchors are lefties because they seem more compassionate and this is what really bothers righties.

            If the executive producers said kill the Trump story and let’s go with any other story; ratings would be lower. But fools believe the media is left wing cuz Carol Costello is a compassionate heart on the sleeve anchorwoman instead of Sarah Palin saying, “they deserved that”.

            • Peter A. Papoutsis says

              CNN lied. Period and accept the fact it has become FNN – Fake News Network.

              Thank yoy Buzzfeed you made this easy.

              • Nate Trost says

                Peter A. Papoutsis is incorrect. I note that Peter A. Papoutsis does not explain what CNN’s supposedly lie was, which is usually a tell that he has no idea what he is talking about. Frankly, it doesn’t even sound like Mr. Papoutsis even read the original article or knows what information he is proclaiming is a lie.

                Put up or shut up Mr. Papoutsis: did or did not James Comey brief Trump about unverified allegations regarding potential compromising information on Trump held by Russia?

                For the record, this is the primary article of contention: http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/10/politics/donald-trump-intelligence-report-russia/

                Additional background:
                http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fbi-s-comey-told-trump-about-russia-dossier-after-intel-n706416
                Brennan on Fox News this morning:
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Rb4RpjZ9g

                • Peter A. Papoutsis says

                  They repeated Buzzfeed lie and did the same smear job you are doing. I read that from CNN and buzzfeed and Trump was right to call them fake news because that is what they are.

                  If YOU want to keep playing stupid then keep playing stupid. No one believes them or you. Further, Chuck Todd was also right, although for his own purposes, to go after Buzzfeed’s editor Ben Smith for publishing an unverified and lie packed story. And Trump was right to shut CNN’s Acosta for the same bs job that they did to him. Go home little boy you have been found wanting and most of all repeating the lies of liars.

                  Tsk, tsk, tsk.

                  Peter A. Papoutsis

                  • Nate Trost says

                    Peter A. Papoutsis wrote
                    They repeated Buzzfeed lie

                    Incorrect! Again! You spend all your time calling me names and shouting lie, but none actually making an argument for your claims! At this point, Peter A. Papoutsis is so incoherent I can’t tell if you are either still insisting the CNN report was something it wasn’t, in which case you are incorrect about it being a lie because you aren’t even being honest about what the CNN report was. Or if you do know what it was but still claim it is a lie even in the face of the available evidence, without offering any proof to the contrary. The former seems more likely, but isn’t even possible to discern.

                    It doesn’t matter how many times Peter Papoutsis repeats his claim about the CNN report being a lie. It doesn’t make his claims any more true. And I reiterate that even after I linked it to him, he still doesn’t even appear to have read it.

                    Peter A. Papoutsis wrote
                    Go home little boy you have been found wanting and most of all repeating the lies of liars.

                    I’m not the one repeatedly insisting on stating a falsehood which is trivially disproven by engaging in basic literacy. That would be you.

                    Peter A. Papoutsis is entitled to his deluded belief that Comey didn’t brief Trump on the contents of the addendum. If he insists on calling the reporting that it happened, a lie, however, that’s where we have an issue. And when he accuses someone of playing stupid because HE is the one making unsubstantiated claims, well….

                    I guess all Peter A. Papoutsis is good for is spittle-flecked name calling and wild unsupported assertions. Heaven forbid he should actually show himself capable of critical thinking, analysis and the ability to make a reasoned argument.

                    Multiple outlets using multiple sources confirmed the reporting that Trump was informed, and DCIA Brennan also acknowledged it in an interview. And you’ve got, what exactly?

                    • Peter A. Papoutsis says

                      Besides repeating CNN’s and Buzzfeed ‘s lies you are incredibly obtuse. I cannot help you escape your twisted PizzaGate wold of lies. Buy buy Frosty.

              • They didn’t lie.

                What was the lie?

        • Peter A. Papoutsis says

          CNN and Buzzfeed lied, not Trump. Trump spoke the truth when he called them fake news because they are. I hope AT&T sells the Crap News Network off as I am tired of their propaganda, so is the rest of the Nation.

          Again Russia did not hack our election, God did. Period.

          Peter A. Papoutsis

        • Nate,

          What he is actually doing is even making me a little uncomfortable despite the fact that I know it is necessary and inevitable. He seems to be beginning a serious effort to deligitimize the MSM. The reason that I am slightly uneasy about it is that I know that the Putin propaganda machine has pushed far enough into the West to seriously affect the news that people here consume on a daily basis. It is being picked up by American Conservatives and Russian sympathizers and disseminated. He is starting to destablize the American MSM. And they are terrified.

          What I hope happens is that a new pro-Trump alt-media led by Fox, the WSJ, Washington Times, NY Post, etc. expands, coalesces and replaces the MSM as a stabilizing force, marginalizing what were previously the networks and papers of record – CBS, MSNBC, NYT, WP, etc.

  7. One of my favorite songs:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMaE6toi4mk

    And now my all time favorite movie scene. Nobody plays a wild eyed, angry black man like Samuel L. Jackson. He’s one of my favorite actors. What he quotes is not actually in the Bible, at least not any translation I have seen. But it is a damn good summary of the sentiment:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crR6pBGMZ90

    Here’s the prequel, guess what’s in the case:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnb_3ibUp38

    The times, they are a changin’:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7qQ6_RV4VQ

  8. http://buchanan.org/blog/trumps-enemies-see-opening-126410

    How bizarre these people are.

    Look, from whom do they get a better deal, Sunni Islam or Orthodox Christianity?

    It boils down to that.

    The Sunnis will enslave the women and execute the homosexuals.

    The Orthodox will allow women all the grace to which they are entitled as worthy assistants to man: but if/when they defy, they are to be ruled over by men. In the world to come, they will not want to be defiant but rather to play Eve to Adam, yet a new story without a Fall.

    As far as the LGBT types are concerned, we’re not going door to door on any witch hunts like the Sunnis would. God does not desire the death of a sinner but that he repent and live. The Son of Man was not send to condemn the world, but to save it.

    That’s what’s on the table.

  9. That picture you posted of Trump with yellow eyes is creepy.