this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2024
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An ex-MAGA activist warns "no civic savior is coming" as Donald Trump's cognitive decline becomes undeniable

What if Donald Trump defeats President Biden and takes control of the White House in 2025? He has already announced his plans to become the country’s first dictator, and to launch a reign of terror and revenge against his so-called enemies. As detailed in documents such as Project 2025, Agenda 47, and elsewhere, the infrastructure is being created right now to put Trump's neofascist plans to end multiracial pluralistic democracy in effect on “day one." The so-called resistance will not have the courtesy of ramping up or mobilizing to stop Dictator Trump’s onslaught. It will be a “shock and awe” campaign visited upon the American people.

Dictator Trump’s reign of terror will be made even worse by the fact that as shown during recent speeches, interviews, and at other events he appears to be encountering severe difficulties in cognition, language, and memory.

In a series of recent conversations with me here at Salon, Dr. John Gartner, a prominent psychologist and contributor to the bestselling book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President," has issued this warning: “Not enough people are sounding the alarm, that based on his behavior, and in my opinion, Donald Trump is dangerously demented. In fact, we are seeing the opposite among too many in the news media, the political leaders and among the public. There is also this focus on Biden's gaffes or other things that are well within the normal limits of aging. By comparison, Trump appears to be showing gross signs of dementia. This is a tale of two brains. Biden's brain is aging. Trump's brain is dementing.”

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[–] zaphod@lemmy.ca 36 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

Never ceases to amaze me how often I see this canard:

both parties share culpability in creating the opening for MAGA and Trump

So Dems, who are never elected to represent those poor, forgotten souls in the rust belt or former coal mining towns, and therefore are not in a position to actually do anything to help them, are somehow culpable for those folks, what, voting against their interests?

Fuck off with this both sides enlightened centrist bullshit. Folks in Virginia and Alabama voted for right wingers who fucked them over, then those people successfully channeled the resulting anger and resentment at the "establishment".

It's the political consequences of starve the beast politics.

[–] Tinidril@midwest.social 13 points 8 months ago

Which Republican said "The era of big Government is over!" right before dismantling or slashing the bulk of federal safety net programs? Which Republican took office on anti-corruption messaging, then immediately turned around and let criminal bankers who decimated the US economy off the hook?

The Republican party is a psychotic cesspool, but Democrats have plenty to answer for too. The rust belt in-particular was dominated by Democrats until Bill Clinton made the conscious choice to turn against the unions that had put him in office.

[–] olivebranch@lemmy.ca 10 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Trump is literarlly elected because Hilary's campaign elevated him in their piped piper strategy to make Republiacan candidate more extreme so more people vote for her. https://www.salon.com/2016/11/09/the-hillary-clinton-campaign-intentionally-created-donald-trump-with-its-pied-piper-strategy/

[–] zaphod@lemmy.ca 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Cool, so Hillary and the DNC were such incredible political masterminds that they single-handedly brainwashed GOP supporters into nominating Trump. And all the voters then picked him because, I assume, the DNC also tricked them into tacking toward fascism through, I guess, sheer force of political will.

Truly amazing.

Or course, it makes sense. Certainly when I think of the DNC and the Dems more broadly, I think of an incredibly effective organization with an all-powerful and unstoppable mind control apparatus demonstrating unparalleled powers to manipulate an unwitting electorate in order to achieve their nefarious goals.

And the GOP and their voters? Obviously simply sheep, following the lead of their Democratic puppet masters.

I'd call it a left-wing conspiracy theory, but if there's anything I know about the Dems, it's that they're such incredible strategic politicians that this can't be anything but the stone cold truth. Right?

Certainly that explains why, after the 2016 election, all those poor GOP voters woke up, confused and hung over, and realized what they'd done while under the spell of those nefarious Democrats, and why in subsequent years they rejected Trump wholeheartedly and certainly never goose stepped right along behind him.

[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I think it's less "sophisticated mind control apparatus" and more

"Lol this guy is truly an insane charicature no rational person would want, let's make sure we go up against him! Yeah, lol, nominate this clown you guys."

...And they weren't counting on just how "popular" a conspiracy-spouting walking meme of a madman would become to an easily-mobilized, highly emotional, constant-threat-perceiving, under-educated, news-cycle-obsessed slice of the population.

Y'know like when the CIA installs international dictators who are "friendly to our interests" and it completely backfires when they get off the leash.

[–] zaphod@lemmy.ca 3 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

So let me make sure I understand:

Step 1: DNC highlights the right-wing nutjobs in the GOP as a way to scare the undecides into voting for them. "Look at those nutjobs!" they say. "Aren't they fucking nutty? Who would vote for someone that nutty? Not you. Because that would be really dumb, right?"

Step 2: GOP primary voters decide "Well shit, those nutjobs? Those are my kinda nutjobs!" and nominate Trump.

Step 3: In the general, all those GOP voters then vote for the nutjob.

And thus I am to conclude: Hillary and the DNC helped create the MAGA brownshirts.

Yeah. That makes sense.

It's kinda like how, if I tell a toddler not to put paperclips in wall outlets, and then they do it and electrocute themselves, then really it's my fault because I pointed it out in the first place.

[–] menemen@lemmy.world -4 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Why would anyone nominate Biden? Couldn't find a weaker candidate. It's like putting a sleeping toddler in as goalkeeper and be annoyed that a one footed senior might score a goal.

[–] dangblingus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

In case you forget 2014-2016, Biden was immensely popular. He was seen as empathetic and with a sense of humor prior to Obama leaving office (remember all of the Biden/Obama bromance memes?) He was the most primed for the job in the public's eyes.

[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 4 points 8 months ago

I mean if you wanted relatable and empathetic with a stable track record we could have had Bernie but his own party had to pull the rug on him. =\