It will all end in tears - but how will we get there?

It's good that Donald Trump left Washington on Friday afternoon for his first and maybe last foreign trip. If he had stayed any longer, Donald's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Administration might have collapsed into a sinkhole.

Before Air Force One lifted into the sky, Riyadh-bound, our President had presided over the most remarkable fortnight of Unforced Errors since Adolph Hitler kept his 6th Army in Stalingrad (yep, Godwin's Law again). Here is a nice compilation of events that transpired last week:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/us/politics/trump-news-politics-week-in-review.html

Hmmm. Seems like this Russia thing just doesn't want to go away. Hazy on the details of why "this Russia thing" may be so important? Dig in, compliments of our old friend, Bill Moyers:

http://billmoyers.com/story/the-trump-resistance-plan-a-timeline-russia-and-president-trump/

Well, that all is bad for the optics. So the question becomes, how will Trump leave the White House - Quietly? Screaming? Perp walk? Stretcher? At this point, it doesn't look too good for the President, even if his Zombie Republican allies in Congress work to keep him employed.

Vegas doesn't allow non-Sport bets, but you can still make plenty of coin on placing Trump-based bets! Plenty of world betting sites agree on these odds: 11/10 Trump serves a full term. 4/6 he leaves early. Here are two of these sites:

https://sports.ladbrokes.com/en-gb/betting/politics/international/us-elections/donald-trump-specials/225147663/

http://www.paddypower.com/bet/politics/other-politics/donald-trump?ev_oc_grp_ids=2944322

As any bookie knows, the smart bet goes with the Inside Info. Now, let it be said that The Daily Kibitz does not traffic in such unseemly gossip. However, there has been plenty of above-board news, so much that we feel confident in presenting a list of probable outcomes to this mess. In order of least likely to happen:

1) Resignation. Fuggedaboutit. Did Roy Cohn ever quit? Double down, compounded, to the Nth degree. No amount of damning evidence will make a difference. No salacious videos of cavorting Russian hookers will matter. He will never willingly leave on his own.

2) Impeachment & Conviction. Although the prospect of a President Pence may gladden the hearts of many Republican members of Congress, the probability of them acting as one body to vote to impeach and then vote to convict is politically improbable, if not impossible. It is Trump's party; they are stuck with him, both Houses of Congress.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/chance-donald-trump-impeached/

3) Impeachment. No conviction. If the investigation and procedurals stretch out through 2018 (it might!), the Democrats will use Trump as a mid-term election cudgel and perhaps gain the House and probably the Senate. Even if the Dems have the Senate votes to convict by early spring of 2019 they might not: Trump could be more useful to them as a punching bag, leading up to the 2020 election.

4) 25th Amendment, Section 4 removal. There has been a continuing and building buzz about the mental health status of our President. His father died of Alzheimer's disease. If he becomes severely mentally ill, this could be a tool for his departure. But it would take a lot more than what is currently evidenced:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2017/05/no_the_25th_amendment_is_not_the_solution.html

5) Kept quiet in a darkened room, a figurehead while others do the work. This happens to be my own prediction. I strongly suspect that if our President has degenerative mental health issues, his staff/family will do EVERYTHING to shield it from the world. He will appear in public less and less. His tweets will become far more formalized, being written by his staff. He may even spend more time in Mar-a-Lago than he does in the White House. If this comes to pass, then the center of political power shifts to Mike Pence as de facto President, and the House Freedom Caucus get its way on most of its wish list.

There are those among us who question why so many are upset. "He won! She lost. Get over it!"

If one has been asleep over the last two weeks, much less since January 20, allow me to present this wonderful graphic depicting the HUNDREDS of false claims made by our President. It is really comprehensive and gives one the ability to sort through any number of categories. So much fun!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/?hpid=hp_no-name_graphic-story-a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.cabc842df7ef

Of course, lies and falsehoods are just part of the ongoing story. There is this kind of (daily) inept performance:

"All in all he's just another prick in the wall"

So, how is it going to end? Here's something to ponder: President Trump gets removed, by hook or by crook. VP Mike Pence becomes President. But it becomes revealed Pence covered up for General Michael Flynn when he was  head of Trump's Transition Team. So he is removed, too. That brings up Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan. He becomes President Ryan, but it is revealed that he knew about the Russian involvement with Trump and directed others to Shut Up about it. He is removed, too. That brings us to the President Pro Temp of the Senate, Orrin Hatch. He becomes President Hatch. And because he's been detached from the Trump mess, he remains, our first Mormon President!

How do we get by until it's all over? Engaged patience. Activism. Resistance. Resoluteness. Of course, the most fun antidote is 24/7 sedation, as prescribed by The Ramones:

Hard to believe these guys are have been dead for so many years now. On second thought, it's easy to believe. Just imagine Donald Trump as an extra for this video, walking around like he belongs..