Trump vs. Biden

[Red Herring]

There is a fashion shop in a small town in Bavaria in the small town of Eggenfelden. When Bavaria went into lockdown some camera teams filmed the little towm square with its shops and some of that footage must have gotten internationally available. The Trump campaign used a few seconds of that footage (they tainted the bright pink colored shop front grey to mak it look more destitute) in a campaign ad about how horrible the lockdown in Europe was. The shop owner was shocked at first but then quickly made a reaction video to tell the world that "we are still here and we're not dead yet". That attracted a lot of old and new customers, even from abroad. In the end the whole thing made them gain customers and business is doing great

 

[Lark]

I saw a Trump supporter from this wide boys militia on the news talking about Trump losing the election being a "psyops" and "the left" (who they?) had "bought it", what does any of that mean? Is this something which will only make sense to other wide boys or is it something that other americans understand?

 

[ceecee]

Think about what Trump has distracted everyone from the last four years-while also keeping the people on edge and at each other's throats. How much less are the people trusting each other, how much less likely are they to come together- against them, and demand change, why was trump out playing golf everyday instead of running the country? Because they wanted him too. He was a good figurehead distraction. and if biden plays his cards right, he'll remain a good distraction and keep the status...qou.

I follow a guy named Matthew Sheffield on Twitter. I've heard for some time that there always was a corporate plan to overturn a Trump loss and he writes about this as well. He isn't a neocon pretending to be a liberal like the dips on MSNBC, he was in conservative media.

 

[Totenkindly]

Trump has come up with ‘frivolous, baseless claims’ of voter fraud: Nevada AG Aaron Ford

Apparently all the current lawsuits in Nevada have now been tossed.

 

[anticlimatic]

This is an interesting example of how one can superficially construct a reality in which it seems like Trump is actually good at what he does, and is working for the betterment of others. Yet it betrays a deep misunderstanding of basic facts. I think its a great example of how propaganda can work. Thanks for sharing.

What's ironic is that the 70 million people who voted for him feel the exact same way- like word for word- about the other 70+ million that voted against him. The symmetry is almost beautiful.

 

[Tilt]

At least this will make for good entertainment to balance out the Coronavirus crisis. So thanks Trump for being the nation's comic relief.

This will make for an amusing book someday.

I genuinely believe Trump is at least slightly smarter than the average person but with some mental/emotional issues.

After all the drama dies down, it wouldn't surprise me in the least, if he enjoys himself away from all the politics... he's just a HORRIBLE loser and thrives in drama from what I can tell.

 

[Red Herring]

When you know the diagnostic criteria behind sociopathy and the process through which it's diagnosed but people who clearly don't keep calling Trump a sociopath

I guess what they often mean is that he seems to lack empathy. On the one hand - from what I learned from documentares about Trump's life -his parents and especially his father from whom he got many of his values raised him to "be a killer" (he even said that about his own son Barron when Barron was still a baby). And only today I read about a study saying that people with high self esteem tend to be worse at reading other people's emotions than people with low selfesteem and people with a high socioeconomic status are worse at it than people with low socioeconomic status. So if you are a narcissist from a wealthy family and explicitely raised not to care about other people it makes sense that you'd lack empathy.

 

[Totenkindly]

At least this will make for good entertainment to balance out the Coronavirus crisis. So thanks Trump for being the nation's comic relief.

This will make for an amusing book someday.

I genuinely believe Trump is at least slightly smarter than the average person but with some mental/emotional issues.

The issue for me is that he is doing this in part to legitimize his ongoing presence in politics -- to figurehead an "alternate state" during Biden's term and justify another run in 2024. So it's not really a joke, it's just going to be an ongoing slog and a revisit later, unless something derails it. He might not be convincing the courts, but a lot of the lawsuits just seem to be about creating a veneer of illegitimacy, even if the lawsuit is then retracted due to lack of evidence.

 

[Tilt]

The issue for me is that he is doing this in part to legitimize his ongoing presence in politics -- to figurehead an "alternate state" during Biden's term and justify another run in 2024. So it's not really a joke, it's just going to be an ongoing slog and a revisit later, unless something derails it. He might not be convincing the courts, but a lot of the lawsuits just seem to be about creating a veneer of illegitimacy, even if the lawsuit is then retracted due to lack of evidence.

I believe you and that could very well be true but you gotta admit all eyes are on him and people love talking about him...even if most of it is shit. His whole history has been to be the world's biggest attention whore... and he's been wildly successful in that arena. His twisted legacy will live on... a narcissist's wet dream.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

The issue for me is that he is doing this in part to legitimize his ongoing presence in politics -- to figurehead an "alternate state" during Biden's term and justify another run in 2024. So it's not really a joke, it's just going to be an ongoing slog and a revisit later, unless something derails it. He might not be convincing the courts, but a lot of the lawsuits just seem to be about creating a veneer of illegitimacy, even if the lawsuit is then retracted due to lack of evidence.

I wonder if the GOP would allows that now that he lost; four years is plenty of time to come up with ways to try and obstruct him. He may have to try a third party/ independent run. It makes sense as a possible motivation, though.

 

[FemMecha]

This is an interesting example of how one can superficially construct a reality in which it seems like Trump is actually good at what he does, and is working for the betterment of others. Yet it betrays a deep misunderstanding of basic facts. I think its a great example of how propaganda can work. Thanks for sharing.

I can see what he does. There is a headline to validate a position, but the actions create a very different reality. On the White House page they list many actions Trump has signed to stop human trafficking, but then this is the result....

This is the declaration:
The Trump Administration Is Committed to Combating Human Trafficking and Protecting The Innocent

link
"A U.S. anti-trafficking law has been upended, lifting protections for vulnerable children. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has quietly decided to suspend those protections, including resuming deportations of minors who pose no health or safety concern, allegedly to protect the U.S. from COVID-19.

This is an atrocity.

In response, 15 different leaders of Christian organizations and I signed on to a letter to Ivanka Trump. We appealed to her as one of the most vocal advocates in the White House for survivors of trafficking, asking that the law in question, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), be properly enforced."

Of course in addition I have already posted his support of the individual arrested by the FBI as "kingpins of child Sex Trafficking" and they were his friends, neighbors, and party buddies for years. I also think he is boosting these headlines because the FBI is investigating him right now as a conspirator with Epstein.

I would add that any person who has been in an abusive relationship will know well the "opposite headline" approach. What they advertise as their virtue is precisely their vice. It's no mystery. You look at actions and realize words are their game.

 

[FemMecha]

The issue for me is that he is doing this in part to legitimize his ongoing presence in politics -- to figurehead an "alternate state" during Biden's term and justify another run in 2024. So it's not really a joke, it's just going to be an ongoing slog and a revisit later, unless something derails it. He might not be convincing the courts, but a lot of the lawsuits just seem to be about creating a veneer of illegitimacy, even if the lawsuit is then retracted due to lack of evidence.

I'm not certain how to accurately reading the population's fervor vs. fickleness in response to Trump. There will be both reactions, but in what measure?

I understand there were protests at all the capitols in favor of Trump "Stop the Steal" and typically counter-protestors with some violence ensuing between the groups, but it sounds like these were generally smaller scale than what we saw in the riots. Maybe it is good that Inauguration Day is deep in winter when it's too cold for people to gather in the North. I don't know if Trump's energy will move forward or fizzle. It could have to do with how much high level support he maintains since a number of his followers have others they idolize. So if their secondary idols abandon Trump, that could help deflate his support base, but the conspiracy and religious fervor mixed in will definitely assist in maintaining the focus and fervor.

 

[Red Memories]

oh please for the love of god no more Trump elections. my mental health seriously cannot take another fucking political shitstorm. I'm serious, put him in fucking prison or something so he can;t.

 

[Firebird 8118]

oh please for the love of god no more Trump elections. my mental health seriously cannot take another fucking political shitstorm. I'm serious, put him in fucking prison or something so he can;t.

SAAAAAAAME!

I’m just fucking done with it all. And if any Trumpets try to get all up in my face once more, I’m just gonna walk away because they don’t mean shit to me. Anyone who still supports him gets no sympathy from me.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

Trump Supporter Arrested For Requesting Absentee Ballot For Dead Mother

County prosecutors have told local news outlets that it is the first case of alleged voter fraud in the county in three decades. County election authorities flagged the ballot request as suspicious in September, triggering the investigation that led to Lynn’s arrest. Lynn allegedly first denied the allegations to detectives, before admitting to the deed.

Lynn is due in court for a hearing on Nov. 5 ― two days after the election. The Republican, who posted $10,000 in bail, could face up to five years in prison and $25,000 in fines.
​

And yet no such evidence has been presented for all this alleged Democrat tampering. Trump has relied on his minion yes-men to start baseless "investigations", and that's all it takes to make his base believe - yet they can't even produce a single example like this one.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

I would add that any person who has been in an abusive relationship will know well the "opposite headline" approach. What they advertise as their virtue is precisely their vice. It's no mystery. You look at actions and realize words are their game.

Yeah. This is why I say the malignant narcissism is directly observable - no faith in MSM needed.

 

[Mad Hatter]

oh please for the love of god no more Trump elections. my mental health seriously cannot take another fucking political shitstorm. I'm serious, put him in fucking prison or something so he can;t.

Yep. Can me move on please? I'm happy that I never got used to him, and I'm glad to see him go. But even now that he's lost, he is still in the news. There is far, far too much reporting about how he tries to challenge the results of the election even in the absence of new information (or of hardly any information at all). He likes to make everything revolve around himself, even losing an election. Don't give him that very last triumph, folks.

 

[anticlimatic]

Yep. Can me move on please?

I don't know. Can you?

Defeating Trump in a landslide would have worked, but 4 years of completely misunderstanding his supporters and calling them racist homophobic bigots for some odd reason did not make them conducive to aligning with leftist philosophy- the Marxist authoritarian turn probably didn't help either.

But just because his supporters are galvanized around him doesn't mean the media and other people need to keep obsessing over him. Assuming no widespread voter fraud is uncovered and Joe Biden is president elect, why not focus on the merits of his policy, and use positive reinforcement of it to persuade people away from right leaning philosophy?

Trumps strength and influence is directly tied to people's hatred and attention. If people could collectively deny him that he would shrivel and die off. But they can't. Because they feel like fighting and raging is getting them somewhere. It's only getting him somewhere.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

Yep. Can me move on please? I'm happy that I never got used to him, and I'm glad to see him go. But even now that he's lost, he is still in the news. There is far, far too much reporting about how he tries to challenge the results of the election even in the absence of new information (or of hardly any information at all). He likes to make everything revolve around himself, even losing an election. Don't give him that very last triumph, folks.

75% of me 100% agrees. The problem is that his base seems to believe him, and so ignoring all of it is like ignoring engine sounds in a car that almost surely indicate a problem will surface down the road. Ignoring it is like thinking "Well the engine starts, that's all I need to know right now." Thinking "I better figure out what that is so that I don't get stranded with a broken engine one of these days" is ultimately the smarter thing to do.

Granted, that's precisely why narcissists throw distractions out there - blocking the signal by throwing in copious amounts of noise - but that doesn't mean there isn't significant value in paying a modicum amount of attention to the noise before any of it takes on too much of a life on its own.

(One thing these past few years has brought to light - as stig keeps alluding to - is that Democrats really suck at focused debunking and signal boosting. I'm glad Buttigedge (?, booty judge guy) will be appointed a high position, because that's something he's damn good at.)

 

[violet_crown]

oh please for the love of god no more Trump elections. my mental health seriously cannot take another fucking political shitstorm. I'm serious, put him in fucking prison or something so he can;t.

Yep. Can me move on please? I'm happy that I never got used to him, and I'm glad to see him go. But even now that he's lost, he is still in the news. There is far, far too much reporting about how he tries to challenge the results of the election even in the absence of new information (or of hardly any information at all). He likes to make everything revolve around himself, even losing an election. Don't give him that very last triumph, folks.

If I'm not mistaken, the election is done done once the results are certified. I would think, specifically, PA certifying its results puts an end to the shenanigans. That happens on 11/23.

Obviously certified results won't stop whatever legal steps the Trump team have undertaken, nor will it prevent his administration from obstructing the transition process. But it does mean that the results are official, and things can move forward.