If Trump WAS Sent by God...

[Some Schmo]

Trump is not the slightest bit loyal to his base voters! He has abundantly demonstrated that to him, loyalty is a one-way street! He demands unquestioning loyalty to himself, no matter what, but has little or no inclination to return it. And a slowly growing number of his base voters are beginning to realize that, and even leave the Republican party because of it.

That any of his voters think he cares about them is the primary reason (for me) that I view Trump's base as fundamentally stupid people. I mean, how many Jan 6 offenders have to go to jail, how many allies does he have to turn on before his stupid voters get the message? He doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself. That has been abundantly clear for years now. Only morons ignore that.

In fact, he knows his voters are gullible fools (i. e. slightly dumber than he is). It's baked into his "strategy."

[Gunnar]

In fact, he knows his voters are gullible fools (i. e. slightly dumber than he is). It's baked into his "strategy."

Yes. His conviction that his voters are gullible fools to be exploited seems to be the main part of his strategy in everything he does.

[hauslern]

The Narcissistic Personalty -Trump - The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.
Believing you are better than others
Exaggerating your achievements or talents
Expecting constant praise and admiration
Believing you are special
Failing to recognize other people’s emotions and feeling
Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
Taking advantage of others
Expressing disdain for those who you feel to be inferior
Being Jealous of others
Believing others are jealous of you
Being easly hurt and rejected
Having fragile self-esteem
Appearing tough-minded or unemotional

Trump was sent by God. Why did he run out of locusts ?

[honorentheos]

Thank you for at least not trying to deny what he is actually doing. If the justification for destroying democracy is to attempt to secure advantage for a minority of citizens over the majority, well then...

I noticed that when Trump lost the election of 2020, he left office.

No he did not. He continues to claim the election was stolen and has used the claim to fuel his campaign for reelection. Being forced to vacate the White House doesn't get to count as respecting democratic processes just because his failure to overturn the election results in turn resulted in him leaving office.

[honorentheos]

I tend to avoid disputes, but will speak out when I think it is appropriate. The main point I sought to make is that none of us are any more moral than Trump. If we think we are, we deceive ourselves.

msnobody, that's not true. A person who kills someone is less moral by most systems of moral reasoning. There are greater and lesser degrees of evil. Jesus also cautioned his disciples to be wise as serpents for good reason.

Trump is unapologetically unwinding two and a half centuries of work building a democratic republic to replace it with an authoritarian self-serving regime. It's an evil worth fighting against if ever there was one. It's happening in our lifetimes. We may be the generation that sees our republic fall. I would not underestimate the moment.

Coming back to this, I really do hope you will share what you believe was taking place in the quoted post. That being:

Having lived all of my life in the Southeast, I saw great benefit within the African American community here during Trump’s presidency. Benefit that I have never seen in 50-ish+ years. I, strikingly, have seen what has been in my lifetime an oppressed community, now thriving, upwardly mobile, and finally in possession of a long overdue rightful sense of dignity. Much of that oppression coming from our own U.S. government. For this reason I can focus on Trump’s positive aspects and the benefits of his presidency and not get caught up in persuasion of others who in self-righteousness are quick to point out the speck in someone else’s eye, while ignoring the plank in their own.

Conflict avoidance can be admirable but I would argue discussion avoidance is not. I suspect many of our modern societal issues come from the combination of willingness to engage in blind conflict with stubborn reticence to engage in exploring our own views with those who disagree with us. Dialog is dead. That Trump has had the effect on opportunity in the South presented seems like a particularly specific example where the perception of Trump as President could be filled out beyond the caricatures.

[huckelberry]

Some relevant statistics, unemployment rates for black Americans:

December 31, 2023 5.20%
November 30, 2023 5.80%
October 31, 2023 5.80%
September 30, 2023 5.70%
August 31, 2023 5.30%
July 31, 2023 5.70%
June 30, 2023 6.00%
May 31, 2023 5.70%
April 30, 2023 4.80%
March 31, 2023 5.10%
February 28, 2023 5.70%
January 31, 2023 5.40%
December 31, 2022 5.70%
November 30, 2022 5.60%
October 31, 2022 5.80%
September 30, 2022 5.80%
August 31, 2022 6.40%
July 31, 2022 5.90%
June 30, 2022 5.80%
May 31, 2022 6.20%
April 30, 2022 6.10%
March 31, 2022 6.40%
February 28, 2022 6.60%
January 31, 2022 7.00%
December 31, 2021 6.90%
Date Value
November 30, 2021 6.50%
October 31, 2021 7.70%
September 30, 2021 7.80%
August 31, 2021 8.60%
July 31, 2021 8.20%
June 30, 2021 9.20%
May 31, 2021 9.10%
April 30, 2021 9.90%
March 31, 2021 9.60%
February 28, 2021 9.80%
January 31, 2021 9.20%
December 31, 2020 10.00%
November 30, 2020 10.40%
October 31, 2020 10.90%
September 30, 2020 12.10%
August 31, 2020 12.80%
July 31, 2020 14.40%
June 30, 2020 15.20%
May 31, 2020 16.80%
April 30, 2020 16.60%
March 31, 2020 6.80%
February 29, 2020 6.00%
January 31, 2020 6.30%
December 31, 2019 6.00%
November 30, 2019 5.60%

https://ycharts.com/indicators/us_unemp ... n_american

Looking a bit further, I find graph by year. 2008 rate 8%, 2010 16%, 2020 6%. There was a steady fall from 2010 through the Obama administration and the first portion of Trump's.

The collapse of the housing bubble in 2007 and 2008 caused a deep recession, which sent the unemployment rate to 10.0% in Oct. 2009—more than double its pre-crisis rate. Since then, the unemployment rate had fallen to below its pre-crisis lows, indicating that the spike in unemployment was cyclical.

I have some doubt either president caused the fall in rate. Of course the big increase April 2020 would be covid-caused.

https://www.americanprogress.org/articl ... ion-issue/

Article with information; the quote is just a google blurb answer.

[hauslern]

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his letters from prison talked about his theory of stupidity. People can be intellectually advanced but stupid or nonintellectual and not stupid. Stupidity is a sociological issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww47bR86wSc

[hauslern]

Trump and King David.
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/19/opin ... index.html

I sent a copy of this psalm to Dr. Adams.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/19/opinions ... index.html

Psalm 10:2-7

New International Version 2: In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. 3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. 4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. 5 His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by[a] him; he sneers at all his enemies. 6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.” He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.” 7 His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue."

Thank you for writing. This is an interesting connection and appropriate to the occasion.

Your exegesis is spot-on.

Best wishes,

Sam

Samuel L. Adams
McNair Chair in Biblical Studies and Professor of Old Testament
Editor of Interpretation
Director of Community Engagement

[personal information deleted]

[Jersey Girl]

No. Just no.

He's posted A.I. fake images of himself praying.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/ ... cf94c171f6

https://Twitter.com/billdmccarthy/statu ... 9112626653

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

No. Just no.

He's posted A.I. fake images of himself praying.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/ ... cf94c171f6

https://Twitter.com/billdmccarthy/statu ... 9112626653

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. - Albert Einstein