Nick Ayers Declines: No longer in the running to be Trump's next chief of staff

“Looking for sugar daddies who are NOT destined for prison, please. And yes, I wrote the op-ed.”

Ayers knows that everything Trump touches turns to shit. He wants out and far away from the White House criminals.

Suck it, Trump.

This is all so twisty!

Ayers is leaving Mommy and Daddy Pence too for whom he currently serves as chief of staff.

"Get me the fuck out of here. These people are corrupt. I'm too young. rich and slimy to go to jail." --Ayers

"Father Pence makes me feel special is a way that Donald Trump never could."

He's notoriously ambitious this guy which means he realizes working for Trump will kill off his career.

What a cutie!

He's 36.

And not cute at all.

Can you imagine how shambolic things are in DC this weekend? I wonder who else is typing up their resignation letter this weekend.

Axios generally knows of what they speak--there's good background and context in the linked piece.

This is a particularly horrifying image though, sort of like a scene from "Boys From Brazil, The Sequel."

[quote] On Friday night, the most senior White House staff and their spouses, around 50 in all, sat around a long table for Christmas dinner in the State Dining Room of the executive residence. Christmas trees lined the walls and waiters served squash soup, fish and chocolate cake. A military choir sang Christmas carols, "Silent Night" and "Joy to the World," and a military band played.

Here's the next chief of staff. He's ready to clean up.

He broke in to an acquaintance's Nantucket rental 2 years ago and attempted to sexually assault her. She does not wish to come forward, but hopefully someone else (and there HAS to be someone else) will.

And by he, I mean Ayers.

R13 who did Ayers or the cutie above or Meadows?

R15 Ayers. I corrected myself at R14.

It's one thing to be fucking your boss and something else entirely to get fucked by the boss.

You are so awesome R17.

I am so going to steal that line later tonight.

Thank you!

Paid off with a PLUTONIUM parachute.

Pence and Ayers look creepily alike

I don't know why he just doesn't appoint Jared or Ivanka. You know he wants to. And he'll do it and people will bitch and complain and write think pieces about it, but then it will just go away like everything else this fucker does.

[quote]but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause... Don't let your guard down even if we get to hear Hail to the Chief during a perp walk. These nationalists have been inspired and crawled out from under their rocks. They will have to be forced back under even after the traitor is long gone from the WH.

R21 Chief of staff is a job that requires actual effort and competence and respect from everyone on staff. So no Ivanka or Jared.

R23 you could say that about most jobs in a presidential administration, but look at the clowns he's appointed. He doesn't give two shits about competence and respect. His #1 requirement is loyalty to Trump. Nothing else matters.

The man has two year old triplets at home.

He looks like Anthony Michael Hall's younger brother.

His name has been out there for months. Why did he back out at this point?

He’s involved in a lot of shady and most likely illegal activity with this guy Greithen in MO. He can’t afford the increased scrutiny of being Trumps chief of staff and he’s just smart enough to see the impending shit storm heading their way.

R27 “Ayers has a young family moving back to Georgia. But he has always had an interest in running for interest himself. That could have been harder had he remained in the administration.”

I bet Trump'll name Sean Hannity.

Did anybody see the photo of Trump with his hand on the boob of his new Ambassador to the UN?

He definitely doesn't want the heat on his shady dealings back home, and is using the triplets as an excuse. If he wanted to be chief of staff, he could have found 2-3 nannies to tend to those triplets.

I agree r31. His name has been out there for months. I wonder what made him decide to back out at this late stage. Hopefully more shit is about to hit the fan.

R32 Pence probably told him something along the lines of, “Get out of town, Baby. Things are going south fast. Lie low until the storm blows over. After the clouds part, we’ll carve out a cozy little place for you in the Oval Office, right on Daddy’s lap.”

[quote] I wonder what made him decide to back out at this late stage.

Same things that made Rubio, Tucker Carlson, La Senatrice and others all suddenly decide to hop off the Trump Train this week, old sport.

R34 that’s actually pretty astute. You’re right—this seems to have happened over the past week... could be the stuff going on with the sentencing, could be even more crap under the surface.

R35 Rubio said this morning that the intel committee needs to take another look into Mueller’s findings

Mark Meadows is a right-wing asshole.

Another asshole being considered: Mick Mulvaney, director of the office of management and budget.

There was thought that Nick Ayers was the leaker who said - don't worry, there are adults in the room. If that was the case, he probably would have been a better choice.

Ayers isn't going far. He'll be running one of the campaign PACs to re-elect the asshole.

Question:

Everyone knows that Trump has the Merdes Touch. The rats are leaving the ship.

OTOH, I can see why the State Dept spokeswoman would want the resume boost of saying, even for a while, that she was U.N. Ambassador.

But Nick Ayers sees the handwriting. Like Paul Ryan, Chaffetz and others, he’s suddenly discovered he’s got a wife and kids who need attending to.

So here’s my question.

William Barr is respected (among conservatives and many moderates). He’s 68. He’s already punched his establishment credential card by being 41’s Attorney General. That credential’s helped him make millions on boards and as Verizon’s GC. He can call his own shots.

So why, really, is he joining this shitshow? Really?

Trump will ask Nikki Haley. That would be good for Trump, her being a woman.

Haley will be tempted, believing she'll be able to be perceived as all business and effective while escaping guilt-by-association with Trump.

But she'll turn it down. Common sense will exceed her mega-ambition.

R33, I was thinking just that. A very Pence move.

Pence actually thinks he'll be president someday. Ugh.

Haley's departure was purposeful on her part. She realized that her continued association with Trump was at odds with her mega-ambition.

And Mother Pence has just the right outfit at the ready, r43: Pink-and-black dress with a halter-and-tank style top, and pink, strappy shoes.

He looks like Cynthia Nixon’s wife.

The Stepford Vice hates Trump.

That's not to his credit. It's not for the reasons that Trump has earned scorn and hatred - bigotry, vulgarity, incompetence, etc.

Pence hates Trump because he cannot reconcile why Trump is the US President, who paid off a sex worker just after his fifth child was born to his third wife, while his sanctimonious, pious, Evangelical self ain't the US President.

It's all very Judith Krantz.

Thank you R35

William Zabka IS Nick Ayers

Given all the rats fleeing, maybe the ship won't sink until 2019.

Running back to Georgia for MAGA? HA! There will be no more MAGA when Trump goes down for his crimes.

[quote]And Mother Pence has just the right outfit at the ready, [R43]: Pink-and-black dress with a halter-and-tank style top, and pink, strappy shoes.

I'm not an expert on dresses but my god that is probably the most unflattering piece of clothing I've ever seen a woman wear.

He can move to Cherokee County Ga. The White Trash Republicans here will LOVE HIM.

Do they bb? Any ATM? I'm thinking Pence is pretty open...

R21, I was going to say the same as R23. WH Chief of Staff is actually a pretty difficult position. That person literally manages the President's schedule and is fielding calls re everything from major international catastrophes to minor squabbles about word choice in a speech.

Jared and Ivanka aren't interested in actual work, and they sure as fuck aren't interested in dealing with, for example, the assistant minister of Angola who's pissed about something the UN Ambassador said.

And Trump is a lazy shit, but he doesn't want other people dropping the ball. He wants people around him at his beck and call and whom he can yell at to do shit he doesn't want to be bothered about. Remember, he supposedly yelled at Kelly to deal with whatever issues Melania was having with her staff.

He looks amazing...ly comfortable in the pic at r5.....like a eunuch - I mean, U-neck....

Why are republicans so ugly? And yeah, pences wife looks like a tube of rolled up toothpaste in that dress.

I'm not seeing the long play on this move for Ayers.

Why would he suddenly decide not to take the job after angling for it and negotiating for it? Why wouldn't he stay with Pence?

All of these moves seem like they're being affected by some other rock in the stream causing eddies, current, and rapids.

The obvious answer is that he knows something we don't, and it's far more advantageous for him to leave now than it is to stay and get a little resume builder. We'll probably eventually figure it out, because it seems like we always get a full picture a few weeks or months later.

R57 - I wonder what Cheeto and his whore and grifter daughter think of Mother Pence and her various ensembles? I mean - they’re all such mean girls! You just know they’ll be rolling their eyes and snickering and making the bitchiest comments about her - I’ll bet they hate the thought of ever being photographed with her...

Yet poor, pious Mother is probably completely unaware. She just keeps buying off the rack at her local Dress Barn in Indiana - and the gals there all think she looks da bomb!

Mother Pence made good use of extra sofa fabric here.

Repigs are jumping ship.

Why does his use of ‘the cause’ fill me with dread? Is it a dog whistle?

He is not photogenic but once in a while he looks hot. I can’t decide what he’s about. He’s utterly ruthless, shockingly young, has built enormous power, blahblahblah. Obviously, he knows more than we do, this is a bad sign for them all. I would love to be a fly on the wall of Ayers telling Trump no. I could see Trump exploding at people who tell him no, it had to be hilarious. If I were to create a political hotlist of players that need to be removed, Ayers is in the top ten. He’s like a young Carl Rove I think.

This would signal to me that he doesn't see his daddy-boss as prez, or he'd have stuck around. Looks like Mother's Spouse bails, rather than get caught up in an investigation.

[quote]The obvious answer is that he knows something we don't, and it's far more advantageous for him to leave now than it is to stay and get a little resume builder. We'll probably eventually figure it out, because it seems like we always get a full picture a few weeks or months later.

While it may be the "obvious" answer, it leaves a lot more questions, like what could he possibly have learned so late in the discussions that he changed his mind so quickly.

He spent a lot of time and effort in angling for the position. Yet, turned it down at the 11th hour. There seems like a whole lot more to it than his having some information.

And again, why not stay with Pence? Why leave Washington entirely. He's known to be wildly ambitious.

Perhaps that’s why he’s leaving

The answer to your question r66, and I think you know this, is that there is *something* stronger working in Nick’s life than his ambition, something that is far, far bigger and stronger. Fear?

[quote]The answer to your question [R66], and I think you know this, is that there is *something* stronger working in Nick’s life than his ambition, something that is far, far bigger and stronger. Fear?

Agreed. Whatever it is, if someone known to be as ruthless as Ayers is running, we all should be a bit worried.

I mean, it's like if we found out that Dick Cheney was worried about or afraid of someone.

Washington Post on Ayers (excerpt):

"........Ayers reportedly plans to lead the pro-Trump super PAC for 2020, which walls him off from some of the aforementioned drama. “Another factor,” per Haberman: “His ascension to the top West Wing job would have meant newfound scrutiny of his personal finances — last year he reported a net worth of $12.2 million to $54.8 million, a sizable sum for a political operative in his 30s who has amassed his own fortune. He accumulated his wealth partly through a web of political and consulting companies in which he has held ownership stakes.”

There's likely a ton of really bad background information on him.

[quote]“His ascension to the top West Wing job would have meant newfound scrutiny of his personal finances — last year he reported a net worth of $12.2 million to $54.8 million, a sizable sum for a political operative in his 30s who has amassed his own fortune. He accumulated his wealth partly through a web of political and consulting companies in which he has held ownership stakes.”

[quote]There's likely a ton of really bad background information on him.

Yes, all of which he knew the entire time he was angling and negotiating for the job.

Whatever scared him off, had to be new(er) information. Given all the skeletons he probably already knows about, it has to be pretty bad, it seems to me.

News was saying he had humiliated Trump and kids by rejecting the job offer.

He looks kind of porky in the suit.

Kind of like a cockroach scurrying when the light comes on?

Melania was against Ayers. I'm trying to remember where I read that.

Yeah, I agree that he knew there would be that kind of background scrutiny months ago.

Haberman is probably trying to ingratiate herself with the wrong kind of people, again, by putting out there that Ayers is sketchy and that's what the whole problem is.

Ayers knew that he was going to get investigated. He was fine with it until recently. Something new has happened, he changed his mind, he's running as fast as he can, and now Trump is, per CNN, really "pissed off."

Missouri still scrutinizing White House official Nick Ayers' tortured ties to state

A Republican operative who served as campaign adviser to former Gov. Eric Greitens says he spoke to Missouri Ethics Commission investigators last month regarding lingering campaign finance mysteries dating to the 2016 election.

The meeting, Michael Hafner told the Post-Dispatch, was in regard to a complaint filed with the commission in July alleging that former Greitens adviser and outgoing White House official Nick Ayers may have solicited campaign contributions from a “restricted” donor and may have illegally worked to conceal donors’ identities.

A sharp-elbowed GOP strategist, Ayers announced Sunday he would be leaving the White House instead of serving as President Donald Trump’s chief of staff. He is currently Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff. Ayers will reportedly lead a Trump-allied Super PAC in advance of the 2020 election.

Ayers is one of the central figures mentioned in the complaint — and Hafner’s acknowledgement of a recent meeting with investigators is the latest indication that ethics officials have not lost interest in scandals dating to the Greitens era. (The MEC neither confirms nor denies the existence of ongoing probes.)

Hafner said he was asked about the complaint, filed by state Rep. Jay Barnes, R-Jefferson City, and said he had been in contact with the Federal Election Commission regarding a separate complaint related to Ayers filed by the group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Wish I could remember where I read this, but here’s his scam. Not only is his firm guilty of hiding the identities of dark money donors. They are also engaged in a form of “double-dipping” in political TV ads. They get paid on both the front end and the back end of the deals through two different companies. That’s how he made his fortune, he was mentored by an ad guru. Furthermore, they represent to candidates that hire them that the guarantee an X% ROI, something about tv ads. But they are totally lying to clients about the % so they’re taking a much bigger cut than they’re supposed to. He has some scuzzy business partner who is I think west coast based. Maybe I read in Esquire, GQ, or VF.

I don’t know if the double dipping is illegal. I don’t know if the complete lies about their cut is illegal. Hiding donor identities is definitely illegal. Ayers was also the mastermind behind the MO governor’s race, you know, the governor who took pics of his mistress in the home gym to blackmail her with?

Nick Ayers is going down too lololol. The DoJ is going to disinfect DC. Nick is like a pest, call the exterminator. He’s a complete scumbag. I believe his wife comes from Perdue chicken fortune, so it will be interesting to watch. In whatever article I read, Nick used to joke profusely that he never got to have sex with his wife because he works so hard! But now, he wants to be Joe Family Guy? Utter bullshit. He’s a sociopath and he knows the DoJ is coming.

Lengthy but informative article in HuffPo from March this year, at the link.

When he joined the administration, Ayers’ White House financial disclosure attached some hard numbers to his high-roller image. After less than seven years of working as a political consultant and a partner in a media buying firm, Ayers reported a personal net worth between $12 million and just over $54 million. (For context, one leading strategist told me that a top-level consultant could expect to make $1 million in an election year and about a third of that in the off year.) And his business arrangements can be difficult to track. In the 2016 election cycle, Ayers spearheaded the Missouri gubernatorial campaign for Eric Greitens, who is now under indictment for invasion of privacy. In addition to the consulting fee of $220,000 paid to Ayers’ firm, he was paid over what appears to be a very similar time period by at least two different entities involved in the race.

Astonishingly, when Ayers entered the White House, he didn’t immediately sell his lucrative business, C5 Creative Consulting, as previous administrations would have required. He also obtained a broad waiver permitting him to talk to former clients. His ownership of C5 turned his White House job into a minefield of possible conflicts of interest. As chief of staff to the vice president, Ayers’ duties can include advising Pence on which candidates to support—decisions that can have a huge influence on fundraising and, hence, political advertising. In addition, in his private work for the Pence PAC, he is in a position to steer donor dollars into races where the company could potentially benefit. “That’s staggering,” one seasoned Republican operative told me.

In an environment where ethical scandals are spilling into public view on a near-daily basis, each seemingly more flagrant than the last, no one paid much attention to Nick Ayers’ consulting firm. Ayers himself declined to speak on the record and did not respond to a detailed list of questions for this article. After multiple attempts to clarify the status of Ayers’ business, Pence’s office sent a statement just as this story was going to press to say that his next financial disclosure in May “will reflect” the sale of his company. The White House provided no proof that the sale had occurred.

His old DUI arrest video, mentioned in the HuffPo article

Has anyone seen the Star Wars scroll for "Individual 1" on Twitter? It's hilarious.

Here is the original tweet

R79, it must be the article I linked at R80, it mentions the no-sex quote.

It also explains the double dipping and his consulting and media buying business, it's quite exhaustive.

[quote]Usually a consultant hired by a campaign or political action committee chooses a creative firm to make its TV ads. The consultant also hires a media buying firm to negotiate with TV stations over distribution. A commission of up to 15 percent of the advertising expense is split in various combinations between the consultant, the creative firm and the media buyer. And this is where the dubiousness comes in: Neither the candidate nor the donors typically have any idea how the split is divided. Often, at the end of the election, the TV station will not have run the exact number of ads the media buyer purchased. So the stations rebate the media buyer, who—in theory—is supposed to return that money to the campaign. But “only the media buyer knows the true amount of the rebate,” said one veteran creative director. The sheer volume and speed of the transactions can obfuscate a lot of double-dealing. Campaigns are largely forced to trust that the media buyers pay the TV stations the contracted amount for the right ad spots. Two buyers emphasized to me that they pride themselves on returning leftover funds, suggesting that such scrupulousness may be the exception rather than the rule. It is also not unusual, I was informed by a handful of industry insiders, for the consultant to privately negotiate a fee for bringing the media buyer the business. These sums can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars, far outstripping a consultant’s typical monthly retainer of around $15,000 on a gubernatorial or senate race. All of which provides a powerful incentive for the consultant to use the media buyer who will give him the best deal, not the one who will deliver the most effective ads. “That’s what happens a lot,” said one top buyer. Most political campaigns don’t conduct even perfunctory oversight of their spending. “There is no CFO on any campaign,” said the buyer. “There is a treasurer. The treasurer’s job is to make sure that the reports get filed properly at the FEC. That’s it.”

What a creepy shitty crook. Everything associated with the Pences is shitty and creepy.

Just look at r45’s photo. It’s December for God’s sake. Why is her ugly dress sleeveless? She gives Fraus an even worse name!

I can’t decide whether Ayers and Pence swap DNA or share DNA.

Compare Pence’s smile in the top left to Ayers’s smile in the bottom left and center.

Compare Ayers’s overall visage in the top center with Pence in the bottom right (after his hair went gray). They could pass for the same person taken from different angles.

Compare the cheeks in the top left with the ones in the bottom left.

Eyes in the top right with the ones in the bottom center.

Ayers has a bigger schnoz, a bigger chin, he’s blond instead of brunet, his head is more oblong. Otherwise...

They don’t look like twins, but the resemblance is bizarre for a dude and his boss.

Didn't this little twerp come from the shitstain Purdue's toilet?

I thought he worked for that scumbag before taking it from Lego hair?

Trust me. The truth? The scrutiny. This guy has a lot of skeletons in his closet. Hell, he doesn't have closets he has catacombs! The other truth? He was fired. A twist on the forced resignation.