13:00 minutes in I've stopped to write my theory: I think what happened to Vance (and I think this because I think he is a pretty intelligent guy) is that because he figured out the the belief in craziness was so pervasive, and that it likely was increasing, he came to the conclusion that the American populace was actually not capable of…
13:00 minutes in I've stopped to write my theory: I think what happened to Vance (and I think this because I think he is a pretty intelligent guy) is that because he figured out the the belief in craziness was so pervasive, and that it likely was increasing, he came to the conclusion that the American populace was actually not capable of making the kinds of rational decisions needed to participate in a democracy. It turned him into one of these folks who believe in dictatorship a la Peter Thiel: the people who are intelligent and knowledgeable should be the ones making decisions. After that leap of political philosophy, it is easy to see that people's propensity to believe conspiracy theories can be used to manipulate them, therefore can be used to get yourself put in power. Trump is a weirdo-mentally-unstable-chaos-machine. People think, oh it's a cult of personality and once Trump is gone, MAGA will crumble, but I don't think so. Vance is smart, capable, manipulative, and brutal, and I think he is way more dangerous to our democracy than Trump.
Agree that Vance is dangerous, but I still think he doesn’t have the charisma that Trump has, and therefore will never get the votes or the following that Trump has. During the campaign, almost no one came to Vance’s public events, whereas Trump had big crowds watching him do nothing on stage for 30 to 40 minutes but sway-dance. Trump rallies were almost giant social events, parties. Vance events are boring. Unless people are forced to sit in an auditorium and listen to him (Munich Security Conference) they won’t do it. Look what happened in Greenland. Admittedly the locals hate him and Usha, but look at the photo of him eating lunch with the US soldiers on the military base he visited. They look like hostages, like prisoners, terrified that they have been forced to sit at the same table with this guy. When Trump is gone, Vance is done for. He will have sold his soul for nothing.
I agree. Vance might be more dangerous IF he had Trump's massive cult of personality, but he does not and never will. He is not charismatic, popular, or likable. The MAGAs won't storm the Capital for him. If it were Vance doing all the same destructive things Trump is doing now, even if he kept saying "this is what Trump wanted," MAGA would turn on him far more quickly once it started affecting their lives and livelihoods.
Trump is a singular figure with his cult and can't be easily replaced. More likely they won't be able to replace him at all and MAGA will break down into squabbling factions once he is gone.
I too have been thinking of what happens when Trump is gone from the scene. I lean towards your thoughts, Sami. A big part of Trump's power/appeal is his showmanship and entertainment ability. I don't think there's anyone else in MAGALand that has that capability on Trump's level and so there could well be some fragmenting of "Trumpism" once the God King is gone (and on his way to Hades, I hope).
13:00 minutes in I've stopped to write my theory: I think what happened to Vance (and I think this because I think he is a pretty intelligent guy) is that because he figured out the the belief in craziness was so pervasive, and that it likely was increasing, he came to the conclusion that the American populace was actually not capable of making the kinds of rational decisions needed to participate in a democracy. It turned him into one of these folks who believe in dictatorship a la Peter Thiel: the people who are intelligent and knowledgeable should be the ones making decisions. After that leap of political philosophy, it is easy to see that people's propensity to believe conspiracy theories can be used to manipulate them, therefore can be used to get yourself put in power. Trump is a weirdo-mentally-unstable-chaos-machine. People think, oh it's a cult of personality and once Trump is gone, MAGA will crumble, but I don't think so. Vance is smart, capable, manipulative, and brutal, and I think he is way more dangerous to our democracy than Trump.
Agree that Vance is dangerous, but I still think he doesn’t have the charisma that Trump has, and therefore will never get the votes or the following that Trump has. During the campaign, almost no one came to Vance’s public events, whereas Trump had big crowds watching him do nothing on stage for 30 to 40 minutes but sway-dance. Trump rallies were almost giant social events, parties. Vance events are boring. Unless people are forced to sit in an auditorium and listen to him (Munich Security Conference) they won’t do it. Look what happened in Greenland. Admittedly the locals hate him and Usha, but look at the photo of him eating lunch with the US soldiers on the military base he visited. They look like hostages, like prisoners, terrified that they have been forced to sit at the same table with this guy. When Trump is gone, Vance is done for. He will have sold his soul for nothing.
Interesting thoughts. I hope you both are right.
I agree. Vance might be more dangerous IF he had Trump's massive cult of personality, but he does not and never will. He is not charismatic, popular, or likable. The MAGAs won't storm the Capital for him. If it were Vance doing all the same destructive things Trump is doing now, even if he kept saying "this is what Trump wanted," MAGA would turn on him far more quickly once it started affecting their lives and livelihoods.
Trump is a singular figure with his cult and can't be easily replaced. More likely they won't be able to replace him at all and MAGA will break down into squabbling factions once he is gone.
I too have been thinking of what happens when Trump is gone from the scene. I lean towards your thoughts, Sami. A big part of Trump's power/appeal is his showmanship and entertainment ability. I don't think there's anyone else in MAGALand that has that capability on Trump's level and so there could well be some fragmenting of "Trumpism" once the God King is gone (and on his way to Hades, I hope).