Trump asked aides if Janet Yellen was too short to head the Fed

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realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
898
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And before that:



These same multiple people who told the press he was impressed with her in the interview also told the press that. Had they thought it was a joke, it seems unlikely they would have reported it to the press that way. They obviously aren't out to get Trump because they also said what you quoted above.

Not sure how old you are, but prejudice based on stature was a lot more common back in the 70's (and likely before that) than it is today. It's become a rather antiquated form of prejudice, but Trump is part of that generation. Since he openly mocks people with disabilities and seems bigoted toward women and minorities, I have no idea why your first impulse is to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I also notice that in your first post, you described this as a "joke" rather than a possible joke, as if you were certain. You are not.

You're cutting Trump slack to go against the grain here.

This is Trump, and when it comes to people leaking things, its almost impossible to know if they have a motive to cut him down.

As for me thinking its a joke, I thought it was implicit but I expanded in post 6. I'm not cutting Trump slack, I'm just not outraged by the incident and it happens to be about Trump. I think a thread for something like this is silly and anyone really offended about this is overreacting. Its like pointing to a flat tire while a building is on fire. Of all the things to focus on when it comes to Trump, this seems very unimportant.

If this were Obama, you would be more reasonable to focus on this. Obama had so very few gaffs that something like this sticks out. Trump does and says bad things well beyond this, and focusing on this splits our attention.
 

Maxima1

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2013
3,538
759
146
Trump definitely wasn't joking. He is known for picking people who look the part or are pleasing to him.
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,189
14,114
136
This is Trump, and when it comes to people leaking things, its almost impossible to know if they have a motive to cut him down.

As for me thinking its a joke, I thought it was implicit but I expanded in post 6. I'm not cutting Trump slack, I'm just not outraged by the incident and it happens to be about Trump. I think a thread for something like this is silly and anyone really offended about this is overreacting. Its like pointing to a flat tire while a building is on fire. Of all the things to focus on when it comes to Trump, this seems very unimportant.

If this were Obama, you would be more reasonable to focus on this. Obama had so very few gaffs that something like this sticks out. Trump does and says bad things well beyond this, and focusing on this splits our attention.

You took it as "implicit" that this was a joke? I have no idea where you got that from. WaPo's sources described Trump as "hung up" about her height. That isn't describing what they believed was a joke, and those are the people who talked to him directly about it. Also, it appears that these same sources are the ones who also told WaPo that he was impressed with her interview, so no, it doesn't seem likely they're out to get poor Trump.

I think you may have some personal incredulity over this - you don't think anyone is actually enough of an idiot to be concerned about the height of someone applying to run the Federal Reserve. I honestly think you only partially "get" Trump. And given that you're probably under 40, you can't remember this kind of prejudice.

Also, what you said in your last paragraph is disturbing. Trump has normalized being a dick so we should just cut him a pass for it unless it's really bad. That's exactly what's been happening, and it's not a good thing. The same logic extends to his tendency to lie. So what if he lied about the crowd size in his in inauguration! It isn't that important and he lies so much who can keep up with all of them?
 

cytg111

Lifer
Mar 17, 2008
23,993
13,519
136
Trump aside this is how Corporate America works. Most above middle management are above average height by a good deal. It is about projecting dominance in social animals. No, it's not intelligent but in Trump's world of business, it's the norm even if not overtly expressed.
As a freelancer and as someone that has pushed Iron since he was 18 I can attest to this.. Often I have found myself in interviews where the boss has been a scrawly personage, and Im thinking oh-oh this guy is going to see me as a threat, this is over, only to find that I am admitted into the "boys club" free of charge.. "I am one of them" - kinda mentality. There is definitely some primal dominance going on in upper management.
 

realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
898
126
You took it as "implicit" that this was a joke? I have no idea where you got that from. WaPo's sources described Trump as "hung up" about her height. That isn't describing what they believed was a joke, and those are the people who talked to him directly about it. Also, it appears that these same sources are the ones who also told WaPo that he was impressed with her interview, so no, it doesn't seem likely they're out to get poor Trump.

What was implicit was that I thought it was a joke, but, that was my opinion and not a statement of fact. I was not there.

I think you may have some personal incredulity over this - you don't think anyone is actually enough of an idiot to be concerned about the height of someone applying to run the Federal Reserve. I honestly think you only partially "get" Trump. And given that you're probably under 40, you can't remember this kind of prejudice.

I am indeed under 40, but, I have see people joke about height all my life. I'm 6' even so I'm right in the middle. I was tall compared to most of the people I grew up around, but I'm average height for an adult male.

You are right that I would not consider height, or any other physical attribute to be linked to running the Fed. Perhaps that does create a bias which prevents me from believing others would actually see that as something care about.

Also, what you said in your last paragraph is disturbing. Trump has normalized being a dick so we should just cut him a pass for it unless it's really bad. That's exactly what's been happening, and it's not a good thing. The same logic extends to his tendency to lie. So what if he lied about the crowd size in his in inauguration! It isn't that important and he lies so much who can keep up with all of them?

How is it cutting a pass when I say that we should keep focus on the big things, and not the small things? I'm not saying that because he lies so much who cares. I'm saying focus on the big lies that matter, and not that he lied about what he had for lunch.

For example, I focus on NK, China tariffs, border policy, trade agreements, NATO, Russia Investigation. Those are a few examples of things that I give my focus to. I just cant see being as upset over what I think is a joke, but, at worst is still small.
 

trenchfoot

Lifer
Aug 5, 2000
14,939
7,459
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Appearances are everything to Trump. You know him. He's the guy who wishes really really hard that the weird looking divot that's coifed on his head and his orange tinted face and the pale saggy skin around his eyes makes up for every other thing that is so wrong with him.
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,189
14,114
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What was implicit was that I thought it was a joke, but, that was my opinion and not a statement of fact. I was not there.



I am indeed under 40, but, I have see people joke about height all my life. I'm 6' even so I'm right in the middle. I was tall compared to most of the people I grew up around, but I'm average height for an adult male.

You are right that I would not consider height, or any other physical attribute to be linked to running the Fed. Perhaps that does create a bias which prevents me from believing others would actually see that as something care about.



How is it cutting a pass when I say that we should keep focus on the big things, and not the small things? I'm not saying that because he lies so much who cares. I'm saying focus on the big lies that matter, and not that he lied about what he had for lunch.

For example, I focus on NK, China tariffs, border policy, trade agreements, NATO, Russia Investigation. Those are a few examples of things that I give my focus to. I just cant see being as upset over what I think is a joke, but, at worst is still small.

A POTUS' behavior in a personal sense matters more than the behavior of any given citizen. Trump has normalized being a total jackass. He has lowered the level of our political discourse, maybe permanently. His prejudice, dishonesty, vindictiveness, arrogance and stupidity are a model for the whole nation, and most especially his supporters. I don't think it's appropriate to focus only on bad policies. His policies - bad as many of them are - may not even be the worst thing he's doing to the country.

Maybe you just don't understand what a terrible human being he is because you just don't believe that people that bad exist. So you're prone to interpret his obnoxiousness in more benign ways.
 
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Commodus

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 2004
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"You must be this tall to ride the financial rollercoaster."

Whether or not you think it's a joke, it's not really something you should even be talking about when it comes to appointing someone to an important government position.
 

realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
12,337
898
126
A POTUS' behavior in a personal sense matters more than the behavior of any given citizen. Trump has normalized being a total jackass. He has lowered the level of our political discourse, maybe permanently. His prejudice, dishonesty, vindictiveness, arrogance and stupidity are a model for the whole nation, and most especially his supporters. I don't think it's appropriate to focus only on bad policies. His policies - bad as many of them are - may not even be the worst thing he's doing to the country.

Maybe you just don't understand what a terrible human being he is because you just don't believe that people that bad exist. So you're prone to interpret his obnoxiousness in more benign ways.

I would not call it normalizing. When someone sets your house on fire, I doubt you care that they also tracked dirt in. Your primary concern is putting out the fire. You can work on the dirt thing after. If a guest were to come in and track in dirt, and not cause a fire, then focusing on the dirt as the primary makes sense. Right now the house is on fire.

As for terrible human beings, I know they exist, as I have met them. Not sure if my life is the typical, but I have met murderers, rapists, gang members, drug dealers, hookers.

Across the street was a girl that was my age at the time, so 15. I never saw her at school, which is weird until I found out she was a hooker. Turns out she was living with her mom and her mom's boyfriend that were selling drugs, so she would hook on the side. Lady few doors down died of OD from their drugs.

I did not grow up in a nice place.

I do not think Trump is benign. I think this comment probably was benign.
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,189
14,114
136
I would not call it normalizing. When someone sets your house on fire, I doubt you care that they also tracked dirt in. Your primary concern is putting out the fire. You can work on the dirt thing after. If a guest were to come in and track in dirt, and not cause a fire, then focusing on the dirt as the primary makes sense. Right now the house is on fire.

Your analogy is not a good one because it doesn't capture the notion of normalizing bad behavior.

Let's say you had a house guest who tracked mud into your house, left his dirty underwear on the floor, brought a dog with him who shit on the carpet every day, generally acted like a total ass, insulting everyone, even your kids, then he burned down the house. But we must add another element - that your household was part of a reality TV show, and millions of people watched while you said nothing about his other obnoxious behavior and only chose to criticize when he burned the whole house down.

You seem concerned about prioritizing outrage. How about this: if it's not OK to be a bigot and a liar, then its 10 fold not OK when it's the President of the United States, and it's a priority to let people know that it's unacceptable by calling it out whenever you see it.

As for terrible human beings, I know they exist, as I have met them. Not sure if my life is the typical, but I have met murderers, rapists, gang members, drug dealers, hookers.

Across the street was a girl that was my age at the time, so 15. I never saw her at school, which is weird until I found out she was a hooker. Turns out she was living with her mom and her mom's boyfriend that were selling drugs, so she would hook on the side. Lady few doors down died of OD from their drugs.

I did not grow up in a nice place.

I do not think Trump is benign. I think this comment probably was benign.

Hookers and drug addicts aren't the worst people around. Hooking is a crime of economic desperation which frankly shouldn't be a crime at all. Do you find white collar criminals and crooked politicians who wear expensive suits to be more palatable because somehow it all seems cleaner to you? That's a common perception unfortunately but people like that have the potential to do far more damage than street criminals and they are way under-punished because they are rich and white, and because, as I said, it all just seems more palatable to juries than street crime.
 
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realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
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Your analogy is not a good one because it doesn't capture the notion of normalizing bad behavior.

Let's say you had a house guest who tracked mud into your house, left his dirty underwear on the floor, brought a dog with him who shit on the carpet every day, generally acted like a total ass, insulting everyone, even your kids, then he burned down the house. But we must add another element - that your household was part of a reality TV show, and millions of people watched while you said nothing about his other obnoxious behavior and only chose to criticize when he burned the whole house down.

You seem concerned about prioritizing outrage. How about this: if it's not OK to be a bigot and a liar, then its 10 fold not OK when it's the President of the United States, and it's a priority to let people know that it's unacceptable by calling it out whenever you see it.

Trump was saying and doing bad things before becoming president. I was on-board with calling him out then too. I did not and do not normalize anything when I focus and prioritize the bad things. For your analogy, Its not like I said nothing during the escalation. The flaw you seem to have is a belief that I said nothing before when he did lesser things.

I'm not sure why you think your analogy is a way of explaining what I am doing here. You have to look at what he is doing at the same time. We have him talking with the leader of China now, and an article about something that is old that was nowhere near as important. So, to go back to your analogy, should I focus on the dog shitting on the carpet, or him pouring gasoline in the kitchen table with a lighter in his hand? To me, I'm not going to focus on the dog at that moment.

Hookers and drug addicts aren't the worst people around. Hooking is a crime of economic desperation which frankly shouldn't be a crime at all. Do you find white collar criminals and crooked politicians who wear expensive suits to be more palatable because somehow it all seems cleaner to you? That's a common perception unfortunately but people like that have the potential to do far more damage than street criminals and they are way under-punished because they are rich and white, and because, as I said, it all just seems more palatable to juries than street crime.

For sure its not the worst, but perhaps you missed her age? But, how about another example. A girl claimed a white guy came and stole her baby which was later found dead in the creek. Turns out, she just did not want the baby anymore so she drowned it. She said the guy was white to make it seem like a race thing.

Or, a close friend had 3 brothers that were all raping her sister from the age of 13 to 17 until she ran away.

I think a family that prostitutes their 15yo daughter out while selling drugs is a pretty good example of people being shitty.
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,189
14,114
136
Fi
Trump was saying and doing bad things before becoming president. I was on-board with calling him out then too. I did not and do not normalize anything when I focus and prioritize the bad things. For your analogy, Its not like I said nothing during the escalation. The flaw you seem to have is a belief that I said nothing before when he did lesser things.

I'm not sure why you think your analogy is a way of explaining what I am doing here. You have to look at what he is doing at the same time. We have him talking with the leader of China now, and an article about something that is old that was nowhere near as important. So, to go back to your analogy, should I focus on the dog shitting on the carpet, or him pouring gasoline in the kitchen table with a lighter in his hand? To me, I'm not going to focus on the dog at that moment.

This isn't just about you. It's about all of us, as a nation, as a people. When we say nothing about a POTUS who behaved in a manner that runs against what we at least thought were our collective values, everyone just saying nothing leaves the impression that it's OK. Even if you didn't think it was OK, saying nothing fosters that impression.

I also do not understand why you can't walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. You took the time to enter this thread to say you thought Trump's comments were a joke. Not sure if you posted in the thread about China or not. Either way, I'm pretty sure we all have the mental bandwidth to address two or more issues at the same time, even on the same day or the same hour.

For sure its not the worst, but perhaps you missed her age? But, how about another example. A girl claimed a white guy came and stole her baby which was later found dead in the creek. Turns out, she just did not want the baby anymore so she drowned it. She said the guy was white to make it seem like a race thing.

Or, a close friend had 3 brothers that were all raping her sister from the age of 13 to 17 until she ran away.

I think a family that prostitutes their 15yo daughter out while selling drugs is a pretty good example of people being shitty.

Those are all pretty bad things, some horrifically bad, no doubt. But it remains the case that we largely cut a pass to white collar criminals and crooked pols who are injuring hundreds, thousands or millions of people, just because they do it in a more "sanitized" fashion than the kinds of people you're talking about.

Your anecdote about the girl - who I'm assuming is black - who said a "white guy" stole her baby - I wonder if that has informed your skepticism about claims of racism. Be careful not to generalize too much from the behavior of one person.
 
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realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
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This isn't just about you. It's about all of us, as a nation, as a people. When we say nothing about a POTUS who behaved in a manner that runs against what we at least thought were our collective values, everyone just saying nothing leaves the impression that it's OK. Even if you didn't think it was OK, saying nothing fosters that impression.

I also do not understand why you can't walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. You took the time to enter this thread to say you thought Trump's comments were a joke. Not sure if you posted in the thread about China or not. Either way, I'm pretty sure we all have the mental bandwidth to address two or more issues at the same time, even on the same day or the same hour.



Those are all pretty bad things, some horrifically bad, no doubt. But it remains the case that we largely cut a pass to white collar criminals and crooked pols who are injuring hundreds, thousands or millions of people, just because they do it in a more "sanitized" fashion than the kinds of people you're talking about.

Your anecdote about the girl - who I'm assuming is black - who said a "white guy" stole her baby - I wonder if that has informed your skepticism about claims of racism. Be careful not to generalize too much from the behavior of one person.

She was Latino not Black. Product of growing up in the Valley of CA.

The reason I say that people should prioritize, is because the difference between between Trump stirring up tariffs with China is far worse than him making a possible slight about someone being short. We are not talking about even in the same ballpark.

The reason I came in is because I find how people work interesting so I wanted to see what a thread with this title would include. When I read it and found that it was so small and dumb, I realized the bigger issue was the overreaction that people have toward Trump doing small things, and not the bigger things.
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,189
14,114
136
A pa
She was Latino not Black. Product of growing up in the Valley of CA.

The reason I say that people should prioritize, is because the difference between between Trump stirring up tariffs with China is far worse than him making a possible slight about someone being short. We are not talking about even in the same ballpark.

The reason I came in is because I find how people work interesting so I wanted to see what a thread with this title would include. When I read it and found that it was so small and dumb, I realized the bigger issue was the overreaction that people have toward Trump doing small things, and not the bigger things.

Lots and lots of "small things" point to a big thing. In this case, it's the fact that our POTUS is a bigot, and prodigiously so. So far, Jews may be the only group that Trump personally may have no problem with. The reason it is important to point out these "small things" which are evidence of his bigotry is that it's in dispute. His supporters say he isn't.

It's similar with his lying. People need to understand that he doesn't just lie from time to time like most pols are prone to do. He lies constantly, about everything. Hence, nothing he says can ever be trusted. In order to get that across, his lies need to be pointed out, one by one. It's quite a slog, but someone has to do it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/?utm_term=.62afa27d5a45

I get where you're coming from. Trump's prolific jackassery creates an unusual dilemma. Point out every instance of it, and you risk sounding petty or like a broken record. But fail to point out most of it, and you risk normalizing it. We didn't have this problem with Obama. People weren't used to him being a jackass, so if he was on an occasion, it was an easy decision to call it out. Trump, ironically, is bad SO often that he in effect gets a pass on a ton of it. We've been so inundated with it that we've become de-sensitized. If he isn't about to start a nuclear war, people just don't care any more. That is not a good thing because it lowers the bar for what is and is not acceptable for a POTUS.
 
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woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,189
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136
OK, someone had to post it, guess it will be me..

I considered posting a link to that in the context of my comment about prejudice based on stature being more common in the 70's. BTW that song is actually meant to parody the prejudice rather than endorse it.
 
Mar 11, 2004
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Why do you guys keep responding to him?

I also think he's taken to full on just outright fabricating things to try and support his screwy perceived reality. Suddenly he knows supremacists of all races (he said that in another thread), knows lots of drug users and dealers, sex workers, rapists, murderers? Does he come off as someone who has actually experienced that? And while he is pedantic, he often is in ways that say someone working in that field wouldn't be (so if he were a social worker or something, he wouldn't be marginalizing racism and other things like he's consistently done on here). I'm getting a vibe that he just watched Orange is the New Black, Oz, and The Wire, like he's the Cable Guy and is blurring things between real life and the characters from entertainment he's exposed to.
 

DrDoug

Diamond Member
Jan 16, 2014
3,580
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She was Latino not Black. Product of growing up in the Valley of CA.

The reason I say that people should prioritize, is because the difference between between Trump stirring up tariffs with China is far worse than him making a possible slight about someone being short. We are not talking about even in the same ballpark.

The reason I came in is because I find how people work interesting so I wanted to see what a thread with this title would include. When I read it and found that it was so small and dumb, I realized the bigger issue was the overreaction that people have toward Trump doing small things, and not the bigger things.

What you ought to do is to continue to not be concerned by Hair Furor's actions because there are bigger things that he is doing for you to worry about, and leave being concerned bout his actions to those of us who can multitask better. What Cheeto Jesus said wasn't a joke, her lack of height truly concerned him.

It's funny to see someone who says that they aren't concerned about something expressing concern for people who are expressing concern about that something.
 
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realibrad

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
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Because it's boring to talk to only people who tend to agree with me, which last I checked is true of most people around here on most topics. Yet people like Slow and Taj cannot be reasoned with.

I think it should become clear on why I do not give my thoughts on everything. I'm a fabricator that Connor be reasoned with, the likes of slow and Taj. I'm a whole host of horrible things and you are wrong to engage me.

So even though I made it quite clear that I dislike Trump and thus do not support him, I apparently do like him and do support him. My words mean nothing. So, I might as well just ask questions too try and get answers to things that appear interesting.
 
Mar 11, 2004
23,280
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Because it's boring to talk to only people who tend to agree with me, which last I checked is true of most people around here on most topics. Yet people like Slow and Taj cannot be reasoned with.

Sounds like a personal issue then. There's plenty of avenues that you could branch off into that would provide you with much more compelling discussion. But hey its your time.

Considering his habit of just making shit up, claiming other people have said/done it (with zero evidence actually corroborating that, in fact he often claims other people are arguing something that no one in the thread was, or makes up only tengentially related theoretical scenarios as you see here where he's been injecting all these horrible people he claims to have interactions with so regularly), I'm not sure how you can say that. He tries to couch his arguments in more formal manner but they're every bit as empty if not outright wrong or made up as those other two. Only when called on it, he then tries to argue pedantic bullshit (one thread he made up an argument, claimed other people were the ones arguing it, when it was just everyone saying he was wrong, then he tried to get people to argue with him on who actually made the argument, even after people quoted him exactly being the first, and actually only person, in the thread to make that argument at all).

He is just as bad as those two when it comes to being reasoned with.

Yep. And he supports his shit even less than they do. Well maybe not taj as he usually just starts calling people names as he makes up shit. They're all trying to accomplish the same thing though, which is to muddle up discussion of the actual topics, through dishonesty.
 
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Mar 11, 2004
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What you ought to do is to continue to not be concerned by Hair Furor's actions because there are bigger things that he is doing for you to worry about, and leave being concerned bout his actions to those of us who can multitask better. What Cheeto Jesus said wasn't a joke, her lack of height truly concerned him.

It's funny to see someone who says that they aren't concerned about something expressing concern for people who are expressing concern about that something.

Yep. That's another usual method for argument by these idiots. "Guys, this is not an issue." Then they proceed to post in the thread about supposedly a non-issue for pages, constantly trying telling people how much of a non-issue they think this is. Then they start making up shit to go "see this is so much worse!" Except you know, it often isn't analogous at all if its not even outright made up.