Most of us have known a guy like this.
He spends his spare time going to bars, clubs, parties, parks, or other places where people congregate, with a chip on his shoulder begging to be knocked off.
He has a combative attitude and everything he says and does indicates that he is always spoiling for a fight.
He thinks he is in good physical condition whether he works out or not.
He gets some kind of ego gratification from fighting that he can’t get anywhere else. He can’t do anything else, he isn’t good at anything else, and he isn’t actually good at fighting either but his mouth and his ability to talk a big game fools some people into thinking he is a fighter. He’s able to win a lot of fights just because of his size and the element of surprise when people are not expecting him to ambush them.
Up against someone who knew what they were doing, he could lose, but he sizes up his victims well and picks them carefully. He avoids challenging anyone who looks like they might be capable of besting him, although occasionally he gets that wrong and gets his butt beat, and goes around making excuses for why it wasn’t a fair fight and generally not accepting that he lost.
His whole identity is about racking up “wins”, either because the other person backs down based on his reputation alone, or because after a first flurry of punches are thrown he is the last one standing. He has no longer term strategy about what to do if the person is still angry after being goaded into the initial fight. His mind has already moved on.
If you have never had a friend or acquaintance like this, you do have someone in your life right now who fits this profile perfectly.
Seems like every day DJT is trying to pick a fight with someone new.
While I was out of town and not hearing much news I missed the whole new dust up with Canada.
Canada! We are fighting with Canada now? About lumber, and milk?
Seriously? Now we are hassling our northern and southern border countries? Mexico is not going to pay for the wall no matter how much he tries to bully them.
It’s one thing to be talking tough with antagonistic elements across the ocean. ISIS is in a lot of locations so picking a fight with them involves a lot of countries.
We still have troops in Iraq. Although theoretically that war ended in 2011 you have never heard anyone give Obama credit for ending the war in Iraq because we still have soldiers in harm’s way, fighting ISIS. We still have troops in Afghanistan. Although theoretically that war ended in 2014 you have never heard anyone give Obama credit for ending the war in Afghanistan because we still have soldiers in harm’s way, fighting ISIS. Afghanistan is where we dropped the “mother of all bombs” earlier this month. U.S. soldiers are still dying there.
Then there’s Syria, where we dropped 59 Tomahawk missiles earlier this month in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack that we assume was ordered by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against his own people, but there is still a question as to Russia’s involvement in the sarin gas attack.
We are picking the scab in Iran as well, because DJT doesn’t like the nuclear deal and wants to pressure Iran with more sanctions.
The People’s Republic of China was antagonized because while he was President-elect DJT took a call from Tsai Ing-wen and referred to her as the President of Taiwan, thereby acknowledging Taiwan as a separate country with a separate government. DJT had thrown around plenty of fightin’ words about China on the campaign trail when he said he would label them as a currency manipulator, but after meeting with Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, he backed down—again, not choosing a victim who would easily smack him on the nose with a rolled up newspaper.
And of course we are trying to pick a fight with North Korea, already discussed at great length here. A nuclear fight that no one can win.
DJT has insulted various allies too, needling Leader of the Free World Angela Merkel about NATO payments and refusing to shake hands with her in the White House (girls have cooties!).
He annoyed Theresa May, Prime Minister of Great Britain, holding her hand like he was a Boy Scout helping a little old lady across the street, making all kinds of rambling comments about Brexit (she voted Remain), his general idiocy about NATO being obsolete, and back pedaling on the TTIP which would put trade agreements with the entire EU ahead of trade agreements directly with Britain.
South Korea and Japan are both terrified that the possible use of tactical nuclear weapons by DJT against Kim Jong-un will cause their countries to face a worse bombing retaliation than the US, at least initially. But even though no one is sure whether North Korea has nuclear missiles capable of reaching the US, North Korea and China have agreements that might make China compelled to come to Kim Jong-un’s defense. And China DOES have bombs capable of reaching the US. The very idea of limited nuclear war is mind boggling.
Then there are the people he is fighting with in THIS country:
He's fighting with the entire judiciary, basically refusing to treat them as a co-equal branch of government, threatening to break up the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals because they keep ruling against his Muslim travel ban.
Fighting with Democrats in Congress we will just take for granted, except he keeps backing down. He tried to blame the failure of the repeal and replace TrumpCare on Dems but it was people in his own party that scuttled it. He threatened to withhold Obamacare insurance payments to health care providers unless Dems agreed to funding to pay for the wall and we basically laughed in his face until he took it back.
DJT is also tussling with elements in his own party every day. Watch him engaging them, escaping them, enraging them as anxiety about reaching the 100-day mark with no accomplishments reaches a fever pitch. He’s having a last minute battle with Ryan and Freedom Caucus over a revised version of TrumpCare; it’s in, it’s out, they will vote, they won’t vote, who knows what is going on? He’s fighting with the debt and deficit hawks about reducing the corporate rax rate to 15% without paying for it.
Who is he NOT picking a fight with?
Turkey—whose dictator got a congratulatory call from DJT after his most recent power grab was “validated” in a rigged election.
France—although Marine Le Pen is still a long shot to get the presidency, if she does win she will immediately be branded the French DJT.
And of course, Russia. Pootie Poot is playing DJT like a fiddle. He may be upset about Syria, he may not, but DJT has never directly criticized Putin for ANYTHING, since he respects him as a “strong leader” and does not want to engage with him directly.
The kind of man who sees enemies everywhere except for other dictators and a handful of people in his own family, who isn’t happy unless he is picking some kind of a fight every day, has got a serious mental problem and is unfit to be leader of the free world or President of the United States or hold any position of public trust.
*
The Blue Team has more right to sing this song. (and yes that is George and Ringo)
PREVIOUS TRUE BLUE REPORT diaries
Apr 25: Can you reason with a racist?
Apr 24: Will DJT ever learn the limits of bullying?
Apr 23: TBR SUNDAY: Did Putin or Bannon direct DJT to “endorse” Le Pen?
Apr 22: BLUE RIBBONS: Flipthe6th voters, tax return marchers, and (international!) marchers for science
Apr 21: But he’s not *running* as a prolife candidate?
Apr 20: Is it good or bad that DJT has no idea what he is doing with respect to North Korea?
Apr 19: What Huckabee actually DID say, about journalism, was totally outrageous
Apr 18: Another 20 point swing means the Rs are scrambling to regroup
Apr 17: The number of persuadables is growing as people lose confidence in DJT
Apr 16: TBR SUNDAY: He shook up the world—Easter fears can be overcome with Easter JOY
Apr 15: BLUE RIBBONS: David Fahrenthold, Amariyanna Copeny, Chasity Wells-Armstrong, the ASAN
Apr 14: Everyone talking, everyone reaching out—is it helping?
Apr 13: Three ways to respond to the stress overload of current political news
Apr 12: Republicons--the party of cruelty
Apr 11: Spicer’s comment was MUCH more than just an “insensitive reference to the holocaust”
Apr 10: If DJT changes policy based on televised images... let’s show him some
Apr 9: TBR SUNDAY: DJT supporters do not realize nuclear war could mean the end of the world
Apr 8: BLUE RIBBONS: Jeff Merkley, Gina Mathew & Connor Balthazor, 70 (!) advertisers dump Bill-O
Apr 7: Not taking our eyes off Heitkamp, Manchin and Donnelly—they should be primaried
Apr 6: Take Me to Your Leader
Apr 5: DJT ran for POTUS to get back at Obama but the person he is discrediting is himself
Apr 4: Obama’s is bigger—Twitter following, inauguration crowd size, and approval rating
Apr 3: Filibuster a SCt nominee? Ds are changing the rules! This never happened before !1!
Apr 2: TBR SUNDAY: Put Your Lights On
Apr 1: BLUE RIBBONS for 4/1/17—Dick Cheney, Richard Burr, Rick Wilson
MARCH
Mar 31: The possible reasons Flynn was refused immunity are all good for the Blue Team
Mar 30: Special Assistant Ivanka—every word she says from now on is a DJT advertising ploy
Mar 29: “It’s just that valuable” — do you know the MAIN reasons Ryan wants to pass the AHCA?
Mar 28: Nipping at their heels
Mar 27: In cheering Republicon failures, think like a surgeon
Mar 26: TBR SUNDAY: Dare we hope the tide is turning? Or is that unrealistically optimistic?
Mar 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Sheldon Whitehouse, Al Franken, Bobby Brooks, Betsy Anderson, ACA phone callers
Mar 24: HaHaHa-Ha-Ha You’re gonna need Congressional approval and you don’t have the votes
Mar 23: Rcons hate Obamacare for selfish, greedy, racist reasons, but not enough to fix it.
Mar 22: Neil Gorsuch’s attempt to seem wide-eyed and innocent makes him look even worse
Mar 21: Using Trump as a bad example—no Trump Sleep, Trump Food or other Trump habits
Mar 20: Is DJT a compulsive liar, or out of touch with reality? Five scenarios...
Mar 19: TBR SUNDAY: A budget is a moral document—a statement of public compassion
Mar 18: BLUE RIBBONS: CBO scorers, Senate Intelligence Committee, Judge Derrick Watson
Mar 17: They know DJT is lying. Here’s one sad reason they follow him anyway.
Mar 16: Mick Mulvaney's ignorant, callous, evil, Republicon definition of compassion
Mar 15: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points re DJT 2005 tax return
Mar 14: Message Discipline 101—Pushback against Rcon talking points about Obamacare repeal
Mar 13: Culture, Civilization, Rural America, Working Families—the missing word is a “tell”
Mar 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Rcon definition of Christians is as wrong as the Rcon definition of Democrats.
Mar 11: BLUE RIBBONS: A Day Without a Woman, Native Nations Rise, Voting Rights Act still lives
Mar 10: How to talk to people who have trouble understanding actions have consequences
Mar 9: Where’s the fire? The real reason Rs are trying to rush TrumpCare through Congress
Mar 8: Message Discipline 101: TrumpCare, RyanCare, GOPCare, DonTCare—what’s in a name?
Mar 7: How very hard it is for a woman to go a day without paid (or unpaid) work
Mar 6: Can DJT really be stumbling into the exact investigation we want?
Mar 5: TBR SUNDAY: How is it even possible that deplorables see a man of faith when they look at DJT?
Mar 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Chris Hayes, Malcolm Nance, Cierra Fields
Mar 3: I’m glad Bannon, Conway, Carson, Sessions, Miller, et al. are in the DJT Administration
Mar 2: “In every major fire it always starts with smoke. And smoke is what kills you.”
Mar 1: Am I the only one whose skin crawled at the Carryn Owens BIRGing moment?
FEBRUARY
Feb 28: Spinspotting 101: Special Prosecutor for what? It’s so easy to answer that question
Feb 27: Spinspotting 101: I’ve seen no evidence because I haven’t looked for any evidence!
Feb 26: TBR SUNDAY: If Neil Gorsuch were a man of integrity, he would decline the S.Ct. appointment
Feb 25: BLUE RIBBONS: Russia Flag trolling, Dixie Swastika grabbing, District Days demonstrating
Feb 24: There is no such thing as a compassionate conservative
Feb 23: Chief of Staff, Nat’l Security Advisor, GOP Head, President Bannon—too many hats!
Feb 22: DJT has a few questions for you—SMURF THIS POLL!
Feb 21: The end of “access journalism” means it’s time to #sendtheinterns
Feb 20: KAC lying low for now… can we banish her (and all her ilk) from the airwaves completely?
Feb 19: TBR SUNDAY: DeVos cartoon, Ruby Bridges, unearned unhappiness and childlike faith
Feb 18: BLUE RIBBONS: Vice Adm. Harward, Melissa McCarthy, and intel whistleblowers
Feb 17: And Ain’t I an American?
Feb 16: Please tell your family and friends—If you regret your DJT vote, speak up NOW
Feb 15: R-supported forced childbirth laws deny the autonomy of women
Feb 14: What did the president know? Everything. When did he know it? From the beginning.
Feb 13: Coping with The Madness of King Donald by hoping political comedy will save us
Feb 12: TBR SUNDAY: The Poverty and Justice Bible
Feb 11: BLUE RIBBONS: Swastika removers, Ninth Circuit Panel, and the Persisterhood!
Feb 10: The first three words of the Constitution are “We, the People” not “I, the President”
Feb 9: Who first inspired your political activism? Who inspires you now?
Feb 8: We cannot and will not be silenced—Here’s what to do if they try to silence you
Feb 7: Plain Talk Tuesday: Tell people the Affordable Care Act is the same as OBAMACARE
Feb 6: Interview Skills 101—Internalized oppression and what Ryan Lizza did right. BRAVO!
Feb 5: TBR SUNDAY: These protest signs with Bible cites will confuse and befuddle RWNJs
Feb 4: BLUE RIBBONS: Temple B’Nai Israel, Judge Robart, CNN, Senate Phone Callers
Feb 3: Not rich, not smart, not a good businessman, not a winner—DJT is NOTHING he claims to be
Feb 2: Thursday action—Encouragement, thanks, and apologies (pick one or more)
Feb 1: July 7, 2009 to August 25, 2009 and September 25, 2009 to February 4, 2010
JANUARY
Jan 31: If you’re on overload that’s part of their plan—there’s more than one way to #resist
Jan 30: Interview Skills 101 for reporters attempting to interview KAC and other Rcons
Jan 29: TBR SUNDAY: Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness
Jan 28: BLUE RIBBONS: Women's March participants and #NoMuslimBan demonstrators and...
Jan 27: I wish Steve Bannon would tell me to keep my mouth shut
Jan 26: Thursday Action—Have you ever written a letter to the editor? Here’s how to start
Jan 25: The Asch Conformity Study, inauguration crowds, and the importance of speaking out
Jan 24: #ResistTrumpTuesday—good news day or another paying dues day?
Jan 23: Spy the Lie 101: How to enjoy watching Rcon spokesbot interviews, even KAC!
Jan 22: TBR SUNDAY: Why I prayed for the President* today
Jan 21: The only silver lining in the midst of these clouds
Inaugural (!) diary: Stop expecting Republicons to make sense