the need for the IRS.

We are so in trouble with these morons in power.

about his family, but IMO he lacks intelligence. To me, much of the analysis of trump dances around that possibility. He lacks the mental ability to make adult decisions.

Just "street-smarts" which translates to bullying. In reality, he has no clue what actual intellect is--it's further over his head than the moon. His actual intelligence, as measured by real problem-solving ability, is really well below average. he couldn't solve a problem if the solution bit him on his diapered ass.

….is understood by maga and draws them to him. He’s stupid, just like us. They “get” each other.

Loads of first-hand evidence of dysfunction.
Also suggest the movie The Apprentice (although it's tough to sit through--accurate portrayal of massive vulgar creep).

My blood pressure can be an issue and I am in my Stroke Danger Years.

It is obvious his whole family has been so messed up since before they even came here.

Where they all laughed at him at the dinner table. I think Mary’s dad, 💩’s brother had enough of his shit & dumped it on him.

That was the moment he vowed to "get the black guy" because he was raised to be a racist POS by his racist POS father. Did you know that T💩p's grandpa ran a whore house? Family values FFS!

They’d show Obama on the dais, doing his monologue and getting lots of laughs. Mostly at trump’s expense. And then they’d cut over to the donald for his reaction. You saw him from the side. His face was frozen. Blank. No expression to it at all. Maybe THAT’S his so-called “super power”. That he can maintain his stone-faced non-reaction at times like these when you’d expect some sort of emotional betrayal.

But then again, even THAT tells you lots of things about him without his having to say a word to make sure you “got the message”.

Happy reading!

his mother was a drunk? I've never heard that before.

that Trump's "mom was a drunk". Please either provide the documentation saying otherwise or remove the false claim.

She’s a professor of psychology. She’s Donald’s niece. He cheated her and her brother out of a big chunk of their inheritance and they had to sue. She doesn’t like him. And I think she has spent a good part of her life trying to figure him out.

And will also talk about it in her videos - not every video probably.

It appears to me that his mental development as well as his emotional development just froze at the momen his brother dumped a bowl of mashed potatoes over his head (because he was being a world-class brat) and the whole famiy laughed at him. Most likely that still, to this day, is what he wants revenge for.

what else is there to say? Love him.

We've never had a president anywhere close to Trump in terms of being obviously immature, corrupt, and stupid.

And yeah, I know many people exist in information bubbles. I'll never understand that, either. I don't understand how people can exist without being curious and wanting to find out more about anyone and anything that attracts their attention.

and all I can come up with is that some people are predisposed to be that way. They are not able to independently use critical thinking skills or evaluate multiple perspectives. Does that mean they're stupid? No. I am unable to understand or evaluate more advanced technology or mechanics, say, and I don't consider myself stupid. I just lack the ability to do so, either because of "genetics" or interest or both. So in the case of trumpers who can't realistically evaluate his actions, we need to counteract that with very simple messaging repeated in unison by all Dems. Unfortunately, many Dems we are still speaking like college professors.

Team Spirit
Church on Sunday
Political Parties
Ice Cream Socials
Concerts

Belonging
Competing
Disagreeing
Fighting
Raping
Killing
Ironically much of MAGA, though they want to belong, are averse to living near other people and prefer a rural environment. When I awoke to Hillary's loss I was taken by the Electoral map on NBC. We lost the "Septic Tank Vote".
The "Country Mouse" is sore as they're portrayed as dim and uncouth and boring.
We're seeing a rising tide of criticism of the way the "City Mouse" lives, and villainized by tales of "Crime, Crime, Crime".
All the reports and studies are "fake" and the "experts" are "liars" in their "expert opinion". They did their own research.
The "Lost Cause" Rides Again. North and South, now nearly homogenized as opportunities are more and more focused in or near cities.
Or maybe they're just assholes.
I'm at a loss as to how to breach their noggins and let the smoke out.
Plexer.

Even if voting for Rump will hurt them, they want to "own the libs"...
m

and we need to accept that. Luckily, we only need a few to change the results of the election. Wasting time on trying to reach the hardcore maga types is not a good use of resources to put it mildly.

How big, exactly, IS our problem with people that cannot be reached for whatever reason? I realize these are the people that don't think for themselves. They've got an oversized amygdala and want safety and security above all, no matter what else it deprives them of. They don't spend time sorting through problems and possible solutions. They'll already have "someplace" (usually on the Web, or a person they know), who will tell them HOW to think and what to do. These people are as mentally handicapped as trump is, developmentally. Some by genetics, some by childhood trauma, some by a plate of mashed potatoes! (LOL)

But it would be for us to get a good idea of just how large a group we are dealing with here. That could influence how we get our message out, how to tailor it, and what we can reasonably expect.

What do we do about the others that simply can't be reached, reasoned with, or understood? I dunno. I know one of the things they wanted to do back in Civil War days was to institute an intelligence test before voting. Obviously, I'm not for anything like that, but there's got to be a way to weed out those who actively work against society.

…that was, as someone pointed out a decade ago, a poor man’s idea of what he (the poor man) would do if he were filthy rich. He presented a persona of a decisive, quick acting, quick thinking, successful businessman.

Because the show was raking in the dough for tv, everything that deviated from the persona was hidden from view and suppressed by NDAs.

I have never understood the attraction of “reality” tv, but apparently I am in a tiny minority. But believe me when I say that he had a 15 year head start on everybody else.

I remember what brought "reality tv" to the airs. I'm still fuming about the way the corporate bigwigs handled that strike. They not only ended up hurting their own business, the writers, and the actors... but they had a huge hand in "dumbing down" the United States, to boot. Besides, when I see "reality tv" as an identifier, I always immediately think to myself, "scripted reality tv"... The only one I have and (to this point) will watch is Battlebots... but I count that more as a sport... even more than that because of the intelligence it takes to build the bots, and the skill of the drivers.

I always though the American Dream was to have a good enough paying job to allow you to buy your own house and raise a family in it comfortably. I think my version is a much cheaper version than these magats have.

It can't be reality because a camera is present. Just the cognizance of the recording and a crew's presence changes the nature of the situation.

because it was significantly less costly to produce than scripted shows, and was designed to offer entertainment with which the viewer could easily identify.

Reality TV costs anywhere from $100-500 thousand to produce per episode, generally. Scripted shows can run up to tens of millions of dollars per episode because they use well paid actors, require elaborate sets/costumes, writers, and perhaps extensive special effects.

It's about the money and appealing to viewers with a very different set of tastes in entertainment.

Last edited Sat Aug 16, 2025, 05:59 PM - Edit history (1)

but many of them are voting AGAINST US, or at least what they perceive us to be.

The GOP is masterful at their use of scapegoating. They continue to reinforce that, when we say we want equity, what their people hear is Reagan's mythical welfare Cadillac cheaters. They have their people trained to believe that Dem women are only interested in abortions or other women. When we talk about safety, they hear, "they are coming for our guns."

And when it comes to the core economic issues, these are not smart people. Most of them couldn't reconcile a bank statement if their life depended on it, or plan a family budget. So when Trump says, "With my magic tariffs, the Chinese will pay for everything," they think that sounds pretty good.

That is the reality. They have a lot more money to spend on advertising, plus they don't really need to spend that because big corporations want many of the things Trump wants, and they own all the big media.

We have allowed Trump to own the populist messages. That is a big mistake. Dems have traditionally been the party of populism: workers' rights, fair wages, strong middle class, affordable health care, excellent public education, and retirement with dignity. FDR and LBJ did not fully accomplish those things, especially for minorities, but Dems were proud to talk about those things and they had real plans.

Today's Dems don't want to talk about ANYTHING, and offer no plans. The message has become "We deserve to be in power because we aren't Trump." That is good enough for about half the population. That's not enough.

And credit to Biden, in fact, he was the most progressive President in 40 years, but he refused to talk about his plans. He never sold the ideas. He had the fewest unscripted appearances of any modern President. He left the playing field wide open for Trump.

If anybody is still confused why Trump gets support, it is as simple as this. Dems have no ideas and no bold proposals, no ability to express a vision for the future. You may hate Project 2025, but it was a plan, a very bold plan. And a terrible, bold plan beats no plan any day of the week.

Before Project 2025, the Koch brothers et al launched a systematic.plan to decimate the general Americans' cognitive abilities, rendering a majority susceptible to right-wing bullshit. The orange shitgibbon was the culmination of that plan.

I don't know that we can easily recover from this bullshit because ignorance is now the norm, not the exception.

Mary Trump's book isn't especially great writing but it does explain why he was the choice to appeal to the gullible right.

Try The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America for the prequel:

https://archive.org/details/the-deliberate-dumbing-down-of-america-a-chrono...-z-library/mode/1up

Putin has been planning this forever. He installed the president of Ukraine too. He has been spending billions to flood media, chatboards, forums, all sorts of places with his toxic masculinity crap. Look at Russia, their whole population is toxic masculinity. Drinking, drugs, raping, etc. This is what we will become, and they are targeting young men online.


One of Putins oligarchs even said they had a weapon more powerful than a nuke, and this is what he was talking about. They have office buildings with people posting shit online, acting like they are american to shape our culture.

There are posters here who are Russians posing as americans too, and that is no conspiracy theory.

Was a clue.

It's not just me, right?

He just missed the grow up part.

It's a montage of him saying "I know more about _____ than anybody" over and over again, about a mind-boggling array of different topics. It's hilarious, because NOBODY could know "more than anyone on the planet" about that many things!

He forgot one, though: "I know more about lying and stealing than anybody."

And the majority of voters voted for this again in 2024. What does that say about the intelligence of the electorate? If you answer that you don't understand the rhetorical nature of the question.

religiously insane.They all came together in Trump.

The religiously ignorant and the religious fanatics (not always the same people) can be easily manipulated by the powerful. The powerful have no need of belief themselves (tho some do) as long as they have the skill and desire to manipulate others.

One key form of manipulation: God hates the same people you do. You can get people to condone and commit horrors once you have the keys to their psyche.

and with the decades of priming the republican party gave the american people, they'd been dumbed down enough to fall for it hook, line, and sinker. I love all these FAFO stories that are coming out now, but you have to wonder what WERE they thinking?! Answer, they weren't. They were told what to think and it was easier that way. It was just easier to believe everyone who didn't look exactly like them, or wasn't of their religion or political party was the enemy. Period. THIS is what I don't know how we're going to fight against. It's like...how do you deprogram a full 1/4-1/3 of the country? trump is Jim Jones on steroids..

Donnie Von Schitzenpantz will charge for the kool aid.

Sent him to a military school.

Looks like he didn't learn anything there either.

Not exaggerating. He can wish someone/anyone into the cornfield

but a series of avatars he puts on like a mask. His choices in the past have been more diverse, but here in the twilight, he's getting more concentrated, and he's so steeped in jealousy and vitriol, and that's all he's got left. He's spiraling down, like the song said; "Sometimes fallin' feels like flyin". He's already done more damage to the US than a generation will be able to overcome, assuming we are not forced to change our allegiance to one of his "strong Father" pals.
Digging out will be a long slog.
I hope we're learning what we will need to know.

the day his brother dumped a bowl of mashed potatoes on his head.

but that story reminds me of when I was doing the dishes at around age 14. For some reason, I got a wild idea to take the container of sour cream I was putting away and plop a spoonful on my Dad's head as he relaxed in a recliner. I just could not resist doing it, and I was not normally the rebellious teen type. To his credit, my Dad laughed along when he got over his shock. But then he is a normal adult person.

I believe that was the beginning of a lot of things. And how did dad sided with 💩 because her dad wanted to be a pilot & didn’t want to be in the family business (crime).

What he loves most is making messes that other people
have to clean up, if they can.

Any modern republican or now Maga is their level of immaturity.

Uncomfortable around people that look different, sound different, make love different etc.

We have a national political party of children.

Thanks for the thread senseandsensibility

is very emblematic of his immaturity. I mean how does any sane voter or member of the press treat that as normal? I am sick of hearing about it as though it is in any way normal.

If he gets one will he then pull the dirt up around him and go on to his next "reward"? If so... maybe not so much to ask.

he would then feel free to be as awful and as cruel as he wants to be. We would be in deep, deep trouble.

It is clear from reading that chapter of Erikson's book, that Trump didn't even go through the first two stages 'Basic trust vs. Basic mistrust' and 'Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt', which should occur in early childhood. Erikson describes some of the causes that can lead to 'defiant shamelessness' that Trump displays.

I'd like to know more about it, so I'll check the book out. I assume the "Eight Ages" are the stages of maturity one goes through.

There is one psychiatrist who maintains that we commonly think most people mature at around 20-22, but he says some people never reach maturity. That would be trump, for sure. IIRC the psychiatrist's name is Clifford Miller and he's from Houston, TX. Passed away maybe five yeas ago. He developed some type of therapy that helped the person and they didn't have to go through years of therapy, either.

It's really odd to think of an old toddler who is demented, too. Did we ever hit the jackpot.

😑
Sorry, HS reading. Blah.

I feel that way about psychology in general. But it can be interesting narrative in attempting to explain how humans behave. Trump clearly never matured in some basic ways, and Erikson's thoughts, dated as they may be, may help to get a handle on that happened.

It was at the time in HS it was not that interesting back then.

most adults or even people about 12 and older know you wouldn't go about it the way he does.

and behaved as a child. I was in Education for 25 years, 15 as an instructional aide, (with lots of special attention devoted to students who needed help), then 10 after I finished my certification to be a California Certificated teacher with a full Credential. Retired from teaching when I was over 60 years old. I have known 8 year old boys who could articulate deep, well thought responses to my 2nd grade questions, and students who hadn't developed any critically thinking skills at all.

The other teachers I worked with did not want to take any special Ed student s (mainstream) into their classroom. I would gladly accept the special Ed teacher's request to mainstream a few of her students. I would visit her classroom so I could see how the student she wanted to mainstream (participate in a regular classroom) behaved.

When I went to observe her classroom, there was a male student in her class who would not stop talking, did what he wanted to do, didn't listen to her at all, couldn't follow any rules. Talking one on one he seemed perfectly fine, no problems. His diagnosis was autism. He could of been a mini trump. When, we had assemblies, he couldn't stop talking and being disruptive. We think of autistic people as nonverbal, not making eye contact. This kid did was a mini trump, trying to get attention, being loud and disruptive. We have a child as president.

He does sound almost exactly like trump (re last paragraph of your post). I'd like to know where that person is today.

Like everyone else on this thread, it's just unfathomable to me that this person became president of the United States. In your wildest nightmares you couldn't come up with such a scenario. A work of fiction with a plot like this would be rejected as impossible.

where he is or what he is doing. I just remember his face being happy, when he should of realized he needed to modify his behavior while in a large group of people.

A certain kind of hell to be born like that.

How those parents deal with it is beyond me.

Thanks for responding to my question.

On his best day.


.

and if you listen to it, you will be reassured, I think. There are very capable people tracking this case and they're not going anywhere.

Here is a link to the bill that demands all federal files related to Epstein be released.

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-resolution/577

It was introduced by Marc Veasey, a Dem from Texas. It has 48 co-sponsors. Go to the text tab to read the bill, which is #577. This is now in the judiciary committee.

There is more: Section 2954. I wish I had more time to write about this interesting legal option, but I'm out. I might return to write about this later.

I'd like to urge everyone to Google links yourself and try to find them that way. Scrivener started a movement to get everyone to do 10 Google searches a day to keep this story prominent. So in other words, rather than click my link above, do a Google search for "bill require federal files released Epstein."

BTW, doing these 10 Google searches every day has educated me on this case more than I could have ever imagined. There is so much going on and as much as we cover here at DU, there's even more. For example, a cell mate to Maxwell is saying that she overheard Maxwell saying she had the goods on trump and that is why she was getting out of the prison she was in. In addition, the prisoners in Maxwell's old prison are steamed and raising a ruckus about the preferential treatment.

The woman who said this was in for some sort of financial fraud, iirc.

world's 'most powerful!!!'

Thank goodness I can return to Lawrence regularly in my complete set of The West Wing!!!

I suspect tmp's developed a 'thing' against Lawrence.

And covering up his misdeeds.

As for idiots voting for him, I'm reminded of the first local election I voted in when I first moved back to Kentucky. A tall, hefty woman in a flowered dress walked in, and loudly proclaimed she was there, "TO VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP!" The poor workers had to explain to her that this was not a presidential election. His voters are hard-headed know-it-alls that don't want to listen to facts. They make their own reality.

And covering up his misdeeds.

As for idiots voting for him, I'm reminded of the first local election I voted in when I first moved back to Kentucky. A tall, hefty woman in a flowered dress walked in, and loudly proclaimed she was there, "TO VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP!" The poor workers had to explain to her that this was not a presidential election. His voters are hard-headed know-it-alls that don't want to listen to facts. They make their own reality.

Was never told the word NO his whole life.

They report on him like he's a rational adult, and he just isn't.

Note the images of him sitting next to Putin in Alaska. He was a squirming pouting contorted five year old.

The petulant child is not his only aspect of arrested development. Some of those "personas" include other awkward stages, such as the socially inept adolescent, the sexually inappropriate teenage stage, the competitive stage of a misfit. He is Frankenstein's monster.

K&R.

Mind boggling, as well as stomach turning, blood curdling, and soul crushing.

I was just thinking about what Jr said in 08.
"Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets, say, in Dubai, and certainly with our project in SoHo and anywhere in New York. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."

Follow the money.
Trump and his organization got a lot of money from Russian banks. He went there.
https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-europe-united-states-government-ff6f1043180d490bb1f3c3d07fa26d45

I bet Russia has a lot of compromising info on Trump and his organization.
I bet Russian has the Epstein file.

I think Putin came to Alaska to remind Trump exactly what he has on Trump and how he intends to use it.
Trump is compromised.
And Republicans don't care.

which is one that deliberately targets and violently attacks, kills and maim civilians in order to achieve political goals.

The convicted child doesn't seem to know that.

Who never cared who he hurt, whether it was young girls, anyone who looked different than him, anyone who disagreed with him, etc, etc, etc. Just a major Bigot! I am so ashamed of how our country is being run into the ground by him and his thugs of hoodlums who are cheating the heck out of the United States.

I didn't see that segment, but I'd definitely agree with his assessment. Lawrence has the toddler's number.

but they don't and NO ONE HOLDS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY RESPONSIBLE!

That's why I think that simple, unified, blunt and even rude messaging is vital. And it should be aimed at all R's, not just trump.

Trump can't rise that high.

My youngest freaked a woman out in Walmart once. I was looking at a pallet of Rubbermaid storage containers, and he was talking about how the brand was good, the features of it, price an so on, when a woman was walking by. I didn't think anything of it, he was always like that. She almost ran her cart into a display, she couldn't stop staring at him while we talked about the various brands of storage containers.

He had a doctor's waiting room in stitches as we looked at a boating magazine, discussing various boats and how much fun it would be to have one, to go sailing somewhere. People couldn't believe this young child was actually understanding what the article was about, not just saying "pretty boat, Mommy".

My other two boys are just as smart. I just wish they'd all had more ambition and done something with it, but they're content so I am happy they're happy.