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Hopefully foreign companies understand the nuance that Trump is a perfect storm of having been a reality show celebrity for several decades, born into money, ba

by gdulli 1y ago

Hopefully foreign companies understand the nuance that Trump is a perfect storm of having been a reality show celebrity for several decades, born into money, bad upbringing, personality type that's immune to shame. Others trying to be him have not been able to replicate his success electorally. Lowest common denominator celebrity is key to his success. Theres a good case to be made that he's an aberration and there won't be another demagogue after him to so effectively capture his audience and survive the corruption and incompetence that follows. He has potential heirs that are smarter and more disciplined than him, but ironically that path doesn't lead you to a life of pop culture/paparazzi/TV celebrity. Thats not to say we don't deserve to have lost significant trust and respect. But if you take the long view, it's not an extrapolation of this.

vkou 1y ago
The long view is that it's clear that the voters can be trusted to vote someone like him in twice, and the Republican party can be trusted to completely emasculate itself to maintain a petty fraud's cult of personality. Neither is encouraging for the future.
- gdulli 1y ago
  I get it but also he lost the popular vote 2/3 times, has never defeated a man in the general election, and is a minus 7.6 million in 3 popular votes. He lost the popular vote to a very unpopular and polarizing Hillary Clinton, and that was with help from Cambridge Analytica and James Comey.
  - vkou 1y ago
    The same media mechanisms which made Hillary 'very unpopular and polarizing' instead of just a milquetoast dem will make the next dem candidate 'very unpopular and polarizing'. And they weren't playing for the popular vote.
notahacker 1y ago
I think the flip side is that whilst Trump's personal quirks and appeal might be unique, half the American polity unquestioningly does his bidding and endorses his insanity and it's not like his positions on the rest of the world are particularly unpopular or institutional trust and credible business-friendly conservatives are going to magically appear out of the ether when he's gone. The long view might not look like "Trump's boot trying to stomp on you forever", but it doesn't look like "America is a trustworthy ally, especially in business" either. It isn't going to stop the world from suckling on the US money teat, but it is going to make them a lot more selective about if and when they do so.
jacquesm 1y ago
That would all be acceptable if the checks and balances would work as advertised. The fact that they do not - I think that is safe to conclude now - makes this a completely different level issue.

by gdulli 1y ago

vkou 1y ago

The long view is that it's clear that the voters can be trusted to vote someone like him in twice, and the Republican party can be trusted to completely emasculate itself to maintain a petty fraud's cult of personality. Neither is encouraging for the future.

gdulli 1y ago
I get it but also he lost the popular vote 2/3 times, has never defeated a man in the general election, and is a minus 7.6 million in 3 popular votes. He lost the popular vote to a very unpopular and polarizing Hillary Clinton, and that was with help from Cambridge Analytica and James Comey.
- vkou 1y ago
  The same media mechanisms which made Hillary 'very unpopular and polarizing' instead of just a milquetoast dem will make the next dem candidate 'very unpopular and polarizing'. And they weren't playing for the popular vote.

notahacker 1y ago

I think the flip side is that whilst Trump's personal quirks and appeal might be unique, half the American polity unquestioningly does his bidding and endorses his insanity and it's not like his positions on the rest of the world are particularly unpopular or institutional trust and credible business-friendly conservatives are going to magically appear out of the ether when he's gone. The long view might not look like "Trump's boot trying to stomp on you forever", but it doesn't look like "America is a trustworthy ally, especially in business" either. It isn't going to stop the world from suckling on the US money teat, but it is going to make them a lot more selective about if and when they do so.

jacquesm 1y ago

That would all be acceptable if the checks and balances would work as advertised. The fact that they do not - I think that is safe to conclude now - makes this a completely different level issue.