"Trump likes to say he thinks with his gut—and I believe it." - Christopher Dickey on MSNBC

"Trump likes to say he thinks with his gut—and I believe it."

In my latest appearance on MSNBC on Saturday with Phillip Mena we talked about several recent articles in the World section of The Daily Beast, including those by Ankit Panda on Korean launch preparations; Erin Banco about the Kushner meetings in Saudi Arabia excluding embassy staff (btw, meetings in the UAE did as well); and my updated article on Trump plans to turn traditional, powerful U.S. alliances into protection rackets.




These discussions in the new early-morning weekend show on MSNBC get pretty animated. Usual time, 6:30 am on Saturday. Sometimes Sunday. You might want to set your Tivo, or whatever. And if you agree with these points, do feel free to share widely. There is also an extended thread about this broadcast with links to the relevant stories on Twitter @csdickey


Some relevant quotes:

On possible reaction to North Korea preparations for a rocket launch: "This is a president who never has a credible Plan B. He likes to say he thinks with his gut—and I believe it."

Note: "Fire and fury" was never a credible Plan A or B.

The administration's denial of an Erin Banco report that Jared Kushner excluded embassy staff in Riyadh from his meeting with Mohammed bin Salman: "Our reporter is right and the administration is lying, as usual. ... 

"We don't have a Middle East policy, we have an MBS and Bibi Netanyahu policy."

Might Kushner have been talking about sharing nuclear technology?

Of course that's possible, I noted, and questioned whether it is wise to share weapons and technology with a regime that chops up and incinerates journalists: 

"These are not ethical people, the Kushners, the Trumps. These are not people who stand by the U.S. ... This is all just about venal efforts to collect money from Mohammed bin Salman and his efforts to buy American loyalty, which he has done very effectively."

Regarding Trump's reported desire to turn powerful alliances into sordid protection rackets:

"It's a complete insult to every member to France, Germany, Great Britain and every member of NATO to say that the reason we are in Europe is because we want them to pay us as mercenaries. If that's not a racket, I don't know what is."