Trump’s Ambassador the the Netherlands denies own words, then denies own words about own words

Alessandra Kelley

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I swear, you cannot make this stuff up.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-netherlands-describes-own-words-as-fake-news
The US ambassador to the Netherlands faced an excruciating moment on television when he denied ever saying that there were no-go zones in the Netherlands, calling the suggestion “fake news”.

Zwart says: “You mentioned in a debate that there are no-go zones in the Netherlands, and that cars and politicians are being set on fire in the Netherlands.”

Hoekstra replies: “I didn’t say that. This is actually an incorrect statement. We would call it fake news.”

Hoekstra is then shown clips of him saying: “The Islamic movement has now gotten to a point where they have put Europe into chaos. Chaos in the Netherlands, there are cars being burnt, there are politicians that are being burnt ... and yes there are no-go zones in the Netherlands.”

Challenged about having called this “fake news”, Hoekstra then went on to deny to Zwart that he had in fact used the phrase “fake news”.

“I didn’t call that fake news. I didn’t use the words today. I don’t think I did.”
 

Introversion

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It’s Abby Normal.
 
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ElaineA

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Coming on the heels of Nikki Haley's Mean Girl lunch invites and 'TAKING NAMES, Y'ALL' I'm just resigned to the fact that we're an international laughing stock. Next achievement: International Pariah.
 

cbenoi1

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I'm just resigned to the fact that we're an international laughing stock.
Yes. This. Trump was elected. This is going to stain your history books for centuries to come.

-cb
 
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waylander

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This is getting plenty of coverage over here
 

Justobuddies

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It's like the Trump administration all read the CliffsNotes version of 1984 and are trying just saying whatever they want, because they think doublespeak and doublethink just happens.
 

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So, remember when Bill Clinton was giving his deposition and the Right shit-hammered him over legal hairsplitting? Come on "moral majority", where's your outrage now?
 

Roxxsmom

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So, remember when Bill Clinton was giving his deposition and the Right shit-hammered him over legal hairsplitting? Come on "moral majority", where's your outrage now?

The religious right surrendered any right to claim any kind of moral high ground on any issue when they voted overwhelmingly for a pathological liar who brags about grabbing women's genitalia.

They're not even pretending to be about Christian principles anymore.
 

regdog

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It's like having an entire administration of Joe Isuzues
 

Teinz

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That smile when he mentions fake news is telling. You see his brain go; "Oh wait, oh wait, this is something I can call fake news. Oh goody."

Anyway, it seems the world is well into it's infinite regression of lies. Hoekstra lies about his lies, and afterwards he lies about lying about his lies. I wonder how deep that rabbithole goes.

Finally, Hoekstra being born in Groningen... The chickens have come home to roost.
 

neandermagnon

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While the quote made me laugh, it doesn't do much to balance out how pissed off I am that Trump et al are a) making up lies ("fake news") about Britain and other countries in Europe and b) speaking for us (and talking utter bollocks at that). It's like when Trump said that Britain "was reeling" - putting words in a country's mouth, saying we think this or that, without any consideration to the fact that we might actually have our own opinions, reactions etc. Also like that recent spat he had with Theresa May over him tweeting a load of bollocks from some fringe far right group that's only representative of a tiny tiny minority of utter morons, and then telling Theresa May what to do. It's rude.

We have our own voices, and if there was a problem with Islamic extremism, a) we can say so ourselves and b) we can say what the exact problem is, like that there's a teeny tiny minority of Muslim extremists and IMO the police are doing a good job of dealing with them 99% of the time. It's devastating when the odd one slips through the net, but it doesn't leave Britons "reeling"; it's just business as usual and nothing that we didn't go through with the IRA for decades and doesn't come close to being as bad as the Blitz. The overwhelming majority of British Muslims are good, law-abiding citizens and one of them is the current Mayor of London and doing a damn good job IMO. Many Muslims work for the NHS, including doctors and other hospital/emergency medical staff who saved the lives of people caught up in terrorist attacks.

If you let the terrorists get to you, the terrorists win. Britain has a long tradition of withstanding and overcoming terrorism through not giving the terrorists what they want (widespread panic, fear, stopping people going about their daily lives, etc) and Trump is a) implying that we are doing the total opposite and b) handing the terrorists exactly what they want on a golden platter, i.e. helping them to win by spreading fear and panic. Maybe he genuinely thinks he's helping or he's just plain using our countries as a propaganda tool. I think it's probably the latter. Much as I dislike Theresa May, she's doing a damn good job of keeping calm in the face of all this.
 
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frimble3

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(snip)
Finally, Hoekstra being born in Groningen... The chickens have come home to roost.
And (snippier) anyone wondering if his family left of their own volition, or were deported?
Perhaps the Dutch government is even now checking if their tickets were one-way.
 

Teinz

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And (snippier) anyone wondering if his family left of their own volition, or were deported?
Perhaps the Dutch government is even now checking if their tickets were one-way.

Hoekstra is a typical example of people leaving their community for good, and winding up much more reactionary later in life, than the folks they left behind.
 

ElaineA

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Maybe he genuinely thinks he's helping or he's just plain using our countries as a propaganda tool.

Welcome to our world

1) The word "help" is not in Trump's vocabulary, unless it refers to him helping himself to the US treasury

2) His entire "political" shtick, from the first time he opined about politics in the Nixon Administration, has been about sowing discord and discontent, lying with impunity, and pushing the boundaries of how outrageous he can be without having to pay the price. At this point he views himself as unassailable. I'm sure he has a nasty nickname lined up for Mrs. May, one he'll deploy when she's disappointed him sufficiently.

3) If you aren't Russia, your country will not escape Trump's propagandizing if he thinks it suits him. With Putin and Steve Bannon whispering in his ears, you can expect it to continue and escalate. There isn't a diplomatic bone in the man's body, he has the attention span of a 4 year-old, and he doesn't give a f*** about anyone who isn't him or his kids.
 

cbenoi1

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There is no political agenda or some master plan. It's all about feeding a narcissistic ego.

-cb
 

Roxxsmom

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There is no political agenda or some master plan. It's all about feeding a narcissistic ego.

-cb

I think making even more money is on his agenda too. We've been on this path for a long time re commodifying politics and destroying the public sector in this country, and his presidency has turned that up to 11 (or maybe to 20). Even if Trump isn't bright enough to see the big picture, some of the folks within his organization probably are.
 

ElaineA

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Also, let's add in the rank racism (of Trump and the alleged 34% of the American electorate still supporting him) driving all of this. There's a sickening article in the NYT today. If you haven't exceeded your NYT clicks this month and you want to read it, make sure you do so on an empty stomach. Quoting Maggie Haberman's tweet promoting the article, "In Oval Office meeting, POTUS groused that thousands of immigrants from Haiti all have AIDS and that those from Nigeria would never return to "huts" once they saw America."
 

cbenoi1

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I think we have been rehashing the same arguments for the past 11 months now. This thread is slightly different - even abroad, trumpism rules and those who have had once a resemblance of a head on their shoulders are folding into the Trump mold.

2017 has been a transition year - from the global village we have been looking up to years ago to the solitude of bully politics.

Hope 2018 will bring us together nevertheless.

-cb
 

blacbird

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There is no political agenda or some master plan. It's all about feeding a narcissistic ego.

-cb

This, unfortunately, I believe to be the closest thing to the truth about Donald Trump that we will ever see. He's an incredibly shallow and stupid person who had the misfortune to be raised by an incredibly shallow ans stupid father who had made a huge pile of money. Oh, yeah, and who drove his older son (Fred Trump Jr.) into personal shame/depression and alcoholism because Junior didn't bow down to his dad and follow the family business plan and ethic. All Fred Junior did was become a commercial airline pilot, what a horrid stain upon the family rep that must have been.

Not so with the next-in-line. It's all about MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!. And I'll nuke Pyongyang if I need to, to prove it.

caw