Trump is in overdrive trying to distract, but it's not working

[senseandsensibility]

New CBS poll from from March 27-28 is brutal for him on the economy.
In January, 42% said their finances were "better off" and now it's only 23%. In January, 28% said their finances were worse off. Now it's 42%.
He's tanking on the issue that supposedly won him the election!

This morning he pulled out all the stops to distract from signalgate and the bad economic news. From threatening Putin (yeah right) to saying he doesn't care if car prices rise to repeating that he's fine with signalgate and wants to run for a third term, it was a greatest hits of la vida loca a la trump.

But it's not working. And Dems have plenty to fight back with. You know, I think Newsom is onto something with his idea that one of the major parties is toxic. I just don't agree with him about which one.

[Jim__]

1. A guy down the street from me had about 6 Trump flags on his house since 2015.

This morning I noticed that they're all gone.

[senseandsensibility]

2. Good!

I remember someone in my neighborhood had a house festooned with trump stuff a few years ago and it suddenly came down. But it turned out it was because he was getting ready to sell. Even the most determined maga isn't dumb enough to leave that %$$@ up when they're trying to sell.

[walkingman]

3. Probably rotted from the air pollution these days. I seriously doubt he is a convert.

[Harker]

12. Good.

There was a "Fark Your Feelings" flag on a neighborhood house until shortly after the election (on our school bur route).

I'm glad it's gone, though the reason seems to differ, and I'm glad for you.

It's just nasty to show his name. When those come down, it's a big improvement.

[johnnyfins]

4. Let's not forget that he also is talking

About his "third term"

[senseandsensibility]

5. Yup

I think I'll add that to my OP if you don't mind.

[johnnyfins]

8. Go right ahead.

[Wounded Bear]

6. His whole life is about bringing out the shiny new object to distract...

Nice to finally see some media not buying it and focusing on real problems.

[senseandsensibility]

11. I noticed they don't seem to be smiling and giggling

at his antics as much lately. Baby steps, I guess.

[crimycarny]

7. Exactly what Trump is trying to do (distract)

However, I think maybe, just maybe, Trump's tried and true method of distraction is backfiring.

Signal-gate is too big an issue to be distracted from. The media's continued reporting on Signal-gate isn't due to some sudden concern about actual newsworthiness, it's because there continue to be gossipy additions to Signal-gate that they know will get viewership. Stories like Pete Hesgeth's Venmo contacts being public, Hesgeth's wife attending meetings, his brother serving a key role in the Pentagon, etc. All of that crap that the media loves since it gets people watching.

[senseandsensibility]

9. And don't forget

signalgate involves one of their own, a journalist from the Atlantic, no less. They all relate to him and know he is telling the truth.

[ToxMarz]

10. I don't think threatining Putin is gonna work out so well for him

even if it's for show/diversion and privately he is in Putins camp. Putin is as much about appearances Trump. And this is not a good public appearance for Putin. And he's better at everything evil than Trump is. He will send a clear message to the world that he's still in the drivers seat, and it's gonna leave a mark.

[senseandsensibility]

13. I never thought of that

You could be right. After eight plus years of maga crazy, I feel qualified to analyze trump's techniques, but that's about it.

[JI7]

14. The Third Term comments were so obviosly meant to distract

Last edited Sun Mar 30, 2025, 07:49 PM - Edit history (1)

Rachel Maddow said pay attention to what they do more than what they say and we have to remember this.

[crimycarny]

18. Yep--Trump is throwing everything at the wall

Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't seem like the media is buying Trump's attempts to distract as much as they did in the past. I'm seeing the Greenland stories, the 3rd term stories, etc, but not as the "headlines" they would have been in the past. The distractions don't seem to have the power to distract the media like they used to. I'm still seeing Signal-gate and the worsening economy taking the front page.

[malaise]

15. THiS

He’s also running for an imaginary third term😂😂

[BeerBarrelPolka]

16. To add

I don't think the Greenland thing is going well either, and of course SS.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

17. Tamping down the third term hype for Trump

Believe or not, this issue was discussed a while back when there were discussions about Bill Clinton running as vice-president on a Gore-Clinton ticket. The thought was that Gore would resign after the election and President Clinton could serve a third term. This concept was discussed and rejected.

The three ways that trump could run for a third term (i) a constitutional amendment, (ii) trump running as vice president and then have his running mate resign and (iii) trump becoming speaker of the house and then the POTUS and Vice President resigning.

A constitutional amendment is not likely. https://upload.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3380306 It is unlikely that such an amendment could get through congress much less be ratified by the required number of states.

The third option has so many variables that it is also unlikely. trump would have to be appointed/elected as Speaker and then both the POTUS and the VP resign. This option does not have the 12th Amendment issue but has so many variables that it is unlikely

The 12th Amendment is clear that no one can run as VP if they are not eligible to run as POTUS. I agree with the legal analysis set forth below.

https://bsky.app/profile/derektmuller.bsky.social/post/3llmjzwnvdc2l

Link to tweet

https://electionlawblog.org/?p=149214

As I told the Associated Press:

Derek Muller, a professor of election law at Notre Dame, noted that the 12th Amendment, which was ratified in 1804, says “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”

Muller said that indicates that if Trump is not eligible to run for president again because of the 22nd Amendment, he is not eligible to run for vice president, either.

“I don’t think there’s any ‘one weird trick’ to getting around presidential term limits,” Muller said.

In addition, pursuing a third term would require extraordinary acquiescence by federal and state officials, not to mention the courts and voters themselves.

He suggested that Trump is talking about a third term for political reasons to “show as much strength as possible.”

Now, there’s no question there is potential constitutional ambiguity here, as Professor Brian Kalt has discussed. But scholars like Professor Michael Dorf a quarter century ago were bolstering the idea of a Gore-Clinton ticket in 2000:

Thus, if Clinton were to be elected Vice President, and ascend to the Presidency based on, for example, Mr. Gore’s resignation, then nothing unconstitutional would have occurred. Clinton would have been elected to the Presidency only twice — though he would serve as President thrice. Under the Twenty-Second Amendment, that is perfectly permissible.

. . . But in seeking the Vice-Presidency — a job, in John Nance Garner’s unforgettable phrase, “not worth a bucket of warm spit” — Clinton would hardly be bidding for dictatorial powers.

Similar claims were made by Professor Brian Gray and elsewhere. But in my earlier scholarship, I found this interpretation weaker than the one advanced by Matthew Franck:

It follows from the 22nd Amendment that Bill Clinton, being “constitutionally ineligible” to be elected president, is ineligible to become president by another route. He is, in short, ineligible to be president, and therefore ineligible to become vice president under the 12th amendment.

I agree. But it’s worth noting that if–and I think it’s still a big if–such a gambit arose, there are tremendous complexities in its implementation. Not the least of which is the fact that after Trump v. Anderson, I believe the Court expressly left open the opportunity for states to review qualifications of presidential (and vice-presidential) candidates outside of the 14th Amendment and exclude candidates on that basis. Vice presidential nominations and ballot access deadlines for them occur in late summer, giving an exceedingly truncated window for review–and, frankly, one that may leave a major party without a vice presidential candidate on the ballot in several states with the approval of the United States Supreme Court. (Setting aside, of course, the will power of someone like J.D. Vance relinquishing the presidency.)

I really enjoy Professor Hasen's election law blog. This article made me smile.

Finally, I doubt that trump will live long enough for these options to be necessary.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

19. MaddowBlog-Despite the Constitution, Trump says he's 'not joking' about eyeing a third term

The 22nd Amendment says, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” The incumbent president doesn't fully accept that.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3lloclwudhk2t

If you're just catching up on news from the weekend, Trump said he's "not joking" about possibly trying to pursue a third term.

The Constitution says, "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." Trump apparently doesn't accept that.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/constitution-trump-says-s-not-joking-eyeing-third-term-rcna198827

This strategy came to mind anew upon hearing the Republican talk about possibly pursuing a third term in the White House. NBC News reported:

President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of seeking a third term in the White House, which is prohibited by the Constitution under the 22nd Amendment, saying in an exclusive interview with NBC News that there were methods for doing so and clarifying that he was “not joking.” ... “A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump said in a Sunday-morning phone call with NBC News, referring to his allies.

.....In fact, in his interview with NBC News, Trump was hardly subtle. “I’m not joking,” he said, adding that there are “methods” in which he could pursue such a goal.

NBC News asked about a possible scenario in which Vice President JD Vance would run for office and then pass the role to Trump. Trump responded that “that’s one” method. “But there are others, too,” Trump added. Asked to share another method, Trump simply responded “no.”

Hours after the NBC News report reached the public, the president chatted with reporters aboard Air Force One and dodged a series of questions on the topic, though he claimed that “people” have asked him to run for a third term — which he said would be a fourth term “in a way” because his 2020 race was “totally rigged.” (It was not rigged; he lost fair and square, and he’s been lying uncontrollably about this for more than four years.).....

I won’t pretend to know where this is headed or the degree to which the president is prepared to defy constitutional law. But Scott Cummings, a professor of legal ethics at the UCLA School of Law, made a comment on "The Rachel Maddow Show" on Friday that stood out for me.

Commenting on autocracies around the world that have consolidated power, Cummings noted that in none of these countries “do leaders do all the things that Trump is doing, take aim at all of these independent institutions, and then just walk away.” Rather, the professor added, authoritarians take these steps because they intend “to stay in power permanently.”

trump needs to stay in power and will try to stay in power anyway that he can

[LetMyPeopleVote]

20. I also doubt that trump will be around for a third term

Link to tweet