Cont: The Trump Presidency: Part 26

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Firestone said:
That difference might explain that is easier for a populist to gain power in the US than in Western Europe. It doesn't explain the million of Trump cultists (I mean the person Trump).


I listed some differences between the political leaders.
Racism is a common element between these populist parties in Europe and the US. (I do know that there are differences, mainly that racism in the US is much more systemic that in Western Europe.)

That's indeed a real difference. And may explain why precisely a Trumplike figure can pull it off.
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I think it's also worth pointing at a couple other factors, too. Limbaugh, Fox and the rest of the right-wing propaganda bubble, for example, have been quite effective at what they're trying to do.

Going a bit deeper, James Buchanan and the Koch Brothers are examples of the libertarian-aligned/corporate forces who have worked hard to undermine the power of the people/labor in a huge variety of ways, hard and soft, because, in short, when others have power, it can be exerted over them, which restricts their freedom to do what they want (so a major part of the answer to that is to restrict the freedom of others). Forces like these have been very powerful in much of US history, with a special call out towards the cotton industry of the south, which was likely the most profitable industry that the world had ever seen at the time and concentrated that wealth into the hands of a relatively few people. Naturally, those people wanted to justify, keep, and expand upon the power that they had and they had plenty of resources and rhetoric to apply to that end. Forces along those lines have been beaten down repeatedly in US history, but keep rising again and again for similar reasons and capitalizing on the efforts and effect of their predecessors. Currently, they've managed to become both extremely powerful again and very good at diverting the people's attention away from the damage they've caused to other targets. Racism is an example, of course, like since the outright slavery days, but also, for example, "personal responsibility" is a rather insidious one.
 
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Firestone said:
That difference might explain that is easier for a populist to gain power in the US than in Western Europe. It doesn't explain the million of Trump cultists (I mean the person Trump).


I listed some differences between the political leaders.
Racism is a common element between these populist parties in Europe and the US. (I do know that there are differences, mainly that racism in the US is much more systemic that in Western Europe.)

That's indeed a real difference. And may explain why precisely a Trumplike figure can pull it off.
Click to expand...

Consider the possibility that his supporters want to burn it all down. If America doesn't work for them, they'll make sure it doesn't work for anyone.
 
Remember how Trump was planning on importing drugs from Canada to reduce drug costs?

Well, even though his plans were... questionable to begin with (with questions about how serious he was, since he has been in power almost 4 years and did nothing about it earlier), there is another problem with his plans.

From: CNN
Canadian health minister...announced new measures to protect the country's drug supply from bulk importations that could worsen drug shortages...Importing drugs from abroad, particularly Canada, is a centerpiece in Trump's plan to reduce prices....The Canadian Pharmacists Association has warned that the nation already suffers from drug shortages, which have grown worse during the coronavirus pandemic.
 
Segnosaur said:
Remember how Trump was planning on importing drugs from Canada to reduce drug costs?

Well, even though his plans were... questionable to begin with (with questions about how serious he was, since he has been in power almost 4 years and did nothing about it earlier), there is another problem with his plans.

From: CNN
Canadian health minister...announced new measures to protect the country's drug supply from bulk importations that could worsen drug shortages...Importing drugs from abroad, particularly Canada, is a centerpiece in Trump's plan to reduce prices....The Canadian Pharmacists Association has warned that the nation already suffers from drug shortages, which have grown worse during the coronavirus pandemic.
Click to expand...



While this is the best short-term plan, what I'd really like to see is Canada importing a whole lot more drugs, just to re-sell to the US at a 300% mark up. It would still be cheaper for the Americans, and we'd get a huge cash infusion.

Hey, if the US is bound and determined to stick with its ****** up system, we might as well make some bank on it. Fixing it would still be an option for them, if they ever actually bother to take it.
 
Aridas said:
I think it's also worth pointing at a couple other factors, too. Limbaugh, Fox and the rest of the right-wing propaganda bubble, for example, have been quite effective at what they're trying to do.

Going a bit deeper, James Buchanan and the Koch Brothers are examples of the libertarian-aligned/corporate forces who have worked hard to undermine the power of the people/labor in a huge variety of ways, hard and soft, because, in short, when others have power, it can be exerted over them, which restricts their freedom to do what they want (so a major part of the answer to that is to restrict the freedom of others). Forces like these have been very powerful in much of US history, with a special call out towards the cotton industry of the south, which was likely the most profitable industry that the world had ever seen at the time and concentrated that wealth into the hands of a relatively few people. Naturally, those people wanted to justify, keep, and expand upon the power that they had and they had plenty of resources and rhetoric to apply to that end. Forces along those lines have been beaten down repeatedly in US history, but keep rising again and again for similar reasons and capitalizing on the efforts and effect of their predecessors. Currently, they've managed to become both extremely powerful again and very good at diverting the people's attention away from the damage they've caused to other targets. Racism is an example, of course, like since the outright slavery days, but also, for example, "personal responsibility" is a rather insidious one.
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Very good points.

The history is different, and the "money in politics" is a major difference between Western Europe (at least the countries I somewhat know) and the US.


Craig4 said:
Consider the possibility that his supporters want to burn it all down. If America doesn't work for them, they'll make sure it doesn't work for anyone.
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That's also the case for our deplorables.

Thanks for the reactions.
I think a Trumplike figure (meaning a character like Trump, not someone with extreme right wing politics) won't succeed in, say, Belgium. But I can see enough elements in the answers explaining how it worked in the US. Sad.
 
Lengthy books will be written about how dozens of factors, large and small, aligned to create what we have now.

The Right-wing has been pushing anti-intellectualism for a couple of decades. which led to

A large swath of the electorate being angry that Washington did not implement straight-forward common-sense solutions. Too many illegals, then build a wall. Coal mining is no longer profitable, reduce all those liberal job-killing regulations. Manufacturing jobs going overseas, put America first and start a trade war.

......
Trump’s personality is one of the largest factors.
His irrational confidence about everything is appealing to some.
His rallies are a factor as well. He’ll throw out a bunch of ideas and watch to see which one’s generate the most applause. His only core belief is to espouse whatever the audience wants to hear.
 
I know a lot of people that want common sense solutions to problems so complex they don’t even understand what the problem is.
 
The solution doesn't always have to solve anything, though. Sometimes people just want a politician who'll swing by every four years to blow smoke up their ass and make them feel special, like they used to in the good old days.
 
dirtywick said:
I know a lot of people that want common sense solutions to problems so complex they don’t even understand what the problem is.
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It's the core of "Common sense" and "Folksy Wisdom" and similar concept; mistaking simply not understanding the total scope and complexity of the problem for some kind of laser-focused insight.
 
Basically, it's a lack of skepticism.

There is a truism that if you can convince an American that black is white, then you can get them to die in support of that view. Loyalty to nonsense supersedes any common sense.
 
Donald exploring endorsement opportunities post presidency.

It is reported that Trump has hired an agent to help him choose endorsement opportunities for after he leaves office.

His new agent is Dewey Cheatum. Mr. Cheatum says that many companies are excited at the thought that the greatest President in American history might soon be promoting their products. He reports that serious discussions are under way for President Trump to become the main spokesman from various products for Merck, Kimberly Clark, DeVry University and others.

It is believed that Merck is looking at having the former President pitch several products including hair dye and Coppertone spray on tanning. Kimberly Clark is the maker of many baby products such as binkies, baby wipes. But most of all they want POTUS to pitch Depends diapers. "Built for an adult that even a baby can wear". They believe it would be a marketing coup to have #Diaper Don be their lead spokesman.

Devry University wants the President for his gravitas and experience he has in surving bankruptcies and failures.
 
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acbytesla said:
It is reported that Trump has hired an agent to help him choose endorsement opportunities for after he leaves office.

His new agent is Dewey Cheatum. Mr. Cheatum says that many companies are excited at the thought that the greatest President in American hisory might soon be promoting their products. He reports that serious discussions are under way for President Trump to become the main spokesman from various products for Merck, Kimberly Clark, DeVry University and others.

It is believed that Merck is looking at having the former President pitch several products including hair dye and Coppertone spray on tanning. Kimberly Clark is the maker of many baby products such as binkies, baby wipes. But most of all they want POTUS to pitch Depends diapers. "Built for an adult that even a baby can wear". They believe it would be a marketing coup to have #Diaper Don be their lead spokesman.

Devry University wants the President for his gravitas and experience he has in surving bankruptcies and failures.
Click to expand...

Wasn't that Dewey, Cheatem, & Howe LLP?
 
acbytesla said:
It is reported that Trump has hired an agent to help him choose endorsement opportunities for after he leaves office.

His new agent is Dewey Cheatum. Mr. Cheatum says that many companies are excited at the thought that the greatest President in American history might soon be promoting their products. He reports that serious discussions are under way for President Trump to become the main spokesman from various products for Merck, Kimberly Clark, DeVry University and others.

It is believed that Merck is looking at having the former President pitch several products including hair dye and Coppertone spray on tanning. Kimberly Clark is the maker of many baby products such as binkies, baby wipes. But most of all they want POTUS to pitch Depends diapers. "Built for an adult that even a baby can wear". They believe it would be a marketing coup to have #Diaper Don be their lead spokesman.

Devry University wants the President for his gravitas and experience he has in surving bankruptcies and failures.
Click to expand...

I hear Spanks is asking him to be their new spokesman on QVC. He got really excited and just about burst his girdle when he heard the work "spanks" and asked if Stormy would be there.
 
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