'Supremely self-absorbed': Isolated Trump unlikely to mount an aggressive impeachment defense

[JoeOtterbein]

Politico

He’s not doing much governing, aides said. Instead, Trump has surrounded himself with a handful of loyalists who were with him since the start.

By ANITA KUMAR and DANIEL LIPPMAN

01/11/2021 09:48 PM EST

House Democrats are poised to impeach him on Wednesday. But President Donald Trump is not expected to mount a forceful White House defense against charges he incited last week’s deadly riots inside the U.S. Capitol, according to a White House official.

Trump knows he’s unlikely to be removed from office with Republicans controlling the Senate until next week and only a few days left of his term. The president has also grown increasingly isolated, distrusting the same aides and advisers he had relied on during prior crises in his presidency, including White House Counsel Pat Cipollone.

“We’re not building out an aggressive operation to combat these impeachment charges,” a White House official said. “It’s just logistically impossible. Counsel’s office has hollowed out obviously, Cipollone hasn’t been in the president’s circle. ... Operationally, it’s just not going to look the same.”

The resistance to building out an aggressive effort to push back on impeachment is reflective of a president both isolated and distracted by political grievances.

snip

more of what we all suspected at link

[underpants]

1. Everyone has bailed or is avoiding his rage.

“Since the election, the day-to-day stuff as far as signing [executive orders] and focusing on policy has definitely waned because his focus has been on the election and overturning those results,” said the White House official. “We’re not obviously pursuing any policy or anything like that.”

And since Twitter banned his account, Trump has been making more calls than usual — not, as one former Trump aide said, “to more people” but rather, “the same people over and over again.”

“He’s talking to people who are willing to indulge him,” a former senior administration official said.

[Blue Owl]

2. Who the fuck would want to indulge that fat piece of shit?

And more importantly, why?

[gratuitous]

3. Some pennies might fall out of Trump's pocket

And it beats working for a living.

As to the comment in the original post that Trump isn't doing "much" governing, I think the word that person wants is "any."

[dchill]

4. Rudi and Lin.

[dutch777]

5. Sure hope they don't get disbarred before the impeachment hearing...that would be sad!

They are even worse than a shyster NY developer!