Phil1111

For rushmc Breaking news. We have Sessions testimony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmzsWxPLIOo www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX7CeTXoxyU It was only a few years ago that I learned he was a German...playing a Spaniard...on English television. Actually: "According to multiple reports from The New York Times and the Boston Globe and a biography, Trump's father repeatedly sought to conceal the fact that he was the son of German immigrants. Fred Trump sought to pass himself off as Swedish amid anti-German sentiment sparked by World War II. According to the biography "The Trumps: Three Generations that Built an Empire" by Gwenda Blair, Fred Trump denied knowing German and did not teach it to his children.... In his book, "The Art of the Deal," Donald Trump reaffirmed the myth of his family's origins, writing that his father's father came to America "from Sweden as a child." In reality, Fred Trump's father, Friedrich Trump, immigrated to the United States from the German city of Kallstadt as a teenager in 1885. Blair writes in her biography that Friedrich Trump went on to establish several saloons and hotels that doubled as brothels." https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/28/politics/trump-family-heritage/index.html

Well, of course the republicans lied about it; that's pretty much a given these days. Nevertheless, the government is running again. Which means that (among other things) SpaceX will be able to proceed with the F9 heavy testing, which is good. Actually I was checking that out this morning. "This doesn't mean the static fire test will actually happen Wednesday -- the priority here is a Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR), in which the team goes through the launch countdown, up to 10 seconds before actual launch. It's only if this goes well that SpaceX will move on to the static fire. Once that test is conducted successfully, a launch date will be set." https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/23/spacex-falcon-heavy-static-fire-wednesday/ So the republicans have slowed up mankind's journey to Mars!

Yep. Note that when Trump was involved, the government shut down. When his aides kept him away from Congress, an agreement was reached. Except: "Less than 24 hours after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rolled Democrats into voting to reopen the government in exchange for his promise to revisit legislation on DACA, his fellow congressional Republicans are already pumping the brakes on any potential immigration fix. Deportation protections for around 800,000 DACA recipients are set to expire in March, thanks to President Donald Trump’s September decision to cancel the Obama-era program. McConnell vowed to bring a DACA fix to a vote before the next impending shutdown on Feb. 8, but top House Republicans don’t seem to care. “March is really the timeline,” Republican House Whip Steve Scalise told Politico on Tuesday morning. “The House wasn’t part of that deal.” The site said Scalise did “not feel at all bound” by McConnell’s promise. Nor, it seemed, was he alone." https://splinternews.com/house-gop-already-threatening-to-destroy-daca-deal-mitc-1822329053 "Instead of getting Trump to agree to the rough outlines of a deal on immigration and spending caps or getting GOP leaders to commit to attaching an immigration deal to a must-pass bill, they settled for a promise from McConnell to debate an immigration bill next month. Republicans reveled in what they saw as a definite political win. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/370209-schumer-comes-under-fire-over-funding-deal

For rushmc Breaking news. We have Sessions testimony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmzsWxPLIOo

Oh my fucking god! You fucking typed it!!!!!! Yep I messed up I do make mistakes You're very predictable that way. It is about honesty and integrity. Two things you have proven you have no concept of Yet you worship the ground trump walks on. Ironic.

I've heard that as well. But times have changed since the 70's. "According to the National Golf Foundation, a high of 30.6 million golfers in 2003 had been reduced to 24.7 million by 2014. The number of golfers between ages 18 and 34 has declined by 30 percent over the past 20 years. Millennials are apt to find the game far too slow — five hours or more to finish 18 holes — for their 21st century tastes. They are also typically more open-minded than their elders, and therefore tend to be turned off by the racism, sexism and snobbery that have long been associated with the country club scene. The ultimate result is that more than 800 courses across America have closed in a decade. Some of these courses have become housing developments, others parks, and a few landowners have taken advantage of tax breaks by donating their properties to nature trusts." https://www.denverpost.com/2017/04/22/why-im-happy-that-golf-is-losing-its-popularity/ Playing golf has gone the way of the three-martini lunch — Trump being the exception The meager attendance Herz has noticed isn’t limited to courses in the New York metro area. The entire U.S. golf industry has been experiencing slow growth in participation and club memberships for the past five years, according to data from industry research firm IBISWorld: From 2011 to 2016, golf course and country club revenue grew by little more than 1% annually. And last September, Nike NKE, -1.22% announced that it was ceasing production of golf equipment, focusing instead on golf shoes and apparel. The reason for the transition is to pursue “sustainable profitable growth for Nike Golf,” said Nike brand president Trevor Edwards, in a statement.... “We live in a 24/7 world,” says Gerald Celente, publisher of Kingston, N.Y.-based Trends Journal. “People are working longer and harder just to stay even. It’s a virtual world, and golf has no place in that world.” In addition to its appeal as a leisure activity, playing golf used to be an integral part of climbing the corporate ladder, Celente says, but the practice has gone the way of the “three-martini lunch.” Younger workers have begun to move away from doing business on the golf course or at the steakhouse, instead bringing clients to faster-paced activities like CrossFit. .. Retailers have taken note in the declining popularity of the sport as well. In August 2014, Dick’s Sporting Goods chief executive Ed Stack said in an earnings call that golf was the company’s “most challenging business,” adding that the company would cut down on hiring and store space devoted to the sport. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-golf-has-gone-the-way-of-the-three-martini-lunch-2016-07-13 Better yet, trump is loosing money on his golf investments. Is Donald Trump struggling to find the green with his golf investments? A Reuters examination of them shows that Trump has likely lost millions of dollars on his golf projects. The analysis shows high costs and modest current valuations. Using conservative estimates of the amount Trump has spent, he may be breaking even or making modest gains; on higher estimates – based on what Trump has said he is spending – he’s losing money... On these calculations his golf courses are estimated to be worth $500 million to $600 million. This analysis suggests Trump could have lost hundreds of millions of dollars investing in golf. “The figures indicate that those were bad investments,” said John Griffin, professor of finance at the University of Texas at Austin, who has previously studied Donald Trump’s wealth. He said that a typical listed property fund would have returned much more over the same period. By comparison Trump “seems to have lost half his investment,” he said." https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/trump-golf/

Trump's entire salary comes nowhere remotely close to paying for his golf CART RENTALS at taxpayer expense. Trump Golf Trips Have Cost Nearly $150,000 in Cart Rentals for Secret Service [url] The Secret Service reportedly paid Mar-a-Lago more than $63,000 over a few months for hotel costs.

cue Foxfans and trumpateers: Right-wing demand to #ReleaseTheMemo endorsed by Russian bots, trolls The latest attempt by some Republicans in Congress to discredit the Trump-Russia investigation has been embraced by Russian bots and trolls on social media. .. "#Releasethememo" is now the top trending hashtag among Russian bots and trolls on Twitter and other platforms, according to the German Marshall Fund's "Hamilton 68" website, which tracks Russian influence campaigns. The president's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., also employed the hashtag in a tweet Friday morning. "Americans deserve to know the contents of the memo," he wrote. "Democrats & deep state govt officials are doing everything they can to protect those within the government who used their positions of influence to target those they disagree with politically. RELEASE THE MEMO! #ReleaseTheMemo" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/right-wing-demand-releasethememo-endorsed-russian-bots-trolls-n839141 As previously mentioned trump could declassify the memo in a instant and release it. Trump's son and Russian bots acting together, in 2018. Such an unprecedented surprise.

The presedent has not taken a paycheck since the election. Report by Judicial Watch shows President Donald Trump's travel costs since June totaled $3,199,188.30. In total, Judicial Watch calculates his travel costs to be $13,533,937.28. One trip to Trump's Bedminster golf club cost $15,994 per hour. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/20/trumps-travel-costs-during-his-first-year-exceed-13-million-dollars.html

The USA does not have an official language. I would think that any educated person would know that. Jerry Baumchen Just Google it, see attached. If English is the official language of the USA, why did House Republicans try to introduce a bill just last year which begins "This bill establishes English as the official language of the United States."? Who do you believe, liberal MSM co-conspirators Google, or the Republican Party? (It died in committee, by the way.) That explains allot: Do most people speak English in Puerto Rico? Both Spanish and English are the official languages of Puerto Rico, but Spanish is without a doubt the dominant language, as the majority of the people in Puerto Rico are not proficient in English. Fewer than 20 percent of Puerto Ricans speak English fluently, according to the 1990 U.S. Census. http://welcome.topuertorico.org/culture/language.shtml Puerto Rican: If you're a shade darker, you face discrimination http://www.orlandosentinel.com/os-ed-colored-puerto-rican-has-endured-racial-slurs-myword-20170504-story.html Referring to: "Spotting her at the Governors Club Lounge in downtown Tallahassee around 10:30 p.m., Artiles, who had been drinking, confronted Gibson: “Audrey, stop being a bitch on my bills and I’ll stop being a fucking asshole on yours.” His words would mark the beginning of the end of his Senate career. By the end of his tirade, Artiles had called Gibson a “girl,” Senate President Joe Negron a “pussy” and Republicans who had elected Negron “niggas.” By the end of the week, Artiles had resigned," http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article146227009.html#storylink=cpy

The answer is to send an administrator like General Kelly and appoint a special prosecutor to work with the bankruptcy court. - Kick ass - Take names and prosecute - Complete bankruptcy and propose a budget with long term solvency coincidental with reconstruction. "SAN JUAN – Puerto Rico has “no path to recovery without a massive fiscal stimulus plan and debt relief,” top economic figures told President Trump and Congress on Friday. They released an open letter urging the Trump administration and Congress to take “immediate and decisive” action to accelerate economic growth and rebuilding in Puerto Rico, where a humanitarian crisis after Hurricane Maria threatens the “very survival of the island,” according to a release about the letter. The full letter is available here: http://recovery4pr.org/. http://caribbeanbusiness.com/letter-to-trump-congress-puerto-rico-cannot-survive-without-massive-fiscal-stimulus-debt-relief/ Harvard is already using Trump’s failures in Puerto Rico as a teachable lesson. “We study leaders,” Dr. Leonard Marcus told me this week. He’s the co-founder of the Ivy League school’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative, which trains policymakers and public officials in emergency planning. “We take what we learn from leaders, and teach new leaders for future events.” And Marcus is learning a lot from President Donald Trump’s response to the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico—mainly, what not to do during a disaster of this magnitude. https://newrepublic.com/minutes/145171/harvard-already-using-trumps-failures-puerto-rico-teachable-lesson Meanwhile American citizens in the remote corners of PR try to cook meals without power and can't get to jobs.

A shithole is where a natural disaster completely and utterly decimates a country that cannot be restored because their criminal regime has stolen that country's wealth and left their people with nothing to rebuild. No infrastructure, no housing, no resources. Plenty of others. Trump Administration: Puerto Rico Has Enough Money and Doesn't Need More Aid Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico four months ago, and recovery has been slow. Power is still out in large swaths of the island, affecting over a million people, and some rural areas may not have power restored until the 2018 hurricane season. Infrastructure, industry, and agriculture have all been devastated. But according to the Trump administration, Puerto Rico is fine. Or at least, Puerto Rico is well off that the administration is deliberately withholding aid... And of course, Puerto Rico has no friends in this White House. It's reported that Trump meant for his "shithole" comments to play well for his base, and if the president thinks that way behind closed doors, it's always possible that he believes that actually helping Puerto Rico would undercut his credibility with white nationalists. It's also just possible he still doesn't know that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens. Regardless, it seems clear that the U.S. government has no intention of giving Puerto Rico aid if they can't get it all back or make a quick buck. https://www.gq.com/story/trump-puerto-rico-aid Puerto Rico’s $123 Billion Bankruptcy Is the Cost of U.S. Colonialism "Civil society groups contend that the plunder of the Puerto Rican people through predatory and even illegal bond deals that island politicians concocted together with top Wall Street firms will now be exposed. Amazingly, the 23-page petition that the federal government’s own financial control board filed in U.S. District Court in San Juan reached the exact same conclusion that Puerto Rico’s former Gov. Alejandro García Padilla reached back in June 2015 — that the island’s debt is “not payable.” https://theintercept.com/2017/05/09/puerto-ricos-123-billion-bankruptcy-is-the-cost-of-u-s-colonialism/ You have defined the US government and the state of America as a shit***e.

I'm even more curious since reading "Fire and Fury". There is nothing in there to indicate Bannon had anything to do with Russia. It also left me with the impression that Bannon is one of the least stupid people to occupy the WH in the past year. I have the book but havn't read it yet. You're right about Bannon he's very very smart in his psychological use of misinformation. "According to conservative commentator David French, Bannon has "done more than any other person to introduce the ... alt-right into mainstream American life" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bannon Thats why he is so dangerous.

It wasn't Schumer who claimed "I alone can fix it". @RNC leadership should not be afraid of a government shutdown. They should be afraid of not defunding ObamaCare. 7:47 AM - Sep 18, 2013 Congratulations to @SpeakerBoehner on standing strong and tying government shutdown to defunding ObamaCare. 7:13 AM - Sep 20, 2013 It is outrageous and disgusting that families of U.S. MILITARY personnel killed in action will not be given money for burials. SAD! 5:39 AM - Oct 9, 2013 “Here’s the truth, the gov't doesn’t shutdown” http://apne.ws/16lbI86 via @AP. All essential services continue. Don't believe lies. 1:35 PM - Sep 23, 2013 83% of the government is still running during the shutdown while 41% of nondefense federal workers are furloughed. Room for cuts. 1:58 PM - Oct 7, 2013 Stocks rose yesterday during the first day of government shutdown. Markets like being left alone for a day. 2:32 PM - Oct 2, 2013 My sense is that people are far angrier at the President than they are at Congress re the shutdown—an interesting turn! 3:05 PM - Oct 7, 2013 either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good "shutdown" in September to fix mess! 7:07 AM - May 2, 2017 All trump tweets in support of the last republican shutdown.

Put 750cc "Bolt On's" and 15 lbs and there is a certain resemblance. I wonder if trump's depraved indifference to any moral values has reached the Silvio Berlusconi 17 year old prostitute affair? Berlusconi paid over $10 million in bribes to witness to keep quiet. All of this when he was 74 years old. Perhaps Ron is right, trump is the "Great Negotiator". He got his witness and accusers bought off for a measly $130k. Plus legal fees of course. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvio_Berlusconi_prostitute_trial Of course trump and Berlusconi have something else in common. Silvio Berlusconi gives Vladimir Putin birthday present of duvet cover with their picture on it Berlusconi, 81, came up with the idea of the personalized bedding gift after Putin gave him the double bed in which Patrizia D’Addario, a prostitute, claimed to have had sex with the disgraced Italian, The Times of London reported. Berlusconi is said to be very proud of the bed from Putin, even boasting about it to actor George Clooney, according to the International Business Times. "I've had one evening with Berlusconi and it was one of the more astonishing evenings of my life," Clooney said in 2011. “I went to speak about Darfur. I'd done my homework. He took me to see his bedroom and the bed that Putin gave him. It became a very different evening than anyone thought." Berlusconi stepped down in 2011 after his last term in office was marred by scandals, and he's been barred from politics after a 2013 tax fraud conviction, the Daily News reported." http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/10/09/silvio-berlusconi-gives-vladimir-putin-birthday-present-duvet-cover-with-their-picture-on-it.html So for perspective in case someone missed it actor George Clooney goes to Berlusconi to raise money for the Sudan refugee calamity. To which Berlusconi brags about the bed used to score with a prostitute, courtesy Putin. trump meanwhile only has the warm memories of his "golden shower" courtesy President Putin.

Stormy Daniels Once Claimed She Spanked Donald Trump With a Forbes Magazine At his request. In Touch published an interview with Daniels from 2011 in which she herself described having a sexual affair with Trump. And Mother Jones has learned that Daniels years earlier talked about having had a sexual relationship with Trump—and in lurid detail. According to 2009 emails between political operatives who were at the time advising Daniels on a possible political campaign, the adult film actor and director claimed that her affair with Trump included an unusual act: spanking him with a copy of Forbes magazine. ... The campaign consultant who wrote the email to Dubé tells Mother Jones that Daniels said the spanking came during a series of sexual and romantic encounters with Trump and that it involved a copy of Forbes with Trump on the cover. A fall 2006 cover of Forbes does feature Trump and two of his children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/01/stormy-daniels-once-claimed-she-spanked-donald-trump-with-a-forbes-magazine/

Be it Buddhists ethnically cleansing the Rohingya, Sunni vr Shia followers of Islam, Catholics, Evangelical Christians, TV evangelicals in the US. They all sail in the same boat of hypocrisy. The crusades started 800 years ago, nothings changed.

I agree that he knows how to talk to his base. For his supporters and opponents I doubt anyone will be relaxing. The prospects look favorable with regards to current US stock market valuations. IMO his popularity will fall in step with the aforementioned valuations. That is if Mueller doesn't get to him first. 1% of American CEOs give Trump an A for his job performance in survey – while 50% think he deserves an F http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-ceos-job-performance-rating-grading-yale-summit-favourability-a7792376.html 'Firestorm' over Trump's latest tirade prompted top CEOs to disband advisory council https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/16/a-second-trump-advisory-council-is-disbanding.html Donald Trump Is Irrelevant to Corporate America https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/donald-trump-is-irrelevant-to-corporate-america Trump Is About to Test Our Theory of When Leaders Actually Matter https://hbr.org/2016/11/trump-is-about-to-test-our-theory-of-when-leaders-actually-matter

Here is a descriptive article on why "it don't mean nothin'" "It's the economy stupid." https://www.dailywire.com/news/26008/porn-star-give-massive-interview-about-adulterous-ben-shapiro?utm_source=shapironewsletter-ae&utm_medium=email&utm_content=011818-news&utm_campaign=modelnames Oh Ron, Ron, Ron. Of course it dosn't matter to set moral values and integrity aside if the DJIA is up. Like a crack whore the republicans are going to borrow their way to re-election. Or try to. "As of January 4, 2018, the official debt of the United States government is $20.5 trillion ($20,493,371,220,439)... At the close of the federal government’s 2016 fiscal year (September 30, 2016), the federal government had roughly: $8.5 trillion ($8,542,000,000,000) in liabilities that are not accounted for in the publicly held national debt, such as federal employee retirement benefits, accounts payable, and environmental/disposal liabilities.[12] $29.0 trillion ($29,038,000,000,000) in obligations for current Social Security participants above and beyond projected revenues from their payroll and benefit taxes, certain transfers from the general fund of the U.S. Treasury, and assets of the Social Security trust fund.[13] [14] $32.9 trillion ($32,900,000,000,000) in obligations for current Medicare participants above and beyond projected revenues from their payroll taxes, benefit taxes, premium payments, and assets of the Medicare trust fund.[15] [16] Combining the figures above with the national debt and subtracting the value of federal assets, the federal government had about $84.3 trillion ($84,306,000,000,000) in debts, liabilities, and unfunded obligations at the close of its 2016 fiscal year.[23] http://www.justfacts.com/nationaldebt.asp Your Pension Is a Lie: There's $210 Trillion Of Liabilities Our Government Can't Fulfill https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmauldin/2017/10/10/your-pension-is-a-lie-theres-210-trillion-of-liabilities-our-government-cant-fulfill/#1405350f65b1 America's Real Debt Shocker: $100 Trillion Owed in Unfunded Liabilities http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/americas-real-debt-shocker-100-trillion-owed-unfunded-16581 Where is republican leadership in addressing these issues as US approaches full employment? Answer. It will trickle down to your children. The debt that is.

Hillary has brains, ergo enabler. I had no real issues with Melania and recognized her as the eye candy of a post midlife-crisis child that still seeks ego stroking. But she interjected herself into politics re bullying, " Melania Trump is facing criticism on Twitter for her Martin Luther King Jr. Day tweet saying the U.S. is currently striving for “equality and justice for all.” “Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & his service to this great country. I am honored to be First Lady of a nation that continually strives for equality & justice for all. # MLKDay,” the first lady wrote on Monday." http://people.com/politics/melania-ivanka-trump-mlk-day-tweets-shithole/ Therefore enabler in spouse. Or more technically a co-dependent enabler. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-anatomy-addiction/201207/are-you-empowering-or-enabling

Hey, thats the "First Lady" you're talking about!

[url] I hope the do forgive him. The more they put their hypocrisy on display the better For Fox, the Christian right, trumpateers, etc. Michelle was black. For Nancy Reagan it was elegant simplicity. Don't forget the nude photo shoot of Melania...er...the first lady, floating from magazine to magazine. I hope the Mods don't give me a "Last warning" or ban me for providing porn links to the first lady! Good times!!

'In Touch' Explosive Interview With Stormy Daniels: Donald Trump Cheated on Melania With Me "In the new issue of In Touch, on newsstands today, Stormy (given name: Stephanie Clifford) confirms in her own words that she had sex with Donald Trump in his Lake Tahoe, NV, hotel suite in 2006 — a story that was corroborated to In Touch in 2011 by her good friend Randy Spears and supported by her ex-husband Mike Moz. Stormy also took and passed a polygraph test at the time of the interview. Stormy told In Touch, “[The sex] was textbook generic,” while discussing the fling they had less than four months after Donald’s wife, Melania, gave birth to their son, Barron. “I actually don’t even know why I did it, but I do remember while we were having sex, I was like, ‘Please, don’t try to pay me.’” http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/stormy-daniels-affair-donald-trump-151571 Wait...breaking news.... The religious right, Evangelical Christians have forgiven trump already. Its not for them to judge.

The latest book on trump: The Public in Peril: Trump and the Menace of American Authoritarianism (Critical Interventions) 1st Edition by Henry A. Giroux (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Public-Peril-American-Authoritarianism-Interventions/dp/113871903X Which references the same quote I made earlier in this thread. https://books.google.ca/books?id=mxIwDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT38&lpg=PT38&dq=%E2%80%9CWhen+Donald+and+Ivana+came+to+the+casino,+the+bosses+would+order+all+the+black+people+off+the+floor,%E2%80%9D+said+Kip+Brown&source=bl&ots=H4c0JMEuEb&sig=5RXqVcL5yI5ZmYrq3oElN1LJI1g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj98Zj0seDYAhUE4mMKHeEUAigQ6AEINTAD#v=onepage&q=%E2%80%9CWhen%20Donald%20and%20Ivana%20came%20to%20the%20casino%2C%20the%20bosses%20would%20order%20all%20the%20black%20people%20off%20the%20floor%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20Kip%20Brown&f=false That being the operators of his Atlantic City casino's had to hide black staff from trump and Ivanka when they came to visit his casino.

Should have been " I'll bet that I can make 2 billion people say shithole in the next week." trumpateers have singled out CNN while their own FOX refused to air a story on trumps porn star payoff just before the election. Rather than debating the facts. CNN has become the new favorite whipping boy for Fox, Breitbart and trump apologists. https://www.gq.com/story/fox-news-trump-pornstar Absolutely rest assured America will pay for trump. Sooner or later. World media struggle to translate Trump’s ‘shithole’ insult https://www.timesofisrael.com/world-media-struggle-to-translate-trumps-shithole-insult/ U.S. Global Image Takes Another Hit Under Trump https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-11-16/us-global-image-takes-another-hit-under-donald-trump-in-international-ranking Many trump supporters have the idea that the whole world wants to come to the US. The backhand message being good, if more Africans, Arabs, Muslims hate the US because of trump. Then maybe less will want to emigrate. It fits their narrative. Of ignorance. China moves up, while US is hobbled by Trump http://www.standard.net/National-Commentary/2017/11/06/China-moves-up-while-US-is-hobbled-by-Trump Today's two superpowers are coming from different directions. President Xi, consolidating his hold, probably is the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. It's not just talk when he proclaims China is taking "center stage" in the world, replacing American influence on Asia and filling a leadership void in much of the rest of the world. "China is more confident today than anytime in its modern history," notes Tom Donilon, national security adviser to Barack Obama and an Asia expert. Despite all of America's economic and military power, it's a weakened president who arrived in Asia this weekend. Trump is more unpopular than any previous president at this juncture; neither he nor the U.S. command respect from many countries, and he is besieged by problems at home, especially a wide-ranging criminal investigation of his campaign and possibly him. None of that disappears because he's 10,000 miles away. "Trump is not going in with a strong hand," says Graham Allison, the Harvard professor and former national security official who wrote a book on the potential conflict between the two countries. "He may not know that."