Outside the Beltway

Public Domain Image via Wikipedia

Meanwhile, in North Korea…

A few new examples.

Steven L. Taylor
13

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First, a couple from when I was traveling:

Trump allegedly just won his 43rd Club Championship today at one of his courses.

— Ron Filipkowski (@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social) 2026-08-02T15:14:54.024Z

Very Kim Jong Il, I must say. And it is utterly unbelievable (i.e., it defies being believed).

Then there was this:

Screenshot

I suppose it goes without saying that no previous president would have compared themselves to Patton and McArthur, let alone put themselves in a uniform that that they did not earn. And I guess, too, it would be unnecessary to note that if Obama or Clinton had done that that right-wing media would have lost their minds. Or that in any other administration such odd behavior would be national news.

Ah well, such is life in the North Korea.

Then’s there this, wherein Patel claims that Trump reads about all the FBI cases.

FBI Director Kash Patel at a Trump rally: “I’ve spent 10 years working for President Trump”

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-08-14T18:52:40.473Z

And this via FNC: EXCLUSIVE: Kennedy Center board moves to name grounds ‘President Donald J Trump Plaza’

The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees wants to name the famed arts institution’s grounds the “President Donald J. Trump Plaza,” one of several new ways the board is seeking to honor the president as the center moves ahead with a sweeping renovation, Fox News Digital has learned.

The board also wants the words “Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund” inscribed on the building once the fund reaches a $100 million endowment, according to information obtained by Fox News Digital.

The previously unreported moves come after the board voted Thursday to add an inscription crediting Trump with restoring and renovating America’s cultural center, and approved a partial closure of the complex for renovations.

Personalistic rulers gonna personalize things, I guess.

More in this series here.

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13 responses to “Meanwhile, in North Korea…”

  1. Scott Avatar
    Scott

    Just a reminder that a President is not a member of the military. Nor is the constitutional designation of Commander in Chief a military designation.

    I would like to see a President declare that he is going back to Eisenhower practice and eliminate the President’s military salute that was started by Reagan.

    2
    1. golem8eight Avatar
      golem8eight

      Demonstrating Reagan’s ignorance of military traditions and standards.

  2. James Joyner Avatar
    James Joyner

    The military photo is just bizarre even in the Trumpian context. The “Eisenhower” and “MacArthur” depictions look nothing like their namesakes, and they seem to be wearing foreign uniforms with the wrong ranks. (Indeed, “MacArthur” is similtaneously a two-star general and a corporal.) Trump, meanwhile, is a four-star general with aviator wings, foreign jump wings, and appears to be assigned to the military intelligence branch.

    1. Steven L. Taylor Avatar
      Steven L. Taylor

      I almost commented on the AI nonsense of the image.

      But I guess if you are someone who thinks gold paint makes everything look better, your eye for detail is limited.

      1
    2. CSK Avatar
      CSK

      Do you mean Patton rather than Eisenhower?

    3. Kathy Avatar
      Kathy

      And he doesn’t show the bone spurs that allowed him to bravely cower at home while gallantly fishing for the clap.

  3. steve222 Avatar
    steve222

    I agree on the salute thing. Also, Trump just overruled military engineers and designers and decided the new carrier being designed should have the old steam system rather than the newer electromagnetic system. If you have been following the issue then you know that the EM system has many functional advantages and its why the Navy was switching over to it. However, being new, it’s not yet as reliable as the older steam system.

    However reliability is improving so they were going to put it on the new carrier. Trump decided to override the decisions made by the designers. He is smarter than everybody about everything.

    Steve

    https://www.wsj.com/us-news/trump-orders-navy-to-restore-old-technology-in-aircraft-carriers-costing-billions-0055ec1b?st=sqdiLH&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

    1
    1. gVOR10 Avatar
      gVOR10

      It gets worse. Via Political Wire WAPO (to which I dropped my subscription) reports Trump has also told the Navy to move the island forward so it’ll look like classic carriers.

      Once technology made it possible, an electromagnetic catapult offers huge advantages. Acceleration ramps can be controlled and survivability is enhanced by not having live steam running through the ship. Reporting that they’ll retrofit the Ford and add it to the already building 2nd and 3rd ships seems to be wrong. Carriers are big, but they’re really cramped. Even redesigning the fourth and last ship of the class will be a massive effort.

      Then add moving the island? For aesthetics? There’s a structural redesign. And the ships already have a bulbous bow. It has hydrodynamic advantages, but mostly it provides buoyancy forward to balance the ship. The bow has to be redesigned if the weight of the island goes forward. Not to mention rewiring the whole ship. And, of course, there were good reasons for putting the island where it is.

      I assume the Navy has the good sense to be humoring him hoping he and these changes will go away. It would be better if the CNO, CJCS, and SecSef (ha!) could go to the prez with facts and the prez would listen. Instead of this charade, could they offer to gold plate the island and leave it where it is? (OK, gold plating the whole island would interfere with the phased array radar integrated into the island, but I’m pretty sure Trump doesn’t know that.)

  4. golem8eight Avatar
    golem8eight

    Trump’s senile dementia has reached a stage of rapid progression.

    It is a reflection on the depravity of the Congress that nothing is being done to address this. He is claiming the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz as an example.

    1. gVOR10 Avatar
      gVOR10

      Can’t help but wonder how many GOP senators secretly regret not voting to impeach Trump. Institutional design. The Founders thought the three branches would be rivals and would police each other. They failed to anticipate parties, although the Whigs and Tories already existed. And they certainly failed to appreciate late-stage capitalism in which the plutocrats could afford to buy all three.

  5. Gustopher Avatar
    Gustopher

    And I guess, too, it would be unnecessary to note that if Obama or Clinton had done that that right-wing media would have lost their minds

    A tan suit was too much for them.

    Ah well, such is life in the North Korea.

    The right wing love for shitty aislop is pretty amazing. Just an utter contempt for quality. Not to mention craftsmanship or craftsmen. And no interest in even pretending to live in the real world, just ridiculous idolatry.

    Compare that to the famous Stalin “Vanishing Commisar” picture — real effort and skill was taken to remove Nikolai Yezhov, and replace him with background elements, and the result looks real at first glance.

    Stalin believed that truth mattered, and tried to ensure that things appeared true. Meanwhile Trump has Truth social where the word “Truth” is applied like a brand name to completely transparent bullshit.

    Hmm. How does Kim Jong Un use AI?

  6. Richard Gardner Avatar
    Richard Gardner

    A certain case of stolen valor. Where is the outcry?

  7. CSK Avatar
    CSK

    Trump has also positioned himself to be slightly in front of Patton and MacArthur, as if he were the greatest American general of all time.

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