Trump Talk™

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/trump-us-politics-poor-whites/


Was actually a good insightful read into the general atmosphere of a forgotten America, from a conservative perspective, that Trump is capitalizing on.

A lot of it is pure disconnect–many elites just don’t know a member of the white working class. A professor once told me that Yale Law shouldn’t accept students who attended state universities for their undergraduate studies. (A bit of background: Yale Law takes well over half of its student body from very elite private schools.) “We don’t do remedial education here,” he said. Keep in mind that this guy was very progressive and cared a lot about income inequality and opportunity.

I was speaking with a friend the other night, and I made the point that the meta-narrative of the 2016 election is learned helplessness as a political value. We’re no longer a country that believes in human agency, and as a formerly poor person, I find it incredibly insulting.

I think you hit the nail right on the head: we need to judge less and understand more. It’s so easy for conservatives to use “culture” as an ending point in a discussion–an excuse to rationalize their worldview and then move on–rather than a starting point.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/trump-us-politics-poor-whites/


Was actually a good insightful read into the general atmosphere of a forgotten America, from a conservative perspective, that Trump is capitalizing on.

You would think the creators of Sesame Street would be above such pettiness but nope. They are just as trashy as the parody they made.

Also this was during a time when he actually in the Democratic party, he'd left the Reform party, he didn't make the shift towards the Republican side of the isle until 2009.

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/trump-us-politics-poor-whites/


Was actually a good insightful read into the general atmosphere of a forgotten America, from a conservative perspective, that Trump is capitalizing on.

In his first response to a searing charge from bereaved Army father Khizr Khan that he’d “sacrificed nothing” for his country, Donald Trump claimed that he had in fact sacrificed by employing “thousands and thousands of people.” He also suggested that Khan’s wife didn’t speak because she was forbidden to as a Muslim and questioned whether Khan’s words were his own.

“Who wrote that? Did Hillary's script writers write it?” Trump said in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. “I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard.”

On the last night of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, Gold Star father Khizr Khan, his wife Ghazala by his side, recounted to the crowd how his son was killed in 2004 by a car bomb in Iraq.

Khan also chastised Trump for seeking to ban Muslims from entering the country, saying that his son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, would not have been able to serve under a Trump presidency.

“Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America,” Khan said, addressing Trump. “You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.”

Trump appeared to try to brush the speech aside, saying that Khan “was, you know, very emotional and probably looked like a nice guy to me.”

Trump also said, “If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me.”

Pressed by Stephanopoulos to name the sacrifices he’d made for his country, Trump said: “I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I've had tremendous success. I think I've done a lot.”

Trump also cited his work on behalf of veterans, including helping to build a Vietnam War memorial in Manhattan, and raising “millions of dollars” for vets.

Bioshock 2 comes to mind if Hillary wins.

Weren't the Bioshock games more about a libertarians wet dream of a society, how great the world would be if everybody thought like Ayn Rand? Seems to me that is ideologically closer to Trump than Clinton.

In blogging about the news and Donald Trump and the intersection of the two, one must ask oneself: Is this a story or not a story? The following is almost certainly not a story, but nevertheless, in its way, it deserves to be told.

On Friday, while campaigning in Colorado, Trump, in his first appearance after Hillary Clinton’s speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, responded to chants of “lock her up” by saying, “I’ve been saying let’s just beat her on November 8. But you know what, I’m starting to agree with you.”

He continued, “You know it’s interesting. Every time I mention her, everyone screams ‘lock her up, lock her up.’ They keep screaming. And you know what I do? I’ve been nice ... But after watching that performance last night—such lies—I don’t have to be so nice anymore. I’m taking the gloves off.”



Trump regularly refers to Hillary Clinton as “Crooked Hillary” on Twitter; has said that all Hillary Clinton has is “the woman’s card”; called his opponent a “world-class liar”; and, in his speech at the Republican National Convention, said Hillary Clinton’s legacy is “death, destruction, and weakness” and accused her of proposing “mass lawlessness.” (For a fuller list of things Donald Trump has said about Hillary Clinton, please consult this excellent New Yorker article, Blythe Roberson’s “Things Donald Trump Has Said About Hillary Clinton That Could Double As My Tinder Bio.”) None of which is particularly nice!

But it is nicer than what is to come, for Donald Trump has announced that he will not be nice to Hillary Clinton anymore.

Also on Friday, Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, who does indeed follow Donald Trump on Twitter, said that politics is no place for name-calling. (He was referring to President Obama implying that Trump is a demagogue and not, of course, to his running mate, Donald Trump.)

I didn’t think it was possible for Donald Trump to say anything more despicable than he has already served up in this campaign. But this weekend the GOP presidential nominee did just that twice.

First, he went after Ghazala Khan, the mother of U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan who had received a Purple Heart for bravery after being killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. And then stunningly Trump equated his work as a businessman as being a “sacrifice” akin to the sacrifice made by the brave women and men who have served in our nation’s armed forces.

With respect to Mrs. Khan, Trump was asked by Maureen Dowd on Saturday what was his reaction to ”the poignant appearance of Muslim lawyer Khizr Khan and his wife” at the DNC. Did Trump respond by acknowledging Captain Khan’s sacrifice or offer words of support for these Gold Star parents? Nope, instead he answered with one sentence: “I’d like to hear his wife say something.” (How would his wife saying anything change in any way Capt. Khan’s sacrifice or his parents’ loss?!)

And then Trump upped the criticism of Mrs. Khan in an interview with George Stephanopoulos scheduled to air Sunday morning: “If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me.”

It’s not clear if Trump, who has called women “pigs” and “dogs,” is suggesting Mrs. Khan didn’t speak because of his twisted view of Muslim women or because she didn’t agree with the words her husband had uttered. (As an aside, If Trump thinks Muslim women aren’t permitted to speak, he will be shocked to discover that nine Muslim women have served as leaders as their respective countries, from former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to the current President of Mauritania, Ameenah Fakim.)

It’s appalling that Trump would take a shot at a grieving mother. But that’s Trump.

In reality, Mrs. Khan was on the stage Thursday night because her husband asked her to be there to offer him moral support. As Mr. Khan explained in a joint interview Friday night to MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell, his wife of 40 years provides him strength, noting, “I’m much weaker than her.”

Mrs. Kahn added emotionally that she didn’t want to speak at the DNC because, “I cannot even come into the room” where a photo of her late son is located without crying.

Mrs. Khan then, with her voice breaking from emotion, shared the words she had told her son before he was deployed to Iraq: “Be safe. Don’t become a hero for me—just be my son. Come back as my son.” Adding as she began to sob, “But he came back as a hero.”

Just as jaw dropping as Trump’s refusal to praise the service of Captain Khan and his vile attack on Mrs. Khan, was Trump equating his experience in business as being akin to serving in the U.S. military.

Stephanopoulos asked Trump to respond to Mr. Khan’s speech Thursday calling on the GOP nominee to visit Arlington National Cemetery and “look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America.” Khan noted that in contrast, Trump had “sacrificed nothing.”

Trump’s reaction was simply stunning: “I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard.”

Stephanopoulos, apparently shocked by Trump comparing his work in plush boardrooms and flying around in private luxury jets as somehow being similar to serving in our nation’s military, pressed Trump further to explain his “sacrifices.” Trump doubled down, bragging, “I think I've made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures.” Trump, congratulating himself further, added: “I've had tremendous success. I think I've done a lot.”

Who would even infer that working as a real estate developer, reality show host, etc. is anything close to the service of the men and women who have put their lives on the line to defend our country? Only a narcissist like Trump.

"For anyone to compare their 'sacrifice' to a Gold Star family member is insulting, foolish and ignorant. Especially someone who has never served himself and has no children serving," Paul Rieckoff, the founder and CEO of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said when asked about Trump’s statement.

But this is not the first time Trump has belittled the service of veterans by equating his billionaire lifestyle to the challenges faced in the U.S. military. In 1997, Trump claimed his playboy years where he was hooking up with models was his own “personal Vietnam” because he had to avoid getting herpes and other STDs. Trump even remarked that the fact he was venereal disease free made him, “feel like a great and very brave soldier.” Let's also never forget when he mocked Senator John McCain for being captured.

And Trump actually had an opportunity to serve in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. Instead he avoided by claiming he had a “medical disability.”

That’s very curious given that while in college Trump played baseball, tennis and squash. And last year Trump’s doctor released a letter describing Trump’s health as “astonishingly excellent” and “extraordinary.” Trump apparently is one of those rare people who are healthier at 70 than at 22.

Mr. Khan made a powerful plea Friday night to Republicans to put principle over Party and not support Trump. If Trump’s latest comments don’t cause that to happen, either Trump supporters believe Party comes first or they simply have no principles.

Trump Declares He Doesn’t “Have to Be So Nice Anymore”
Slate, so out right wing friends can safely ignore it.

P. S. The article has all kinds of fun links.