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  • It's comical how Trump supporters cannot defend their selection in any way. Instead, they resort to deflection tactics and character attacks of the political ideology that they oppose as a way to boost their credibility.

    Trump has been indefensible. Rats are fleeing from the ship and, for the most part, he hides in the White House with his phone for Twitter and his cable television. Why wasn't he at the super bowl supporting his good friends. Great friends? I think he's scared to be in the public.

    What's crazy is the fact that he is actually pursuing his poorly conceived narcissistic vision of the United States. Despite all the opposition, he feebly continues while at the same time loathing the criticism he endures. It's so interesting. And comical. And pathetic. It's a major historical moment

    I think Trump is very lonely. His wife and her son are in NYC. His two older sons are in NYC are likely hate his guts...they are also likely loving the new situation with not having Trump around. His son in law is an advisor so it's likely that he needs away time quite a bit which means his daughter is likely not around that much.

    Dude is an accident waiting to happen. He has no close friends and the majority of the country hates his guts.
    Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018)

    1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
    2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
    2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
    2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
    2020: Oakland, Oakland:  2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
    2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
    2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana
  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 30,055
    edited February 2017
    bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38890090

    "Most of the atrocities listed by the White House were committed by Islamists, and the killing of nine black worshippers by a self-avowed white supremacist in South Carolina is notably absent.
    Absent too is the 2016 bombing of a shopping centre in Baghdad that killed some 300 people, and last week's deadly assault on a mosque in Quebec City."
    Post edited by Spiritual_Chaos on
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • dignindignin Posts: 9,331
    Nailed it

    On Trump, Keep it Simple (In 5 Points)


    After a tumultuous and chaotic two weeks of the Trump presidency, we are now seeing a new raft of counter-intuitive articles ranging from 'Does Trump Even Want to Succeed as President?' to 'How Trump Has Everyone Just Where He Wants Them and Is Kicking Ass.' We should all bear in mind that while generally unpopular, Trump has extremely high levels of approval among Republican voters and continues to maintain near lockstep allegiance from congressional Republicans. But on Trump, in trying to figure out what and how he's doing, we should keep it simple. Because at this point we know Trump quite well.

    1: Trump is a Damaged Personality: Trump is an impulsive narcissist who is easily bored and driven mainly by the desire to chalk up 'wins' which drive the affirmation and praise which are his chief need and drive. He needs to dominate everyone around him and is profoundly susceptible to ego injuries tied to not 'winning', not being the best, not being sufficiently praised and acclaimed, etc. All of this drives a confrontational style and high levels of organizational chaos and drama. This need for praise and affirmation and a lack of patience for understanding the basic details of governing are a volatile and dangerous mix. They catalyze and intensify each other. Perhaps most importantly, the drive to be the best and right drives promises, claims and policy pronouncements which may contradict his already existing positions or be impossible to fulfill. Often, because of this, they are simply forgotten. That is because the need to be right, best and praised drives everything. Everything else is subsidiary and subject to change in an evolving situational context. Once this is clear, much of the chaos becomes logical and predictable. It's folly to imagine that Trump might pivot or grow up or simply be normal. It is no more likely that a chronically anxious adult would suddenly become serene or a charisma-less person would suddenly grow a charisma organ. This is Trump and he will never change.

    2: Trump is a Great Communicator: Trump has an intuitive and profound grasp of a certain kind of branding. It's not sophisticated. But mass branding seldom is. It is intuitive, even primal. 'Make America Great Again' may be awful and retrograde in all its various meanings. But it captured in myriad ways almost every demand, fear and grievance that motivated the Americans who eventually became the Trump base. It is almost certainly the case that MAGA is entirely Trump's invention, not the work of any consultant or media specialist but from Trump himself. The Trump Trucker baseball cap, a physical manifestation of Trumpite branding, is similarly ingenious. In conventional design terms it is almost ridiculous. Loud red, simple font and campaign logo on an intentionally cheap design. But you cannot see that cap, even at a great distance, and not know what it means. It embodies as an artifact what Trump represents. Despite his manic temperament, impulsiveness and emotional infantility, this acumen gives him real and in some ways profound communication skills. The two don't cancel each other out. They are both always present. They grow from the same root.

    3: Trump's Hold on His Base Is Grievance: People continue to marvel how a city-bred, godless libertine who was born to great wealth could become and remain the political avatar of small town and rural voters of middling means. The answer is simple. Despite all their differences, Trump meets his voters in a common perception (real or not) of being shunned, ignored and disrespected by 'elites'. In short, his politics and his connection with his core voters is based on grievance. This is a profound and enduring connection. This part of his constituency likely amounts to only 25% or 30% of the electorate at most. But it is a powerful anchor on the right. His ability to emerge undamaged from an almost endless series of outrages and ridiculousnesses is based on this connection. To paraphrase McLuhan, with Trump, the medium is the message and Trump is the medium.

    4. Trump is Possible Because of Partisan Polarization: Partisan polariziation is profoundly important for Trump. In a less polarized partisan environment Trump never would have been elected and, if he had, might already be looking at possible impeachment. I think the greatest single explanation of Trump is that his politics profoundly galvanized a minority of the electorate and only a minority of the electorate. Almost everyone who wasn't galvanized was repulsed. But once he had secured the GOP nomination with that minority, the power of partisan polarization kicked in to lock into place perhaps the next 15% to 20% of the electorate which otherwise would never have supported him. The fact that partisan identification proved stronger than that repulsion is the key reason many, including myself, wrongly discounted Trump's ability to win. As long as Trump remains "us" to Republican voters I see little reason to think anything we can imagine will shake that very high level of support he gets from self-identified Republicans. That likely means that, among other things, no matter how unpopular Trump gets, Republican lawmakers will continue to support him because the chances of ending their careers is greater in a GOP primary than in a general election.

    5: Trump is Surrounded By Extremists and Desperados: Trump is primarily driven by impulse, grievance, the need to dominate and the need to be praised. There are core political beliefs Trump has had for decades which we should expect him to stick to. They almost all turn on being taken advantage of by other countries - whether in terms of trade or defense. The common thread is a deep belief in zero-sum relationships, whether in business or foreign affairs. As business columnist Joe Nocera put it after decades of observing Trump: "In every deal, he has to win and you have to lose." But if Trump's ideology is fluid, he has drawn around him advisors who can only be termed extremists. I believe the chief reason is that Trump's authoritarian personality resonates with extremist politics and vice versa. We should expect them to keep catalyzing each other in dangerous and frightening ways.

    What does all this mean? We should not think in terms of counter-intuition or 12 dimensional chess. Trump wants to be President and he wants to win and be the best. But he is generally unpopular, has a policy agenda which has great difficulty achieving majority support and a temperament which makes effective governance profoundly difficult. That mix makes the praise and affirmation he craves as President extremely challenging to achieve. Like many with similar temperaments and personalities he has a chronic need to generate drama and confrontation to stabilize himself. It's that simple. It won't change. It won't get better.

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/on-trump-keep-it-simple-in-5-points
  • BS isn't going to like that submission, Dignin.

    I think he's still thinking that 'the base' is a deep thinking sector of the US public that recognized a life line candidate when it was tossed one.
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • HughFreakingDillonHughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 36,477
    very well stated.
    new album "Cigarettes" out Fall 2024!

    www.headstonesband.com




  • dignindignin Posts: 9,331

    BS isn't going to like that submission, Dignin.

    I think he's still thinking that 'the base' is a deep thinking sector of the US public that recognized a life line candidate when it was tossed one.

    Haha, BS will come around.
  • It's comical how Trump supporters cannot defend their selection in any way. Instead, they resort to deflection tactics and character attacks of the political ideology that they oppose as a way to boost their credibility.

    Trump has been indefensible. Rats are fleeing from the ship and, for the most part, he hides in the White House with his phone for Twitter and his cable television. Why wasn't he at the super bowl supporting his good friends. Great friends? I think he's scared to be in the public.

    What's crazy is the fact that he is actually pursuing his poorly conceived narcissistic vision of the United States. Despite all the opposition, he feebly continues while at the same time loathing the criticism he endures. It's so interesting. And comical. And pathetic. It's a major historical moment

    I think Trump is very lonely. His wife and her son are in NYC. His two older sons are in NYC are likely hate his guts...they are also likely loving the new situation with not having Trump around. His son in law is an advisor so it's likely that he needs away time quite a bit which means his daughter is likely not around that much.

    Dude is an accident waiting to happen. He has no close friends and the majority of the country hates his guts.
    Can't buy me loooooooove, can't buy me loooooooove.....................
    09/15/1998 & 09/16/1998, Mansfield, MA; 08/29/00 08/30/00, Mansfield, MA; 07/02/03, 07/03/03, Mansfield, MA; 09/28/04, 09/29/04, Boston, MA; 09/22/05, Halifax, NS; 05/24/06, 05/25/06, Boston, MA; 07/22/06, 07/23/06, Gorge, WA; 06/27/2008, Hartford; 06/28/08, 06/30/08, Mansfield; 08/18/2009, O2, London, UK; 10/30/09, 10/31/09, Philadelphia, PA; 05/15/10, Hartford, CT; 05/17/10, Boston, MA; 05/20/10, 05/21/10, NY, NY; 06/22/10, Dublin, IRE; 06/23/10, Northern Ireland; 09/03/11, 09/04/11, Alpine Valley, WI; 09/11/11, 09/12/11, Toronto, Ont; 09/14/11, Ottawa, Ont; 09/15/11, Hamilton, Ont; 07/02/2012, Prague, Czech Republic; 07/04/2012 & 07/05/2012, Berlin, Germany; 07/07/2012, Stockholm, Sweden; 09/30/2012, Missoula, MT; 07/16/2013, London, Ont; 07/19/2013, Chicago, IL; 10/15/2013 & 10/16/2013, Worcester, MA; 10/21/2013 & 10/22/2013, Philadelphia, PA; 10/25/2013, Hartford, CT; 11/29/2013, Portland, OR; 11/30/2013, Spokane, WA; 12/04/2013, Vancouver, BC; 12/06/2013, Seattle, WA; 10/03/2014, St. Louis. MO; 10/22/2014, Denver, CO; 10/26/2015, New York, NY; 04/23/2016, New Orleans, LA; 04/28/2016 & 04/29/2016, Philadelphia, PA; 05/01/2016 & 05/02/2016, New York, NY; 05/08/2016, Ottawa, Ont.; 05/10/2016 & 05/12/2016, Toronto, Ont.; 08/05/2016 & 08/07/2016, Boston, MA; 08/20/2016 & 08/22/2016, Chicago, IL; 07/01/2018, Prague, Czech Republic; 07/03/2018, Krakow, Poland; 07/05/2018, Berlin, Germany; 09/02/2018 & 09/04/2018, Boston, MA; 09/08/2022, Toronto, Ont; 09/11/2022, New York, NY; 09/14/2022, Camden, NJ; 09/02/2023, St. Paul, MN; 05/04/2024 & 05/06/2024, Vancouver, BC; 05/10/2024, Portland, OR;

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  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    vaggar99 said:

    when i was a kid, i loved and idolized WWF wrestlers. so did Trump. He showed up at the big matches. I thought he was the coolest rich dude on the planet. i was just a kid then.

    https://washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-a-boys-idea-of-a-man/2017/02/06/c67be2bc-ec94-11e6-9973-c5efb7ccfb0d_story.html?tid=sm_fb&utm_term=.33186c5c229d

    Everybody should read that. Nails it.
  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    dignin said:

    Nailed it

    On Trump, Keep it Simple (In 5 Points)


    After a tumultuous and chaotic two weeks of the Trump presidency, we are now seeing a new raft of counter-intuitive articles ranging from 'Does Trump Even Want to Succeed as President?' to 'How Trump Has Everyone Just Where He Wants Them and Is Kicking Ass.' We should all bear in mind that while generally unpopular, Trump has extremely high levels of approval among Republican voters and continues to maintain near lockstep allegiance from congressional Republicans. But on Trump, in trying to figure out what and how he's doing, we should keep it simple. Because at this point we know Trump quite well.

    1: Trump is a Damaged Personality: Trump is an impulsive narcissist who is easily bored and driven mainly by the desire to chalk up 'wins' which drive the affirmation and praise which are his chief need and drive. He needs to dominate everyone around him and is profoundly susceptible to ego injuries tied to not 'winning', not being the best, not being sufficiently praised and acclaimed, etc. All of this drives a confrontational style and high levels of organizational chaos and drama. This need for praise and affirmation and a lack of patience for understanding the basic details of governing are a volatile and dangerous mix. They catalyze and intensify each other. Perhaps most importantly, the drive to be the best and right drives promises, claims and policy pronouncements which may contradict his already existing positions or be impossible to fulfill. Often, because of this, they are simply forgotten. That is because the need to be right, best and praised drives everything. Everything else is subsidiary and subject to change in an evolving situational context. Once this is clear, much of the chaos becomes logical and predictable. It's folly to imagine that Trump might pivot or grow up or simply be normal. It is no more likely that a chronically anxious adult would suddenly become serene or a charisma-less person would suddenly grow a charisma organ. This is Trump and he will never change.

    2: Trump is a Great Communicator: Trump has an intuitive and profound grasp of a certain kind of branding. It's not sophisticated. But mass branding seldom is. It is intuitive, even primal. 'Make America Great Again' may be awful and retrograde in all its various meanings. But it captured in myriad ways almost every demand, fear and grievance that motivated the Americans who eventually became the Trump base. It is almost certainly the case that MAGA is entirely Trump's invention, not the work of any consultant or media specialist but from Trump himself. The Trump Trucker baseball cap, a physical manifestation of Trumpite branding, is similarly ingenious. In conventional design terms it is almost ridiculous. Loud red, simple font and campaign logo on an intentionally cheap design. But you cannot see that cap, even at a great distance, and not know what it means. It embodies as an artifact what Trump represents. Despite his manic temperament, impulsiveness and emotional infantility, this acumen gives him real and in some ways profound communication skills. The two don't cancel each other out. They are both always present. They grow from the same root.

    3: Trump's Hold on His Base Is Grievance: People continue to marvel how a city-bred, godless libertine who was born to great wealth could become and remain the political avatar of small town and rural voters of middling means. The answer is simple. Despite all their differences, Trump meets his voters in a common perception (real or not) of being shunned, ignored and disrespected by 'elites'. In short, his politics and his connection with his core voters is based on grievance. This is a profound and enduring connection. This part of his constituency likely amounts to only 25% or 30% of the electorate at most. But it is a powerful anchor on the right. His ability to emerge undamaged from an almost endless series of outrages and ridiculousnesses is based on this connection. To paraphrase McLuhan, with Trump, the medium is the message and Trump is the medium.

    4. Trump is Possible Because of Partisan Polarization: Partisan polariziation is profoundly important for Trump. In a less polarized partisan environment Trump never would have been elected and, if he had, might already be looking at possible impeachment. I think the greatest single explanation of Trump is that his politics profoundly galvanized a minority of the electorate and only a minority of the electorate. Almost everyone who wasn't galvanized was repulsed. But once he had secured the GOP nomination with that minority, the power of partisan polarization kicked in to lock into place perhaps the next 15% to 20% of the electorate which otherwise would never have supported him. The fact that partisan identification proved stronger than that repulsion is the key reason many, including myself, wrongly discounted Trump's ability to win. As long as Trump remains "us" to Republican voters I see little reason to think anything we can imagine will shake that very high level of support he gets from self-identified Republicans. That likely means that, among other things, no matter how unpopular Trump gets, Republican lawmakers will continue to support him because the chances of ending their careers is greater in a GOP primary than in a general election.

    5: Trump is Surrounded By Extremists and Desperados: Trump is primarily driven by impulse, grievance, the need to dominate and the need to be praised. There are core political beliefs Trump has had for decades which we should expect him to stick to. They almost all turn on being taken advantage of by other countries - whether in terms of trade or defense. The common thread is a deep belief in zero-sum relationships, whether in business or foreign affairs. As business columnist Joe Nocera put it after decades of observing Trump: "In every deal, he has to win and you have to lose." But if Trump's ideology is fluid, he has drawn around him advisors who can only be termed extremists. I believe the chief reason is that Trump's authoritarian personality resonates with extremist politics and vice versa. We should expect them to keep catalyzing each other in dangerous and frightening ways.

    What does all this mean? We should not think in terms of counter-intuition or 12 dimensional chess. Trump wants to be President and he wants to win and be the best. But he is generally unpopular, has a policy agenda which has great difficulty achieving majority support and a temperament which makes effective governance profoundly difficult. That mix makes the praise and affirmation he craves as President extremely challenging to achieve. Like many with similar temperaments and personalities he has a chronic need to generate drama and confrontation to stabilize himself. It's that simple. It won't change. It won't get better.

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/on-trump-keep-it-simple-in-5-points

    And that nails it as well
  • HughFreakingDillonHughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 36,477
    new album "Cigarettes" out Fall 2024!

    www.headstonesband.com




  • 09/15/1998 & 09/16/1998, Mansfield, MA; 08/29/00 08/30/00, Mansfield, MA; 07/02/03, 07/03/03, Mansfield, MA; 09/28/04, 09/29/04, Boston, MA; 09/22/05, Halifax, NS; 05/24/06, 05/25/06, Boston, MA; 07/22/06, 07/23/06, Gorge, WA; 06/27/2008, Hartford; 06/28/08, 06/30/08, Mansfield; 08/18/2009, O2, London, UK; 10/30/09, 10/31/09, Philadelphia, PA; 05/15/10, Hartford, CT; 05/17/10, Boston, MA; 05/20/10, 05/21/10, NY, NY; 06/22/10, Dublin, IRE; 06/23/10, Northern Ireland; 09/03/11, 09/04/11, Alpine Valley, WI; 09/11/11, 09/12/11, Toronto, Ont; 09/14/11, Ottawa, Ont; 09/15/11, Hamilton, Ont; 07/02/2012, Prague, Czech Republic; 07/04/2012 & 07/05/2012, Berlin, Germany; 07/07/2012, Stockholm, Sweden; 09/30/2012, Missoula, MT; 07/16/2013, London, Ont; 07/19/2013, Chicago, IL; 10/15/2013 & 10/16/2013, Worcester, MA; 10/21/2013 & 10/22/2013, Philadelphia, PA; 10/25/2013, Hartford, CT; 11/29/2013, Portland, OR; 11/30/2013, Spokane, WA; 12/04/2013, Vancouver, BC; 12/06/2013, Seattle, WA; 10/03/2014, St. Louis. MO; 10/22/2014, Denver, CO; 10/26/2015, New York, NY; 04/23/2016, New Orleans, LA; 04/28/2016 & 04/29/2016, Philadelphia, PA; 05/01/2016 & 05/02/2016, New York, NY; 05/08/2016, Ottawa, Ont.; 05/10/2016 & 05/12/2016, Toronto, Ont.; 08/05/2016 & 08/07/2016, Boston, MA; 08/20/2016 & 08/22/2016, Chicago, IL; 07/01/2018, Prague, Czech Republic; 07/03/2018, Krakow, Poland; 07/05/2018, Berlin, Germany; 09/02/2018 & 09/04/2018, Boston, MA; 09/08/2022, Toronto, Ont; 09/11/2022, New York, NY; 09/14/2022, Camden, NJ; 09/02/2023, St. Paul, MN; 05/04/2024 & 05/06/2024, Vancouver, BC; 05/10/2024, Portland, OR;

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  • (CNN)Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that he's grateful to President Donald Trump for showing "the true face of the US."

    Khamenei told a gathering of Iran's air force commanders in Tehran that the new US administration has shown the world "the depth of corruption in US government," according to quotes published by Iran's semi-official MEHR news agency.

    Khamenei reportedly told the commanders: "We however thank this new guy in the White House, since he largely did the job we had been trying to do in the past decades: to divulge the true face of the US. We had been working to show the world the depth of corruption in US government and ranks and files of the ruling elite; Trump did it in few days after coming to the White House."

    He added: "Their claims to human rights are no longer tenable."


    Khamenei also made an apparent reference to the five-year-old son of an Iranian mother who was detained at a US airport following Trump's ban on visas for seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran.
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • Go BeaversGo Beavers Posts: 8,942
    my2hands said:

    dignin said:

    Nailed it

    On Trump, Keep it Simple (In 5 Points)


    After a tumultuous and chaotic two weeks of the Trump presidency, we are now seeing a new raft of counter-intuitive articles ranging from 'Does Trump Even Want to Succeed as President?' to 'How Trump Has Everyone Just Where He Wants Them and Is Kicking Ass.' We should all bear in mind that while generally unpopular, Trump has extremely high levels of approval among Republican voters and continues to maintain near lockstep allegiance from congressional Republicans. But on Trump, in trying to figure out what and how he's doing, we should keep it simple. Because at this point we know Trump quite well.

    1: Trump is a Damaged Personality: Trump is an impulsive narcissist who is easily bored and driven mainly by the desire to chalk up 'wins' which drive the affirmation and praise which are his chief need and drive. He needs to dominate everyone around him and is profoundly susceptible to ego injuries tied to not 'winning', not being the best, not being sufficiently praised and acclaimed, etc. All of this drives a confrontational style and high levels of organizational chaos and drama. This need for praise and affirmation and a lack of patience for understanding the basic details of governing are a volatile and dangerous mix. They catalyze and intensify each other. Perhaps most importantly, the drive to be the best and right drives promises, claims and policy pronouncements which may contradict his already existing positions or be impossible to fulfill. Often, because of this, they are simply forgotten. That is because the need to be right, best and praised drives everything. Everything else is subsidiary and subject to change in an evolving situational context. Once this is clear, much of the chaos becomes logical and predictable. It's folly to imagine that Trump might pivot or grow up or simply be normal. It is no more likely that a chronically anxious adult would suddenly become serene or a charisma-less person would suddenly grow a charisma organ. This is Trump and he will never change.

    2: Trump is a Great Communicator: Trump has an intuitive and profound grasp of a certain kind of branding. It's not sophisticated. But mass branding seldom is. It is intuitive, even primal. 'Make America Great Again' may be awful and retrograde in all its various meanings. But it captured in myriad ways almost every demand, fear and grievance that motivated the Americans who eventually became the Trump base. It is almost certainly the case that MAGA is entirely Trump's invention, not the work of any consultant or media specialist but from Trump himself. The Trump Trucker baseball cap, a physical manifestation of Trumpite branding, is similarly ingenious. In conventional design terms it is almost ridiculous. Loud red, simple font and campaign logo on an intentionally cheap design. But you cannot see that cap, even at a great distance, and not know what it means. It embodies as an artifact what Trump represents. Despite his manic temperament, impulsiveness and emotional infantility, this acumen gives him real and in some ways profound communication skills. The two don't cancel each other out. They are both always present. They grow from the same root.

    3: Trump's Hold on His Base Is Grievance: People continue to marvel how a city-bred, godless libertine who was born to great wealth could become and remain the political avatar of small town and rural voters of middling means. The answer is simple. Despite all their differences, Trump meets his voters in a common perception (real or not) of being shunned, ignored and disrespected by 'elites'. In short, his politics and his connection with his core voters is based on grievance. This is a profound and enduring connection. This part of his constituency likely amounts to only 25% or 30% of the electorate at most. But it is a powerful anchor on the right. His ability to emerge undamaged from an almost endless series of outrages and ridiculousnesses is based on this connection. To paraphrase McLuhan, with Trump, the medium is the message and Trump is the medium.

    4. Trump is Possible Because of Partisan Polarization: Partisan polariziation is profoundly important for Trump. In a less polarized partisan environment Trump never would have been elected and, if he had, might already be looking at possible impeachment. I think the greatest single explanation of Trump is that his politics profoundly galvanized a minority of the electorate and only a minority of the electorate. Almost everyone who wasn't galvanized was repulsed. But once he had secured the GOP nomination with that minority, the power of partisan polarization kicked in to lock into place perhaps the next 15% to 20% of the electorate which otherwise would never have supported him. The fact that partisan identification proved stronger than that repulsion is the key reason many, including myself, wrongly discounted Trump's ability to win. As long as Trump remains "us" to Republican voters I see little reason to think anything we can imagine will shake that very high level of support he gets from self-identified Republicans. That likely means that, among other things, no matter how unpopular Trump gets, Republican lawmakers will continue to support him because the chances of ending their careers is greater in a GOP primary than in a general election.

    5: Trump is Surrounded By Extremists and Desperados: Trump is primarily driven by impulse, grievance, the need to dominate and the need to be praised. There are core political beliefs Trump has had for decades which we should expect him to stick to. They almost all turn on being taken advantage of by other countries - whether in terms of trade or defense. The common thread is a deep belief in zero-sum relationships, whether in business or foreign affairs. As business columnist Joe Nocera put it after decades of observing Trump: "In every deal, he has to win and you have to lose." But if Trump's ideology is fluid, he has drawn around him advisors who can only be termed extremists. I believe the chief reason is that Trump's authoritarian personality resonates with extremist politics and vice versa. We should expect them to keep catalyzing each other in dangerous and frightening ways.

    What does all this mean? We should not think in terms of counter-intuition or 12 dimensional chess. Trump wants to be President and he wants to win and be the best. But he is generally unpopular, has a policy agenda which has great difficulty achieving majority support and a temperament which makes effective governance profoundly difficult. That mix makes the praise and affirmation he craves as President extremely challenging to achieve. Like many with similar temperaments and personalities he has a chronic need to generate drama and confrontation to stabilize himself. It's that simple. It won't change. It won't get better.

    http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/on-trump-keep-it-simple-in-5-points

    And that nails it as well
    Yup. Spot on in all areas. I would think the author intentionally didn't reference race or anything race related. Maybe s/he thinks it's too polarizing to some and would turn off readers?
  • josevolutionjosevolution Posts: 29,125
    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    He defended Putin again c'mon if Obama would of done this McConnell & Ryan would of rushed the WH with troops damn he's gonna get away with everything!!!!

    I thought is was invalid around here to compare to previous presidents...
    Did he defend Putin ? I'm asking you what would the GOP have done if this was Obama defending a total dictator ?
    I don't know, what would democrats have done if Trump air dropped millions of dollars to pay off Iran...? What would democrats do if Trump put a hold on allowing Iraqi travel, suggested strengthening our border, oh wait... What will democrats do if Trump lies under oath like Billy boy? The list goes on, but I've been told not to compare to past presidents so I think that standard should be held for both sides. What would democrats do if josevolution tried to compare Trump to past presidents?
    You know cmon pjpower I'll ask again can you post the links to the massacres that president Bafoon is saying our fake news media are not reporting , again this isn't about me keep your eye on Bafoon !
    jesus greets me looks just like me ....
  • PJPOWERPJPOWER Posts: 6,499
    edited February 2017

    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    He defended Putin again c'mon if Obama would of done this McConnell & Ryan would of rushed the WH with troops damn he's gonna get away with everything!!!!

    I thought is was invalid around here to compare to previous presidents...
    Did he defend Putin ? I'm asking you what would the GOP have done if this was Obama defending a total dictator ?
    I don't know, what would democrats have done if Trump air dropped millions of dollars to pay off Iran...? What would democrats do if Trump put a hold on allowing Iraqi travel, suggested strengthening our border, oh wait... What will democrats do if Trump lies under oath like Billy boy? The list goes on, but I've been told not to compare to past presidents so I think that standard should be held for both sides. What would democrats do if josevolution tried to compare Trump to past presidents?
    You know cmon pjpower I'll ask again can you post the links to the massacres that president Bafoon is saying our fake news media are not reporting , again this isn't about me keep your eye on Bafoon !
    I have no clue, and that was not the issue that I commented on. My reply was in response to this statement if yours..."He defended Putin again c'mon if Obama would of done this McConnell & Ryan would of rushed the WH with troops damn he's gonna get away with everything!!!!"
  • HughFreakingDillonHughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 36,477
    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    He defended Putin again c'mon if Obama would of done this McConnell & Ryan would of rushed the WH with troops damn he's gonna get away with everything!!!!

    I thought is was invalid around here to compare to previous presidents...
    Did he defend Putin ? I'm asking you what would the GOP have done if this was Obama defending a total dictator ?
    I don't know, what would democrats have done if Trump air dropped millions of dollars to pay off Iran...? What would democrats do if Trump put a hold on allowing Iraqi travel, suggested strengthening our border, oh wait... What will democrats do if Trump lies under oath like Billy boy? The list goes on, but I've been told not to compare to past presidents so I think that standard should be held for both sides. What would democrats do if josevolution tried to compare Trump to past presidents?
    -that iran deal, at least on paper, was owed to them, and we agreed to release once they released our hostages.
    -the iraq "ban" can't even be compared to Trump's travel ban. obama's was reactionary, to something that actually HAPPENED. trump's is built on fear and racism and stranded people who LIVE IN THE US LEGALLY.
    -I don't give a shit, and never did, about any president and who he diddles, as long as it is consensual and within the law. I don't think Lewinsky was anyone's business.

    who said you can't compare past presidents? compare away. maybe it's people calling out false equivalencies?
    new album "Cigarettes" out Fall 2024!

    www.headstonesband.com




  • josevolutionjosevolution Posts: 29,125
    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    He defended Putin again c'mon if Obama would of done this McConnell & Ryan would of rushed the WH with troops damn he's gonna get away with everything!!!!

    I thought is was invalid around here to compare to previous presidents...
    Did he defend Putin ? I'm asking you what would the GOP have done if this was Obama defending a total dictator ?
    I don't know, what would democrats have done if Trump air dropped millions of dollars to pay off Iran...? What would democrats do if Trump put a hold on allowing Iraqi travel, suggested strengthening our border, oh wait... What will democrats do if Trump lies under oath like Billy boy? The list goes on, but I've been told not to compare to past presidents so I think that standard should be held for both sides. What would democrats do if josevolution tried to compare Trump to past presidents?
    You know cmon pjpower I'll ask again can you post the links to the massacres that president Bafoon is saying our fake news media are not reporting , again this isn't about me keep your eye on Bafoon !
    I have no clue, and that was not the issue that I commented on. My reply was in response to this statement if yours..."He defended Putin again c'mon if Obama would of done this McConnell & Ryan would of rushed the WH with troops damn he's gonna get away with everything!!!!"
    Yes the GOP specially McConnell & Ryan would of gotten the troops to remove him from the WH !
    jesus greets me looks just like me ....
  • PJPOWERPJPOWER Posts: 6,499

    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    He defended Putin again c'mon if Obama would of done this McConnell & Ryan would of rushed the WH with troops damn he's gonna get away with everything!!!!

    I thought is was invalid around here to compare to previous presidents...
    Did he defend Putin ? I'm asking you what would the GOP have done if this was Obama defending a total dictator ?
    I don't know, what would democrats have done if Trump air dropped millions of dollars to pay off Iran...? What would democrats do if Trump put a hold on allowing Iraqi travel, suggested strengthening our border, oh wait... What will democrats do if Trump lies under oath like Billy boy? The list goes on, but I've been told not to compare to past presidents so I think that standard should be held for both sides. What would democrats do if josevolution tried to compare Trump to past presidents?
    You know cmon pjpower I'll ask again can you post the links to the massacres that president Bafoon is saying our fake news media are not reporting , again this isn't about me keep your eye on Bafoon !
    I have no clue, and that was not the issue that I commented on. My reply was in response to this statement if yours..."He defended Putin again c'mon if Obama would of done this McConnell & Ryan would of rushed the WH with troops damn he's gonna get away with everything!!!!"
    Yes the GOP specially McConnell & Ryan would of gotten the troops to remove him from the WH !
    I think that is exasperated. Conservative media headlines, talking points...probably. "Troops"...doubtful, McConnell and Ryan are just other political talking heads.
  • PJPOWERPJPOWER Posts: 6,499

    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    He defended Putin again c'mon if Obama would of done this McConnell & Ryan would of rushed the WH with troops damn he's gonna get away with everything!!!!

    I thought is was invalid around here to compare to previous presidents...
    Did he defend Putin ? I'm asking you what would the GOP have done if this was Obama defending a total dictator ?
    I don't know, what would democrats have done if Trump air dropped millions of dollars to pay off Iran...? What would democrats do if Trump put a hold on allowing Iraqi travel, suggested strengthening our border, oh wait... What will democrats do if Trump lies under oath like Billy boy? The list goes on, but I've been told not to compare to past presidents so I think that standard should be held for both sides. What would democrats do if josevolution tried to compare Trump to past presidents?
    -that iran deal, at least on paper, was owed to them, and we agreed to release once they released our hostages.
    -the iraq "ban" can't even be compared to Trump's travel ban. obama's was reactionary, to something that actually HAPPENED. trump's is built on fear and racism and stranded people who LIVE IN THE US LEGALLY.
    -I don't give a shit, and never did, about any president and who he diddles, as long as it is consensual and within the law. I don't think Lewinsky was anyone's business.

    who said you can't compare past presidents? compare away. maybe it's people calling out false equivalencies?
    Can I compare allegations of the current president to the ones brought forth by this woman?
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita_Broaddrick#/search
    Is she lying? If so, what makes people blindly believe the accusations against Trump?
  • Go BeaversGo Beavers Posts: 8,942
    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    He defended Putin again c'mon if Obama would of done this McConnell & Ryan would of rushed the WH with troops damn he's gonna get away with everything!!!!

    I thought is was invalid around here to compare to previous presidents...
    Did he defend Putin ? I'm asking you what would the GOP have done if this was Obama defending a total dictator ?
    I don't know, what would democrats have done if Trump air dropped millions of dollars to pay off Iran...? What would democrats do if Trump put a hold on allowing Iraqi travel, suggested strengthening our border, oh wait... What will democrats do if Trump lies under oath like Billy boy? The list goes on, but I've been told not to compare to past presidents so I think that standard should be held for both sides. What would democrats do if josevolution tried to compare Trump to past presidents?
    -that iran deal, at least on paper, was owed to them, and we agreed to release once they released our hostages.
    -the iraq "ban" can't even be compared to Trump's travel ban. obama's was reactionary, to something that actually HAPPENED. trump's is built on fear and racism and stranded people who LIVE IN THE US LEGALLY.
    -I don't give a shit, and never did, about any president and who he diddles, as long as it is consensual and within the law. I don't think Lewinsky was anyone's business.

    who said you can't compare past presidents? compare away. maybe it's people calling out false equivalencies?
    Can I compare allegations of the current president to the ones brought forth by this woman?
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita_Broaddrick#/search
    Is she lying? If so, what makes people blindly believe the accusations against Trump?
    Try to get up to speed. trump has admitted to sexual assaulting women as well as other sex offenses. Stop trying to normalize trump with false equivalencies.
  • dignindignin Posts: 9,331
    He's so easily manipulated.

    Donald Trump's staff get him to agree to policies by saying 'Obama wouldn't have done it'
    President only agreed to botched Yemen raid because military officials said predecessor would never do it, intelligence sources say

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-yemen-raid-agree-to-policy-barack-obama-would-not-do-james-matthis-qassim-al-rimi-a7566861.html
  • HughFreakingDillonHughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 36,477
    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    PJPOWER said:

    He defended Putin again c'mon if Obama would of done this McConnell & Ryan would of rushed the WH with troops damn he's gonna get away with everything!!!!

    I thought is was invalid around here to compare to previous presidents...
    Did he defend Putin ? I'm asking you what would the GOP have done if this was Obama defending a total dictator ?
    I don't know, what would democrats have done if Trump air dropped millions of dollars to pay off Iran...? What would democrats do if Trump put a hold on allowing Iraqi travel, suggested strengthening our border, oh wait... What will democrats do if Trump lies under oath like Billy boy? The list goes on, but I've been told not to compare to past presidents so I think that standard should be held for both sides. What would democrats do if josevolution tried to compare Trump to past presidents?
    -that iran deal, at least on paper, was owed to them, and we agreed to release once they released our hostages.
    -the iraq "ban" can't even be compared to Trump's travel ban. obama's was reactionary, to something that actually HAPPENED. trump's is built on fear and racism and stranded people who LIVE IN THE US LEGALLY.
    -I don't give a shit, and never did, about any president and who he diddles, as long as it is consensual and within the law. I don't think Lewinsky was anyone's business.

    who said you can't compare past presidents? compare away. maybe it's people calling out false equivalencies?
    Can I compare allegations of the current president to the ones brought forth by this woman?
    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juanita_Broaddrick#/search
    Is she lying? If so, what makes people blindly believe the accusations against Trump?
    If Bill had been audiotaped saying he likes to grab women by the p*ssy and that they let you do whatever you want to them, along with all the numerous allegations (including his own wife) of rape and sexual assault, then yes, you could draw that equivalence. but as go beavers stated, the two can't be compared. did Bill rape this woman? possibly, but no one "blindly" believed the allegations against trump until the tape surfaced of him so much as admitting to it.
    new album "Cigarettes" out Fall 2024!

    www.headstonesband.com




  • Go BeaversGo Beavers Posts: 8,942
    Trump's lie of the day: the murder rate is the highest it's been in 47 years.
  • josevolutionjosevolution Posts: 29,125

    Trump's lie of the day: the murder rate is the highest it's been in 47 years.

    This should be a thread no lol
    Today's lie of the day by president Bafoon .

    jesus greets me looks just like me ....
  • mfc2006mfc2006 HTOWN Posts: 37,405

    Trump's lie of the day: the murder rate is the highest it's been in 47 years.

    This should be a thread no lol
    Today's lie of the day by president Bafoon .

    that's a great idea!
    I LOVE MUSIC.
    www.cluthelee.com
    www.cluthe.com
  • HughFreakingDillonHughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 36,477
    it is just amazing how the media has to keep spending it's time and resources defending itself against trump's outright lies. this is his MO. keep them busy and delegitimize them at the same time in the eyes of the electorate all the while he pulls backroom shenanigans with bannon and the rest of the wolfpack and no one realizes it until it's too late.

    the media needs to get ahead of him. the mainstream media needs to band together against this fascist and fox news, and quick.
    new album "Cigarettes" out Fall 2024!

    www.headstonesband.com




  • mfc2006mfc2006 HTOWN Posts: 37,405

    it is just amazing how the media has to keep spending it's time and resources defending itself against trump's outright lies. this is his MO. keep them busy and delegitimize them at the same time in the eyes of the electorate all the while he pulls backroom shenanigans with bannon and the rest of the wolfpack and no one realizes it until it's too late.

    the media needs to get ahead of him. the mainstream media needs to band together against this fascist and fox news, and quick.

    completely agree. he's just trying to distract everyone.
    I LOVE MUSIC.
    www.cluthelee.com
    www.cluthe.com
  • josevolutionjosevolution Posts: 29,125
    mfc2006 said:

    Trump's lie of the day: the murder rate is the highest it's been in 47 years.

    This should be a thread no lol
    Today's lie of the day by president Bafoon .

    that's a great idea!
    mfc2006 said:

    Trump's lie of the day: the murder rate is the highest it's been in 47 years.

    This should be a thread no lol
    Today's lie of the day by president Bafoon .

    that's a great idea!
    I know maybe one of President Bafoon's supporters from here can start it no ?
    jesus greets me looks just like me ....
  • BS44325BS44325 Posts: 6,124
    dignin said:

    BS isn't going to like that submission, Dignin.

    I think he's still thinking that 'the base' is a deep thinking sector of the US public that recognized a life line candidate when it was tossed one.

    Haha, BS will come around.
    That submission is actually in line with most of my beliefs.
  • Jason PJason P Posts: 19,138
    edited February 2017
    Report: Trump not fully briefed on exec order that gave Bannon seat at NSC meetings

    President Trump was reportedly not fully briefed on the executive order he signed that allowed his chief strategist Steve Bannon a seat at the meetings of the country’s top national security efforts.

    The New York Times reported Sunday that Bannon has been telling allies that he and the White House policy director, Stephen Miller, have a window to push through their vision of Trump’s economic policies.

    Trump was frustrated over the executive order and reportedly demanded to be looped in on the executive orders earlier in the drafting process. According to the Times, Trump demanded that his chief of staff Reince Priebus to come up with a fundamental approach to executive orders.

    Priebus told Trump and Bannon that the administration needs to revamp its policy and communications after the recent leaks about the orders coming out. Priebus created a 10-point checklist for the release of any new initiatives that needs a signoff from the White House communications department, The Times reported


    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/06/report-trump-not-fully-briefed-on-exec-order-that-gave-bannon-seat-at-nsc-meetings.html
    ....

    Great googly moogly. He has been signing executive orders that he hasn't even bothered to read or have counsel for the last two weeks.
This discussion has been closed.