Donald Trump: Classic or Dud?

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Which is to say, Trump and Reagan wanted different things from politics and the presidency. Reagan cared about both in ways Trump never will.

xps my dad (who is horrible but that's not relevant to this example) literally voted Republican/Reagan for the first time in his life b/c he hated Mondale so much

out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Tuesday, 8 August 2023 23:49 (eight months ago) link

I'm saying that acknowledging the enemy's gifts isn't endorsement.

― the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn)

see the thing is framing it as a "gift" I think implies a level of skill that may not be there. its true that being an abrasive asshole loudmouth who speaks off the cuff and doesn't learn shit got him really far in life, but it's also true that this is a country where those born rich can do no wrong, with a legal system where you can stymie pretty much any lawsuit by just bleeding the plantiff dry and a tax system where rich property owners can effectively pay nothing. and of course a political & media system that really loves controversy. I mean this is a country that briefly made Charlie Sheen its biggest celebrity when he was going through a mental breakdown and allowed the "cash me outside" girl to bank millions of dollars for no reason at all. We made the Jersey Shore cast household names and the Kardashians billionaires. By the way I'm not saying anything bad about those folks, I have nothing against any of them, just saying Trump strikes me as a uniquely American thing. Fascists and racists and authoratarians can and do win elections all over the globe but Trump feels like a guy who could only win in America. You think his approval rating was low here? Every poll ran outside of America revealed that 85% of the planet thought Trump was a tremendous dipshit.

so like, if he was actually 'gifted', or was indeed some kind of "master wizard" as the Dilbert guy liked to say, surely he could leverage that shit a bit better? he was reduced to a babbling maniac on the debate stage by...Joe Biden. he floated tremendously dumb ideas constantly and immediately had to either walk them back or spend weeks insisting people heard him wrong. literally every single person who's ever worked for him says he's a moron who's trivially easy to manipulate. he was played like a fiddle by Steve Bannon, the guy commiting fraud in broad daylight who is currently suggesting that a Trump/RFK ticket would unite the nation. so does he actually have gifts or do we live in one sick fuck of a nation?

frogbs, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 00:19 (eight months ago) link

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F3BuPzfXkAAadG9.jpg

Just want to interject that he looks like a Frank Miller drawing of himself at this point.

but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 00:27 (eight months ago) link

EMERGENCY EYEWASH STATION

out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 00:31 (eight months ago) link

Obviously Trump has unusual political abilities. Tons of people with more political experience than him and much savvier political teams have tried to get elected president and failed. It's not an easy thing to do, especially running as he did the first time with no real infrastructure or even any real clue about how to go about it. It's not giving him credit to say he has actual political talents, it's just acknowledging the obvious. That doesn't make him "smart," obviously, but ask Liz Warren how far smart gets you.

a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 00:52 (eight months ago) link

If we accept that the man is trivially easy to manipulate then it becomes much harder to explain why he always ends up doing exactly as he pleases in spite of dozens of his closest political advisors, defense lawyers, members of Congress and sitting judges trying to persuade him to do otherwise, including Steve Bannon, who was tossed aside and verbally abused just like every other person who enters his inner circle. The manipulators seem to have a very poor track record imo.

more difficult than I look (Aimless), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 00:56 (eight months ago) link

xxxpost Donald Trump as Flattop in...Dick Tracy

linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 01:13 (eight months ago) link

I think that’s more down to the fact that, as every book written about him claims, he only remembers what the last person he talked to said

frogbs, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 01:14 (eight months ago) link

he got Covid because he held a huge event in celebration of the death of RBG, the exact sort of mass gathering that every doctor in the country was saying you shouldn't do.

lmao I forgot about this.

treeship., Wednesday, 9 August 2023 01:16 (eight months ago) link

Just want to interject that he looks like a Frank Miller drawing of himself at this point.


My god...those are the flesh tones of putrescence. How is this lump of fudge still alive??

Prop Dramedy (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 01:24 (eight months ago) link

there is a method to how he conducts himself. he treats everyone and everything around him with contempt, as if life itself is a joke. this makes a certain % of people love him as they wish they too were liberated from moral constraints. and then for the people who try to stop him, they just end up embarrassing themselves. ever try to discipline an unruly kid and then have the kid laugh at you? that’s what it’s like to criticize him.

treeship., Wednesday, 9 August 2023 01:26 (eight months ago) link

he was reduced to a babbling maniac on the debate stage by...Joe Biden.


WILL YOU SHUT UP MAN?

toenail fungus (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 01:44 (eight months ago) link

By the way I'm not saying anything bad about those folks, I have nothing against any of them

Oh, I do. This country worships absolute morons. Maybe that’s true elsewhere, I dunno, but thanks for reminding me that a dumb, affected teenager could signed to a recording contract thanks to an appearance on Jerry Springer. (many do)

Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 01:45 (eight months ago) link

That was supposed to say many xp, stupid phone.

Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 01:48 (eight months ago) link

It's not an easy thing to do, especially running as he did the first time with no real infrastructure or even any real clue about how to go about it.

Who needs campaign infrastructure when you can just tweet out dumb shit 24/7 and have the media run your campaign for you?? If you can attack CNN nonstop and have them reward you by broadcasting footage of an empty podium you’re set to speak at while your opponent is giving policy speeches why do you need to know how to do anything at all?

frogbs, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 01:54 (eight months ago) link

^^^

out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 01:57 (eight months ago) link

i wish a hacker org could somehow mute all text and vid from trump it’d make it better and make him nuts.

toenail fungus (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 02:03 (eight months ago) link

Trump is not uniquely gifted either, just gripped with enough survivor sense, carved out of three decades of getting away with shit, to delay prosecution, etc. And emough sense to realize the GOP base didn't give a shit about "policy" -- they wanted grievances.

the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 04:58 (eight months ago) link


WILL YOU SHUT UP MAN?

I still think this was the moment Biden won the election

mh, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 14:39 (eight months ago) link

I doubt anyone had ever told Trump to shut up before.

the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 14:40 (eight months ago) link

both otm

out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 14:56 (eight months ago) link

imagine if he'd said "up your nose with a rubber hose", he'd have the Horshack vote

linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 15:03 (eight months ago) link

Would have to take it back from Romney:

In the current New Republic, the editors have this to say about Mitt Romney: "He's unbearably unctuous - the Arnold Horseshack of the race, furiously waving his hand to grab the teacher's attention."

hardcore technician gimmicks are also another popular choice f (President Keyes), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 15:07 (eight months ago) link

trump is very funny when is not in power and very unfunny when he is in power

c u (crüt), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 15:22 (eight months ago) link

^^^ this is otm, urgent & key

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 16:04 (eight months ago) link

Civilian Trump commenting on Kristen Stewart cheating--funny

President Trump complaining about Jimmy Kimmel jokes--not funny

hardcore technician gimmicks are also another popular choice f (President Keyes), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 16:09 (eight months ago) link

I mean laugh-at funny, tbc.

c u (crüt), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 16:26 (eight months ago) link

NEWS: Special counsel Jack Smith obtained a search warrant for Donald Trump's Twitter account in January.

A delay in compliance by the company prompted a federal judge to hold Twitter in contempt and fine the company $350,000.

Details TK

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 9, 2023

Good luck getting this info from Musk, but still.

Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 16:34 (eight months ago) link

Aw it was nice of Elongated to buy Twitter to help further try and (badly) protect his best bud.

Maxmillion D. Boosted (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 16:53 (eight months ago) link

Oh, wait, delay in compliance means they got what they wanted, right? Apparently the delay was because Twitter was prohibited from telling Trump they even got the warrant.

Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 16:53 (eight months ago) link

I hold Twitter in contempt myself.

a man often referred to in the news media as the Duke of Saxony (tipsy mothra), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 16:58 (eight months ago) link

Yeah they have what they wanted. So Smith has Trump's DMs, which are likely very moist.

Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 17:09 (eight months ago) link

Do you think Trump was much of a DM guy? I don't; he famously dictated his tweets to an underling. (His Truth Social posts might actually come from his own fat fingers, because they're demonstrably more insane/aggrieved.) He was always a guy who called people, and took calls from basically anyone who had his number.

but also fuck you (unperson), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 17:18 (eight months ago) link

he's a BM guy

linoleum gallagher (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 17:22 (eight months ago) link

Back in 2005 a pal who at the time covered government for the Palm Beach Post was reporting on how neighbors near the airport were irritated by increasing air traffic. His editor asked him to call Trump at Mar-a-Lago. To my friend's amazement, Trump's secretary or whatever said, "He'll call you right back. Is this the number he can reach you?" And voila Trump himself called two minutes later, talked his ear off for 15-20 minutes. Then Trump called him back two days later to compliment him on the story ("You need anything? Let me know").

the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 17:23 (eight months ago) link

I don't; he famously dictated his tweets to an underling

No, you could famously tell which were written by staffers and which were blasted out on the can by his own thumbs from the “sent from iphone” labels

serving bundt (sic), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 18:11 (eight months ago) link

Trump is funny in the same way Vince McMahon is, except Vince has the self-awareness to *know* he's playing a heel, and that therefore the audience actually wants to see him get his ass kicked or leave in a huff after getting shown up, whereas Trump is famously prickly anytime he thinks something makes him "look bad".

also, as crut says, being a horrible asshole is only funny when they don't actually have any power. I think the dudes on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia are hilarious but I probably wouldn't want to know them in real life

frogbs, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 18:23 (eight months ago) link

Yeah, you can what Vince is like from what Trump does, and vice versa.

Both dudes had similar backgrounds in coming from abusive households with rich & successful fathers who had to make their own name starting in the mid-70s in the NY metro and becoming media creatures thru the 80s trying to get acceptance by the Manhattanite establishment. They’ve worked together since at least Wrestlemania IV, which was at Trump Casino iirc.

Glower, Disruption & Pies (kingfish), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 20:29 (eight months ago) link

Again, recommending "Ringmaster," a new bio of Vince. The connections between the two are myriad and very close, going back to Vince Sr. prompting wrestling events in Queens.

Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 9 August 2023 21:07 (eight months ago) link

Again, recommending "Ringmaster," a new bio of Vince. The connections between the two are myriad and very close, going back to Vince Sr. prompting wrestling events in Queens.

Yup, just got this book from the library

Glower, Disruption & Pies (kingfish), Wednesday, 9 August 2023 21:38 (eight months ago) link

oh cool -- more Newsweek clickbait

the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 12 August 2023 13:31 (eight months ago) link

Newsweek's calling it! Damn. OK, so who do we have in '28?

henry s, Saturday, 12 August 2023 13:31 (eight months ago) link

I'll sum it up: No Labels, Cornel West, Joe Biden old.

the dreaded dependent claus (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 12 August 2023 13:32 (eight months ago) link

he didn't even mention hunter. or the biden documents case.

Thus Sang Freud, Saturday, 12 August 2023 13:40 (eight months ago) link

Or that Woody Harrelson is campaigning for RFK Jr!

Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 12 August 2023 14:01 (eight months ago) link

i can't believe Trump is President again. oh well, back to Frisky Dingo

earosmith (Neanderthal), Saturday, 12 August 2023 14:03 (eight months ago) link

before Trump, the only two incumbent presidents to lose reelection in the last 50 years have had a strong third-party bid to deal with—Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992,

impeccable logic and punctuation

symsymsym, Saturday, 12 August 2023 16:01 (eight months ago) link

Newsweek still polling dead Republicans, I see

out-of-print LaserDisc edition (sleeve), Saturday, 12 August 2023 16:03 (eight months ago) link


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