[Andy McDandy]

Interesting that with accommodation, they're saying that even if unpaid-for, it's the equivalent amount that matters. Shades of Lord Alli's flat all over again. "Aaaah, but if they weren't getting it for free, they'd have had to pay and thus have ripped us off by that amount!". Bit like the guy in a Terry Pratchett book who demands compensation money from someone who got out of being blackmailed by them.

[Youngian]

It's little more than a joke publicity stunt by Trump and Vance but the BBC treats it as a serious news story.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Can you imagine what Kay Burley and Beth Rigby will make out of it?

[Oboogie]

It's little more than a joke publicity stunt by Trump and Vance but the BBC treats it as a serious news story.

Which news outlet has not treated it as a serious news story, I can't find one?
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=0 ... 5&dpr=1.25

[Yug]

Trump and Vance don't do joke publicity stunts. They tell deliberate lies in the knowledge that many of their thick-as-shit supporters will believe them, get angry, and cause trouble for any known Democrat voters they come across.

[Crabcakes]

Someone got a snap of Trump’s personal phone on its lockscreen.

You will be utterly unsurprised to hear that he has a photo of himself on it.

[Oboogie]

Someone got a snap of Trump’s personal phone on its lockscreen.

You will be utterly unsurprised to hear that he has a photo of himself on it.

I'm actually relieved to hear that, it could easily have been so much worse - a nude selfie of his daughter for example.

[Oboogie]

Trump's former chief of staff, John Kelly reports Trump's admiration for Hitler and that he wished US generals were more like the Nazi ones.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1jrld1kjp3t

[Youngian]

John Kelly said his former boss once told him: "You know, Hitler did some good things, too"

The autobahns did inspire Eisenhower to embark on his massively ambitious interstate highways project but I doubt that's what Trump had in mind.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Hitlerr did reduce unemployment.
Admittedly that led to the invasion of Poland, but...

[satnav]

There seems to be a lot of bilge in the media about how it important that we have a good relationship with Trump because he might be the next president but I'm struggling to think of many favours Trump actually did for Britain when he was last in office. We granted him an audience with the queen but what did we get in return? Trump didn't grant us a special trade deal and didn't provide us with an special military assistance.

Trump is already suggesting that he might introduce protectionism to protect the American economy but that will not be good news for Britain.

[kreuzberger]

Just for clarification; Hitler didn't make the trains run on time - he merely had shot those who contradicted his demonstrably false claims. Also, some of his high-ranking officials tried, unsuccessfully, to kill him, while the others tried, unsuccessfully, to avoid a horde of angry Russian teenagers on speed.

All dictatorships end in failure.

[Abernathy]

Open Britain’s take on Trump’s latest stunt :

Donald Trump's latest move - filing a complaint with the US Federal Election Commission accusing the Labour Party of "blatant foreign interference" in the US Presidential election - is not something Labour should be pandering to…or tying themselves up in knots about.

The truth is, it’s just a desperate play from a desperate man. Remember, for him, this election is existential. With multiple criminal indictments hanging over his head, losing could mean spending the rest of his life in a jail or, at best, in courtrooms fighting to stay out of one. A man in that position will try anything, however ridiculous.

Because the polls are on a knife-edge, Trump is lashing out at every perceived threat, no matter how minor. He knows that even a small advantage counts in a close campaign, and he's trying to intimidate anyone and everyone who might get in his way. Classic narcissist bully-boy behaviour.

Incidentally, there’s more than a whiff of hypocrisy in Trump’s grievance. He claims that a group of Labour-supporting British volunteers showing solidarity with Kamala Harris is an affront to US electoral integrity. Yet, when Nigel Farage is actively supporting HIS campaign and appearing at HIS rallies, he remains silent. Staggering double standards.

The aggressive bullying by a presidential candidate is not the surprise here. Neither is the staggering hypocrisy. The real surprise is that Labour spokespeople are giving these accusations the time of day. This is a mistake.

They should remember that appeasement is rarely a successful strategy when dealing with bullies, especially one fighting for their very survival. They should stand up to him. They should firmly reject his baseless accusations and carry on regardless. In supporting Harris against Trump, they are standing up for democracy against the very real threat of global authoritarianism.

The specific accusations levelled by Trump are a hollow distraction but there is something fundamental at stake here. It isn’t just to do with the Labour Party, or British politics, or the US election. It's about whether democratic institutions worldwide have the resolve to stand firm in the face of unprecedented pressure from increasingly confident authoritarians.

Trump is a man who would happily subvert the democratic rights of millions to save his own skin. He has friends around the world - some of them in this country - who would do the same to stroke their own ego or make a fast buck. Those of us who believe in democracy, whoever we are and wherever we’re from, must stand together and have each other’s backs. Labour activists - and the rest of us - should never shy away from that.

[Oboogie]

Just for clarification; Hitler didn't make the trains run on time - he merely had shot those who contradicted his demonstrably false claims. Also, some of his high-ranking officials tried, unsuccessfully, to kill him, while the others tried, unsuccessfully, to avoid a horde of angry Russian teenagers on speed.

All dictatorships end in failure.

The trains running on time claim was actually originally applied to Mussolini but was, of course, a myth. Even a Fascist dictator cannot control train timetables.
As for the Generals who plotted to assassinate Hitler, their motives were more of pragmatic patriotism (ie Hitler's going to lead Germany to destruction) rather than any high moral principles or political differences, almost all were quite content to swear allegiance and wear the swastika ... until Germany started losing.

[kreuzberger]

It's little more than a joke publicity stunt by Trump and Vance but the BBC treats it as a serious news story.

Here's hoping that Reeves will cluster-bomb the news agenda next week. Frock, spex, and couches in Charlotte should be a thing of the past.

On the other hand, Chris "overcomb" Mason will doubtless fall in to line and file one of his doom-laden reports.

[Crabcakes]

Apparently, Trump groped the daughter of a major donor at one of his fundraising dinners, and she’s a minor.

And there’s video.

MAGA types are already going hell for leather denying it, saying it’s AI etc., so it may well be legit.

As usual, it probably won’t do anything to the true believers or those who need him in place to get their own schemes running, but every scandal chips away at his base.

[Oboogie]

Apparently the video hasn't been posted yet.

https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/u ... -114521249

The BBC's Trump: The Criminal Conspiracy Case is worth a watch.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m ... iracy-case

[Philip Marlow]

I do love the slightly forlorn way John Stewart says ‘Promise?’ at the end.

[Abernathy]

Apparently, Trump groped the daughter of a major donor at one of his fundraising dinners, and she’s a minor.

And there’s video.

MAGA types are already going hell for leather denying it, saying it’s AI etc., so it may well be legit.

As usual, it probably won’t do anything to the true believers or those who need him in place to get their own schemes running, but every scandal chips away at his base.

Well, it certainly fits with Trump's recorded (and self-admitted) behaviour. Completely believable, but as you say, perfectly okay with the MAGA wankers.

[Philip Marlow]

The supporters who really get me are the fundamentalist Christian types who know perfectly well what he’s like but continue to vote for him on the ‘flawed vessel’ basis.