During the campaign, Trump continuously dropped outrageous statements, surprises, attacks, whatever, for what seemed like the sole purpose of keeping himself on the front page. There have been discussions here and elsewhere that, even in the beginning when no one really took him seriously as a candidate, whatever he did merited media coverage. Not for the substantive content (which was mostly lacking), but just for the show-biz, reality TV outrageousness of it all. “Tune in tomorrow and see what new turd he can drop into the punchbowl.”
The one, continuous goal of his was to make sure he was always in the news, preferably on the front page, even if it was because of something offensive, crazy, or even nonsensical. *Just cover me, watch me, listen to me, me, me. *
Consider this: it’s a narcissist’s dream come true. He is now guaranteed to be in the headlines around the clock and around the world. He is on every commentator’s lips, on every front page, and his name leads every news broadcast. AND now, it’s with NO competition from anyone else.
Just think about that for a minute. He is in complete hog heaven. This is the pinnacle of a life’s work, his crowning achievement: to have his name on the lips and in the minds of millions, if not billions of people simultaneously and for the immediate future. Not just the “talk of the town” but the “talk of the planet.”
This is a random thought thread… so post anything that you can’t find another place for…
I feel guilty for saying this because in many respects she’s an innocent bystander in this train wreck, but Melania Trump as First Lady is surreal to me. She seems to typify trophy wifedom in all of its sad, shallow, you-are-one-wrinkle-away-from-divorce glory. The fact that she did not prove to be a major liability to his success–despite her history of posing nude and her brainless act of plagiarism and all the questions surrounding her visa status while working–just sits on top of the mountain of other unbelievable shit that underscores how much Trump has been gotten away with. In stark relief, it shows the extent that white male privilege can stack the deck against a woman or non-white.
The Obamas would’ve never been able to get away with any of this. It’s not a exaggeration to say they had to be damn near flawless just to be nominated, let alone elected.
Being shocked by the election results definitely gave me a big dose of epistemic humility - in other words, I realized how much I don’t understand about my country.
It’s not that I’m reconsidering my political opinions - I think I’ve been doing a decent job of retesting those all the time (for an American primate, anyway). I still think Trump was an awful choice for president, and that the broader Republican agenda is also awful. That’s based on facts as I understand them and values as I hold them - not on pure ideological stubbornness. (But of course I would say that, yes, I know.)
Instead, I’m reconsidering my thoughts about what to do going forward. Like crazy. How to attract more voters to the left? Which voters? Which issues are worth setting aside in order to get that to happen?
That last question is especially tough. It’s easy to say, as a white cis het man, that maybe we shouldn’t be so … whatever.
Focused on identity politics? Harsh on those who commit sins against political correctness? Sure, no skin off my nose. When people say horrible shit around me, it’s pretty much never targeted at me. (People I love, though …)
And people don’t target harmful acts at me, because I don’t look like a problem category. (Good thing I didn’t go for that blue dye job or the nose ring.)
I’m not at special risk over the next few years. (Except insofar as I rely on the ACA for health insurance - but Trump’s walking that repeal talk back already, and…)
TLDR: In talking to my non-white/het/cis/citizen friends, I’m stuck by the gap between my attampts at optimism (could be worse! There’s stuff we could try!) and their despair. I can’t give into despair, but I can’t deny others’ right to feel it.
As far as I’m concerned, the Obamas have been near flawless throughout his time in office. I did not vote for him. My respect for him and his family has grown over the years, and given the opportunity I would thank him for being a steady and thoughtful leader through very trying times, and unrelenting opposition.
I first heard this mentioned by Chelsea Handler. Were Hillery to have been elected Chelsea Clinton would be the first person to say my parents were both president.
My thought that don’t belong anywhere; the opportunity to make that claim may never happen again.
We just elected the oldest man ever to begin his first term. He’s also the only President without prior government experience (military or political). Unlike recent Presidents, he doesn’t do any exercise. He is overweight. His father had Alzheimers disease.
The health of our President-elect is an issue to be monitored over the next 4 years.
On finding out he had a black accountant working for him, Trump said he doesn’t want a black guy counting his money; he wants short men with yarmulkes counting his money. Ivanka is an Orthodox Jew.
Remember when Obama was first running, and everyone kept saying “But I don’t feel like I know anything about him, so how can I trust him?” OK, so it was obvious code for “I don’t want a black guy with a weird name to be president,” but whatevs.
This time, we managed to elect a guy that we literally know nothing about, never mind that he’s been a celebrity for thirty years. Like, nobody close to him has any endearing personal stories to tell about him; he doesn’t appear to have any hobbies other than sexual harassment and being on TV; he also appears to have no steady beliefs or principles, or at any rate no one knows what they are; and his familyphotos are the most ridiculously inauthentic-looking things ever. And nobody seems to see this as a liability.
I was visiting Democratic Underground on the night of the election. Sometime in the early evening the site crashed and on came this crazy Trump video with crazy animation and crazy song and I was glued to it like a moth. I fell asleep around 9:00 and woke at 1:00 am to find Trump winning I turned off the tv and lay there trying to get back to sleep but crazy Trump video bounced around my skull.
This lasted a few days and I wonder if anyone else had a similar experience?
You are totally right. This is literally his wildest dreams come true. A man this narcissistic comes along once a generation, and we just fed his ego like no ego has ever been fed before. He literally doesn’t give a shit whether you’re cheering him or screaming at him, it’s all good, as long as he’s the center of attention. Jesus, our country is so fucked. So, so fucked.
Next observation, the only we can beat Trump is with a monstrous media creation of our own. To defeat him…we must become him. I know it was joked about, but the more I think about it, only Kanye West–his spiritual twin and identical opposite–can defeat him.
I didn’t see the video, but I did go to sleep and when I woke up around 3 am and saw the front page of the Washington Post, I lay there trying to go back to sleep, but couldn’t.
Someone (maybe more than one person) said that the day after the election when they woke up they felt the same way they did after 9/11. For me, it was the way I felt the day after my husband died. This great tragedy had occurred and it was real and it was not going away.
And now that details about his administration, his hires, his cabinet, are coming out, I feel worse.
I’m curious, would you have felt this way if any Republican won, or is Trump “worse” in your eyes? Think back to previous elections. Maybe include vice presidents too. Here are your options:
A) Trump
B) Pence
C) Romney
D) Ryan
E) McCain
F) Palin
G) Bush
H) Cheney
If you could rank those from your preferred president, to your most detested, where would Trump fall in line?
And if he merely slips into increasingly paranoid delusions, brought on by his age, his family history of dementia, and his poor health regimen? Reagan’s staff took steps to protect him. Will Trump’s inner circle remain as careful about his lapses?
Why was the Kremlin so keen on Trump winning? Is he just a useful idiot or something more? The man is a con artist and nothing I’ve seen or heard leaves me to believe he won’t screw over us like he’s screwed his business partners, investors, workers, etc. We elected an openly racist man who brags about sexually assaulting women. I’ve been ashamed of actions of the US government before, but I think this is the first time I’ve every felt truly ashamed to be an American.
I turned off the tv and lay there trying to get back to sleep but crazy Trump video bounced around my skull.
