Trump Talk™

What is Trump even proposing to do? Most of what I've heard of him is his antics rather than his politics.

What is Trump even proposing to do? Most of what I've heard of him is his antics rather than his politics.

Listen to John Mccain.

SNL hasn't been funny for 20 years but nice try !

As the prospect of Donald Trump winning the Republican Party’s presidential nomination grew more realistic, the questions became more common: what would it say to the rest of the world if Americans elected Trump to the White House? Just how much damage would such an election do the United States’ credibility?

And while those questions obviously matter, it’s also worth pausing to appreciate the fact that Trump’s current standing is already doing damage in the eyes of the world. Reuters published an interesting report this morning.

The piece quoted a senior NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, saying, “European diplomats are constantly asking about Trump’s rise with disbelief and, now, growing panic.”

It’s inevitable that American presidential elections are going to generate some international attention. The U.S. role as a global superpower means that decisions made here have an effect practically everywhere, so when American voters go about choosing the “Leader of the Free World,” a global audience tends to keep an eye on the process.

And right about now, it seems much of the planet is worried, not only about a leading U.S. candidate, but also what in the world so many Americans are thinking.

I continue to think part of the problem is the Republican Party’s unique status among advanced democracies. As we’ve discussed before, the GOP in the United States is the only major party in the advanced world that denies climate change, opposes universal health care, and believes citizens should have largely unfettered access to firearms.

As a result, the party is bound to make decisions that international observers find baffling – there’s just nothing else like our Republican Party in any democracy in the Western world.

Donald Trump's modeling agency has profited from the very same visa program that the presidential candidate himself has slammed -- and appears to have violated federal law in the process, a CNNMoney investigation has found.

Throughout his campaign, Trump has loudly opposed the practice of U.S. companies using foreign workers instead of Americans -- specifically the highly-skilled workers brought to the United States through the controversial H-1B visa program.

"These are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay. I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse," Trump said in a statement on his website, though he backtracked on his position during a recent Republican debate.

While this visa program is best known for bringing over technology workers like engineers and computer programmers, Trump's own modeling agency has used the program for years, federal data shows. That's because federal law surprisingly lumps in fashion models with these other specialized workers -- though it's the only job that doesn't require higher education. (Instead, models must have "distinguished merit and ability.")

And now, the use of this visa by Trump Model Management, founded by Trump in 1999, is being questioned.

The agency is currently battling a proposed class action lawsuit filed by Jamaican model Alexia Palmer, who was brought to the country with an H-1B visa.

The suit alleges that the agency recruits foreign models with promises of wages that never materialize and defrauds the U.S. government on visa applications. Palmer is currently the only plaintiff and the suit has not yet been approved as a class-action.

In her case, Palmer says she was paid only a few thousand dollars over three years despite being lured with the promise of more than $200,000 in earnings in that same time period.

That salary was also what was listed by Trump Model Management as part of the visa application.

"Ms. Palmer will receive compensation of at least $75,000 per year," the agency's president Corinne Nicolas said in a letter to immigration officials. "She is a model whose services have been in great demand, and whose proposed temporary presence in the United States has stirred great anticipation by Trump Model Management and its clientele." (Nicolas did not respond to a request for comment)....

They've had their moments

Let's here it for the first drop out of the presidential race.

The world watches the U.S. presidential race with ‘disbelief’

I will say that for the rest of the world. They seem to think individual Americans have a hell of a lot more power than we have.

I've had several friends from abroad message me via Facebook, etc. asking "what is actually going on over there? How are you letting Trump do this?"

...as if I directly am allowing Sir ***-Toupe run for president.

I will say that for the rest of the world. They seem to think individual Americans have a hell of a lot more power than we have.

Well, from their perspective, the average American is heavily armed, so I can see how they would think that

I have yet to see an valid argument against Trump. We have had 8 years of a failed President already. I don't see how Trump could be worse.

I have yet to see an valid argument against Trump. We have had 8 years of a failed President already. I don't see how Trump could be worse.

At this point, my vote will go to whomever represents me flipping the bird to the establishment the most. We're getting a bad president no matter what, so to me it's just a matter of wanting to see decades of conventional political wisdom go out the window.