2024 US Presidential Elections Megathread

[Sheilbh]

They are still working out the attack lines. Seeing what sticks.

Yeah. What actually works - I doubt this'll be it. Or for that matter Vance's "childless" stuff.

[Norgy]

Vance fairly quickly became a liability even for Trump, it seems. He has to defend having a wife that is not completely white. And he is not exactly acing that test. I see Netflix has "Hillbilly Elegy" as a movie now. I am fucking cancelling my subscription.

[Sheilbh]

Vance fairly quickly became a liability even for Trump, it seems. He has to defend having a wife that is not completely white. And he is not exactly acing that test. I see Netflix has "Hillbilly Elegy" as a movie now. I am fucking cancelling my subscription.

A Ron Howard movie no less - with Glenn Close! I suspect his political trajectory since they optioned it has been a bit of a disappointment.

On the comments about his wife, I think there's a fairly misleadingly edited clip doing the rounds.

[Jacob]

On the comments about his wife, I think there's a fairly misleadingly edited clip doing the rounds.

That's a pretty vague statement 

What's the clip about?

[Norgy]

He did a Fox News interview. First rule of fight club? Not being interviewed by Fox News.
I think what he said was something along the lines of "yes, she is not white, but she is a good woman". Which is sweet, in my opinion. And he is of course being accused of having sex with, wait a minute, I need to check my notes here. Yes. A couch.     

There were some disturbing noises from Trump about "in four years you don't have to vote" too. But that apparently is the new normal, abolishing democracy.

[Sheilbh]

That's a pretty vague statement 

What's the clip about?

From what I've seen there's a clip and transcript doing the rounds where he's talking about his wife and says "obviously she's not a white person [...] but I just love Usha, and she's such a good mom."

The bit cut in the [...] is when he notes "and we've been attacked by some white supremacists over that".

Some still doubling down because he says "but" - from the clip I've seen it just looks conversational (and is moving from the fact they've been attacked over her race to saying how much he loves her).

[Admiral Yi]

It's not inconceivable he felt he had to make just that kind of speech to his hillbilly family to sell them on the idea.

[The Minsky Moment]

So the full quote is: "obviously she's not a white person and we've been attacked by some white supremacists over that, but I just love Usha, and she's such a good mom."

Because that doesn't make it better. It almost sounds like the white supremacists would be right if it weren't for the fortuitous fact that he loves her and she's such a good mom.  If she was just an average mom, then it would be a problem she's not white?

It just seems obvious that the response to being attacked by white supremacists over the race of your spouse, is to say how sad and outrageous that such nonsense is still being peddled in the 21st century, and to express your own personal offense and outrage.  Not to offer the excuse that it's Ok because your spouse is a good parent.

It's hard to escape the conclusion the like Trump, Vance sees white supremacists and their sympathizers as an important voting bloc he doesn't want to offend.

[Sheilbh]

For people to form a view, this is the clip, including the question:

Edit: Ahhh! It worked as a start from for me. It's about 24.20.

[The Minsky Moment]

Yeah it's a weird response. Kelly is serving him a layup, for him to say, of course I care about everyone regardless of color.  And he never says it or anything like it.

[Tamas]

For people to form a view, this is the clip, including the question:

Edit: Ahhh! It worked as a start from for me. It's about 24.20.

Thanks, but actually that made it much more clearer for me than Minsky's summary: he is clearly saying: obviously she is not a white person BUT... And I am pretty sure he can genuinely love his wife while having white supremacist views.

Not that I am too interested in deepening my understanding of Vance. At best he is a spineless opportunist looking for a nice payout on the tail of the Trump "movement". At worse he is a spineless ambitious man working to be the fascist dictator the far-right has built up America for but Trump is too dumb to be.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah the lay-up is a "racism from the left" line - "they say you only value white stay-at-home moms". I think in that context it possibly makes sense to talk about how much he loves his wife (who isn't white) and they've had to deal with racism because of that.

I think it's a very forced and unnatural reading to get het up about this or read too much into it (also I think this is the sort of thing that doesn't work with normal people who don't have strong political views).

It's not like there's nothing else to attack Vance on.

Edit: I mean at worst I think this lays up the opportunity for America's most unlikeable man to do a Checkers speech where he declares that, in fact, he loves his wife and thinks it's disgraceful that any people are racist towards her (include attack on "racism of the left"/only care about white woman) and shame on the media  for ever claiming otherwise and attacking his wife like that.

Just flip the sides making the attack and I think most people would be happy saying this is nonsense.

[Admiral Yi]

I am very interested in deepening my understanding of Vance.  He is white trash made good.  He is the #2 man in the white trash party.  Listening to Trump won't help me understand the hopes and desires and grievances of white trash America.

[Sheilbh]

Not fully behind that reading

But Trump tells you a lot, lot more. Trump's the id.

[garbon]

Yeah the lay-up is a "racism from the left" line - "they say you only value white stay-at-home moms". I think in that context it possibly makes sense to talk about how much he loves his wife (who isn't white) and they've had to deal with racism because of that.

I think it's a very forced and unnatural reading to get het up about this or read too much into it (also I think this is the sort of thing that doesn't work with normal people who don't have strong political views).

It's not like there's nothing else to attack Vance on.

Edit: I mean at worst I think this lays up the opportunity for America's most unlikeable man to do a Checkers speech where he declares that, in fact, he loves his wife and thinks it's disgraceful that any people are racist towards her (include attack on "racism of the left"/only care about white woman) and shame on the media  for ever claiming otherwise and attacking his wife like that.

Just flip the sides making the attack and I think most people would be happy saying this is nonsense.

I'm not really sure why you are excusing him. My husband and I would be in a fight if he had said those same words.