Could Trump resign within 60 days?

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Only federal. And accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt, which could open them up to various civil cases as well, depending on the charge.

 

[jab]

I hope he does resign, but to me, it appears as if he lacks any kind of self awareness and has probably convinced himself that he's done nothing wrong. Look at all the things he got away with when he was a business man! I'm still holding onto hope that the sex scandals will bring him down, but any way we can get rid of him would be a positive. Then we have to deal with Pence, which might be almost as bad, considering his obvious lack of rational thought. No wait. Pence is simply dumb and a religious zealot. 2020 can't come soon enough!

Donald TRump lacks self-awareness, true, so he won't feel guilty. But he has a pretty good sense of self-preservation, and of how to avoid serious repercussions for his transgressions, so if he thinks resigning would be in his self-interest, he would do so.

 

[poster]

Yeah. That relationship is much more of a contractual arrangement than a marriage.

She gets a baby, a rich and famous lifestyle, and a tidy sum if it doesn't work out. That he would continue to raw dog as many women as he could was a given. She knew that. It's why no one should ever feel bad for her. The only reason she has negative feelings is because it's all out in the open and it humiliates her. But that's as it should be. She backed his shit-brained birther message and maybe once in a while there's a price to be paid for being a profligate trophy whore.

This post says more about you than it does about anyone else.

 

[poster]

I hope he does resign, but to me, it appears as if he lacks any kind of self awareness and has probably convinced himself that he's done nothing wrong. Look at all the things he got away with when he was a business man! I'm still holding onto hope that the sex scandals will bring him down, but any way we can get rid of him would be a positive. Then we have to deal with Pence, which might be almost as bad, considering his obvious lack of rational thought. No wait. Pence is simply dumb and a religious zealot. 2020 can't come soon enough!

Donald TRump lacks self-awareness, true, so he won't feel guilty. But he has a pretty good sense of self-preservation, and of how to avoid serious repercussions for his transgressions, so if he thinks resigning would be in his self-interest, he would do so.

I agree he would as long as his legal defence lawers become exhausted to the point of overplaying their hand, which I believe we're beginning to see with the Daniels incident. That was a bad move by Cohn, taking responsibility of the payoff money. And then the lawyering up that must be going on with the tabloid who buried the other sex story. Attorneys aren't cheap and they're only human.

Hiding behind lawyers is Trump's sword and they are beginning to abondon him, not to mention probably breaking him financially at this pace. My guess is this will play a huge part in any demise that might befall Trump.

But Pence? Pence is the leader of The Army Of The Dead. Very scary.

 

[Malintent]

I'm not too worried about Pence, Poster. If (and when) Trump is prematurely removed from office, Pence will indeed become POTUS. However, he will be the lamest duck ever. I do not think a single bit of legislation will occur until another election occurs. I do not have the impression that Pence has the resiliency (to look across the table at a female and not believe he will send himself to hell) to face the smallest degree of protest or ridicule. He will just hide in the oval office, whipping the sins off his skin in the corner of the room for the remaining time he serves as "President Placeholder."

 

[Angra Mainyu]

I'm not too worried about Pence, Poster. If (and when) Trump is prematurely removed from office, Pence will indeed become POTUS. However, he will be the lamest duck ever. I do not think a single bit of legislation will occur until another election occurs. I do not have the impression that Pence has the resiliency (to look across the table at a female and not believe he will send himself to hell) to face the smallest degree of protest or ridicule. He will just hide in the oval office, whipping the sins off his skin in the corner of the room for the remaining time he serves as "President Placeholder."

I think one need to factor in what Trump supporters will do in the next election if he is removed. I'm inclined to think that as long as Pence and Trump remain on the same side, many of them (I'm not sure of course how many) will be very strongly motivated to vote for Pence and to persuade others (family members, etc.), to do the same.

Also, I wouldn't rule out Pence's ambition and determination, not to mention he does not have many of the weaknesses of Trump. He may not want to have dinner alone with a woman other than his wife, but there is no indication that he's going to be caught in any of the behaviors that many Trump supporters tolerate in Trump mostly because they see this as a civil war, and they reckon Trump is on their side and fights - but they would very much prefer Pence.

 

[Elixir]

I think one need to factor in what Trump supporters will do in the next election if he is removed. I'm inclined to think that as long as Pence and Trump remain on the same side, many of them (I'm not sure of course how many) will be very strongly motivated to vote for Pence and to persuade others (family members, etc.), to do the same.

Also, I wouldn't rule out Pence's ambition and determination, not to mention he does not have many of the weaknesses of Trump. He may not want to have dinner alone with a woman other than his wife, but there is no indication that he's going to be caught in any of the behaviors that many Trump supporters tolerate in Trump mostly because they see this as a civil war, and they reckon Trump is on their side and fights - but they would very much prefer Pence.

Plus, look at the guy - he's virtually bursting with charisma. And such an inspiring speaker! Nobody can work a crowd like Mike.
Seriously, I don't think the Repugs are dumb enough to put that dog in the race. He would dis-incentivize the core of the core - the truly rabid, tiki-torch wielding morons who are currently feeling empowered to act out their hatred. I doubt that half of them would bother to show up at the polls for a Pence. Or even a tuppence. If they lost their "deplorable" tags, what would they be? Plorable?

 

[Angra Mainyu]

I think one need to factor in what Trump supporters will do in the next election if he is removed. I'm inclined to think that as long as Pence and Trump remain on the same side, many of them (I'm not sure of course how many) will be very strongly motivated to vote for Pence and to persuade others (family members, etc.), to do the same.

Also, I wouldn't rule out Pence's ambition and determination, not to mention he does not have many of the weaknesses of Trump. He may not want to have dinner alone with a woman other than his wife, but there is no indication that he's going to be caught in any of the behaviors that many Trump supporters tolerate in Trump mostly because they see this as a civil war, and they reckon Trump is on their side and fights - but they would very much prefer Pence.

Plus, look at the guy - he's virtually bursting with charisma. And such an inspiring speaker! Nobody can work a crowd like Mike.
Seriously, I don't think the Repugs are dumb enough to put that dog in the race. He would dis-incentivize the core of the core - the truly rabid, tiki-torch wielding morons who are currently feeling empowered to act out their hatred. I doubt that half of them would bother to show up at the polls for a Pence. Or even a tuppence.

I don't agree about that at all. Pence and the core pretty much agree on many of the basic stuff. In fact, I think that barring unexpected health issues, Pence will probably run in 2024, assuming he doesn't in 2020. I guess we can test that: we wait and find out.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

I think one need to factor in what Trump supporters will do in the next election if he is removed. I'm inclined to think that as long as Pence and Trump remain on the same side, many of them (I'm not sure of course how many) will be very strongly motivated to vote for Pence and to persuade others (family members, etc.), to do the same.

Also, I wouldn't rule out Pence's ambition and determination, not to mention he does not have many of the weaknesses of Trump. He may not want to have dinner alone with a woman other than his wife, but there is no indication that he's going to be caught in any of the behaviors that many Trump supporters tolerate in Trump mostly because they see this as a civil war, and they reckon Trump is on their side and fights - but they would very much prefer Pence.

Plus, look at the guy - he's virtually bursting with charisma. And such an inspiring speaker! Nobody can work a crowd like Mike.
Seriously, I don't think the Repugs are dumb enough to put that dog in the race. He would dis-incentivize the core of the core - the truly rabid, tiki-torch wielding morons who are currently feeling empowered to act out their hatred. I doubt that half of them would bother to show up at the polls for a Pence. Or even a tuppence. If they lost their "deplorable" tags, what would they be? Plorable?

I think you're right. You have to look at all the sections of the GOP to see if the candidate can appeal to all of them. Trump has the business section, the evangelicals allowed their arms to be twisted as they always do, and the deplorables love the guy. Pence may not get as much business guys or deplorables, just the evangelicals which have been shown in the past to be inadequate.

 

[poster]

The evangelicals behind Pence believe him being chosen as VP was a divine inspiration, and that God wills him to become president when Trump fails or passes while in office. This is what is behind their patience and giving Trump a pass on everything he's done. They are waiting for God to will the passing of the office to Pence.

They are a bunch of sickos and Mike Pence and his Army Of The Dead can do lots of damage in a short amount of time. At least they believe they can

 

[Malintent]

The evangelicals behind Pence believe him being chosen as VP was a divine inspiration, and that God wills him to become president when Trump fails or passes while in office. This is what is behind their patience and giving Trump a pass on everything he's done. They are waiting for God to will the passing of the office to Pence.

They are a bunch of sickos and Mike Pence and his Army Of The Dead can do lots of damage in a short amount of time. At least they believe they can

"they" believe a lot of useless, unfounded, and just plain stupid - bullshit. I do not believe any damage can be done in any amount of time by any president that is not elected into office. Inheriting the office has historically been shown to simply be a waste of time until the following election.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The evangelicals behind Pence believe him being chosen as VP was a divine inspiration, and that God wills him to become president when Trump fails or passes while in office. This is what is behind their patience and giving Trump a pass on everything he's done. They are waiting for God to will the passing of the office to Pence.

They are a bunch of sickos and Mike Pence and his Army Of The Dead can do lots of damage in a short amount of time. At least they believe they can

"they" believe a lot of useless, unfounded, and just plain stupid - bullshit. I do not believe any damage can be done in any amount of time by any president that is not elected into office. Inheriting the office has historically been shown to simply be a waste of time until the following election.

If this were ten years ago, I'd agree. But since then, the Republicans held a SCOTUS seat hostage... and won. The GOP is also stuffing as many conservative justices on to District Courts they can. Betsy DeVos is the Education Secretary! A lot of damage is happening that was unthinkable years ago.

 

[Malintent]

The evangelicals behind Pence believe him being chosen as VP was a divine inspiration, and that God wills him to become president when Trump fails or passes while in office. This is what is behind their patience and giving Trump a pass on everything he's done. They are waiting for God to will the passing of the office to Pence.

They are a bunch of sickos and Mike Pence and his Army Of The Dead can do lots of damage in a short amount of time. At least they believe they can

"they" believe a lot of useless, unfounded, and just plain stupid - bullshit. I do not believe any damage can be done in any amount of time by any president that is not elected into office. Inheriting the office has historically been shown to simply be a waste of time until the following election.

If this were ten years ago, I'd agree. But since then, the Republicans held a SCOTUS seat hostage... and won. The GOP is also stuffing as many conservative justices on to District Courts they can. Betsy DeVos is the Education Secretary! A lot of damage is happening that was unthinkable years ago.

I completely agree with you. But, the elected president did all of that... If Pence tried the same thing, I am of the opinion he would get exactly nowhere.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

The evangelicals behind Pence believe him being chosen as VP was a divine inspiration, and that God wills him to become president when Trump fails or passes while in office. This is what is behind their patience and giving Trump a pass on everything he's done. They are waiting for God to will the passing of the office to Pence.

They are a bunch of sickos and Mike Pence and his Army Of The Dead can do lots of damage in a short amount of time. At least they believe they can

"they" believe a lot of useless, unfounded, and just plain stupid - bullshit. I do not believe any damage can be done in any amount of time by any president that is not elected into office. Inheriting the office has historically been shown to simply be a waste of time until the following election.

If this were ten years ago, I'd agree. But since then, the Republicans held a SCOTUS seat hostage... and won. The GOP is also stuffing as many conservative justices on to District Courts they can. Betsy DeVos is the Education Secretary! A lot of damage is happening that was unthinkable years ago.

True, but the majority of that damage has been done under the fog of Trump. The biggest thing the GOP wanted, they got; the trillion dollar tax dollar grab (largest heist in US history). They are also seeing the writing on the wall in regard to retaining any kind of control over Congress after this year's midterms and--more than likely--in regard to Trump being indicted. Hell, they very nearly unanimously joined the Dems to impose a completely unnecessary reminder (in the form of a legally binding bill) that Trump could do nothing in regard to the Russian sanctions (and he still acted to circumvent it). You don't do that if you actually believe he's innocent and did not collude with Russia no matter what they may say or even do publicly.

This Nunes debacle is an excellent example. The Republicans that matter--i.e., those in the Senate who actually are intelligent and see through all the bullshit--know what Mueller is doing and/or about to do. Whether it's whispers or leaks and just the fact that they've seen the evidence we haven't yet, they know. And they are behaving in only one fashion; he's guilty. Hence the desperation of the few, like Nunes. But look at what Nunes did. It was obvious bullshit to everyone in Congress and most in the United States. When the best you can do is a transparent pile of pigshit, well that's a death knell that certainly doesn't surprise anyone behind the scenes who already knew it was pigshit as he was crafting it.

It is, of course, still possible that Trump has sufficiently hidden his hand in any wrong-doing, but I seriously doubt it. What is more than likely going on the smokey back rooms is exactly what to do about it. My guess is that the REAL issues are not Trump's guilt--that's abundantly established at this point--it's how to prepare the American public for what's about to come down. This isn't Nixon; this is a thousand times worse. This is a Russian puppet and the attempted overthrow of our government, with non-stop ongoing damage being done around the world.

Most Republicans will do as they are currently; sitting it out on the sidelines. Some are trying to prove how loyal they are to Trump--more than likely in order to court his diehard supporters for re-election--but the more powerful are also having "deep state" back room conversations about what the logistics will be and how to best handle them.

As to Pence, he would be "president" of Trump's administration; a treasonous administration mired in dozens of criminal activities. He will be President Treason, iow. And after the tremendous sea-change that will occur in tandem with the indictments/impeachment/resignation of Trump, it will be abundantly clear that he not only has no mandate, but he has zero power. Especially if he even breathes the word "pardon." You don't pardon a traitor.

So--assuming Mueller will be able to make the case for treasonous acts and not just money-laundering (though because it will entail Russians either way, one could still attach "traitor" to Trump at the very least)--the shockwave/ripple effect of that remarkable reversal of events would basically turn Pence--and anyone still supporting Trump--into a big pile of dogshit.

Right now, they're King Shit. The day after? Dog shit.

 

[Elixir]

So--assuming Mueller will be able to make the case for treasonous acts and not just money-laundering (though because it will entail Russians either way, one could still attach "traitor" to Trump at the very least)--the shockwave/ripple effect of that remarkable reversal of events would basically turn Pence--and anyone still supporting Trump--into a big pile of dogshit.

Well laid out, and I mostly agree. Regarding the excerpt above - The back-room discussions you mention are probably mostly about how to prevent exactly THAT from occurring. They have a real dilemma at hand though - Republican incumbents have the choice to "stand with" Trump though the primary and lose the election, or to break with Trump and lose the primary. Failure to change that dynamic might well turn their party into the big pile of dog shit you anticipate - with or without Pence as the figurehead. The only way out is if the assumption that Mueller already has "the goods" turns out to be wrong.

 

[James Brown]

Would evangelicals support President Pence even more? They could say, "Okay, fine, we may have exaggerated a bit when we declared Trump to be the Second Coming of Christ, heh heh. But now that a Real True Christian is President? Well, this time for sure!"

 

[Elixir]

Would evangelicals support President Pence even more? They could say, "Okay, fine, we may have exaggerated a bit when we declared Trump to be the Second Coming of Christ, heh heh. But now that a Real True Christian is President? Well, this time for sure!"

"Even more"? According to this, 80% of them voted for Trump. So the upside is pretty limited.

 

[poster]

that if you actually believe he's innocent and did not collude with Russia no matter what they may say or even do publicly.

This Nunes debacle is an excellent example. The Republicans that matter--i.e., those in the Senate who actually are intelligent and see through all the bullshit--know what Mueller is doing and/or about to do. Whether it's whispers or leaks and just the fact that they've seen the evidence we haven't yet, they know. And they are behaving in only one fashion; he's guilty. Hence the desperation of the few, like Nunes. But look at what Nunes did. It was obvious bullshit to everyone in Congress and most in the United States. When the best you can do is a transparent pile of pigshit, well that's a death knell that certainly doesn't surprise anyone behind the scenes who already knew it was pigshit as he was crafting it.

If Mueller had any goods on Trump in this regard and allowed Trump to remain in office one minute longer than possible without bringing the case then Mueller risks being labeled a traitor as well. Mueller has nothing regarding the Russian cullusion case.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

that if you actually believe he's innocent and did not collude with Russia no matter what they may say or even do publicly.

This Nunes debacle is an excellent example. The Republicans that matter--i.e., those in the Senate who actually are intelligent and see through all the bullshit--know what Mueller is doing and/or about to do. Whether it's whispers or leaks and just the fact that they've seen the evidence we haven't yet, they know. And they are behaving in only one fashion; he's guilty. Hence the desperation of the few, like Nunes. But look at what Nunes did. It was obvious bullshit to everyone in Congress and most in the United States. When the best you can do is a transparent pile of pigshit, well that's a death knell that certainly doesn't surprise anyone behind the scenes who already knew it was pigshit as he was crafting it.

If Mueller had any goods on Trump in this regard and allowed Trump to remain in office one minute longer than possible without bringing the case then Mueller risks being labeled a traitor as well. Mueller has nothing regarding the Russian cullusion case.

What? You do realize that it is about proving in court... not just waving papers and saying "collusion"! How long did it take for Giuliani to take down Gotti?

 

[poster]

that if you actually believe he's innocent and did not collude with Russia no matter what they may say or even do publicly.

This Nunes debacle is an excellent example. The Republicans that matter--i.e., those in the Senate who actually are intelligent and see through all the bullshit--know what Mueller is doing and/or about to do. Whether it's whispers or leaks and just the fact that they've seen the evidence we haven't yet, they know. And they are behaving in only one fashion; he's guilty. Hence the desperation of the few, like Nunes. But look at what Nunes did. It was obvious bullshit to everyone in Congress and most in the United States. When the best you can do is a transparent pile of pigshit, well that's a death knell that certainly doesn't surprise anyone behind the scenes who already knew it was pigshit as he was crafting it.

If Mueller had any goods on Trump in this regard and allowed Trump to remain in office one minute longer than possible without bringing the case then Mueller risks being labeled a traitor as well. Mueller has nothing regarding the Russian cullusion case.

What? You do realize that it is about proving in court... not just waving papers and saying "collusion"! How long did it take for Giuliani to take down Gotti?

We're talking about the POTUS not a guy who heads a crime family.

If the evidence was as obvious as Koyaanisqatsi suposses then there is no need to waste time