I remember the Inaugural speech that Trump gave in Jan 2017, it was so dark and strange. None of the ‘future of America’ highlights or promises. Next came the amount spent by the GOP for the Inauguration and the bragging of those in attendance vs Obama’s….we, at that time, should have taken notice and realize the next four years were to be hell. They were: Pandemic, the lies by Trump and others about Coronavirus, treatments that were not proven, the economy tanked (after taking a robust economy after Obama second term). 50+% of Congress is a do-nothing group of MAGAs who fear their own shadows, scared to do what is right for America all because of the Orange monster.
That CPAC speech was dystopian and nihilistic. It also got creepy when Trump kept talking...over and over and over again... about how handsome the men he was interacting with were.
Also- another similarity between Trump and Hitler is the way they use nationalism and perceived persecution as tools. Hitler used the harshness of the Versailles Treaty to his advantage, while Trump uses the "rigged" economic system to his benefit.
We topped out at 67. With no leaves on the trees, the back of my place faces west, the afternoon sun was really warm. Sorry about all the snow! The most we have had is about 3” in January.
I had to put on sunscreen last week to sit in front of the house with my tame chickadees and wild rabbits. Today there was a blizzard and I could barely see the road to get from town to my house; I was really shaking! We do need snow, though!
Trump appeals to people’s sense of victimization and anger at being left out of the American Dream. This strategy works because the American Dream is itself flawed. People can’t always do better than the previous generation and get ahead by hard work, luck, and pluck.
But since the American Dream is there, the Democrats’ strategy should be to become a bit more populist and optimistically proclaim that they alone can spread the wealth and help people to get ahead.
Vilifying Trump (although he certainly deserves to be vilified) won’t work, because it would just allow Trump to all the more play the victim role, which he does so effectively. The Democrats’ should take the high road, while poking Trump with humour, which is the one thing the Orange monster cannot take because he has absolutely no sense of humour.
Going to have to revoke the christian nationalist 501 status after putting all the real taxpayers in detention camps…the will be a big tax void when only christians can pay..
From H. Cox Richardson: "How religion and authoritarianism have come together in modern America was on display Thursday, when right-wing activist Jack Posobiec opened this weekend’s conference of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) outside Washington, D.C., with the words: “Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn’t get all the way there on January 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this right here.” He held up a cross necklace and continued: “After we burn that swamp to the ground, we will establish the new American republic on its ashes, and our first order of business will be righteous retribution for those who betrayed America.”
Trying to make a valid comparison between Donald Trump and Adolph Hitler is a waste of time because the points of inflection are two great to even consider the two of them in the same universe. The only point of convergences that both of them are fantasists, each of them believing that he was in control of his destiny. Even comparing Trump with Benito Mussolini gives Trump too much credit. Trump is, to use the Latin phrase, sui generis. He's one-of-a-kind, but emblematic of a certain kind of American, who exhibits despotic tendencies, but whose ability to put those tendencies into any form of effective action is decidedly limited. Donald Trump is a man who lived his childhood, early adulthood, and finally into his old age on the money his father left him; and this was a fortune that Donald effectively squandered, even though he pretended to be a businessman. He was tolerated by the banks who lent him money for most of his building projects which turned out to be failures. He became President because he was able to seize upon the malaise and disappointment the American people felt for both the Democratic Party, whose candidate, Hillary Clinton, had no idea what she was up against, despite having been married to Bill Clinton most of her adult life. Bill knew what was what, but there was nothing he could do as a two-term president to ward off Trump, and was FBI director James Comey who delivered the coup de grace (some might call it a knife in the back) by publicly chastising Clinton's handling of her official email account while at the White House and using own personal email account to conduct official business. Clinton should have known better, because she was smarter and better educated than most of the Republican politicians she came up against, but she had an disdainful arrogance about her that turned off voters.
What was astonishing in 2016 was the utter collapse of the 15 or so Republican hopefuls who thought they could capitalize on then-President Barack Obama's inability to succeed himself after having served two terms as president. Hillary's husband, Bill Clinton, had already served two terms as president, even having survived an impeachment attempt after a dalliance with the White House staffer. At the time, I was greatly surprised that none, zero, of the Republican hopefuls were able to seize upon the mood of the country that wanted something different from the aroma that the Clintons gave off, he with his randiness, and she with an imperious attitude toward just about everyone else in Washington. Republicans had spent the past decade railing against the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare, with the American people lining up solidly in favor of it. Republican opposition to the program has nothing to do with medicine or economics; rather, it was a program brought into being by Democrats, and that's reason enough to oppose it, despite the manifest benefits it brings to Republican voters. Instead, to a man, each of the Republican candidates announced their support for further tax cuts, regardless of the economic realities we face.
Donald Trump had never run for office of any sort. He had no gravitas, nobody to recommend him, and a personality that can only be adequately described in the sleaziest tabloids. He took on the Republican candidates, and he ate them alive. What was clear, at least in hindsight, was that the country was basically fed up with high-tone Brahmans who took the country into two unwinnable wars followed by a near-collapse of the American financial system, and despite all the hoopla, came to the solid conclusion that the people who controlled the American government from Washington DC offered nothing that alleviated the financial hurt that had been festering for the past decade and a half. All the Russian interference was strongly suspected, Donald Trump won the presidency on the strength of his opponents' weakness.
Fast-forward through the chaos of the Trump years, culminating in the attempted coup d'état that Trump and his Republican allies were trying to engineer to derail former vice president Joe Biden's bid for the presidency. What should have been Trump's nadir and his retirement from politics was resurrected because Trump followers and Republican officeholders could not give up Trump. He became a shambolic cult figure, hawker, pitchman, conspirator, and finally an insurrectionist, and yet he remains idolized by people who still firmly believe that their real enemies are middle Americans and members of the educated classes who were horrified by the Trump scandals and overreaching. Trump is the only man in American history who stood a decent chance of becoming president again despite the fact that he is the subject of four major criminal indictments.
For his part, Joe Biden practically walked on water, so successful has he been in his policies that turned our misfortunes into election-year assets. But the hoi polloi out in the hinterland are not buying it. He's too old, some say. He's too much this…, or too much of that! Back when Biden was vice president he was roundly criticized for being too touchy-feely, which made some people feel ickey.
But that was then, and this is now. There has not been a whisper of anything untoward in the president's behavior since he became president. While not nearly as starchy as Barack Obama, Joe Biden is playing to rave reviews as the nation's grand old uncle or grandfather. Being a grandfather myself, I know a thing or two about that. What comes through is the man's immense open heart, and is caring and sympathy for those less fortunate than he. There is nothing stagey or overreaching about the way he handles his job. I'm about five months older than he is, and I very much see things his way. Joe Biden has had a lifetime of both politics and statecraft behind him that seems to get better the longer he is in office. I have a hunch that whatever personal ambition he had for climbing the greasy pole that is the quest for the presidency is long gone; replaced now, with a burning passion measured against a ticking clock to be the best president he can be in the time remaining in his life. Joe Biden is our nation's paterfamilias, the head of our national family, setting the supreme example in knowing what to work for, and how to comport himself. I would also admit that as an octogenarian entering into my early middle decade, my worries for Joe Biden pretty much parallel what I see happening in myself, losing words here and there; but unlike me, Joe has some really capable people around him that can help them fill in the blanks. What counts is his good judgment, and above all, his empathy.
In contrast, Donald Trump is on a downward spiral that accelerates with every day. This past week brought a court judgment against him amounting to more than half a billion dollars. His three pending criminal trials threatened to eat up whatever time is remaining between now and the election day. The orange paste that he applies to his face every day, together with his dyed blonde hair now orange, too, makes it look like a malevolent clown. An easy counterpart to the Joker in the Batman movies. Trump is our Joker, spewing the same sort of hate, and yet garnering some level of sympathy that Heath ledger evoked in audiences in the movie The Dark Knight, or Jack Nicholson in Batman. I don't clearly recall Joaquin Phoenix's performance in Joker, and in fact I may not have seen it, but you get the idea. Or, if were channeling Batman, Trump might be the Penguin, with spats and waistcoat. With Trump, it's a blue suit and a gaudy red tie. Anyway you look at it, with Vladimir Putin as Donald Trump's chief sidekick, the world is too dangerous a place to allow him to get any further into its governance.
Trump some lack of empathy is forever on display with one cringeworthy episode after another every time he takes a microphone into hand. What confounds me is that most people, including MAGAhats, are not brought up to behave that way in any sort of company. Serious business prompts most people to put aside their smart-alecky side and focus on what's important. Trump doesn't do that. And what's worse, the people around Trump are unable to either cover for him or convince him to change his approach. Such is the power associated with the presidency that serious people allow their better judgment to be subverted, simply because the president wants it that way. This cannot end well.
Steve, your response on Nikki Haley continuing her presidential pursuit was very interesting. I'm wondering if she is continuing her campaign because she wants to be out front when Trump is finally hauled into criminal court, his trials commence, and he loses . . . the loser that he is.
I remember the Inaugural speech that Trump gave in Jan 2017, it was so dark and strange. None of the ‘future of America’ highlights or promises. Next came the amount spent by the GOP for the Inauguration and the bragging of those in attendance vs Obama’s….we, at that time, should have taken notice and realize the next four years were to be hell. They were: Pandemic, the lies by Trump and others about Coronavirus, treatments that were not proven, the economy tanked (after taking a robust economy after Obama second term). 50+% of Congress is a do-nothing group of MAGAs who fear their own shadows, scared to do what is right for America all because of the Orange monster.
That CPAC speech was dystopian and nihilistic. It also got creepy when Trump kept talking...over and over and over again... about how handsome the men he was interacting with were.
Also- another similarity between Trump and Hitler is the way they use nationalism and perceived persecution as tools. Hitler used the harshness of the Versailles Treaty to his advantage, while Trump uses the "rigged" economic system to his benefit.
Ahahaha hahaha 🍻 👏👏👏
Hopefully Donald is foreseeing his own pending doom.
Probably. It’s projection.
Sorry, can’t listen to his voice, so will take a pass on today’s posting. See you tomorrow.
Just fast forward past the orange one, the rest of the commentary is very good.
Thanks for sharing this. Great job. Am thrilled Scripps is having you on as a regular.
Censors? Where are all these liberal Democrat censors? The projection problem in the GOP seems to be in need of treatment.
Thanks for this. I don’t turn my TV on during the day. Ok, I do during football season. Appreciate it.
As a side note, I live in NE Indiana, about 50 miles from Michigan state line. I am sitting outside. Temperature is 62. Weird.
Holy crap, this really is the end of the world!
Really weird
We had spring in Montana this past February, but today we're in a snow blizzard. Yes, Weird!
We topped out at 67. With no leaves on the trees, the back of my place faces west, the afternoon sun was really warm. Sorry about all the snow! The most we have had is about 3” in January.
I had to put on sunscreen last week to sit in front of the house with my tame chickadees and wild rabbits. Today there was a blizzard and I could barely see the road to get from town to my house; I was really shaking! We do need snow, though!
Trump appeals to people’s sense of victimization and anger at being left out of the American Dream. This strategy works because the American Dream is itself flawed. People can’t always do better than the previous generation and get ahead by hard work, luck, and pluck.
But since the American Dream is there, the Democrats’ strategy should be to become a bit more populist and optimistically proclaim that they alone can spread the wealth and help people to get ahead.
Vilifying Trump (although he certainly deserves to be vilified) won’t work, because it would just allow Trump to all the more play the victim role, which he does so effectively. The Democrats’ should take the high road, while poking Trump with humour, which is the one thing the Orange monster cannot take because he has absolutely no sense of humour.
Right On! Thanks :-)
Going to have to revoke the christian nationalist 501 status after putting all the real taxpayers in detention camps…the will be a big tax void when only christians can pay..
Excellent.
I appreciate the words and efforts of Steve and others, but I was just reading that Mitch McConnell is now in discussions to endorse Chump.
Can I say WTF?
The Republican Party is gone and the Republic may soon follow.
I cannot listen to his voice anymore. I won't.
The MAGA sleazes have a plan.
From H. Cox Richardson: "How religion and authoritarianism have come together in modern America was on display Thursday, when right-wing activist Jack Posobiec opened this weekend’s conference of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) outside Washington, D.C., with the words: “Welcome to the end of democracy. We are here to overthrow it completely. We didn’t get all the way there on January 6, but we will endeavor to get rid of it and replace it with this right here.” He held up a cross necklace and continued: “After we burn that swamp to the ground, we will establish the new American republic on its ashes, and our first order of business will be righteous retribution for those who betrayed America.”
Also, from Thom Hartmann: https://hartmannreport.com/p/the-new-over-the-top-secret-plan-518.
Trying to make a valid comparison between Donald Trump and Adolph Hitler is a waste of time because the points of inflection are two great to even consider the two of them in the same universe. The only point of convergences that both of them are fantasists, each of them believing that he was in control of his destiny. Even comparing Trump with Benito Mussolini gives Trump too much credit. Trump is, to use the Latin phrase, sui generis. He's one-of-a-kind, but emblematic of a certain kind of American, who exhibits despotic tendencies, but whose ability to put those tendencies into any form of effective action is decidedly limited. Donald Trump is a man who lived his childhood, early adulthood, and finally into his old age on the money his father left him; and this was a fortune that Donald effectively squandered, even though he pretended to be a businessman. He was tolerated by the banks who lent him money for most of his building projects which turned out to be failures. He became President because he was able to seize upon the malaise and disappointment the American people felt for both the Democratic Party, whose candidate, Hillary Clinton, had no idea what she was up against, despite having been married to Bill Clinton most of her adult life. Bill knew what was what, but there was nothing he could do as a two-term president to ward off Trump, and was FBI director James Comey who delivered the coup de grace (some might call it a knife in the back) by publicly chastising Clinton's handling of her official email account while at the White House and using own personal email account to conduct official business. Clinton should have known better, because she was smarter and better educated than most of the Republican politicians she came up against, but she had an disdainful arrogance about her that turned off voters.
What was astonishing in 2016 was the utter collapse of the 15 or so Republican hopefuls who thought they could capitalize on then-President Barack Obama's inability to succeed himself after having served two terms as president. Hillary's husband, Bill Clinton, had already served two terms as president, even having survived an impeachment attempt after a dalliance with the White House staffer. At the time, I was greatly surprised that none, zero, of the Republican hopefuls were able to seize upon the mood of the country that wanted something different from the aroma that the Clintons gave off, he with his randiness, and she with an imperious attitude toward just about everyone else in Washington. Republicans had spent the past decade railing against the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare, with the American people lining up solidly in favor of it. Republican opposition to the program has nothing to do with medicine or economics; rather, it was a program brought into being by Democrats, and that's reason enough to oppose it, despite the manifest benefits it brings to Republican voters. Instead, to a man, each of the Republican candidates announced their support for further tax cuts, regardless of the economic realities we face.
Donald Trump had never run for office of any sort. He had no gravitas, nobody to recommend him, and a personality that can only be adequately described in the sleaziest tabloids. He took on the Republican candidates, and he ate them alive. What was clear, at least in hindsight, was that the country was basically fed up with high-tone Brahmans who took the country into two unwinnable wars followed by a near-collapse of the American financial system, and despite all the hoopla, came to the solid conclusion that the people who controlled the American government from Washington DC offered nothing that alleviated the financial hurt that had been festering for the past decade and a half. All the Russian interference was strongly suspected, Donald Trump won the presidency on the strength of his opponents' weakness.
Fast-forward through the chaos of the Trump years, culminating in the attempted coup d'état that Trump and his Republican allies were trying to engineer to derail former vice president Joe Biden's bid for the presidency. What should have been Trump's nadir and his retirement from politics was resurrected because Trump followers and Republican officeholders could not give up Trump. He became a shambolic cult figure, hawker, pitchman, conspirator, and finally an insurrectionist, and yet he remains idolized by people who still firmly believe that their real enemies are middle Americans and members of the educated classes who were horrified by the Trump scandals and overreaching. Trump is the only man in American history who stood a decent chance of becoming president again despite the fact that he is the subject of four major criminal indictments.
For his part, Joe Biden practically walked on water, so successful has he been in his policies that turned our misfortunes into election-year assets. But the hoi polloi out in the hinterland are not buying it. He's too old, some say. He's too much this…, or too much of that! Back when Biden was vice president he was roundly criticized for being too touchy-feely, which made some people feel ickey.
But that was then, and this is now. There has not been a whisper of anything untoward in the president's behavior since he became president. While not nearly as starchy as Barack Obama, Joe Biden is playing to rave reviews as the nation's grand old uncle or grandfather. Being a grandfather myself, I know a thing or two about that. What comes through is the man's immense open heart, and is caring and sympathy for those less fortunate than he. There is nothing stagey or overreaching about the way he handles his job. I'm about five months older than he is, and I very much see things his way. Joe Biden has had a lifetime of both politics and statecraft behind him that seems to get better the longer he is in office. I have a hunch that whatever personal ambition he had for climbing the greasy pole that is the quest for the presidency is long gone; replaced now, with a burning passion measured against a ticking clock to be the best president he can be in the time remaining in his life. Joe Biden is our nation's paterfamilias, the head of our national family, setting the supreme example in knowing what to work for, and how to comport himself. I would also admit that as an octogenarian entering into my early middle decade, my worries for Joe Biden pretty much parallel what I see happening in myself, losing words here and there; but unlike me, Joe has some really capable people around him that can help them fill in the blanks. What counts is his good judgment, and above all, his empathy.
In contrast, Donald Trump is on a downward spiral that accelerates with every day. This past week brought a court judgment against him amounting to more than half a billion dollars. His three pending criminal trials threatened to eat up whatever time is remaining between now and the election day. The orange paste that he applies to his face every day, together with his dyed blonde hair now orange, too, makes it look like a malevolent clown. An easy counterpart to the Joker in the Batman movies. Trump is our Joker, spewing the same sort of hate, and yet garnering some level of sympathy that Heath ledger evoked in audiences in the movie The Dark Knight, or Jack Nicholson in Batman. I don't clearly recall Joaquin Phoenix's performance in Joker, and in fact I may not have seen it, but you get the idea. Or, if were channeling Batman, Trump might be the Penguin, with spats and waistcoat. With Trump, it's a blue suit and a gaudy red tie. Anyway you look at it, with Vladimir Putin as Donald Trump's chief sidekick, the world is too dangerous a place to allow him to get any further into its governance.
Trump some lack of empathy is forever on display with one cringeworthy episode after another every time he takes a microphone into hand. What confounds me is that most people, including MAGAhats, are not brought up to behave that way in any sort of company. Serious business prompts most people to put aside their smart-alecky side and focus on what's important. Trump doesn't do that. And what's worse, the people around Trump are unable to either cover for him or convince him to change his approach. Such is the power associated with the presidency that serious people allow their better judgment to be subverted, simply because the president wants it that way. This cannot end well.
Steve, your response on Nikki Haley continuing her presidential pursuit was very interesting. I'm wondering if she is continuing her campaign because she wants to be out front when Trump is finally hauled into criminal court, his trials commence, and he loses . . . the loser that he is.
Pure powerful excellence, Steve! I'm glad to see you on Scripps News and very proud of you, too!