And from UCI, no less! The madman!
a Trump vs Clinton United States Presidential Election in 2016
- Thread starter Charlie Don't Surf
- Start date
Here's the clip, for those who would prefer to watch:
What's the charitable interpretation for this? I'm having a hard time.
What's the charitable interpretation for this? I'm having a hard time.
Intent, according to the campaign:
Tch. Voting from the rooftops, maybe.
Oh man, the gymnastics it takes to get to that bit of reasoning.
He made a shitty joke about murdering Hillary Clinton and/or her court appointees, Jesus.
Cajungal
Staff member
This is the thing he does that irritates me the most. It's a completely inappropriate thing to say, not because it convinces me he want to encourage violence, but because he thinks this is funny...and an acceptable way for a candidate to behave. But in the end, anyone who's bothered by it risks looking like the "over-sensitive" people who are ruining this country. That is how it's caged by his supporters. All because they don't want a president with an emotional age of 12.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
If people found his comment was an endorsement for murdering a political candidate, then they are being too sensitive. Now if anyone finds his comment in poor taste and unbecoming conduct of a presidential candidate then that isn't being sensitive, it's being sensible. Likely the oaf tried to appeal to the militants by inferring use of the 2nd - maneuvering more votes in his favor, and like all his gestures, ended up being a sloppy, ham-fisted one that failed.
B
BErt
It's less about critics seeing it as an endorsement and more about the danger of a whack-nut supporter of his seeing it as an endorsement. it was more than "in poor taste" it was dangerous and irresponsible. I cannot imagine anything good coming out of this man being in charge of anything.
Zappit
Staff member
I think most of us remember the crosshairs Sarah Palin put on a congressional map. I think we remember the bullshit excuses she gave after Gabby Giffords, who was one of the "targets", was very nearly assassinated and six other people were murdered by a deranged man. But noooooooo, the crosshairs simply meant they wanted to vote them out, and wasn't a veiled call to violence.
It's horseshit. It's bullshit. And this is, too. Donald Trump damn well knows that it wasn't a joke. His little "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" is a veiled threat. It's meant to encourage the mentally unhinged that support him to take a shot at Clinton. Then, he gets to claim it was a joke, and bears no responsibility for his words. When you look at Trump's pattern of behavior, this is hardly unexpected. He's invited Russia to attack Clinton. He's already claiming the election will be rigged. He lashes out at the slightest criticism and doubles down on his immature and stupid statements all the time. Is anybody really surprised this postulant toad said this today?
It's horseshit. It's bullshit. And this is, too. Donald Trump damn well knows that it wasn't a joke. His little "nudge, nudge, wink, wink" is a veiled threat. It's meant to encourage the mentally unhinged that support him to take a shot at Clinton. Then, he gets to claim it was a joke, and bears no responsibility for his words. When you look at Trump's pattern of behavior, this is hardly unexpected. He's invited Russia to attack Clinton. He's already claiming the election will be rigged. He lashes out at the slightest criticism and doubles down on his immature and stupid statements all the time. Is anybody really surprised this postulant toad said this today?
There is no way you can perform he mental gymnastics required to link Giffords shooter to Palins map. He was independent and hated Giffords a long time before plain came on the scene. If anything I'd guess he would have distrusted plain as part of the problematic political machine.
There is simply no connection.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Lee_Loughner
Not to say that we shouldn't call out politicians who use such imagery or make "jokes" suggesting violence towards others, but I don't think you should be spreading this type of rumor as though there's a direct cause and effect.
GasBandit
Staff member
This is fullblown tinfoil hattery.
Whackjobs aren't reasonable, logical, nor entirely predictable. A crazy on Trumps side may well decide to kill him because of whatever insane motive they conjured to do so. Let's say a nutter does carry out an assassination attempt due to his comments, does Trump hold responsibility for that act in any way?
B
BErt
You're right, Donald Trump is none of these things.
Not legally, surely. It's still dangerous and irresponsible. Even if we pretend everyone in the US can just roll their eyes and say "Oh, Donald!" this "joking" and "just saying what he thinks" shit isn't going to fly if he is in charge of diplomacy.
Zappit
Staff member
Not really. He put the suggestion out there. It took him nearly a day to clarify his Russia statement. He called that a joke, too. He's made "jokes" about protestors getting roughed up at his rallies, and then doesn't condemn the violence that occurs. This "joke" just gets added to the list of veiled suggestions his supporters get violent.
The Giffords thing, that came during a very active, very heated mid-term election that saw some politicians taking the rhetoric completely over the top. Is it any surprise some unhinged individual took it as a call to violence? It happens on both sides, but in this case, Giffords was specifically listed with crosshairs by a prominent anti-government politician. Shortly after, a nut who already had a hate on for a number of Congressmen and Senators went after Giffords and her supporters. Said nut just happened to be emboldened enough to commit murder.
I'm not saying that's the intent when politicians do this shit. I'm saying it's irresponsible, short-sighted demagogues who can't see (or don't care) about the results their overdramatic statements cause. These people want to be leaders, and should have enough sense in their heads to realize that "jokes" that imply committing violent acts could be taken seriously by some of the people they want to lead.
GasBandit
Staff member
Mostly I was talking about the Palin-Giffords connection, and yes, he undoubtably said it as a joke, albeit a very poor one.
Judging by how he's plummeting in most polls, I'd say he isn't teflon at all.
*dons tinfoil hat* those polls are all liberal media lies to make his supporters think it's a lost cause. In fact, a vast majority of Americans love him and support him.
GasBandit
Staff member
Well, he was up until primary week.
Per http://www.secretservice.gov/about/faqs/ :
So they wouldn't have to call him, they could just have one of their agents lean over and whisper in his ear.
"Dude, not cool."
Didn't that guy also say that a Trump Presidency would mean the end of civilization?
I don't think it was him. I went back through a year of posts and didn't see anything like that. Unless you're talking about something other than Twitter. He did spend a year and a half shadowing Trump and has literally nothing nice to say about him.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all
“I put lipstick on a pig,” [Schwarz] said. “I feel a deep sense of remorse that I contributed to presenting Trump in a way that brought him wider attention and made him more appealing than he is.” He went on, “I genuinely believe that if Trump wins and gets the nuclear codes there is an excellent possibility it will lead to the end of civilization.”