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Perhaps this Man Should Not Be President of the United States
Okay, folks, all kidding aside, this Trump thing has gone too far.
Tim Mak is a good reporter. I was once on a press junket with him, and I saw someone who took a great deal of care to get the facts right. This piece — ostensibly about rumors that Donald Trump raped his ex-wife, Ivana — contains what I trust to be an accurate quote from Michael Cohen, special counsel at The Trump Organization:
Cohen acknowledged Monday that he has not read the entire deposition but said he had read the two relevant pages of it, including the rape accusation.
“It’s not the word that you’re trying to make it into,” Cohen told The Daily Beast, saying Ivana Trump was talking about how “she felt raped emotionally … She was not referring to it [as] a criminal matter, and not in its literal sense, though there’s many literal senses to the word.”
Cohen added that there is no such thing, legally, as a man raping his wife. “You cannot rape your spouse,” he said. “There’s very clear case law.” …
Trump’s lawyer then changed tactics, lobbing insults and threatening a lawsuit if a story was published.
“I will make sure that you and I meet one day while we’re in the courthouse. And I will take you for every penny you still don’t have. And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know,” Cohen said. “So I’m warning you, tread very [redacted by Ricochet’s editors] lightly, because what I’m going to do to you is going to be [redacted by Ricochet’s editors] disgusting. You understand me?”
“You write a story that has Mr. Trump’s name in it, with the word ‘rape,’ and I’m going to mess your life up … for as long as you’re on this frickin’ planet … you’re going to have judgments against you, so much money, you’ll never know how to get out from underneath it,” he added. …
[Trump’s attorney] said that “there is nothing reasonable about you wanting to write a story about somebody’s usage of the word ‘rape,’ when she’s talking [about how] she didn’t feel emotionally satisfied.”
“Though there’s many literal senses to the word, if you distort it, and you put Mr. Trump’s name there onto it, rest assured, you will suffer the consequences. So you do whatever you want. You want to ruin your life at the age of 20? You do that, and I’ll be happy to serve it right up to you,” he added.
The joke has gone too far. We’ve heard enough from Donald Trump.
Published in Elections, Politics
I cannot believe you would defend this guy. The least terrible thing about him is, he’s a vulgarian. What people are drawn to is worse than that, though, it’s the promise of violence & the show of ruthlessness. In politics, that’s called being a gangster, because it’s no longer just saying ugly stuff. I did not leave it a comparison or likeness: I said, the attraction is exactly the same. I’m certainly not backing down from that claim now.
Do you really think this guy is Mr. Capitalist? Is he a good–maybe the best!–example of what a capitalist is? NY real estate?
@Titus: Show me the crime. I want details.
I agree but please take a moment to consider Casper Mattresses.
Trump is the best thing that has happened to the GOP this season. Shortly perhaps to be eclipsed by Representative Mark Meadows’ motion to vacate Boehner’s speakership. Time will tell.
Before Trump, we were agonizing the inevitability of Jeb.
This is the slippery slope of analysis a la Titus. Not despicable enough to be accepted as an aggressive business man who doesn’t take out contracts to kill people, we must nevertheless introduce a new insulting term — which of course tells us everything you need to know about the guy — then raise the spector of what the mob in ancient Rome wanted, i.e., a show or at least a sure threat of violence and ruthlessness. After which, he might as well be a criminal, in fact, the accusation is enough to prove the crime (I think some have used the expression QED). One would almost think Titus was working for some years for the mainstream media in order to have mastered these arguments — ‘I accuse because you are similar to some reprobate or criminal, therefore you must be guilty.’ If I remember, this is how so many young men in college dorms are alleged to be guilty of sexual assault with no evidence.
As for what Titus cannot believe, I suspect a lot more than that, but more likely the statement is just a form of hyperbole. Titus, why don’t you just tell us a lot more about yourself and maybe we’ll all be convinced?
You should count yourself lucky Ricochet is not paying me to take the time to do a full portrait of Mr. Trump in all his ugliness. But conservatives applauding a NY real estate man given the corruption of NY & the ugly facts of rent-control housing–that’s really good stuff. At least this casino man failed at the casino business…
But you have a brilliant idea: Do a post on how young men have been accused of sexual assault with no evidence because ‘you are similar to some reprobate or criminal.’ I feel sure, you could completely take Rolling Stone’s lunch.
Yep, that’s about the level of response I expected.
So instead of a Governor who governed his state conservatively you would rather have a buffoonish vaudeville act whose stated position include being pro-choice, higher taxes and supporting single payer healthcare.
If your goal is to turn the GOP into the Democrats I guess he wold be the best think to happen.
Myopic, but expected from you.
Mr. Lockett, I deplore your insults but share your opinion: Mr Trump is crazier than any conservative, but has no conservative opinions or principles or policies or commitments from the past. Of course conservatives should trust him–if they have zero respect for reputation & track record, but instead believe rhetoric–the hateful variety, at least–is everything… Are you a Gov. who is actually working to help people? You’re nothing. Are you a celebrity who donated to the Clintons? We’re with you!
I dislike Jeb!, but someone like Mr. Perry or Gov. Walker is now not in the news, because Mr. Trump is. That’s a not loss. We’re teaching these guys–you do not need to have helped any one American in your life–you just need to be a celebrity! You do not need to do work & prove yourself, you just need to flatter with crazy talk. Words are all we want.
What can anyone do know? How are conservatives going to learn this is just hysteria & not worth losing their cool? Who is going to appeal to the best in conservatives?
So how much do you think I can get for a thoroughly used personal troll?
If you believe in property rights, the fact that Trump tried to use eminent domain to force a neighbor to sell in Atlantic City is disgusting.
Wait, Donald?
Jamie Lockett, Y U troll me bro?
Says the man whose entire contribution to this thread has been to compare Clair Berlinksi and Ricochet to Salon.com.
Jamie, I was talking about the OP, which is what thread comments are for, and you want to talk about me, which is not what the comments are for. Not on a thread wherein CB personally vouches for a sloppy hit job.
Jamie, if you just want to bad mouth me, go ahead. I’ve started at least one thread on that very topic.
You’ve behaved badly. Perhaps you could stop, or take it elsewhere. Otherwise, it’s the heckler’s veto which this oh-so-polite site is getting famous for.
Ball, your entire persona on this site is that of a blustery troll. Take your umbrage elsewhere.
Fellas, can we make this less personal? For one, some of the rest of us wanna quarrel, too…
I have uncovered a video of BDB and Jamie. ;-)
Wow, breaking news, Dime. I was sure this was going to involve Hulk Hogan–that’s Mr. to you, I guess, Mi-s-te-ru, or whatever…
Did the blond beaver just give the Aragorn speech from Lord of the Rings but with wearing hairpieces instead of losing the freedom of the races of men–it might happen one day, but that day is not today?
Despite repeated efforts by the moderators and the editors, no one seems willing to stay civil on this thread. It is now closed for comments.