Yeah, all of us who became obsessed when the clown first descended the escalator had learned all of this by the summer of '15. There's nothing real about the guy. I remember the arguments I used to get into with people who believed Trump was a brilliant businessman. Hell, as I watched my beloved progrock get strangled by the mid-70s Zeitgeist in the Rolling Stone (die, Robert Christgau!), there were Wayne Barrett stories about Trump and his dad's shady empire of grift.
To my principled conservative friends who see the world as it is (rather than through a lens of ideological normatives), Rick, my Bulwark peeps, this has got to be especially galling since fighting big city machine grift has been a Republican issue forever. But give Trump inadvertent credit for one thing: He stripped the fig leaves off conservatism and revealed it at its core.
See, this is why in the context of their time our Framers were woke progressives ;)
What we should be asking... how HIGH up the food chain does shady deals go, similar to the Epstein saga? We should include the elite sugar daddies that take advantage of all gender who have student loans or other difficult situations that leave them vulnerable. Let's not forget them
Ahhh, more filthy items of the felon's internal psychologically depraved past that we didn't know...but should've... Somehow he never attracted our attention.. We were never attracted to the way this evil slime's tales of debauchery...it was just NOT OUR FLAVOR. We are certainly NOT surprised and it just paints a more lurid picture of this "small handed man" let alone his small pathetic reason for living on this planet... It ALL adds up...just another piece of a filthy puzzle that no one wants in the White House...or any other place on this planet.. The lowest of the low...Thank you for this in depth reminder of why he must be eliminated from the ranks of our government..
What we should be asking... how HIGH up the food chain does shady deals go, similar to the Epstein saga? We should include the elite sugar daddies that take advantage of all gender who have student loans or other difficult situations that leave them vulnerable. Let's no forget them
Susan, right you are that could be another book, or maybe one exists, at any rate I learned and was reminded of so much about those days. I was busy running a business but I already disliked tRamp and Reagan who took away the deduction for anything medical, which was a tax on the sick and poor of course, never saw the trickle effect.
Notice how much more well spoken Trump was back in the 1980s & 1990s. That’s the baseline his decline should be measured against, not 2015/2016, when he was already showing signs of dementia.
I am in the minority in believing he doesn't have dementia. There are just too many moments where he functions well; plays golf, holds pressers, engages in some give and take, etc
Don't confuse his insane content and a below average IQ with having dementia.
His entire persona is driven by overpowering cases of malignant narcissism, deep insecurity and inferiority and clearly sociopathy and/or psychopathy. I've seen references to something called Cluster B disorders which when you read about it also seems to fit. And everything has been sculpted by growing up in gilded surroundings with a cold, distant mother and a cruel father who hated him.
To be sure, there has been some age related cognitive decline. No argument. But that's not dementia
Thing is, we've been saying since 2015 he has dementia. I don't believe a person, 10 years into a dementia diagnosis can function like he does. They'd be in a memory ward, shouting at ceiling tiles. Or dead
If I get any replies to this, I know there will be the predictable "My aunt's neighbor had dementia for 20 years before he died" stuff. I don't care about your aunt or her neighbor. This is about Trump
Yeah, and every day we're all that much closer to death. "Dementia" as I've said several times isn't a medical diagnosis, it's a catch-all for various types of most often age-caused cognitive decline. We've all seen Trump from earlier eras.
It doesn't take the proverbial neurophysiologist ...
I agree with you...we are watching enough of his 'game' to see that his habitual uneducated remarks with the constant repetative sentences just seem to be a personality reflex to "glorify" ( UGH!!) his( UGH again)...his belief in his magnificence , self absorbed grandiose, over the top badly constructed sentences.. and as he ages he's going further and further into his dark world...but who am I to judge??? I just can't stand this psychopath...
Trump was always seen by those of us growing up in NY as a grifter, a con, a fraud with the worst case of schlock. He never had credibility in his own backyard yet conned half of America that he’s a deeply religious man, heck has his own bible. But he might not lose a voter over his lecherous, lewd and immoral acts.
And yet ... Maggie Haberman, the Queen Of Enablement, wrote about none of it during the '15-'16 campaign. But she DID wrote 54 columns about "her emails"
That's not a fair criticism. Maggie H wasn't Hillary's press flack; her role wasn't to protect her from a stupid decision that none of her supporters defend in itself.
Yes, you've tried to make that point many times. It's based on innuendo and I don't think it's sustainable. Birdogging Hillary on her emails does not somehow automatically conclude that Maggie was in the tank for Trump.
Welp, this is almost exactly 11 years too late.
Yeah, all of us who became obsessed when the clown first descended the escalator had learned all of this by the summer of '15. There's nothing real about the guy. I remember the arguments I used to get into with people who believed Trump was a brilliant businessman. Hell, as I watched my beloved progrock get strangled by the mid-70s Zeitgeist in the Rolling Stone (die, Robert Christgau!), there were Wayne Barrett stories about Trump and his dad's shady empire of grift.
To my principled conservative friends who see the world as it is (rather than through a lens of ideological normatives), Rick, my Bulwark peeps, this has got to be especially galling since fighting big city machine grift has been a Republican issue forever. But give Trump inadvertent credit for one thing: He stripped the fig leaves off conservatism and revealed it at its core.
See, this is why in the context of their time our Framers were woke progressives ;)
The 6 Part Series: Exposing the Threats to American Democracy. https://thefiringline.substack.com/p/the-hit-list-exposing-the-enemies?r=599mn7
Great conversation Rick and it is amazing that we are still looking at the same cast of characters 45 years later!
What we should be asking... how HIGH up the food chain does shady deals go, similar to the Epstein saga? We should include the elite sugar daddies that take advantage of all gender who have student loans or other difficult situations that leave them vulnerable. Let's not forget them
Ahhh, more filthy items of the felon's internal psychologically depraved past that we didn't know...but should've... Somehow he never attracted our attention.. We were never attracted to the way this evil slime's tales of debauchery...it was just NOT OUR FLAVOR. We are certainly NOT surprised and it just paints a more lurid picture of this "small handed man" let alone his small pathetic reason for living on this planet... It ALL adds up...just another piece of a filthy puzzle that no one wants in the White House...or any other place on this planet.. The lowest of the low...Thank you for this in depth reminder of why he must be eliminated from the ranks of our government..
What we should be asking... how HIGH up the food chain does shady deals go, similar to the Epstein saga? We should include the elite sugar daddies that take advantage of all gender who have student loans or other difficult situations that leave them vulnerable. Let's no forget them
I thought the Bonnanos were the fifth crime family, like 2% of the total take 😎
Thanks Ron: Trump has never changed . Mr. I love myself, so no one else can. Just a narcissistic sociopath ass. A con and felon through and through.
While I hope to hear from Rick, the endless clips of trump, plus commercials(!) make these videos painful to watch or listen to
Too many commercials. I know ya gotta pay the bills, but cmon
Ad Block Plus, bay-bee ;)
trump destroyed lives in Atlantic City
Susan, right you are that could be another book, or maybe one exists, at any rate I learned and was reminded of so much about those days. I was busy running a business but I already disliked tRamp and Reagan who took away the deduction for anything medical, which was a tax on the sick and poor of course, never saw the trickle effect.
Notice how much more well spoken Trump was back in the 1980s & 1990s. That’s the baseline his decline should be measured against, not 2015/2016, when he was already showing signs of dementia.
I am in the minority in believing he doesn't have dementia. There are just too many moments where he functions well; plays golf, holds pressers, engages in some give and take, etc
Don't confuse his insane content and a below average IQ with having dementia.
His entire persona is driven by overpowering cases of malignant narcissism, deep insecurity and inferiority and clearly sociopathy and/or psychopathy. I've seen references to something called Cluster B disorders which when you read about it also seems to fit. And everything has been sculpted by growing up in gilded surroundings with a cold, distant mother and a cruel father who hated him.
To be sure, there has been some age related cognitive decline. No argument. But that's not dementia
Thing is, we've been saying since 2015 he has dementia. I don't believe a person, 10 years into a dementia diagnosis can function like he does. They'd be in a memory ward, shouting at ceiling tiles. Or dead
If I get any replies to this, I know there will be the predictable "My aunt's neighbor had dementia for 20 years before he died" stuff. I don't care about your aunt or her neighbor. This is about Trump
He doesn't need to have full-blown dementia to be showing clear signs of being en route.
Big difference from being en route to having dementia, as armchair non medical professionals insist
Technically we’re all en route
Yeah, and every day we're all that much closer to death. "Dementia" as I've said several times isn't a medical diagnosis, it's a catch-all for various types of most often age-caused cognitive decline. We've all seen Trump from earlier eras.
It doesn't take the proverbial neurophysiologist ...
I agree with you...we are watching enough of his 'game' to see that his habitual uneducated remarks with the constant repetative sentences just seem to be a personality reflex to "glorify" ( UGH!!) his( UGH again)...his belief in his magnificence , self absorbed grandiose, over the top badly constructed sentences.. and as he ages he's going further and further into his dark world...but who am I to judge??? I just can't stand this psychopath...
Trump was always seen by those of us growing up in NY as a grifter, a con, a fraud with the worst case of schlock. He never had credibility in his own backyard yet conned half of America that he’s a deeply religious man, heck has his own bible. But he might not lose a voter over his lecherous, lewd and immoral acts.
And yet ... Maggie Haberman, the Queen Of Enablement, wrote about none of it during the '15-'16 campaign. But she DID wrote 54 columns about "her emails"
Mommy H works for the Kushners
That's not a fair criticism. Maggie H wasn't Hillary's press flack; her role wasn't to protect her from a stupid decision that none of her supporters defend in itself.
Pavlov enters the chat
Am I wrong? If so, make an argument for it.
I'm not responsible for how disagreeing with you makes you feel.
I've only written my thoughts about Haberman and her documented role as a Trump apologist/enabler about 30 times here
Sorry you missed it. Find someone else to play your game
Yes, you've tried to make that point many times. It's based on innuendo and I don't think it's sustainable. Birdogging Hillary on her emails does not somehow automatically conclude that Maggie was in the tank for Trump.