I'm convinced that there is something significantly broken about DJT, mentally. Something actually diagnosable. It's obviously not debilitating, he functions. But, he's not a normal person. From what I've read about his history, his dad majorly exacerbated (perhaps caused) his condition. It's amazing. It's also amazing that so many Americans are drawn to the serious dysfunction. And, it's hurting America.
Chris - serious question for you. I'm not one of those who feel that it's the media's job to stop Trump... But your post today about the 66 lies that Trump told at his press conference made me stop and think. Why is it that NONE of the reporters asked a follow-up question along the lines of "Are you aware that the claim that you just made is provably false? What is your response?"
Imagine if every Trump lie was followed-up with a question about whether he actually believed what he just said.... 66 follow-up questions fact-checking Trump...
I think what has happened is because the reporters (and media in general) have become so habituated to Trump's lies, they no longer even bother calling him on it - it's not "news" - and certainly not to his face. So from Trump's perspective, he is getting a free pass for his wholesale lying - so why not continue? There haven't been ANY negative consequences to his constant lying - why stop?
Why DOESN'T the media fact-check/follow-up ON THE SPOT, rather than doing it via opinion pieces hours/days later?
On the spot fact checking is not realistic. He doesn’t answer at all. He filibusters. And you never know where he’ll go. Saying “oh, that’s false” wouldn’t do anything. You’d need to have specifics and be certain you’re correct. In my view, simply watching his unhinged performance should convince anyone he’s unfit. And the NYTimes and WaPo exposed his various lies on-line, almost in real time. Tough to do better than that
Well I certainly think that Trump losing his mind at repeatedly being fact-checked in real-time might be newsworthy - even if the follow-up is "Are you aware that what you said is provably false?" It would certainly be illuminating - and newsworthy.
Unfortunately, the fact-checking by NYT/WaPo has had zero impact on anyone's optiion of Trump.
This is the same comment I posted in regards to Chris’ “66 Lines” post.
As I see it, fact-checking Trump in real time is nearly impossible because he lies or denies the facts anyway. For example, Biden mentioned Trump saying “there are very fine people on both sides” in regards to the demonstrations in Charlotte, NC in 2017. The “very fine people” included a neo-Nazi white supremacy group carrying torches and chanting, “Jews will never replace us!” Trump responded that that statement had “been debunked” (a lie). At that point, Jake Tapper or Dana Bash could have said, “We have you on tape, sir,” to which Trump would have likely responded, “That tape is fake news! It was generated with AI!” And there’s the rub, IMO.
Who is really lying? Trump said he was ahead in the Rasmussen Poll then Cilizza shows a random graph to accuse him of lying. Yet, when you look at the poll... Trump was right:
Sorry - but after 8 years of Trump, my default assumption is that he is LYING. For example, Trump may have shown an out-of-date poll... or he might have just made up the numbers himself.
As I'm sure that you know, Rasmussen polls heavily outweigh Republican responses. This is a known bias in the design of their surveys. That's why it would have been so insightful for a journalist say "Rasmussen isn't historically a reliable indicator of voter sentiment. Have you seen the many other polls showing that you are losing??" Wouldn't that have been a great follow-up question?
I don't dispute Chris's take, but I ascribe Trump's obsession with crowd size to his narcissism. Two traits of a narcissist are grandiosity and the need for admiration. Drawing big crowds hits both chords. Another trait is an underlying fragile ego; thus, questioning the size of his crowds sets him off. Btw, some of the biggest crowd numbers he cited apparently were based on his showing up at football games where he merely waved at the crowd that was assembled for other purposes. And that illustrates another of Trump's disqualifying attributes: truth is an irrelevant concept for Trump. He says whatever his thinks is to his advantage or what he would like to be the case. Jeez, how is this election even close?
I thought comparing his Jan 6 speech to MLK's I have a dream speech was one of the stupidest things Trump has ever said politically and morally, which is really saying something. Why remind people about the riot? This is one of the biggest reservation that GOP leaning people have about him. He's not well and it's going to get worse.
But I'm hopeful. If he's defeated soundly, it might encourage the GOP to go in a different direction.
The guy is so damaged, mentally, that it would be pitiable if he was not so toxic and dangerous. Also- is it just me, or does Trump also seem to be slower moving and more hunched over than he used to be? Not good. At the rate he is going, he will be a basement dwelling puddle of a man by election day.
When I lived in a little town in the Southern Tier of NYS there was a small radio station whose motto was "it's not the size, it's the frequency". Every time I hear him talk about crowd size it reminds me of that station.
Well, the press was there and Trumpty-Dumpty was there, so I guess in the broadest possible terms it was a "press conference".
In reality it was yet another ramble-a-thon by Trump - nothing on policies but plenty on personal grievances, focus on size comparisons (seriously dude, drop the presidential bid and do what every insecure small-penised old man does - buy yourself a Corvette), and nonsensical gibberish.
I will enthusiastically vote for the man this November if he does three things:
1) Take a cognitive abilities test on live TV.
2) Solve the Middle East crisis in just one day - as he's assured us that only he can do.
3) Solve the Ukraine/Russia crisis in just one day - another thing he assured us that only he can do.
Why do we have to wait until the election for him to do items 2 and 3? If he's as much of a mastermind that he tells us he is, DO THEM NOW. He'll be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, get to be Time Magazines Person of the Year, and the Army Corps of Engineers can immediately begin carving his face into Mount Rushmore.
One thing Trumpy NEVER does is put his money (or more accurately, the money he's grifted from others) where his mouth is, or has the Treasury Department misplaced the check from Mexico for the cost of the border wall.
Chris, when do you think that the HARRIS/WALZ campaign should stand up to VANCE on his attacks on WALZ record and turn it around in two ways. 1) That VANCE was a COMBAT CORRESPONDENT in a NON COMBATIVE ROLE during a 6 month deployment in PUBLIC AFFAIRS in Iraq (Not exactly a front lines , foxhole assignment) and 2) That WALZ PROUDLY served his country as opposed to CADET BONE-SPURS. It seems that the military attacks should be addressed and put into perspective to the average joe.
I think that your cardioid mic (is that a Sennheiser USB mic you’re using?) was not on, and your laptop’s mic was providing the audio instead, as there was too much ambience room tone in this morning’s video….
Sorry! As someone who had a career in professional audio and video, old habits die hard…
Excuses, excuses, excuses. Why do you and other mainstream “reporters” as G&S wrote “bow, bow, bow, to the [president] elect”. That’s what I saw, chatter all you want today. It’s also what Lawrence O’Donell saw. You’re lazy, thoughtless magpie who loves to chatter.
I think that “press conference” needs to be written about *nonstop* and the MSM is giving Trump a free pass by not reporting on it as breathlessly as they did when Biden stumbled at the debate! Trump’s cognitive decline was on full display and it needs to be shouted from the rooftops!
As a frequent attendee of Trump rallies, I can attest to the size of the crowds and the difficulty getting into a Trump rally! People doing in fact, stand in line for hours trying to get in! See what you want about Trump but the hold he had on the GOP is in fact very real. The old adage that democrats fall in love with their candidate and republicans fall in line is completely flipped in this cycle. Republicans absolutely LOVE President Trump.while the Democrats are being forced to accept a candidate no one voted for or wanted.
Those are facts dispute them if you wish but reality is coming soon.
Not a surprising “take” from you, @dutchmaga! You’re nothing if not completely predictable.
You can continue to think that this election hasn’t changed DRAMATICALLY in the last 3 weeks, and continue to think, like your Dear Leader, that no strategy change is required. Trump’s losing. He’ll get your vote and the vote of the rest of his Cult Of Personality, but his “outreach” to other constituencies he *needs* are lost to him now, based upon his failure to take his foot out of his mouth and double- and triple-down on his insults to women, blacks, etc.
We Democrats are SINCERELY excited about our Harris-Walz team! It’s obvious, particularly when you see the crowds they’re attracting and the $400M that’s literally poured in over the last few weeks.
If you can’t see that, then you’re more blind than I already thought you were, and the bar is pretty low already.
There is no doubt Trump is entertaining. His highest and best use would have been as an insult comic in a seedy Las Vegas lounge. It’s also very entertaining to hear interviews at Trump rallies , where his followers express views ranging from JFK’s imminent return to pizzagate. As to the D side, it’s absolutely true that there was little enthusiasm for another Biden term. But Kamala and Walz are generating a lot of excitement
Tell me why it matters how big the rallies are? These rallies for either party are filled with the faithful (like you). People who want a day of free entertainment. The people they want to convince are not at the rallies.
I'm convinced that there is something significantly broken about DJT, mentally. Something actually diagnosable. It's obviously not debilitating, he functions. But, he's not a normal person. From what I've read about his history, his dad majorly exacerbated (perhaps caused) his condition. It's amazing. It's also amazing that so many Americans are drawn to the serious dysfunction. And, it's hurting America.
You may find this article of interest. I'm surprised it's not getting wider play.
https://www.statnews.com/2024/08/07/trump-mental-health-linguistic-analysis-suggests-potential-cognitive-decline-experts-say/?fbclid=IwY2xjawEjGk5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHT8BUJ28OC_J_btzLgvwRPQitGFj0MUqiRwI3jFaNBDJMqeJizsErfWXLA_aem_tGA1tQHFMlt1z2u2jl0aiA
Interesting
Chris - serious question for you. I'm not one of those who feel that it's the media's job to stop Trump... But your post today about the 66 lies that Trump told at his press conference made me stop and think. Why is it that NONE of the reporters asked a follow-up question along the lines of "Are you aware that the claim that you just made is provably false? What is your response?"
Imagine if every Trump lie was followed-up with a question about whether he actually believed what he just said.... 66 follow-up questions fact-checking Trump...
I think what has happened is because the reporters (and media in general) have become so habituated to Trump's lies, they no longer even bother calling him on it - it's not "news" - and certainly not to his face. So from Trump's perspective, he is getting a free pass for his wholesale lying - so why not continue? There haven't been ANY negative consequences to his constant lying - why stop?
Why DOESN'T the media fact-check/follow-up ON THE SPOT, rather than doing it via opinion pieces hours/days later?
Like when he claimed dems forced President Biden out of the Presidency, simply ask him, are you aware of who is the President today?
On the spot fact checking is not realistic. He doesn’t answer at all. He filibusters. And you never know where he’ll go. Saying “oh, that’s false” wouldn’t do anything. You’d need to have specifics and be certain you’re correct. In my view, simply watching his unhinged performance should convince anyone he’s unfit. And the NYTimes and WaPo exposed his various lies on-line, almost in real time. Tough to do better than that
Well I certainly think that Trump losing his mind at repeatedly being fact-checked in real-time might be newsworthy - even if the follow-up is "Are you aware that what you said is provably false?" It would certainly be illuminating - and newsworthy.
Unfortunately, the fact-checking by NYT/WaPo has had zero impact on anyone's optiion of Trump.
This is the same comment I posted in regards to Chris’ “66 Lines” post.
As I see it, fact-checking Trump in real time is nearly impossible because he lies or denies the facts anyway. For example, Biden mentioned Trump saying “there are very fine people on both sides” in regards to the demonstrations in Charlotte, NC in 2017. The “very fine people” included a neo-Nazi white supremacy group carrying torches and chanting, “Jews will never replace us!” Trump responded that that statement had “been debunked” (a lie). At that point, Jake Tapper or Dana Bash could have said, “We have you on tape, sir,” to which Trump would have likely responded, “That tape is fake news! It was generated with AI!” And there’s the rub, IMO.
Who is really lying? Trump said he was ahead in the Rasmussen Poll then Cilizza shows a random graph to accuse him of lying. Yet, when you look at the poll... Trump was right:
Election 2024: Trump 49%, Harris 44%, RFK Jr. 3%
Sorry - but after 8 years of Trump, my default assumption is that he is LYING. For example, Trump may have shown an out-of-date poll... or he might have just made up the numbers himself.
As I'm sure that you know, Rasmussen polls heavily outweigh Republican responses. This is a known bias in the design of their surveys. That's why it would have been so insightful for a journalist say "Rasmussen isn't historically a reliable indicator of voter sentiment. Have you seen the many other polls showing that you are losing??" Wouldn't that have been a great follow-up question?
So a “straw man” argument is what you say when you get beat by the facts? Good to know.
You used some strong language. I’d suggest that you either back them up or STFU.
Doesn’t matter…you are using a strawman argument. In this case, Cilizza lied about Trump lying.
I don't dispute Chris's take, but I ascribe Trump's obsession with crowd size to his narcissism. Two traits of a narcissist are grandiosity and the need for admiration. Drawing big crowds hits both chords. Another trait is an underlying fragile ego; thus, questioning the size of his crowds sets him off. Btw, some of the biggest crowd numbers he cited apparently were based on his showing up at football games where he merely waved at the crowd that was assembled for other purposes. And that illustrates another of Trump's disqualifying attributes: truth is an irrelevant concept for Trump. He says whatever his thinks is to his advantage or what he would like to be the case. Jeez, how is this election even close?
You sound really tinty and far away this morning. Not usual for you from your desk.
yeah I think he's not using the mic he thinks he's using - whoopsie!
I thought comparing his Jan 6 speech to MLK's I have a dream speech was one of the stupidest things Trump has ever said politically and morally, which is really saying something. Why remind people about the riot? This is one of the biggest reservation that GOP leaning people have about him. He's not well and it's going to get worse.
But I'm hopeful. If he's defeated soundly, it might encourage the GOP to go in a different direction.
The guy is so damaged, mentally, that it would be pitiable if he was not so toxic and dangerous. Also- is it just me, or does Trump also seem to be slower moving and more hunched over than he used to be? Not good. At the rate he is going, he will be a basement dwelling puddle of a man by election day.
I think he is doing it to mock President Biden. Trump does stuff and thinks he’s funny. This is just my opinion but, think about it!
Size matters….just ask Stormy Daniels! Ba da boom!!!!
When I lived in a little town in the Southern Tier of NYS there was a small radio station whose motto was "it's not the size, it's the frequency". Every time I hear him talk about crowd size it reminds me of that station.
Well, the press was there and Trumpty-Dumpty was there, so I guess in the broadest possible terms it was a "press conference".
In reality it was yet another ramble-a-thon by Trump - nothing on policies but plenty on personal grievances, focus on size comparisons (seriously dude, drop the presidential bid and do what every insecure small-penised old man does - buy yourself a Corvette), and nonsensical gibberish.
I will enthusiastically vote for the man this November if he does three things:
1) Take a cognitive abilities test on live TV.
2) Solve the Middle East crisis in just one day - as he's assured us that only he can do.
3) Solve the Ukraine/Russia crisis in just one day - another thing he assured us that only he can do.
Why do we have to wait until the election for him to do items 2 and 3? If he's as much of a mastermind that he tells us he is, DO THEM NOW. He'll be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, get to be Time Magazines Person of the Year, and the Army Corps of Engineers can immediately begin carving his face into Mount Rushmore.
One thing Trumpy NEVER does is put his money (or more accurately, the money he's grifted from others) where his mouth is, or has the Treasury Department misplaced the check from Mexico for the cost of the border wall.
Chris, when do you think that the HARRIS/WALZ campaign should stand up to VANCE on his attacks on WALZ record and turn it around in two ways. 1) That VANCE was a COMBAT CORRESPONDENT in a NON COMBATIVE ROLE during a 6 month deployment in PUBLIC AFFAIRS in Iraq (Not exactly a front lines , foxhole assignment) and 2) That WALZ PROUDLY served his country as opposed to CADET BONE-SPURS. It seems that the military attacks should be addressed and put into perspective to the average joe.
Neanderthal brain-says a lot about how Trump operates
And the folks that absolutely love him!
I think that your cardioid mic (is that a Sennheiser USB mic you’re using?) was not on, and your laptop’s mic was providing the audio instead, as there was too much ambience room tone in this morning’s video….
Sorry! As someone who had a career in professional audio and video, old habits die hard…
Excuses, excuses, excuses. Why do you and other mainstream “reporters” as G&S wrote “bow, bow, bow, to the [president] elect”. That’s what I saw, chatter all you want today. It’s also what Lawrence O’Donell saw. You’re lazy, thoughtless magpie who loves to chatter.
Trump again. I thought you gave us Trump for Breakfast this morning. How many times are you going to talk about Trump today for goodNess sake Chris
On this one, I couldn’t disagree more, Dr.!
I think that “press conference” needs to be written about *nonstop* and the MSM is giving Trump a free pass by not reporting on it as breathlessly as they did when Biden stumbled at the debate! Trump’s cognitive decline was on full display and it needs to be shouted from the rooftops!
First a column about online porn and now talking about size mattering, what kind of newsletter did I sign up for?
One that’s entertaining and smart… if you ask me
As a frequent attendee of Trump rallies, I can attest to the size of the crowds and the difficulty getting into a Trump rally! People doing in fact, stand in line for hours trying to get in! See what you want about Trump but the hold he had on the GOP is in fact very real. The old adage that democrats fall in love with their candidate and republicans fall in line is completely flipped in this cycle. Republicans absolutely LOVE President Trump.while the Democrats are being forced to accept a candidate no one voted for or wanted.
Those are facts dispute them if you wish but reality is coming soon.
Yes, watching the death throes of the once great Grand Old Party is truly pathetic. It's no longer a political party. It's a cult of personality.
Not a surprising “take” from you, @dutchmaga! You’re nothing if not completely predictable.
You can continue to think that this election hasn’t changed DRAMATICALLY in the last 3 weeks, and continue to think, like your Dear Leader, that no strategy change is required. Trump’s losing. He’ll get your vote and the vote of the rest of his Cult Of Personality, but his “outreach” to other constituencies he *needs* are lost to him now, based upon his failure to take his foot out of his mouth and double- and triple-down on his insults to women, blacks, etc.
We Democrats are SINCERELY excited about our Harris-Walz team! It’s obvious, particularly when you see the crowds they’re attracting and the $400M that’s literally poured in over the last few weeks.
If you can’t see that, then you’re more blind than I already thought you were, and the bar is pretty low already.
There is no doubt Trump is entertaining. His highest and best use would have been as an insult comic in a seedy Las Vegas lounge. It’s also very entertaining to hear interviews at Trump rallies , where his followers express views ranging from JFK’s imminent return to pizzagate. As to the D side, it’s absolutely true that there was little enthusiasm for another Biden term. But Kamala and Walz are generating a lot of excitement
Tell me why it matters how big the rallies are? These rallies for either party are filled with the faithful (like you). People who want a day of free entertainment. The people they want to convince are not at the rallies.
The hold he has on the GOP is all about the $$ and votes. They all bend the knee and kiss his ring(to be polite) so that hopefully, votes will follow.
Look what happened to Biden! How quickly his party turned on him because the lower tier of the ticket was afraid he would cost them votes!
Trump is a freaking “train wreck” and I can’t believe people think he’s so great!