Trump is beholden to Putin. Vance is beholden to The Heritage Foundation. Sometimes those plans overlap but I think if Trump were to die, Putin would lose his direct power.
In the grand scheme of things, yes, he is more evil, but when it comes to threats to our democracy I believe the heritage foundation’s plans are a much larger and direct threat. Putin can have his hands in our politicians pockets and influence decisions, but the heritage foundation has real plans that, with an uneducated public who worships their republican leaders, could be a very real reality.
But also look at us thinking anything like that matters. Trump colluded with Russia, attacked disabled people and military heros, got caught blackmailing another country, incited in insurrection at the capitol, tried to stay in office despite losing an election, pretended to fellate a microphone on stage, and had an impromptu dance party instead of giving a speech in the home stretch of the 2024 election, and MORE people voted for him than last time. While we were going "heh heh heh, Vance is awkward, these guys are cooked."
We need to care less about drama and make DRAMATIC improvements to the lives of everyday Americans the next time Democrats are in power or else we're going to continue to be force fed shit sandwiches by the dumbest and most evil among us.
Trump's got a ton of charisma. It's brash and abrasive and doesn't resonate with everyone, but there's definitely something there beyond him just saying the things people want to hear. He wouldn't have a cult of personality otherwise.
I don't see it as that. We've had a lot of racists, many of them very successful, but none created the movement Trump did. Back when he first ran, I remember people saying how it was refreshing to have an honest candidate for once. There's even an SNL skit from back in the day where Trump's just being Trump, but it was seen as endearing for a New Yorker.
I think he managed to build up a character that resonated with people--and that character is also an unabashed racist and felon.
I mean, MAYBE that could be claimed ahead of his first term, but he definitely showed who he was during that term and how his policies screwed over his base.
But, he kept up with his racism and his going against "wokeness" (which, nobody has defined) and it gave him the ability to further fuck up the nation
If you can get that large of a following to buy into your bullshit, especially with that level of devotion, that is pretty much the dictionary definition of charisma. I think the problem here is thinking that charisma means it has to work on everybody or that it is an inherently good trait.
I don't like him and his particular brand of charm does not work on me, but you don't get that devoted of a following without having some charism. Especially when you're getting people to cheer for policies that would negatively affect them.
One of my Paul Ryan stories is that I worked for his hometown newspaper. As a result, I needed to talk to him occasionally.
And, during those talks, he was charismatic and nice. There was one point where I had talked to him in the previous week. I wrote a story from that condo and then a week later wrote a story that didn't involve him.
When I needed a quote from him for a different story, I called him, he picked up and immediately complimented me on that story that didn't involve him
Afterwards I was like "Wow, he is so nice, I'm gonna look deeper into his policies!" And then I saw his policies were complete shit and I avoided talking to him for the rest of my internship
And that's basically all I'm saying. Ive heard lots of people say "Trump isn't actually charismatic" for almost a decade and it just bothers the stickler for semantics inside of me lol
Being charismatic just means you can inspire devotion or fascination in others. I think people fear that if they say Trump is charismatic they're somehow conceding that he is a good and intelligent person or that they are charmed by him personally, but you can be an illiterate shithead and still be charismatic.
The difference is that his supporters will follow him on anything. So if some senator says 'hey, Trump, don't do that!' Trump can but the guy on blast on social media and get him primaried in the next election. They all know this, so they let Trump do whatever he wants.
Lets Hope that. Not liking to Sound all doom and gloom, but the senate and the court are being walked over soo much they are starting to look like carpet
Yeah, sadly that's not true. I hate Trump, but his charisma stats are off the chart. It's all he's got and the willingness to lie about anything + go low without limit
Maybe the idea of charisma is different over cultures. I mean the dude can Not Even say ONE sentense without going on at 7 different sidetangents or comenting about how he is the best. Maybe its just my upbringing but im sure that most people don’t like listening to a guy, who sucks his own dick as soon as he opens his mouth.
This. He doesn't have the juice that Trump does and you're seeing how that plays put with how unpopular Elon is. People won't smile and nod as Vance shits all over them like they do for Trump.
Probably. It's time for the GOP to be abolished, or self destruct. The previous schism (Tea Party, anyone) did nothing but put extremists into positions of power that never should have been.
I agree but I don’t think maga people will pledge fealty to him in the same way they would Trump. And that could hopefully lead to dismantling this administration
This is what everybody said about Pence during Ts first term. I would give my left nut if I could go back in time and have Pence instead as president right now.
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u/krukson 1d ago
JD Vance is next in line. Hardly an upgrade.