Chilling audio from closed-door meeting 40 days before 2016 election between Trump & Religious cult

[kpete]

Last edited Sun Jul 10, 2022, 09:37 AM - Edit history (1)

One thing apparent in Battleground, Cynthia Lowen’s timely portrait of three pro-life activists (Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List, and self-described “atheist/liberal/pro-lifer” Terrisa Bukovinac, executive director of the Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising) is her subjects’ evangelical fervor for their political cause. Put another way, these chirpily hell-bent Christian soldiers all appear to have supped deeply of the sacramental Flavor-Ade.

Lowen opens her documentary with chilling audio-only excerpts (that I’ve never heard before) from a closed-door meeting held 40 days before the 2016 elections between then-candidate Donald J. Trump, members of his inner circle and leaders of the religious right:

Male 1: We’ve all been paid handsomely by the Trump organization.

Male 2: I don’t know about you, but let me just tell you, I do what Mr. Trump says, right? [laughter]

Trump [entering the room]: Hello, everybody. [half-jokingly] This is real power! […]

Steve Bannon [addressing the religious leaders]: The key that picks the lock to this election…is you. Conservative Catholics and Evangelicals who have not voted, who have not been motivated to vote, have to come to the polls. If we don’t win on November 8th, it’s because Evangelical and Catholic leaders have not delivered. Your fate is in your own hands. […]

Pastor Robert Jeffress: There is only one candidate running in this election who is pro-life, pro religious liberty, pro-conservative Justices to the Supreme Court, and there is only one candidate who treats the views of conservative Christians with respect…and that candidate is Donald Trump. […]

Trump: And this president could choose, I mean it could be five. It’s probably going to be three. It could very well be four, but it could even be five Justices. So you get a Hillary Clinton in there, and it’s over. […]

more:
https://digbysblog.net/2022/07/09/inconceivable-differences-battleground/
https://battlegroundfilm.org/

[secondwind]

1. Chilling.......... wow

K&R

[dalton99a]

2. Kick

[2naSalit]

3. K&R

[randr]

4. I would have imagined this is exactly how it came down in many meetings

[texasfiddler]

5. Hope the Democrats can maintain unity and motivation to vote in 2022. NT

[Pepsidog]

6. They were right but with Trump "it's over". Electing Hillary, imo, was all about SCOTUS. When Comey

announced he was re-opening up his investigation of “her emails” I was sitting at my computer and got a news notification. I felt like a tractor trailer ran me over and months before that Michael Moore wrote a piece that showed how Trump could win the rust belt and the election. We learned our lesson, I hope.

[UpInArms]

14. I, too, remember that announcement

and I was furious …

How dare he (Comey) make that obvious political release …

It was designed to destroy Clinton’s presidential campaign ..

It was obvious meddling … and I believed it to be against all the rules from the Justice Department …

I was running a newspaper at the time (owner and editor) and had a similar, but different outcome in a local election …

The then current sheriff was under investigation for civil rights violations and the state would not allow any statements to be released … I called their office daily and I was consistently told that because it was during an election cycle, nothing would be said unless he was formally charged. Period. The end.

I despise Comey. He is a crapweasel. Then, he acts all surprised when TFG makes his play on him. Like Comey thinks he’s a choirboy and … oh my! Gets the vapors when a powerful man wants him to do him a favor. No woman would ever be surprised … and she would have kicked TFG in the nuts for good measure.

[live love laugh]

7. Chilling? It's not damning to me but

exactly what I would expect to hear if I were a fly on the wall.

[msfiddlestix]

8. disgusting but not quite chilling, particularly since this isn't news.

Not new information, and by golly we got served big time didn't we?

[Rebl2]

9. Not

surprising at all. About what I would expect.

[Boomerproud]

22. As bad as this is, I'm certain worse meetings were held.

[Ilsa]

10. I had fully expected that this had occurred. It shows

who the real "sheeple" are.

[Farmer-Rick]

11. Religion has always been used to control the masses

The Christian Religion is very authoritarian. There is only one great God who passes down laws to preachers, priests and pastors.

If there was a real Christian god, I would be fighting him tooth and nail. He's very dictatorial and controlling. He seems to want dictatorships and out dated moral standards, yet turns a blind eye to child rape, abject poverty and abuse of women. What an awful being to worship.

[NullTuples]

15. That was the problem/weakness with the Roman gods Christianity replaced.

There were a dozen or so primary ones and a raft of secondaries. A true plurality of viewpoints & they often disagreed among themselves. Recrafting the Roman Empire into the Holy Roman Empire with it's monotheistic core was a brilliant tactic for maintaining control.

[Beachnutt]

12. So when do we stop the tax exempt status

for first baptist church Dallas ?

[NullTuples]

17. In addition can we please revoke the church exclusion to IRS financial reporting?

All other NPO's must report money-in, money-out on a yearly basis. It lets the public know that the organization is not being used for money laundering and that those running it are spending donated money for its stated purpose, typically with churches that would be charity work and to financially keep the church operating.

Only Churches are exempt, and for no reason. It makes them the perfect black box financial vehicle for moving money, laundering money and appropriating money.

[jaxexpat]

20. I hadn't ever thought of that particular avenue for exploitative graft.

That's it. I'm starting a church, today. Hell, it's Sunday, what a coincidence. Join me and start contributing soon. Get in on the ground floor. Make your move before the pews are all filled. God and I are in this for you! .....and your illegal profits.

[Beachnutt]

21. Can I be a stake holder ?

partner

[jaxexpat]

23. Step right up. What'll it be? Salvation with a side of Park Avenue facing penthouses?

[NullTuples]

24. There are investment vehicles specially crafted for churches.

Typically they are designed to take "church" money and turn it into "pastor" or "minister" money while keeping the internal books balanced. Many utilize offshore accounts.

But it goes beyond just grifting from the donation basket.

Churches, because of that total lack of external transparency, are the perfect vehicles for money laundering and/or moving or funneling political money, too.

[Hortensis]

13. Bannon: "The key that picks the lock to this election...is you."

Now, that's some high-minded rhetoric.

Please note that in 2016 the coup plotters weren't discussing national healthcare. They were discussing how to advance their plan to eliminate the sovereignty of the people.

[Kid Berwyn]

18. He didn't mention what comes later.

The “destruction of the administrative state” part.

[dlk]

16. One reason why the Establishment Clause in the Constitution is so important

There have always been power-hungry religious extremists eager to dominate and force their religion on everyone else. We’re seeing this with the recent Supreme Court decision to permit federal funding of private religious schools. Step-by-step our freedoms are being shredded.

[StarryNite]

19. Battleground, Cynthia Lowen

I would sure love to see that documentary.