Donald Trump: Classic or Dud?

Congratulations on your sexual assault judgment grampa.

This is still making me happy hours later.

The town hall is going to be unhinged.

nah it's gonna be a free campaign rally

The venue for CNN's Trump town hall will be "filled with about 400 voters who are Republicans or Republican-leaning independents."

I've never seen a network try this hard to get their own anchor booed live on their own airwaves. https://t.co/rSA525kCvh pic.twitter.com/oN0TpVWkhe

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) May 10, 2023

The town hall is going to be unhinged.

― treeship., Wednesday, May 10, 2023 6:51 AM (six hours ago)

was trying to figure out what it was about this post that was sticking in my head and realized it is basically another way of saying "will be wild"

Which also reminded me to thank VG (I think?) for posting about the Will Be Wild podcast -- great stuff, thank you for the rec wherever you are!

CNN was acquired just over a year ago in a major media merger where the acquiring CEO mentioned CNN's politics (at the time rated -2 or "lean left" on the political bias scale) were just too radical for mainstream america. So yeah, this is the "new CNN", just giving voices to underrepresented centrist voices like poor ole DJT.

Also I missed it in real time but thank you to LL, felicity and others for keeping this thread focused amid the nonsense.

What a welcome post, Steve Shasta. <3

nah it's gonna be a free campaign rally

Yes and these are unhinged.

seems like there was an anti-woke crank on the jury, and even he found in favor of carroll

Remember when I told you that the Carroll verdict shocked me, in part because of @Jose_Pagliery’s reporting on the jury’s “media diet,” especially Juror No. 77’s admitted interest in Tim Pool. Carroll’s team had serious concerns too, based on filings unsealed today. 1/

— Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) May 10, 2023

Maybe shows that people can be shaken out of their echo chamber when faced with the plain truth.

One person at least

he was probably the only reason the finding was sexual assault rather than rape.

Haopy about reporter Joseph Pagliery, a former student.

Jose

yeah, Fox News yesterday was 'JURY REJECTS RAPE CHARGE' in bold, before conceding that maybe he was found liable for something after all

They rejected the rape charge because rape is the one crime where you apparently have to have video of the incident, a recording of the assailant admitting he did it to even approximate anybody believing you, and then you'll still be called a liar anyway.

Even in a civil suit, which requires a much lower burden of proof.

Unless you're a male victim, then they'll believe you and ridicule you for "being weak and letting someone do this to you", much like Terry Crews got told when he accused a Hollywood Exec of sexually assaulting him.

So the Town Hall is just an opportunity for Trump to frame his scandals the precise way he wants to backed by wild applause and sycophantic laughter. This is ridiculous.

why are you watching

I dipped in out of curiosity

Jonathan Swan
May 10, 2023, 8:46 p.m. ET16 minutes ago
16 minutes ago
Jonathan Swan

Advisers to Trump are thrilled at how this is going so far for him. They can’t believe he is getting an hour on CNN with an audience that cheers his every line and laughs at his every joke.

This is what I observed as well. In this environment he comes across as far more lucid and quick witted than I have seen him in years. If you didn’t pay attention to his words, just his affect, you’d think he seemed reasonable.

This is the night he finally became President

This town hall seems like something everyone will forget about in24 hours. The NY verdict doesn’t.

And if it gives him a boost in the primary, great. He will not win the general election, says me!

Between this and the appalling both sidesism of the Jordan Neely killing, I feel like I am in a time warp. Things that seemed definitively not mainstream are now mainstream again.

I agree tobo. He can’t win a national election. Most Americans don’t want a rapist as president. That is a low bar but I think we meet it at least…

I wish I had your certainty. He’s not going to win, he’ll get decisively fewer votes, but my fear is all the states working very hard to disenfranchise voters and change the rules so he can’t lose.

One thing that doesn’t make sense to me —

In the final days of his administration, as he promoted “stop the steal,” he seemed to have alienated everyone who even seemed halfway serious. His team consisted of clowns like giuliani and sidney powell. He could hardly find anyone to represent him in the impeachment case.

And yet now it seems plausible that he could pull off the kind of mass disenfranchisement he fantasized about before. I guess it is the GOP doing it at the state level — various loosely affiliated actors — but inspired by his obsession with voting laws.

Grab a drink, folx.

Done, your lordship

Disenfranchisement is a republican priority overall because it is easier than finding a popular platform that also pushes as much money as possible into the pockets of the richest people.

I dunno how plausible it is really. I mean he lost pretty badly in 2020 and that was before Jan 6, before the arrest, before the sexual assault judgement, before all the other things we know are coming soon. Trumpy candidates are constantly getting their asses kicked. idk how conditions are gonna get any better for him in the next 18 months.

An inspired act of god should happen here

he could still win but prob needs circumstances to break pretty hard his way, he and his movement are weak dems need to go on offense really kick these freaks asses

I think an economy dip near the election, Biden having a Diane Feinstein moment, China/North Korea rattling their swords especially loudly, etc could be the circumstance that tips it.

An inspired act of god should happen here

― omar little

how's your mousse

Nothing's a sure thing until election day is over and the votes are all in, but Trump fatigue is a real thing among vaguely Republican-leaning voters. Nothing will shake loose his fanbase voters, so it's a good bet he has a lock on the nomination. We'll all be sick, sick, sick of him before Nov. 2024. I'll just rely on him having worn out his welcome with 60% of the electorate and the campaign will only remind everyone of that very forcefully.

he could always drop dead at a rally, let's stay positive here

i.e. omar otm, sorry I am slow

Nothing's a sure thing until election day is over and the votes are all in, but Trump fatigue is a real thing among vaguely Republican-leaning voters.
― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Wednesday, May 10, 2023 7:45 PM

I just hope Biden fatigue doesn't rear its ugly head among vaguely Democratic-leaning voters.

this could perhaps be a very low turnout election. in either or both directions

it's too bad DeSantis and Trump don't like each other any more, that they couldn't be on the same train that derails in a fiery ball

there haven't really been low turnout elections in the last 7 years. I think things will get very crazy again this time next year.

2020 was never going to be low turnout because Democrats were amped up to get Trump out of office since basically November of 2016. many of those people will still be motivated af to turn up in 2024. but progressives who are seeing states carrying out attempts at LGBTQ+ erasure, unhindered whatsoever by having a D in the White House, might be disheartened or focus more of their efforts on state-level elections and ballot initiatives than voting for President.

(of course this is spitballing, and it could also continue the same trend and be the largest vote share in history...who knows. I have given up predicting things since 2016)

when Trump is on TV 24/7 again I think they'll be just as amped up, maybe even more so since he's basically promised to make it illegal to vote Democrat

Yall are out of your minds— voting against this pussy-grabbing sentient swastika is quite literally the only reason many people will vote in 2024. I hate him and want him destroyed, and there are millions of people like me.

otm

Millions of independents who left him 2018, 2020, and 2022 are not going to run into his arms again, especially when he claims victory for Roe's overruling.

Table speaks truth, but it is simultaneously true that there is still a sizable chunk of people
for whom voting FOR the pussy-grabbing sentient swastika is a motivator. Owning the libs and whatnot.

The more you tell them not to do a thing, the more they will want to do it. In my dark fantasies I try to come up with ways to convince them that "the woke libs" don't want them to walk off ledges and die horribly.

So. To be clear: Walk off a ledge, MAGANauts, it's the best way to own the woke libs. I would be SO TOTALLY OWNED.

2020 was never going to be low turnout because Democrats were amped up to get Trump out of office since basically November of 2016. many of those people will still be motivated af to turn up in 2024.

would be cool to get young voters interested by not running the eighty-something incumbent whose popularity level never rises above "eh"

otm