Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Breccia]

And whoever he picks, will be crucified as much as Trump will be. There are people pushing that Hitler defending moron Candace Owens, or DeathSantis.

I agree, except that Trump will not pick DeSantis. Trump is jealous of DeSantis, who has a successful re-election, no looming lawsuits or criminal charges, a wife that's ten years younger, and most of Trump's fans love him because he says most of what Trump says. Also, I think DeSantis believes he can win on his own. DeSantis is who the RNC would promote, if Trump admits he's not really running but wants the attention.

Of course, it's be a bad pick anyhow, as would Gaetz, Greene, etc. Trump will only pick people who will do exactly what he says, but that doesn't widen his platform's appeal. In 2016, Pence did. In 2020, Pence didn't. He was a useless, spineless waste of a classic Republican name filling a form. Trump lost the classic Republican support and the election, in that order.

Trump really has few people that would (a) help the ticket rather than be Trump and Trump's mouthpiece, and (b) would be willing to do the job. I can think of three people who might do it. Nikki Haley, Sen. Cruz (and won't that be hilarious), and Bill O'Reilly. I'm not convinced about that last one, either.

Trump has a lot of problems right now. Many of them are court cases. He also demonstrably picked the wrong side in the Russia-Ukraine war, and while his rabid fanbase will pretend he didn't, the facts are in plain sight.

Trump released a lengthy statement full of false claims about NATO while praising himself for bolstering the alliance. The statement came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was wrapping up an emotional address to Congress in which he called on the US government to take stronger action to counter Russia's devastating war in Ukraine.

Most of Trump's new statement repeated previous false claims he's made about the NATO alliance, including that several member countries were "delinquent" and that he was the one who got them to "pay up" in exchange for the US's protection.

"Nobody knew things would happen so rapidly, but NATO was poor and now it is rich, and all of the Fake News commentators that said Trump was tearing down NATO should be ashamed of themselves for telling lies," Trump's statement said.

He went on to say that unlike previous US presidents, "I acted, and acted strongly. I said to them, 'if you don't pay up, no protection.' They all paid up, and paid up quickly."

Trump has repeatedly gotten basic facts about NATO wrong or wrongly claimed the alliance was "obsolete," and later corrected himself because he did not know "much about NATO."

Contrary to Trump's assertions, European members of NATO and Canada had increased their defense spending in 2015 and 2016, before Trump took office. Also, NATO countries don't "pay up." They have pledged to spend a certain amount of their gross domestic product on their own militaries, and pay a small stipend to fund NATO headquarters.

And in 2014, two years before Trump came into office, all NATO members reached an agreement to spend at least 2% of their annual GDP on their own defense by 2024.

Trump's claim that members of the alliance were "delinquent" in their contributions also doesn't add up, because countries decide on their own how much of their GDP to spend on their own defense. In other words, as fact-checkers have pointed out, they don't "owe" NATO or the US money.

Most of Trump's former allies, the people he willingly chose to bring to the WH, have turned against him. This is Trump, so "turned against him" is a pretty wide category. It can be anything from "talked to the police" to "wrote a book about how they were the only sane person in the WH" to "seriously discussed the 25th"

In the end, it shouldn't matter -- Trump shouldn't run. With his proven record on the economy, COVID and Russia, he should be stomped flat. His ego won't allow him to run and lose.

[Belize]

Sadly, not just a NFL thing. This is a depressingly common viewpoint within the Republican party and speaks to how scientifically illiterate their elected officials and voters are in general.

Back in my freshman year of college (in Texas) my Bio professor started out the semester with a disclaimer that he would talk about evolution because it was the truth despite what churches in the area said.

It was... Pretty jarring...

[gondrin]

I agree, except that Trump will not pick DeSantis. Trump is jealous of DeSantis, who has a successful re-election, no looming lawsuits or criminal charges, a wife that's ten years younger, and most of Trump's fans love him because he says most of what Trump says. Also, I think DeSantis believes he can win on his own. DeSantis is who the RNC would promote, if Trump admits he's not really running but wants the attention.

Of course, it's be a bad pick anyhow, as would Gaetz, Greene, etc. Trump will only pick people who will do exactly what he says, but that doesn't widen his platform's appeal. In 2016, Pence did. In 2020, Pence didn't. He was a useless, spineless waste of a classic Republican name filling a form. Trump lost the classic Republican support and the election, in that order.

Trump really has few people that would (a) help the ticket rather than be Trump and Trump's mouthpiece, and (b) would be willing to do the job. I can think of three people who might do it. Nikki Haley, Sen. Cruz (and won't that be hilarious), and Bill O'Reilly. I'm not convinced about that last one, either.

Well, there is one that would fit both criteria and that is Tucker Carlson.

[Breccia]

Well, there is one that would fit both criteria and that is Tucker Carlson.

Too Trumpian. Trump would pick him, but he wouldn't enhance the ticket.

[draynay]

Back in my freshman year of college (in Texas) my Bio professor started out the semester with a disclaimer that he would talk about evolution because it was the truth despite what churches in the area said.

It was... Pretty jarring...

I hope you made it through that sinister liberal indoctrination in one piece.

[Belize]

I hope you made it through that sinister liberal indoctrination in one piece.

I came out mostly unscathed unlike the physics students learning about *gravity* and *the earth being round*.

[draynay]

I came out mostly unscathed unlike the physics students learning about *gravity* and *the earth being round*.

Wow, I didn't come to this thread to be brainwashed, keep that voodoo to yourself.

[Draco-Onis]

Being forced to carry your rapists child to term isn’t exactly crazy from the same group that thinks you being raped was your fault.

Yup that's pretty on brand none of their bills include exemption for rape and incest, they are really leaning into the whole inbred redneck narrative.

[Beefhammer]

Now, I don't wish for anyone to be raped, obviously. Shit's horrible. However, I would still love to see what her stance on this would be if she ended up in that specific scenario.

Oh we know what their stance is. Abortion is fine. Many elected GOP politicians and many of those that support this garbage have had or paid for abortions. I would bet my life if she was raped and got pregnant as a result, she would have a planned parenthood meeting within weeks.

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That’s truly insane. Most of these laws have some kind of exceptions for cases of rape/incest. TN went full on baby incubator.

I was a tad bit wrong on the info. The family of the tapist could sue not the rapist himself. But still fucked up.

[Edge-]

https://twitter.com/MrOlmos/status/1503936754427973637

More Republican white supremacists, this time Idaho Lt. Gov Janice McGeachin who spoke at Fuente's Nazi rally.

[Poopymonster]

https://twitter.com/MrOlmos/status/1503936754427973637

More Republican white supremacists, this time Idaho Lt. Gov Janice McGeachin who spoke at Fuente's Nazi rally.

Wasn't she the one that as soon as the Governor left the state went all "WHOOOOOO! No masks, no distancing, CORONA...I want you in me!"
Twice.

Or was that different Asshole from the party of Fuck You.

[PhaelixWW]

I came out mostly unscathed unlike the physics students learning about *gravity* and *the earth being round*.

GTFO with that "critical physics theory" nonsense!


/s

[Edge-]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/17/nort...istration.html

North Carolina authorities have opened an investigation into possible voter fraud by Mark Meadows related to his claim that his legal residence was a mobile home when he was serving as White House chief of staff to then-President Donald Trump, the state attorney general’s office said Thursday.

“The allegations in this case involve potential crimes committed by a government official,” wrote Macon County, N.C. District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch in a letter Monday to the attorney general’s office asking that it designate agencies to investigate Meadows.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Josh Stein told CNBC “we have agreed to [Welch’s] request” to take over the probe.

“We have asked the [State Bureau of Investigation] to investigate and at the conclusion of the investigation, we’ll review their findings,” said Nazneen Ahmed, Stein’s spokeswoman.

Oh man, if one of the fuckwits shrieking loudly about "VOTER FRAUD" ends up getting pinched for voter fraud I'm gonna laugh.

But I expect nothing to come from this, there never seem to be any consequences for any of the actually criminal behavior in the Trump administration.

[Fugus]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/17/nort...istration.html



Oh man, if one of the fuckwits shrieking loudly about "VOTER FRAUD" ends up getting pinched for voter fraud I'm gonna laugh.

But I expect nothing to come from this, there never seem to be any consequences for any of the actually criminal behavior in the Trump administration.

Hope he has consequences hit him for his own lies and hypocrisy.

But this does kinda remind me of an old skit from "Chappelle Show" where he had Paul Mooney as a psychic answering questions and he was asking how the Bush administration knew Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and he responded with "Because they still have the receipt".

[Edge-]

So how's the tucker protest going?

https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dg4...ffic-is-antifa

Well, apparently every other car on the road is antifa!

Also, they're crashing into people and then driving off while blaming them. Hit and run is pretty great for a self-employed trucker looking to get contract work, right?

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https://twitter.com/AndriyYermak/sta...95049425498112

Grateful to Grateful to, our reliable partner. The @POTUS does more for than any of his predecessors.

Man, Trump's gonna be big mad. Also, the flag icons apparently break this forum.

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https://www.businessinsider.com.au/v...ukraine-2022-3

Milquetoast Kevin McCarthy disagrees with Madison Cawthorn that Zelensky is a "thug", but still supports him. Because McCarthy has absolutely no spine and is very much pro-white supremacy.

[Edge-]

https://www.lex18.com/news/federal-j...utional-rights

And today in, "No, your firmly held beliefs do not grant you the right to violate the constitutional rights of others." - Kim Davis.

Davis had argued that a legal doctrine called qualified immunity shielded her from being held liable, the plaintiffs argued that Davis had violated their constitutional rights and their right to marry was clearly established at the time of Davis's violation, and therefore, Davis was not entitled to qualified immunity.

The court said her decision not to issue marriage licenses "further illustrates that she knowingly violated the law." The ruling also states "Davis 'chose to stand for what [she] believe[s] in over what was contrary to that'—the law."

The judge's ruling means "claims against her in her individual capacity" can move forward. The U.S. Supreme Court chose not to take up her appeal in the case.

Get bent.

[Endus]

https://www.lex18.com/news/federal-j...utional-rights

And today in, "No, your firmly held beliefs evil and abusive bigotries do not grant you the right to violate the constitutional rights of others." - Kim Davis.

Get bent.

Let's stop even giving them the benefit of the doubt about them being "beliefs". These people are just vicious, evil sadists who enjoy inflicting suffering.

This shit's right up there with "honor killings" and "female genital mutilation" in terms of "firmly held beliefs".

[Edge-]

https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/...ussia-ukraine/

I want to share with you two remarkably similar numbers. At first glance, they should have nothing to do with each other. On closer examination, they’re inextricably linked.

The first number is 57. That’s the percentage of Republicans who told Yahoo News/YouGov pollsters that the United States should take Ukraine’s side as it defends itself against Russian invasion (28 percent said the U.S. should back neither, and 5 percent said we should back Russia). By contrast, 76 percent of Democrats said the U.S. should back Ukraine.

The second number is 56. That’s the percentage of Republicans who told Kaiser Family Foundation researchers that they were vaccinated. For Democrats, it’s 92 percent. The partisan disparity is so profound that fully 61 percent of all unvaccinated adults are Republican.

Vaccines have nothing to do with Russia, and Russia has nothing to do with vaccines. So why are those two numbers so similar? The answer lies with a phenomenon that afflicts a substantial minority of the right, including a substantial minority of my neighbors. It’s a constant, intense contrarianism rooted in deep antipathy against perceived “elites” or against the “establishment” on the left or the right.

The overlap between various conspiracy theories is simply extraordinary. Find someone who believes Trump truly won the 2020 election, and the overlap with anti-masking activism (especially pre-vaccine) and vaccine skepticism is almost guaranteed. Find someone who believes in the basics of the QAnon conspiracy theory, and you’ll find an election conspiracist and likely a Ukraine skeptic.

Indeed, contrarianism and antipathy also present a crucial explanation for Trumpism. What’s a key reason the right likes Trump? Because the mainstream media doesn’t. When would they boo Trump? When he conforms to what the establishment wants, including by getting a COVID-vaccine booster.

If you spend any time watching Tucker Carlson or following the rhetoric of popular far-right voices, such as Candace Owens, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and many, many others, you’ll see a consistent theme—they’ll find what they call “the narrative” (another word for the perceived conventional wisdom in the media or in the political establishment) and simply argue the opposite.

We saw the pattern throughout the pandemic. “The narrative” was that COVID was serious, and so right-wing figures minimized the virus, claiming that it was like the common cold, or that it was merely the flu, or that it would claim only 500 or 5,000 lives.

“The narrative” claimed that masks could help limit the spread of the disease, so far-right figures mocked masks, sometimes even referring to them as “face diapers.”

Then as the narrative moved to full-throated support for vaccines, the same cohort held back. If “they” want me to take a vaccine, then something must be wrong.

The right-wing contrarian can quote chapter and verse of every time the narrative was incorrect. And there are certainly legitimate critiques to level against the conventional wisdom. Way too many people in the mainstream media and political establishment were too credulous about the Steele Dossier, for example. At the same time, many of the same individuals were too quick to dismiss the authenticity of the Hunter Biden emails disclosed in the waning days of the 2020 election and to improperly label them Russian disinformation.

Regarding COVID, every scientific stumble and mistake is on instant recall. The contrarian is quick to point out the inefficacy of outdoor masking, the bizarre reversals of warnings against mass gatherings during the George Floyd protests, and the improper delays in reopening schools.

But don’t for a moment mistake contrarianism for critical thinking. A true critical thinker holds all sides accountable for their mistakes. Those who underplayed the COVID threat would be rejected just as decisively (if not more, given the staggering toll in lives) as those who overplayed it. Those who said there were no contacts between Russians and the Trump campaign would be rejected just as decisively as those who said there was active collusion with the Russian government.

The critical thinker is universally skeptical. The contrarian commits a double error—he’s both excessively cynical and excessively credulous. He’s too quick to disbelieve one side and too quick to believe the opposite. For example, he’ll reject an avalanche of evidence of the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine while jumping quickly on fad treatments, like hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin. He’ll reject overwhelming proof that the January 6 insurrection was a Trumpist attack on the Capitol and respond immediately to speculation that the FBI or antifa instigated the riot.

The same people who were catastrophically wrong about the severity of COVID or the effectiveness of vaccines continue to enjoy an audience from the same people who demand rigorous and merciless accountability from their political opponents.

The pattern holds true across multiple fronts. The contrarians still love the voices who spread absurd misinformation about the 2020 election, in part because the rest of the media rejects them. And what does the Russian invasion teach us about the right? It’s that a similar percentage will resist “the narrative” even when the reality and the morality of the moment could not be more clear.

The Russian invasion tells us something else also. It reaffirms that the pure contrarians are a Republican minority. Living in the heart of red America, I’ve experienced a rough two-thirds, one-third political dynamic. Two-thirds of my neighbors are part of the coalition of the normal. One-third are full of profound antipathy. But the one-third easily makes two-thirds of the noise online or at the grassroots. They punch well above their numerical weight.

They’ve dominated and intimidated Republican politicians and Republican neighbors. They’ve ruled with fear. They’re so active online that they create the impression that they are the American right.

Until now. Yesterday, the House voted 424–8 to impose trade sanctions on Russia. The eight dissenters were all Republican, but there were only eight. It was a sign—a hopeful sign—that the GOP can recover from conspiracy theories and that the contrarian minority will not control the conservative future.

It remains to be seen whether the Republican winds are truly shifting. Much depends on the GOP primaries in 2022 and 2024, and that’s exactly where the far right holds disproportionate sway. But if the GOP is going to turn the page, the 57 percent will need to exert their will. Their sanity and clarity are the key to a Republican recovery.

Pretty good piece on how a disturbing part of the Republican base appears to be mindless reactionaries. Surprising that there's such closeness to the numbers of Republican voters who think the US should support Russia over Ukraine, and who refuse to get vaccinated.

Equally interesting that on the flip side with Democrats, rather than these two numbers being only 1 points apart, that they're 16 points part, indicating that there's no apparent connection between those two numbers for Democrats that there is for Republicans.

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https://twitter.com/HeartlandSignal/...55509094371339

Republicans sure are nice. Ohio Senate candidate Josh Mandell, interrupting and shilling apparent conspiracy theories about candidate Mike Gibbons, proceeds to get OUTRAGED at him and get up in his face when told he doesn't know about the private sector because he served tours in Iraq. Apparently being a big tough guy to a senior citizen is...masculine? Manly?

Man, it's like watching the drunk guy compensating for his micropenis at the bar to try and impress a woman who is very clearly not interested in him.

[Breccia]

So let's talk about Alva Johnson.

"She's fucked?"

Not for lack of trying, but no. Johnson was, in 2016, a Trump campaign staffer. Trump grabbed her and tried to kiss her on the mouth, she turned her head.

"In the context of Trump, that's not all that bad."

As expected, she sued, and Trump tried to use those NDAs we've talked about for years and most of us suspected they were unenforceable. Turns out, we were right. Trump was ordered to pay for legal fees and arbitration, $350,000 in total, and can tell whoever she wants the details of the incident.

"Well, that probably stings Trump a bit."

It could easily get worse. Trump made everyone sign basically the same template NDA. We now have a legal ruling they're unenforceable.

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So how's the tucker protest going?

It was stopped by a single person on a bicycle.

Wanna see the video?

[Edge-]

It was stopped by a single person on a bicycle.

Wanna see the video?

The followup video is fantastic. And like...isn't he unintentionally helping them achieve their goals? And they're...still seemingly upset?

What a champ, though.