Please note that usage and spelling are not “grammar”. We grammar Nazis generally confine ourselves to matters of errant grammar and leave the simple spelling and usage corrections to the sniveling junior pedants who trail in our wakes.
Sieg heil.
For some reason I was flipping through some random YouTube videos last night of snippets of Trump interviews, and it struck me that there was a pattern here. Typical example:
Trump is talking about his business successes. Interviewer points out that Trump Hotels & Casinos went through three bankruptcies. Trump argues that he made out quite well for himself. Interviewer persists: “three bankruptcies” – how can you call that successful management? Trump then says he wasn’t actually running the place, other people were. Interviewer persists: “You were chairman of the board!”. Trump says, sure, but he wasn’t really doing anything. Interviewer persists: “They were paying you two million dollars a year. If you weren’t doing anything, what were they paying you for?” Trump says “They were paying me for my genius”, then changes the subject and moves on to some new bluster.
Here’s the thing. One after another, interviewers make him look like a complete idiot, but he’s either oblivious to it or ignores it, and prattles on with more bluster than ever. I know this is probably pretty damn obvious but it just made it all so vividly apparent: If you listen to the words, Trump is a blathering idiot. If you don’t listen to the words, but are just sensitized to the tone, sort of like a dog, then Trump is the undefeated champ of interviews – the media send their best and brightest, and Trump defeats them all!
It’s a fascinating study in psychology, and apparently of the mental aptitude of the Trump loyalists. Or is it their dog-like loyalty?
I’ve been playing with Nate Silver’s demographic widget, trying to see how a Trump general election candidacy (vs Hillary) might turn out.
Making the following assumptions as compared to 2012 turnout and demographic breakdowns:
White college educated vote stays at about the same turnout level, and shifts slightly in Hillary’s favor;
White no-college vote turnout goes up significantly and shifts significantly towards Trump;
Black turnout dips slightly but has the same advantage for Hillary as for Obama;
Hispanic turnout goes up significantly and shifts significantly towards Hillary;
Asian/other goes up moderately and shifts significantly towards Hillary;
In this scenario, Hillary wins with 394 electoral votes and 54.4% popular vote, while Trump gets 142 electoral votes and 43.8% of the popular vote. In this scenario, Hillary wins Texas, which seems awfully unlikely – even in such a demographic landslide, I doubt she’d get Texas, though she might get close.
The widget is fun to play with, if anyone would like to give it a try.
Here’s a pretty interesting video that deconstructs how Trump answers questions and his word choice.
Spoiler: He uses small words and ends his sentences with very strong words.
Sounds about right! I’ve been meaning to play with that thing.
I have worked with guys like Trump. IMO it’s a form of sociopath/psychopath. They honestly believe the BS they’re putting out. They’re not in any sense idiots. After all, in the example you cited he managed to con the company out of $2M/year.
Your error is in thinking there’s something wrong with him believing that the only thing that matters is his paycheck. In his view it IS the only thing that matters and the only thing that SHOULD matter. It’s the only goal he’s ever worked towards because more money (or fame) for himself is the only worthy goal he can conceive of. So he just keeps saying that over and over in slightly different ways. He’ll become frustrated that the interviewer doesn’t get it; that that’s really all there is to it and all else is irrelevant details.
Naturally this skill-set is super in a salesman. They clearly understand what they’re trying to do (get paid) and they’ll say whatever seems to work to whoever seems necessary to make that happen with no deeper thought than that. Words are just keys they keep sticking in the lock and jiggling until the cash drawer opens and the money tumbles out into their lap. There’s no requirement the words make sense or lead to any concrete reality; they just have to work to open the drawer.
This skill-set is less valuable in a government leader. In fact it’s downright disastrous.
So while I agree completely that this behavior set is utterly disqualifying, or at least should be, for the Presidency, you can certainly see how it would be darn effective at winning the election.
I agree with all of that, but I remain mystified as to how the “I could shoot people on 5th Ave.” claim works there. I used to be in sales, and I was pretty good at it (though I hated it). What I and other successful sellers did was to flatter people as to their discriminating nature, not tell them they were shambling, drooling sheeple who’d blindly buy any shit I shovelled up for them, regardless of how poorly I acted. Maybe this is some sort of BDSM version of salesmanship I’m not familiar with, but even then I’d think it would only work on certain people one-on-one, not on a mass of millions of voters.
I think you go the wrong link if you actually meant to refer to any candidates that are actually alternatives. The only former candidate even mentioned was Jindal.
I posted a link to a recent news story that calls attention to the evil that has overtaken the GOP “establishment.” No, it didn’t mention Bush or Rubio by name.
Do you think “Establishment GOP” just includes a few bad apples? Yes, the GOP stable has a few other non-establishment nuts – Carson, Rand – but, mostly, GOP candidates are happy to serve their masters.
I do NOT think Trump would make a good President. But it is a refreshing development that GOP voters are explicitly rejecting the evil that has taken over the GOP. Trump’s success should be celebrated.
It is a neat widget!
One question/complaint: It’s hard for my heavy hands to make a small change. If I use the mouse to change a 60% to 61% it’ll end up at 62 or 63% instead. (I’ve the same problem with a lot of mouse-driven stuff.) Is there some facility I’m overlooking?
The widget does show how precarious the electoral balance is. (But I can’t give an example of exactly how precarious due to the heavy-mouse problem I mentioned.)
ETA: Posting this reminded me of the Pointer speed control in Windows Control Panel. :smack:
Yep; the best possible outcome to this is Trump gets the nomination then gets toasted in the election. It would lead to the Republican party taking a good look at themselves and maybe (and you might say that I’m a dreamer…) some kind of renaissance of valuing accuracy and trying to offer the electorate a positive message.
Unfortunately, this scenario doesn’t branch from the worst possible case (Trump as president, natch) for a long time.
You’re assuming that Republicans are capable of looking at a particular problem and reaching a logical, objectively determined conclusion about the cause and solution. In particular, you’re assuming that Republicans are capable of proposing solutions in a rational way that is independent of ideology.
Does this list of problems and Republican solutions suggest that this may not be the case?
Need for increased government revenue to provide essential services
Republican solution: Cut taxes!
Government dysfunction and lack of proper oversight
Republican solution: Make the government smaller and cripple whatever’s left with massive deregulation
Incidents of tragic gun violence and mass shootings in schools and other public places
Republican solution: More guns everywhere!
*More Mexicans leaving the US than entering it *(cite)
Republican solution: Make building a giant wall with Mexico your #1 campaign issue (that one actually makes sense, if you want to keep the Mexicans in)
Growing gap between super-rich and everyone else
Republican solution: Solution to what? This is great! Just wait for stuff to trickle down.
Growing number of Muslim extremists in the Middle East who hate America
Republican solution: Make it clear that you hate them even more, and celebrate a prominent lunatic who says we should kill their families, too
What would happen is the Cruz supporters would have a big told ya so moment. They’d say we shouldn’t have nominated another New England RINO/Dem operative. Vote in a REAL conservative next time, etc. They’re not going back to voting in hacks like Jeb and Mitt.
It’s true. I wonder though what they will say if Cruz is the nominee and gets wiped out?
Well in that case maybe my “renaissance” doesn’t happen for a couple terms or more.
But if they’re pushing further and further to the right, they won’t get any closer to the white house in the meantime.
(Though watching a proportion of americans get ever more extreme will continue to not be fun)
I think there is a lot of shade to know. I understand his wealth is in the millions and the only part of his buildings he owns is his name on the signs because the rest is owned by stock holders. By the time Trump finishes the election he should be broke.
But the BOMB SHELL is, Trump is a Pornographer. Let that sink in a second, a pornographer. Trump took nude photos of his current wife, Melania at 10,000 feet, and then sold them to a porn magazine. The net is awash with Melania’s nude pics, so much exposed from end to end she looks like she should be wearing polka dots.
So the questions are, what should Christians tell their children when they ask, is this picture really the 1st Lady of America?
Will the rallying cry be, here comes the 1st Whore of the WH, and her Porn-President?
Where is the media? I have contacted several myself and none has the Spaldings to put it in print. How long will they let this shame & stain on America continue?
Another tid bit, I think Trump & Melania are Satanist. Trump is a skull & bones, and they both use the same devil signals as the Bush family does, plus Melania wears a lot of skull jewelry. Church? I don’t think so. The church says they haven’t seen him.
Well, there is some unknowns that need to answered.
As someone else pointed out, she sounds exactly like a Death Eater talking about “mudbloods”. Comparisons between Trump and Voldemort are perhaps less apt, but this lady is scary.
Well, if what you’ve said is true, obviously they should say “yes.”
“Here comes the First Whore and her Porn President” sounds like a cheap porn movie title.
My take on Trump is that he’s always done well for himself and left his partners and associates holding the bag. Trump made $2M per year while the company went bankrupt? To him that’s probably a good thing. The people who support Trump think that they’ll be carried along with his great success, not left by the side of the road while Trump cashes out.
Trump’s superpower is his ability to convince people to take the risks while he takes the profits. In that sense, the companies were paying him for his genius.
Trump goes to church in Iowa and hears a sermon about welcoming immigrants
He used the opportunity to brag about his humility: