“Kamela never worked at McDonalds! She’s a liar!”
- d. trump -
Good grief man, get a fvcking life!
Who in their right mind is going to lie about working there??
Anyhoo… McDonalds have not commented that she didn’t work there. That’s all right-wing spin, fake news and lies.
And seemingly it is verifiable that she did work at a Mac for a Summer during college.
But the news here is: Why the hell does the trumpkin make such a big deal of it?
It’s like his advisors (or perhaps he himself) are scouring alt-right X posts to pick up the most inane subjects over which he gets his balls in a twist and starts squealing without thinking.
Americans. Please. Explain to me how you can support such a moron.
The mind boggles.
Which presidential candidate, in their right mind, would post a message like: “I hate Taylor Swift.”
At what point do you, as an American, actually stop and think: “Hey, that’s not fvcking normal anymore.”
trump is on his pedastool claiming the democrats are a danger to society, nearly daily, and at the same time he’s pushing lies about immigrants eating cats, hate speaking about Kamela Harris, hating on a musician…
When do you, as an American, say enough is enough, I’m not voting for someone who is obviously off their rocker?
Surely, Americans, you can see that this isn’t normal anymore? It’s no longer within the bounds of sanity.
@shavixmir saidWhy the hell does the trumpkin make such a big deal of it?
“Kamela never worked at McDonalds! She’s a liar!”
- d. trump -
Good grief man, get a fvcking life!
Who in their right mind is going to lie about working there??
Anyhoo… McDonalds have not commented that she didn’t work there. That’s all right-wing spin, fake news and lies.
And seemingly it is verifiable that she did work at a Mac for a Summer during college.
Bu ...[text shortened]... , Americans, you can see that this isn’t normal anymore? It’s no longer within the bounds of sanity.
I can't speak to the reasoning (or lack thereof) of the Donald but let us not forget that he is still facing mountain of legal charges in multiple jurisdictions that he'll have to face should he not be elected, this in addition to the penalty phase of his recently completed fraud trial. The more he falls behind Harris, the more desperate he'll get, so be prepared for even more looney behavior in the next month or 2.
Desperate people do (and say) desperate things! 😏
@mchill saidYes.
Why the hell does the trumpkin make such a big deal of it?
I can't speak to the reasoning (or lack thereof) of the Donald but let us not forget that he is still facing mountain of legal charges in multiple jurisdictions that he'll have to face should he not be elected, this in addition to the penalty phase of his recently completed fraud trial. The more he falls behind Ha ...[text shortened]... n more looney behavior in the next month or 2.
Desperate people do (and say) desperate things! 😏
My question to the Americans here, though, is: how can you support him when he says the things he’s been saying?
@shavixmir saidhow can you support him when he says the things he’s been saying?
Yes.
My question to the Americans here, though, is: how can you support him when he says the things he’s been saying?
I think you've figured out by now that I don't support him, and neither do most Americans. However - - over on this side of the ocean we have these crazy little things called elections, as well as an ample supply of idiots. Let us hope Harris continues to widen her lead over the Trumpster.
@mchill saidOh, I'm not asking the question to you personally.
how can you support him when he says the things he’s been saying?
I think you've figured out by now that I don't support him, and neither do most Americans. However - - over on this side of the ocean we have these crazy little things called elections, as well as an ample supply of idiots. Let us hope Harris continues to widen her lead over the Trumpster.
More to the Mott's and Joe's of this forum.
You seem perfectly normal to me.
@mchill saidTrump's desperation is palpable. He'll do and say anything to get that get-out-of-jail-free card, quash all the running investigations and pardon himself if he should get back into the WH.
Why the hell does the trumpkin make such a big deal of it?
I can't speak to the reasoning (or lack thereof) of the Donald but let us not forget that he is still facing mountain of legal charges in multiple jurisdictions that he'll have to face should he not be elected, this in addition to the penalty phase of his recently completed fraud trial. The more he falls behind Ha ...[text shortened]... n more looney behavior in the next month or 2.
Desperate people do (and say) desperate things! 😏
@shavixmir saidTrump embodies something for them. He's the poster boy for disgruntled entitlement. He thinks life owed him something and he got cheated out of it. Lots of Americans have had a smoldering feeling that they too were promised something -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- but they're NOT happy, and they feel that someone must have cheated them out of it. Moreover, they're so unhappy, they are willing to give up their liberty to a man who embodies exactly this massive sense of resentment at having been cheated. Trump is pointing his finger at all the wrong culprits -- Mexicans, Haitians, Dems, Libs, Biden, the goobermint etc. -- pointing their fingers at anyone but themselves makes them feel in a strange and deluded way empowered. Anyway, it's reassuring to them that it's not THEIR fault they're massively unhappy. This is Trump's playbook, and it is hugely appealing to those who feel dis-empowered.
Oh, I'm not asking the question to you personally.
More to the Mott's and Joe's of this forum.
PS It is worth pointing out that nothing in America's great founding documents guarantees that anyone will ever ARRIVE at happiness, but only that everyone has a right to PURSUE it.
@moonbus saidBut that is extremely weird, isn't it?
Trump embodies something for them. He's the poster boy for disgruntled entitlement. He thinks life owed him something and he got cheated out of it. Lots of Americans have had a smoldering feeling that they too were promised something -- life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- but they're NOT happy, and they feel that someone must have cheated them out of it. Moreover, ...[text shortened]... ively unhappy. This is Trump's playbook, and it is hugely appealing to those who feel dis-empowered.
These same people, take Average Joe for example, are all about individualism, being free and making own choices.
I can understand the smoldering feeling that the American dream has been lost (if it was ever there in the first place), but surely following someone blaming others instead of themselves is a contra-indication to everything they stand for?
To take it one step further: they follow the same route as the extreme right in Europe: blame anyone but the capitalist system and themselves. But, in the US, the American dream was always directly linked to one's own efforts. Which makes the step to that path larger. Or, so it would seem to me.
@shavixmir saidEmpowerment, it’s what every strongman promises and never delivers. Fools fall for it again and again. It’s not rational, it’s visceral. That’s the whole point of Trump’s raised-fist show of defiance at the rally where someone took pot shots at him. Of course, it’s false empowerment; it would empower only Trump, not the Average Joes of America, if Trump got back into office. But Average Joe doesn’t see it that way; Average Joe got his $6000 tax break, that’s how cheaply he sold his liberty.
But that is extremely weird, isn't it?
These same people, take Average Joe for example, are all about individualism, being free and making own choices.
I can understand the smoldering feeling that the American dream has been lost (if it was ever there in the first place), but surely following someone blaming others instead of themselves is a contra-indication to every ...[text shortened]... y linked to one's own efforts. Which makes the step to that path larger. Or, so it would seem to me.
@shavixmir
Further comment, why people are falling for such absurd lies: the American public is getting markedly politically dumber.
quote:
“It’s kind of hard to differentiate between the lies and the truth,” says 16-year-old Olivia Cisse, a YVote camper. “The lies kind of mess up the faith that you have in the government.”
The debate over Gen Z’s engagement levels comes at a time when civics knowledge among Americans as a whole has plunged to new lows: A 2023 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found 66% of respondents could name all three branches of government, but 17% could not name any. And just 5% of respondents could name all five freedoms covered by the First Amendment.
end quote
source:
https://apnews.com/politics/democracy-schools-new-york-general-news-domestic-news-26cf2fb9fcc5257229ae916df02a0d18
@moonbus saidLack of education does have an effect but that doesn't seem to be the main reason why Americans fall for lies.
@shavixmir
Further comment, why people are falling for such absurd lies: the American public is getting markedly politically dumber.
quote:
“It’s kind of hard to differentiate between the lies and the truth,” says 16-year-old Olivia Cisse, a YVote camper. “The lies kind of mess up the faith that you have in the government.”
The debate over Gen Z’s engagement level ...[text shortened]... .com/politics/democracy-schools-new-york-general-news-domestic-news-26cf2fb9fcc5257229ae916df02a0d18
Ignorance can be fixed pretty easily in this day and age. Just pull out your phone and look it up.
The problem is mindset and culture more than anything else. If you believe anything Alex Jones says you are likely a willing member of a culture that peddles absurd beliefs. Alex Jones is not difficult to disprove; it's actually much more difficult to justify believing in him.
Think about how much reading Metal Brain does in order to maintain his positions. He deliberately goes out of his way to read Russian or right-wing propaganda. He spends hours watching videos and consuming garbage. The problem isn't education per se, it's his personality. He eschews reasonable positions for propaganda.
Gen Z is no different. They rely on TikTok or Twitter personalities for news, so much so that social media influencers peddling dubious or dangerous products is a lucrative business. When all your friends and idols are on TikTok, this becomes your culture.
There's also the problem that empiricism is boring compared to sensationalism. Quippy memes are more effective than well-researched journalism.
Better education can help but is less effective than culture. If you spent your entire life going to church surrounded by fundamentalists, no amount of education can convince you to believe evolution is a credible theory. The same goes for politics and education.
@vivify
Broadly, I agree with your post. There is another issue, and that is editorial accountability. The propagation of lies is much too easy on the Internet, where there is no editorial accountability. If Social media platforms were held to the same standard as print media, the propagation of lies would be much more difficult. If a printed journal such as the economist, or the times, were to print things which Donald Trump routinely posts to social
media , then the editors would be sued for defamation, libel, slander; this makes print media much more cautious about printing rumors. There are no such guard rails for posting through social media, and this has contributed to a climate of lies and distrust.
@moonbus saidRight-wingers get their news from social media precisely because they don't like editorial accountability.
@vivify
Broadly, I agree with your post. There is another issue, and that is editorial accountability. The propagation of lies is much too easy on the Internet, where there is no editorial accountability. If Social media platforms were held to the same standard as print media, the propagation of lies would be much more difficult. If a printed journal such as the economist, ...[text shortened]... rails for posting through social media, and this has contributed to a climate of lies and distrust.
If Twitter were forced to have the same editorial accountability as the Associated Press, right-wingers would stop going to Twitter. Same for Facebook or any other social media outlet.
Remember when Fox News lost ratings because they called Arizona for Trump? Even though they were correct, it's not what their viewers wanted to hear. So, for the next few weeks Newsmax actually had higher ratings than Fox when viewers switched to a platform who fed them the propaganda they wanted.
I do agree with you that editorial accountability should apply to all news and social media outlets. It is a good idea and worthwhile to help lessen extremism. Sometimes the only way to kill a dangerous beast is to starve it; having fewer outlets for misinformation can do just that.