Frum: The Lasting Damage of Trump's 'Tapes' Bluff

[babylonsister]

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/06/the-lasting-damage-of-trumps-tapes-bluff/531306/


The Lasting Damage of Trump's 'Tapes' Bluff

The president’s attempt to intimidate James Comey didn’t merely backfire—it may also embolden hostile regimes to conclude his other threats are equally empty.
David Frum Jun 22, 2017 Politics

snip//

The tweet was intended to intimidate. It failed, spectacularly: Instead of silencing Comey, it set in motion the special counsel investigation that now haunts Donald Trump’s waking imagination.

But the failed intimidation does have important real world consequences.

First, it confirms America’s adversaries in their intensifying suspicion that the president’s tough words are hollow talk. The rulers of North Korea will remember the menacing April 4 statement from the Department of State that the United States had spoken enough about missile tests, implying that decisive actions lay ahead—and the lack of actions and deluge of further statements that actually followed.

The Chinese will remember Trump’s retreat from his “two China” messaging during the transition. They will have noted that Trump has entirely retreated from his insistence that they restrain North Korea or pay some price—seeing instead his “At least I know China tried!” tweet of June 20.

The Russians have buzzed American aircraft and severed the deconfliction hot line over Syria. They have paid no real price for their attack on the integrity of the 2016 election—indeed, the president continues to exonerate them and to argue for relaxed sanctions.

And while the administration continues on a collision course with Iran, even they must wonder whether there is really very much to fear from a president who has alienated the big European countries—notably Germany—who once joined U.S. sanctions but who are now increasing their exports to Iran at a rate of almost 30 percent a year.

“Never bluff.” Each outgoing president should write those words by hand in the letter of advice he leaves atop the Resolute desk for his incoming successor. Trump showed the whole world that when he sweats, he panics. That’s a lesson that will be remembered by the planet’s bad actors for however long this president holds office.

[angstlessk]

1. This part I like, a lot!

"for however long this president holds office."

[Not Ruth]

2. If you follow Louise Mensch, it is catfishing

It is pervasive on all sides going back at least to February.

Link to tweet

[Not Ruth]

3. Comey is heading Trump by catfishing

But Trump is reverse catfishing Comey.

It is complex.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=9223044

[Kolesar]

10. Please Define Catfishing

...as a favor..
I just followed the DU links and learned the context of GLOMAR.

catfishing, gaslighting, GLOMAR, ...
Anybody wanna tell me what sheepdipping meant? It was in that Oliver Stone movie JFK, IIRC

[Canoe52]

13. My vocabulary has also improved greatly under

All this crap from 45, learned more about narcissists, um I mean assholes...

And yes what is catfishing?

[Not Ruth]

14. Catfishing is a technique to entice the opposition into making a devastating error

Used by both Team Patriot and Team Deza

[Bernardo de La Paz]

16. Give it up. No Team Patriot.

What is up with that? Team Patriot Crossfit? Team Patriot Realty? Or do you mean some right wing designation for the Republican Trump gang?

[Not Ruth]

17. Louise Mensch heads up Team Patriot

Link to tweet

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. OK, but I haven't been able to find by search where she calls her followers "Team Patriot". . . . nt

[Not Ruth]

19. #TeamPatriots

Link to tweet

[Not Ruth]

20. Trump campaign is being investigated by the FBI for catfishing (includes definition)

It turns out the FBI is investigating the Donald Trump team for more than just election collusion with the Russians. The FBI has been investigating a catfishing scheme which Trump’s political allies were using to target Republican operatives who were on Trump’s bad side during the election. This investigation is now being publicly confirmed by one of the targets of the scheme.



The scheme was first publicly exposed nearly ten months ago in an article from Politico (link) which identified Rick Wilson, Liz Mair and Cheri Jacobus as being three of the targets of the scheme. Jacobus is now confirming that the Feds have been investigating the matter all along. She tweeted “Team Trump is being investigated by the FBI for this. I’ve kept quiet for months but want it out there now.” (link). She added that “going public could have hurt the investigation earlier. I’m hoping they now are far enough along w/possible grand jury.”



Catfishing is when you pretend to be a fictional person online in order to coax private information out of an unwitting victim. It’s most commonly used as a faux-relationship tactic. But in political terms, it refers to someone pretending to a political figure in the hope of getting political secrets out of a political operative. Remarkably, the individual who was carrying out the attempted catfishing scheme, Steven Wessel, has already been locked up for it. This raises the question of who else within Donald Trump’s campaign might now be the target of the investigation.



Corey Lewandowski was Donald Trump’s campaign manager while the catfishing scheme was being carried out, and his name is mentioned ten times in the early Politico story in question, but that doesn’t make him a suspect. It’s also not clear whether or not Donald Trump is suspected of having been involved in the scheme.

[Not Ruth]

21. Palmer link

http://www.palmerreport.com/politics/fbi-investigating-donald-trump-team-running-catfishing-scheme/3658/

[Canoe52]

22. Thanks for the info!

[muriel_volestrangler]

23. You say in #20 "Catfishing is when you pretend to be a fictional person online"

So this makes no sense whatsoever. Trump is a real person. Comey is a real person. So where is the "catfishing", using your own definition? And what would "reverse catfishing" be? Letting someone else treat you as a fictional person?

Wouldn't it be simpler to talk about what you claim is going on in normal terms, without making up definitions?

[Not Ruth]

27. Catfishing is the correct term and is in common use

Had I said fly fishing, then you would be correct. A better definition exists further down in the post that you responded to.

[muriel_volestrangler]

28. The correct term for what? You have said Comey is catfishing

What fake persona has Comey used? It's a very serious criminal allegation you're making against him. And there's no definition at all for "reverse catfishing", and I cannot imagine how one would make sense.

Frankly, I don't think you care what 'catfishing' means at all, and you just incorrectly use it to mean "mislead". Which makes no sense. But "reverse catfish" makes no sense, even then.

[Not Ruth]

29. Reverse catfish is a term in common use

Link to tweet

[muriel_volestrangler]

30. You're still accusing Comey of pretending to be someone else

And if what Maddow did was "a reverse catfish" - ie realise Trump was pretending to be someone else when leaking, but Maddow took advantage of that - then how did Trump "reverse catfish" Comey? That would involve Comey using a false identity to leak information to Trump (or an associate of Trump), but Trump using that for his own purposes.

So, what was this persona that Comey adopted to try and feed (or obatin) information to/from the Trump camp? There's no such claim by anyone else. What are you claiming?

[Not Ruth]

31. This link answers all

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=9183650

[muriel_volestrangler]

32. No, that's just another example of you using it when no one is pretending to be someone else

You really haven't got a clue, have you? You have repeatedly used a word with no idea what it actually means - you just use it as a synonym for 'fool' - and when someone asked what on earth you meant, you were unable to explain.

Just stop using words only because the cool kids are using them. You'll only confuse the issue when you get it wrong.

[Not Ruth]

33. Catfish is a term in common use

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029274410

[Not Ruth]

34. Many words have multiple definitions

Catfish and fool for example can all mean many different things.

[muriel_volestrangler]

35. The link above goes to the same Palmer Report, which defines it as using a fake persona

to get information from someone, that is already quoted in this thread. Again, when other people use the term, they get it right. It's only you who misuses it, and that is why you should stop - using words for your own private meaning doesn't help anyone.

If people only read a few of your posts in this thread, it looks like you are accusing Comey of creating a fake persona to get information from the US government - a serious offence. Gradually, I've shown you don't know what the word means. Even when people asked you to explain, you were never able to show how the definition in #20 you quoted applied to Comey.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Yes intimidation was the intention especially since Trump had no tapes

so he was threatening Comey

It was like saying 'you're in big trouble if you wore a wire with me'

[Timmygoat]

5. My question

I have been wondering (ever since Trump insulted NATO) and pretty much dropped out, will the NATO troops be leaving Afghanistan any time soon?

[onlyadream]

6. The mention of the fictitious tapes was not to intimidate Comey

If Comy was telling the truth, which is more than likely, then any recodings would only back up Comey's version of the meetings.

Instead, the tweet to the world about "tapes" was meant for us, the people, to see. So that we can say to ourselves, "Comey is lying and Trump has the proof!"

Trump is nothing but a manipulative con man. His ways are so transparent, that it drives me crazy how others can't see it.

[pangaia]

8. That is it and so obvious....

[rpannier]

15. Trump lied? Hardly

Trump only lies on days that end in the letter 'y'

[Gothmog]

7. Trump attempted and failed to intimidate a witness

[BSdetect]

9. If only more people had seen how drumph really was long before November

Why did it take so long for Republicans like Frum to decide to vote for HRC?

Too little too late.

[karynnj]

12. In fairness, what would have happened had Trump won the Democratic nomination in 2004

He would have blamed Bush for 911 and he would have claimed - as he did in 2016 - that he never thought it a good idea to attack Iraq. Consider that he ran explicitly on ending the wars in 2016 - though he seems on target now to start the ultimate Sunni/Shia war. Remember that we all thought Trump likely has no real political orientation in 2016 and he often took both sides of an issue without ever being taken to task.

In GWB, we had someone we thoroughly disliked at least as much as the right hated Clinton. Yet, if a 2004 vintage Trump said he would quickly fix Iraq and leave and attacked W as he attacked everyone from Clinton to Jeb Bush, I would bet that might be few here willing to go as far as say that they had to vote for W, in spite of hating him for a few years, because Trump was genuinely far worse. Many Republicans had as much dislike of the Clintons as we did for W. In all cases, it is really hard to not vote for your "team", but in the real 2016 election and my fake equivalent, it would be to vote for what you saw as the worst of the other side.

Rather than make the tough step to vote for Clinton, a third party or not vote at all, I assume that many Republicans who saw that Trump was dangerous, assumed that the Republicans could "use" him and keep him under control.

[tom_kelly]

11. I hope this article

doesn't lead to him lashing out internationally to prove otherwise.

[malaise]

24. Didn't he just sell weapons to Taiwan?

Look the Con is a raving lunatic

[oberliner]

25. Anyone who isn't a moron knew he was BS-ing

People are so stupid.

[no_hypocrisy]

26. World politics is NOT poker or business negotiations.

Bluffing is not an effective tactic.