US Politics, December 2022: "They're now the working class party, man."

TPM reached out to Hannity to discuss his connections to Giuliani on Wednesday evening. He was apparently not pleased.

“Number one, you’re not allowed to get my number,” Hannity said, adding, “What are your questions?”

When he was informed about the subject of this story, Hannity declared, “You want any interview with me, you have to go through Fox PR.” After assuring Hannity that we would also contact Fox News’ spokeswoman, Irena Briganti, TPM asked him if he thought it was “appropriate” for a member of the political media to do business deals with associates of the former president.

“You think it’s appropriate when you know Fox’s rules to bypass Irena and call me directly?” Hannity asked incredulously, before adding, “You can take your predetermined outcome, which is already written in your head, and write whatever the hell you want. I don’t give a shit. You knew the rules and you didn’t care.”

I know it's early, but nominating "Number one, you're not allowed to get my number" for next month's thread.

oh noes it's not allowed

"lol u answer phone calls"

From the bottom to the top “no u!” is their only defense.

This photo of Giuliani (taken yesterday) is cracking me up this morning.

"I used ta be *mayor* of this town, ya know!"
"Just keep walking, honey. I told you, you can't make eye contact with them."

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FkBhtPwWYAAF6As.jpg

lollll this is Trump's "major announcement." This dude is so done.

https://i.imgur.com/HQim0Y7.png

Like I feel like we're at the giant red GOING OUT OF BUSINESS banner phase of his political life. He'll juice it for whatever cash he can, but that's all he's even trying to do at this point.

is that an nft?

Yep

For the first time, you can celebrate the life and career of President Donald Trump through his first official Digital Trading Card collection.

Some people call these NFTs (non-fungible tokens) because each Trump Digital Trading Card has a unique identifier that cannot be copied, is recorded on a blockchain, and can be used to certify authenticity as well as ownership.

But essentially, these are personal digital collectibles or “trading cards” that you can collect, accumulate, trade, etc. Think of them like traditional baseball or basketball cards but stored digitally so you never have to worry about physical damage.

He'll be selling autographs from a card table within six months.

All the Rocket Man stuff was legit very funny. The signed CD, etc...

Trumps big announcement

Missed it by that much! pic.twitter.com/Dhz66gGe21

— David Weigel (@daveweigel) December 15, 2022

I am speechless

https://i.imgur.com/uRrtH7i.png

His best line btw was "Are you still a believer in Santa? Because at 7, it's marginal, right?"

I don't know which is more humiliating, buying these or selling them

Gone, I believe, very quickly

I wish he was.

josh marshall has an interesting take on this morning's NFT debacle. the more trump fucks up, the more challengers he'll attract in the primary, which is to his advantage:

Trump still has plenty of potential advantages. The more beatable he looks in the polls the more challengers he’ll draw. Many party leaders hope for something like a bloodless coup in which DeSantis eliminates Trump and painlessly stand in for him. But there are plenty of ambitious Republicans who want a shot at the big prize as well. If Trump looks beatable, as he currently does, there’s next to no chance DeSantis gets a clear shot at him. That helps Trump a lot since his 30%-40% support among Republicans in a hypothetical primary battle is certainly far more durable than anyone else’s. On his own, DeSantis gets everyone who’s tired of Trump. With others the anti-Trump vote gets divided.

DeSantis 2024: Free Covid, only $99!pic.twitter.com/T4f7qxDM7H

— Lynda Straffin 🇺🇦 (@lyndastraffin) December 15, 2022

Challenge accepted.

lmao @ the Dilbert guy always getting this shit so wrong, dude has spent 7 years now making his entire persona "I'm the guy who really understands Trump" and he's consistently less accurate than any random shitposter like myself

I can't imagine the intestinal fortitude it takes to be a Josh Marshall and write about Trump, day after day.

waiting for someone to dunk on me for being the one posting about either trump and/or josh marshall in 3...2....1....

but yeah, i don't understand how marshall or any other full-time pundit manages their daily lives without collapsing. in some ways they are the ultimate posters in terms of physical exertion. carpal tunnel rates must be off the charts for the punditry

I wasn't casting shade, Karl. I realized Marshall's been a speed demon since he got that scoop last week and it's like, okay?

no worries, alfred, i didn't think you were!

His best line btw was "Are you still a believer in Santa? Because at 7, it's marginal, right?"

Yeah, I will always treasure this line.

sorry I know he’s not funny but I did enjoy:

'I think the chances of them winning was one one-hundredth of one per cent, and nobody would take the bet.”

the NFT trading card ad is funnier than any parody could attempt

and it goes on for short infomercial length

they really fucked it up if there aren’t paper things to send people, because saying “digital” a bunch of times isn’t going to explain it. there will be people waiting at their mailboxes

https://media.gettyimages.com/id/3226342/photo/a-boy-smiles-as-he-lifts-a-young-girl-up-to-a-mailbox-she-smiles-with-her-head-next-to-the.jpg?s=612x612&w=gi&k=20&c=0hhAy3L7ks4uV3ZECANRQVlBcCHk3vcPm4bxkMUG3UY=

they really fucked it up if there aren’t paper things to send people, because saying “digital” a bunch of times isn’t going to explain it. there will be people waiting at their mailboxes

I foresee a lot of millennials/zoomers enlisted by their families to log into their emails and print out paper copies

Imagine when Grandma 'n' Grandpa come over for Christmas dinner.

My mom might buy a postcard from Trump's hanging.

Every student should have access to an education that aligns with industry demands and evolves to meet the demands of tomorrow’s global workforce.

— Secretary Miguel Cardona (@SecCardona) December 16, 2022

what

desk jobs for some, trashpicking for many, each to their way, now peel me a grape

so few understand that

fucking depressing as fuck

This kind of talk isn’t new obviously but it is rampant these days in the education establishment. I was at a thing last week where the state university president talked about how important it is for universities to follow up with employers to see if “the product” the university is sending them (i.e. graduates) meets their needs.

!

Seconding. This babble has been a part of my life since Jeb! was governor.

I mean, we've been told since at least 2006 that because Tallahassee's gonna be stingy about monies we better ensure our students (a) graduate early or on time (b) graduate with a useful degree (c) we're gonna track how much time they "waste" taking electives or getting minors and certificates.

...three hours later

Every student should have a pathway to a brighter future.

Every student should have access to an education that builds their confidence & every student should have a pathway to a successful career. pic.twitter.com/2Q4nxWUHck

— Secretary Miguel Cardona (@SecCardona) December 16, 2022

give him a couple days he might come up with something good

my man

the idea that education should consist of training students to feed the demands of employers has been rapidly gaining ground since the the mid-70s. it was a natural extension of the post-Sputnik anxiety that universities weren't churning out enough physicists and engineers. it's the usual pro-capitalist propaganda.

I know, politicians are professional liars, but this story is just wild

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/nyregion/george-santos-ny-republicans.html

This guy seems like just another failson, drifting on ill-conceived grift, until somebody somewhere decided to shove a couple of million dollars in his pocket at the exact moment he runs for office. Who was it?

the Angola-Brazil background feels like rich loam for a story like this. Post-colonial Portuguese corruption just rolling on and on to the sea

He seems like a Le Carré character, some bit player enmeshed in intrigues.

Santos will be my rep come January. Good times.

He seems like a Le Carré character, some bit player enmeshed in intrigues.

i always mix up Le Carré (who i haven't read) with Emmanuel Carrère. Santos seems like a deadringer for the subject of The Adversary (the true crime account of a french "doctor" in the early 90s)

Santos will be my rep come January. Good times.

there was a time when a politician would be forced to step down if it was revealed that they were lying about absolutely everything they had ever done in their entire lives. but alas, the house margins are tight