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At this point a debate is not only dangerous to Trump's brand, but also to his legal standing. He simply cannot go on stage and defend himself against the inevitable attacks from Chris Christie, and maybe one or two others, without adding to his legal woes. Even if he doesn't know it, his lawyers certainly do. So, the toadies that he surrounds himself with will all be telling him that he does not need to sully himself by sharing the stage with lesser beings, especially because he has the nomination in the bag, while breathing a deep sigh of relief that he will not be there to further incriminate himself.

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The truth is, Trump is finished. If the republicans really believe that he was such a great president, then the leadership owes it to him to head down to Mar Lago for the weekend, yuk it up, and figure out an exit strategy for the poor bastard. Maybe they can save face for him and themselves............................but more importantly, maybe they can save face for this country.

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You really think he cares about the good of the country?

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probably not

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Definitely not.

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There are no Republican "leaders". There are only cowards and enablers of Trump and the MAGA horde. If there were leaders on the Senate side they would have brought Tuberville to heel; on the House side they would tell the Freedumb Caucus to STFU and shove their demands. But both actions would piss off Trump and the cult, so they keep silent.

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Well-said! This batch of authoritarian enablers are completely organized around helping him maintain self- cohesion so that they can retain the illusion that they are connected to a source of political power. This charade is gradually crumbling, we hope.

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Aug 22, 2023
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I agree: “… those who assisted in maintaining the charade [must/should] answer for their actions as well.”

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Wish there was a way the Republican Party could refuse him as their candidate if he doesn't debate.

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Diane: There are ways for the GOP to refuse DT as their candidate, but it is not in their perceived self interest. They lack the political/moral will & courage & dread the fascist, terrorist MAGA faction of the GOP. Let’s remember DT’s recent threat: Those who come after me, I will come after them (to paraphrase.) The GOP could invoke &/or support Sec3/A14, making the bipartisan effort much more widespread & likely unstoppable.

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Alan, I’m concerned that stmts such as ‘Trump is finished,’ are wishful thinking, underestimate and trivialize the opposition; likely delusional and to the benefit of the fascist MAGA GOP, & to the detriment of Dems. Whether or not such claims are disingenuous or heartfelt is irrelevant; they lead to complacence a fatal mistake especially when a myriad of existential crises are being decided while the GOP seeks yet again to rig the elections; since they can’t compete they cheat, borrowing words of Ian Masters@ Background Briefing.

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I stand by my assessment..................................although.............................he is so frickin good at pulling another rabbit out of his MAGA hat!

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Too late for that. Now there is no exit strategy.

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He worked it out with (I think on CNN this a.m. with whoever in GA) to do his motorcade where he's going to jail (I think) to get a mugshot (for his supporters), fingerprinted (for ...) during primetime. Makes money off it. That's what too many magas are and what any remaining republican has become and even McConnell seems beat up. But, granted, in this world anything is possible.

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There's no way that he knows what "save face" means or doesn't care. He appears totally incapable of feeling any sort of empathy ("cruelty is the point") or compassion and obviously prefers pitting people against one another to fight. He prefers the "strongman" image (morph mix of putin and orban and might as well add netanyahu) where these can't exist (and I always expect to be corrected if I'm wrong).

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Exactly, and well-said!

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Everything he would say could and will be used against him.

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