Is the end in sight? (Added note: Arizona)

People have prophesied the sudden and ignominious end of the Trump administration since...well, since the ignominious beginning of the Trump administration. I've countered with my own prophecy that Der Donald would serve out his full term. If you always predict the worst, all of your surprises will be happy ones.

But now...well, dare one hope? Indications of an imminent Trumpocalypse are piling up. Keith Olbermann, embedded above, lists several.

Trump has stupidly gone to war with Mitch McConnell, the leader of the Establishment Republicans, who now makes no secret of his doubts that this presidency can long survive.

Angry phone calls and private badmouthing have devolved into open conflict, with the president threatening to oppose Republican senators who cross him, and Mr. McConnell mobilizing to their defense.

But Mr. McConnell’s allies warn that the president should be wary of doing anything that could jeopardize the Senate Republican majority.

“The quickest way for him to get impeached is for Trump to knock off Jeff Flake and Dean Heller and be faced with a Democrat-led Senate,” said Billy Piper, a lobbyist and former McConnell chief of staff.

If I recall the Constitution aright, it would take 67 senators to remove Trump. Are there a sufficient number of Republicans who have had enough? What if McConnell gave the directive: "Let him go"?

I've heard that Trump accuses McConnell of not offering sufficient protection from the Russiagate probes. The fact that Trump has focused on that is very telling. (I would not be surprised to learn that McConnell is the source behind this tweet from an NYT reporter. Rubio? Also possible.)

At the same time, Breitbart is attacking the administration with a surprising ferocity. The renewed commitment to the Afghan war is bound to anger the base. Even Ann Coulter is backing away.

Trump is losing both the Establishment right and the anti-Establishment right.

Democratic operative Jon Cooper tweets: "Source who's been accurate in past tells me there have been some preliminary talks in WH re POTUS resigning. Mostly hypothetical what-ifs."

In the video embedded above, Olbermann cites this tweet from a responsible journalist named John Harwood.

prediction just in from top R strategist: Trump resigns "once Mueller closes in on him and the family," Pence makes Rubio VP, "GOP recovers"

In response to this scenario, Matthew Yglesias expressed skepticism, as have a number of others. Newsweek, however, seems to think that a resignation is increasingly possible:

Meanwhile, Tony Schwartz, who helped Trump write the 1987 book The Art of the Deal, said he “would be amazed if [Trump] survives till end of the year.”

He added: “Trump is going to resign and declare victory before Mueller and Congress leave him no choice.”

Ireland's major bookie is betting against Trump:

Paddy Power is offering a 2/1 chance on Trump being impeached this year, an 11/2 chance for 2018, a 7/1 chance for 2019 and a 50/1 chance that Congress will wait till 2020 to end his Presidency.

Representative Steve Cohen of TN is trying to get the impeachment ball rolling. Congressperson Jackie Speier has called for a 25th amendment solution.

What do you think? Are all of these people indulging in wishful thinking, wild speculation, or reasonable prediction?

Yesterday, the sun disappeared. And something eerily similar to Mothman, that infamous harbinger of doom, has been showing up in Chicago. The ominous signs are downright Shakespearean.

Trump's AZ rally. The following photo is making the rounds:




Guess what? The photo is fake. Or rather: It's a real photo of the 2016 Cavaliers parade in Cleveland.

Added note: I wasn't able to tolerate very much of the big Arizona "re-election" speech. In the bit that I did see, Trump had me wondering: When he attended Wharton, did he major in Tautology? He sure as hell seemed to be a Tautology major. I say that because he was very tautological. And when I say that he was tautological, I mean that he repeated himself -- often. Over and over. Redundantly. Kept saying the same thing in slightly different words. Repeatedly. He verbally jogged in place for long periods of time, reiterating his point over and over without proceeding to the next point, recapitulating the same basic idea like a broken record. Moreover, he was repetitious. Very repetitious, in the sense that he repeatedly repeated himself. 

Can you blame me for turning my attention elsewhere?

Various left-wing sites have reported that the speech was a disaster -- and that Trump lost the crowd. Is this true? Did the Trumpers finally get sick of Donnie's shtick? Obviously, the assessment of an anti-Trump site is biased, but the reviews I've seen really have been brutal.

The black guy standing behind the Orange Oaf seemed to be having a marvelous time. Wonder what he was listening to via his secret earphone?