# Is Trump confused? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 24, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589 "2024-01-24T13:53:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 107
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2154 "2024-09-13T15:26:26Z")
You folks are being way too literal. “Nobody knows where they come from” is more or less “Nobody knows how they got into the USA, nor why they’re flocking to Springfield in droves. They are on the loose and nobody from government is tracking their movements.” With a _sotto voce_ side order of “Your nice safe all-white small town might be the next to attract a flock of undesirables. So be afraid; be very afraid.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2155 "2024-09-13T17:03:48Z")
I’ve only seen this clip from the Tucson rally on a friend’s Facebook page and am not willing to go through the complete speech to find the timestamp on Youtube: > **[Log into Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1539334573642186&id=100026969752134&mibextid=jmPrMh&rdid=u7PkIzWDJZ8ZhzLf&share_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fshare%2Fv%2Fg7i5Wz7Hm3gSzMTz%2F%3Fmibextid%3DjmPrMh)** > > Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know. As I mentioned on FB, I remember a similar video with pterodactyls. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2024, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2156 "2024-09-13T17:07:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > “Nobody knows where they come from” is more or less “Nobody knows how they got into the USA, nor why they’re flocking to Springfield in droves. They are on the loose and nobody from government is tracking their movements.” You’re giving Trump way too much credit. Whenever he says “nobody knows”, he more or less means “I don’t know”. Nor does he care. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2157 "2024-09-13T17:13:16Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > “Nobody knows where they come from” is more or less “Nobody knows how they got into the USA, nor why they’re flocking to Springfield in droves. What’s really funny is that, if you look into it even briefly, they’re flocking to Springfield because there are a whole lot of good jobs that apparently no one else in Springfield wants to do, and word got around the Haitian community that these jobs were just sitting there, ready to be taken. So those lazy, paranoid white folk brought this on themselves by not taking the jobs first. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2158 "2024-09-13T17:51:56Z")
It has been my experience that when an employer says he can’t find workers, he means he can’t find workers who will work for what he is willing to pay. I wonder if the enthusiasm for hiring Hatians in Springfield is because they are less likely to unionize, will work for less than the native workforce, and are generally easier to manipulate. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2024, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2159 "2024-09-13T18:00:34Z")
> [@Tatterdemalion](#): > > It has been my experience that when an employer says he can’t find workers, he means he can’t find workers who will work for what he is willing to pay. Or, among the local population, only immigrants are willing to do certain jobs. From 2011 but likely still relevant: > **[Why Americans Won't Do Dirty Jobs - BusinessWeek](https://web.archive.org/web/20111112020502/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/why-americans-wont-do-dirty-jobs-11092011.html)** > > In the wake of an immigrant exodus, Alabama has jobs. Trouble is, Americans don't want them > At a moment when the country is relentless focused on unemployment, there are still jobs that often go unfilled. These are difficult, dirty, exhausting jobs that, for previous generations, were the first rickety step on the ladder to prosperity. They still are—just not for Americans. ---
**Author:** ![loriloolee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5fc32e/32.png) [@loriloolee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/loriloolee)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2160 "2024-09-13T18:01:39Z")
disregard ---
**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:** [September 13, 2024, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2161 "2024-09-13T18:18:19Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Trump cannot execute a clean statement when he is in conman mode. He starts to make a statement, but has to interject some commentary on a person or event, and he has to say it immediately. He can’t finish his sentence, he has to Mahe make a quick aside. I think that this is most clear if you listen to his closing statement. This is the one part of the debate that he knew he was going to have to do and is not prompted by the moderators questions. So he can work with his handlers and have it completely prepared before hand. It starts out very good (all quotes from this [transcript](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-trump-presidential-debate-transcript/story?id=113560542)). He is actually makes a rational point, and doing so clean and eloquently. > So, she just started by saying she’s going to do this, she’s going to do that, she’s going to do all these wonderful things. Why hasn’t she done it? She’s been there for 3 1/2 years. They’ve had 3 1/2 years to fix the border. They’ve had 3 1/2 years to create jobs and all the things we talked about. Why hasn’t she done it? She should leave right now, go down to that beautiful white house, go to the capitol, get everyone together and do the things you want to do. But you haven’t done it. And you won’t do it. At this point I was actually getting a little worried because if this is the final impression of Donald Trumps debate performance it might leave people thinking that maybe he’s so crazy. But then is starts going off the rails > Because you believe in things that the American people don’t believe in. You believe in things like we’re not going to frack. We’re not going to take fossil fuel. We’re not going to do, things that are going to make this country strong, whether you like it or not. Germany tried that and within one year they were back to building normal energy plants. We’re not ready for it. We can’t sacrifice our country for the sake of bad vision. But I just ask one simple question. Why didn’t she do it? And then finally ends up in full rant mode. > We’re a failing nation. We’re a nation that’s in serious decline. We’re being laughed at all over the world. All over the world, they laugh, I know the leaders very well. They’re coming to see me. They call me. We’re laughed at all over the world. They don’t understand what happened to us as a nation. We’re not a leader. We don’t have any idea what’s going on. We have wars going on in the Middle East. We have wars going on with Russia and Ukraine. We’re going to end up in a third World War. And it will be a war like no other because of nuclear weapons, the power of weaponry. I rebuilt our entire military. She gave a lot of it away to the Taliban. She gave it to Afghanistan. What these people have done to our country, and maybe toughest of all is allowing millions of people to come into our country, many of them are criminals, and they’re destroying our country. The worst president, the worst vice president in the history of our country. So nope I needn’t have worried at all. Any good points he made at the beginning of the statement are now lost and once again he looks like a crazy grandpa howling at the moon. I have absolutely no doubt that the first part of the statement was written by his handlers and practiced by before hand, and there was probably more of it, but either he forgot his lines or else decided that he was better off ad libbing and so went off on his own. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2162 "2024-09-13T19:07:31Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > It starts out very good (all quotes from this [transcript](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/harris-trump-presidential-debate-transcript/story?id=113560542)). He is actually makes a rational point, and doing so clean and eloquently. > > > So, she just started by saying she’s going to do this, she’s going to do that, she’s going to do all these wonderful things. Why hasn’t she done it? She’s been there for 3 1/2 years. They’ve had 3 1/2 years to fix the border. They’ve had 3 1/2 years to create jobs and all the things we talked about. Why hasn’t she done it? She should leave right now, go down to that beautiful white house, go to the capitol, get everyone together and do the things you want to do. But you haven’t done it. And you won’t do it. I said in another thread (or was it this one) that I think Trump saved that for his final statement deliberately. He won a coin toss so he knew he’d be speaking last. If Harris had the chance, her response would be obvious. “You had 4 years as president to fix health care and balance the budget, why didn’t you do it?” ---
**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:** [September 13, 2024, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2163 "2024-09-13T19:12:45Z")
You are probably right, but I was talking more about the style than the substance. It starts out clean an coherent in a way not at all like what I would expect from Trump, but then devolves into his usual stream of consciousness rant. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2164 "2024-09-13T19:16:08Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > You are probably right, but I was talking more about the style than the substance. Yes, but I think the substance also supports your theory that that part of the statement was planned well in advance. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2024, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2165 "2024-09-13T19:18:13Z")
Yes, in both style and substance this was the work of his prep team not him. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2166 "2024-09-13T19:50:06Z")
“We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio. Large deportations. We’re going to get these people out. We’re bringing them back to Venezuela” > “Vote for me California, we’re going to bring the car industry back because your car industry is gone. We’re bringing it back to Detroit” > “The water coming here is dead, and Gavin Newscum is going to sign those papers. And if he doesn’t sign those papers, we won’t give him money to put out all his fires” > “Elon Musk, lots of jobs leaving. Nobody even calls him to try and get him to stay. I would have been on him. I would have said, let’s have lunch. Let’s have dinner, and then let’s have breakfast the following morning.” > “Not only is Comrade Howard, I mean take a look at this” > ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2167 "2024-09-13T20:08:02Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > “Nobody knows where they come from” is more or less “Nobody knows how they got into the USA, nor why they’re flocking to Springfield in droves. They are on the loose and nobody from government is tracking their movements.” Umm, that could be okay, if it hadnt come from trump. I will bet that if trump was given a world map and told he would get a $million if he could point to Haiti, he couldnt. > [@Skywatcher](#): > > You’re giving Trump way too much credit. Whenever he says “nobody knows”, he more or less means “I don’t know”. Nor does he care. Right. > [@Smapti](#): > > We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio. Large deportations. We’re going to get these people out. We’re bringing them back to Venezuela” See, he really has no fucking idea of what or where Haiti is. ---
**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:** [September 13, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2168 "2024-09-13T20:14:59Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio. Large deportations. We’re going to get these people out. We’re bringing them back to Venezuela” > Holy shit, Trump really doesn’t know where these Haitians came from! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2169 "2024-09-13T20:17:16Z")
Lunch, dinner, _and_ breakfast? Is there more between Elon and Trump than we know? ---
**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:** [September 13, 2024, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2170 "2024-09-13T20:18:04Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > Is there more between Elon and Trump than we know? Don’t try to sully the wholesomeness of two grown men having a perfectly normal sleepover party! ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2171 "2024-09-13T20:39:01Z")
I know it doesn’t need to be said, but Germany has [responded to Trump’s claim](https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/trump-debate-fact-check-germany-energy-rcna170844) about their energy situation. > [@](#): > > Like it or not: Germany’s energy system is fully operational, with more than 50% renewables. And we are shutting down — not building — coal & nuclear plants. Coal will be off the grid by 2038 at the latest. PS: We also don’t eat cats and dogs. #Debate2024 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2172 "2024-09-13T20:57:39Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I know it doesn’t need to be said, but Germany has [responded to Trump’s claim]([https://www.msnbc.com/the-](https://www.msnbc.com/the-) reidout/reidout-blog/trump-debate-fact-check-germany-energy-rcna170844) about their energy situation. Also pointed out that at the outset of the War Russia shut down their pipeline to Germany. That left Germany in an energy crunch, which is what drove Germany shifting temporarily back to coal. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2024, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589/2173 "2024-09-13T22:09:06Z")
@JKellyMap --thanks. > [@Smapti](#): > > “We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio. Large deportations. We’re going to get these people out. We’re bringing them back to Venezuela” Trump does sound _particularly_ incoherent in that set of excerpts from his Rancho Palos Verdes (California) speech, today. But perhaps it was out of terror: they had a major series of landslides there just last week. I confess to wondering if Mother Nature might render some judgment on Donald with further interventions during his event…but I guess she decided against it. > **[Portuguese Bend: A natural disaster that’s literally ripping a community apart...](https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/09/us/rancho-palos-verdes-california-landslide/index.html)** > > Residents living on the largest area of natural vegetation on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, used to call the coastal ground movement slowly shifting beneath their feet the best thing that ever happened to them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=106) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-trump-confused/996589.md?page=108)