# A Perfectly Reasonable Amount of Schadenfreude about Things Happening to Trump & His Enablers (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 19, 2023, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250 "2023-05-19T03:20:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 396
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7902 "2024-08-26T05:40:58Z")
Lyin’ Cryin’ Donald is trying to chicken out of the debate again. > **['Why would I do the debate against Kamala Harris on that network?' Trump...](https://www.rawstory.com/trump-fresh-concerns-abc-kamala-harris-debate/)** > > Donald Trump late on Sunday evening raised fresh doubts about whether or not he will debate Vice President Kamala Harris. > > Trump, who initially refused to debate Harris on ABC and then eventually gave in to the deal that had been reached between... ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7903 "2024-08-26T10:22:56Z")
It’s smart if he does. Yeah, there will be blowback and bad press over the decision, but I think a debate results in an epic Trump meltdown (even by Trump standards) and/or Kamala slices and dices him. I think he’s panicking over the fact that none of his trial ballon insults or accusations are getting any traction. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7904 "2024-08-26T12:34:23Z")
It doesn’t matter if it’s smart if he does. He’s got too much ego to be seen wimping out. What he really wants is to get Harris to back out and/or force them to accede to his demands for changes. That way he gets to satisfy his need to be seen as some big swinging dick who can push other people around. Backing out would make him look weak and/or afraid, and he could not stand that at all. Something with a non-zero chance of happening? Maybe somebody on his team announces he’s backing out due to “unfair” conditions. And then he immediately undercuts them by agreeing to show up after he sees a social media post or something on the news saying he’s chickening out. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7905 "2024-08-26T12:38:23Z")
Yeah, I’m not predicting he’ll do the smart thing. But it would be smart. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7906 "2024-08-26T12:41:19Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > What he really wants is to get Harris to back out and/or force them to accede to his demands for changes. Your prediction may have just come true: > **[Trump campaign casts fresh doubt on September debate with Harris over...](https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/26/politics/trump-harris-september-debate/index.html)** > > Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is casting fresh doubt on whether a September 10 debate will take place on ABC amid a dispute over the rules, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7907 "2024-08-26T13:44:18Z")
Yeah…in the “the sun will rise in the East” sense of “prediction” Trump’s psychology is not really that difficult in the abstract. The difficult part is dumbing yourself down sufficiently and dialing up your inner 6 year old spoiled brat to 11. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7908 "2024-08-26T14:57:45Z")
Wait… WHAT? Now they’re complaining that the mics are NOT going to be muted. LOL! ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7909 "2024-08-26T15:17:43Z")
While I can understand having the Mic’s open will show how deranged Trump is, I would hate it. The debate between him and Biden last back in 2020 was unwatchable. This time around, if he’s allowed to shout over Harris it will only serve to make him look more “manly” to his sycophants while doing nothing to highlight her strengths to people that might be swayed. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7910 "2024-08-26T15:19:59Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > While I can understand having the Mic’s open will show how deranged Trump is, I would hate it. The debate between him and Biden last back in 2020 was unwatchable. Maybe, but it was a decisive Biden victory. Even Trump’s handlers convinced him to dial it back for the second debate (which he did). It was not a good look or a winning strategy. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7911 "2024-08-26T15:22:59Z")
From the CNN article posted above: > “We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast,” Brian Fallon, the Harris campaign’s senior adviser for communications, said in a statement. > “Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own. We suspect Trump’s team has not even told their boss about this dispute because it would be too embarrassing to admit they don’t think he can handle himself against Vice President Harris without the benefit of a mute button,” he said. Looks like the Harris campaign agrees with @Stratocaster, plus adding some pretty good needling too, lol. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7912 "2024-08-26T15:36:23Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > plus adding some pretty good needling too The Harris campaign has some weapon-grade snark in the ammo box. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7913 "2024-08-26T15:38:06Z")
This as well > Miller added, “Interesting that this is only coming up now that the Harris campaign has started their debate prep. Even their own campaign spokesman said the debate about debates was over. Clearly they’re seeing something they don’t like.” So presumably they discovered that no matter what coaching they give him they can’t get him to not make an ass of himself while other people are talking. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7914 "2024-08-26T15:39:09Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > I bet y’all who live in Chicagoland are surprised to hear that your city is worse than one of those ‘shithole’ countries, huh? I was looking through the cable guide last night and happened to notice Newsmax was running a special on Chicago’s supposed troubles. Right after their 8:00 “no bias news”. Yeah, they actually have the chutzpah to claim their “news” is not biased. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7915 "2024-08-26T16:13:27Z")
This page has a nice tool (figure 19) for comparing some of the top cities: > **[Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Year-End 2023 Update - Council on Criminal Justice](https://counciloncj.org/crime-trends-in-u-s-cities-year-end-2023-update/)** > > Homicide and most other violent crime declined in American cities in 2023, but levels remain above those seen before the onset of the COVID pandemic and the widespread social justice protests of 2020. In terms of crime rates (i.e. how likely you are to become a victim living there, versus somewhere else), Chicago seems to be a little higher on Gun Assaults and Robbery, but towards the middle on most things and at the bottom on a few other things (e.g. Drug Offenses and Larceny). That is to say, it seems pretty average. The differences in rates could be largely explainable in how the city and state laws affect what any particular crime is counted as (e.g. is this particular case “Larceny” or “Robbery”?) That said, on the total counts chart (i.e. population cap \* crime rate) is generally at the top. This includes, for example, Larceny of which they have one of the lowest rates in the land. It would be inordinately unlikely that they could reduce their total larceny count to be lower than other cities when they already have one of the lowest rates. So, yeah, I’d concur that it seems like a case of “technically true” but mostly misleading news. Their only excuse would be that the crew isn’t smart enough to understand counts versus rates - which would generally go for all TV news channels, including CNN and Fox. I wouldn’t slam Newsmax more than those two others on that one. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7916 "2024-08-26T17:44:59Z")
Now I’m wondering if Kamala Harris has a “Perry Mason Moment” in mind. Can she twist him all up and get him to admit to crimes during the debate? Setting that amusing thought aside, what would happen if he does admit to something fraudulent? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7917 "2024-08-26T18:11:09Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I wouldn’t slam Newsmax more than those two others on that one. To be fair, I was slamming Newsmax more for their claim to be unbiased rather than their special report on Chicago. I had to doublecheck to make sure I correctly read that line on the cable guide, wondering if I had misread “NewsNation” or something. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7918 "2024-08-26T18:14:38Z")
Yeah, I was a bit hopeful when they launched but their approach to “centrism” seems to have been to embrace nonsense from both sides, rather than risk alienating either one by actually being non-partisan and rational. My advice still stands: You’re better informed by skipping any non-written news. And if you read it and it doesn’t feel like you’re sitting for a college lecture, then you should probably switch what you’re reading. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7919 "2024-08-26T18:15:24Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > Setting that amusing thought aside, what would happen if he does admit to something fraudulent? MAGAs will claim that anything said during the debate has executive privilege, is protected under the 5th commandment\*, wasn’t a crime, was a joke, was perfectly okay because presidents have immunity for all crimes, didn’t really happen anyways, was all Biden’s fault, and Ka-MA-la was the one who actually did that and so it’s the worst crime ever. \*deliberate ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7920 "2024-08-26T18:31:56Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > MAGAs will claim that anything said during the debate has executive privilege, is protected under the 5th commandment\*, wasn’t a crime, was a joke, was perfectly okay because presidents have immunity for all crimes, didn’t really happen anyways, was all Biden’s fault, and Ka-MA-la was the one who actually did that and so it’s the worst crime ever. You forgot “entrapment”. Her silky prosecutor’s voice lured him into admitting it. The best confession ever! And totally false, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250/7921 "2024-08-26T18:33:30Z")
Also, since he confessed on national TV (with the biggliest audience of all time, natch), it’s now impossible to find an untainted jury for the trial, so that made him smart! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250.md?page=395) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-2/984250.md?page=397)