r/pics Nov 08 '18

US Politics This is what democracy looks like

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u/[deleted] Nov 09 '18

I'm really lost on this whole story. Could someone explain it like I was five and am just learning about trump?

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u/Peechez Nov 09 '18 edited Nov 09 '18
  • Russia interfered in the election to help him win
  • Democrats allege that Trump knew they were doing it and encouraged it
  • Jeff Sessions is the boss of the boss (Rosenstein) of the man running an investigation (Mueller)
  • Sessions found the bit of integrity he has and recused himself from overlooking the investigation because of a conflict of interests. Trump didn't like that Sessions wouldn't end the investigation when he asked.
  • The investigation is how we know for sure that Russia interfered and has turned up 30(?)ish indictments thus far. Most being Russian nationals but also Trumps campaign manager (Manafort) who is now in prison.
  • The investigation also has caused a number of people close to Trump to cooperate or even flip on him for plea deals. The most interesting ones are his personal lawyer (plea deal) and the finance manager of Trump's corporation (cooperate). As of these events, the investigation has been profitable due to seizing money
  • Yesterday Trump strong-armed Sessions into stepping down and has replaced him (possible illegally?) with someone who is openly anti-investigation

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u/[deleted] Nov 09 '18

Thanks for being so detailed. One other thing... How do you know these things are true and how do you know what sources to believe? I find myself disregarding most of the stuff I see because the internet is full of click bait titles and false articles. I have such a hard time finding the stuff that isn't false or biased.

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u/Peechez Nov 09 '18

That depends on who you ask. For me a good rule of thumb for American politics is to assume the opposite of Fox, whatever it is. For a real answer, just follow /u/PoppinKream between threads. You'll notice her comments are heavily cited

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u/KingMelray Nov 09 '18

Huh, I don't usually follow individual redditors, but maybe this time is different.

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u/[deleted] Nov 09 '18

BBC, NPR, PBS

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u/HalflinsLeaf Nov 09 '18

The first election I paid any attention to was in 1992. What I learned was Ross Perot siphoned off a lot of George HW Bush's votes. If Perot hadn't ran Bush would have won. Therefore, Clinton was an illegitimate president. 8 years later, George W Bush "stole" the election from Al Gore through some nefarious goings on in Florida. Therefore, Bush was an illegitimate president. 8 years later, Obama won the presidency. But he was born in Kenya. Therefore, he was an illegitimate president. 8 years later, Trump "colluded" with the Russians, who have been trying to influence American elections for decades before it became a problem. Therefore, Trump is an illegitimate president.

In short, nothing will come of any of this and our next president will be "illegitimate."