Normal Presidents Don't Act Like That...

[jaaron]

Last one:

Put Jared Kushner in charge of ANYTHING

 

[SandyinAnaheim]

There are so many !
pity other world leaders who have to try to work with him
at least Jeb Bush would have had beautiful manners

@Daisys and Diamonds, I've noticed that you've mentioned Jeb multiple times over the past year. I'm genuinely wondering why you like him so much? Having lived in FL most of my life, he was not held in the highest regard as governor, and that doesn't even touch on his wife and daughter both being shoplifters (and that's just what's gotten out to the press). For a time, Columba was known as being the Imelda DeMarcos of Florida with her multi-thousand shoe collection. What have you heard about him that I don't know?

 

[scouty]

taking all him grown up children and spouses to that state dinner at Birmingham palace with the Queen

He walked in front of the Queen as well, a display of disrespect.

 

[scouty]

Melania wearing a jacket saying “I really don’t care, do u?” on a trip to see migrant children at the boarder

 

[Demon]

Promoting the demon sperm, alien dna doctor.

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

He abandoned our allies, the Kurds.
130,000 driven from their homes and hundreds killed.
In turn allowing the escape or eventual release of 11,000 ISIS prisoners the Kurds were holding...
and then lying about it
For nothing.

 

[Demon]

Being against chain migration until it came to Melania's parents.

 

[scouty]

Attempt to cash in on the G7

Inviting Russia to be back in the G7/8

 

[scouty]

Being against chain migration until it came to Melania's parents.

That one is rich

 

[scouty]

Retweeted a video where his supporter chanted “white power”

 

[Demon]

That one is rich

It was. I'm out for the night & look forward to reading more tomorrow!

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Being against chain migration until it came to Melania's parents.

Or, his own mother...

 

[scouty]

Delayed the distribution of Covid stimulus relief paper checks so he could put his signature on them

 

[Matata]

This entire thread should be sent to the Lincoln Project to be made into commercials.

 

[scouty]

This is not a joke. It says “Are you going to let the Democrats silence you?” on the inside. After he railed against mail in ballots. Hypocrite.

Voters in North Carolina have received absentee ballot request forms in the mail with Trump's face on them | CNN Politics

Given the crisis facing the United States Postal Service before a presidential election, the last thing John Herter expected to receive in the mail Saturday was an absentee ballot request form with President Donald Trump's face on it.

www.cnn.com

 

[Gussie]

The Gallagher incident bothered me so much I nearly cried.

 

[OboeGal]

Trying to destroy the Affordable Care Act.....

.......with no alternative plan in mind.......

.......during a pandemic.........

.......when huge numbers of people are unemployed and have lost insurance through their employers.......

.......and a very large number of those people will not be able to go back to work until there is a vaccine, either because they're high-risk and it's not safe to be in a workplace, because they are a parent of small children not in school or daycare in person, or because there simply aren't the jobs right now.

Who TF does that?

 

[OboeGal]

I’m afraid I don’t share your optimism. The kind of critical thinking you’re describing hasn’t been demonstrated by Trump supporters and apologists. I see many bad-faith arguments and a lot of martyrdom, but little self-reflection and intelligence.

Edited to Add: There’s a lot of criticism aimed at the non-Trump supporters here (I refuse to say liberals because this group includes true conservatives and moderates too) about it being an echo chamber, but that presupposes that the differing viewpoints are actually well-thought out and worthy of consideration. When I see posts about Democrats being hellbent on turning America into a socialist country or Roberts being a Commie traitor, I fail to see how entertaining those points of view are supposed to lead to meaningful conversations when the same people espousing the nonsense have either accused everyone else of being insulting, or just refused to acknowledge the counter-arguments. I would just as soon give serious consideration to a pedophile arguing that there should be no minimum age for consent, or a racist insisting that there’s a biological basis for white supremacy.

I completely agree with you. Other than letting myself get "triggered" by the garbage some folks posted on political and COVID threads here over the last two or three days, sending me on a frenzied typing spree, I will try to once again return to mostly silence because it is so completely, eminently pointless. Pointless to read, pointless to respond to. In fact, I wonder if any attempt whatsoever to respond actually only makes matters worse at this point.

I personally think the US is utterly lost at this point. Between the many and varied effects of the internet, and social media in particular, on public thought and public discourse and public attention span that I think are becoming a serious plague to democracy and social order everywhere, not to mention adding to mass paranoia and delusion, and then the uniquely American attitudes of "my 'freedom' at the expense of everyone else, winner-take-all, might-makes-right, my opinion is better than your expertise, I embrace my ignorance with pride, the vulnerable should just suffer and die rather than get a penny off my pile, anyone who doesn't spend their every waking moment working, working, working doesn't have any value or deserve to live, we're the best in the world at absolutely everything so we cannot learn anything from other countries!," etc., etc., and then a hefty dose on top of the white Christian Taliban who believe, even as they fade into minority status, that they actually have the right to dictate the lives of the rest of us and will go to their graves doing literally ANYTHING to make that happen, and, well........I just don't see how there is a future for any kind of a functioning democratic nation.

ETA: I recently read a NYT piece that explained a lot to me.....and also left me so hopeless and heartsick. I will try to find it and post it. The gist of it is that Trump promised the white evangelicals that he would do everything he could to keep this THEIR nation, and "protect" them from liberals, progressives, immigrants (legal or not), people of other religions, atheists, agnostics, intellectuals, people of other ethnic backgrounds, people who don't think that men should essentially "own" their women and families, independent women, people of LGBTQ status, scientists who tell them things they don't want to hear, etc., etc. having a voice or a seat at the table or a presence in their communities. This resonated to their very cores, because their worldview is becoming increasingly threatened and they are desperate for a "savior." They are operating at a level of the most primal and basic tribal instinct, so this means everything to them - far more than their economic well-being, far more than a reverence for the Constitution, far more than what the New Testament says about how Jesus actually taught them to live or behave toward others. Those things are only things to be twisted and spun for the purposes of "saving their America." So, at that primal level, when they see him brutalize "others," they feel safer (because those brown children in cages aren't human to them). When he shamelessly bullies and mocks disabled people and women and immigrants and whoever else - especially the "weak" - they see the "strength" and "fearlessness" that will keep them and their way of life "safe." When he tramples all over the Constitution, they feel relieved and safer. When he bans Muslims, they feel safer. When he has goons in plain clothes mace peaceful protesters in the face and drag them off in unmarked cars to who knows where, they feel safer that those "others" who don't have a right to this nation are being "taken away." When he rejects former allies and their leaders whom they believe are "inferior," particularly because those leaders embrace diversity and social safety nets and have more secular societies, they feel safer. When he blocks liberal voters and threatens to stay in power forever, it is the veritable answer to their deepest prayers. The more brutal and reprehensible he is, the more he is what they need to be safe, because they are operating as animals. He is their all-powerful Old Testament-style god. And nothing and no one on this earth will ever, EVER change them.

 

[JPie]

I completely agree with you. Other than letting myself get "triggered" by the garbage some folks posted on political and COVID threads here over the last two or three days, sending me on a frenzied typing spree, I will try to once again return to mostly silence because it is so completely, eminently pointless. Pointless to read, pointless to respond to. In fact, I wonder if any attempt whatsoever to respond actually only makes matters worse at this point.

I personally think the US is utterly lost at this point. Between the many and varied effects of the internet, and social media in particular, on public thought and public discourse and public attention span that I think are becoming a serious plague to democracy and social order everywhere, not to mention adding to mass paranoia and delusion, and then the uniquely American attitudes of "my 'freedom' at the expense of everyone else, winner-take-all, might-makes-right, my opinion is better than your expertise, I embrace my ignorance with pride, the vulnerable should just suffer and die rather than get a penny off my pile, anyone who doesn't spend their every waking moment working, working, working doesn't have any value or deserve to live, we're the best in the world at absolutely everything so we cannot learn anything from other countries!," etc., etc., and then a hefty dose on top of the white Christian Taliban who believe, even as they fade into minority status, that they actually have the right to dictate the lives of the rest of us and will go to their graves doing literally ANYTHING to make that happen, and, well........I just don't see how there is a future for any kind of a functioning democratic nation.

ETA: I recently read a NYT piece that explained a lot to me.....and also left me so hopeless and heartsick. I will try to find it and post it. The gist of it is that Trump promised the white evangelicals that he would do everything he could to keep this THEIR nation, and "protect" them from liberals, progressives, immigrants (legal or not), people of other religions, atheists, agnostics, intellectuals, people of other ethnic backgrounds, people who don't think that men should essentially "own" their women and families, independent women, people of LGBTQ status, scientists who tell them things they don't want to hear, etc., etc. having a voice or a seat at the table or a presence in their communities. This resonated to their very cores, because their worldview is becoming increasingly threatened and they are desperate for a "savior." They are operating at a level of the most primal and basic tribal instinct, so this means everything to them - far more than their economic well-being, far more than a reverence for the Constitution, far more than what the New Testament says about how Jesus actually taught them to live or behave toward others. Those things are only things to be twisted and spun for the purposes of "saving their America." So, at that primal level, when they see him brutalize "others," they feel safer (because those brown children in cages aren't human to them). When he shamelessly bullies and mocks disabled people and women and immigrants and whoever else - especially the "weak" - they see the "strength" and "fearlessness" that will keep them and their way of life "safe." When he tramples all over the Constitution, they feel relieved and safer. When he bans Muslims, they feel safer. When he has goons in plain clothes mace peaceful protesters in the face and drag them off in unmarked cars to who knows where, they feel safer that those "others" who don't have a right to this nation are being "taken away." When he rejects former allies and their leaders whom they believe are "inferior," particularly because those leaders embrace diversity and social safety nets and have more secular societies, they feel safer. When he blocks liberal voters and threatens to stay in power forever, it is the veritable answer to their deepest prayers. The more brutal and reprehensible he is, the more he is what they need to be safe, because they are operating as animals. And nothing and no one on this earth will ever, EVER change them.

It’s getting too late for me to write a coherent reply, but I just wanted to say that I appreciate your thoughtful posts. I think the worst part about coming to terms with the extreme likelihood that the US is in its decline is the uncertainty of what’s on the other side. I really don’t relish the thought of China being the new world leader.

 

[Bron357]

All I can say is that if Americans don’t find a way to vote Trump out - they have no one to blame but themselves!

 

[OboeGal]

It’s getting too late for me to write a coherent reply, but I just wanted to say that I appreciate your thoughtful posts. I think the worst part about coming to terms with the extreme likelihood that the US is in its decline is the uncertainty of what’s on the other side. I really don’t relish the thought of China being the new world leader.

Thank you.

I agree with you here, as well.

 

[OboeGal]

It's too late for me to edit my post above with the synopsis of the NYT piece. I wanted to make clear that neither the article, nor I in my synopsis, are claiming that those are the views of all white evangelicals - not at all. These are the views held by a subset of white evangelicals that are hardcore Trumpists and only become more hardcore as time goes on; the article is an attempt to explain why that is.

 

[seaurchin]

All I can say is that if Americans don’t find a way to vote Trump out - they have no one to blame but themselves!

Many of us Americans are doing all we can to vote Trump out so a blanket statement that we Americans deserve whatever we get is really not on.

 

[Bron357]

Many of us Americans are doing all we can to vote Trump out so a blanket statement that we Americans deserve whatever we get is really not on.

I was meaning that seeing as voting isn’t compulsory in America, if people don’t like him AND don’t vote then they shouldn’t complain if he gets back in.

 

[seaurchin]

I was meaning that seeing as voting isn’t compulsory in America, if people don’t like him AND don’t vote then they shouldn’t complain if he gets back in.

Ah, okay. Gotcha.

 

[missy]

To address the title of this thread. There is nothing "normal" about Donald Trump. Nothing.




And this should be his campaign slogan.



It's the one thing he excels at. Not taking responsibility.

 

[scouty]

Attempted to force International Students from taking fully online courses in the fall when our top universities like Harvard wanted to protect all students from Covid-19. These students would have had to return to their home countries under Trump's directive, in the middle of a pandemic, to places where not all have access to high speed internet required for online courses. This would have forced universities to choose between the health and safety of their students and not loosing the funding of their international students. These International Students contribute 45B USD to the economy every year.

This was another election ploy to get the US back to a semblance of normality in time for the election.

 

[scouty]

I personally think the US is utterly lost at this point.

Totally agree with you. My DH is from a third world country. DH and his friends who also came to the US laugh at what is going on in American politics currently because they never fathomed this would happen in a country like America. He says these tactics Trump is taking to blatantly suppress and rig the vote are stuff they see in the third world all the time. Not to mention the pathetic failure of the Covid-19 response, where the world's largest economy can't even manage the virus properly.

This combined with the divisive racial rhetoric and demonization of legal immigrants makes me seriously reconsider raising a child here. I am personally ready to move to DH's "sh!thole" country, as Trump would say, but I don't want DH to give up on his "American Dream".

 

[scouty]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1295446298670309377

 

[doberman]

We're well on our way to becoming one of the "sh-thole countries" thanks to our
cheeto-in-chief.