The cynicism and soullessness here is off the charts. In every case the sub-text of her remarks is, "Yeah, he's not perfect, and I wouldn't have done some of those things in the way that he did them. But..." But what? He's not a pathological liar and a monster of corruption? He's not responsible for ruining lives, kidnapping innocent immigrants, and destroying institutions? It's like Pol Pot's personal secretary complaining she's had a hard day. Hell is too good for her and all these people.
The Susie Wiles interview stuff reminds me of the two Saturday Night Live bits they did with Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer, about “Vladimir Putin’s best friends from high school” and later “Bashar Assad’s best friends from high school”. They would start off with lines like “he was the best. I loved growing up with him…”. before pivoting to say “but sometimes, he would…..” and then talk about atrocious stuff.
This stood out for me: "His track record of honesty is as poor with her as it is with us." I think it was perfectly predictable. He lies to everyone, including himself.
What I wonder though: What was she thinking when she agreed to these interviews? I wouldn't agree to regular confessions with anyone, certainly not with a competent journalist. Even less if I were in a highly compromising situation.
If these people were capable of any kind of self-reflection or moral reckoning, they wouldn't be doing what they're doing. She liked the idea of having a profile in Vanity Fair, and is incapable of properly modeling the consequences of her own words and actions.
I guess I just see all of this as CYA. Wiles has been on her own personal revenge tour. Having been marginalized within Republican politics, she jumped on Trump's wagon, rode it to a reputation as some brilliant strategist, and now finds herself without a real role in governance, even as the thing she helped spawn devours the republic. And she couldn't care less about that, obviously, but she has a sense that if there is a post black hole reality somebody might and so she should establish some distance from the horror. I refuse to believe that someone as experienced as Wiles just idly chattered to Vanity Fair without imaging what she would saying would get out -- especially because she has clearly avoided any such media profile before. She just wanted to get some deniability out there for herself to cling to in the coming storm. Accountability will begin precisely when we stop paying attention to these head fakes and make sure everybody connected to this disaster is recognized for their role in it, regardless of what they say about their hidden doubts, struggle, whatever. I burn with white hot fury over her remarks about her doubts over USAID. She says she knew it was wrong to kill it. So what? You did.
A few Dems will respond to this in the right way but once again, aside from those few, my guess is nothing more than some strongly worded speeches, letters or tweets come of this. I hope I’m wrong.
As for the administration, they all need to cover each other’s asses in order for them all to retain their positions and continue to force their horrific individual agendas on the country and world. That includes Wiles. Some Republicans will be disappointed for a day or two but the whole gutless party will fall right back in line as they always do.
That said, some of the worst people in the country having so much unchecked power is really fucking scary!
She’s trying to protect whatever integrity she once had while at the same time undermining that effort by protecting Trump. Alternately bad mouthing him and then playing dumb. It’s as if this particular juvenile delinquent was her own son who gives her heartache, but she loves him nonetheless. Yech.
Joining the trump train is prima facie evidence of checking your integrity — to the extent that any of these woebegone people EVER possessed any — in the lost-and-found locker, and it's a mug's game to inveigle motives out of cynical opportunists,
Thanks Joe Biden. And to the degree they tipped the scales for Biden in the 2020 primary, thanks Nancy Pelosi and Jim Clyburn. Thanks Jack Smith (for filing the documents case in southern Florida instead of DC). There is also John Roberts, but we never expected much from him.
I can cut Jack Smith some slack, there were legit legal reasons for filing in Florida where most of the prosecutable conduct had occurred, and concerns that if they filed in DC they'd just lose arguments about that in court, and have to start over in Florida.
It was incredibly bad luck that they drew Aileen Cannon as the judge.
Not to seem ungrateful for your methodical parsing, Brian, but this seems an academic exercise, resting as it does on taking at least some of Wiles's statements at face value. We know that every one of the broken people in the GOP orbit chooses their words to advance their aims, not because the words are true (it's not that they lie, it's that truth vs. falsity is irrelevant to them). There's ample realm to ponder, collectively, why Wiles participated in these interviews and said some of the things she said, and certainly the Democrats should make use of that which shows the GOP in a bad light, but if anything she said is actually true, that's incidental.
I have been thinking since reading parts of the article, that this piece with Wiles is really, This is who we are, we are proud that we are going to dismantle the government and society. Everyone is on notice we don’t care what you think
Excellent piece Brian. Several writers have used the term Impeachment for a variety of reasons today.
Wiles quote in part, 2 I know what he is planning but I am not going to tell. Says She is complicit. All the more reason for her to go too!
Not about this column- anyone who works closely with Trump is obviously going to be stupid and/or a liar and/or evil.
But about Hakeem Jeffries…Assuming the Democrats actually consider this and do something, who should be speaker? Raskin? I mean Jeffries seems like a good guy, but he truly a terrible speaker (like oratorally). Who else?
The cynicism and soullessness here is off the charts. In every case the sub-text of her remarks is, "Yeah, he's not perfect, and I wouldn't have done some of those things in the way that he did them. But..." But what? He's not a pathological liar and a monster of corruption? He's not responsible for ruining lives, kidnapping innocent immigrants, and destroying institutions? It's like Pol Pot's personal secretary complaining she's had a hard day. Hell is too good for her and all these people.
The Susie Wiles interview stuff reminds me of the two Saturday Night Live bits they did with Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer, about “Vladimir Putin’s best friends from high school” and later “Bashar Assad’s best friends from high school”. They would start off with lines like “he was the best. I loved growing up with him…”. before pivoting to say “but sometimes, he would…..” and then talk about atrocious stuff.
This stood out for me: "His track record of honesty is as poor with her as it is with us." I think it was perfectly predictable. He lies to everyone, including himself.
What I wonder though: What was she thinking when she agreed to these interviews? I wouldn't agree to regular confessions with anyone, certainly not with a competent journalist. Even less if I were in a highly compromising situation.
If these people were capable of any kind of self-reflection or moral reckoning, they wouldn't be doing what they're doing. She liked the idea of having a profile in Vanity Fair, and is incapable of properly modeling the consequences of her own words and actions.
I guess I just see all of this as CYA. Wiles has been on her own personal revenge tour. Having been marginalized within Republican politics, she jumped on Trump's wagon, rode it to a reputation as some brilliant strategist, and now finds herself without a real role in governance, even as the thing she helped spawn devours the republic. And she couldn't care less about that, obviously, but she has a sense that if there is a post black hole reality somebody might and so she should establish some distance from the horror. I refuse to believe that someone as experienced as Wiles just idly chattered to Vanity Fair without imaging what she would saying would get out -- especially because she has clearly avoided any such media profile before. She just wanted to get some deniability out there for herself to cling to in the coming storm. Accountability will begin precisely when we stop paying attention to these head fakes and make sure everybody connected to this disaster is recognized for their role in it, regardless of what they say about their hidden doubts, struggle, whatever. I burn with white hot fury over her remarks about her doubts over USAID. She says she knew it was wrong to kill it. So what? You did.
A few Dems will respond to this in the right way but once again, aside from those few, my guess is nothing more than some strongly worded speeches, letters or tweets come of this. I hope I’m wrong.
As for the administration, they all need to cover each other’s asses in order for them all to retain their positions and continue to force their horrific individual agendas on the country and world. That includes Wiles. Some Republicans will be disappointed for a day or two but the whole gutless party will fall right back in line as they always do.
That said, some of the worst people in the country having so much unchecked power is really fucking scary!
She’s trying to protect whatever integrity she once had while at the same time undermining that effort by protecting Trump. Alternately bad mouthing him and then playing dumb. It’s as if this particular juvenile delinquent was her own son who gives her heartache, but she loves him nonetheless. Yech.
Joining the trump train is prima facie evidence of checking your integrity — to the extent that any of these woebegone people EVER possessed any — in the lost-and-found locker, and it's a mug's game to inveigle motives out of cynical opportunists,
So much corruption.
>sigh<
Thanks Merrick Garland
So much blame to go around.
Thanks Joe Biden. And to the degree they tipped the scales for Biden in the 2020 primary, thanks Nancy Pelosi and Jim Clyburn. Thanks Jack Smith (for filing the documents case in southern Florida instead of DC). There is also John Roberts, but we never expected much from him.
I can cut Jack Smith some slack, there were legit legal reasons for filing in Florida where most of the prosecutable conduct had occurred, and concerns that if they filed in DC they'd just lose arguments about that in court, and have to start over in Florida.
It was incredibly bad luck that they drew Aileen Cannon as the judge.
Not to seem ungrateful for your methodical parsing, Brian, but this seems an academic exercise, resting as it does on taking at least some of Wiles's statements at face value. We know that every one of the broken people in the GOP orbit chooses their words to advance their aims, not because the words are true (it's not that they lie, it's that truth vs. falsity is irrelevant to them). There's ample realm to ponder, collectively, why Wiles participated in these interviews and said some of the things she said, and certainly the Democrats should make use of that which shows the GOP in a bad light, but if anything she said is actually true, that's incidental.
I have been thinking since reading parts of the article, that this piece with Wiles is really, This is who we are, we are proud that we are going to dismantle the government and society. Everyone is on notice we don’t care what you think
Excellent piece Brian. Several writers have used the term Impeachment for a variety of reasons today.
Wiles quote in part, 2 I know what he is planning but I am not going to tell. Says She is complicit. All the more reason for her to go too!
I REALLY don't understand how any woman could work for him, vote for him, agree with him. I just don't get it!
Not about this column- anyone who works closely with Trump is obviously going to be stupid and/or a liar and/or evil.
But about Hakeem Jeffries…Assuming the Democrats actually consider this and do something, who should be speaker? Raskin? I mean Jeffries seems like a good guy, but he truly a terrible speaker (like oratorally). Who else?