Opinion What do you really think about Trump and Musk?

[GrantB13]

I'd like some convincing evidence on how the hell he's going to do anything differently a second time. Why didn't he fix the border the first time? Why wasn't the economy the greatest in history the first time? The problem with politically minded people is that any benefit is tied to their guy and any detriment is tied to the other guy regardless of what happened during either administration. It's all a dishonest game. As if either party has all the answers for everything. Laughable.

I can't understand why it's not normal just on probability theory that most people are in the middle. I almost never encounter someone in real life that isn't affiliated fully with either the left or the right. Instead being all left or all right has somehow become the norm. That fact alone makes be believe people can't move past a tribalistic mindset.

 

[terrapin]

The main thing is that trump is a cult leader. He crafted the movement on "alternative facts" and salesmanship from the begining. People really "feel" like he will bring a change but there is no evidence to support that.

The thing about cults is that the more the cult leader reveals himself to be a fraud the deeper cult members dig in to support them because it is inconceivable to face the fact that you've been duped and that you've been completely wrong about someone.

That's all it is. Trumps long-term best friend of 10 years Jeffrey Epstein said he is an exceptional salesman and a terrible person.

If you try to understand this movement in any way that excludes the fact that it is a cult you will be puzzled. Whatever gift cult leaders have, they have the ability to inspire profound feelings inside of people and Trump has been able to do that. The feelings aren't true, they don't reflect reality, but people feel them anyway. Combine those intense feelings with Trump's intentional crafting of the movement based on alternative facts from the very beginning and you have a very powerful combination.

And whatever studies you've read about inflation in the states, you are wrong. Our incomes have not kept up with inflation, but also housing costs are through the roof in many areas of the country. Medical debt is through the roof, college is through the roof and everything that people try to buy is more expensive than it was.

Every single person who I know who was just getting by before is really really struggling now. That's a reality.

I think another part of it is psychological in the sense that we keep hearing about all these billionaires being made and millionaires being made and I imagine some people feel left out when they're just barely getting by but went to college and are a school teacher with a master's degree....

 

[Koro_11]

I don't know what to think, I suppose time will tell.

But they don't kow-tow to wokeness, so that alone makes them the better alternative than the democrats.

 

[Satsui Ryu]

I'd like some convincing evidence on how the hell he's going to do anything differently a second time. Why didn't he fix the border the first time? Why wasn't the economy the greatest in history the first time? The problem with politically minded people is that any benefit is tied to their guy and any detriment is tied to the other guy regardless of what happened during either administration. It's all a dishonest game. As if either party has all the answers for everything. Laughable.

I can't understand why it's not normal just on probability theory that most people are in the middle. I almost never encounter someone in real life that isn't affiliated fully with either the left or the right. Instead being all left or all right has somehow become the norm. That fact alone makes be believe people can't move past a tribalistic mindset.

Pretty much every mental ailment has skyrocketed since the advent of social media. I imagine hyper-partisan politics falls under that umbrella. Then there is all the money to be made by pissing people off or making people feel like they are part of some righteous group. There are also the foreign actors taking advantage of this as well. These are all part of a vicious cycle that I doubt will ever go away.

 

[44nutman]

Musk is a drug addict who much like Trump had his father publicly called him a retard.
Trump is a fat old man that shits his pants.

 

[LeonardoBjj]

- Trump is a funny dude, with great comedy time.
I dont know much about Musk.

 

[DoctorTaco]

They’re both self centered dorks interested in lining their pockets and being loved by the masses

 

[heloder]

I'd like some convincing evidence on how the hell he's going to do anything differently a second time. Why didn't he fix the border the first time? Why wasn't the economy the greatest in history the first time? The problem with politically minded people is that any benefit is tied to their guy and any detriment is tied to the other guy regardless of what happened during either administration. It's all a dishonest game. As if either party has all the answers for everything. Laughable.

I can't understand why it's not normal just on probability theory that most people are in the middle. I almost never encounter someone in real life that isn't affiliated fully with either the left or the right. Instead being all left or all right has somehow become the norm. That fact alone makes be believe people can't move past a tribalistic mindset.

A lot of people are driven purely by their ego. This invariably leads to tribalism, since being in the middle means admitting that both sides are right about some things and wrong about some things. Now for decent people, this isn't a problem. For the tribalistic goons that surround us, however, it means admitting that they themselves are wrong about some things, and that some of their current positions might not be correct. This isn't just something that they don't like to admit—it's something that they will avoid admitting at almost any cost.

This is why even if "their side" does something demonstrably wrong, at best they'll just retort with whataboutism, and at worst will flat out deny it.

This is where American politics is at right now, and I think it's basically where it will stay unless something truly catastrophic happens to this country. There are several things to blame, but the bottom line is: people don't have to be this way. We're just a shitty, flawed species, and a lot of people value their own egos above basically anything else in this world (apart from maybe money—but only because they think money will serve their ego).

Because these people serve only that one thing, they are very easily manipulated. If you give them somebody to look down upon, they'll love you for it. If you tell them their problems are caused by an "other", they'll love you for it. If you give them an ideology that allows them to shield their ego behind a set of unfalsifiable beliefs, they will absolutely devote themselves to your cause. This isn't even a new phenomenon—it's the very basis for organized religion.