Trump is conflating the $900 billion COVID relief bill with the $1.4 trillion omnibus bill.

Good job with pardoning these fucks

So it would have been better politically for Trump to veto the bill before the election?

Seems to me that Trump is about to throw the whole of Government, and Wall Street, into pandemonium, and to deprive millions of people of benefits, on Christmas Eve, just because he can. Not because of any political intuition or insight or master plan - just out of pure spite, as a hissy fit, a tantrum, because he lost the election, because he can't deal with that, and he's blaming the Republicans, who didn't loose 'down-ticket' so in addition to being resentful, he's also jealous.

You notice that when he complained about the COVID relief bill, he said that a re-crafted bill might have to be passed by the next administration, 'which might be mine'. So he's still utterly fixated on only one thing, and not giving a f*** about the damage he does, and who suffers and dies, in the meantime. Which is just as we have come to expect.

If the GOP had any balls (ridiculous idea, I know) they'd impeach him on Article 25 as unfit for office immediately, and let Mike Pence preside for three weeks.

I don't think the GOP has applied pressure on it's members to contest the election. — Echarmion

Trump exerted great pressure on Republicans to contest the election:

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/21/trump-pressure-campaign-overturn-election-449486

the GOP had any balls (ridiculous idea, I know) they'd impeach him on Article 25 as unfit for office immediately, and let Mike Pence preside for three weeks. — Wayfarer

Articles of impeachment, a vote in the House, and a trial in the Senate all over the Christmas and New Year's holidays just so he could be removed a day or two early?

Do you think Pence could push through healthcare reform during that those couple of days of presidency?

One can only dream.

Trumps most recent pardons; can any sane person doubt the viciousness of the man?

They were infused into one package, which only helped to amplify Congress’ priorities: chump-change for Americans while bleading the country dry.

GOP blocks House Democrats' attempt to pass $2,000 stimulus checks

Yall need to storm some Bastilles.

Buried lede.

Subsequently, Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., attempted to get lawmakers to reconsider aspects of the spending bill related to foreign aid. That move was blocked by Democrats.

GOP blocks House Democrats' attempt to pass $2,000 stimulus checks

Seems to me that Trump is about to throw the whole of Government, and Wall Street, into pandemonium, and to deprive millions of people of benefits, on Christmas Eve, just because he can. Not because of any political intuition or insight or master plan — Wayfarer

I think the master plan is to own as much of our attention as he possibly can. The cliche for this strategy is "all publicity is good publicity".

If you haven't already, you may wish to dig in to Roger Stone, as he seems to be the philosophical godfather of much of Trump's strategy. As I understand it, Stone is generally the intellectual song writer, while Trump is the front man for the band. Think of the Rolling Stones. Keith Richards is the groove master for the band, the musical brains, but he's not charismatic. Jagger is charismatic, so he fronts the band and channels the egos of the audience.



So long as anyone is in the spotlight of the corporate media giants they inherit the credibility of those platforms. So for example, if CNN were to start covering Hippyhead every day, I would come to be perceived as important by many viewers, no matter what I was saying.

With his threatened veto of the relief bill Trump is just doing what he always does, grabbing the spotlight. We are talking about him right now. He has succeeded.

It seems a mistake for us to think of Trump as being just a very ugly human being with a juvenile mind. He is that for sure. But there's more to it. You don't win over the hearts and minds of half of a major world power by being stupid. It's possible to be immature, juvenile and ugly, while still being quite intelligent. We need travel no farther than any philosophy forum to see that. :-)

Trumps most recent pardons; can any sane person doubt the viciousness of the man? — tim wood

Not arguing the point, just trying to understand and explain his appeal to so many.

A great many people feel that politicians are always cutting private deals with their buddies behind the backs of the voters. This is a pretty reasonable theory, generally speaking. Trump pardons his partners in crime out in the open. Without apology. And so he is perceived by many to be an honest crook.

Traditional politicians often master a very polished manner of coming to the microphone to say a big bunch of vague nothing whose purpose is to obscure how they really feel. Trump comes to the mic and says, "Fuck that guy, I hate him, we're going to crush him etc". And so he is perceived by many to be an honest asshole.

Trump is an intriguing mystery because while he is clearly a pathological compulsive liar, he lies so incredibly blatantly that he is perceived to be an honest liar.

Trump has turned the whole political game on it's head. He's the most creative, bold and interesting American politician of my lifetime.

Yes, yes, yes and yes. HE'S A TOTAL ASSHOLE. But saying that which we already know over and over and over again doesn't add much to our understanding of this historic phenomena.

Trumps most recent pardons; can any sane person doubt the viciousness of the man? — tim wood

Quite easily, as you can see from Trump supporters.

Simply just make up your mind that the media is utterly corrupt and evil and will try telling everything about Trump in a bad light and will make up fake news about Trump. The Russia thing was a total hoax, remember, so naturally those that stood by Trump ought to be pardoned. It goes very easily, as you won't believe anything reported that is critical about Trump. Hence you will believe Trump which more an issue of faith than reason.

It's going to be a while before Americans will truly see how lousy Trump was. I assume later they will have difficulties in understanding that why would Trump have been so popular.

Trump is an intriguing mystery because while he is clearly a pathological compulsive liar, he lies so incredibly blatantly that he is perceived to be an honest liar. — Hippyhead

Or when the assumption is that everybody lies and especially the Democrats and the liberal media lies, why would you then think that it would be bad to "fight the enemy" with similar tactics? The support on Trump is based on faith, not reasoning.

So - the clock is ticking on desperately needed benefit payments for millions of American households and businesses. And Trump is playing golf. If he doesn't sign by midnight, in addition to those missing payments, another Government shutdown will loom (remember the last one? Launched entirely out of pique, and achieving nothing?)

And why? My bet is: 'you people didn't vote for me, so I owe you nothing. Why should you expect anything from me, when you've voted against me?' If the Republicans approached Trump and told him that, if he signed, they'd overturn the election result, he'd sign on the spot. It's all pique, petulance, and egotism.

So let’s hope these diehard MAGA types who are standing on street corners holding STOP THE STEAL signs realise the error of their ways when their power is cut off, when they can’t get benefits, when their services disappear beneath their feet. I hope they really understand who or what they’ve been protesting for.

But I doubt it.

’He’s just angry at everybody and wants to inflict as much pain on Congress as possible,’ one person briefed by White House officials on the matter said.

WaPo

It makes little sense to sign such a wasteful spending bill, while at the same time leaving little for everyday Americans. Despite your fantasies about Trump’s mind states, Congress has the power of the purse. It’s congress’ fault they left it so late. It’s congress’ fault it’s full of wasteful spending. It’s congress’ fault there is little left for Americans. It’s suspicious, but not surprising, that your fake concern for everyday Americans is used in the tacit defense of those who wronged them.

It’s congress’ fault — NOS4A2

Common ground with Nos4 is hard to find. But here seems some. But at the same time it seems to me the GOP is tag-teaming both Democrats and Americans including their (nominally) own. It's the sort of game that from the sideline, or especially being a victim of, gives me urge, in Jefferson's words, to reach for my rifle.

fantasies about Trump’s mind states — NOS4A2

Trump’s mental states are on clear display for the entire world to see. Unfortunately.

The bill was negotiated by both parties, with Steve Mnuchin representing the White House. So apart from anything else, Trump's designation of the bill as 'a disgrace' completely undercuts and discredits his own treasury secretary, and the representatives who are trying to win the Georgia runoffs. Trump has at this point gone completely rogue.

It's all being done out of pure spite and hatred. Political reckoning has nothing to do with it.

The real villain here is McConnell, not Trump. The Democratic house quickly agreed to Trump’s demands to increase the stimulus check, but of course the Republican senate wouldn’t agree to that.

Not so. The Republican Party and the Democratic Party had already agreed to the details. When Mnuchin was going back and forth to the Congress with the details, he was doing so with the implicit approval of the White House, which he represents. When Trump shafted Mnuchin, his own representative in the negotiations, the Democrats simply took the opportunity to wedge the Republicans by supporting the additional amounts. That in itself was sleazy politics, but it pales in comparison....

Trump's demands for increased payments were never a serious negotiating ploy, but purely done to blow up the negotiations and f***k everyone over. It was clear that he didn't understand, or couldn't be bothered understanding, that the bill contained the general Appopriations Bill in addition to the COVID relief bill, complaining that there was 'all this stuff' that had nothing to do with Covid in it.

He's acting out of spite. Nothing to do with trying to get a better deal for anyone.

If he doesn't sign, 'Starting Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of federal employees would be sent home without pay. And even the many federal employees who continue to work because they are deemed “essential,” such as members of the military, will not be paid until a new funding bill is authorized.
In addition to a government shutdown on Tuesday, eviction protections for millions of Americans would lapse later this week, more than 14 million people could lose access to unemployment benefits, and no stimulus checks would be issued. In addition, failing to sign the bill into law would freeze new money for vaccine distribution, small business aid, money for the ailing airline industry, and school aid, among other things.'

Anyway, If McConnell is a villian, it's for acquiting Trump after the impeachment.

//update - the bill has been signed. Another Trump mind game over.//

Apparently all that additional stuff that was in the Covid relief bill is stuff that Trump asked for in his annual FY 2021 budget.

Trump's complaints vs. his own budget proposal

President Donald Trump complained about a litany of federal spending in a video released Tuesday objecting to the new stimulus deal, claiming the line items had nothing to do with Covid relief.

The expenditures were actually included in an omnibus spending bill that became a legislative vehicle for Covid relief and aren't a part of the stimulus bill itself.

And a closer inspection of them reveals the things Trump complained about track almost exactly with what the White House had requested in its annual FY 2021 budget, which was released earlier this year.

Worth the mention. Though I guess further evidence that Trump is a fucking idiot is kind of redundant now.

Apparently all that additional stuff that was in the Covid relief bill is stuff that Trump asked for in his annual FY 2021 budget. — Michael

No kidding. As I said, the whole show was to (1) keep him the centre of attention, as always, and (2) to wreak vengeance on Americans for not voting for him and (3) possibly also exploring whether causing a shutdown would enable him to declare martial law and stay in office. But having actually lost the election, his reality distortion field is beginning to fracture and so he couldn’t quite swing it. Worth a try, in his addled mind, at least.

There’s a good read in Medium today, asking rhetorically whether not signing the bill was the sign of a breakdown. No, it says, because Trump is still in a position to convince himself that the election was stolen from him and that he is still the smartest, greatest and richest person ever to have lived. But it predicts the walls will really come crumbling down when he’s finally out of office and so distracted by rage that his business is driven in bankruptcy as his massive debts come due.

He envisions hanging on to power in the Republican party, becoming a kingmaker, choosing who will run and who will be primaried.

And when that doesn’t happen, when he loses power and prestige as is normal for ex-presidents, that is when he will have a mental breakdown. His company is losing money and he has $420 million in debt coming due. He will no longer have the financial wherewithal to keep up the fantasy. He will be forced to face the same reality as the rest of us, where he is a washed up old man who has to answer for his numerous tax and business frauds. That is when he will have his mental breakdown.

Trump won’t be able to handle reality because he has never had to live in our world. He has neither the experience nor the life skills to live in a world where other people make the rules and there are consequences for his behavior.

That is when he will break.

The real villain here is McConnell, not Trump. The Democratic house quickly agreed to Trump’s demands to increase the stimulus check, but of course the Republican senate wouldn’t agree to that. — Pfhorrest

This all just shows the ineptness of Trump. If anyone thinks this is a great way to get "the deal" to made to be done is crazy. This all could have been done without people failing to get the one weeks benefits, it was all ready to be for Trump to be signed before Christmas. Someone else could think that the CEO of the country, the POTUS, would get his own party to back with the 2000$ before during the deal is made prior than an agreement is announced.

But of course, there's the Trump way of doing things. Now people correct me if I got this wrong (I may have), but it looks like to me like this:

a) Trump's administration + GOP make a budget deal with the Dems
b) Trump has to sign this, but he doesn't
c) Trump makes waves that the budget deal has pork afterwards and wants to raise the benefits, which his party wasn't for.
d) Trump drags his feet until the government is on the verge of shutdown... to make it more dramatic.
e) then Trump signs what he had already on b).
f) in reality, the overall checks are a bit smaller as the payments cannot be done for the past days that Trump dragged his feet. And we'll see if the Senate will go along with Trump's 2000$.

Art of the deal. Or then I got it wrong and Trump is playing 4D chess!

You neglected to mention the recision request, probably because it wasn’t reported on.

As President, I have told Congress that I want far less wasteful spending and more money going to the American people in the form of $2,000 checks per adult and $600 per child.

As President I am demanding many rescissions under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. The Act provides that, “whenever the President determines that all or part of any budget authority will not be required to carry out the full objectives or scope of programs for which it is provided, or that such budget authority should be rescinded for fiscal policy or other reasons (including termination of authorized projects or activities for which budget authority has been provided), the President shall transmit to both Houses of Congress a special message” describing the amount to be reserved, the relevant accounts, the reasons for the rescission, and the economic effects of the rescission. 2 U.S.C. § 683.

I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed. I will send back to Congress a redlined version, item by item, accompanied by the formal rescission request to Congress insisting that those funds be removed from the bill.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-from-the-president-122720/

This means he can withhold “pork” for 45 legislative session days. Though I suspect a congress drunk on spending will refuse to remove any of it, it may just give Americans time to object.

Trump listened to Americans instead of his party and administration, and raised a stink about it. Now my family, nearly broken by state and local government-enforced shutdowns, could get some more of their taxpayer dollars back instead of seeing it spent on gender programs in Pakistan.

Edit: McConnel blocked the increase of stimulus checks for Americans

Trump is the most admired man in America for 2020, according to Gallup. Obama placed second. Biden was third.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/328193/donald-trump-michelle-obama-admired-2020.aspx

Trump listened to Americans instead of his party and administration, and raised a stink about it. — NOS4A2

And shouldn't this be done perhaps well before before an agreement was made, right?

What would it make you feel if me and you first made an agreement and only after making that agreement I would publicly attack on how baseless and wrong your demands, NOS4A2, are in this proposal and I'm now defending people from the excesses of NOS4A2.

And I think this is the general pattern how budget deals are made in the US: they aren't done with every one being agreed separately (who would have that time), but in lumps. And of course, when you have lumps, there's always some issue that doesn't sound good, which can then be compared to something very dramatic or deemed important. The classic way is to compare military spending to health care of children and infants. My favorite (from my country) was when people compared the expense that members of parliament use on driving taxis and comparing that huge amount to (fill in the blank) government aid to some benign cause.

Pandemic relief to Americans compared to nearly anything else is simply 100% pure populism.