Trump

[luka]

presumably if the country split itself in two each half would then split in two again and recapitualte that basic division.

 

[Leo]

the old saying "there no such thing as bad PR". it's all he cares about.

 

[version]

Energy Vampire.

 

[version]

This is why I think the media should have treated him as a footnote from the start. They fed the monster when they should have starved it.

 

[Leo]

The thing is, if he does lose, the GOP still exists. The people who facilitated him aren't going anywhere. The donors aren't going anywhere.

to a small but not insignificant degree, the Republican Party has been shrinking, splitting between trump's base and moderate republicans becoming independents or even dems. not all of those fleeing republicans will return as soon as trump's gone

 

[Leo]

This is why I think the media should have treated him as a footnote from the start. They fed the monster when they should have starved it.

no way that was even going to happen, he's a made-for-TV candidate. too grotesque to ignore.

 

[Leo]

for media, it's all about attracting eyeballs.

 

[luka]

This is why I think the media should have treated him as a footnote from the start. They fed the monster when they should have starved it.

that in itself opens up some interesting questions in terms of what role the media plays in elections and what their responsibilities are. you almost seem to be suggesting that they can and should choose the winners.

 

[version]

you almost seem to be suggesting that they can and should choose the winners.

They're doing that whether they cover him or not though. Are they not choosing a winner by giving him far more coverage than every other candidate? You can argue they weren't intentionally choosing him, but they gave him a colossal amount of free publicity which nobody else benefited from.

 

[luka]

They're doing that whether they cover him or not though. Are they not choosing a winner by giving him far more coverage than every other candidate? You can argue they weren't intentionally choosing him, but they gave him a colossal amount of free publicity which nobody else benefited from.

dunno. sort of hard to think about. as Leo said they acted to type.

 

[version]

I guess it's a grey area as ideally the media wouldn't influence elections, but the reality is they can and do, so which is the lesser evil? The media sabotaging a uniquely horrendous candidate or the media facilitating a uniquely horrendous candidate?

 

[Leo]

mostly inside baseball here but some interesting tidbits, from vanity fait

Donald Trump’s exhausted trudge from Marine One toward the White House after his botched rally in Tulsa, his red tie undone, a grim look on his face, a crumpled MAGA hat in his hand, is now an iconic image of his presidency. And as always with Trump, he’s already looking for someone to blame. The most obvious candidate, according to sources, is his embattled campaign manager, Brad Parscale.

“Brad really shit the bed Saturday night. You have to remember, execution is 95% of presidential politics,” a Republican close to the White House told me over the weekend. Parscale committed a cascade of errors, from overhyping expected turnout to blaming the half-filled arena on protesters. Trump was so furious when he saw how thin the crowd was that he threatened to not go onstage, two sources briefed on the discussions told me. The sources said that Parscale, reading the tea leaves, is planning to step down. “He knows he can’t survive,” one source told me.

Jason Miller, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said Parscale is safe. “Brad is the campaign manager, and he’s the one in charge,” Miller said.

But one thing is for sure: The blame game has shifted into high gear. Trump insiders told me Trump was presented with five options of where to hold his rally. “The president chose Tulsa,” a source said. Sources also told me that if Parscale is forced out, he likely won’t be the only casualty of the rally fiasco. Trump is debating revoking his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s control over the campaign, sources said.

As I previously reported, Trump has been frustrated with Kushner’s oversight of the campaign in light of polling that consistently shows Trump losing to Joe Biden. Another source of friction has been campaign spending and reports Trump has gotten that Parscale is making millions of dollars. “Did Jared allow this?” Trump asked advisers recently, according to a source. (Kushner declined to comment.)

One way to measure Kushner’s diminished influence will be found in whom Trump would choose to replace Parscale. Top candidates include 2016 veterans Miller, David Bossie, and Corey Lewandowski, all of whom Kushner successfully kept on the outer fringe of Trumpworld. “We can’t allow Jared’s stupid disagreements to get in the way,” Trump recently told advisers, according to a source briefed on the conversation.

Other Trump insiders are skeptical that Lewandowski would be put in charge of such a vast operation. “Corey was great when it was just Trump and an airplane. But let’s face it, he couldn’t manage a 7-Eleven,” a person close to Trump said. “The serious operation will be run by serious people.”

The Tulsa debacle takes on added resonance given that a return to rallies is central to Trump’s reelection strategy. With COVID cases spiking across Trump country, it’s unlikely that Trump will be able to pack an arena anytime soon. Deprived of the oxygen his legions of fans provide, Trump is struggling to fight political wars on multiple fronts. He’s also lost the attack line that Biden is too old for the job. “There is something off about Trump,” a West Wing official told a top Republican a few days after Trump shakily descended the ramp at West Point. “He doesn’t have the stamina.”

But Miller said the campaign is actively planning for another rally. “We are eager to get President Trump back out on the road again in front of voters. The energy and enthusiasm is all with Trump.”

 

[IdleRich]

the 'Jose Mourinho hypothesis'

Yes in a way, but Mourinho has - however long ago - won the Champions League twice, once with Porto, probably the biggest upset in the last thirty years. Trump has never done the presidential or political equivalent (whatever that might be). He's entirely empty in a way that makes the comparison to Jose a little unfair on him (Mourinho) - not a phrase you hear often.

 

[luka]

winning the presidency as a rank outsider is a bit like wining the champions league with porto i reckon.

 

[Leo]

also, I assume you guys know the phrase "inside baseball". American for sure but you probably have an equivalent.

 

[IdleRich]

no way that was even going to happen, he's a made-for-TV candidate. too grotesque to ignore.

Absolutely. If our defence against future Trumps is gonna rest on the media rising about them then we're fucked

 

[IdleRich]

winning the presidency as a rank outsider is a bit like wining the champions league with porto i reckon.

Not in the analogy I was using but yeah I do take your point.

 

[IdleRich]

also, I assume you guys know the phrase "inside baseball". American for sure but you probably have an equivalent.

I don't actually, what does it mean?

 

[Leo]

minutiae. detailed inner workings that usually only appeals to people who are a bit obsessed with a topic.

 

[Leo]

from baseball nerds who obsess over so much detail.