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You're not supposed to take the Democratic talking points about Trump being a "wannabe dictator" seriously. It's just political mudslinging. I figured that wa

by refurb 1y ago

You're not supposed to take the Democratic talking points about Trump being a "wannabe dictator" seriously. It's just political mudslinging. I figured that was obvious after Trump and Obama were all buddy-buddy at Carter's funeral. I mean, typically you don't have a friendly relationship with someone you think is ending democracy in your country.

onlyrealcuzzo 1y ago
Hitler was buddy buddy with all kinds of people (including most wealthy Jews before the concentration camps). What's your point? You're defacto not a wannabe dictator because you did anything ever that wasn't dictator-y? That seems like a low bar.
piva00 1y ago
> You're not supposed to take the Democratic talking points about Trump being a "wannabe dictator" seriously. It's just political mudslinging. I think you should go up this comment thread and read this[0], it's not the words of Trump but the actions his administration take, they are authoritarian, it's clear to most people outside of the USA with a decent education. Cynicism about "political mudslinging" as if these actions are all normal and could be taken by any administration, and would be condemned anyway by their opposing side is exactly the shift in Overton Window which legitimises authoritarian overtakes. Please do read about any authoritarian rise to power in democratic countries in the last 100 years, even better if you read about "competitive authoritarianism" to understand why it might just so be this time is a little different... [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44259953 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44259953
- cced 1y ago
  > decent education Looks like those dividends are finally starting to pay out.
rstat1 1y ago
I take it you're not big on the whole "actions speak louder than words" thing are you?
- refurb 1y ago
  I absolutely am! Which is why when Obama and Trump looked like they were best friends, that action spoke way louder than Obama's words.
burkaman 1y ago
What you're saying is that Democractic party leadership is so trustworthy that anyone they appear socially friendly with must not be a threat
toomanyrichies 1y ago
> I figured that was obvious after Trump and Obama were all buddy-buddy at Carter's funeral. Please tell me this isn't the only data point you're basing your conclusion on. It's social protocol that funeral attendees treat each other in a civil manner, even if they intensely dislike each other. I'm autistic, but even I know that social rule.
- refurb 1y ago
  Have you not see the video? It wasn't civil, it looked like a couple of long-lost best friends catching up. Obama had made his comments about "wannabe dictator" only a week or so earlier. Actions speak louder than words.
  - toomanyrichies 1y ago
    I don't care if they're slapping each other's backs and high-fiving! Trump is currently the most powerful person in the world, and has a long and storied history of using that power to harm those who slight him or bruise his fragile ego in any way. Obama knows this; he's been on the receiving of Trump's petty vindictiveness too many times to count. And he could just as easily be placating Trump so that he doesn't issue an executive order to, say, require every publicly-funded university in the US to offer a "men's rights studies" major, simply out of spite.
    - refurb 1y ago
      Or, Obama knows it’s all politics and mudslinging, where the truth is irrelevant? And in reality he’s happy to have Trump as a friend and isn’t really worried about a dictatorship?

by refurb 1y ago

onlyrealcuzzo 1y ago

Hitler was buddy buddy with all kinds of people (including most wealthy Jews before the concentration camps). What's your point? You're defacto not a wannabe dictator because you did anything ever that wasn't dictator-y? That seems like a low bar.

piva00 1y ago

> You're not supposed to take the Democratic talking points about Trump being a "wannabe dictator" seriously. It's just political mudslinging. I think you should go up this comment thread and read this[0], it's not the words of Trump but the actions his administration take, they are authoritarian, it's clear to most people outside of the USA with a decent education. Cynicism about "political mudslinging" as if these actions are all normal and could be taken by any administration, and would be condemned anyway by their opposing side is exactly the shift in Overton Window which legitimises authoritarian overtakes. Please do read about any authoritarian rise to power in democratic countries in the last 100 years, even better if you read about "competitive authoritarianism" to understand why it might just so be this time is a little different... [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44259953 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44259953

cced 1y ago
> decent education Looks like those dividends are finally starting to pay out.

rstat1 1y ago

I take it you're not big on the whole "actions speak louder than words" thing are you?

refurb 1y ago
I absolutely am! Which is why when Obama and Trump looked like they were best friends, that action spoke way louder than Obama's words.

burkaman 1y ago

What you're saying is that Democractic party leadership is so trustworthy that anyone they appear socially friendly with must not be a threat

toomanyrichies 1y ago

> I figured that was obvious after Trump and Obama were all buddy-buddy at Carter's funeral. Please tell me this isn't the only data point you're basing your conclusion on. It's social protocol that funeral attendees treat each other in a civil manner, even if they intensely dislike each other. I'm autistic, but even I know that social rule.

refurb 1y ago
Have you not see the video? It wasn't civil, it looked like a couple of long-lost best friends catching up. Obama had made his comments about "wannabe dictator" only a week or so earlier. Actions speak louder than words.
- toomanyrichies 1y ago
  I don't care if they're slapping each other's backs and high-fiving! Trump is currently the most powerful person in the world, and has a long and storied history of using that power to harm those who slight him or bruise his fragile ego in any way. Obama knows this; he's been on the receiving of Trump's petty vindictiveness too many times to count. And he could just as easily be placating Trump so that he doesn't issue an executive order to, say, require every publicly-funded university in the US to offer a "men's rights studies" major, simply out of spite.
  - refurb 1y ago
    Or, Obama knows it’s all politics and mudslinging, where the truth is irrelevant? And in reality he’s happy to have Trump as a friend and isn’t really worried about a dictatorship?