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If you're in the "Trump is a mad man" camp, don't you want voices of reason like Kalanack's to be in his ear? Based on his actions since Jan 20, he should be i
by kafkaesq 10y ago
If you're in the "Trump is a mad man" camp, don't you want voices of reason like Kalanack's to be in his ear?
Based on his actions since Jan 20, he should be isolated, shunned, denounced and blocked by all available means until he either resigns or is impeached. It doesn't seem like "reason" is something that he will ever listen to, by this point.
That said, in principle it can be useful to have people capable of exerting the kinds of influence he seems to understand better (force, and threats of force). But not a hidebound accommodationist of dubious ethical principles like Kalanack.
(EDIT: apologies, didn't see the upvotes before revising the above substantially).
- anbende 10y agoIf that were completely true then he wouldn't have a council of tech advisors that all hold views counter to his own. If the man is willing to talk to you about the things you care about, then why on earth wouldn't you?
- kevinstubbs 10y agoI've independently come to the same conclusion as you and OP, but some of my liberal friends on Facebook don't agree. I don't really understand the argument to "isolate and shun" by not joining his advisory boards. If there is pressure to keep Trump's ideological enemies out of the process, then that only leaves his supporters... Which leads to all of his sources of information supporting his decisions.
- zimpenfish 10y ago> Which leads to all of his sources of information supporting his decisions. What, in the last 18 months, gives you the impression he listens to anyone outside of his coterie of right-wing schmoozers anyway?
- anbende 10y agoThe fact that he spends time physically present and apparently listening to the left wing technocrats. Nobody is expecting a radical shift in his policies, but even minor shifts on key issues are arguably worth the small time investment. The man is self-interested, and self-interested people can generally be bargained with if you can find the places where their interests align with yours. In this case money and public opinion are good targets.
- sjg007 10y agoBecause the Advisory Council serves in name only and is a prop to grant legitimacy.
- kafkaesq 10y agoVery succinctly put.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- woofyman 10y agoIt feeds his ego to have the titans of tech kiss his ring.
- kafkaesq 10y agoIf that were completely true then he wouldn't have a council of tech advisors that all hold views counter to his own. That's more of a sign of him doing the best he can to scrape from the bottom of the barrel than of any real respect for diversity of viewpoints, let alone "reason."
- davidw 10y agoIs he actually talking to them and listening to their advice?
- anbende 10y agoIf he's physically present and doesn't have his hands over his ears, he's at least hearing what they have to say. And these people are masters at finding ways to influence others based on others interests.
- dagw 10y agowhy on earth wouldn't you? It all comes down to why he wants to talk to me. Is it because he's interested in listening to what to have to say and take my advice under consideration or does he just want to use my 'fame' and my name to add legitimacy to the the actions he would have taken anyway.
- anbende 10y agoI think that people like Musk likely have a strong belief in their ability to persuade and influence. I think that the idea that Trump is completely uninfluencable is a bit hyperbolic. He's not an irrationality machine. He cares about things, just maybe not the things you or I care about, and so those things become avenues for influence and negotiation.
- kafkaesq 10y agoHe's not an irrationality machine. Well, I disagree with you there. Based on his actions, especially since assuming office, "irrationality machine" seems to be the perfect description of him.
- dllthomas 10y ago> a council of tech advisors that all hold views counter to his own. That's an odd characterization. Regarding views, I'm sure each of them disagrees with him on something (because they're all different human beings) but several of them endorsed him. Regarding "tech", that's not how I would label Pepsi, JP Morgan, the Cleveland Clinic, Walmart, BlackRock... Tech is less represented on the forum than financial services.
- news_to_me 10y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman_theory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman_theory
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- qq66 10y agoTrump still has 24 hours in every day, and every hour that he's not talking to someone like Kalanick or anyone else, he is talking to Steve Bannon, possibly the most malevolent force to ever inhabit US politics. This is why Jared Kushner is particularly important at this time: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/opinion/where-is-jared-kushner.html?_r=0&referer=https://www.google.com/ https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/opinion/where-is-jared...
- JBlue42 10y agoI don't know about ability to influence but an insider/whistleblower (someone with a conscience) could be or would've been useful. If all he has a true believers then it makes it much more opaque for those of us on the outside.
- zimpenfish 10y ago> Based on his actions since Jan 20, he should be isolated, shunned, denounced and blocked by all available means I'd change "Jan 20" for "the 1980s" because he's always been a monstrous excuse of a human being willing to say anything and do anything to advance his personal interests.
- kafkaesq 10y agoSure, definitely. I just like to simplify it to "since Jan 20" to sidestep any of the "let's give the guy a chance" arguments we were hearing in the first few days. In other words, we don't have to dial back to any of the insanities of his campaign, or in his public life previously. Enough has happened in the last 14 days to make it sufficiently clear as to what we're in store for, moving forward: a non-stop, white-knuckle disaster of presidency, until he is removed.