171 Comments

Without Rupert Murdock's fake FOX "news" and the Wall Street "Urinal" Trump would have been laughed at when he stepped off the elevator in 2015. Without Murdock's misinformation machine the Republican Party might still be legitimate but he and his minions have turned half of the country into morons and, yes, deplorable's. Trump isn't the problem, FOX "news" and Facebook are. Time to boycott every company that advertises products or services on FOX and to cancel your Facebook account.

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If anyone wondered how the Nazis found so many willing concentration camp guards and operatives of the death camps, wonder no more.

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It is clear to me that Trump did not even like the job of president. With respect to Covid-19, he was in over his head; neither his personality nor his life experiences equipped him to handle a pandemic.

I agree that Trump should never be allowed to run for elective office; the Senate should have convicted him in the second impeachment. Trump panders to the lowest common denominator of human behavior. His continued dominance in the national conversation exposes serious flaws in our society. I think much of the threats and violence to which school board members, election supervisors, health commissioners, and other government officials around the country are being subjected result from Trump's message that using violence to get what you want is acceptable behavior. Even "respectable" suburban moms have bought into that.

That said, IMO, Democrats' plans to run against "scary Trump" as a campaign strategy will fail. He is no longer in office, and memories of his deficiencies fade fast. Some of the suburbanites who were repulsed by his crude and uncivil behavior might now even be nostalgic for the fact that he gave them full permission to indulge in racism.

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It's so discouraging that he continues to consumer every new cycle. If we could only ignore him. (sigh)

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Nailed it. TFG has stirred, shaken and whipped a narrative that directs and demands all attention. If he is ignored he raises the volume. It doesn’t matter how petty or inappropriate the topic, he will force the attention on Trump.

The longer he stays a free man this country, and the world, will suffer. Sadly, he has backup in Donnie Jr. and Eric. They might be worse because they are just not smart enough to teeter on the edge without falling over. Trump Sr. Takes it to the limit and let’s others take the fall.

The Trump syndicate needs to be dismantled. There is enough evidence to put him away in multiple cases and in multiple jurisdictions.

Garland will need to act or he will be as complicit as the rest of the republican traitors and thr trump clan.

That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong. (But I don’t think so)

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I have not been able to shake the feeling that our democracy is sliding into the sea as is volcanic activity in La Palma...when 1/2 of our citizens believe that this orangutan is their savior I cannot see any positivity ahead. When the democratic party is so weak and milk-toast in responding to republicans and their recipe for authoritarian rule and the right wing brain-dead are defining how we, as a people, react to a medical emergency/pandemic by exerting 'rights' that totally ignore the fact that we are all in this together...for the greater good. I am a Viet Nam veteran and have endured a lot of crap but this has me more scared than I had ever been in the jungles of southeast asia. That this POS could run again for the presidency says way too much about where this country currently sits...

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Trump is so toxically narcissistic that as president, he was like a mad king who literally owned all the federal agencies, the military, the people who voted for him, and of course even now, he believes the laws do not apply to him. Somehow we weathered 4 years of the presidency of a man truly deranged and delusional. Trump has one talent - that he is able to play on people's desires, fears, prejudices and of course, their resentments. The Big Lie is something that he's using to keep the carnival grifter's tent in business. Personally, I don't think he can win an election as long as the Democrats don't blow it, but they have a tendency to blow it when it's life or death.

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Please explain in a future column, why he never seems to be held accountable for any laws he breaks - is our legal system really that weak? If any of the rest of us did a third of the things he's done, we'd be in jail for life. I realize its a tangled mess, but surely there's something we can hang him on. Thx.

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Excellent portrayal of Donald Trump. My questions are 1) Why do the GOP & about 40% of the country support this nihilist? Like Timothy Snyder in "On Tyranny", I believe history instructs. Have the "followers of Trump" ignored the history of the Germans who followed Hitler? 2) Trump acts as if he is above the law. In my opinion, he has been successful so far. Will Trump be indicted before the 2022 midterms? 3) If Democrats win the 2022 midterms, & our democratic republic survives, when will our Constitution be amended to address the shortcomings which Trump has exploited? The will of the people (approximately 60%), needs to be better represented & actually govern.

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Unfortunately, what ol' Tweety most relies on for his campaigning is the kind of attention he's getting right here. His cleverest strategy involves garnering >all< the free advertising he could possibly want from outlets he otherwise labels "fake news." The more unhinged his spiel, the more likely he'll get press coverage for one reason alone: it's entertaining. Of course the most famous motto of any seasoned entertainer is: "The only >bad< publicity is >no< publicity." Compare his spiel with the kind of crap you hear from WWF "rasselers," along with the kind of crowd that seems to love him most. Look at sports psychology in general. Notice how many people are loyal to some kind of ball team in the US. It's >their< mentality he plays into. Hell, that mentality is so universal that in some parts of the world there are "soccer riots" among fans of opposing teams. What's more, it's historical. Our "reds" & "blues" of today harken back to the "blues" & "greens" of Ancient Rome - originally chariot racing teams. Indeed, similar riots broke out in Rome in that day. If you view 1/6 as a kind of sports riot, you'll gain better insight into what was actually happening in the minds of those rioters. That's >exactly< what ol' Tweety leverages in his rants.

Fortunately - for the moment - he's banned from Twitter.

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Concerning Garland prosecuting >anyone< involved in 1/6, I'll wager ol' Tweety & the gang will try to tar Garland with jealousy and/or vengefulness over not being on the SCOTUS. There'll undoubtedly be some kind of disinformation campaign involved.

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The column and many of the comments are focused on the "former guy," which I understand since he's easily identifiable and the focal point of "the problem." However, sitting here in the middle of a hugely red state (a few of us are blue and fighting the good fight so please don't denigrate the red states as if they are monolithic) I still see signs of people believing the "big lie." It is that willingness to forego evidence that is much more troubling to me. I've seen the impact of Fox/faux news, social media, particularly Facebook, and Twitter as the means to the end of perpetuating the false beliefs. Not electing trump will NOT defeat trumpism and it is that "ism" that has divided, and continues to divide this country. Our "bonds of affection" are as seriously frayed today as they have ever been.

Today is Veterans Day, a time when we would, historically, come together to honor those who have served in the military. We will have our parade and express our patriotism and honor theirs, but the fact that many of our fellow citizens will see us "the other" is distressing and, I fear, will not go away unless and until the former guy is gone, if then. His minions are still out there and following his lead and the likes of DeSantis and Cruz and our own governor Stitt, are emulating him daily. This genie will be near impossible to get back into that bottle. 14th Amendment? sure...and then what? We know the Kochs are behind much of this so we have to follow the money and see where it leads. Who else is funding all the division? There's a lot of money being spent to keep this going. We sure don't want to go the way the way of the Weimar Republic...do we?

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I am appalled at the glacial reponse of the justice system to Trump's illegal and frankly treasonous behavior. So far his only accountability has been losing the 2020 election, and he has endlessly challenged even that. Sometimes I wish we had a different form of justice system in which Trump could not constantly evade responsibility for his many crimes. If he is still a free man in 2024, we have lost the ability to enact the rule of law.

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Tens of millions of folks feel the decks are stacked and that our gov does not represent the best interests of the people; their feelings are justified. Trump leveraged these feelings by claiming to be a WA D.C. "outsider" who proclaimed to have the secret inside knowledge and contacts of big business to turn things around. Couple these feelings about gov with the brown threat of immigrants, and socialists, and we have the "movable feast" barn fire that he trots out at his rallys on cue.

Of course, he had not a clue, nor any intention of turning things around--when he saw the swell he created, he decided to just ride the wave of hate, mistrust, and fantasy as long as he could {can} while lining his pockets at every opportunity.

There is no point in trying to convince his following that his intent was/is contrary to almost everything he says--the brainwash is too thorough, and the fantasy bogeymen too abundant/prevalent.

Besides, for that dwindling, tiny, contingent of old white men who are slowly loosing control and influence, he is their last life raft of hope to continue the massive whiz bang and okey doke.

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All I can say is you nailed it Bob. I love reading your posts you always say what I am thinking.

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Criminal Trump is going to Prison for the rest of his miserable life. The Georgia racketeering prosecution alone should be good for 25 years. Even so, to be on the safe side, Congress should invoke Article 3 of the 14th Amendment of prevent him from even thinking of running.

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