The Trump Presidency: Part 18

[TragicMonkey]

It's not just ineloquence. It's not just stupidity. It's anti-intellectualism.

Trump is the political manifestation of the whole "I'm gonna be proudly wrong just to show up people who I think are over-obsessed with being right" thing that is, terrifyingly, really starting to solidify into an actual broad mentality.

It really is starting to feel like middle school, where the bully boys and mean girls run everything despite being widely hated and so incredibly stupid.

 

[varwoche]

We've had stupid presidents and we've had crooked presidents and we've had vicious bully presidents, but have we ever had one this ineloquent? He writes on an elementary school level. Even G.W. Bush, with his questionably sincere folksy facade, spoke and wrote like an adult.

Based on the standards of the day, in the media age if not all time...

• there has never been a POTUS this ineloquent
• there has never been a POTUS this ignorant
• there has never been a POTUS this crooked
• there has never been a POTUS this infantile
• there has never been a POTUS this bigoted
• there has never been a POTUS this racist
• there has never been a POTUS this spectacularly ego-maniacal
• there has never been a POTUS who is a pathological liar
• there has never been a POTUS who adores dictator thugs
• there has never been a POTUS who supports Nazis
• there has never been a POTUS who mocks disabled people
• there has never been a POTUS who disrespects POWs
• there has never been a POTUS who presents himself to the world as an utter clown to such an extent that he can't be differentiated from a cartoon character e.g. Eric Cartman
• there has never been a POTUS who received the depth and breadth of pushback from his own side

I keep pointing out the astounding multi-dimensionality of Trump's odious characteristics and I'm not sure if people appreciate how freakish it is.

Defenders never have much to say about this list. If there's ever a challenge, I will ask that we start with the last bullet.

 

[The Don]

• there has never been a POTUS who received the depth and breadth of pushback from his own side

Has President Trump really received a significant level of pushback from his own side ? From the perspective of this side of the Atlantic the opposite seems true - he has almost complete verbal support and absolute functional support from the GOP regardless of what he does or say.

There are occasional murmurs of mild rebuke from some GOP members when President Trump says or does something particularly contentious, but within a couple of says they are back on message and in any case they always vote in line with his wishes.

 

[JoeMorgue]

Has President Trump really received a significant level of pushback from his own side ? From the perspective of this side of the Atlantic the opposite seems true - he has almost complete verbal support and absolute functional support from the GOP regardless of what he does or say.

Honest answer?

Split the difference. He gets, by far, more pushback just as verbal jabs and criticism when it doesn't matter but the second the GOP has to actually make a stand or take a side he always gets what he wants.

 

[varwoche]

Has President Trump really received a significant level of pushback from his own side ? From the perspective of this side of the Atlantic the opposite seems true - he has almost complete verbal support and absolute functional support from the GOP regardless of what he does or say.

There are occasional murmurs of mild rebuke from some GOP members when President Trump says or does something particularly contentious, but within a couple of says they are back on message and in any case they always vote in line with his wishes.

Absolutely! Not much from the current officials, but from departed cabinet members, departed congress people, various generals, and otherwise big league influential republicans. There's so many that it's a named movement ... Never Trumpers. That's the breadth. The depth is equally remarkable. Like, "moron".

I assure you with a high degree of confidence -- there has never been anything remotely like it in the media age, and it would be a cakewalk to prove it.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Absolutely! Not much from the current officials, but from departed cabinet members, departed congress people, various generals, and otherwise big league influential republicans. There's so many that it's a named movement ... Never Trumpers. That's the breadth. The depth is equally remarkable. Like, "moron".

I assure you with a high degree of confidence -- there has never been anything remotely like it in the media age, and it would be a cakewalk to prove it.

Yep there has been so much push-back by people with no power and nothing to actually do. For push back of those with power he still falls short of second term Bush.

 

[varwoche]

Yep there has been so much push-back by people with no power and nothing to actually do. For push back of those with power he still falls short of second term Bush.

For sure. Watergate era Republicans would be another example of pushers back.

 

[ponderingturtle]

For sure. Watergate era Republicans would be another example of pushers back.

They were admittedly fine with everything right up until the Saturday night massacre. Before that they didn't think merely having some guys break into dem headquarters and plant bugs was a big enough deal to impeach a president.

 

[JoeMorgue]

People do get that if we just have make Nixon/Trump comparisons (which I don't think we should) we are well past the "Saturday Night Massacre" point in our current scenario, not still waiting for it, right?

Again I think the Democrats are getting dangerously blinded by the Nixon comparison. Support for Nixon dropped like a rock practically overnight when news of what Nixon did made it into the public consciousness.

Trump's tweets out everything horrible thing he does. It's not a secret. It's "in the open" and nothing changed.

 

[ponderingturtle]

People do get that if we just have make Nixon/Trump comparisons (which I don't think we should) we are well past the "Saturday Night Massacre" point in our current scenario, not still waiting for it, right?

Again I think the Democrats are getting dangerously blinded by the Nixon comparison. Support for Nixon dropped like a rock practically overnight when news of what Nixon did made it into the public consciousness.

Trump's tweets out everything horrible thing he does. It's not a secret. It's "in the open" and nothing changed.

They knew what happened months before that and supported him when it was only his chief of staff going to prison. Plenty said they didn't care if he was involved.

Now sure we are way past that now, because then at least some republicans cared about crap like the rule of law, now that is all gone.

 

[shemp]

Based on the standards of the day, in the media age if not all time...

• there has never been a POTUS this ineloquent
• there has never been a POTUS this ignorant
• there has never been a POTUS this crooked
• there has never been a POTUS this infantile
• there has never been a POTUS this bigoted
• there has never been a POTUS this racist
• there has never been a POTUS this spectacularly ego-maniacal
• there has never been a POTUS who is a pathological liar
• there has never been a POTUS who adores dictator thugs
• there has never been a POTUS who supports Nazis
• there has never been a POTUS who mocks disabled people
• there has never been a POTUS who disrespects POWs
• there has never been a POTUS who presents himself to the world as an utter clown to such an extent that he can't be differentiated from a cartoon character e.g. Eric Cartman
• there has never been a POTUS who received the depth and breadth of pushback from his own side

I keep pointing out the astounding multi-dimensionality of Trump's odious characteristics and I'm not sure if people appreciate how freakish it is.

Defenders never have much to say about this list. If there's ever a challenge, I will ask that we start with the last bullet.

I agree with all except that last bullet point. Example: John Tyler. He got kicked out of his own party (Whig) while president.

 

[TragicMonkey]

I agree with all except that last bullet point. Example: John Tyler. He got kicked out of his own party (Whig) while president.

I disagree with the "most racist" bit. Trump may be racist by today's standards but a whole bunch of previous presidents saw nothing wrong with enslaving people. Let's keep some perspective.

 

[alfaniner]

Based on the standards of the day, in the media age if not all time...

• there has never been a POTUS this ineloquent
• there has never been a POTUS this ignorant
• there has never been a POTUS this crooked
• there has never been a POTUS this infantile
• there has never been a POTUS this bigoted
• there has never been a POTUS this racist
• there has never been a POTUS this spectacularly ego-maniacal
• there has never been a POTUS who is a pathological liar
• there has never been a POTUS who adores dictator thugs
• there has never been a POTUS who supports Nazis
• there has never been a POTUS who mocks disabled people
• there has never been a POTUS who disrespects POWs
• there has never been a POTUS who presents himself to the world as an utter clown to such an extent that he can't be differentiated from a cartoon character e.g. Eric Cartman
• there has never been a POTUS who received the depth and breadth of pushback from his own side

I keep pointing out the astounding multi-dimensionality of Trump's odious characteristics and I'm not sure if people appreciate how freakish it is.

Defenders never have much to say about this list. If there's ever a challenge, I will ask that we start with the last bullet.

I keep hearing the Rebuplicans saying "This harassment of the President is unprecedented!"
Well, of course it is! No previous President has ever done all the **** that this one has, and it needs to be addressed.

 

[varwoche]

I disagree with the "most racist" bit. Trump may be racist by today's standards but a whole bunch of previous presidents saw nothing wrong with enslaving people. Let's keep some perspective.

Time out. I did qualify media age time frame. I meant electronic media age. (Media age alone isn't a qualifier.)

 

[plague311]

Time out. I did qualify media age time frame. I meant electronic media age. (Media age alone isn't a qualifier.)

To piggy back on this, I think we should always be taking stuff like this in the context of their times. It's like with sports. There are different "ages". Ty Cobb would have been kicked out of baseball if he were in the current age. In his day, it just wasn't as big of a deal. I just think we should be comparing to their day, not to our day. Which is sometimes tough.

 

[Segnosaur]

I disagree with the "most racist" bit. Trump may be racist by today's standards but a whole bunch of previous presidents saw nothing wrong with enslaving people. Let's keep some perspective.

What makes you think Trump also isn't fine with Enslaving people? He just realizes he doesn't have the support to make it happen (yet).

 

[varwoche]

Here's what I'm hoping for with the remarkable list of Trump's odious qualities. Not that we nitpick around the margins. Not that we review the things we already know. But that people step back and appreciate how very surreal it is for one person to embody so many deplorable characteristics. I mean really.

It's as if a higher power, be it Odin or the Matrix General Manager, is tossing these things into our awareness one by one, testing to see at what point we will realize we're the butt of a joke.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Trump Tweets

Nancy Pelosi just had a nervous fit. She hates that we will soon have 182 great new judges and sooo much more. Stock Market and employment records. She says she “prays for the President.” I don’t believe her, not even close. Help the homeless in your district Nancy. USMCA

 

[Stacyhs]

Here's what I'm hoping for with the remarkable list of Trump's odious qualities. Not that we nitpick around the margins. Not that we review the things we already know. But that people step back and appreciate how very surreal it is for one person to embody so many deplorable characteristics. I mean really.

It's as if a higher power, be it Odin or the Matrix General Manager, is tossing these things into our awareness one by one, testing to see at what point we will realize we're the butt of a joke.

What is so horrifying is that he has a cult like following with the vast majority of Republicans supporting him. That is just plain scary.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

Trump Tweets

Nancy Pelosi just had a nervous fit. She hates that we will soon have 182 great new judges and sooo much more. Stock Market and employment records. She says she “prays for the President.” I don’t believe her, not even close. Help the homeless in your district Nancy. USMCA

everyone hates the judges Trump appointed, because they are grossly incompetent.
There is a good chance that many of them will drop out as soon as they can line up a more lucrative job.