Trump defends tweets against US states' lockdowns
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52330531
What mad man would put this in a tweet?
“LIBERATE MINNESOTA”, “LIBERATE MICHIGAN” and then “LIBERATE VIRGINIA”.
BBC News – Coronavirus: President Trump defends tweets against US states’ lockdowns
Comments
Robert
April 19, 2020 at 3:42 pmIf his MAGA followers listen to this, go out and catch it, then all drop dead,, the I for one will not shed a single tear.
I only hope the idiots don’t infect others.
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fudgeface
April 19, 2020 at 3:43 pmWith this virus being so infectious, this will happen.
No if’s, no but’s and no maybe’s.
Bill
April 19, 2020 at 3:44 pmIf only his followers go out and catch it, this doesn’t seem like a very wise election strategy
toerag
April 19, 2020 at 3:41 pmHe is just giving people a nice puzzle to think about while on lockdown.
Can a president start an insurrection in his own country?
He does seem to have cut and pasted it from the fox news program he was watching at the time
Davedave
April 19, 2020 at 3:40 pmEverytime I think he has reached peak Trump he out does himself.
scats
April 19, 2020 at 3:39 pmI think it’s right to assume that if Trump had the means and followers he would actually take over America and turn it into a dictatorship ruled by his family.
I’m not joking either. The man is an Antichrist in many instance’s of it’s definition.
jeff
April 19, 2020 at 5:01 pmI totally agree, but it’s not really surprising, in the US the dollar is everything, which is why the jails are full and getting fuller, health care is making people bankrupt on a daily basis. It’s madness, but (and I’m not defending Trumpton here, but can possibly see why some people want to get back to work) not beyond comprehension, people who aren’t working aren’t insured, therefore if they get sick, they end up bankrupt. It’s mental and short sighted, but if you’re in that system then how do you fight against it. Logically stay home and keep away from everyone else.
I recently watched a program about jails, the reason they have the highest prison population in the world, is because of private jails, they make more money the more prisoners they have, so they are actively encouraging harsher sentences and jail for minor misdemeanour’s. You can end up in jail for having a break light out in you car, especially if you are poor. You get a little fine, if you don’t, or can’t pay it, this then becomes a jailable offence.
It’s all about money, this is what Trumpton’s all about, absolute madness. It can only be a nightmare to be involved in it. It must be terrifying for anyone with a modicum of common sense on where this is going to end up, and how many are going to die.
Moo
April 19, 2020 at 4:09 pmWhat is wrong with trying to end lockdown? We are all under house arrest by the globalist scum! They are trying to make this last as long as possible. They are not pushing to make a vaccine only one from bill gates in 12-18 months time whe everyone has lost their jobs and bill gates can put a tracker in it.
prat
April 19, 2020 at 3:54 pmI was a little bit unsettled when he kept saying they were all walking towards the light. It was a very bright light and they’d be there soon.
bear
April 19, 2020 at 3:48 pmTrump doesn’t want anyone to follow this cry. He’s just framing the forthcoming election as one in which (chiefly) Democrat governors chose to destroy the successful economy he claims to have boosted. Having made the job count and the stock market the measure of his presidency, he’s desperately trying to appear like a would-be saviour while equally desperately hoping to be snubbed.
friend
April 19, 2020 at 3:45 pmTrump? That’s f*cking unhinged even by his standards.
He’s rapidly boxing himself into a corner where he’s going to have no option but to flirt with war with China to cover for his mistakes and stupidity in the run up to November. He’ll try to reframe CV as an act of aggression in the trade conflict, one that makes 911 look like a school shooting. Normally he’s repulsive but the mistakes he’s making right now threaten our civilisation.
simon
April 19, 2020 at 3:47 pmThe hardest thing about the President is to understand him dispassionately as an individual, as my personal emotional reactions to him and his actions tend to take over almost immediately!
The best I can do is as follows:
1. Re-election. Donald wants to be re-elected. Nothing is more important than re-election. Not being President. Not the American people. Not truth or pragmatism, or leadership, or indeed any of the things we may believe in. None. I know it sounds weird and disconnected from our reality, but I believe this is his reality.
2. I’m going to refrain from throwing the whole of DSM-5 at him, because I’m not a psychiatrist, and while I would love to come up with a catchy phrase that describes his mental state, I have no faith in it as a guide to anything for the lay population. Nevertheless, I think we can all agree; he is a psycho.
3. He is high-functioning, which is to say, if he is a psycho, he can manage it, and achieve stuff in the real world which allows him to operate in some fashion; in his case, to be the President of the United States. So much for psychiatrists – go figure.
4. If that is the case, should we consign his supporters to the same mental bucket? I don’t think so. My understanding of his supporters is that they are genuine Americans with solid values of their culture who generally believe what they are told, and who like to hear sound bites that agree with their values.
The key question: will they continue to believe Donald’s increasingly desperate attempts to demonstrate his presidential authority and control of the situation?
I believe that while he represents white working-class USA better than anyone else, he is likely to hold on. The key issue is: can he retain some semblance of authority in the face of the pandemic?
Gaz
April 19, 2020 at 3:49 pm> 2. I’m going to refrain from throwing the whole of DSM-5 at him, because I’m not a psychiatrist, and while I would love to come up with a catchy phrase that describes his mental state, I have no faith in it as a guide to anything for the lay population. Nevertheless, I think we can all agree; he is a psycho.
You could do worse than narcissism. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder 1
Thats not to say he has a “disorder”, and there are lots of other ways to look at him, but I think it’s hard to argue he doesn’t have some of those traits.
> 3. He is high-functioning, which is to say, if he is a psycho, he can manage it, and achieve stuff in the real world which allows him to operate in some fashion; in his case, to be the President of the United States. So much for psychiatrists – go figure.
I’m not quite sure what you mean by “psycho”. “Psychopath” usually suggests someone is charming, intelligent, highly manipulative and exploitative, and lacking in empathy or remorse. Generally high functioning and willing to use others without shame to achieve their goals. A trait supposedly heavily over represented in the higher echelons of business, medicine, and other industries. Trump probably has a few such qualities, but his apparent lack of empathy feels more narcissistic in flavour.
If however you mean it as short hand for “psychotic”, or just for general assorted mental health difficulties, please don’t. “Psycho” conjures up images of violent Hollywood criminals, which aren’t remotely relevant to people with psychosis or other common mental health difficulties.
There is also no reason why someone with mental health difficulties of any kind can’t be high functioning or achieve stuff in the real world – there is nothing to “go figure” about that.
Gaz
April 19, 2020 at 3:51 pmI think you are probably right about the importance of re-election for Trump. I would imagine that having achieved something (past tense) will never be enough for him. What he likely craves is constant validation and affirmation of his perceived brilliance to compensate for a very fragile self-image. If his sense of self-worth is dependant on external sources, even the slightest criticism or snub cuts to the very core of how he sees himself as a person and becomes a major threat.
Although my preferred analysis is “the man is an unbelievable arse”.
I’m sure he would make a fascinating case study for someone if they could a) get him in a clinic room, and b) tolerate being in that room with him for more than 5 minutes.
simon
April 19, 2020 at 3:53 pmThis I agree with
I might push back a little with the narcissism though. While this type of label is convenient, I have always felt that they can be a simplification which obscures the issues.
Donald Trump (as indeed anyone in high office) has to be multiple things:
– a believable person – Donald Trump himself
– a Republican politician fronting the aspirations of his party
– a suitable Presidential figurehead
– a leader of the American people.
These different roles have different requirements, and in his case, big conflicts. I suggest that he’s doing his level best as a human being to resolve those conflicts, in the order that I’ve put them above.
His supporters love him because he’s believable. His party tolerate him because he’s popular. The rest of it – running the country an’ all – is quite simply less important to him. Fortunately the constitution is on his side, and the individual state authorities can have enough independence to get on with the real work.
Interestingly, I think we all have our own set of roles to manage, but less publicly and hopefully with fewer conflicts between them.
Gaz
April 19, 2020 at 3:55 pmAbsolutely. Even if it were to be accurate (which is a very big if), the label would tell you nothing about the nuances of who he is and why he acts as he does. I would however be fascinated to know more about his developmental experiences and the life events that shaped who he is today.
“Interestingly, I think we all have our own set of roles to manage, but less publicly and hopefully with fewer conflicts between them.”
Yeah, I think we all play different roles at different times (parent, friend, professional, community member and so on) and in each role have different perceptions of what expectations we should be meeting. How we balance this, how we prioritise the roles, and the expectations we perceive to come with the roles are all important factors in our lives.
On a related but separate note there was an interesting documentary a while back about Roger Stone, political advisor to both Nixon and Trump (among others). He said he had been trying to get Trump to run for office for years. His opinion was that politics is just a game to be won and no different to reality TV – the best showman will always win regardless of anything else. He saw Trump as a great showman and almost for that reason alone wanted to get him in the presidential race.