62 Comments

Do you think there will be pushback/ rebellion/ mass resignations in the various agencies when Patel, Gabbard, RFK, etc (assuming confirmation) start issuing absurd and/or dangerous orders?

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What is the over/under on the first cabinet member confirmed to quit or much more likely to be fired by Trump and who will it be?

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There are so many people that are likely to screw up that Trump will have to fire. I think we'll get The Apprentice - White House Edition where Trump will fire people once a week on live TV. 😉🤦‍♂️🤣😂

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Will all the evidence Jack Smith collected in the Jan. 6 case and top secret files at Mar-o-Lago case be in DOJ files where Trumps AG and FBI director can destroy or “misplace” them? Any bets on whether any evidence remains in 4 years?

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I had heard (on "The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell"?) that Jack Smith can submit all the collected evidence to the Circuit Court, where it would be under the control of the Judicial Branch, and safe from the shredders in the Executive Branch. I hope that's true...

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Why do I keep putting off my one-on-one with you?

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Yeah, I keep getting cancelled as well. Seems Chris is too busy these days. Going to give it one more try.

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Does the VOA need to exist? It was set up during the cold war to be a propaganda arm of the USG against the Soviets. Why do we need it in 2024?

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VOA is still used to beam Western news into Russia, North Korea and China as well as other nations.

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Those folks will LOVE Kari Lake.

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I think it provides news from home to overseas service people and expats, but that was before the Google Age! So maybe you’re right, Shaun…

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PS: GREAT photo!!

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I saw the North Carolina email and excitedly assumed “Bill Belichick!”. So, care to give thoughts? I think he’s going to hate recruiting, and thus underperform expectations.

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💯

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Why hasn’t anyone confronted Trump about the J6ers hurting the capital police. He claims to be a supporter of law enforcement.

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When I see public figures make sudden positional pivots (like Joni Ernst re: Hegseth, or Joe /Mika, Bezos, etc), I assume that Trump's thugs are potentially blackmailing them, or threatening the safety of their family members or life savings. Have I watched too many spy movies? Or do you think this could actually be going on?

Assuming the scenarios above are feasible (flashback to Michael Cohen indirectly threatening the safety of Stormy Daniels's baby), my main question is this: Why isn't the press reporting this? Is it simply that they're afraid of being targeted next by reporting it? I would think that by shining a public spotlight on it, perhaps a law enforcement agency could attempt to clamp down on it before Trump takes power.

What am I not seeing or knowing here?

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If Pete Hegseth gets through confirmation do you think he'll end up like Wilbur Mills, drunk with strippers in the Reflecting Pool?

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Can you give any specific “bridging” advice to a battered Democratic Party who legitimately wants to support marginalized communities like LGBTQ+trans (and use sensitive tolerant PC language) AND the masses of ordinary people in middle America who find D’s cultural touchpoints offputting?

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I am going to push back on you Chris as I think you and the larger media ecosystem do not appreciate complexity with respect to recent events in NYC. I think for some it is too complex to appreciate that every human life is a wonderful masterpiece, has value and dignity and should never be erased and discarded as that healthcare CEOs life was. And most people believe that our healthcare system denial process can have life altering consequences, including death, and that if you’re the CEO, you own that, especially if that vulnerable, weak individual who’s dead doesn’t get profiled on the nightly news - their life is a wonderful masterpiece too! It’s BOTH AND not EITHER OR and I’m saddened that our politics and media don’t seem to appreciate that.

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What are your thoughts on Bill Belichick as head football coach at UNC?

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https://apple.news/AQ9Tl9dWjSJG8UiYflguUJg

What is going on here? What good reason is there to get rid of the FDIC?

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I couldn’t believe that when I saw it. All we need is another Keystone WV Bank Failure from 1999. Really bad idea to get rid of the OCC or FDIC, Elon and Vivek!

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Referring to your post about North Carolina, it’s another example of Republicans manipulating the system to their advantage. And it feels like they do that, or falsely claim that the Democrats are doing it, a whole lot more than the Democrats. And yet the Republicans never seem to pay a price for it because their base doesn’t care. How do Democrats fight that? How do they turn that around in the court of public opinion?

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This keeps rolling around my brain: Trump is universally considered 1 of the worst US presidents by presidential historians and scholars, and we Americans just reelected him (would Johnson or Buchanan have a chance today?!). I know MAGA (and probably others) will just discount this as partisan garbage (even though these kinds of rankings are usually/always bipartisan). Are we Americans too uneducated, uninformed, and easily misled to be trusted with the awesome power of the vote? Was Jefferson (and his ilk) wrong?! Thanks (and sorry for the heavy use of parentheses).

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I haven't been reading your pieces because I was insulted by one of your readers. That doesn't work for me. When my subscription is up I won't renew.

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So sorry to hear that. I try to foster a friendly community. I apologize on behalf of that person.

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Thank You ! Chris

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😞

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