Wall Street Journal: Trump personally orchestrated hush payoffs to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal

[jerwin]

@tgarretteaton

Is this a joke? Like, this is not something a normal business person would say to their lawyer unless it’s either A) a joke, or B) within the realm of actual possibility … a tacit hit order.

IIRC, David Pecker was loyal to Trump, but in the event of Pecker’s death-- or firing, or whatever, AMI would have the rights to those stories, and they might not be as friendly to Trump. Insurance.

[Turnips]

You know that Super-Hero culture that’s so entertaining on the big and silver screens, graphic novels, etc? It sounds like he’s that for them. And, bonus, he screwed over some liberals!
Nobody on that team has the foggiest notion or care about the environment, fair play or the world stage.

[HMSGoose]

He said it just to pwn the libs…secretly…erm, or in case there were tapes that would some day be released? I don’t kkow, but look at your face LIBTARD, haha, you hate having a terrible president sooo muuuuch!

[petzl]

I’m calling it right now:
Supporters will say its “just” campaign finance laws.
(Because, certain felonies really are just technicalities.)

[lumbercartel]

@anon75430791

I had suspected that Trump had to have a few hits under his belt, what with all the mob connections.

How many mobsters can shut down investigations without spending a penny and have a pardon pen if that fails?

[jtiii]

"Yeah, I was thinking about that,” Mr. Trump said. “Maybe he gets hit by a truck.”

@Mitchell

Yeah, he’s not actually saying “let’s kill Pecker” in mob-speak. He’s saying he was thinking about what’d happen to all the files and dirt he”d paid Pecker to suppress if he died

But then what is he saying about that truck? Do you think he was concernedly pointing out a random way that Pecker might die, thus precipitating said crisis? No way. Is he joking that he’d be so mad at Pecker that he’d kill him just to kill him? More likely, but I think not as likely as this -

I think he’s just stupid, didn’t grasp the actual problem that he would face if Pecker left the Enquirer, and made a stupid “wise guy” crack that he undoubtedly thought was pure genius.

I didn’t think he was doing anything but joking. I think Trump is too chickenshit to do anything that could put him in a state prison (as opposed to having any moral qualms about it).

[jtiii]

@DoctorDuck

Dunno… sounds to me like he’s saying “that secret stuff is now owned by Pecker. What becomes of it if he gets hit by a bus?”

I understand the impulse to read it as a threat, but frankly it makes more sense this way.

@tgarretteaton

Ah I see… that makes more sense. But the way it’s phrased is weird… It’s not, “What if he gets hit by a truck?”

With someone besides Trump I’d agree. But I think it could really go the other way here.
First of all, Trump thinks he’s hilarious. He constantly wise(forgive me) cracks.
Second of all, Trump loves to be a tough guy. This is the guy who said he woulda taken on the Parkland shooter “even if I didn’t have a weapon”.

Of course, this man was capable of saying aloud “I really believe I’d run in there, even if I didn’t have a weapon” AND almost surely believes it! So we’re probably fools for trying to guess what he means; he’s a fucking idiot.

[anon15383236]

@jtiii

he’s a fucking idiot

And very likely, when push comes to shove, a running-away coward.

[anon75430791]

@jtiii

He constantly wise(forgive me) cracks.

He appeals to people who are not witty, but boorish. There are different senses of humor I guess.

[jtiii]

Yes, including good ones and bad ones he’s definitely too stupid to be witty

[Yose]

Gawd, does anyone in this country still believe that Trump wasn’t personally trying to cover up his pussy trail?

[AJScease]

@tgarretteaton

“Yeah, I was thinking about that,” Mr. Trump said. “Maybe he gets hit by a truck.”

The point of this quote is Trump is worried about what will happen to the info in the Enquirer safe should anything happen to Pecker, NOT that Trump is speculating about a “hit” on Pecker.

[anon15383236]

@Yose

Gawd, does anyone in this country still believe that Trump wasn’t personally trying to cover up his pussy trail?

A lot of people think he was, and further, that it shows just what a sly fox he is that he’s been getting away with it. Hey, real men have urges, you know? Etc.

[anon15383236]

Thanks for that brave report from Inside Trump’s Brain!

[Mitchell]

“What if x gets hit by a truck/bus” is a common management phrase for a very basic organisational principal - redundancy. Making sure your project or business won’t come to a grinding halt if one particular person gets sick, quits or gets fired or dead.
It’s exactly the kind of thing even a moron like Trump would pick up, by osmosis at least, after spending most of his life around businesses. It’s also easy to visualise, and kinda violent, so it’d stick with him.
And thirdly, he mangled the phrasing, like he usually does with any term that sticks in the fetid mush he calls a brain.

I wouldn’t put it past him to suggest having someone killed, but the above reading makes a hell of a lot more sense in context. The other reading makes no sense on any level, and even his most nonsensical rantings and dumb ideas make some semblance of sense when viewed through a thick haze of stupidity.