Trump Selling an America that Doesn't Exist

[Some Schmo]

I loved this video from Colin Cowherd's podcast. He puts his objections to Trump's presidency in simple, logical terms, and describes why Trump's "everyone's out to get me" defense is absurd.

He makes the point that America is not the shithole Trump and his followers pretend it is. It occurred to me listening to him that it makes sense for Trump to try to convince people America is in the toilet not only to get elected, but as a pretense for going full authoritarian and destroying American institutions.

If your life sucks and you need someone to blame, why not cite the rest of the country? If you aren't the type of person to take responsibility for your own condition, sure, why not blame everyone else? That's what Trump does, and it seems to work for him, they likely tell themselves. What they don't realize is that not taking responsibility is a big part of their problems in life.

I know nobody who loves Trump will appreciate (or even watch) this video, but if you're looking for a simply worded explanation for why all the GOP talking points on Trump are nonsense, this video is as good as any.

[Moksha]

Schrodinger's Trump - Being simultaneously the victim and the villain.

[Gunnar]

I loved this video from Colin Cowherd's podcast. He puts his objections to Trump's presidency in simple, logical terms, and describes why Trump's "everyone's out to get me" defense is absurd.

He makes the point that America is not the shithole Trump and his followers pretend it is. It occurred to me listening to him that it makes sense for Trump to try to convince people America is in the toilet not only to get elected, but as a pretense for going full authoritarian and destroying American institutions.

If your life sucks and you need someone to blame, why not cite the rest of the country? If you aren't the type of person to take responsibility for your own condition, sure, why not blame everyone else? That's what Trump does, and it seems to work for him, they likely tell themselves. What they don't realize is that not taking responsibility is a big part of their problems in life.

I know nobody who loves Trump will appreciate (or even watch) this video, but if you're looking for a simply worded explanation for why all the GOP talking points on Trump are nonsense, this video is as good as any.

Good, sensible and sobering video. Thanks for sharing it. It is also a great reminder that great wealth and power is not an indispensable requirement for happiness, nor is it, by itself, anywhere close to a reliable guarantor of happiness. It is glaringly obvious to both you and me that Trump, for example, is far from really happy. I seriously doubt that he has ever really been happy. To me, at least, one of the strongest proofs of his stupidity is his relentless pursuit of more and more of what has already demonstrably failed over and over again to make him truly happy.

[Some Schmo]

Good, sensible and sobering video. Thanks for sharing it. It is also a great reminder that great wealth and power is not an indispensable requirement for happiness, nor is it, by itself, anywhere close to a reliable guarantor of happiness. It is glaringly obvious to both you and me that Trump, for example, is far from really happy. I seriously doubt that he has ever really been happy. To me, at least, one of the strongest proofs of his stupidity is his relentless pursuit of more and more of what has already demonstrably failed over and over again to make him truly happy.

There is a place I sometimes go where I feel some compassion for him, because I agree; the dude has likely never experienced real happiness. His dad, by all accounts, sounds like one of the worst role models a son could have.

I easily snap out of that, however, when I think about how he wants to take his life grievance out on the country.

[Gadianton]

It started off with America will be great because Trump will bring back coal, build the wall, and whatever it was he was going to do. America will be great because Trump as president, will implement policies to make it great. When that fizzled, and with transformation into pure identity politics, the message is that America is great if Trump is president, full stop.

[Gunnar]

Good, sensible and sobering video. Thanks for sharing it. It is also a great reminder that great wealth and power is not an indispensable requirement for happiness, nor is it, by itself, anywhere close to a reliable guarantor of happiness. It is glaringly obvious to both you and me that Trump, for example, is far from really happy. I seriously doubt that he has ever really been happy. To me, at least, one of the strongest proofs of his stupidity is his relentless pursuit of more and more of what has already demonstrably failed over and over again to make him truly happy.

There is a place I sometimes go where I feel some compassion for him, because I agree; the dude has likely never experienced real happiness. His dad, by all accounts, sounds like one of the worst role models a son could have.

I easily snap out of that, however, when I think about how he wants to take his life grievance out on the country.

I hear you! MAGA types insist that Trump is being unfairly treated. I agree! He is being treated far more leniently than he deserves! And I am not just talking about his recent conviction in the Hush Money case. Many of the indictments in the still pending prosecutions of him are for crimes that are much worse than what he has so far been found guilty of.

[Jersey Girl]

There is a place I sometimes go where I feel some compassion for him, because I agree; the dude has likely never experienced real happiness. His dad, by all accounts, sounds like one of the worst role models a son could have.

I easily snap out of that, however, when I think about how he wants to take his life grievance out on the country.

We discussed this probably years ago.

It wasn't just that his father was an authoritarian and controlling narcissist. Recall that he was separated from his mother (her health issues) around age 2 for a long period of time so she was unavailable to him when he needed nurturing the most in order to develop empathy. Mary Trump pinpoints the years of separation in her book. I don't recall exactly how long a period of time that was. Developmental experts are somewhat divided on personality development however you can't go wrong with the first 3 - 5 years as a general rule.

We don't know a lot about his mother or if she'd have been emotionally available to him if she hadn't fallen ill.

He comes from what is essentially a family of criminals. Did you know his grandfather was a draft dodger and made a living off of running hotels, I mean, brothels? It would seem that sketchy business dealings, lack of values, and observance of societal norms may have been passed on through the family culture generation to generation.

Like I said before, he can't help who or what he is because he had no control over the circumstances of his early childhood. In the early years, a child's parents form the very foundation that provides a sense of stability to a child. To a young child, when the family unit breaks (one parent critically ill then absent) it has the same effect on a child as if they were opening the front door, walking out, and free falling because the solid ground isn't there.

In any case, I think it's better for us to try to understand him and avoid feeling compassion for him. Why? Because he knows right from wrong, Schmo, he simply chooses wrong. How do we know? He tried to cover up his tryst with Stormy Daniels. He knew it would harm his chances in the election. Why? Because he knew it was wrong. Remember when he wouldn't release his tax returns? He knew his filings were dishonest and therefore wrong.

He chooses wrong because the powerless vulnerable child inside of him seeks power and control. If you could peel away the layers of Trump, you'd find nothing inside. He needs to fill that gaping hole where a human heart and soul would be so he fills it with narcissistic supply---power.

I'm sorry for the perfect storm circumstances that led to who he became. But he doesn't and shouldn't get a free pass because he's damaged when he's trying to damage all of us.

[Gunnar]

There is a place I sometimes go where I feel some compassion for him, because I agree; the dude has likely never experienced real happiness. His dad, by all accounts, sounds like one of the worst role models a son could have.

I easily snap out of that, however, when I think about how he wants to take his life grievance out on the country.

We discussed this probably years ago.

It wasn't just that his father was a authoritarian and controlling narcissist. Recall that he was separated from his mother (her health issues) around age 2 for a long period of time so she was unavailable to him when he needed nurturing the most in order to develop empathy. Mary Trump pinpoints the years of separation in her book. I don't recall exactly how long a period of time that was. Developmental experts are somewhat divided on personality development however you can't go wrong with the first 3 - 5 years as a general rule.

We don't know a lot about his mother or if she'd have been emotionally available to him if she hadn't fallen ill.

He comes from what is essentially a family of criminals. Did you know his grandfather was a draft dodger and made a living off of running hotels, I mean, brothels? It would seem that sketchy business dealings, lack of values, and observance of societal norms may have been passed on through the family culture generation to generation.

Like I said before, he can't help who or what he is because he had no control over the circumstances of his early childhood. In the early years, a child's parents form the very foundation that provides a sense of stability to a child. To a young child, when the family unit breaks (one parent critically ill then absent) it has the same effect on a child as if they were opening the front door, walking out, and free falling because the solid ground isn't there.

In any case, I think it's better for us to try to understand him and avoid feeling compassion for him. Why? Because he knows right from wrong, Schmo, he simply chooses wrong. How do we know? He tried to cover up his tryst with Stormy Daniels. He knew it would harm his chances in the election. Why? Because he knew it was wrong. Remember when he wouldn't release his tax returns? He knew his filings were dishonest and therefore wrong.

He chooses wrong because the powerless vulnerable child inside of him seeks power and control. If you could peel away the layers of Trump, you'd find nothing inside. He needs to fill that gaping hole where a human heart and soul would be so he fills it with narcissistic supply---power.

I'm sorry for the perfect storm circumstances that led to who he became. But he doesn't and shouldn't get a free pass because he's damaged when he's trying to damage all of us.

Of course!

[bill4long]

I'm not a Trumpist. But I asked my next door neighbor who is a Trumpist what he thinks about Trump vs Biden. He said many things, including the border crisis/invasion, and that the democrat party has become crazy leftist crazy and that Biden is demented and is pandering to them, probably at the urging of his handlers. (I can't really disagree about that.) But with regards to Trump personally, while he acknowledges Trump's obvious flaws, he thinks "Joe Biden is a colossal piece of sh*t for not welcoming Hunter's five year old daughter into the family while pretending to care about people. This is the lowest of low and shows what he's really made of. I doubt Trump would ever do that." I thought he would mention the whole hair-sniffing-of-young-girls thing, and showering-with-his-daughter thing, but he didn't.

[Chap]

But with regards to Trump personally, while he acknowledges Trump's obvious flaws, he thinks "Joe Biden is a colossal piece of sh*t for not welcoming Hunter's five year old daughter into the family while pretending to care about people.

Ermm ... somehow I don't think that family matter is quite enough to counterbalance the huge Trump dumpster of obvious "no-nos".

It's clear your friend has made his choice on other grounds. By the way, if this worries him:

the border crisis/invasion

Does he think it was a good idea for the Republicans in congress to obey Trump's instructions to vote against Biden's major package of border-strengthening measures? It is pretty clear that Trump did not want the package to pass, solely because he wanted to be able to go on complaining that Biden was doing nothing about the border.