The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump

[FemMecha]

I think you're right about the cult, but I suspect ultimately it would help 'history' sort out the aftermath. And it might be shed a bit of light for those who are so fatigued that they don't know who to believe. I mean, if it were offered with the stipulation of full transparency, it seems like a given that Trump would refuse anyway - he knows full well there's nothing to find. I feel like this would be a "couldn't hurt, slightest chance it could actually help" move - but there's almost certainly something I'm not seeing.

I want all of them to go.

I can see the usefulness for transparency for PR, although some would concoct another way to dismiss it. Maybe some percentage would have less faith in Trump's tweets.

One position I used to take when debating with QAnon folks is to say for the sake of argument that there is a deep state or people behind the scenes controlling most everything. What sort of individual would it take to stand up to something like that? It would require tremendous integrity, courage, and strength of character, a person without a price tag. Look at Trump's past and is there anything in his past actions to suggest he possesses such inner strength when he has lived his life pulling scams, hanging with mobsters, and fucking pornstars? He is for sale to the highest bidder - all the deep state would have to do is offer him enough and he belongs to them. The character of the man helps to show the truth of the dynamic. Was he was ever known to fight corruption or put himself at risk for integrity's sake, because a person's character doesn't magically change when they become president. He is now who he has been. That actually got through a little. He would sometimes concede that Trump didn't have integrity.

I think some of the conspiracy theorist are so convinced of their big picture system that they slot Trump into the hero role without considering how ludicrous it is.

 

[Jaguar]

Trump downplays Russian-linked cyberattack on U.S. - Axios

Is there anything about Russia he doesn't downplay? Let's face it, the USA doesn't have a pilot on board.

Why it matters: Trump, who had been silent on the attack until now, claimed that China may be responsible, contradicting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other governmental officials who have said that the breach was carried out by Russia.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

I can see the usefulness for transparency for PR, although some would concoct another way to dismiss it. Maybe some percentage would have less faith in Trump's tweets.

One position I used to take when debating with QAnon folks is to say for the sake of argument that there is a deep state or people behind the scenes controlling most everything. What sort of individual would it take to stand up to something like that? It would require tremendous integrity, courage, and strength of character, a person without a price tag. Look at Trump's past and is there anything in his past actions to suggest he possesses such inner strength when he has lived his life pulling scams, hanging with mobsters, and fucking pornstars? He is for sale to the highest bidder - all the deep state would have to do is offer him enough and he belongs to them. The character of the man helps to show the truth of the dynamic. Was he was ever known to fight corruption or put himself at risk for integrity's sake, because a person's character doesn't magically change when they become president. He is now who he has been. That actually got through a little. He would sometimes concede that Trump didn't have integrity.

I think some of the conspiracy theorist are so convinced of their big picture system that they slot Trump into the hero role without considering how ludicrous it is.

It's surprising you know someone who will concede a little bit that Trump lacks integrity. I don't personally know a supporter who isn't all in, mindlessly chanting TDS or "orange man bad" to dismiss any criticism at all. The only thing that sticks to him is success and sunshine, and everything else is TDS/fake news (and anyone claiming otherwise is "sheep"). They vary from the sort who can spontaneously pull intricate confabulated magical thoughts about his success out of their ass to those who quietly defend him, but I don't know a single person who suppprts him who can own the stuff about him that's well documented and has been proven. It's so bizarre.

 

[FemMecha]

It's surprising you know someone who will concede a little bit that Trump lacks integrity. I don't personally know a supporter who isn't all in, mindlessly chanting TDS or "orange man bad" to dismiss any criticism at all. The only thing that sticks to him is success and sunshine, and everything else is TDS/fake news (and anyone claiming otherwise is "sheep"). They vary from the sort who can spontaneously pull intricate confabulated magical thoughts about his success out of their ass to those who quietly defend him, but I don't know a single person who suppprts him who can own the stuff about him that's well documented and has been proven. It's so bizarre.

This was before it got so crazy - back at the beginning of his presidency. The same person does not seem like they cult minded. I think the pandemic fear helped make people even more cult minded. They need it to be fake and Trump to be the hero. It probably would not work now.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

Am I the only person that wants to see the My Pillow Guy go to prison?

A Twitter thread of people agreeing.

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[Lark]

This was before it got so crazy - back at the beginning of his presidency. The same person does not seem like they cult minded. I think the pandemic fear helped make people even more cult minded. They need it to be fake and Trump to be the hero. It probably would not work now.

I do wonder about the context but it does seem to be generally trending that a lot of people will believe a lot of complete and utter nonsense, maybe their lives are just dull otherwise?

 

[The Cat]

 

[Virtual ghost]

Rick Wilson on Republicans after Trump: I'm worried about 'more competent' version

 

[Jaguar]

.

 

[The Cat]

The bespectacled domed turncoat prophet speaks of those like himself in the future. I wonder if he sees himself through a mirror darkly?

 

[ceecee]

White supremacists planned an attack on the US power grid, FBI finds - Business Insider

An Ohio teenager is accused of plotting to shoot rifles at power stations across the US to cause an outage, according to an FBI affidavit cited by the Associated Press.
The plan was part of an effort to assemble a White supremacist group that would be "operational" by 2024 but that would act sooner if President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

But Antifa.....

 

[The Cat]

White supremacists planned an attack on the US power grid, FBI finds - Business Insider



But Antifa.....

 

[Z Buck McFate]

White supremacists planned an attack on the US power grid, FBI finds - Business Insider



But Antifa.....

The teen was in a text group with more than a dozen people in the fall of 2019 when he introduced the idea of saving money to buy a ranch where they could participate in militant training, according to the affidavit, which was filed under seal along with a search warrant application in Wisconsin's Eastern U.S. District Court in March. The documents were inadvertently unsealed last week before the mistake was discovered and they were quickly sealed again.

The teenager wanted the group to be "operational" by the 2024 election because he believed it was likely a Democrat would win, but "the timeline for being operational would accelerate if President Trump lost the 2020 election," according to the affidavit.
​

(And not a word about Hunter Biden. Why is the media hiding his involvement?! The fact they didn't mention him proves he and antifa are behind all of it.)

 

[The Cat]

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

That call is hilarious. So desperate. "They took the parts out of the machines and put other parts in them."

 

[The Cat]

That call is hilarious. So desperate. "They took the parts out of the machines and put other parts in them."

I call it funny uh-oh...

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I prefer funny haha...

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I call it funny uh-oh...

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I prefer funny haha...

It can be two things!

 

[Z Buck McFate]

NYT: Jeff Flake: ‘Trump Can’t Hurt You. But He Is Destroying Us.’

How many injuries to American democracy can my Republican Party tolerate, excuse and champion? It is elementary to have to say so, but for democracy to work one side must be prepared to accept defeat. If the only acceptable outcome is for your side to win, and a loser simply refuses to lose, then America is imperiled.

I once had a career in public life — six terms in the House of Representatives and another six years in the Senate — and then the rise of a dangerous demagogue, and my party’s embrace of him, ended that career. Or rather, I chose not to go along with my party’s rejection of its core conservative principles in favor of that demagogue. In a speech on the Senate floor on Oct. 24, 2017, I announced that because of the turn my party had taken, I would not run for re-election: the career of a politician that is complicit in undermining his own values doesn’t mean much.

As a lifelong conservative Republican, I was surprised to find myself so profoundly at odds with my own party and with the man who had used its ballot line to vault to power. But the values that made me a conservative and an American were indeed being undermined, the country was paying a steep price for it, and I would be a liar to my family, my state and my conscience if I were to pretend otherwise.

It is hard to comprehend how so many of my fellow Republicans were able — and are still able — to engage in the fantasy that they had not abruptly abandoned the principles they claimed to believe in. It is also difficult to understand how this betrayal could be driven by deference to the unprincipled, incoherent and blatantly self-interested politics of Donald Trump, defined as it is by its chaos and boundless dishonesty. The conclusion that I have come to is that they did it for the basest of reasons — sheer survival and rank opportunism.
​

I think more conservatives coming forward like this to prove it wasn't about a difference in political views could be an important step in 'deprogramming' the cult. /two potentially weak cents

 

[Z Buck McFate]

It can be two things!

Is this a Simpson's line? ("Two things can be true" is one of my favorite Disenchantment moments).

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

NYT: Jeff Flake: ‘Trump Can’t Hurt You. But He Is Destroying Us.’

How many injuries to American democracy can my Republican Party tolerate, excuse and champion? It is elementary to have to say so, but for democracy to work one side must be prepared to accept defeat. If the only acceptable outcome is for your side to win, and a loser simply refuses to lose, then America is imperiled.

I once had a career in public life — six terms in the House of Representatives and another six years in the Senate — and then the rise of a dangerous demagogue, and my party’s embrace of him, ended that career. Or rather, I chose not to go along with my party’s rejection of its core conservative principles in favor of that demagogue. In a speech on the Senate floor on Oct. 24, 2017, I announced that because of the turn my party had taken, I would not run for re-election: the career of a politician that is complicit in undermining his own values doesn’t mean much.

As a lifelong conservative Republican, I was surprised to find myself so profoundly at odds with my own party and with the man who had used its ballot line to vault to power. But the values that made me a conservative and an American were indeed being undermined, the country was paying a steep price for it, and I would be a liar to my family, my state and my conscience if I were to pretend otherwise.

It is hard to comprehend how so many of my fellow Republicans were able — and are still able — to engage in the fantasy that they had not abruptly abandoned the principles they claimed to believe in. It is also difficult to understand how this betrayal could be driven by deference to the unprincipled, incoherent and blatantly self-interested politics of Donald Trump, defined as it is by its chaos and boundless dishonesty. The conclusion that I have come to is that they did it for the basest of reasons — sheer survival and rank opportunism.
​

I think more conservatives coming forward like this to prove it wasn't about a difference in political views could be an important step in 'deprogramming' the cult. /two potentially weak cents

durr hurr bUt hE iS a rInO aNd cOnTrOlLeD oPpOsItIoN