Well, to be fair they're probably muttering about what Fox Noise just showed them on this morning's episodes. I mean, they don't have the greatest memories or attention spans. That's at least a week old now!
Or Hillary Clinton. Those sad sack pieces of shit are still whining about her from time to time. They apparently possess no sense of decency. They are beneath my contempt.
You have not come face to face with MAGA voters. Nobody IS that stupid. Some are, however, that mentally ill.
I'm not joking, not exaggerating. This may not be in the DSM because that catalogs disorders of individuals, and this is a social phenomenon. But it is madness nevertheless, and follows a number of historical precedents.
What are in the domain of mob psychology, in intersecting senses of the word.
"You have not come face to face with MAGA voters. Nobody IS that stupid."
You are misinformed. I grew up in small communities in Iowa, in the beating heart of MAGA America. There was a fence behind our house. On the other side was a corn field. These are my people. Some of them are family.
It depends on what you mean by stupid. In my career in science, I knew a lot of people who were very clever and very smart. I came to appreciate these were not the same things. Clever is being able to design and carry out an experiment, or solve a math problem, or fix something that breaks, or know how to get the adrenaline rush from winning a game or provoking someone you don't like. Clever is using a spreadsheet to figure out how much crop insurance to buy, to best balance the potential payout versus your personal sense of risk. Or how much to sell on the futures market versus waiting until the crop is in the silo. MAGA voters are as clever as anyone, and they are able to do these things.
Smart is different. Smart is taking the long view and understanding the consequences of the clever things you do. Smart is being able to imagine the perspective of someone very different from yourself, feeling the humanity of that person, and adjusting what you do today because of that insight. Smart is knowing how what happened yesterday impacts what you can do today, and how what you do today influences what is possible tomorrow. Smart is using your cleverness to make good life choices that make your life better and the lives of people around you better in the long run.
The key to understanding MAGA behavior is the gap between clever and smart. And what drives that distance is fear. They are afraid that the cleverness that made them prosper yesterday looks shaky today and may be inadequate tomorrow. They fear that sometime soon they will have to do something different or perhaps even live in some other place. They are afraid of those "other" places, like the "crime-ridden" cities they have never visited but imagine in their nightmares. Republicans tell them that all of their challenges are because of "those people." They want to believe this, but deep down they know it is a lie. They see the woman who walked to the border from Venezuela with two young children, or the man who escaped from Afghanistan with his family, and they are afraid. It isn't about crime. They see the cleverness, grit and determination of "those people," and they are afraid that they and their children won't quite measure up. They fear that a level playing field will work out poorly for them.
MAGA Americans have decided to vote for making America the kind of place other people won't want to live in. So very clever! In the long run, they will suffer most of all. It is achingly, unbearably stupid.
This really insightful - thanks for your contribution. I think you're close, but not quite completely correct with: "MAGA Americans have decided to vote for making America the kind of place other people won't want to live in." In general, since the country's founding 250 years ago, immigrants have always wanted to come to America so badly that they will go to any lengths to get here and then they work their butts off to stay here. It is more like MAGA (indisputably descendants of immigrants themselves) now wants to make America the kind of place the new cohort of "other people"/immigrants CAN'T live in.
Yes, a very astute observation. Some of us are lemmings, some of us are sheep, and some of us are just cows chewing cud in someones field, not wondering about anything. Most of us will not know or care when, or how, it ends. So be it.
I know this guy who suffers from Bipolar Disorder. He points out to me from time to time that he supposed to be the crazy one, and these monstrous MAGA freaks are supposedly “normal.” WTF?
There was a book that came out trying to explain Trump voters right after his first election, and a line in it went, "Trump supporters see Trump as a richer version of themselves."
I agree. He's an emblem to angry, frustrated jerks because he's an indication that someone with their mentality can be "successful."
Yes. Lawrence O'Donnell frequently intones that diagnosis in his nightly political news/commentary e.g. "Since Donald Trump is the *stupidest* man ever to be president" etc.)
It's like all these videos and analysts saying things like "No judge would ever side with a psycho like this". So the only thing saving us is a single person that can be coerced, or removed? Doesn't the mafia take care of that issue all the time? Why would anyone trust any law when we're watching them all be ignored.
Re: "...and having suffered untold legal humiliations in the process."
Yeah? Name one. She's third runner-up Miss Colorado. She'll be on Fox News in five minutes where she'll make ten times what she did as a lawyer. Did she lose her license? Pay a fine? Get locked up for a couple of hours? Strongly-worded letter? No. Nothing happened to her. She mouthed off to a Federal judge and absolutely nothing bad happened. That works if you've got nice gams and Trump likes you. Let some overweight, sweaty White dude with a bad comb over and thirty years of experience arguing in Federal Court try that. They'd bounce that guy all the way to Albuquerque.
Getting fired is a career enhancing move in the Trump Era for this kind of person.
Wouldn't it be ironic, or hilarious, or telling, or something if Trump decided not to invade Greenland because Denmark is the world's supplier of Ozempic?
You say "now" as if he has not been popping aspirin (a drug) for a long time. Who knows what else he takes? Ever see a clean medical exam report on the Felon?
I was implying that he’s on weight loss drugs specifically, but I wasn’t clear. He’s definitely highly medicated at all times. Adderall is commonly assumed. Other times he seems sedated. And I’m sure there’s a pharmacopoeia involved in his “venous insufficiency”.
I agree, except for your characterization of Noem as a beauty queen. She has gone too far with her Mar-a-Lago face. She now looks and sounds as empty as her soul.
Oh,that’s good! I might use it on my next protest sign. I have to steal other people’s ideas . . . Maybe I’ll expand on it with “More Filler for The Puppy Killer”. I’m going to need a bigger sign.
There is no humiliation or shame in the Trump administration. It's all just a step towards the next Fox News commentator contract (or "The Masked Singer").
I have learned that many people who have worked hard to get to positions of authority have no integrity or courage. I include Rs in Congress and members of bar associations, the latter because someone liked by DJT because she was in a beauty contest can thumb her nose at the law and walk away to a better future.
You mean in the bar. While attorneys are all in the bar, by definition, many, like me, choose not to join the state bar association which represents them (like a union, but less effective). In most states, bar association membership is not mandatory, and, in those states, most attorneys do not join the association. Same with the national bar association, the American Bar Association. Not mandatory, and only a small percentage of attorneys join the ABA. Big waste of money.
I have a harder time with the people who DIDN’T work hard to get positions of authority, who got them because they were nice to Trump or look the part.
No doubt. The unattractive man would get the job and then take the hit. The unattractive woman would never even be interviewed, but I take your point. Only pretty women in the Trump Administration. It’s 98% of the job interview.
But are they pretty? Most of them look like prototype models of artificial people Elon, and the other trillionaire dipshits are gonna roll out someday. There’s just something about those faces that makes ya wanna run away screaming.
Oh my gosh, yes, another Twilight Zone flashback! "Number 3 looks just like you," or similar was the title of a "future" society where people could choose a model to be transformed into. One plain young woman resisted, preferring to remain her imperfect self, but finally gave in. The Mar-a-Lago women are very reminiscent of that show, and yep, Musk could do it.
Federal district judges talk a good game, and act like demigods on the bench, but they are mostly all bark, and no bite. I mean after all, are they the best lawyers, or are they the best political ass kissing lawyers? Ass kissers tend to be soft in my observation.
Carney managed in twenty minutes to coherently describe the dark present reality and offer a vision for the post Trump world. Wouldn’t it be nice if Americans took the time to listen.
The golden egg comparison is so apt since it has been repeatedly argued that the reason Trump is president is because of the price of eggs. People voted for cheaper eggs despite the fact that everything economic policy decision put forth by Trump during his campaign would result in higher prices.
Trump isn’t the only dumb one. 77 million people voted for him. They all killed the goose.
For some reason, the national fixation on the price of eggs reminds me of “Freedom Fries”, the official renaming of French fries in the Congressional cafeteria after 9/11 when the French made some mild offense, now forgotten. But the rank stupidity of renaming a cut of potato (and calling it patriotism!) has stayed with me as an emblem of our falling national character. It didn’t start with Trump, but he might prove to be the apotheosis of our degradation.
Thank you. The fact that I couldn’t remember tells you how effective “Freedom Fries” was! Actually, the through-line that continues in the GOP is a childishness that seems to be their hallmark response to real world problems.
The Apprentice convinced millions that he is, in fact, a very savvy businessman. They don't know or care that the show was one massive editing job, cut and recut in such a way as to make Trump look like a genius.
It all comes back to The Apprentice. Without it, he doesn't have that narrative burned into people's brains every week for years.
So true. There are a lot of people to blame for Trump, but no one more than Mark Burnett, the creator of The Apprentice. Burnett created the fiction of Trump as great businessman, which allowed Trump to be sold as a politician.
Let me tell you about Hell's new bespoke service, the Tenth Circle. Not everyone can get in, but if you're evil enough or connected (we all know Hell runs on nepotism), you too can spend eternity throwing crap at Mark Burnett's head. You can also ask Sam Alito over and over why he flies his American flag upside down, and have a beer with Kavanaugh. I don't know, I'm still crafting the sales pitch.
Reminder rather than insight: nobody I knew, no elites, no thought leaders, no one who lived through 1980’s New York was more than barely aware of The Apprentice. We had zero idea it was introducing him to anyone. Much less creating an image of him as a non-laughingstock.
My fave is the MAGAs who like him (or say they do) because he's such a successful businessman and billionaire, so they're going to send him their last $20.
No, but I'm sure chump can. After all, he had an uncle who was a professor at MIT, so that must have rubbed off. And remember, he knows more about economics and taxation and military issues than anyone.
Of course he did! As someone who grew up near the border with Canada, it becomes evident at a youngish age that they elect fewer idiots. ( Doug Ford notwithstanding ;) )
As a Canadian, I'm proud to have an actual adult leader who shows actual leadership. As an American, I'm beyond mortified to have a malevolent demented toddler throwing a perpetual "me me me" tantrum in place of an actual leader.
"Nobody's that stupid." Most of us knew he's that stupid! When this insanity started a decade ago, editor of Vanity Fair Graydon Carter wrote something to the effect of "This will end like all of Trump's businesses - in a messy shambles." Well here we are.
That has always been the blindspot of certain former Republicans. They were so steeped in their mythology; adoration of Reagan, Tea Party antics, Family Values rhetoric that when it was hijacked by an idiot, they failed to notice. If you had a couple of working neurons in 2016 you knew this would end really poorly.
When he was elected the first time, a couple months into his term I told my family "I don't know how this ends, but it ends badly, for everyone." I would like to append that last part to "...for everyone but Trump."
Graydon Carter was also one of the founders of Spy magazine back in '86. They were my introduction to the malevolent joke that was, and is, djt. They were the ones who dubbed him "the short fingered vulgarian", and also orchestrated a very public shaming by sending him a check for 13 cents, just to see if he would cash it. (He did)
“what I feel is psychologically needed for success. . . . I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do, whether you’re talking about a lease or a treaty.”
His language around this has been very rapist, domestic abuser-y. "Look what you're making me do to you!" He's never going to pay for something he can take by force "And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything....."
This is all about a real estate deal to him. He wants to be able to brag about "doing the biggest real estate deal in the world, like no one has ever seen before!" He'll change the name, certainly something with his name in it, make maps change the name all for the emotional blackhole that eats away at him. It's the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico on steroids.
The irony is that Trump more than anyone has made money by not owning things, but merely branding them. He’s whored out his name time and time again. Trump knows you don’t have to own the item to get a good deal or benefit, despite his *psychological* protestations otherwise. Now look at what he has owned and how that has turned out. If you are Greenland why would you want the fate of his casinos?
The problem with slapping your name on a building that you don't own is that, when you become unpopular, they just take your name off the building. Several buildings in NYC did exactly that a few years ago. When Trump talks about the psychological importance of ownership, I wonder if he's thinking about those NYC buildings that took his name off.
That could well be, but had he played nicer in the sandbox, then it would never have been a problem. He has never learned that lesson nor has he been good about maintaining the quality of his brand. Now he’s demolishing the sandbox we built and ruining Brand America for the next few generations.
100%, he just wants to brand Greenland with the tramp stamp of his name to brag about the biggest real estate deal and make them print new maps. All the other reasons and justification are retconning BS.
The damage will never be undone. We are witnessing the beginning of the end. One by one they’ll begin to dump Treasury bonds (they have to—Trump has made their vulnerability too apparent), the power of the dollar will be smashed, and the era of American hegemony will end.
Sadly, I don't think MAGA will considered the "Libs" owned until all immigrants have been deported and all of those brand new detention centers/re-education camps are filled with democrats.
A “normal American” and a “MAGA American” are standing on the curb as a big, shiny, black limo goes by. As it comes by them, it hits a puddle and splashes them both with mud. The “Normie” says, “One day, I’ll be driven around in a car like that.” The “MAGA” says, “By God, one day that SOB will be standing here in the gutter with me.”
I took the liberty of changing the names from the original, but every time I see the MAGA crowd drooling over the insanity, I think of that joke. I have relatives who fit that description precisely.
“But he also appeared to withdraw his threat of using military force to take Greenland: “People thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
And therein lies the rub. Trump doesn’t care that he’s alienating our allies; this is precisely the point. Trump was never going to invade, it was a ruse!
Trump has always wanted to destroy NATO, but didn’t have the political capital. Therefore, by casting doubt, threatening our allies, and refusing to arm them properly without advance payment, he has now managed to destroy NATO in all, but in name only. However, the death of NATO comes with a price; reliable trade partners.
Additionally, you’re spot on; the Carney speech was a modern day Churchill classic, reminding me of Churchill’s famous quote:
“You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war!"
And thankfully, Carney is a venerated economist and the right man for the job in today’s world.
“Middle powers,” he said, “must act together, because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu.” (Bill has more to say about Carney’s speech in particular further down.)”
Furthermore, it proves where true strength lies; which has been a US symbol of unity and strength for the United States since our inception: E pluribus unum; Out of many, One!
Bottom line: Invasion was never in the cards: it’s a suicide pact! However, this chaos has helped Russia in its war with Ukraine as Europe needs to divert much needed resources from Europe to N. America.
In addition, we moved our most advanced Carrier Group from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean; weakening our ability to defend NATO against Russian aggression, and ironically using this immense fire power against our traditional allies.
Moreover, it’s not a Greenland invasion that has ever concerned me too much. It’s always been the chaos, stupidity, ignorance and utter disregard for the law and international norms; as well the lack of respect for our allies, which will leave us far more weaker and isolated for the effort!
Therefore, the winner is…..wait for it….wait for it…..CHINA!!!!!!!!….:)
Why do we believe this statement more than any others? He lies, he changes his mind frequently. I mean, maybe he won't use force, but that could be different by this afternoon.
Because he’s a coward; he won’t take responsibility for ending NATO and our economic dominance over the West. He definitely believes that the US should be a hegemony, but he needs the Europeans do it for him because he understands his actions will eventually lead to a catastrophe in the long run; after he’s long gone!
I think trump is being given too much credit: strategy and planning aren’t in his toolbox. He is impulsive and thin skinned. When anyone disagrees or criticizes him, his knee-jerk reaction is to lash out, punish, demean. Typical behavior for a sociopath.😡😡
I question whether he understands anything but the size of his and the family's wealth, which he daily flaunts in front of American citizens, many of whom cheer as they lose financial ground.
If this did end NATO, that would just be gravy for him. The sole project for him is exerting his will successfully over Greenland. His ego would be forced to suck it up to a huge extent if he went boots on the ground, against the will of 90% of the American people, and LOST, so his ego takes a smaller hit by saying he never actually meant a military invasion. He saves face,
Trump’s goal is more to put his name or imprint on as many existing things as possible. The old NAFTA, nip a couple corners, paste a new paragraph or 2, bingo, Trumps new NAFTA. The Kennedy Center, paste Trump onto it. Maybe all we get with Greenland is an update to the exiting agreements so Trump can sign his name. He doesn’t really have an ideology he wants to replace the existing world with, just reimagine it with his name pasted all over it. The dangerous part are all the norms and processes he destroys to put is name on the marquee.
The question is what does Trump want on Greenland and to what lengths will he go to get it. He is after all the master of moderating just enough to let his listener believe an aspect of what he said is off the table when it may or may not be: Trump does know his audience. His demands haven’t changed just his tactics when face to face with the Europeans, but tomorrow who knows.
And herein lies the problem. Trump still wants Greenland, but the logistics of that are hazy, and his statements of intent are hazy as well and wide open enough to fit any scenario. At the moment he won’t use force, but we just had him trying to blackmail the Norwegians over the Nobel Peace prize and stating since he didn’t get the prize, he isn’t as bound by peace. The statements are all over the place and contradictory. Schrödinger’s cat has yet to make an appearance, and I am not sure DJT knows in which box kitty will land.
Agreed, and there is no doubt that once he puts his mind to something and it is reinforced by his ludicrous group of parasitic advisors; he will stop at nothing to achieve his aims, until he’s confronted by a brick wall.
That wall is forming, and as you’ve stated, he is definitely capable of reading the room! Now he’ll agree to terms the Greenlander’s and Dane’s have already put on the table: mineral rights and the ability to expand US military and naval capabilities in the region.
I often think of this now very old Clive Cussler book where it is discovered that Britain secretly sold Canada to the US around the first world war... but shenanigans ensued and it wasn't consummated. At the end of the novel we merge and become "The United States of Canada." Like all pop culture books it's kind of a hilarious time capsule too with nonsensical stuff (to modern eyes) with the whole plot being spurred by the 70s energy crisis and militant Quebecois separatists
Greedy for money, greedy for attention, greedy for power, greedy for punishment of his perceived enemies, who are legion and anyone - like Bill Cassidy - could be next.
His greed knows no bounds, so his abuses of power know no bounds.
And his power is much more illusory than he thinks. Republicans (including on the Supreme Court) could all turn on him now, if United, impeach and convict him and be done.
But they won’t, because they want what’s in it for themselves. They are the selfish class that support his toxic, democracy-destroying greed. Fools.
"When Americans look in the mirror, they shouldn’t see George Washington. They shouldn’t even see Trump. They should see Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance, Elise Stefanik, and the countless other grasping cowards and scumbag careerists who midwifed the destruction of what made our country noble. That’s who we are, and it’s why the world will be justified in despising us." -- Nick Catoggio
"Green New Scam." Something tells me that Europe actually understands the value of sustainable energy production. The only thing the President understands is the view at a golf course.
That golf course view is why windmills stick in his craw. Traveling cross country a few months ago, there were windmills along the Highway state after state, including Republican Texas, and I never saw one dead bird.
"Nobody’s that stupid."
But now we come face to face with the American voter.
"... his own broken personality—his miserable meanness ..."
Which is why MAGA Americans love him so much.
He has a lot in common with his base. They are sitting in their living rooms right now, muttering about Somali pirates at this very moment!
Well, to be fair they're probably muttering about what Fox Noise just showed them on this morning's episodes. I mean, they don't have the greatest memories or attention spans. That's at least a week old now!
You mean the ones that are eating their cats and dogs?
No, those are The Immigrants (cue the scary music), doncha know?
That's the Haitians (many a**holes are saying)
Haitians, Somalis, Danes... all the same to Obersturmbanfuhrer Miller.
No, they’re muttering about Somali fraud, brought to you by Tim Walz and senile, corrupt Joe Biden.
That’s the new favorite! ☹️
Or Hillary Clinton. Those sad sack pieces of shit are still whining about her from time to time. They apparently possess no sense of decency. They are beneath my contempt.
You have not come face to face with MAGA voters. Nobody IS that stupid. Some are, however, that mentally ill.
I'm not joking, not exaggerating. This may not be in the DSM because that catalogs disorders of individuals, and this is a social phenomenon. But it is madness nevertheless, and follows a number of historical precedents.
What are in the domain of mob psychology, in intersecting senses of the word.
"You have not come face to face with MAGA voters. Nobody IS that stupid."
You are misinformed. I grew up in small communities in Iowa, in the beating heart of MAGA America. There was a fence behind our house. On the other side was a corn field. These are my people. Some of them are family.
It depends on what you mean by stupid. In my career in science, I knew a lot of people who were very clever and very smart. I came to appreciate these were not the same things. Clever is being able to design and carry out an experiment, or solve a math problem, or fix something that breaks, or know how to get the adrenaline rush from winning a game or provoking someone you don't like. Clever is using a spreadsheet to figure out how much crop insurance to buy, to best balance the potential payout versus your personal sense of risk. Or how much to sell on the futures market versus waiting until the crop is in the silo. MAGA voters are as clever as anyone, and they are able to do these things.
Smart is different. Smart is taking the long view and understanding the consequences of the clever things you do. Smart is being able to imagine the perspective of someone very different from yourself, feeling the humanity of that person, and adjusting what you do today because of that insight. Smart is knowing how what happened yesterday impacts what you can do today, and how what you do today influences what is possible tomorrow. Smart is using your cleverness to make good life choices that make your life better and the lives of people around you better in the long run.
The key to understanding MAGA behavior is the gap between clever and smart. And what drives that distance is fear. They are afraid that the cleverness that made them prosper yesterday looks shaky today and may be inadequate tomorrow. They fear that sometime soon they will have to do something different or perhaps even live in some other place. They are afraid of those "other" places, like the "crime-ridden" cities they have never visited but imagine in their nightmares. Republicans tell them that all of their challenges are because of "those people." They want to believe this, but deep down they know it is a lie. They see the woman who walked to the border from Venezuela with two young children, or the man who escaped from Afghanistan with his family, and they are afraid. It isn't about crime. They see the cleverness, grit and determination of "those people," and they are afraid that they and their children won't quite measure up. They fear that a level playing field will work out poorly for them.
MAGA Americans have decided to vote for making America the kind of place other people won't want to live in. So very clever! In the long run, they will suffer most of all. It is achingly, unbearably stupid.
This really insightful - thanks for your contribution. I think you're close, but not quite completely correct with: "MAGA Americans have decided to vote for making America the kind of place other people won't want to live in." In general, since the country's founding 250 years ago, immigrants have always wanted to come to America so badly that they will go to any lengths to get here and then they work their butts off to stay here. It is more like MAGA (indisputably descendants of immigrants themselves) now wants to make America the kind of place the new cohort of "other people"/immigrants CAN'T live in.
Is it not cult psychology?
It is. And this has been discussed since his first term. And then he got elected again!
Hard to deprogram people with no brains...
Yes. That as well.
It's hard to deprogram people with no brains...
Jonestown on steroids, that's all. 340 million people committing mass suicide, for nothing more than the worship of one God King.
Maybe 80M are rushing off the cliff and another 79M of us are being dragged along, while 180M others just weren't really paying attention.
Yes, a very astute observation. Some of us are lemmings, some of us are sheep, and some of us are just cows chewing cud in someones field, not wondering about anything. Most of us will not know or care when, or how, it ends. So be it.
I know this guy who suffers from Bipolar Disorder. He points out to me from time to time that he supposed to be the crazy one, and these monstrous MAGA freaks are supposedly “normal.” WTF?
There was a book that came out trying to explain Trump voters right after his first election, and a line in it went, "Trump supporters see Trump as a richer version of themselves."
I agree. He's an emblem to angry, frustrated jerks because he's an indication that someone with their mentality can be "successful."
Not to worry, they will win The Darwin Award, and balance will return.
I hate the term invalid because it expresses an understanding of a person being not valid. That's why I hate it.
But there's a different pronunciation of the word, invalid. And it means that something that lacks logical proof or is unacceptable.
Trump is invalid.
Trump is AN invalid. He is psychologically unwell.
Shall we go with invalid invalid?
I was just thinking—a bit of both!
Words can be such a crutch.
Excellent point.
"You do not know anyone as stupid as Donald Trump. You just don’t.” -Fran Lebowitz, Mar 20, 2018 profile in The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/mar/20/fran-lebowitz-you-do-not-know-anyone-as-stupid-as-donald-trump)
American Exceptionalism at its finest
Yes. Lawrence O'Donnell frequently intones that diagnosis in his nightly political news/commentary e.g. "Since Donald Trump is the *stupidest* man ever to be president" etc.)
I doubt a single MAGA voter would pass the marshmallow test.
You're singing my favorite song, James.
It's like all these videos and analysts saying things like "No judge would ever side with a psycho like this". So the only thing saving us is a single person that can be coerced, or removed? Doesn't the mafia take care of that issue all the time? Why would anyone trust any law when we're watching them all be ignored.
Re: "...and having suffered untold legal humiliations in the process."
Yeah? Name one. She's third runner-up Miss Colorado. She'll be on Fox News in five minutes where she'll make ten times what she did as a lawyer. Did she lose her license? Pay a fine? Get locked up for a couple of hours? Strongly-worded letter? No. Nothing happened to her. She mouthed off to a Federal judge and absolutely nothing bad happened. That works if you've got nice gams and Trump likes you. Let some overweight, sweaty White dude with a bad comb over and thirty years of experience arguing in Federal Court try that. They'd bounce that guy all the way to Albuquerque.
Getting fired is a career enhancing move in the Trump Era for this kind of person.
Halligan is one of many MAGA women who are disposable. There will always be a younger,tighter version of Lindsay coming along.
Anyone who isn't a member of the Trump family can and will be cast off when they aren't useful anymore.
I’ve noticed that Kristi Noem is looking a bit gnarly. Her countdown has started . . .
Maybe. But she’s still got that snarly anger thing that gets the Fox News demo’s heart pumping. Look like a beauty queen; sound like grandpa.
If she put on a few pounds, she’d be out on her ear. Thank God for Ozempic, right?
Wouldn't it be ironic, or hilarious, or telling, or something if Trump decided not to invade Greenland because Denmark is the world's supplier of Ozempic?
All Denmark has to do is refuse to sell it to the US and his administration will collapse.
The MAGA-woman’s dilemma; snarky anger are required, but it isn’t beneficial to the required “look” of virginal freshness.
Speaking of Ozempic; I’ve been wondering if Trump is using weight loss drugs now. He really hates fat people, ignoring the fact of being one himself.
You say "now" as if he has not been popping aspirin (a drug) for a long time. Who knows what else he takes? Ever see a clean medical exam report on the Felon?
I was implying that he’s on weight loss drugs specifically, but I wasn’t clear. He’s definitely highly medicated at all times. Adderall is commonly assumed. Other times he seems sedated. And I’m sure there’s a pharmacopoeia involved in his “venous insufficiency”.
And you never will.
I agree, except for your characterization of Noem as a beauty queen. She has gone too far with her Mar-a-Lago face. She now looks and sounds as empty as her soul.
so we should just go with snarly gnarly
Oh,that’s good! I might use it on my next protest sign. I have to steal other people’s ideas . . . Maybe I’ll expand on it with “More Filler for The Puppy Killer”. I’m going to need a bigger sign.
2 1 BLAST OFF ! !
Nah, it’s just that her Botox has curdled.
H-a-ll-i-gan 🎶
I'm old enough to get that - thanks for the laugh! I can hear the song now -
Yeah I'm that old
🙄 LOL .
I didn’t read that, I sang it! 🤣
You sure. Trump has been ignoring his son Don, Jr. for a long, long time. Pretty sure he's disposable too.
Family members are expendable, or at least can be sent off as Ambassador to Greece or something when their cocaine use gets too obvious.
There is no humiliation or shame in the Trump administration. It's all just a step towards the next Fox News commentator contract (or "The Masked Singer").
I have learned that many people who have worked hard to get to positions of authority have no integrity or courage. I include Rs in Congress and members of bar associations, the latter because someone liked by DJT because she was in a beauty contest can thumb her nose at the law and walk away to a better future.
You mean in the bar. While attorneys are all in the bar, by definition, many, like me, choose not to join the state bar association which represents them (like a union, but less effective). In most states, bar association membership is not mandatory, and, in those states, most attorneys do not join the association. Same with the national bar association, the American Bar Association. Not mandatory, and only a small percentage of attorneys join the ABA. Big waste of money.
Thank you for the information. Not being an attorney, I had an unclear understanding of bar associations.
I have a harder time with the people who DIDN’T work hard to get positions of authority, who got them because they were nice to Trump or look the part.
Equally hard for me. Both heinous....
Well said!
Pretty sure an unattractive, overweight, woman (0f any color) would have suffered the same fate as the sweaty white guy.....
No doubt. The unattractive man would get the job and then take the hit. The unattractive woman would never even be interviewed, but I take your point. Only pretty women in the Trump Administration. It’s 98% of the job interview.
It’s called Mar-a-Lago face.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/nov/18/mar-a-lago-face-plastic-surgery
But are they pretty? Most of them look like prototype models of artificial people Elon, and the other trillionaire dipshits are gonna roll out someday. There’s just something about those faces that makes ya wanna run away screaming.
Oh my gosh, yes, another Twilight Zone flashback! "Number 3 looks just like you," or similar was the title of a "future" society where people could choose a model to be transformed into. One plain young woman resisted, preferring to remain her imperfect self, but finally gave in. The Mar-a-Lago women are very reminiscent of that show, and yep, Musk could do it.
Sadly, that is true.
Federal district judges talk a good game, and act like demigods on the bench, but they are mostly all bark, and no bite. I mean after all, are they the best lawyers, or are they the best political ass kissing lawyers? Ass kissers tend to be soft in my observation.
Carney managed in twenty minutes to coherently describe the dark present reality and offer a vision for the post Trump world. Wouldn’t it be nice if Americans took the time to listen.
compare to what is happening in Davos right now--over an hour in, and really nothing but nonsense and threatening allies.
He is rambling, repeating himself, and almost incoherent. So embarrassing.
Him yammering on and on nonsensically isn't new. I thought it was his "brand."
I sincerely hope that Keir Starmer enjoys being humiliated by Trump.
So much for his "special " relationship with Donnie Diaper.
The golden egg comparison is so apt since it has been repeatedly argued that the reason Trump is president is because of the price of eggs. People voted for cheaper eggs despite the fact that everything economic policy decision put forth by Trump during his campaign would result in higher prices.
Trump isn’t the only dumb one. 77 million people voted for him. They all killed the goose.
For some reason, the national fixation on the price of eggs reminds me of “Freedom Fries”, the official renaming of French fries in the Congressional cafeteria after 9/11 when the French made some mild offense, now forgotten. But the rank stupidity of renaming a cut of potato (and calling it patriotism!) has stayed with me as an emblem of our falling national character. It didn’t start with Trump, but he might prove to be the apotheosis of our degradation.
"after 9/11 when the French made some mild offense, now forgotten. "
The "offense" was France's refusal to participate in the Iraq war.
Thank you. The fact that I couldn’t remember tells you how effective “Freedom Fries” was! Actually, the through-line that continues in the GOP is a childishness that seems to be their hallmark response to real world problems.
I remember “Freedom fries.”
I forgot about them!
And it hasn’t aged well! It seems as stupid now as it did then - maybe more so!
But, but, but he's a successful businessman!!!! /s
The Apprentice convinced millions that he is, in fact, a very savvy businessman. They don't know or care that the show was one massive editing job, cut and recut in such a way as to make Trump look like a genius.
It all comes back to The Apprentice. Without it, he doesn't have that narrative burned into people's brains every week for years.
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-the-apprentice-lucky-loser-moron-b2615226.html
https://cinemontage.org/editing-trump-reality-tv-star-who-would-be-president/
So true. There are a lot of people to blame for Trump, but no one more than Mark Burnett, the creator of The Apprentice. Burnett created the fiction of Trump as great businessman, which allowed Trump to be sold as a politician.
Only possible because of the greed of NBC.
Mark Burnett should spend eternity in Hell for producing The Apprentice
Let me tell you about Hell's new bespoke service, the Tenth Circle. Not everyone can get in, but if you're evil enough or connected (we all know Hell runs on nepotism), you too can spend eternity throwing crap at Mark Burnett's head. You can also ask Sam Alito over and over why he flies his American flag upside down, and have a beer with Kavanaugh. I don't know, I'm still crafting the sales pitch.
I said it before, so I'll say it again - He had a television show and they made him look really smart. These people would have voted for Mr. Ed.
Reminder rather than insight: nobody I knew, no elites, no thought leaders, no one who lived through 1980’s New York was more than barely aware of The Apprentice. We had zero idea it was introducing him to anyone. Much less creating an image of him as a non-laughingstock.
My fave is the MAGAs who like him (or say they do) because he's such a successful businessman and billionaire, so they're going to send him their last $20.
Nah. My favorite is, "he's so rich, he can't be bought. He's working for us!" *gag*
Just like I'm a world-renowned astrophysicist.
I'm on the cusp of figuring out cheap cold fusion.
Better hurry with that. The orange one will have concepts of a cold fusion plan in two weeks.
Really? Can you explain string theory to us?
No, but I'm sure chump can. After all, he had an uncle who was a professor at MIT, so that must have rubbed off. And remember, he knows more about economics and taxation and military issues than anyone.
Guinness Book of World Records, are you listening? He has to be in the running for numbers of bankruptcies—how about just casinos?
Has to hold the record for frivolous lawsuits.
And now we are all Atlantic City.
Ever been to Atlantic City? There's a big windmill farm on the outskirts of town at the wastewater plant. 😀
I've only heard that five hundred million times, tiring.
😂
The goose had to die. It was the only way to stop Black people from sharing the golden eggs.
Excellent newsletter. I also wanted to add That Mark Carney wrote the Davos speech himself.
from a proud Canadian
As you should be.
I’m hoping Canada will annex the blue states! The snowbirds could go to California instead
I’d be happy for us to join B.C.—we have more in common with them than many states in the US.
Of course he did! As someone who grew up near the border with Canada, it becomes evident at a youngish age that they elect fewer idiots. ( Doug Ford notwithstanding ;) )
and smith...and the prem of SK...and our esteemed leader of the oppo
My envy knows no bounds.
As a Canadian, I'm proud to have an actual adult leader who shows actual leadership. As an American, I'm beyond mortified to have a malevolent demented toddler throwing a perpetual "me me me" tantrum in place of an actual leader.
And not once did he have to use the word 'equity.'
"Nobody's that stupid." Most of us knew he's that stupid! When this insanity started a decade ago, editor of Vanity Fair Graydon Carter wrote something to the effect of "This will end like all of Trump's businesses - in a messy shambles." Well here we are.
That has always been the blindspot of certain former Republicans. They were so steeped in their mythology; adoration of Reagan, Tea Party antics, Family Values rhetoric that when it was hijacked by an idiot, they failed to notice. If you had a couple of working neurons in 2016 you knew this would end really poorly.
The bad news is that we haven't reached the end yet. The messy shambles is still to come.
Oh, joy.
When he was elected the first time, a couple months into his term I told my family "I don't know how this ends, but it ends badly, for everyone." I would like to append that last part to "...for everyone but Trump."
Graydon Carter was also one of the founders of Spy magazine back in '86. They were my introduction to the malevolent joke that was, and is, djt. They were the ones who dubbed him "the short fingered vulgarian", and also orchestrated a very public shaming by sending him a check for 13 cents, just to see if he would cash it. (He did)
“what I feel is psychologically needed for success. . . . I think that ownership gives you a thing that you can’t do, whether you’re talking about a lease or a treaty.”
The thought processes of a rapist . . . . .
His language around this has been very rapist, domestic abuser-y. "Look what you're making me do to you!" He's never going to pay for something he can take by force "And when you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything....."
This is all about a real estate deal to him. He wants to be able to brag about "doing the biggest real estate deal in the world, like no one has ever seen before!" He'll change the name, certainly something with his name in it, make maps change the name all for the emotional blackhole that eats away at him. It's the renaming of the Gulf of Mexico on steroids.
Yes, and what MAGA world applauds while blaming the victim. We've gone back how many years? Maybe to the 1300s?
The irony is that Trump more than anyone has made money by not owning things, but merely branding them. He’s whored out his name time and time again. Trump knows you don’t have to own the item to get a good deal or benefit, despite his *psychological* protestations otherwise. Now look at what he has owned and how that has turned out. If you are Greenland why would you want the fate of his casinos?
The problem with slapping your name on a building that you don't own is that, when you become unpopular, they just take your name off the building. Several buildings in NYC did exactly that a few years ago. When Trump talks about the psychological importance of ownership, I wonder if he's thinking about those NYC buildings that took his name off.
That could well be, but had he played nicer in the sandbox, then it would never have been a problem. He has never learned that lesson nor has he been good about maintaining the quality of his brand. Now he’s demolishing the sandbox we built and ruining Brand America for the next few generations.
He “owns” the GOP in both houses and MAGA; however he only leases melania.
100%, he just wants to brand Greenland with the tramp stamp of his name to brag about the biggest real estate deal and make them print new maps. All the other reasons and justification are retconning BS.
The damage will never be undone. We are witnessing the beginning of the end. One by one they’ll begin to dump Treasury bonds (they have to—Trump has made their vulnerability too apparent), the power of the dollar will be smashed, and the era of American hegemony will end.
And the MAGAts will be so proud of what they've accomplished.
Will they? I’m sure they’ll find a way to blame it on Biden.
Yes, they will, because they will consider the Libs to have been owned.
Sadly, I don't think MAGA will considered the "Libs" owned until all immigrants have been deported and all of those brand new detention centers/re-education camps are filled with democrats.
That part ^^^
Too clueless to know what they "accomplished."
Yep: there’s an old joke that goes as follows;
A “normal American” and a “MAGA American” are standing on the curb as a big, shiny, black limo goes by. As it comes by them, it hits a puddle and splashes them both with mud. The “Normie” says, “One day, I’ll be driven around in a car like that.” The “MAGA” says, “By God, one day that SOB will be standing here in the gutter with me.”
I took the liberty of changing the names from the original, but every time I see the MAGA crowd drooling over the insanity, I think of that joke. I have relatives who fit that description precisely.
Sadly, I do. Alas, there are black MAGA too…
“But he also appeared to withdraw his threat of using military force to take Greenland: “People thought I would use force. I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
And therein lies the rub. Trump doesn’t care that he’s alienating our allies; this is precisely the point. Trump was never going to invade, it was a ruse!
Trump has always wanted to destroy NATO, but didn’t have the political capital. Therefore, by casting doubt, threatening our allies, and refusing to arm them properly without advance payment, he has now managed to destroy NATO in all, but in name only. However, the death of NATO comes with a price; reliable trade partners.
Additionally, you’re spot on; the Carney speech was a modern day Churchill classic, reminding me of Churchill’s famous quote:
“You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and you will have war!"
And thankfully, Carney is a venerated economist and the right man for the job in today’s world.
“Middle powers,” he said, “must act together, because if you are not at the table, you are on the menu.” (Bill has more to say about Carney’s speech in particular further down.)”
Furthermore, it proves where true strength lies; which has been a US symbol of unity and strength for the United States since our inception: E pluribus unum; Out of many, One!
Bottom line: Invasion was never in the cards: it’s a suicide pact! However, this chaos has helped Russia in its war with Ukraine as Europe needs to divert much needed resources from Europe to N. America.
In addition, we moved our most advanced Carrier Group from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean; weakening our ability to defend NATO against Russian aggression, and ironically using this immense fire power against our traditional allies.
Moreover, it’s not a Greenland invasion that has ever concerned me too much. It’s always been the chaos, stupidity, ignorance and utter disregard for the law and international norms; as well the lack of respect for our allies, which will leave us far more weaker and isolated for the effort!
Therefore, the winner is…..wait for it….wait for it…..CHINA!!!!!!!!….:)
Why do we believe this statement more than any others? He lies, he changes his mind frequently. I mean, maybe he won't use force, but that could be different by this afternoon.
Because he’s a coward; he won’t take responsibility for ending NATO and our economic dominance over the West. He definitely believes that the US should be a hegemony, but he needs the Europeans do it for him because he understands his actions will eventually lead to a catastrophe in the long run; after he’s long gone!
I think trump is being given too much credit: strategy and planning aren’t in his toolbox. He is impulsive and thin skinned. When anyone disagrees or criticizes him, his knee-jerk reaction is to lash out, punish, demean. Typical behavior for a sociopath.😡😡
You are 100% correct. People who ascribe to Trump deep thoughts, strategy and planning...well Trump is capable of none of that.
Apparently neither were the people that voted for him A SECOND TIME!
I question whether he understands anything but the size of his and the family's wealth, which he daily flaunts in front of American citizens, many of whom cheer as they lose financial ground.
If this did end NATO, that would just be gravy for him. The sole project for him is exerting his will successfully over Greenland. His ego would be forced to suck it up to a huge extent if he went boots on the ground, against the will of 90% of the American people, and LOST, so his ego takes a smaller hit by saying he never actually meant a military invasion. He saves face,
Which one?
Interesting insight.
Trump’s goal is more to put his name or imprint on as many existing things as possible. The old NAFTA, nip a couple corners, paste a new paragraph or 2, bingo, Trumps new NAFTA. The Kennedy Center, paste Trump onto it. Maybe all we get with Greenland is an update to the exiting agreements so Trump can sign his name. He doesn’t really have an ideology he wants to replace the existing world with, just reimagine it with his name pasted all over it. The dangerous part are all the norms and processes he destroys to put is name on the marquee.
Agreed, but both can be true at once…:)
In his dreams his name is in huge letters on the moon.
The question is what does Trump want on Greenland and to what lengths will he go to get it. He is after all the master of moderating just enough to let his listener believe an aspect of what he said is off the table when it may or may not be: Trump does know his audience. His demands haven’t changed just his tactics when face to face with the Europeans, but tomorrow who knows.
And herein lies the problem. Trump still wants Greenland, but the logistics of that are hazy, and his statements of intent are hazy as well and wide open enough to fit any scenario. At the moment he won’t use force, but we just had him trying to blackmail the Norwegians over the Nobel Peace prize and stating since he didn’t get the prize, he isn’t as bound by peace. The statements are all over the place and contradictory. Schrödinger’s cat has yet to make an appearance, and I am not sure DJT knows in which box kitty will land.
Agreed, and there is no doubt that once he puts his mind to something and it is reinforced by his ludicrous group of parasitic advisors; he will stop at nothing to achieve his aims, until he’s confronted by a brick wall.
That wall is forming, and as you’ve stated, he is definitely capable of reading the room! Now he’ll agree to terms the Greenlander’s and Dane’s have already put on the table: mineral rights and the ability to expand US military and naval capabilities in the region.
Can we merge with Canada today, and make Carney the President of the new entity?
To where will you offload your magats? They are not welcome.
Venezuela. They can go make the oil industry great again.
Send them to that shiny, new edifice in El Salvador, destination CECOT.
ICE can deport them to Russia.
Asking politely, since I now recognize the superiority of Canadians: Can we take them north, over the pole, and deposit them in Siberia?
Let's make a sport out of it and have them swim there! ;)
If nothing else, that would slim MAGA down.
I often think of this now very old Clive Cussler book where it is discovered that Britain secretly sold Canada to the US around the first world war... but shenanigans ensued and it wasn't consummated. At the end of the novel we merge and become "The United States of Canada." Like all pop culture books it's kind of a hilarious time capsule too with nonsensical stuff (to modern eyes) with the whole plot being spurred by the 70s energy crisis and militant Quebecois separatists
Trump’s original sin is greed.
Greedy for money, greedy for attention, greedy for power, greedy for punishment of his perceived enemies, who are legion and anyone - like Bill Cassidy - could be next.
His greed knows no bounds, so his abuses of power know no bounds.
And his power is much more illusory than he thinks. Republicans (including on the Supreme Court) could all turn on him now, if United, impeach and convict him and be done.
But they won’t, because they want what’s in it for themselves. They are the selfish class that support his toxic, democracy-destroying greed. Fools.
Maybe Trump's snake-oil pitches say "America," but he's always talking about "Trump." L'etat, c'est him.
Also, thank goodness Canada voted for Carney over Poilievre.
It's my daily - sometimes hourly - gratitude acknowledgement
Andrew, this is one of your best. Thank you!
And your Cheep Shots X-post is like the arrow that splits the other bullseye arrow. 🎯
Agreed. Wonderful metaphor. Knocked it out of the park, Andrew. You've been on fire lately.
"When Americans look in the mirror, they shouldn’t see George Washington. They shouldn’t even see Trump. They should see Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, J.D. Vance, Elise Stefanik, and the countless other grasping cowards and scumbag careerists who midwifed the destruction of what made our country noble. That’s who we are, and it’s why the world will be justified in despising us." -- Nick Catoggio
Wow. Yeah. That’s hurts. But it’s true. 😕
"Green New Scam." Something tells me that Europe actually understands the value of sustainable energy production. The only thing the President understands is the view at a golf course.
... the golf course at which he cheats.
What do you mean? He's the club champion!
Around here, independent farmers used to like making money putting windmills on their land. Oh well. You know how they voted.
That golf course view is why windmills stick in his craw. Traveling cross country a few months ago, there were windmills along the Highway state after state, including Republican Texas, and I never saw one dead bird.
Even if the bird thing was true, the impacts of all the fossil fuel exhaust is even more damaging to wildlife.