Don the Con: "A president needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it."- Harry Truman By Chris Torgerson It was asked of me if I still held...

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

"A president needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it."- Harry Truman

By Chris Torgerson

It was asked of me if I still held the same opinion of Trump that I did at the beginning of his presidency.

I grew up in New York with Trump as a part of the cultural landscape. He has been well-known to me throughout my life. The thing is, he has always been a kind of joke. Everyone knew he was a s**m artist. Everyone knew he was a con man. I always figured he was in on the joke, so to speak. I thought he was being purposely ridiculous because it got his name out there more. And maybe it started that way. He used to be able to laugh at himself a bit.

So when he was elected President (which I found shocking at the time), I thought, at worst, he’ll use the presidency as a way to bolster his brand and let everyone else do the work. I figured all the posturing he did about immigrants and such was for show, and once he got in he’d be too disinterested in the job to cause much harm. If anything, he’d be more moderate.

I didn’t foresee that, despite his obvious disinterest in the actual job, he would be completely unaware of his own inappropriateness for it and would try to do the job he thought he had. The main thing I seem to have gotten wrong about him is that he was not, in fact, in on the joke. He apparently really believed he was something more than a showman and a con man. He thought he actually understood what being president was and that he could do it.

He did indeed delegate the details to others. He didn’t really care if they had the right sk**l sets or pay attention to what they did, as long as they were loyal to him and would tow the line about how great he was. He saw himself more as a CEO (or a king) than a president, with all others subordinate to him. He offered catchphrases and bold promises, but never had any ideas about how to accomplish them. He made his desires known and expected his inferiors to make them come to fruition, without regard for whether they were actually his inferiors or not.

I also didn’t expect him to be so ridiculous in his need to never admit mistakes. The hurricane sharpie incident is a prime example. In many ways, it was a perfect summary for his presidency: Lie. Lie in a really big and obvious way. Never admit anything.

Trump is not an i***t. He’s ignorant and incurious, but he knows how to run a good con. He’s brilliant at it—how many people can pull off what he did, and still leave people wanting more?

And that’s the other thing that surprised me, although it’s not so much about Trump himself. I expected, once things got far enough along, that everyone would see the obvious con job going on and turn on him. But I was quite surprised at how strong—how absolutely fanatical—his base was. He’d been caught in literally thousands of demonstrable lies, big and small. Numerous people who worked under him and left came away with tales of how awful he was. But his supporters wrote it all off as “f**e news” and “anti-Trump bias.” Legitimate gripes with Trump were seen as signs of persecution, regardless of evidence.

Every time I thought Trump had gone as low as he could go, he outdid himself. The last step was J****** 6. Regardless of whether you want to blame him for the i**********n, the fact is that he stood in front of a crowd and fed them blatant lies. He made extremely serious allegations without offering any evidence to back them up. And… people just believed him. And they went and attacked the Capitol.

And even after that, people still think he’s great. They either support the i**********n, or they minimize it, or they blame it on the Democrats. More Republicans blame Biden for the attack than Trump.

There is no way I saw any of this back in 2016–17. At worst, I expected that he’d be inept and bungle his way through four years. Instead, I learned a lot about the country and about humanity in general. I knew we’d entered a rough patch in the country’s history, but I didn’t realize how rough it was. I knew people were susceptible to cons, but I didn’t realize how easily they could be conned, just by telling them what they wanted to hear.

Liberty Tree

slatten49 wrote:

"A president needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it."- Harry Truman

By Chris Torgerson

It was asked of me if I still held the same opinion of Trump that I did at the beginning of his presidency.

I grew up in New York with Trump as a part of the cultural landscape. He has been well-known to me throughout my life. The thing is, he has always been a kind of joke. Everyone knew he was a s**m artist. Everyone knew he was a con man. I always figured he was in on the joke, so to speak. I thought he was being purposely ridiculous because it got his name out there more. And maybe it started that way. He used to be able to laugh at himself a bit.

So when he was elected President (which I found shocking at the time), I thought, at worst, he’ll use the presidency as a way to bolster his brand and let everyone else do the work. I figured all the posturing he did about immigrants and such was for show, and once he got in he’d be too disinterested in the job to cause much harm. If anything, he’d be more moderate.

I didn’t foresee that, despite his obvious disinterest in the actual job, he would be completely unaware of his own inappropriateness for it and would try to do the job he thought he had. The main thing I seem to have gotten wrong about him is that he was not, in fact, in on the joke. He apparently really believed he was something more than a showman and a con man. He thought he actually understood what being president was and that he could do it.

He did indeed delegate the details to others. He didn’t really care if they had the right sk**l sets or pay attention to what they did, as long as they were loyal to him and would tow the line about how great he was. He saw himself more as a CEO (or a king) than a president, with all others subordinate to him. He offered catchphrases and bold promises, but never had any ideas about how to accomplish them. He made his desires known and expected his inferiors to make them come to fruition, without regard for whether they were actually his inferiors or not.

I also didn’t expect him to be so ridiculous in his need to never admit mistakes. The hurricane sharpie incident is a prime example. In many ways, it was a perfect summary for his presidency: Lie. Lie in a really big and obvious way. Never admit anything.

Trump is not an i***t. He’s ignorant and incurious, but he knows how to run a good con. He’s brilliant at it—how many people can pull off what he did, and still leave people wanting more?

And that’s the other thing that surprised me, although it’s not so much about Trump himself. I expected, once things got far enough along, that everyone would see the obvious con job going on and turn on him. But I was quite surprised at how strong—how absolutely fanatical—his base was. He’d been caught in literally thousands of demonstrable lies, big and small. Numerous people who worked under him and left came away with tales of how awful he was. But his supporters wrote it all off as “f**e news” and “anti-Trump bias.” Legitimate gripes with Trump were seen as signs of persecution, regardless of evidence.

Every time I thought Trump had gone as low as he could go, he outdid himself. The last step was J****** 6. Regardless of whether you want to blame him for the i**********n, the fact is that he stood in front of a crowd and fed them blatant lies. He made extremely serious allegations without offering any evidence to back them up. And… people just believed him. And they went and attacked the Capitol.

And even after that, people still think he’s great. They either support the i**********n, or they minimize it, or they blame it on the Democrats. More Republicans blame Biden for the attack than Trump.

There is no way I saw any of this back in 2016–17. At worst, I expected that he’d be inept and bungle his way through four years. Instead, I learned a lot about the country and about humanity in general. I knew we’d entered a rough patch in the country’s history, but I didn’t realize how rough it was. I knew people were susceptible to cons, but I didn’t realize how easily they could be conned, just by telling them what they wanted to hear.

"A president needs political understanding to... (show quote)

Another of your fair minded, objective posts? H**e opinions are not facts.

bylm1-Bernie

slatten49 wrote:

"A president needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it."- Harry Truman

By Chris Torgerson

It was asked of me if I still held the same opinion of Trump that I did at the beginning of his presidency.

I grew up in New York with Trump as a part of the cultural landscape. He has been well-known to me throughout my life. The thing is, he has always been a kind of joke. Everyone knew he was a s**m artist. Everyone knew he was a con man. I always figured he was in on the joke, so to speak. I thought he was being purposely ridiculous because it got his name out there more. And maybe it started that way. He used to be able to laugh at himself a bit.

So when he was elected President (which I found shocking at the time), I thought, at worst, he’ll use the presidency as a way to bolster his brand and let everyone else do the work. I figured all the posturing he did about immigrants and such was for show, and once he got in he’d be too disinterested in the job to cause much harm. If anything, he’d be more moderate.

I didn’t foresee that, despite his obvious disinterest in the actual job, he would be completely unaware of his own inappropriateness for it and would try to do the job he thought he had. The main thing I seem to have gotten wrong about him is that he was not, in fact, in on the joke. He apparently really believed he was something more than a showman and a con man. He thought he actually understood what being president was and that he could do it.

He did indeed delegate the details to others. He didn’t really care if they had the right sk**l sets or pay attention to what they did, as long as they were loyal to him and would tow the line about how great he was. He saw himself more as a CEO (or a king) than a president, with all others subordinate to him. He offered catchphrases and bold promises, but never had any ideas about how to accomplish them. He made his desires known and expected his inferiors to make them come to fruition, without regard for whether they were actually his inferiors or not.

I also didn’t expect him to be so ridiculous in his need to never admit mistakes. The hurricane sharpie incident is a prime example. In many ways, it was a perfect summary for his presidency: Lie. Lie in a really big and obvious way. Never admit anything.

Trump is not an i***t. He’s ignorant and incurious, but he knows how to run a good con. He’s brilliant at it—how many people can pull off what he did, and still leave people wanting more?

And that’s the other thing that surprised me, although it’s not so much about Trump himself. I expected, once things got far enough along, that everyone would see the obvious con job going on and turn on him. But I was quite surprised at how strong—how absolutely fanatical—his base was. He’d been caught in literally thousands of demonstrable lies, big and small. Numerous people who worked under him and left came away with tales of how awful he was. But his supporters wrote it all off as “f**e news” and “anti-Trump bias.” Legitimate gripes with Trump were seen as signs of persecution, regardless of evidence.

Every time I thought Trump had gone as low as he could go, he outdid himself. The last step was J****** 6. Regardless of whether you want to blame him for the i**********n, the fact is that he stood in front of a crowd and fed them blatant lies. He made extremely serious allegations without offering any evidence to back them up. And… people just believed him. And they went and attacked the Capitol.

And even after that, people still think he’s great. They either support the i**********n, or they minimize it, or they blame it on the Democrats. More Republicans blame Biden for the attack than Trump.

There is no way I saw any of this back in 2016–17. At worst, I expected that he’d be inept and bungle his way through four years. Instead, I learned a lot about the country and about humanity in general. I knew we’d entered a rough patch in the country’s history, but I didn’t realize how rough it was. I knew people were susceptible to cons, but I didn’t realize how easily they could be conned, just by telling them what they wanted to hear.

"A president needs political understanding to... (show quote)

More TDS.

Liberty Tree

bylm1-Bernie wrote:

More TDS.

He is just another left winger who is a con artist trying to pass himself of as an objective thinker.

Wolf counselor Loc: Heart of Texas

Liberty Tree wrote:

He is just another left winger who is a con artist trying to pass himself of as an objective thinker.

Poor old Slatt spends his days searching the internet for anything negative about Mr. Trump.

I don't think he's able to get out and about much.

His TV commands him to h**e Mr Trump and he obeys.

It keeps him occupied while he lives out the final days of his boring life.

So give the poor old codger a break.

JFlorio Loc: Seminole Florida

bylm1-Bernie wrote:

More TDS.

When are liberals going to start posting relative articles on the benefits of the Biden policies?

JFlorio Loc: Seminole Florida

If this snowflake thought Trumps four years were a rough patch, he won’t survive the next four.

,

slatten49 wrote:

"A president needs political understanding to run the government, but he may be elected without it."- Harry Truman

By Chris Torgerson

It was asked of me if I still held the same opinion of Trump that I did at the beginning of his presidency.

I grew up in New York with Trump as a part of the cultural landscape. He has been well-known to me throughout my life. The thing is, he has always been a kind of joke. Everyone knew he was a s**m artist. Everyone knew he was a con man. I always figured he was in on the joke, so to speak. I thought he was being purposely ridiculous because it got his name out there more. And maybe it started that way. He used to be able to laugh at himself a bit.

So when he was elected President (which I found shocking at the time), I thought, at worst, he’ll use the presidency as a way to bolster his brand and let everyone else do the work. I figured all the posturing he did about immigrants and such was for show, and once he got in he’d be too disinterested in the job to cause much harm. If anything, he’d be more moderate.

I didn’t foresee that, despite his obvious disinterest in the actual job, he would be completely unaware of his own inappropriateness for it and would try to do the job he thought he had. The main thing I seem to have gotten wrong about him is that he was not, in fact, in on the joke. He apparently really believed he was something more than a showman and a con man. He thought he actually understood what being president was and that he could do it.

He did indeed delegate the details to others. He didn’t really care if they had the right sk**l sets or pay attention to what they did, as long as they were loyal to him and would tow the line about how great he was. He saw himself more as a CEO (or a king) than a president, with all others subordinate to him. He offered catchphrases and bold promises, but never had any ideas about how to accomplish them. He made his desires known and expected his inferiors to make them come to fruition, without regard for whether they were actually his inferiors or not.

I also didn’t expect him to be so ridiculous in his need to never admit mistakes. The hurricane sharpie incident is a prime example. In many ways, it was a perfect summary for his presidency: Lie. Lie in a really big and obvious way. Never admit anything.

Trump is not an i***t. He’s ignorant and incurious, but he knows how to run a good con. He’s brilliant at it—how many people can pull off what he did, and still leave people wanting more?

And that’s the other thing that surprised me, although it’s not so much about Trump himself. I expected, once things got far enough along, that everyone would see the obvious con job going on and turn on him. But I was quite surprised at how strong—how absolutely fanatical—his base was. He’d been caught in literally thousands of demonstrable lies, big and small. Numerous people who worked under him and left came away with tales of how awful he was. But his supporters wrote it all off as “f**e news” and “anti-Trump bias.” Legitimate gripes with Trump were seen as signs of persecution, regardless of evidence.

Every time I thought Trump had gone as low as he could go, he outdid himself. The last step was J****** 6. Regardless of whether you want to blame him for the i**********n, the fact is that he stood in front of a crowd and fed them blatant lies. He made extremely serious allegations without offering any evidence to back them up. And… people just believed him. And they went and attacked the Capitol.

And even after that, people still think he’s great. They either support the i**********n, or they minimize it, or they blame it on the Democrats. More Republicans blame Biden for the attack than Trump.

There is no way I saw any of this back in 2016–17. At worst, I expected that he’d be inept and bungle his way through four years. Instead, I learned a lot about the country and about humanity in general. I knew we’d entered a rough patch in the country’s history, but I didn’t realize how rough it was. I knew people were susceptible to cons, but I didn’t realize how easily they could be conned, just by telling them what they wanted to hear.

"A president needs political understanding to... (show quote)

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Another appropriate opportunity to post the following...

The origin of the term 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' is traced to political columnist and conservative commentator Charles Krauthammer, a psychiatrist, who originally coined the phrase 'Bush Derangement Syndrome' in 2003 during the presidency of George W. Bush. That syndrome was defined by Krauthammer as "the acute onset of paranoia in otherwise normal people in reaction to the policies, the presidency – nay – the very existence of George W. Bush." The first use of the term 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' may have been by Esther Goldberg in an August 2015 op-ed in The American Spectator; She applied the term to "Ruling Class Republicans" who are dismissive or contemptuous of Trump. Krauthammer, himself a harsh critic of Trump, later defined "Trump derangement syndrome" as a Trump-induced "general hysteria" among the chattering classes, producing an "inability to distinguish between legitimate policy differences and ... signs of psychic pathology" in the President's behavior.

'TDS' was originally a made-up condition, conceived as an insult label by the alt-right to attack anyone who criticizes or refuses to support Donald Trump. The idea being the left is so obsessed with Trump they have collectively lost their minds. Like many of their other little online crusades, this one has backfired. People dislike Trump for actual reasons which often go well beyond just politics or partisanship, and if anyone has Trump Derangement Syndrome it's those on the right that blindly support him. They have lost their sense of morality, religious convictions, principles, objectivity, all discernment, and even the ability to have a civil discussion or reason. So the term has now been co-opted by others to refer to Trump supporters who are blinded by their unrealistic devotion to Trump.

Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) is actually a satirical psychological diagnosis used to explain the hysterical reaction and belligerent behavior of people, pro or con, generally directed towards anything related to President Donald Trump as pertaining to his presidency. It isn't intended to be a logical argument, rather a jab at another individual's excessive emotional reactions as well as aggressive physical displays. It is an ad hominem argument, not a strawman argument as suggested by definition...and, there are numerous variations on TDS, all of which have their own particular partisan/ideological twist.

Weasel Loc: In the Great State Of Indiana!!

Wolf counselor wrote:

Poor old Slatt spends his days searching the internet for anything negative about Mr. Trump.

I don't think he's able to get out and about much.

His TV commands him to h**e Mr Trump and he obeys.

It keeps him occupied while he lives out the final days of his boring life.

So give the poor old codger a break.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Wolf counselor wrote:

Poor old Slatt spends his days searching the internet for anything negative about Mr. Trump.

I don't think he's able to get out and about much.

His TV commands him to h**e Mr Trump and he obeys.

It keeps him occupied while he lives out the final days of his boring life.

So give the poor old codger a break.

As usual, your maniacal ramblings are wrong on all counts

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Liberty Tree wrote:

Another of your fair minded, objective posts? H**e opinions are not facts.

Such a comment from you is hilarious.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Weasel wrote:

Your memes(?) are stunning in their resemblance to my avatar.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

JFlorio wrote:

If this snowflake thought Trumps four years were a rough patch, he won’t survive the next four.

,

Well, J, that remains to be seen.

SWMBO

JFlorio wrote:

When are liberals going to start posting relative articles on the benefits of the Biden policies?

And do you think that are are ANY benefits? I certainly do not !!!!

NPP

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

It's certainly refreshing to see that my fan club is up and about early this morning.

I'm wishing all of you a great day

Mine's gon'na be great. I'll be picking up our motorhome later...it needed new tires...as we'll be out and about soon for our next boring trip with grandkids.