The Trump Presidency

[LunarOrbit]

His brain is a mess.

[gillianren]

I've heard serious discussion in some circles about tertiary syphilis.  I genuinely didn't pay attention enough to him to know if he was like this in the '80s, though I definitely already knew I didn't like him.  It is my impression that he's getting worse, but it's also possible that he's actually managing to lose filters.  The only problem with that is the idea that he had them to lose.

[grmcdorman]

A lot of his speech, outside of cases where he's reading material written for him, is very much stream of consciousness. And he doesn't have much of that; he also has no focus and no discipline. He is just not qualified for any leadership role in so many ways, and that's before you get into his bigotry and various -isms.

So many people in the US don't just seem to realize the damage he's done to the country, especially internationally; the US just can't be trusted any more. Even in Canada, which had a good relationship with the country up to now, the majority of the people view the country with suspicion (something like 83% of Canadians didn't like or trust Trump, and that was before the pandemic).

[Obviousman]

Let the bidding war for Jay's relocation city begin...!

We've a tough opponent. Every Aussie I've spoken to who has been to Canada says it's like Australia with an American accent. I've never heard a bad word about it... except always packing survival kits in the car in case you get snowed in!

[JayUtah]

Jay should just be his own country, like the Vatican. That way no one will fight over who gets to have him.

We'll have an awesome space program.  There's a "Space Pope" joke in there somewhere.

[raven]

https://twitter.com/kenolin1/status/1309347252402491392?s=21

What?

His last brain cell must have died of loneliness.
On a more serious note though.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/17/critics-condemn-trumps-rewrite-of-americas-legacy-of-racism-in-dc-speech

[raven]

Not to mention this. Wow. I don't really have the words for this right now. Well, I have a few. Terrifying. Infuriating. Appalling.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/22/politics/donald-trump-genes-historical-context-eugenics/index.html

[Bryanpoprobson]

[Peter B]

Just don't forget that there are millions of Americans who think he's just doing a brilliant job, and love that he's sticking it to those lib-tards.

Yes, he's behaving outrageously, and he's probably set records for fibbies told and impeachable offences committed.

But being outraged isn't the answer. The Democratic Party people in Congress are just exhausting themselves pursuing each new outrage and I suspect ordinary Americans are moving on. I read earlier today that polls show most Americans don't care about the new Supreme Court recommendation. So the Dems shouldn't worry about it either - just let her be confirmed and find an issue that ordinary Americans do care about. (I suspect that the Dems in Congress would benefit from some views from the outside by non-American political operators about more tactical application of their resources...)

For example, I heard an interesting comment on the radio today - that American businesses want certainty more than anything, and Locus Of Chaos Trump is not delivering that. Instead, even if he might be more anti-business than Trump, Biden might be a more favourable candidate for the business sector because he's going to deliver the certainty that they want.

As for Trump, if the product of the Lincoln Project is anything to go by, what Trump dislikes most is mockery.

[raven]

And like most narcissist I've encountered, he's wafer thin in the skin department with absolutely zero true sense of humour about himself. Hell's bells and bodkin, remember how much of a tizzy he went into simply because some folks said he had small hands? Nonetheless, as much fun as it is to poke at this side of him, and by All is it fun, it shouldn't distract from the vile things he is doing and encouraging and allowing to happen.

[gillianren]

The "small hands" thing was first a joke in the '80s, and it still makes him angry.

It annoys me that people still think the Democrats are just getting angry and not doing anything.  For one thing, enormous numbers of bills have passed the House, and they're being consistently ignored by Mitch McConnell, who won't do anything about them.  For another thing, what are they supposed to be doing?  They're limited by people who simply won't do anything bipartisan who control the Senate and the White House.  They could overcome the White House alone, but with the Senate Republican, nothing gets done.

[gillianren]

Also, "don't worry about the new Supreme Court appointment" is honestly terrible advice.  Most Americans may not care, but that's because most Americans aren't really thinking about how important a Supreme Court justice is to their daily lives.  Keeping this woman out of the Supreme Court isn't just partisan bickering; the Supreme Court would, with a 6-3 Republican majority, eliminate vast swathes of rights from the American people, and there's a lot of speculation that it would be used to override the will of the people come November.

[JayUtah]

Nonetheless, as much fun as it is to poke at this side of him, and by All is it fun, it shouldn't distract from the vile things he is doing and encouraging and allowing to happen.

And the vile things being done in relative secrecy by the Republican-controlled machinery of government while the media remains obsessed with Donald Trump.  At one time I believed that's why they nominated George W. Bush.  He was an incompetent buffoon with an electable pedigree. His job was to distract attention away from Dick Cheney, who was more in charge of the White House, and from the Republicans elsewhere in government who would then be free to enact policy with the media's eye focused on Bush.

[JayUtah]

Also, "don't worry about the new Supreme Court appointment" is honestly terrible advice.

Which is another reason not to fill a Supreme Court vacancy so close to an election.  It conflates the debate over the choice with electoral campaigning.  They don't mix well.

I gather the advice to ignore the appointment stems from the inevitability at this point that the nominee will be a conservative and that the court has no near future other than a 6-3 conservative majority.  If not this woman, then someone just like her.  But I adamantly wish it were not this person.  Roe v. Wade is all but overturned at this point.  And given the somewhat vulnerable reasoning in Obergefell v. Hodges, I can't say that marriage equality stands a chance of survival.

[T]here's a lot of speculation that it would be used to override the will of the people come November.

I think it's all but certain at this point that the Republicans will challenge the outcome of the election in court.

[JayUtah]

I've heard serious discussion in some circles about tertiary syphilis.

There was also the suggestion that he had a small stroke, or a series of them, last year about this time.  I'll honestly be surprised if he remains passably competent until the Juanuary 2021 inauguration.