# Trump's unapologetic style utterly confounds modern media institutions. What's going on here? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 26, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360 "2015-12-26T01:15:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/41 "2015-12-27T01:54:14Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Trump is arrogant, obnoxious, and belligerent. Many people interpret these traits as “being confident,” and hence the reason for his popularity. And yet when I exhibit the same traits, people interpret it as “being drunk.” Classic misdirection. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/42 "2015-12-27T02:06:48Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > IME people who say he “speaks his mind” are really saying he “says things I agree with.” Also there’s the phenomenon of “How come when _ **I** _ say that, my boss chews me out and my wife sends me to sleep on the couch… glad there’s someone important who backs me on it!” ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/43 "2015-12-27T04:32:29Z")
> [@botsgotme](#): > > Trump is not afraid to speak his mind. Contrast that with our president. For years we have been engaged in war in Syria. Obama issues foolish statements that always turn out to be untrue…“ISIS is led by the “JV” team”…“we have contained ISIS”…“ISIS sales of oil to Turkey are insignificant”. Now we learn that over $500 million has been spent on the “good rebels”-who somehow have dwindled down to 5 people. The Russians have demonstrated that there was a huge oil export business that funds ISIS…based upon oil sales to Turkey. We have been bombing ISIS for years…with no (apparent) results. Finally, Obama won’t interrupt his golf game when 6 US soldiers are blown to bits in Afghanistan…but he makes an apology of sorts days later. Give me Trump’s plain speaking any day. The news for ISIS on the field has been bad for them indeed, > **[ISIS Is Losing Its Greatest Weapon: Momentum](https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/01/the-decline-of-isis-syria-iraq/384261/)** > > Evidence suggests that the Islamic State's power has been declining for months. > [@](#): > > The most obvious sign of ISIS’s decline is that the group is no longer conquering territory, seizing no major towns or cities since Hit (and this hasn’t been for lack of effort on its part). ISIS continues to capture villages from time to time; for example, on December 27 it gained control of 14 villages in Anbar after Iraqi security forces withdrew from the area. But those villages aren’t equivalent to a major urban area and had been taken from ISIS by Iraqi forces just two days earlier. In October, ISIS advanced ominously on the Syrian city of Kobane; the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy declared in The New Republic that “Kobane will fall. In a matter of hours.” It has yet to fall, and Kurdish forces now appear to have the advantage, though the town remains contested. ISIS has even been losing ground, albeit unevenly. In December, the group pulled its forces from Iraq’s Sinjar district, home to one of ISIS’s main resupply routes from Syria into Iraq (the other being Tal Afar). This has threatened to isolate ISIS-held Mosul. Since this has been completely missed by the right wing media and indeed Obama was accurate about containing ISIS I have to doubt on many of your say so’s in your post. Even the ones that sound reasonable have been twisted by guys like Ted Cruz: > **[Ted Cruz misquotes CIA official, makes false claim on bombing ISIS oil and...](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2015/dec/14/ted-cruz/ted-cruz-misquotes-cia-official-makes-false-claim-/)** > > Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz tore into President Barack Obama’s strategy against ISIS in an NPR interview. > [@](#): > > U.S. and coalition military forces have been trying to get at this revenue source by periodically targeting oil assets for over a year. From the start of the operation against ISIS in August 2014 to Nov. 13, 2015, airstrikes have damaged or destroyed 260 oil infrastructure targets, according to the Defense Department. > [@](#): > > The U.S. military has been striking oil assets but it has limited those strikes out of concern for civilian casualties, destroying the oil infrastructure and doing damage to the local environment. If climate change was the Obama administration’s top priority, experts said, it would make more sense to bomb the oil fields. > > We rate Cruz’s claim False. Trump is not afraid to speak his mind, but it is clear that his mind is just full of it like many other Republican candidates. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/44 "2015-12-27T08:01:46Z")
> [@botsgotme](#): > > Trump is not afraid to speak his mind. > > Give me Trump’s plain speaking any day. Know who else wasn’t afraid to speak his mind? In this context, alas, this isn’t a joke. When one’s mind is full of bigotry and bullshit, speaking it is not a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/45 "2015-12-27T08:45:56Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > When one’s mind is full of bigotry and bullshit, speaking it is not a good thing. Just as, if you’re a serial killer, your dashing good looks, quirky charm and cool head under pressure are not necessarily desirable qualities. ---
**Author:** ![T.M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@T.M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T.M)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/46 "2015-12-27T11:13:19Z")
There is nothing wrong with being Right Wing (I am) the problem is failure to adjust ones opinion in light of new information then you become a Bigot, the same can be said of the Left Wing. Although I can see a little truth in what Trump says please keep him out of the White House, he is the knee jerk kid and will act on impulse rather than from knowledge ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/47 "2015-12-27T11:19:19Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Also there’s the phenomenon of “How come when _ **I** _ say that, my boss chews me out and my wife sends me to sleep on the couch… glad there’s someone important who backs me on it!” I think this is very much a part of it. With all the PC talk and inoffensive corporate BS and political doublespeak I think the simple-folk find it refreshing to hear someone speak what’s on their mind. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/48 "2015-12-27T12:34:40Z")
There’s a core of awful people in the Republican party that they have courted for decades to use for votes who are now standing behind one of their own. It’s a Chickens coming home to roost situation. On top of that the Right has helped create a terrible economy that has been chipping away at the Middle class for 30 years. There is a lot of anger out there and it is looking for direction. Conditioning by the Right has taught them to hate and fear the left so they are clinging to one of their own who tells them stuff they want to hear. To be honest, the Bernie Sanders Phenomenon is a version of this on the Left. Although in Bernie’s case I know he is at least sincere. No idea what Trump really thinks. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/49 "2015-12-27T14:18:37Z")
> [@T.M](#): > > Although I can see a little truth in what Trump says please keep him out of the White House, he is the knee jerk kid and will act on impulse rather than from knowledge Alas, American culture is permeated by a mythology of the superiority of gut feeling over intellectual rigor. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/50 "2015-12-27T15:08:25Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > On top of that the Right has helped create a terrible economy that has been chipping away at the Middle class for 30 years. Umm… no. Obama’s been in power for 7 years now. He’s had ample time to fix things but has not. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/51 "2015-12-27T15:13:47Z")
Right, because when you are president you get a magic wand and there’s no excuse not to use it. Obama’s policies have been fantastic for the economy. Had he not been elected, things would be much worse. And one big reason things aren’t even better is because the Republicans have chosen blanket opposition to anything he wants to do over the public interest. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/52 "2015-12-27T16:55:34Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Umm… no. Obama’s been in power for 7 years now. He’s had ample time to fix things but has not. When his Party had control of Congress we got Credit card reform, Health Care Reform and Wall Street Reform (all watered down by conservatives). When they lost it we got Seventy Billion votes to shut down the Government and repeal Health Care Reform. The changes made during the 80s Reagan era were all aimed at amassing wealth near the top because that is the type of Society conservatives think is most stable. Neither Clinton in the 90s nor Obama in the 2000s did enough to undo that. ---
**Author:** ![FightMyIgnorance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71e660/32.png) [@FightMyIgnorance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FightMyIgnorance)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/53 "2015-12-27T17:24:49Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Umm… no. Obama’s been in power for 7 years now. He’s had ample time to fix things but has not. a) A problem like this is far too large for it to be tackled in a single administration. Obama can’t simply snap his fingers and push through his agenda, which leads me to the next point. b) It can be quite hard to fix massive systemic issues while also facing stonewall opposition from Congress. It’s certainly not like he hasn’t tried to fix things. ---
**Author:** ![botsgotme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@botsgotme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/botsgotme)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/54 "2015-12-28T14:09:28Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Right, because when you are president you get a magic wand and there’s no excuse not to use it. > > Obama’s policies have been fantastic for the economy. Had he not been elected, things would be much worse. And one big reason things aren’t even better is because the Republicans have chosen blanket opposition to anything he wants to do over the public interest. “Fantastic for the economy”? There are almost 95 million people OUT of the labor force; I know, they actually “want” to be unemployed. But with labor participation this low, how do we plan to pay for these enormous deficits? Right now we have been given a gift (the dollar is strong", but ours is an economy built upon ever increasing debt and printing money. The economy is “fantastic” for Wall Street and hedge fund managers, not so much for average Americans (the Middle Class has disappeared).:smack: ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/55 "2015-12-28T14:50:26Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > When his Party had control of Congress we got Credit card reform, Health Care Reform and Wall Street Reform (all watered down by conservatives). When they lost it we got Seventy Billion votes to shut down the Government and repeal Health Care Reform. You forgot BENGHAZI!!! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/56 "2015-12-28T15:18:22Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > My question is where is the new news outlet that dares to fill the gap and lead us back to informed, well balanced news analysis? Why isn’t there several springing to life as we speak? It seems like that’s what we need the very most, to me. You kind of answered your own question earlier in your post- it’s now infotainment, not well-balanced and well-analyzed news and commentary. If that’s the case, then there’s no real market for that kind of thing- it’s way too drab and not flashy/dramatic enough. It’s almost as if the population and news media has taken a rather peacock-ish approach to news- the candidates/stories with the biggest, flashiest tails get the ratings. Problem is, unlike nature, the size of the tail doesn’t have any sort of correlation with any sort of fitness or veracity. ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/57 "2015-12-28T18:44:25Z")
> [@botsgotme](#): > > “Fantastic for the economy”? There are almost 95 million people OUT of the labor force; I know, they actually “want” to be unemployed. But with labor participation this low, how do we plan to pay for these enormous deficits? Right now we have been given a gift (the dollar is strong", but ours is an economy built upon ever increasing debt and printing money. The economy is “fantastic” for Wall Street and hedge fund managers, not so much for average Americans (the Middle Class has disappeared).:smack: I don’t usually chime in on political stuff here, but there is so much that is wrong about this post that I had to jump in and ask “Cite?”. 95 million out of the labor force? That is 1/3rd of the entire country. Are you talking about the US or the world? Are you including people who are retired or otherwise unemployed because they don’t need to be employed like children or the elderly or folks with enough income that only one person in the family needs to work? And being someone sitting in precisely in the middle of the middle class, I’m pretty sure I haven’t disappeared. I’m not going to debate with you because, well, I don’t think you have any debatable points. I just wanted to call bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/58 "2015-12-28T19:42:25Z")
> [@TheFaerie](#): > > I don’t usually chime in on political stuff here, but there is so much that is wrong about this post that I had to jump in and ask “Cite?”. 95 million out of the labor force? That is 1/3rd of the entire country. Are you talking about the US or the world? Are you including people who are retired or otherwise unemployed because they don’t need to be employed like children or the elderly or folks with enough income that only one person in the family needs to work? > And being someone sitting in precisely in the middle of the middle class, I’m pretty sure I haven’t disappeared. > I’m not going to debate with you because, well, I don’t think you have any debatable points. I just wanted to call bullshit. That came straight from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (94,446,000 not in the labor force as of Nov. 2015): [http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t01.htm](http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t01.htm) ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/59 "2015-12-28T20:04:11Z")
**Surreal** , yes, but “not in the labor force” doesn’t mean unemployed (as in people who want/need jobs but don’t have one). It simply means the number of people who don’t have jobs whether they want/need them or not. I’m only questioning the use of the number to imply that the unemployment rate is 29% of the employable population. That is patently untrue and **botsgotme** is using this statistic in a false matter to slam the Obama administration. The United States Population = 318.9 mil. United States Unemployment rate 5.5%. Even allowing for the fudge factor that allows that a lot of people who are without jobs no longer show up in the unemployment rolls, that is still waaaay shy of 29%. ([http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf](http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf)) ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360/60 "2015-12-28T20:06:28Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > That came straight from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (94,446,000 not in the labor force as of Nov. 2015): > > [http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t01.htm](http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t01.htm) I am pretty sure that number includes Children and Retirees. There aren’t 94 million people who want jobs and can’t get them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-unapologetic-style-utterly-confounds-modern-media-institutions-whats-going-on-here/741360.md?page=4)