I’m not a teacher, but I know that school curricula isn’t changed 185 days before an election. It does need to be improved, alas too late to educate and change habits. But the work can certainly start now for 2028 assuming trump’s not reelected.
When you actually read what he said to the Time magazine reporter, he sounds like a blithering idiot. Like you, Stephen, I don’t understand why anyone would support him or his wishy-washy policies. He’s just a wannabe dictator that we shouldn’t even have to take seriously. Unfortunately, so many Americans still do take him seriously despite his non-stop lies, major character flaws and many criminal indictments! I weep for my beloved country.
Excerpt from this important article by Steven Beschloss
It will take more than divine intervention to ensure a man like this never sees the inside of the Oval Office again. It will take all of us—and tens of millions of others who decide that they will vote and do everything they can to ensure the survival of American democracy, the promise of America, basic human decency and the primacy of factual reality.
Such a great post…with interview quotes that are straight from the horses’ mouth, as they say. Quoting him directly is an important tool for communicating just how inept and profoundly malevolent his political word soup is becoming. As Marc Elias recently said on Nicole Wallace…”The man is desperate and will do anything to be elected.” He said that we should be prepared for any and all of the man’s tricks and efforts…especially his strategy to once again create doubt in the minds of his supporters that the election will be free and fair. He is already setting the stage, as we know, for a repeat of 2020. We have to be prepared, politically and psychologically, for this coming political apocalypse. If he is soundly beaten at the polls, he will unleash the dogs of war. Thank you, Steven, for continuing to cover this ever-present danger.
What scares me the most is that the people who support this lying, cruel, ignorant man could be just like him, and not merely misinformed, though the results could be, tragically, the same in either case.
How can we be here -- again -- less than one hundred years after World War II?
First, Steven, an excellent column, one which should be read by tens of millions. But.... Okay, he’s a madman. Certifiable. Oughta be kept in a rubber room. It. Doesn’t. Matter. Bugs Bunny might as well be the Republican nominee. What matters is who is the money behind trump and Project 2025? Those are the men and women who are the true enemies of America. Rout out the funders, prosecute them, and perhaps we will finally be rid of this persistent threat to our republic and start to make real progress toward equality.
Absolutely correct. But take a moment to look at just some of trump's funders, according to a search by perplexity.ai:
The top donors to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign are:
Timothy Mellon, heir of the Mellon banking family, has given at least $16.5 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc since 2022 and $20 million to the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action Inc in 2020.
Robert Bigelow, a Nevada budget hotel tycoon, has given over $9 million to MAGA Inc in the 2024 cycle and pledged to give the group a total of $20 million
.Patricia Duggan, a major donor to the Church of Scientology, has given MAGA Inc more than $5 million in the 2024 cycle.
Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter and Laura Perlmutter, through their foundation, have donated $5 million to Trump's campaign.
Other top donors include Hendricks Holding Co ($5 million), Crownquest Operating ($5 million), Rai Services Co ($3.5 million), and GH Palmer Assoc ($2 million) .
Trump has aggressively courted potential megadonors for the 2024 election, securing commitments from donors like casino billionaires Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, aerospace tycoon Robert Bigelow, and Texas oil billionaire Tim Dunn.
Assuming the AI search is correct, it's a lot of money that is being aided by Democratic lethargy like what we are seeing here in southwestern Florida. Steven, you seem optimistic (overall) and I hope you can help pump up the anti-trump forces in red states as well as blue.
The Time article exposes Trump's manifesto of hate and revenge. It is absolutely terrifying to read what he wants to do and how, in essence, he plans to take over our nation and turn it into another Trump failure.
It is equally frightening that so many people think what he wants to do is OK. Anyone who read what he plans and thinks this is what our country stands for is deceiving themselves. Trump wants to be a dictator, it's that simple. Also, many of his supporters don't understand that what he wants will hurt them, too. They naively think that his plans will only affect others and not them. They're wrong.
In my more than 70 years, I have seen our nation go through many challenges, from the Vietnam war and the anti-war protests, to the energy crisis and to stock market drops. None of those, however, were serious enough to place democracy at risk. Trump does. If Trump wins, our country . . . and the world loses.
Reading Trump’s words from Steve's piece reminds me of a class I taught years ago. Conducting this type of research today would be frowned upon.
In a junior high social studies class, we discussed the differences in governing between a dictator and a president.
One section of fifteen students found information on how democratic presidents ruled and the other half of the class researched the methods of a dictator. When the two groups had a clear idea of their section’s governing process, they chose a leader. The democratic group "elected" their President by secret ballot whereas the most outspoken student in the authoritarian section proclaimed himself the "Supreme Ruler". Then each leader came up with a list of laws that would be used to govern their specific citizens. The aspects of each were discussed. The students were then asked to write down which form of government they would wish to have in their country.
The resulting votes from that class give me hope today.
All thirty students voted for democratic rule, even the Supreme Ruler!
The way I taught was not always part of the curriculum but in those days there was much less attention paid to every word that came out of a teacher's mouth. We could make learning fun and in the process enjoyed teaching. I am so fortunate to have started my teaching career in the late 60s before cell phones, computers, and people in the States making rules that made no sense. We still used libraries for research and not for detention. Thank you, Steven, for your very valuable writing.
I see students often since I retired twenty years ago. They tell me my class was their favorite because I taught them about how to live happily. Thanks Lisa.
Steven, Excellent recap of the salient points of the Time mag interview. Trump is seriously demented and no one is quite sure whether it is Alzheimer’s disease or another major issue connected with his intellectual skills, failing perception of reality or some other severe disease affecting his brain. My main complaint is that the medical profession, to wit the psychiatric and geriatric specialists are treading extremely lightly on trump’s issues with few pronouncements about his suitability for Office. The discourse on his lack of suitability is coming mainly from people like you and other political scientists / commentators. Specialists who are familiar with mental disease as well as those dealing with the aging process should be speaking up about the irreparable harm that this man will unleash on the US with reverberating consequences throughout the western world and beyond. This is urgent.
There's a big disconnect between the interview transcript and Eric Cortellessa's story about the interview and the short analysis of Editor in Chief Sam Jacobs. Eric and Sam focus on the threats of Trump's answers. They acknowledge the inconsistencies and the lies. What they ignore is the glaring, obvious takeaway. Donald J Trump, former President of the United States of America and former Leader of the Free World, and current GOP candidate for re-election is: A Dumbshit.
The transcript reveals his inability to comprehend reality. Eric presses him but fails to hold him to account in real time. If he were tested, like we were in school, Donald would get a D in comprehension and an F in truthfulness and trustworthiness. Is he stupid or is he distrustful liar? The answer is Both.
For example, his attempt to steal the Executive Branch on Jan 6:
__________
Time: I want to ask you another question on this. There are some former allies and staff who don't support you in this election and have cited your attempts to overturn the 2020 election. What would you say to voters who like your policies, but who believe that someone who attacked a cornerstone of democracy—the peaceful transfer of power—cannot be entrusted to preserve it?
Trump: Well, actually, I did the opposite of attack. I'm the one that tried to stop it. I offered 10,000 soldiers and Nancy Pelosi turned me down. So did the mayor of Washington, she turned me down in writing.
Time: What would you say to those voters, though?
Trump: That I offered. Number one, I made a speech that was peaceful and patriotic that nobody reports. Nobody talks about it: peacefully and patriotically. Nobody talks. You know, the committee never used those words. They refused to allow those words. Number two, I had like five tweets that were, go home, blah, blah. I got canceled because of those tweets.
No—
Trump: No, I got canceled because of those tweets. I didn't get canceled because of bad things I said. I got canceled because of good things I said. Because when you read my tweets, and when you see the speech that I made, and when you see the statement that I made in the Oval Office in the Rose Garden, during this very dramatic and horrible period, I'm a very innocent man. Nancy Pelosi is responsible, because she refused to take the 10,000 soldiers or National Guardsmen that I offered. She refused to take them. The mayor of Washington refused to take them too. And they're responsible, you know, for the Capital.
Time: Speaking of this, looking forward—
Trump: One other thing they did that’s so horrible and the press refuses to talk about it. They destroyed all evidence.
_______________________
How does the mass media Press ignore that this old man is intellectually challenged? He has always lived in his own skewed reality. But now his dense indecency can't be ignored. Dunce. Dunderhead. Moron. Ignoramus. Can't reason his way out of a paper bag. Dumber than a bucket of hair. Incompetent for any public office. I'd be embarrassed if this fool was on my city council.
He’s lying. Being untethered to the truth is different than being untethered to reality. He says what he wants people to believe or what will redirect people away from what he doesn’t want to discuss. For instance, it was claimed he didn’t accept that he lost the election in 2020. In private there were several known instances where he acknowledged it or that his term would be ending soon - although it didn’t keep him from trying to extend it. His most devoted followers pay no attention to the mishmash.
No matter his mental and character weaknesses, his love of cruelty and power, I’m afraid underestimating how savvy he is about getting what he wants can come back to bite us.
What the previously skeptical Press ignores is that every word in Trump World is intended to deceive. No doubt he practices these lies mixed with grains of truth with help from Jason Miller and Stephen Miller and Roger Stone and Steve Bannon. Those guys, and his pal Vlad Putin, are smart. They hooked their wagon to a dummie celebrity confidence man. The Press (including this Time Magazine reports the words as though they are factual. As long as the interviewer avoids calling him out, real time, Dumbshit Don gets their goat. Even Justice Alito has been conned into thinking Donnie is an "innocent man".
- Donnie’s been a successful con artist his whole adult life by only paying attention to what he cares about & what works for him. Why is it so important for people to focus on how dumb they think Donnie is?
As usual Steven has it nailed. And so many great comments, too. My take? He is an effing moron, and a dangerous one, too. His allegiance to himself, other than the Constitution (Thank you, General Milley) is profoundly horrifying. Anyone who has served our country knows vividly the oath he/she took when beginning their service: To protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That people would still support him despite the 91 indictments is equally horrifying. And it’s so difficult to sway a voter who blindly follows and supports this disgusting person. I think, as Vice President Quail alluded to a “moral majority” there is a distinct majority who could, if they voted, keep Trump from destroying our country with a dictatorship with few checks and balances. That’s the answer, the goal we must attain: Get out the vote.
I fear the deviousness of the right wing extremists who are pulling the strings. They will weave together trump's lies with the third party kook candidate and student unrest into a toxic concoction to suppress the Biden vote, turning what should be a landslide into a cliffhanger, and then cry 'rigged' unleashing the lunatic fringe to attack our institutions like they did on J6. Except that the attack could be far worse this time.
The other looming threat, and a huge advantage the right wing fanatics will have, is that foreign actors will amplify their efforts through fringe media and social media in order to sow chaos in America. We have no idea how successful they will be as we do not know if any efforts to contain the spread of propaganda has had any effect whatsoever. After all, Musk and Co arose in the meantime. It could easily turn out that the foreign actors have increased their malign talents significantly since 2020. Not to mention they have managed to cultivate a number of loud sympathizers inside Congress.
Bryan, what you're discussing here is of great concern to me. The easiest way for Putin to conquer Ukraine is through cyber warfare , amplified by social-media (China excels at doing this, and wants Democracy to fail, too.). Much work to do! Thanks.
I saw the editor of Time magazine and the writer of the article interviewed on CNN; and my reaction was the same as yours @StevenBeschloss: I barely survived the reading because it vividly displays how profoundly unfit this man is—morally and particularly intellectually—to be anywhere near the levers of power. I was watching these tv interviews while I was eating, as that's when I turn to the tv news for company, and I almost couldn't finish my meals. I am angry. I am upset. I am scared. I am worried about the future of our country. Authorities say that DC and all of government buildings will be well protected to avoid another January 6 if 45 loses, but that won't stop the cult from creating chaos in cities and town all across the US. How can 1 man be so malignant? How can so many people follow him and say they will vote for him in spite of all of the terrible things they realize he did during his 1st term and would do to a greater extent if he is elected again. 45 is so brazen that he says the quiet part out loud all of the time: he said that if the election isn't fair there will be action by his supporters. 45 doesn't know what the word fair means. Translation: if he doesn't win. He didn't win in 2020. All of the checks and re-checks and lawsuits showed that President Biden legitimately won the election. However, 45 doesn't believe in democracy or law or the Constitution or civil discourse or civil behavior. He doesn't believe in anyone but himself. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. Loyalty goes in only 1 direction: toward him. I heard on the news that Hope Hicks was testifying today in the NY Election Interference Case (often called Hush Money case, but the hush money was paid to interfere with voters knowing certain facts about 45 before the election. So I call it the Election Interference Case). After Hope Hicks realized that her testimony was damaging to 45, whom she still likes and respects (and I can't figure that one out), she started crying on the witness stand because she realized that her testimony would help the prosecution. She told the truth and that was damaging to 45. Of course it was damaging. Truth is not in 45's mindset and it is not in his words and it is not in his behavior. I have to keep taking deep breaths and I have to keep praying that enough Americans will see the light, that enough Americans believe in the Constitution, that enough Americans want our country to remain a Democracy, or my head starts spinning out of control. Thank you to everyone in this group who supports me and keeps me from going crazy in these crazy, scary, very challenging times. God Bless America 🇺🇸
Hi Janet, I was raised in an extremist cult (ages 3-13). In 2015, I recognized that Trump is a cult-like leader and would take millions of people off a cliff with him. I said this aloud when he came down that elevator. I don't think he'll take Democracy, though, despite the damage done. This might not be very uplifting, but understanding the cult-factor could be helpful. Best, Lisa
Janet, did you see Lawrence O’Donnell’s evisceration of Hope Hicks and her tears on The Last Word? Was so brilliant because he was in the courtroom and observed her and her words himself. Trump also saw him sitting on an aisle seat and he glared at him the first time he happened to realize he was there. Bless Lawrence (MSNBC) because he has consistently called out Trump for his callousness and his stupid statements for years. Trump despises him and nothing makes Lawrence happier.
More than moronic, an existential danger to us all. It’s unbelievable that we even have to debate this.
Without proper education in history, civics and critical thinking skills, we're doomed.
Those who control the past also control the future.
Alas, it’s too late now to change the educational system to intervene in his quest for a2nd term.
Never too late!!
I’m not a teacher, but I know that school curricula isn’t changed 185 days before an election. It does need to be improved, alas too late to educate and change habits. But the work can certainly start now for 2028 assuming trump’s not reelected.
So true, Lisa!
When you actually read what he said to the Time magazine reporter, he sounds like a blithering idiot. Like you, Stephen, I don’t understand why anyone would support him or his wishy-washy policies. He’s just a wannabe dictator that we shouldn’t even have to take seriously. Unfortunately, so many Americans still do take him seriously despite his non-stop lies, major character flaws and many criminal indictments! I weep for my beloved country.
TFG is the 'dear leader' of the MAGA-Cult, a dangerous mass cult movement (millions!)
Idiot is apt. Dunce. Low comprehension. Unable to reason. His first impulse is deception. Indecent. Disconnected from reality.
And psychopathic. He has no empathy and does not recognize others as human beings but as instruments for doing his bidding.
Thank you Steven
Excerpt from this important article by Steven Beschloss
It will take more than divine intervention to ensure a man like this never sees the inside of the Oval Office again. It will take all of us—and tens of millions of others who decide that they will vote and do everything they can to ensure the survival of American democracy, the promise of America, basic human decency and the primacy of factual reality.
...
💙🇺🇸
It will take a vote, many votes, to sideline the idiot.
Such a great post…with interview quotes that are straight from the horses’ mouth, as they say. Quoting him directly is an important tool for communicating just how inept and profoundly malevolent his political word soup is becoming. As Marc Elias recently said on Nicole Wallace…”The man is desperate and will do anything to be elected.” He said that we should be prepared for any and all of the man’s tricks and efforts…especially his strategy to once again create doubt in the minds of his supporters that the election will be free and fair. He is already setting the stage, as we know, for a repeat of 2020. We have to be prepared, politically and psychologically, for this coming political apocalypse. If he is soundly beaten at the polls, he will unleash the dogs of war. Thank you, Steven, for continuing to cover this ever-present danger.
Thank you, Ellen.
What scares me the most is that the people who support this lying, cruel, ignorant man could be just like him, and not merely misinformed, though the results could be, tragically, the same in either case.
How can we be here -- again -- less than one hundred years after World War II?
We're enduring an ongoing Republican MAGA coup. The enemy is within the castle walls.
First, Steven, an excellent column, one which should be read by tens of millions. But.... Okay, he’s a madman. Certifiable. Oughta be kept in a rubber room. It. Doesn’t. Matter. Bugs Bunny might as well be the Republican nominee. What matters is who is the money behind trump and Project 2025? Those are the men and women who are the true enemies of America. Rout out the funders, prosecute them, and perhaps we will finally be rid of this persistent threat to our republic and start to make real progress toward equality.
Good point. But the first key is overwhelming defeat for these people in November.
Absolutely correct. But take a moment to look at just some of trump's funders, according to a search by perplexity.ai:
The top donors to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign are:
Timothy Mellon, heir of the Mellon banking family, has given at least $16.5 million to the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc since 2022 and $20 million to the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action Inc in 2020.
Robert Bigelow, a Nevada budget hotel tycoon, has given over $9 million to MAGA Inc in the 2024 cycle and pledged to give the group a total of $20 million
.Patricia Duggan, a major donor to the Church of Scientology, has given MAGA Inc more than $5 million in the 2024 cycle.
Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter and Laura Perlmutter, through their foundation, have donated $5 million to Trump's campaign.
Other top donors include Hendricks Holding Co ($5 million), Crownquest Operating ($5 million), Rai Services Co ($3.5 million), and GH Palmer Assoc ($2 million) .
Trump has aggressively courted potential megadonors for the 2024 election, securing commitments from donors like casino billionaires Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, aerospace tycoon Robert Bigelow, and Texas oil billionaire Tim Dunn.
Assuming the AI search is correct, it's a lot of money that is being aided by Democratic lethargy like what we are seeing here in southwestern Florida. Steven, you seem optimistic (overall) and I hope you can help pump up the anti-trump forces in red states as well as blue.
The Time article exposes Trump's manifesto of hate and revenge. It is absolutely terrifying to read what he wants to do and how, in essence, he plans to take over our nation and turn it into another Trump failure.
It is equally frightening that so many people think what he wants to do is OK. Anyone who read what he plans and thinks this is what our country stands for is deceiving themselves. Trump wants to be a dictator, it's that simple. Also, many of his supporters don't understand that what he wants will hurt them, too. They naively think that his plans will only affect others and not them. They're wrong.
In my more than 70 years, I have seen our nation go through many challenges, from the Vietnam war and the anti-war protests, to the energy crisis and to stock market drops. None of those, however, were serious enough to place democracy at risk. Trump does. If Trump wins, our country . . . and the world loses.
Exactly right.
Thank you Steven!
TFG always wanted to be on the cover of Time; now he is. Believe him when he says who he is. Vote Blue in November; lives WILL and DO depend on it!
There is no doubt that what he said in the Time interview is where he intends to go should he be elected again. That cannot happen.
Excellent, powerful, and urgent newsletter, Steven! I hope this is shared far and wide. Thank you!
Thanks, Lisa. Please share!
Reading Trump’s words from Steve's piece reminds me of a class I taught years ago. Conducting this type of research today would be frowned upon.
In a junior high social studies class, we discussed the differences in governing between a dictator and a president.
One section of fifteen students found information on how democratic presidents ruled and the other half of the class researched the methods of a dictator. When the two groups had a clear idea of their section’s governing process, they chose a leader. The democratic group "elected" their President by secret ballot whereas the most outspoken student in the authoritarian section proclaimed himself the "Supreme Ruler". Then each leader came up with a list of laws that would be used to govern their specific citizens. The aspects of each were discussed. The students were then asked to write down which form of government they would wish to have in their country.
The resulting votes from that class give me hope today.
All thirty students voted for democratic rule, even the Supreme Ruler!
A still-needed class. Now more than ever.
The way I taught was not always part of the curriculum but in those days there was much less attention paid to every word that came out of a teacher's mouth. We could make learning fun and in the process enjoyed teaching. I am so fortunate to have started my teaching career in the late 60s before cell phones, computers, and people in the States making rules that made no sense. We still used libraries for research and not for detention. Thank you, Steven, for your very valuable writing.
Great experiment and I'll bet your students never forgot it...and likely are all voting Blue!
I see students often since I retired twenty years ago. They tell me my class was their favorite because I taught them about how to live happily. Thanks Lisa.
That is wonderful: Meaningful work that makes a difference in people's lives :-)
Steven, Excellent recap of the salient points of the Time mag interview. Trump is seriously demented and no one is quite sure whether it is Alzheimer’s disease or another major issue connected with his intellectual skills, failing perception of reality or some other severe disease affecting his brain. My main complaint is that the medical profession, to wit the psychiatric and geriatric specialists are treading extremely lightly on trump’s issues with few pronouncements about his suitability for Office. The discourse on his lack of suitability is coming mainly from people like you and other political scientists / commentators. Specialists who are familiar with mental disease as well as those dealing with the aging process should be speaking up about the irreparable harm that this man will unleash on the US with reverberating consequences throughout the western world and beyond. This is urgent.
There's a big disconnect between the interview transcript and Eric Cortellessa's story about the interview and the short analysis of Editor in Chief Sam Jacobs. Eric and Sam focus on the threats of Trump's answers. They acknowledge the inconsistencies and the lies. What they ignore is the glaring, obvious takeaway. Donald J Trump, former President of the United States of America and former Leader of the Free World, and current GOP candidate for re-election is: A Dumbshit.
The transcript reveals his inability to comprehend reality. Eric presses him but fails to hold him to account in real time. If he were tested, like we were in school, Donald would get a D in comprehension and an F in truthfulness and trustworthiness. Is he stupid or is he distrustful liar? The answer is Both.
For example, his attempt to steal the Executive Branch on Jan 6:
__________
Time: I want to ask you another question on this. There are some former allies and staff who don't support you in this election and have cited your attempts to overturn the 2020 election. What would you say to voters who like your policies, but who believe that someone who attacked a cornerstone of democracy—the peaceful transfer of power—cannot be entrusted to preserve it?
Trump: Well, actually, I did the opposite of attack. I'm the one that tried to stop it. I offered 10,000 soldiers and Nancy Pelosi turned me down. So did the mayor of Washington, she turned me down in writing.
Time: What would you say to those voters, though?
Trump: That I offered. Number one, I made a speech that was peaceful and patriotic that nobody reports. Nobody talks about it: peacefully and patriotically. Nobody talks. You know, the committee never used those words. They refused to allow those words. Number two, I had like five tweets that were, go home, blah, blah. I got canceled because of those tweets.
No—
Trump: No, I got canceled because of those tweets. I didn't get canceled because of bad things I said. I got canceled because of good things I said. Because when you read my tweets, and when you see the speech that I made, and when you see the statement that I made in the Oval Office in the Rose Garden, during this very dramatic and horrible period, I'm a very innocent man. Nancy Pelosi is responsible, because she refused to take the 10,000 soldiers or National Guardsmen that I offered. She refused to take them. The mayor of Washington refused to take them too. And they're responsible, you know, for the Capital.
Time: Speaking of this, looking forward—
Trump: One other thing they did that’s so horrible and the press refuses to talk about it. They destroyed all evidence.
_______________________
How does the mass media Press ignore that this old man is intellectually challenged? He has always lived in his own skewed reality. But now his dense indecency can't be ignored. Dunce. Dunderhead. Moron. Ignoramus. Can't reason his way out of a paper bag. Dumber than a bucket of hair. Incompetent for any public office. I'd be embarrassed if this fool was on my city council.
He’s lying. Being untethered to the truth is different than being untethered to reality. He says what he wants people to believe or what will redirect people away from what he doesn’t want to discuss. For instance, it was claimed he didn’t accept that he lost the election in 2020. In private there were several known instances where he acknowledged it or that his term would be ending soon - although it didn’t keep him from trying to extend it. His most devoted followers pay no attention to the mishmash.
No matter his mental and character weaknesses, his love of cruelty and power, I’m afraid underestimating how savvy he is about getting what he wants can come back to bite us.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3686868-cassidy-hutchinson-trump-told-meadows-this-is-embarrassing-i-dont-want-people-to-know-that-we-lost/
What the previously skeptical Press ignores is that every word in Trump World is intended to deceive. No doubt he practices these lies mixed with grains of truth with help from Jason Miller and Stephen Miller and Roger Stone and Steve Bannon. Those guys, and his pal Vlad Putin, are smart. They hooked their wagon to a dummie celebrity confidence man. The Press (including this Time Magazine reports the words as though they are factual. As long as the interviewer avoids calling him out, real time, Dumbshit Don gets their goat. Even Justice Alito has been conned into thinking Donnie is an "innocent man".
I have 2 questions.
- Donnie’s been a successful con artist his whole adult life by only paying attention to what he cares about & what works for him. Why is it so important for people to focus on how dumb they think Donnie is?
- Why would you say Alito is gullible? I find his rulings to be in line with his long-held legal philosophy although he’s more openly arrogant. Also in line with his billionaire friend$. https://www.courthousenews.com/alito-kicks-up-ethics-questions-with-new-undisclosed-gifts-from-billionaire-donors/
https://www.aclu.org/publications/excerpts-aclu-report-nomination-judge-samuel-alito-jr-be-associate-justice-united-states
As usual Steven has it nailed. And so many great comments, too. My take? He is an effing moron, and a dangerous one, too. His allegiance to himself, other than the Constitution (Thank you, General Milley) is profoundly horrifying. Anyone who has served our country knows vividly the oath he/she took when beginning their service: To protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That people would still support him despite the 91 indictments is equally horrifying. And it’s so difficult to sway a voter who blindly follows and supports this disgusting person. I think, as Vice President Quail alluded to a “moral majority” there is a distinct majority who could, if they voted, keep Trump from destroying our country with a dictatorship with few checks and balances. That’s the answer, the goal we must attain: Get out the vote.
I fear the deviousness of the right wing extremists who are pulling the strings. They will weave together trump's lies with the third party kook candidate and student unrest into a toxic concoction to suppress the Biden vote, turning what should be a landslide into a cliffhanger, and then cry 'rigged' unleashing the lunatic fringe to attack our institutions like they did on J6. Except that the attack could be far worse this time.
A reasonable fear. They will cry “rigged”‘under any circumstances. That’s why the defeat should be overwhelming and undeniable.
The other looming threat, and a huge advantage the right wing fanatics will have, is that foreign actors will amplify their efforts through fringe media and social media in order to sow chaos in America. We have no idea how successful they will be as we do not know if any efforts to contain the spread of propaganda has had any effect whatsoever. After all, Musk and Co arose in the meantime. It could easily turn out that the foreign actors have increased their malign talents significantly since 2020. Not to mention they have managed to cultivate a number of loud sympathizers inside Congress.
Good point. Thanks.
Bryan, what you're discussing here is of great concern to me. The easiest way for Putin to conquer Ukraine is through cyber warfare , amplified by social-media (China excels at doing this, and wants Democracy to fail, too.). Much work to do! Thanks.
I saw the editor of Time magazine and the writer of the article interviewed on CNN; and my reaction was the same as yours @StevenBeschloss: I barely survived the reading because it vividly displays how profoundly unfit this man is—morally and particularly intellectually—to be anywhere near the levers of power. I was watching these tv interviews while I was eating, as that's when I turn to the tv news for company, and I almost couldn't finish my meals. I am angry. I am upset. I am scared. I am worried about the future of our country. Authorities say that DC and all of government buildings will be well protected to avoid another January 6 if 45 loses, but that won't stop the cult from creating chaos in cities and town all across the US. How can 1 man be so malignant? How can so many people follow him and say they will vote for him in spite of all of the terrible things they realize he did during his 1st term and would do to a greater extent if he is elected again. 45 is so brazen that he says the quiet part out loud all of the time: he said that if the election isn't fair there will be action by his supporters. 45 doesn't know what the word fair means. Translation: if he doesn't win. He didn't win in 2020. All of the checks and re-checks and lawsuits showed that President Biden legitimately won the election. However, 45 doesn't believe in democracy or law or the Constitution or civil discourse or civil behavior. He doesn't believe in anyone but himself. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. Loyalty goes in only 1 direction: toward him. I heard on the news that Hope Hicks was testifying today in the NY Election Interference Case (often called Hush Money case, but the hush money was paid to interfere with voters knowing certain facts about 45 before the election. So I call it the Election Interference Case). After Hope Hicks realized that her testimony was damaging to 45, whom she still likes and respects (and I can't figure that one out), she started crying on the witness stand because she realized that her testimony would help the prosecution. She told the truth and that was damaging to 45. Of course it was damaging. Truth is not in 45's mindset and it is not in his words and it is not in his behavior. I have to keep taking deep breaths and I have to keep praying that enough Americans will see the light, that enough Americans believe in the Constitution, that enough Americans want our country to remain a Democracy, or my head starts spinning out of control. Thank you to everyone in this group who supports me and keeps me from going crazy in these crazy, scary, very challenging times. God Bless America 🇺🇸
Hi Janet, I was raised in an extremist cult (ages 3-13). In 2015, I recognized that Trump is a cult-like leader and would take millions of people off a cliff with him. I said this aloud when he came down that elevator. I don't think he'll take Democracy, though, despite the damage done. This might not be very uplifting, but understanding the cult-factor could be helpful. Best, Lisa
Thank goodness, Lisa, you were able to escape!
Thank you Lisa. You have made me feel a little better.
Janet, did you see Lawrence O’Donnell’s evisceration of Hope Hicks and her tears on The Last Word? Was so brilliant because he was in the courtroom and observed her and her words himself. Trump also saw him sitting on an aisle seat and he glared at him the first time he happened to realize he was there. Bless Lawrence (MSNBC) because he has consistently called out Trump for his callousness and his stupid statements for years. Trump despises him and nothing makes Lawrence happier.
trump has the intelligence of Chauncey Gardner. Just talks more.