That and ratings of everything. I think The Apprentice warped his brain.
It’s not only crowds…
Of course this is a pattern we’ve seen with Trump starting way back in 2016. But just as bizarre is his obsession with ratings and popularity in general. Trump has to get better ratings than Taylor Swift and we’ve heard him “insult” CNN and even individuals by talking about their ratings. Who the hell cares other than Donny?
I can’t find it, but clearly recall him giving a plausible explanation of why this isn’t how he works.
What he does is trial a new line of attack and see how rally crowds react. If they cheer, he keeps it. If they look bored, he drops it.
The flaw in this method is that rallies are just attended by true believers since no one else would stand for the security delays and Trump’s continual lateness. But it at least keeps him close to victory.
What is true is that the truth of a statement has nothing to do with whether Trump will keep saying it.
That’s not quite the same thing. This is more of his mob boss “tell people I want them to do something without telling them to do it” approach. He thinks that if he declares he’s agreed to debate Harris on Fox, then the burden is on her to show up or be labeled a coward, and of course he expects Fox News to obey hecause they owe him “loyalty” in exchange for the “ratings” he has graciously given them.
Again: are you addressing me? Assuming that you are:
Where did I say that Trump had announced anything that fit into a category other than shit? As far as I’m concerned, everything that spews out of his mouth is shit, for multiple definitions of “shit.”
That’s a reasonable comment. (Well, the first sentence is.) But since I don’t watch Fox News and have not read elsewhere what they are saying, I’m asking: did Fox say that they have scheduled the debate and confirmed that it is planned for September 4, with or without Harris? All I had heard was that they are keeping mum.
They have not.
Thank you @Smapti, appreciate the info.
Excellent observation, IMHO.
The Raw Story article is pretty critical, but quotes a lot of Dem commentators.
I, too, loved @aurora_maire 's idea that events have robbed Trump of his craving for personal revenge against Biden.
And, I loved @OttoDaFe 's Kipling quote.
The NYT was happy to oblige him.
The Times is in the bucket for Trump, but they’re not the ones that have to host the debate. Fox News won’t schedule anything unless there’s an agreement between the campaigns, because if they did and Harris called their bluff (which she should) then they’d be stuck with an hour and a half of Trump onstage live, and they don’t want that because he will start rambling about election conspiracy theories and get them in more legal trouble.
Right now Trump is trying to wish a debate into being and it’s not going to work for him.
My apologies to Harrisburgians. It’s been a long time since I’ve been there.
The Conversation ran an article about potential PTSD for Trump as a result of being shot at. Bolding is mine.
That’s normal for Trump, though.
So if true, consider normal for DJT is represented by X. Then add PTSD and maybe normal becomes X2.
That would make sense to me given the way he is reacting and going off the rails.
It isn’t PTSD unless Trump is constantly reliving the event in his mind in a way that causes stress and dysfunction. Though understandable, Trump’s description at the Republican convention suggests he might be proud of being a survivor. It’s thin beer, and I know nothing of Trump’s thoughts or health.
But I am skeptical, the behaviour is similar to that before this unfortunate incident. I suspect any changes are more likely due to his thought he had things well under control under Biden, and does not like losing momentum and media attention as has happened recently. The Project 25 stuff may not be helpful either.
I agree with this. For all his faults and all his idiocy, Trump possesses an animal cunning, and these instincts tell him that this is a must-win election; that it’s the difference between being able to exact revenge on his enemies or facing serious penalties including possible prison time. I am no psychologist, but I’m pretty sure that this ominous threat created by the amazing rise in the polls of Team Harris has really unbalanced him.
The self-declared “stable genius” has never been particularly “balanced” to begin with, and this threat, along with what appears to be increasing dementia and the blow to his ego of his imploding campaign and mockery by the Harris side, I’m sure is the main cause of his recent erratic behaviour. The Harris campaign is projecting joyous youthful energy while Trump’s campaign wallows in darkness and dystopia. I suspect that the television-enabled moron whose signature motto is “you’re fired” may soon try to shake up the campaign, and that will make it even worse.
I feel the same. The Harris/Walz ticket has re-energized Democrats. It is a campaign of positivity, of hope, of a bright future. It has actual policies for America, though they may still require fine-tuning. And there’s nothing wrong with a former prosecutor who knows how to make her points effectively, plus a former football coach. As I’ve said before, the latter especially will resonate with a lot of Americans.
The Trump/Vance effort is indeed “darkness and dystopia.” It’s one of fear: making Americans afraid—afraid of losing their jobs to illegal immigrants, afraid that such people will illegally vote, afraid of Muslims, afraid of LGBTQ+ people (“won’t somebody think of the children!”), and afraid of “isms,” among other fears. They, and Trump, don’t seem to remember American history: One of FDR’s most famous speeches included the phrase, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Well, Trump is engendering fear, and a large number of Americans are willing to fear it.
It is also one of revenge, retribution, and “getting back” at people who have somehow offended Trump. Judges, lawyers, the FBI, the National Archives, the CDC, Dr. Fauci, the media, the list goes on and on.
There’s no policy, no “If I’m elected, here’s our foreign policy and our domestic policy.” It’s all “Be afraid of _____, and support me in getting back at _____.” That’s not what an American President does. It seems to me that Trump is indeed confused about the office he’s running for.
I’ve been wondering if the lack of campaigning in the past week has been because he’s busy huddling with advisors, coming up with ideas on how to shake up the campaign in a way that will indeed make it even worse. I hope I’m wrong, but it’s odd that the guy who complained about having to be in a New York courtroom “because it’s keeping me from campaigning,” has not done any real campaigning for a week.