US Politics January 2018: "You All Just Got A Lot Richer"

i'm skeptical of the times' framing of hatch quitting as substantially 'about' mitt's comeback, or that he even has one

who will be 3rd in line for the presidency when hatch goes?

? still paul ryan

VP, ryan, then ? i mean

who will be the new president pro tem

oh it's elected, who knows then. obviously it's unlikely to be significant, just thinking if ryan goes next year

http://www.4president.us/websites/2000/2000w/hatch2000.jpg

lol let me think about ordinal numbers for a second

i don't know

The way succession works is that the next person moves up

It’s a decrementing loop, it doesn’t stop because N-X isn’t populated

Sheesh

So if I understand you correctly, Ryan leaves and Romney automatically becomes president whether he even runs for Hatch's seat, am I right?

Yes, and Prince Harry is the new veep.

no i don't mean "who is next when there's temporarily no president pro tem?" i mean "who would replace hatch as president pro tem of the senate (and be 3rd in line in the last two years of the trump administration)?"

they're elected but by custom it's the most senior senator from the majority party - so it'd be thad cochran.

the succession process is too complicated. i propose that whenever a new spot opens up, we just roll a 535-sided die to determine who is chosen.

Now that the tax bill is passed, don't be surprised if Thad retires sooner rather than later. He won't make it through his full term (up in 2020) and I doubt he'll live through the year (free tip for deadpool players).

grassley, then

North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the “Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times.” Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018

Hardest button to button

Ok I’m legitimately terrified now

iirc trump's button just summons a diet coke

Trump sold the Nuclear codes for a double Big Mac

deleted?

oh no, still there

we’re all gonna die

Yeah NK is working on bigger button technology as we speak

buncha Trumpers walkin around a pile of rubble

"HE'S PLAYING THE LONG GAME!"

Gen Jack Ripper is the prez lol

I think, sometimes, SHS feels like a good example of a person whose unapologetic DGAFism would be celebrated if she weren't on Team Stupid Bullshit Worst POTUS Ever Fake News

Yeah NK is working on bigger button technology as we speak

"we just keep telling the President this button we got from staples is the "nuclear button", he thinks he's nuked NK 10 times already and subsequently forgets it"

Big money, Mr. President, no whammies!

I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o’clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018

I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o’clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018

Four minutes later. What the fuck

This mother fucker needs to be committed

That should keep him busy at his desk for a couple days.

Is anyone else freaked out? How did it come to this

Trump is a creature of the media. It's one of the few things he understands better than an ordinary schlub off the street. It's more or less his whole life right now.

is he going to a ceremony for these or just tweet them

I'm guessing he'll just forget

I am no longer freaked out by anything this dumbass does and that's part of the problem

I prefer when this asshole is on golf vacation tbh

What can't be cured must be endured.

The Commander-In-Chief of the most powerful military on earth has just tweeted that we should watch Sean Hannity at 9pm tonight.

I'm not freaked out, but it's only because I've dispensed with all hope at this point.

this has been quite a day for him, his israel/palestine two-parter managed in its own way to be just as infuriating as the nuclear-button and fake news awards announcements. also we're all going to die.

I want him to turn THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS into his personal take on the Kennedy Center Honors gala and brag about his amazing ratings and record-breaking attendance. Like what jmm said but I'd prefer it be a big happening, let's eat up 3-4 months with planning and tough decisions

tbf, everyone dying at once would solve some tricky logistical problems I've been fretting about.

Yep I'm not going to pay that student loan this month I think

I have to believe (want to believe?) this is all a reaction to him learning about something that is going to be made public soon and he's trying to divert attention from that coming story.

MADDOW GOT THE PEE TAPE

The pee tape is only relevant if Putin were proved to have actively used it to blackmail Trump into committing some official act. Otherwise, it's just another stained dress from Monica's closet.