2024 US Presidential Elections Megathread

[Crazy_Ivan80]

From what I've seen in the past they explain this kind of comment to themself as something like "Yeah but it works. It gets them to spend more. He wouldn't actually let Russia conquer Europe obviously. He's just saying it as its part of making genius business deals to threaten to walk away".

They really do live in an alternate reality where Russians don't read the news.

seems far too many americans suffer from basically the same problem the russians suffer from:
The russians can't imagine other countries and governments not being as shit as theirs, while many americans apparently can't fathom other peoples not being as ignorant as them.

[Tamas]

From what I've seen in the past they explain this kind of comment to themself as something like "Yeah but it works. It gets them to spend more. He wouldn't actually let Russia conquer Europe obviously. He's just saying it as its part of making genius business deals to threaten to walk away".

They really do live in an alternate reality where Russians don't read the news.

Fair. I often mention a formative short conversation I had with a Fidesz-voting family member back in 2002 or 2006. They outlined how some of the specific election promises Fidesz made would benefit them personally. I asked politely if they are not concerned that they had made very lavish promises to pretty much every subset of society and there was no way they could keep all of these. They replied saying that those other promises are not serious (as opposed to the ones benefiting them) and were just made to win the election. Ok then!

[grumbler]

seems far too many americans suffer from basically the same problem the russians suffer from:
The russians can't imagine other countries and governments not being as shit as theirs, while many americans apparently can't fathom other peoples not being as ignorant as them.

For the Trump supporters, it is worse:  they think that they are the smartest ones in the room and cannot understand why everyone else fails to understand that every stupid lie that dribbles off Trump's lips is secretly genius subtlety.

[Tonitrus]

I am set to retire in '25.  Ya'll better not let it be Trump that I get the signed "thank you for your service" letter from. 

[Solmyr]

I am set to retire in '25.  Ya'll better not let it be Trump that I get the signed "thank you for your service" letter from. 

He'll sign it with crayon.

[Razgovory]

Yep.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/02/trump-rally-nato/677426/?gift=otEsSHbRYKNfFYMngVFweHeWX-epE-LoWLEpl4ZMp0Q

Do you want war?  This is how you get wars.

[Josquius]

From what I've seen in the past they explain this kind of comment to themself as something like "Yeah but it works. It gets them to spend more. He wouldn't actually let Russia conquer Europe obviously. He's just saying it as its part of making genius business deals to threaten to walk away".

They really do live in an alternate reality where Russians don't read the news.

seems far too many americans suffer from basically the same problem the russians suffer from:
The russians can't imagine other countries and governments not being as shit as theirs, while many americans apparently can't fathom other peoples not being as ignorant as them.

I think it's pretty common to this sort of populist right winger the world over.

I remember back in the midst of the brexit shit so many of them going on about how the UK would run rings around the EU at negotiations and the EU would just stand still leaving gaping openings for the UK to exploit at its leisure.

It's quite ironic considering what they say about the poor at home, but they just don't get that other countries have agency or even that they will react to their country's actions.
Then again it does connect with many of their views of not being capability of thinking holistically and only look at the immediate "nail sticks out? Hammer that thing down!"

[Admiral Yi]

The holistic approach to getting Europe to pay their fair share for NATO has not worked either.

[Sheilbh]

From what I've seen in the past they explain this kind of comment to themself as something like "Yeah but it works. It gets them to spend more. He wouldn't actually let Russia conquer Europe obviously. He's just saying it as its part of making genius business deals to threaten to walk away".

They really do live in an alternate reality where Russians don't read the news.

Yes. On the other hand Europeans have had since at 2016 to act in a way that reduces their reliance on America and make their security more Trump-proof - and things couldn't have been clearer since 2022.

With the exception of the Finns, the Baltics and, right now, the Poles, we haven't really done that.

I get that America's nuclear umbrella in particular is very important in Europe's security. But we could still take the risk seriously ourselves.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

From what I've seen in the past they explain this kind of comment to themself as something like "Yeah but it works. It gets them to spend more. He wouldn't actually let Russia conquer Europe obviously. He's just saying it as its part of making genius business deals to threaten to walk away".

They really do live in an alternate reality where Russians don't read the news.

seems far too many americans suffer from basically the same problem the russians suffer from:
The russians can't imagine other countries and governments not being as shit as theirs, while many americans apparently can't fathom other peoples not being as ignorant as them.

I think it's pretty common to this sort of populist right winger the world over.

Equally present with the left wing, josq. They also think they're smarter than the rest.

[Josquius]

uote author=Josquiu

Equally present with the left wing, josq. They also think they're smarter than the rest.

Could be. But the equivalents of Trumpies on the left aren't really a thing in numbers worth even thinking about.

[The Brain]

There are people in the center who think they're smarter than everyone else.

[Sophie Scholl]

 
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[Josquius]

The logic is irrefutable.

[Savonarola]

There is frankly political malpractice that more attacks are not made on Trump's age and confusion, and journalistic malpractice that the media largely minimizes Trump's struggles with coherence. In recent memory, Trump has:

Has said either that Barack Obama is president or that he had run against Obama for the presidency at least seven times, according to Forbes's Sara Dorn.

Mixed up Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi, claiming Haley was in charge of security at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Identified a picture of E. Jean Carroll, who accused him of rape, as a picture of his ex-wife, Marla Maples.

Has anyone found evidence Biden can't recognize if he is looking at a picture of his wife? Or who he ran against in 2020?

The Dems need to rail on all of this, and the media need to actually meaningfully cover Trump's verbal and coherence problems if they are going to judge similar issues for Biden as being constantly newsworthy.

I think that Trump's coherence issues have been well covered by news services (to the left of Fox News.)  This morning MSNBC had a long piece on Trump referring to Barak as president (he had done it again over the weekend.)  CNN ran seven stories about Trump confusing Haley with Pelosi (and referenced it in every article that mentioned either the Hur report or Biden recalling meeting with dead European leaders).  I think it's difficult to get this to register when Trump is threatening retribution against his enemies, saying immigrants are "Poisoning the blood of our country," calling journalists "The enemy of the people" and encouraging Russia to invade our NATO allies.