BlueHeronDruid wrote: 
I don't see that. In the video that's posted here he's merely ahead, puts his open hand backwards, and then she swats at it. Is there a longer video that shows him being more aggressive towards her?
To me it just looks like when my wife and I are miffed at each other, want some space, and I ask her to put it aside and act happy but she's not ready.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote:
He walked out ahead of her, rudely, and gestured to her like a pet. I give my dogs more respect than that.

 Red_Dragon wrote: 
Maybe he was "on her like a bitch" (his words). Maybe he cajoled her like he did how many millions who voted for him? Screw the prenup. She'll never go hungry.

 haresfur wrote: 
To be certain. But I have trouble working up much sympathy for a gold digger. Donnie has had a reputation as a first-class asshole through all of his previous marriages; she knew what she was signing on for.

 islander wrote: 
I'm sure the prenuptial agreement isn't favourable to her

 islander wrote:
Just another modeling gig: smile, adopt whatever awkward pose the photographer demands, show just the right amount of skin, walk in high heels.

Oh yeah, and the client is a creep who demands sexual favors, but it pays well.

 ScottFromWyoming wrote:

 ScottFromWyoming wrote: 
Gotta suck up harder to Israel, you know.

 R_P wrote: 
Note that she slapped his hand away. That was sort of unexpected. 
  
I noticed too that they and the press made something of a big deal out of the fact that she's not wearing a headscarf in Saudi Arabia. But I saw DJT wearing a yarmulke. If you're going to rail against forcing women to wear ritualistic headcoverings out of deference to a religion different from their own, it seems weird for the men to capitulate without any question.

 islander wrote: 
It has to be pure bliss. I mean, obviously nobody knows how to run a successful marriage like The Don does...

 Red_Dragon wrote: 
they just enrolled Baron at a school close to the White House for this autumn,
if Trump gets impeached and goes back to New York Melania will have to stay in D.C. for another year to complete Baron's school year,
hmmm, maybe that was her plan 

 islander wrote: 
I wish.

 Red_Dragon wrote: 
I bet if we cut that funding she would happily pick up the tab to stay away...

 islander wrote: 
She's not living with him, remember? We're paying a million dollars a month so she can stay in her gaudy, gilded palace in New York.

 R_P wrote: 
Can you imagine living with him?  She made her bed and all so I don't really feel sorry for her, but I can't believe it's worth what she's going through.

 Red_Dragon wrote: 
...and they you warsh the dishes.

Let 'em eat cake.

Ka-ching

Trump in Absolute Monarchy during Iran’s Election

The spectacle of Trump and of cronies such as alt-Neo-Nazi Steve Bannon hobnobbing with the Saudi monarchy, of the president curtsying to King Salman and receiving a huge gold medal from him (for what, bashing Islam relentlessly?) was made all the more seedy by its juxtaposition to the elections in Iran. These were won by center-right Hassan Rouhani, giving him a second term as president, even though he was opposed by Iran’s hard liners.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor Iran is what you might call a democracy. But Iran has a more flexible political system.

President Hassan Rouhani, who won a second term on Saturday, castigated his main political opponents on the right as having been “jailers” of the people for the past few decades. Rouhani’s signal achievement was the nuclear deal with the UN Security Council and an attempt to open to Europe. He attracted the support of youth, women and liberals in Iran.

The Saudi monarchy hasn’t been denouncing its jailers. And while it has all along had friendly relations with the West, those are at the level of oil sales, not values.

Saudi Arabia is arguably the world’s last absolute monarchy. Even constitutional monarchies have been abolished in much of the world. Absolute monarchy is the top endangered species of comparative politics. It is also fragile and clunky. It has no feedback loop. The king and his circle do what they want. Does the Saudi public really want the Yemen war? We don’t know. Polling of that sort would not be allowed. Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the son of the current king, is only 31 and the reckless and arguably genocidal Yemen war appears to have been his idea. Public debate not welcome.

Trump just sold the deputy crown prince another $110 bn worth of high-tech, state of the art weapons. Yemen is having a cholera outbreak and is on the verge of mass starvation. (...)