171 Comments

Correction: The Trump dance party took place in Oak, PA, not Erie.

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Also, can we really call that *dancing*?

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Oft referred to in the U.K. as “dad dancing” which is definitely not a compliment.

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😂 Now that’s funny!

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That is the two fisted jerk-off that is his signature move, not dancing

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It's called the "Jerk & Sway"

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I was just going to say this. He was here in Erie, but did not grace his audience with his moves.

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Don't for a minute believe that the legacy press has grown some standards. They're following the independent writers of Substack and elsewhere, who have been screaming about Trump's mental decline for months. I'm also guessing that Bezos, Sulzberger and other publishers can see where this election is going and don't want to be left behind with the loser. In October, we see beetles and stink bugs on the exterior walls of our house because they're attracted to the heat. Yes, I am drawing an analogy between stink bugs and The New York Times.

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I think they are following, not leading

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We must be vigilant because JD Vance is and will be a danger he will carry on the maga torch. They must be defeated over and over again and all held accountable way after the election and deep into the future

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Strongly concur. I fear both an election win (spit spit as my dear late grandmother did) and then the Cabinet invoking the 25th. Vance scares me on the same level or more.

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My fear, exactly. You know many power brokers see Trump as he is. They will get Vance in there ASAP, one way or another.

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It will be Vance as proxy president for Peter Thiel, a right wing gay Nazi, who would stick this government on the LGBTQ+ community at large, and I guess assumes his Bad Billionaire Bro status will protect him.

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Apparently one can do or be anything if they are ultra wealthy, & all the other ultra wealthy power brokers will turn a blind eye to it. We have allowed the oligarchs to take way too much control & they are in the process of destroying our democracy.

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That is what I am seeing, and I am wondering how we reign them in. Lina Khan has been attacking their monopolies and for that they had to destroy Joe Biden. These Bad Boy Billionaire Bros are set to destroy the planet to feed their egos and their desires and unquenchable thirst for wealth. Too many who do not have wealth are serving their needs, as has been done since the beginning of our country just by being told that the color of their skin and their male gender makes them sanctioned by God and better than everyone else.

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Oct 18Edited

Exactly. 78-year-old elderly felon Trump is canceling events and interviews halls because he's deteriorating and exhausted. Dementia Donald is collapsing physically and mentally, unfit to serve. A Trump vote is a vote for Vance, Musk, and Project 2025 people to run the country.

Sanewashing press sycophants are reporting on Trump's decline because they can no longer deny early voting and polls that show historic Democratic enthusiasm. Trump's goose is likely cooked unless Trump voters show up in unprecedented numbers on Election Day. Possible, but unlikely.

What Republicans are doing to Dementia Donald is elder abuse. Melania should step in, get Donald to elder care.

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Melania: "I really don't care, do U?"

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😂only First Lady to walk around with that written on her jacket, tells it all.

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His family is either clueless or just does not care. This does seem like elder abuse, may be someone should call APS 📞 on his behalf. The party can clearly see what is going on and maybe their are hoping to cross the finish line and replace with JD, very scary thought since he's just a clone practically.

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Definitely. Bets are that Vance has been in private talks about this.

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And the Washington Post.

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Why I mentioned Bezos.

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As a subscriber of some Substack writers, as are most here, we are usually 12 or more hours ahead of broadcast media.

I'll tune into MSNBC's The Weekend on Saturday to hear them tell us about stories we're reading and commenting on today.

Substack is relatively small perhaps, but it has quickly grown to be more important than most outsiders may yet realize. There is a wealth of talent writing here.

I think Ann's estimate that the declining Fourth Estate is in fact gleaning their leads and stories from here and measuring the political temperature as well.

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Haven't both the WaPo and the NYTimes lost many subscribers, including me, because of their lopsided, gotcha, inaccurate and misleading coverage of Biden, Harris, Trump? If only I could unsubscribe from NPR - ditto ditto ditto.

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There may be a tide a-turning, because a Dumpty loss appears to be more and more likely.

The threats Orange Mussolini and his puppet master Vance have made to the so-called “journalists” has been explicitly transparent from the fascist-right. for quite some time.

The difference now, this time, may have been Mike Flynn’s yapping about his own “hell” being unleashed against “the Swamp.” “Executing The Swamp”

Guess who that swamp is?

It isn’t Mango Mussolini or the actual MAGA “swamp”

It’s US, including the 4th Estate.

They might be, FINALLY, realizing that loyalty runs just one way with Herr Shitzenpants.

Once you cross the River Shitzenpants, the loyalty is gone.

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I can’t help but wonder if this recent change is driven by self-preservation. After all, during Hitler's reign, the military took complete control of the press.

He loves saying, 'You're fired,' and avoids paying people. Either way, things won’t end well for them.

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I’m starting to worry that Trump is simply a Trojan horse for Vance who’s younger more coherent and slipperier than Trump who’s simply incoherent and decompensating. I hope you’ll do a piece on it!

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Yes! I believe, if trump wins, he will only be a figure head, trotted out on big occasions to wave at a crowd. Who will REALLY be pulling the presidential levers…vance is an opportunist but certainly NOT capable, sooo, who will be feeding lines & policy to vance & into trump’s ear feed.

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Vance, The Heritage Foundation and the pastors of these Evangelical churches. Trump is their gateway to power. He is just their useful tool in my eyes.

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"Useful tool"? I believe that the original translation for Stalin's Russia was Useful Fool. This seems more appropriate.

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Useful idiots, IIRC, according to Spruille Braden, (was ambassador to Cuba, Columbia & Argentina, member CFR, and probably an a-hole.)

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I don't think Trump, even though he's basically incapacitated, will let Vance run the country in his staid. But I do think they'll invoke the 25th amendment within a few weeks of the inauguration. So, same thing. Trojan horse, like Elizabeth says.

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Agree and wrote same above. Have Trump or Vance said, other than loyalty, who they will select for Cabinet members? If Flynn, he'll want a big hand in running the country .. all of them will. OK NO MORE negativity - back to working to get Kamala elected and all moved in on 1/20, MLK Day which I see as a good omen.

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Maybe Trump's in on it and he insists that Vance pardon him and makes all the state issues go away before he lets him have full control.

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Gawd. I wouldn’t be even slightly surprised.

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If they can prop him up & control him long enough, they'll wait until 2 years plus one day after the 2025 inauguration so that Vance's potential time in office isn't limited by the 22nd Amendment.

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IMHO I don’t think the Repubs will be invoking the 25th amendment. They will have no need as Harris is going to win💙

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You can’t see me as I stand up and applaud this comment, but that’s exactly what I did.

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Gotta keep the positive vibes moving us forward. I truly believe she and Walz will be occupying the people’s house. Can’t wait till trump is a bad memory.

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The 25th Amendment is tricky. Vance and a "majority of the Cabinet" can assume office by notification, but if Trump objects, the thing has to be decided by 2/3 of both houses of Congress. Can you see any Democrats voting to allow Vance to proceed?

A better shot for Vance would to be to do an Agatha Christie and come up with an undetectable poison.

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Good point. Would he go along if it meant full pardons? I don't know. Probably not. His ego is boundless. And pardons couldn't prohibit states like New York and Georgia from continuing their legal proceedings against him. Vance can only do federal pardons.

I could see Trump leaving the country, though.

I don't think it's going to be an issue. Kamala has got this, and she's going to find an AG willing to put an end to MAGA once and for all. The hell with unity. Time to clean house.

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Thinking of the film "Dave" but not with a good guy to fill the role and Murray the Accountant to guide the budget.

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Would it go like succession and next in line would be the speaker of the house? 🏠 after JD's take over because that is unsettling as well.

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If Vance became president, he would appoint someone to be VP. That person would likely be chosen by the Project 2025 people. The Speaker of the House would only ascend to the presidency if both the president and vice president were unable to fulfill their duties.

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Can Congress not block this?

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I don't think so, Joan, but I'm not certain. Nixon appointed Gerald Ford to the vice presidency when Spiro Agnew was forced to resign, and IIRC there wasn't any official action by Congress in that process (no 'advise and consent' as is required for cabinet and SCOTUS appointees.)

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Ford was confirmed by both houses

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And that, is why I’ve been donating like crazy to Democrats running for House seats!! So Holy Mike will not be Speaker.

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More than unsettling. Profoundly disturbing.

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I have thought the same thing. Hopefully more people will open their eyes to the evil of the Heritage Foundation and their religious beliefs.

I have long believed that the Roman Empire never ended as we were taught in history classes. The Roman Empire evolved into the Catholic Church and this church and other churches and religions have provided us nothing but wars, greed, lust for power because of obeisance to mythology over reason.

Having recently visited SE Asia including the Cambodian "Killing Fields" I learned that Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge and murderer of 3,000,000 people had spent many prior years as a Buddhist monk.

When it comes to human behavior, in general, the amygdala is still much more powerful than the Frontal Cortex.

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Also the right wing Federalist Society.

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Interesting thought!

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Oct 18Edited

This is a legitimate concern. If -- perish the thought -- the orange criminal retakes the White House and the MAGATs take both chambers of Congress, what's the over/under before Vance and the other long-knife operatives invoke the 25th Amendment, get rid of you-know-who once and for all, and install their own racist faux-christian nationalist hatemonger (who notoriously is ultra-extremist billionaire Peter Thiel's bought-and-paid-for boy) in the Oval Office?

And if the orange criminal does win but Congress ends up divided, reflect for a moment on the irony of Democrats voting to block a 25th Amendment movement... until Congress is dissolved permanently or stripped of any meaningful power, that is...

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Not gonna happen. Trump's shit his bed more than once and now he's rolling in it. I'm sure Vance is counting on Trump to win so he can take the reins and step right up when they invoke the 25th. I repeat, NOT GONNA HAPPEN. Vance has shown us HIS true self, too, and the REAL American patriots are too smart to put a lying, demented bag of word-salad wind in the WH much less his lying, sleezy POS VP. VOTE and VOTE BLUE all the way down the ballot. WE'VE GOT THIS!! 💙🇺🇸

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I voted for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and Democrats all down my ballot!!!

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Agree completely. I wonder if Trump would love to drop out but he’s staying in on the promise that if he wins, Vance will pardon him once V is 25th amendment-ed into the presidency.

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Justa Dick can't pardon Dumpy for state convictions, like the 34 counts of fraud in NY.

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The problem is, they are trying like hell to get that conviction thrown out, saying that one witness was in the Trump admin & therefore communications with her or in her presence, were a part of his “official duties.” That POS slimeball is going to manage to slip Warren everything. So much of our govt & judiciary is corrupt.

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JD is Plan B for MAGA, The Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society. They all are going to need a Plan C. Following Jay’s guarded optimism, Harris will win in November. JD comes up for reelection in Ohio in 2028. He can’t run for Senate and President at the same time and since he’s done nothing positive for Ohio, probably won’t win reelection. JD will be old, tainted news by 2028.

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No question about it. Peter Thiel is counting on Vance to be HIS plant.

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That's been my worry, too. Even without invoking the 25th, I can suspect there are indeed those who plan to be "adults in the room" but adults with a Project 2025 Agenda who will simply ignore trump's wilder executive orders or orders to the military and carry on with the planned Christian oligarchy.

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Vance and the Cabinet members will invoke Amendment 25, and it’s off to the memory care facility for Donny.

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Trojan whore-se if I may say so. Watches, anyone?

Pretty soon he'll be selling rat's assholes to blind people as wedding rings.

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Oh yes, of course those $100K watches are nothing more than a laundry to funnel bribes into drumph’s pockets.

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Wrote similarly above.

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To this retired doc, he has appeared to have advancing dementia for a long time. He has always been a fabulist but he has crossed over into megalomania this time out. His sociopathy/psychopathy has been on full display. I have listened to some old recordings of him and he could speak in full sentences and stay on topic - now, not at all. What comes across is someone with limited intellectual capacity who frankly doesn’t know a single useful thing. It takes an army of retainers to keep him propped up and they are starting to fail. Putting him back in the Whitehouse is the single most dangerous thing American voters could possibly do.

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What remarkably saddens me is that his family and close friends do nothing to help him. I'm a year younger than he and still working albeit with limited physical abilities I once had and am grateful my brain works well. Having had family with dementia and how we all cared about and for them, putting someone 'out there' like this is just cruel. Then too, I don't think they love him and only want control. What a horrible place and way to end one's life.

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This “Thing” is unlovable….. his family don’t give a shit about him. It’s all about the grift. They want to suck every last penny out of the cult worshippers before the election.

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Apparently Eric and Don Jr were big cheer-leaders for Vance getting the VP position over Doug Burghum. Maybe they were hoping that Vance slapping Trump with the 25th Amendment would provide sufficient basis to squeeze Daddy out of any control over the family business so they could take over.

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I think quite possible.

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He's had years full of opportunities to do right by people and generate goodwill, but has no inclination for it. Heck, if he'd tried *at all* to protect Americans when the pandemic blew up, he could have transformed himself into a hero and been reelected in 2020 (as sickening as that is to contemplate). So he's widely despised, even by his family.

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Yes, but that is what happens when you don’t give any love, you don’t get any in return.

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Why won’t the media report on his decline? It baffles me how we had to hear daily about how slow Joe moved or how he bumbled his words. Joe may have been showing his age. Not once did Joe Biden go off the rails wailing about sharks and boats! He didn’t rant about how he’s treated unfairly. He didn’t brag about how he’s the best and he’s got the uh.. biggest brain. Dear lord, I’m exhausted. I want this to end and let the healing begin. This race being this close is crazy!!!

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Because ALL CORPORATE-OWNED MEDIA IS CORRUPT PROPAGANDA.

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This is not free speech this is Domestic Terrorism

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And ALL need to be held accountable and justice SERVED

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It’s sadly not much of a mystery. The MSM wants Trump to win because his policies benefit them more than Harris’ policies do.

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So they think...

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How much of a fall would it be for Trump to have declined “from his normal self”? He’s been crazy, stupid, and vicious for years now! But I’m glad it’s starting to be noticed. He probably is in decline— it’s just hard to tell, because where he started from is so awful.

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Thank you for another thoughtful analysis, Jay. I am beyond stunned at the absolute stupidity of the MAGA crowd.

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On Simon Rosenberg's Substack, Hopium Chronicles, he wrote about how the man with the fluorescent orange makeup is exhausted and cannot of course keep up the rigors of a campaign. He needs to sleep a lot in his recliner.

https://substack.com/home/post/p-150404559?source=queue

Meanwhile, VP Harris held THREE highly energetic rallies in Wisconsin in ONE DAY yesterday: Milwaukee, LaCrosse and Green Bay.

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This all feels like we're watching a drama series about a family being destroyed by an addled and tyrannical patriarch who is propped up by a few toadies and sycophants in his inner circle. In this case, the family is the GOP.

"If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed.......and we will deserve it."

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As usual, Shakespeare got there first, this time with King Lear.

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An interesting thing occurring in Oregon is the voter information pamphlet doesn't have any information on Trump. The right has made a big thing saying ,incorrectly, that the democrats have kept him from appearing. Rather ,the truth is ,his campaign has decided again , as they did in the primary booklet, to not put in the short paragraphs why he is a good choice. I question if his campaign is too lazy, incompetent, or just gives up trying to convince people to vote for him.

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In lot of areas the local Republican Party is imploding and the RNC is co-chaired by Trump's daughter in law. She rather tapes new songs than work on fundraising and distributing money. I have heard a lot of bad things about the Republican ground game this election. So hopefully this explains that. And benefits the Democrats.

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And even though local news explained that the campaign chose not to pay for the page to be put in the voter's pamphlet and he is still on the ballot. I've seen stories for weeks. Yesterday the phone lines for the State of Oregon elections had to be shut down because of violent and profane phone calls.

Also, on fox and friends, when he was there, sitting on a white couch, it appears there is a dark towel under him.

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I have been beating on this for a minute now - I no longer think they CARE about actually winning. They are planning to steal this election, and the way they're going now, I'm thinking THEY think they've got it wired. Why else would they just blow off so much stuff that NO normal candidate ever would? They do not appear to be trying.

Does that make you nervous? It does me.

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I guess the press finally realized that trump's threat to use the military against his enemies includes them. It's still too little, too late to make up for them abdicating their responsibility to report on his threat to democracy up to this point. But it could have a "James Comey" effect. I hope so.

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Thank you for reporting on Cheetolini’s continued slide into dementia (and full-on Nazism). Sad that so little mention of it is being made in the cowardly mass media.

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Trump eventually betrays everyone and everything. After all the corp press has done for him, its looking like he may not make it to the finish line, depriving them of their dangerous, dishonest, self serving both sides (BS) narrative. The illusion is no longer even remotely possible to sustain as is evidenced by the shift in tone you note. Even so they may actually still try. It wouldn't surprise me in the least. No matter, its becoming clear for all to see - he's is just a dangerous, demented pig with lipstick.

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IF trump was elected then removed for some reason can he still be prosecuted with the state courts suits presently marching forward?

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Likely, Vance would pardon him first

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That would only cover the Federal Charges . . . for example Trump could not be pardoned by Vance or any President for Georgia State Charges

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Or his convictions in NY state.

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Unfortunately probably true.

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The music debacle was in Oaks, PA, not Erie.

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I thought the rally with the “dance party” was in suburban Philadelphia.

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It’s been corrected

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