My theory on Donald Trump. He's functionally illiterate.

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HomerJS

HomerJS

Lifer
Feb 6, 2002
36,060
27,793
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Mike64 said:
When it's actually a tiger, no. But when it's a "human tiger" above the age of, let's say, 8 years old and who isn't (literally) clinically insane (er, no further comment), I can't absolve the tiger of responsiblity, even though I agree that the people whose hands are mauled off have no right to "complain" about losing their hands due to their own sheer stupidity...

I assume that's a rhetorical question?:p I don't think any of it was an "FU" to the system per se, but in answer to to options (a) and (c), I'll just say: "very few politicians have ever ruined their careers by betting heavily on the gullibility of the 'average voter' "...<vb sigh>
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Maybe not betting on it but Trump discovered his outrageousness was being rewarded I believe after he trashed McCain. He already knew his racism would be rewarded when he went on that multi year birther campaign.
 
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fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
84,062
48,073
136
interchange said:
I think his capacities, although not remarkable on a purely intellect level, depend greatly upon his interest in what is being presented to him. It seems that interest correlates only to 1. what makes him look powerful or 2. what makes others look weak. The connection to those interests must be obvious and direct. In many ways Trump certainly has mental acumen, but not ways that are particularly academic. It is probable that he was more able to engage in topics that aren't directly tired to his immediate self interest in the past, although if you listen to his previous interviews where he comes across as competent, it is obvious he's taking any subject presented to him and transforming it into some way he sees things differently. He attributes that perspective to superiority, and when he hits the mark, it provides powerful confirmation bias. As has been demonstrated before, he'd likely be in similar or superior financial position should he have conservatively invested his inheritance instead of playing businessman. That's especially remarkable because of how much he has cheated. All that said, I don't see him as a failure in business. A criminal, blight, damaging to the community, but not a failure. He's gained an awful lot out of his ventures that isn't measurable in dollars.
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He certainly succeeded in making himself a household name, which is very rare for a real estate developer. (Can you name another one?) Without that he would never have become president.

To me when I see his speeches at rallies he certainly comes off as someone in cognitive decline but that could also just be him playing to what he thinks works. As for everything else I think he comes off as incompetent or dumb simply because he has no idea what he’s talking about as he hasn’t done the necessary reading. If there’s one attribute that’s been consistent for his entire life it’s that he’s incredibly lazy.
 
I

interchange

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
8,017
2,860
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HomerJS said:
I agree and would have sympathy for a person like this as a patient. However he emcompasses the worst in humanity and gives aid, comfort, support and amplifies the worst in Americans as a whole. Admittedly I hate all of it.
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I'll speak of narcissism as a universal part of humanity and not as a disorder per se. The point of narcissism is to develop the self. Those with the weakest selves are least able to tolerate frustration of their narcissistic needs and, as a result of that frustration act in ways that may be manipulative in order to get those needs met or else destructive to ensure that their loss isn't someone else's gain. Strangely, the most important psychological advancement in treatment of narcissism (self psychology) is to facilitate a person's need to be powerful, important, etc. Of course, this is done in a therapeutic setting where there are boundaries and the behavior doesn't involve exploitation of others. When the self is fortified by appropriately fulfilling those needs, the capacity to tolerate their frustration and not act in destructive ways is markedly improved.
 
T

tweaker2

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
14,537
6,975
136
fskimospy said:
He certainly succeeded in making himself a household name, which is very rare for a real estate developer. (Can you name another one?) Without that he would never have become president.

To me when I see his speeches at rallies he certainly comes off as someone in cognitive decline but that could also just be him playing to what he thinks works. As for everything else I think he comes off as incompetent or dumb simply because he has no idea what he’s talking about as he hasn’t done the necessary reading. If there’s one attribute that’s been consistent for his entire life it’s that he’s incredibly lazy.
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What's exacerbating all of it is his insistence that he rely on his gut instincts to make national policy decisions. This is a clear indication that he is in fact unable/unwilling to process complex issues into what should be intelligent responses to what the nation needs in order to remain secure and prosperous, thus his having a need to simplify far ranging issues that require sorting and prioritizing layers upon layers of factors in order to come to the best approach to the issues at hand.

All of the skill that's needed to do just that is in the hands of the folks in gov't service who have had decades of hard earned costly experience in their fields of expertise. These are the folks of whom Trump should rely on yet these are the very folks he distrusts deeply for fear of them doing to him what he feels he should be doing to them.

He needs to feel that he is always in control, always the smartest guy in the room, always a step ahead of the game that he's playing with his opponents. It's him against the world and the only person he can actually trust is himself due to his being unable to put his trust in others................because again, those others are forever wanting to do to him what he's forever doing to them.
 
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Jaskalas

Jaskalas

Lifer
Jun 23, 2004
33,446
7,508
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fskimospy said:
He certainly succeeded in making himself a household name, which is very rare for a real estate developer. (Can you name another one?) Without that he would never have become president.

To me when I see his speeches at rallies he certainly comes off as someone in cognitive decline but that could also just be him playing to what he thinks works. As for everything else I think he comes off as incompetent or dumb simply because he has no idea what he’s talking about as he hasn’t done the necessary reading. If there’s one attribute that’s been consistent for his entire life it’s that he’s incredibly lazy.
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Is a three legged dog lazy if it does not run a marathon?
Trump has a clear mental handicap. He cannot process and respond to new information like an intelligent person.
Frankly, neither can people who identify with him. Or at least, those who still do in spite of everything.
 
Bitek

Bitek

Lifer
Aug 2, 2001
10,647
5,220
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Hayabusa Rider said:
Don't know what the hell to say but...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1072095127894667265

What the heck is he smocking?
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There are so many of these it's beyond belief.

Not just recently, from the start of his term. Remember "wire tapp"?

And all the weird capitalization...

A couple instances can be typos. I do them here enough, but I try to read it before I post, and it bothers me enough I'll go back and fix them later if I spot one. This fuckin guy?

Embarrassing to himself and the nation.
 
Homerboy

Homerboy

Lifer
Mar 1, 2000
30,856
4,974
126
Hayabusa Rider said:
Don't know what the hell to say but...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1072095127894667265

What the heck is he smocking?
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smock·ing
/ˈsmäkiNG/
noun
noun: smocking
  1. decoration on a garment created by gathering a section of the material into tight pleats and holding them together with parallel stitches in an ornamental pattern.

or

smocking
Smocking is body painting for sexual gratification.

While the majority of body painting is done for artistic reasons, smockers belong to the subgroup that's just interested in getting their kicks. Normally either a negative or playful context, smockers aren't generally considered artists.
 
Hayabusa Rider

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
4,265
126
Acosta at next presser-
"Sarah, the President tweeted- twice- about there being no smocking gun, however, many would consider the findings of the SDNY to be one of the largest smocking guns to date in an investigation which has demonstrated criminal activity by many individuals. How can you say those aren't smocking guns?"
 
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Hayabusa Rider

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
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OK, maybe this is Trump being a genius. He knows his tweets will be read by Mueller et. al.

If they use this as an example of Trump lying he can say "GOTCHA! I didn't say "smoking" I said "smocking"! Proves NO COLLUSION"
 
M

Mike64

Platinum Member
Apr 22, 2011
2,108
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fskimospy said:
He certainly succeeded in making himself a household name, which is very rare for a real estate developer.
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Er, they don't always succeed, but except for the very small number who become extremely rich mainly because of "publicity" (e.g., the occasional entertainer), the overwhelming majority of extremely successful business-/otherwise-rich people go to some lengths to avoid becoming "household words"... (And even the entertainers, even when only moderately-rich by the above standards almost invariably end up taking pains to recede from the limelight once they no longer actively benefit from the publicity.)
 
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Hayabusa Rider

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
4,265
126
Mike64 said:
Er, they don't always succeed, but except for the ones who become extremely rich mainly because of "publicity" (e.g., entertainers of various sorts), the overwhelming majority of extremely rich people go to some lengths to avoid becoming "household words"... (And even the entertainers almost invariably end up taking pains to recede from the limelight once they've "retired"...)
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It paid to be a popular criminal and still does in some cases. Referring back to Gotti and others they were loved by many around them because there were times when they helped people out in legit ways. The Gambinos were well known for that in the day, while Trump steals from his own charities. In the case of the Mafia being famous and loved didn't save them in the end. Sometimes, but eventually not so much.
 
Commodus

Commodus

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 2004
9,211
6,809
136
Yeah, it's a typo (at least I sure hope it's a typo), but it speaks volumes about how little intelligence Trump has.

When you're the President, you're supposed to set a shining example for others. You put thought into every word, you make sure your presentation is pristine even if it means asking others for help. Trump... doesn't do that. He doesn't think much about anything he does, and he virtually never asks others for help even when he desperately needs it.

It's kind of sad how some people think Trump will leave some kind of glorious legacy... no, it's things like this that make it clear he'll be remembered mainly as a national embarrassment.
 
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