Trump’s bizarre social media blitz leaves world guessing ahead of UN address

Robert Tait via The Guardian:

‘As world leaders and officials gather in New York for the yearly event, and Donald Trump prepares to address them on Tuesday, how he will contribute to this historic catalog of remarks is a matter of speculation.

The US president has spent recent days blitzing social media on a variety of topics, from his planned triumphal arch in Washington to a bid to rebrand artificial intelligence, as he contends with an unpopular war and low approval ratings that threaten to drag down his party in November’s US midterm elections.

His previous addresses to the assembly suggest that the chances of a non-divisive and uplifting message are low.

Last year, Trump shocked the august gathering in his first appearance since returning to the White House the previous January by declaring to those present that their countries were “going to hell” while launching a full-frontal assault on the UN and the concept of open borders.

In 2018, during his first presidency, Trump drew laughter from fellow leaders when he opened his address by claiming: “In less than two years, my administration has accomplished almost more than any other administration in the history of our country.”

The previous year, he had attacked longstanding allies, singling out Germany for its energy policy, and declaring that the US “can no longer be taken advantage of, or enter into a one-sided deal where the United States gets nothing in return”.

…There is every chance that Trump returns to previous themes at the UN on Tuesday. In an echo of his 2018 speech, on Friday he posted a list of his “Top 25 Trump Achievements” since returning to office…’

Trump FCC Chair Brendan Carr was a member of a ‘Cultlike’ rogue Alcoholics Anonymous group

Stephanie Kirkgaessner via the Guardian:

‘The Midtown group, which was based in the Washington DC area, attracted young people who were seeking help with addiction, sometimes at the urging of their parents.

But while AA groups are traditionally a fellowship of people who come together to solve their drinking problem, former Midtown members say its one-time leader Michael Quinones – who died of cancer in 2007 – came to control nearly every aspect of their lives, including where they lived, worked and went to school.

Former members who spoke to the Guardian also allege that teenage girls and young women were sexually exploited at Midtown, where they were regularly pressured and coerced into “dating” and having sex with multiple men who were also Midtown members – sometimes decades older than them. In at least one case, a former member said she believes that what happened to her could be described as sex trafficking…’