Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Almost half of Donald Trump's Twitter followers are fake, and he can't find anybody to be his new communications director.

Courtesy of Newsweek: 

This isn't the first time someone has pointed out that a good portion of Trump's Twitter following is fake, but what's interesting is that its fakeness seems to be increasing. In January, journalist Yashar Ali ran an audit on Trump's Twitter account and found that 68 percent of his then-20 million followers were real. Now he's at 30 million followers, but only 51 percent are real, which means of 10 million followers Trump has gained since January, about 8.3 million are fake. 

In April 2016, when Trump was beginning to gain traction as a serious candidate to at least win the Republican presidential nomination, the former reality TV star had a mere 7.58 million followers, only 8 percent of which were fake, according to FiveThirtyEight. It's not surprising that as Trump's global profile has skyrocketed in the past 13 months, so too have the number of bots attached to his Twitter account—but it's astonishing how much the percentage of his followers that are fake has risen. 

So is Trump actually buying new followers? We'll probably never know, but there seems to be nothing more important to Trump than how his fame relates to that of other public figures, and it can't sit well with the president that there are currently 31 accounts with more followers than his. One of those accounts is that of Barack Obama, which boasts a whopping 89 million followers, good for third-most in the world behind Katy Perry and Justin Bieber.

I for one have no trouble believing that Trump would pay for followers so that he could look popular.

But the truth is that even when he is offering money and a job he is having trouble funding people who want to be associated with him, or his presidency.

Courtesy of Buzzfeed:

BuzzFeed News spoke with 20 Republican communicators and operatives, many of whom have worked on Capitol Hill and in presidential campaigns and some who have declined previous offers to join the Trump administration. Nearly all said they would be unwilling to accept an offer to replace Dubke, who on Tuesday announced his resignation as communications director. 

"Hell no!” said one Republican — one of the most common type of responses BuzzFeed News got from operatives. “That would be career suicide.” 

Others brought a mix of dark humor. 

"That's like asking someone who just witnessed a horrific bungee jumping accident whether they would like to go next,” one Republican source responded in a text message. 

“It would be only a few months on the job before tapping out the ‘I want to spend more time with family’ email,” another said.

I really can't say that I blame any of these folks. After all who wants to board the Titanic after it is already taking on water?

Of course who needs a communications director when Trump has been handing out his cell phone number like a desperate barfly right before last call?

Courtesy of the AP:

President Donald Trump has been handing out his cellphone number to world leaders and urging them to call him directly, an unusual invitation that breaks diplomatic protocol and is raising concerns about the security and secrecy of the U.S. commander in chief’s communications.

So far only Canadian Prime Minister, and panty dampener, Justin Trudeau has actually called Trump,  and that was probably just to ask him if his refrigerator was running and then to tell him he better go after it.

I keep forgetting, how long do these train wrecks typically last before the fiery explosion at the end?

54 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:34 AM

    'funding people' or finding people? BOTH are TRUE.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous8:35 AM

    The White House Mess

    A shakeup needs to start with some self-reflection at the top.

    White House aides are leaking that President Trump is considering a staff shakeup to stop them from leaking, and the casualty on Monday was communications director Mike Dubke. Mr. Trump certainly needs to fix his White House mess, but staff changes won’t matter unless the President accepts that he is the root of the dysfunction.

    Mr. Dubke’s departure was rumored for weeks, though he’d been on the job for only three months. He wasn’t the problem, and his replacement won’t be the solution. It’s impossible to run a communications operation, or a policy shop, if the top man prefers chaotic, make-it-up-as-you-go management.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous8:35 AM

    Take two recent examples. In late April Mr. Trump decided after consulting with a couple of advisers that he wanted to unilaterally withdraw from Nafta. No staff preparation. No warning to Mexico or Canada.

    As word spread that the announcement was imminent, other aides and business leaders swung into action to prevent it, including pleas to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to call the President. Mr. Trump stood down, but the result was wasted political energy and economic uncertainty.

    Then there was the fire drill over Mr. Trump’s tax plan. The White House National Economic Council had been working to develop a plan to send to Congress, but suddenly the President announced publicly that he wanted it rolled out in days. The result was a one-pager that moved in the right policy direction but was easily attacked for its lack of details. Mr. Trump may have wanted to galvanize his team, but the drill wasted time and did little to build a Republican consensus in Congress.

    This is apparently how Mr. Trump likes to govern, and he has built a White House tower of Babel in that image. Reince Priebus, his chief of staff, has too little power and must read constantly that his job is in jeopardy. Steve Bannon is supposed to be the keeper of the populist flame, but his coterie of allies leak relentlessly against economics aide Gary Cohn and national security adviser H.R. McMaster.

    Son-in-law Jared Kushner is a loyal, calming influence, but the family tie means he is hard to fire and complicates relations with others in the Administration. Sean Spicer is supposed to explain what’s going on to a hostile press corps when he hasn’t been told the facts, which might be contradicted by Mr. Trump in any case.

    General Counsel Don McGahn has been an able judge picker but on all evidence has little influence on the President’s behavior. At a minimum Mr. McGahn should have been in the room when Mr. Trump spoke privately to FBI Director James Comey in February about Michael Flynn. Mr. McGahn should be advising Mr. Trump to avoid such legal traps, and if the President is ignoring that advice Mr. McGahn should resign and tell Mr. Trump to get somebody he will heed.

    On that score, it isn’t reassuring that Mr. Trump is said to have retained his longtime New York lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, to handle the Russia investigation. Mr. Kasowitz is a babe in the Beltway who has a major Russian client in OJSC Sberbank . Mr. Trump needs to hire a lawyer experienced in Washington political and legal cases and then deputize him to handle everything regarding special counsel Robert Mueller and the Russian question.

    The rest of Mr. Trump’s White House reshuffle should be aimed at delivering on his campaign promise to pass reform legislation and spur faster growth. Either give Mr. Priebus the power to run the White House, or hire someone Mr. Trump will trust to impose order on competing factions.

    Tell Mr. Bannon to stop the guerrilla warfare or get out. There are plenty of conservatives who can counter the liberal instincts of Mr. Kushner and Ivanka in White House councils, starting with Mike Pence. Why not give the Vice President more policy authority?

    Mr. Trump also needs a formal policy process for debating legislative initiatives like health care and tax reform. Members of Congress tell us they have no clear idea whom to talk to with a question about specific policies. This compounds the internal confusion because Congress and other outsiders will bombard everyone on the senior staff. Lt. Gen. McMaster seems to have built this process on foreign policy, but it isn’t clear Mr. Cohn has the same authority on the domestic agenda.

    The larger reality is that Mr. Trump is wasting the precious asset of time. He has a shortening window for legislative achievements before the 2018 election. Presidents typically get a staff who reflect their governing style, and if Mr. Trump can’t show more personal discipline, the fair conclusion will be that he likes the chaos.

    Appeared in the May 31, 2017, print edition.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-white-house-mess-1496186985

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous9:02 AM

      It's hard to detect any "liberal instincts" in either Jared or Ivanka. Both, like Trump himself, seem to specialize in promoting themselves and their business enterprises. No one in the Trump administration cares at all about the American people or the people of the world. The WSJ wouldn't understand that though.
      Beagle mom

      Delete
  4. Anonymous8:44 AM

    "I keep forgetting, how long do these train wrecks typically last before the fiery explosion at the end?"

    Forever. we are in dystopia now.

    But gawd I hope soon. I feel in limbo, in statis, hanging upside down over sharks waiting to drop...or be blown up by WWIII.

    The good thing about this POS is that he's the poster boy for what not to do, or vote for -- the progressives of the world are uniting -- look at France. :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous8:51 AM

    OK? $NOR 'T'
    https://www.yahoo.com/gma/trumps-covfefe-heard-round-world-091507887--abc-news-topstories.html

    ""Who can figure out the true meaning of "covfefe" ??? Enjoy!,""
    tinydjt

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous11:13 AM

      OK? $NOR 'T'
      http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/reporters-burst-into-laughter-as-sean-spicer-insists-trump-didnt-misspell-covfefe-tweet/

      Delete
  6. Anonymous8:59 AM


    An analysis shows that there are 1/3 million bot accounts being added per day/week (don't remember which).

    Can we say needy demented toddler?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Just makes Twitter more and more irrelevant. Who cares if a robot likes your tweet? Are we really that needy?

      Delete
  7. Anonymous9:07 AM

    Sarah Palin is available to be President Trump's communication director.
    -Lou Sarah

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous9:07 AM

    https://www.yahoo.com/gma/trumps-covfefe-heard-round-world-091507887--abc-news-topstories.html

    "You're President of the United States and can't even laugh at yourself more than 10 mins. "I don't want anyone asking about it." REALLY?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous9:10 AM

    Melania Trump is looking for a communication job in the White House. She can speak five languages.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous7:08 PM

      Too bad none of those languages are English.it would be helpful.

      Delete
  10. Anonymous9:11 AM

    No one in their right mind would go to work in Trump's administration or cabinet. They will be scared for life if they do!

    He is the most gross white male on this earth - old, a liar, fraud, abusive, nasty in spirit, evil, vindictive, not bright, poorly spoken, racist and deplorable!

    He is NOT representing me as potus!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous9:24 AM

    Those fake twitter accounts are not just for boosting the orange shit stains ego, they are for disseminating fake news on twitter and disrupting the effort to impeach Trump.
    Twitter could stop this shit right now if they had the balls and integrity.
    I am so glad I do not have a twitter account. I can follow everyone on my pc by linking to their twitter account. I can't comment but who cares.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous9:25 AM

    TweeT This Next>Saturday, June 3 -2017
    https://www.facebook.com/events/627333640790564/

    "All across the country, MARCHes FOR TRUTH - PEACEful demonstrations focused on demanding the TRUTH - will be arranged on Saturday, June 3rd. This event will be a rally supporting the MARCH FOR TRUTH movement. [some of}
    Our goals are simple:

    1. Congressional investigations should be properly resourced and pursued free of partisan interests, and/or an independent investigation must be established.
    2. As much information should be made available to the public as possible, and as soon as possible.
    3. If crimes were committed or if collusion is discovered, it must be prosecuted.
    4. The President must be held accontable for the untruths he is perpetrating.
    5. All politicians and other public figures should take the Pro-Truth Pledge, a behavioral science-based tool to reverse the tide of lies in our political system:

    https://www.protruthpledge.org/

    Please wear something red, white, and blue.

    "We want to make this event a positive affirmation of the importance of TRUTH in politics.
    Here are the three types of signs that are especially welcomed:
    1) Calls for politicians to value the TRUTH over anything else
    2) Calls for an independent investigation led by a special prosecutor into the TRUTH about Russia's interference into the election
    3) Call for politicians and other public figures to take the
    Pro-TRUTH Pledge"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:02 AM

      https://www.crowdpac.com/campaigns/225084/march-for-truth-june-3rd-2017

      Delete
  13. Anonymous9:32 AM

    Real Followers:
    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/marines-arrested-after-displaying-white-nationalist-banner-at-pro-confederate-rally/

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous9:35 AM

    OT?
    "The President violates the Title of Nobility Clause, as explained in Article I, Section 9 of the United States Constitution," states one petition, which had received nearly 150,000 signatures as of Wednesday. "Donald Trump has known financial ties with Russia, and owes hundreds of millions of dollars in debt to banks in foreign countries, such as China. The complicated business entanglements create a conflict of interest for national security issues. The American People deserve to see his tax returns."

    The petition concludes: "Donald Trump needs to resign as President of the United States."

    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/support-for-trump-impeachment-soars-approval-plunges/

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous9:43 AM

    "Men will destroy a female beyond her breaking point and shell still be willing to fix it and hold him down...but once you even pinch a man, he gives up entirely...Men are weaker than women and always have been."

    THIS. THIS IS TRUTH. Thanking my friend for posting it.

    And yes it reminded me of Bristol and how she gives second chances to people who don't deserve them and was finally karmically rewarded with a good man.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous10:19 AM

      Oh puh-LEEZE. Fuck off already.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous11:50 AM

      I wonder if Kathy G. will be offered another gig. Ted nugent and trump made very hateful rude comments and actions during the last few years and republicans clapped with glee. Doesn't trump shield his family from real news? The fox fake news claims all is downright perfect according 20 something hope the hick.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous11:52 AM

      The "good man" you were bashing as a deadbeat right up until their "reconciliation", Alicia? Get a goddamn life.

      Delete
    4. If you are ever looking for the definition of insanity I think that comment at 9:43 will serve you well.

      Delete
    5. Seconded.

      Delete
    6. Anonymous2:39 PM

      Alicia Mangelsdorf must be making you a lot of money for you to continue to spoil the blog with her nastiness and sickness.

      Delete
    7. Anonymous7:06 PM

      Sarah's little Chia pet.
      Water her and she goes crazy!

      Delete
  16. Anonymous9:50 AM

    For all of Donald Trump’s griping about his communications staff, Trump himself appears to be fundamentally unable to direct even his own attention to the things his administration actually wants to do for America, much less the attention of anyone else. His obsession with the way his presidency is covered has deprived him of any chance to change it.

    https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/5/31/15712294/trump-muslim-ban

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous9:51 AM

    OT?
    http://www.politicususa.com/2017/05/31/trumps-decision-withdraw-paris-climate-agreement-sends-stocks-tumbling.html

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous10:56 AM

    We ‘must speak out’: Yale psychiatrist sounds the alarm on Trump’s ‘grave mental disabilities’
    Excerpt:
    “This situation has come to such a critical level,” Lee told Salon when asked why she is compelled to speak out about the president. “In fact, a state of emergency exists and we could no longer hold back. We have an obligation to speak about Donald Trump’s mental health issues because many lives and our survival as a species may be at stake.”

    http://www.rawstory.com/2017/05/we-must-speak-out-yale-psychiatrist-sounds-the-alarm-on-trumps-grave-mental-disabilities/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:13 PM

      I'd have to disagree with "our survival as a species may be at stake" but damn, has he not set America back about 3 decades in a little over 5 months?

      It's going to take us another 3 decades to get any other countries to take us seriously again, but I think humanity will be fine, but America, well, get used to being a second-world nation because we are now.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:09 PM

      May the fucking asshole die a horrid death and soon! I cannot abide even seeing his fat face on TV - do not watch anything covering the horrid being!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous3:59 PM

      I agree that Trump's disabilities are extremely destructive but the entire GOP needs radical intervention. They all seem determined to destroy all that has been good and successful and hopeful and decent in this country and in the world. I read a report today of a GOP member of Congress (I think from Nebraska) who, when pressed repeatedly by his interviewer, refused to agree that decent food is an essential right of the American people. Then there was Benghazi Issa who was seen hiding from his constituents on the roof of one of his regional offices because he wouldn't talk about health care with them. Add to that today's news about pulling out of the Climate Change agreement. Just imagine; things are only going to get worse as we struggle to muddle along.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  19. Anonymous10:56 AM

    Was Kathy all that far off, really? Trump has and is doing deplorable things that have horribly negative effects on America, Americans and our plant. He is even worse when it comes to his acts against women, the poor and minorities throughout our country!

    There are many throughout America that do like, respect or recognize Trump as their president (term used loosely!). He did not win the majority vote in America for the presidency....Hillary did!

    He is an angry, vindictive, reactive man with a very dark soul! Many of us want him impeached or to suffer a massive heart attack or stroke to halt the harm he is bringing to each and every one of us throughout the country and world!

    Kathy went too far as to her depiction, but there are many throughout our country that want him impeached and gone! He is NOT serving us well as at all!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes going too far is exactly far enough.

      Delete
  20. Anonymous11:05 AM

    OT Women? "Trump had always been a wealthy, “larger-than-life LO$ER” a man who made womanizing comments on the Howard Stern Show and acted like a bully on reality TV, even long before he was a political candidate."
    A "seventh grade students said that “people who voted for Hillary Clinton should be taken out in the yard and shot.”
    "Last November, it went more than 75 percent for Trump; the town’s mayor calls it
    “the most Trumpian place in America.”
    Jon Harkness, a baby-faced Theta Chi fraternity brother who was in the first truck that spewed smoke at the march. "there isn’t a “snowball’s chance in hell” he would have voted for Hillary, because she was a “pathological liar” who left men to die in Benghazi." “And us being the redneck, right-wing people that we are, we decided to go raise some hell,”
    Women>"many of them strangers to one another before the election -- had since begun to meet regularly to talk about how to resist Trump’s agenda."
    The list was long: educate themselves on the issues, lobby their representatives, write op-eds to counteract negative conservative coverage. And keep taking to the streets to protest"“It’s like we were all sleeping,” says Howard-Jack. “Now I think we’re awake.”

    http://www.pbs.org/newshour/features/trump-west-virginia/?platform=hootsuite

    "I had this sinking feeling of despair, anxiety, and sadness.
    I have experienced this feeling before, that there’s nothing you can do, that this is it."I grew up in a country with no democracy. I know how a dictatorship looks, feels, and acts, how it smells."
    "Donald Trump’s tactics felt very familiar: disrespect towards two other branches of government, especially judicial,"
    " I think about Trump’s cabinet trembling because of our resistance."

    "To fall in line behind the President, to not ask questions, not to ask why, is not to do your job as a
    Member of Congress in America."
    "That is how American government works."

    https://www.indivisibleguide.com/blog/fled-ussr-refugee-trump-scares-im-fighting-back/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous3:50 PM

      At dinner my husband and I both agreed that nothing seems quite right anymore. We've had a long, long chilly spring in northwest Lower Michigan. We may see a little warming by the end of next week but not before. The Trump administration with the bad news piling up every day is wearing us down and making us dispirited. And the term has barely begun.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
  21. The other thing I've been reading is that some people who have never followed Trump on twitter have discovered that they are now following him. I refuse to follow him, so I will be checking my account to make sure he hasn't been added.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:11 PM

      I refuse to even "do" Twitter or Facebook because this kind of shit can happen when you sell your privacy to the highest bidder.

      Engaging in social media means you've basically lost control of your life and privacy. If you are weak enough to participate then, well, you get what you deserve.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous3:05 PM

      I so agree with you 2:11 PM. I have never used twitter or Facebook either. Have never been interested in getting involved with either. A land line phone and my computer provide me more than enough!

      Delete
    3. Anonymous3:48 PM

      We've both avoided Twitter and Facebook too. It's enough dealing with emails.
      Beaglemom

      Delete
    4. Anonymous10:13 PM

      It's their way to track you like a dog in the name of freedom.

      Delete
  22. abbafan11:29 AM

    O/T - trump's buildings are shit!
    Glass falls from Toronto trump tower!
    See story at cbcnews.ca/toronto

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. His tower in NY has maintenance issues. The two public spaces that he promised by contract to the city he would make available have never been provided. Only one and only periodically and it is poorly maintained (cracks in walls and pavement, dead plants, broken patio furniture, etc.

      Delete
  23. Anonymous11:39 AM

    Yes and this is the same fake twitty users that voted for that asshole. Made up FAKE frauds that cast fake votes for the fake lousy actor LIAR. Scientologist LIAR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2:09 PM

      Um, if there were fake voters then Trump would have won the popular vote, but he didn't. That argument was put to bed months ago.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:32 AM

      Nope. There were areas around the country that fake votes were cast. The fraud was in the bribery of electoral voters. The padding of absentee voters, the overseas votes, the early votes and the malfunctioning republican owned voting machines. It is clear the election was rigged just enough for that ass to claim victory.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:15 PM

      Bush won when Gore should have! Here we go again!

      Delete
  24. Anonymous11:40 AM

    EXPOSE operative snowflakes. Trump liars exposed.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I suggested Sarah Palin, wouldn't that be hilarious!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous6:50 PM

      It would be perfect! They both make up words.

      Delete
    2. Anonymous12:27 AM

      sara can see Russia from her back door.

      Delete
    3. Anonymous7:24 AM

      Sarah's been a NARC for Russia. #1 Traitor of USA.
      Karma will not be kind to her. Too bad so sad for her.

      Delete
  26. Anonymous3:47 PM

    I thought he'd name Hope Hicks, the one who has been gushing about how marvelous Trump is. She's sure trying out for the job. And then there's Kellyanne . . . .
    Beaglemom

    ReplyDelete

Don't feed the trolls!
It just goes directly to their thighs.