The Trump Presidency

[JayUtah]

I personally tend to think the idea of "Karen" is in part intended to make a lot of gatekeeping perceived as women's fault.

Good point.  The term "Karen effect" really doesn't capture the whole phenomenon I'm thinking of, precisely because of the differences in behavior you raise.  And it risks casting a sexist overtone over what doesn't need to be thought of in that way.  It's easy, but unfair, to point to that straw man as an example.

Both men and women today exhibit bad behavior when dealing with conflict, and I venture to say that much of it stems from entitlement and the nearly complete absence of empathy where strangers are concerned.  You can still find courtesy and hospitality in the United States, but I perceive them to be dwindling.

[LunarOrbit]

I agree that the "Karen effect" has unfairly made it appear like women are the only ones doing stuff like that. It seems like more people (both men & women) have suddenly felt free to be their true racist selves, out loud & proud, ever since Trump came along and gave them permission. Maybe we were deluding ourselves to think that things had improved when it had really just gone deep undercover for a while.

I'm starting to think that the Civil War, WW1, and WW2, never really ended. The people that thought slavery was a good idea, or that Jews should be exterminated, just laid low while they got themselves into positions of power around the world. Now it is their time to spring back up. It's really disheartening to think that is the case.

[Bryanpoprobson]

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1308594096005697541?s=21

Really? How dumb is having a rally of this size during a pandemic. Does he give a f**k about anybody, other than himself?

[Zakalwe]

Does he give a f**k about anybody, other than himself?

You already know the answer to that one....

[Peter B]

Is that the rally where he made a joke about signing an Executive Order to prevent Joe Biden from becoming President (because obviously it's a joke if a non-Trumper has to ask if he was serious this time...)?

[ineluki]

Does he give a f**k about anybody, other than himself?

Wouldn't it be perfect Karma if the voters hat are infected and incapable of voting as a result of this covidiotic event, were the missing votes that cost him the election?

[LunarOrbit]

Does he give a f**k about anybody, other than himself?

Wouldn't it be perfect Karma if the voters hat are infected and incapable of voting as a result of this covidiotic event, were the missing votes that cost him the election?

That's what I don't get about Trump's handling of COVID-19. How does he come out of this looking like a good leader who should be elected to a second term? He can't even hold onto his base if they (or their loved ones) start dying.

He could have taken charge, followed the advice of experts, and had a much better result that might have even won over a few voters from the other side. Instead he downplays the virus and politicizes the only ways of getting control over it, and the death count sores. This seems like more than just Trump being a Dunning-Kruger idiot who is out of his depth, it looks like an intentional strategy that doesn't make sense unless you assume that death & societal chaos is what he wants.

[molesworth]

Wouldn't it be perfect Karma if the voters hat are infected and incapable of voting as a result of this covidiotic event, were the missing votes that cost him the election?

That's what I don't get about Trump's handling of COVID-19. How does he come out of this looking like a good leader who should be elected to a second term? He can't even hold onto his base if they (or their loved ones) start dying.

From this side of the pond, and going by the news reports and social media, I get the impression that most of them just accept that there will be "collateral damage", as long as they can keep Trump in office, and pushing through more right-wing policies.  As I recall, he bragged that he could shoot someone on Times Square and not lose votes and I'm afraid that has, in a way, come true.

He could have taken charge, followed the advice of experts, and had a much better result that might have even won over a few voters from the other side. Instead he downplays the virus and politicizes the only ways of getting control over it, and the death count sores. This seems like more than just Trump being a Dunning-Kruger idiot who is out of his depth, it looks like an intentional strategy that doesn't make sense unless you assume that death & societal chaos is what he wants.

I don't think it's what Trump himself wants, but looking behind the scenes there is, or has been, a group of people such as Bannon and Miller, and a lot of "influencers" who have stated openly that they want to disrupt or destroy western societies/cultures.  Trump is a useful front for them, and the same applies over here in the UK, where Dominic Cummings (a friend of Bannon's) is pretty much the power behind the clown facade of Boris Johnson.

[Obviousman]

I'm just waiting for him to complain that that the 200,000 US dead is "fake news", that the figure is more like 20,000, half of those were not COVID and the others were stupid Democrat voters who probably deserved it anyway.

[Jason Thompson]

If only there was some way we could have foreseen his actions and his desperate need to de-legitimise any outcome unfavourable to him. I mean, it's not like he was going on about rigged election systems back in 2016 or anything....

[Kiwi]

So much for my plans to move the U.K. to escape the American Republicans.  Canada, anyone?  I hear Vancouver is a nice place.

There's always this sunny little island continent Down Under.

Apologies for being so late joining in, but a quote on the idiot-box one night from a famous Aussie surfer seems appropriate:

We may be descendants of white outcasts from England, but they threw us into a wonderful place in Australia.  They consigned us to heaven, and they stayed in hell!

― Midget Farrelly, “Nothing to Hide – The History of Swimwear” TV2 (New Zealand) 27 Sep 1996 8:30pm

[JayUtah]

If only there was some way we could have foreseen his actions and his desperate need to de-legitimise any outcome unfavourable to him. I mean, it's not like he was going on about rigged election systems back in 2016 or anything....

Now he has the full power of the Presidency and the backing of his party to make good on his rants.  Historically, incumbent candidates were barred from using the resources of their office to seek re-election.  But since no one is stepping up to stop him from breaking the law...

I must apologize too for my Senator.  Romney led everyone to believe he was going to do the right thing, then decided to cave to the party.

[JayUtah]

Wouldn't it be perfect Karma if the voters hat are infected and incapable of voting as a result of this covidiotic event, were the missing votes that cost him the election?

Yes, that's been brought up elsewhere too.  Traditionally the Republicans use social issues ("Antifa!"  "Gays getting married!") to scare older voters out to the polls as issue voters, where they then cast more votes for conservative candidates.  But more that one candidate has noted that if older people have been more susceptible to COVID-19, and have died in greater numbers, then there simply might not be the votes there.

And aside from the age factor, the anti-maskers and rally attendees should logically suffer greater infection rates and mortality than the more cautious.  (Although the delay between infection and symptoms makes that not strictly the case.)

This is really my last hope.  As I've learned from twenty years of watching conspiracy theorists, their circles inevitably burn out.  People are looking at the Republican Party as the new fascist leaders of America, but I think they'll end up tearing themselves apart via infighting.

[LunarOrbit]

Now he has the full power of the Presidency and the backing of his party to make good on his rants.

And soon he will have a solid lock on the Supreme Court who will say whatever he does next is perfectly legal. So, about those checks and balances... I think they might need some tweaking if the US survives long enough to do so. May I suggest installing an ejector seat behind the President's desk?

I'm starting to think that being ruled by AI might be better. At least it will be required to follow the rules of it's programming. Humans will just ignore the Constitution if it gets in the way of their plans, and all those so called "patriots" will do nothing when your ballots are tossed into a shredder.

[JayUtah]

How does he come out of this looking like a good leader who should be elected to a second term?

Fox News.  Everything else is a left-wing, deep-state conspiracy to unseat and antagonize the best President ever.  Seriously, the propaganda machine has been in full swing for many years, especially through the Obama Presidency.

...as long as they can keep Trump in office, and pushing through more right-wing policies.

Specifically, conservative federal judges.  Starting in 2015, when Sen. Mitch McConnell took over the post of Senate Majority Leader (not a thing that's in the Constitution, by the way), he stopped confirming Obama appointees to the federal bench.  At the close of Pres. Obama's last term, there were something like 200 open positions.  So now that the Republicans control the White House and the Senate, they've been racing to fill those seats.  This includes three seats on the Supreme Court.  The House of Representatives has nothing to do with the selection of judges.  So busy has Sen. McConnell been in ramming through those judicial nominees, the Senate has done practically no actual legislation.

Skewing the judiciary to the right has long been the goal of the Republicans.  The political branches of government come and go, vacillating between the parties.  The judiciary is longstanding.  And while it is supposed to be apolitical, that really hasn't been the case recently.  Increasingly the political branches of government have turned to the judiciary to resolve disputes or to alternately effect and bar policy.  If the judiciary leans right, the Republicans will win more of those fights.

As I recall, he bragged that he could shoot someone on Times Square and not lose votes and I'm afraid that has, in a way, come true.

In a more literal way than many thought.  The Senate has sent a clear message to the White House that the President will not be held accountable for breaking any laws -- which he has then done in abundance.