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That Trump tweeted after Colbert's show was not-renewed that Kimmel would be next - and then gets Kimmel cancelled, said to reporters that licensed broadcasters

That Trump tweeted after Colbert's show was not-renewed that Kimmel would be next - and then gets Kimmel cancelled, said to reporters that licensed broadcasters aren't "allowed" to criticize him, and tweeted after Kimmel that Seth Meyers would be next - and yet still has the support of a majority of republicans, astounds me. There is no authoritarian line he can cross that turns away his apologists. They pretend that Biden or Obama were somehow worse (which, even if true, is an illogical argument for democratic norms), pretend that these are private decisions not coerced by the state power, or cheer for "retribution" against their idealogical opponents while embracing a diminishing of democratic freedoms. They have no red lines for Trump. He can deny established science; deny access to life saving vaccines; control the media; accept billions in personal investments from foreign governments in return for US policy; kill people in international waters without oversight... that's just this month's list! It's not a phenomena I could have truly internalized without experiencing it first hand. It has changed me even as a late-middled-aged adult. I wonder what it must be like for those younger, who are assembling the foundations of their political and social opinions.

amanaplanacanal 1y ago
It's truly gut wrenching what has happened to the Republican party. The people who seriously warned against Trump are either out, or have done a complete 180 and are now licking his boots.
jaybrendansmith 1y ago
I have been completely radicalized. I used to be a boring moderate; was a liberal when it came to social issues, but somewhat conservative fiscally. Now I find I am just an American, and it is no longer about left or right, it is about what is moral and immoral. I never would have believed so many in my country would have zero self-reflection and ignorance, but here we are. I suppose they have always been here, I just did not want to believe it.
- squishington 1y ago
  The left and right have more in common with each other than they realise. Many of the distinctions become irrelevant when you realise it's really workers against the power of massive capital.
  - krapp 1y ago
    >Many of the distinctions become irrelevant when you realise it's really workers against the power of massive capital. If you're talking about the two parties, Democrats and Republicans, then sure. But that's mostly because the Democrats are only nominally "leftist." Both parties are pro police, pro military industrial complex, pro Zionism, and pro capital. Both support the American white supremacist imperialist order. It isn't left and right where American power structures are concerned, it's center-right and far-right. But the distinction on the ground, with real people, is definitional and couldn't be more distinct in that the left recognizes class struggle and sides with the workers, while the right recognizes class struggle and sides with capital. The dissonance between the left and the Democrats versus the harmony between the right and Republicans is why the Democrats keep losing elections - between the two camps only Trump and the Republicans are actually giving their constituents what they voted for.

amanaplanacanal 1y ago

It's truly gut wrenching what has happened to the Republican party. The people who seriously warned against Trump are either out, or have done a complete 180 and are now licking his boots.

jaybrendansmith 1y ago

I have been completely radicalized. I used to be a boring moderate; was a liberal when it came to social issues, but somewhat conservative fiscally. Now I find I am just an American, and it is no longer about left or right, it is about what is moral and immoral. I never would have believed so many in my country would have zero self-reflection and ignorance, but here we are. I suppose they have always been here, I just did not want to believe it.

squishington 1y ago
The left and right have more in common with each other than they realise. Many of the distinctions become irrelevant when you realise it's really workers against the power of massive capital.
- krapp 1y ago
  >Many of the distinctions become irrelevant when you realise it's really workers against the power of massive capital. If you're talking about the two parties, Democrats and Republicans, then sure. But that's mostly because the Democrats are only nominally "leftist." Both parties are pro police, pro military industrial complex, pro Zionism, and pro capital. Both support the American white supremacist imperialist order. It isn't left and right where American power structures are concerned, it's center-right and far-right. But the distinction on the ground, with real people, is definitional and couldn't be more distinct in that the left recognizes class struggle and sides with the workers, while the right recognizes class struggle and sides with capital. The dissonance between the left and the Democrats versus the harmony between the right and Republicans is why the Democrats keep losing elections - between the two camps only Trump and the Republicans are actually giving their constituents what they voted for.