Which is worse? That Donald Trump is too stupid to understand that continuing to attack the press in the wake of the death of Jamal Khashoggi is tacky, tasteless, and offensive, or that he knows and just doesn’t care?
Earlier this week at a rally in Montana, Trump talked about a Republican’s physical assault on a reporter, which he and his angry mob all laughed over.
Last May during a special Congressional election in Montana, Greg Gianforte attacked Ben Jacobs, a reporter for the Guardian. Gianforte initially denied doing it until witnesses and a recording of the attack came to light. He apologized and was found guilty of assault. Naturally, in this new normal, he won the election.
Trump praised the guy and said, “Any guy who can do a body slam … he’s my guy” and made a gesture mimicking a body slam. Don’t forget, Trump is a wrestling fan. The theme of Trump’s speech was highlighting how Republicans are the party of “law and order” and Democrats are for “angry mobs.” I’m starting to believe that cognitive dissonance is contagious.
The Guardian’s U.S. editor, John Mulholland said, “In the aftermath of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, it runs the risk of inviting other assaults on journalists both here and across the world where they often face far greater threats. We hope decent people will denounce these comments and that the President will see fit to apologize for them.”
Places like Turkey and Saudi Arabia weren’t bastions for press freedom before Trump came along, but now, journalists are literally being killed in brazen fashion.
The Saudis killed Khashoggi in their Istanbul consulate. After claiming for two weeks they had no idea of Mr. Khashoggi’s whereabouts, then speculating that he was dispatched by “rogue killers,” a theory Trump also tossed about, they now admit he’s dead. They claim he died in a fist fight and that eighteen nationals have been arrested. Turkey claims his body was cut into pieces while he was still alive.
There are still questions. Why was he being questioned? Why was he being questioned by so many people? What proof is there that anyone has actually been arrested? Finally, where is the body?
While stating the death was “unacceptable,” Trump added that Saudi Arabia is a “great ally.”
Trump, who has done business worth millions for years with Saudi Arabia, has consistently expressed that money is more important than this journalist’s life. He is more concerned about a potential arms deal with the Arab nation than press freedom. Perhaps favoring the dollar over humanity is how Trump became a billionaire, in addition to conning and inheriting. Saying an attack on a journalist is “unacceptable” is a little hard to swallow when you’re leading a hate rally in laughing about an attack on a reporter.
Every journalist’s freedom should be defended by the leader of the free world. An American president should make it a top priority to defend the life of a journalist working for an American news outlet, even if he believes they’re “fake news.” He should not be helping autocrats he idolizes in covering up a murder.
What has been proven this week is that we have a fake president.
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claytoonz 
Thank you for asking what I have been asking since this began. WHERE THE F*** IS THE BODY?? If he died in a fight from an accidental blow, there would be no reason to dispose of the body in a clandestine way. If he left the consulate, all they had to do was show video of him leaving. There was video of him arriving, right? He didn’t die in a fight, and Trump and the prince know it!
> WordPress.com
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Not to mention, they suddenly “discovered” that he died in a fistfight in their consulate two weeks after it allegedly happened. They may have a terrific clean-up crew, but they really need to have a word with their security…. [sarcasm font enabled]
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Every time I think our country’s government has hit its moral bottom, 45 opens his jowls again and proves me wrong. I think I’ve moved beyond outrage into just plain shuddering.
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Don’t shudder. VOTE.
VOTE THE GOP OUT OF BOTH CHAMBERS OF CONGRESS IN NOVEMBER.
IMPEACH TRUMP/KAVANAUGH 2019
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The problem with impeaching Trump is that we’re left with Pence the Theocrat in charge.
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It’s obvious to me that Duron meant to say:
“IMPEACH TRUMP/PENCE/KAVANAUGH 2019”
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It’s pretty obvious: Kashooggi picked a fight with 18 Saudi’s, armed with bone saws. Kashoggi must’ve been delusional! Or, maybe anyone who believes that horse shit is! Or, maybe Trump’s base is dumb enough to believe that horse shit! Or, maybe, they just don’t care! This is multiple choice: pick the horse shit that appeals to you! I’m choosing the latter. No one is dumb enough to believe this horse shit! Not even our “favorite” president! Who, by the way, is a stable genius! Aren’t stables, often filled with…horse shit?
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I guess Jamal Khashoggi forgot the Well-Known Rule:
“Don’t bring a Fist to a Bone Saw Fight”.
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What’s worse is what’s coming. Trump won’t be content to let other dictators enjoy this kind of privilege. He will have to try it out himself.
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“Finally, where is the body?”
Another question has been bugging me.
The Turks say that they have Audio and Video Recordings of the Torture Session(s) and Murder. Assuming that there was a live agent listening or watching in Real Time, why did the Turkish government Not try to intervene?
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I’m not sure if they heard the audio in real time or later as Khashoggi’s finance brought it to them.
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Unfortunately, the Turkish government couldn’t do anything. A foreign country’s consulate/embassy is considered sovereign soil – like the government picked up a piece of that foreign country & plopped it down in Turkey. The Turkish government has no right to enter the embassy, unless invited, & they can’t stop them from doing anything.
I’m sure you’ve seen it in movies or TV shows, where people run to their country’s embassy & the government stands outside the embassy gates & tries to coax them out. I think there’s an anecdote about a country blaring rock music at the embassy until a person came out to make it stop? Yeah, that’s about all they can do. 😦
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Well, yeah – in movies or on TV shows . . . according to TIME, that isn’t so: http://time.com/5429365/saudi-consulate-sovereignty-territory-khashoggi/
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According to TIME, it’s theoretically & in principle not accurate that people won’t suffer consequences for their actions.
But, as it also said, Turkish authorities still needed Saudi Arabia’s permission to enter the consulate. They received it – 10 days after the alleged murder took place.
I responded to randumbthoughts2017’s question as to why the Turkish government didn’t do something if they viewed, in real time, the murder. The fact is, they still couldn’t do anything without Saudi Arabia’s permission.
Nor could they go in & get someone without the embassy country’s permission, which, I assume, is why those TV shows & movies show them going to extreme lengths to try & flush out the desired person(s). 😦
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It’s a “by proxy” thing. A journalist who works for The Washington Post is killed in a foreign country to at least make it look like Trump had nothing to do with it.
Isn’t that exactly the tactic used by Trump’s close friend Putin?
Putin poisoned those Russians living in the UK who were Russian dissidents and opposed Putin.
Trump: “We don’t like him because he’s a journalist who works for The Washington Post.”
Saudis: “We don’t like him because he writes in opposition of the Saudi government.”
Solution to appease both the Saudis and Trump: kill the journalist.
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A proxy murder is when someone commits any type of homicide, most likely by one person ordering another person, or through the use of a third party.
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