March 12, 2016

"And to think I had such an easy life. What do I need this for, right? You know why I need it? Because I've done great. I love this country. We're going to make this country great again. I owe... it's payback time."

Says Donald Trump, immediately springing back after "his bodyguards race to surround him on stage minutes after he brushed off last night's Chicago racist violence as 'planned attack' by 'professional wiseguys.'"

The quote in the headline is my transcription from the video at the link (which goes to The Daily Mail). Just before he says that, he says, "'Thank you for the warning. I was ready for 'em, but it's much better if the cops do it, don't we agree?," which is quoted in the article. The Daily Mail headline says that Trump is "left visibly shaken," but it is my observation that Trump does not flinch and displays solid physical courage. And by the way, the "bodyguards" are Secret Service agents. They surrounded him because an audience member had gotten onto the stage and thrown something.

The line "it's payback time" could be misinterpreted and used very aggressively against Trump (as part of the theory that he's against various groups and out to damage them), but I think that, in the context, it's obvious that he's answering his own question: Why am I doing this when I had such a luxuriously comfortable life? The answer is that he did well and he feels an obligation to give back.

77 comments:

Unknown said...

The PC monolith isn't about good manners, or even a type of reparations for previously marginalized groups.

It's about allowing elites who can manipulate ever-shifting language codes, adeptly and elegantly, to entrench themselves.

And keep the working classes in their rightful place.

The number of protestors in Chicago last night who would vote for Cruz & Rubio= 0

The number of protestors in Chicago last night who will vote for Trump in November (especially when he starts going hard about inner city unemployment)= Not zero.

This election is about class, not race.

& PC of the left and of the right is nothing but a tool of the elites to elide their own bad productivity.

Hagar said...

I hope that it is also about a challenge to meet, and that he intends to be "the best president he can be."

As opposed to Hillary!, who I think is only about Clinton, Inc., now and forever.

Chuck said...

Why am I doing this when I had such a luxuriously comfortable life? The answer is that he did well and he feels an obligation to give back.

Question; Is that your answer for Trump, Professor Althouse? Or are you simply voicing an answer in Trump's presumed voice?

Because by every objective measure I can imagine, Trump has always been about doing things for vanity and self-aggrandizement (his nuisance suits, his threatened litigation, his product shilling) and not much of anything for "giving back."

He's had no discernible relationship with any church; his tax returns which would disclose his charitable giving are being kept secret; his reputation among philanthropy experts in New York City is that he's a remarkable cheapskate; and he's never, ever been involved in any ideological cause -- like donating to or working with a university, a conservative thinktank, et cetera.

There's never been a time in Trump's life when he's given back. He wheedled his way out of military service, that's for sure. That's one way in which most men of his generation gave back. I cringe every time Trump mentions "General MacArthur and General George Patton."

Unknown said...

Chuck,

Exactly & he doesn't hide this.


Which is the thing itself.

Do you think Obama? Bush? Cruz? Rubio? Clinton? Aren't running to advance their own ego, glory, wealth, prestige?


& unlike them he's made enough wealth to not need to govern with an eye to future speaking gigs in Shanghai in front of Goldman Sachs executives....

traditionalguy said...

Trump made an instinctive wrestler's move turning to counter another's moves coming at him.

That is so appropriate for Trump. Even his thought process does that so smoothly and quickly that he stays on top for an entire debate/match/interview. We used to call that using Dan Gable's style of Chain Wrestling. After much practice the mind and the muscle memory finally become one and it becomes instinctive.

So let's elect him and watch his instinctive Art of the Deal moves clean up and pin them all. He is not an all words and no actions politician.

Then we can fire him for being a rough and tough guy who grunts and sweats and slams his opponents, who are actually our opponents that he is loyally willing fight for us.

Ann Althouse said...

"Question; Is that your answer for Trump, Professor Althouse? Or are you simply voicing an answer in Trump's presumed voice?"

I am paraphrasing the words that are in the quote. If you think I'm wrong, go ahead and argue why. I think the meaning if obvious, but Trump haters will feel moved to distort. I am not a Trump supporter, but I react to what feels unfair to me and I hate serious disorder -- as opposed to amusing disrespect -- and violence.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
rcocean said...

I think its obvious what Trump said. Its also obvious that as a 70 year old Billionaire like Trump doesn't need to put his life on the line.

Maybe that's what the left is trying to do. Physically intimidate Trump and drive him out of the race.

Unknown said...

Chuck,

There isn't one person in modern politics who is a genuine Horatio Alger story.

Even bartender-son Rubio got the make based on his relationships in Miami. My god, donors paid for his wedding night at the Biltmore! His house! His wife's job at that fake charity. Marco's been living on donor dimes since his early 20's!

Our entire politics & much of our economy is based on 'relationships' not merit, which means, from time to time, it's important to smash the elite so new people with altogether different relationships can rise to the top.

We are so far from a 'liberal' 'free-market' system that neither the Left or Right is going to be able to bring us back to this lovely but fantastical arcadia.

pm317 said...

I saw that video earlier. I think he means it is his time to payback the country. I have wondered why he has not said this before that he need not have got into the fray and done all this and spending his own money too. Shows that he is not a politician.

Unknown said...

Chuck,

Cruz highlights Neil Bush joining his finance team while concurrently attacking Trump U.

Neil "Silverado" Bush. Go and look up some of Neil's choice business moves and official findings in re & come back and talk to me about vainglory and free-market economics.

Chuck said...

Professor Althouse, there isn't much of anything that Trump could say, that I'd find credible. If Trump said he was running for President to give back, I'd give that as much credence as when he said that he had researched the vaccine-autism link and was concerned about causation. Or when he said that we could "look in the history books" and find the story about General Pershing dipping bullets in pig's blood to use in executing prisoners. Or when Trump said that he saw "thousands and thousands" of people in New Jersey celebrating the fall of the twin towers on September 11, 2001.

dreams said...

"I saw that video earlier. I think he means it is his time to payback the country. I have wondered why he has not said this before that he need not have got into the fray and done all this and spending his own money too. Shows that he is not a politician."

He says that all the time.

Limited blogger said...

wow! one day of crazy activity and the professor has swung back into Trump's camp. good to see.

pm317 said...

Yeah, he says he is not taking any money from special interests but he does not highlight the emotional side of it that he need not be doing this at all but he is and he is doing it for all of us. Any other politician would have milked that aspect of his campaign.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Paco Wové said...

"racist violence"?

khesanh0802 said...

@ Chuck What was your branch of service, your dates of service and your rank?

Anonymous said...

Trump is our Savior. He's sacrificing his all for us, his little lambs.

Dan in Philly said...

I don't think these protestors for the most part appreciate how much they are escalating political discourse to a more violent level. Soe of the nimrods I saw interviewed may have good intentions, some just looking for a fun time, but they are part of a intimation of physical disruption of speech, and this is giving people like Trump and those who will flow him cover to punch back harder.
Bush, to either his credit or shame, did little to stop or discourage this kind of thing when it happened to him.

traditionalguy said...

Amanda...you got it. trump is being a man. Those guys save their whole household like Trump does his family. If you doubt him ask his wives and children, employees and friends.

If that man wants to save you as a payback for his blessings you are a fool to reject the offer. It is a rare one from a rich man. So rare you don't believe it.

Oso Negro said...

I have no doubt that Donald Trump loves the United States of America. I do not blame him for the actions in Chicago and St. Louis. But his rhetoric has certainly flirted with violence.

Anonymous said...

I am The Donald's little lamb.
Ever glad at heart I am;
For my Shepherd gently guides me,
Knows my need, and well provides me,
Loves me every day the same,
Even calls me by my name.

eric said...

Trump had a very tough reaction, actually. For half a second, he starts to duck, then he turns towards and moves towards the danger.

This isn't visibly shaken behavior, this is manly behavior.

And these people are just making me like Trump more and more.

Fen said...

I do not blame him for the actions in Chicago and St. Louis. But his rhetoric has certainly flirted with violence.

That's cute. Do you have anything to say about the *actual* violence at the rally?

Otherwise, I'm going to say you are full of shit.

Chuck said...

khesanh0802 said...
@ Chuck What was your branch of service, your dates of service and your rank?


Too young -- by a year -- for the draft. It's a great regret of mine, that I didn't undertake an ROTC program. I could have used the benefits. I sort of wish somebody forced me to do it. I know darned well how I would have responded to getting drafted in the Vietnam era; I'd have reported for duty. I had from my childhood up to my 17th birthday to think about that. And as of about the time I was 14 or 15, I expected to be drafted. I was seriously thinking which branch of service to go into.

But when I was in college, the military was basically shedding all of the Vietnam-era personnel, the war was ending, and they weren't even recruiting all that much.

Chuck said...

@khesanh0802;

Were you near KSCB in '68?

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

So Trump dominates another weekend news cycle and I'd bet that his numbers continue to rise. If he didn't hire the protesters, he probably should have. One thing is certain beyond any doubt, and that is that Middle America does not give a shit about Move On or BLM.

Oso Negro said...

Fen - are you so far into the orange Koolaid that any comment regard Donald Trump must start with a full analysis of each scene to be permitted? I don't give a fuck if you think I am full of shit or not, Trump's rhetoric has flirted with violence. That fact doesn't excuse the morons who think it is cool to rush the stage or prevent a rally from taking place.

Oso Negro said...

Cracker Emcee - you are right. To the extent I am a middle American, and I have to say, I am really wondering this year, I don't give a shit about Move On or BLM. I do think the militarization of the police has resulted in unnecessary shootings, but not just of black folks. I do not understand why police in this country should have looser rules of engagement than my son did when he was deployed with the USMC in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Fen said...

Fen - are you so far into the orange Koolaid that any comment regard Donald Trump must start with a full analysis of each scene to be permitted?

Koolaid? I support Cruz, not Trump. Check your assumptions.


I don't give a fuck if you think I am full of shit or not, Trump's rhetoric has flirted with violence. That fact doesn't excuse the morons who think it is cool to rush the stage or prevent a rally from taking place.

My point is you show more concern at Trump "flirting" with violence than the ACTUAL violence of the Leftists at his rally. That means you are full of shit when you decry violence.

traditionalguy said...

Remember Trump is a Dutchman at heart. You can call it Dutch Privilege. It is not one to surrender--ever.after a century of beating the English Navy, it's Empire finally sent Wm or Orange over to create a British Empire that beat the French three times.
Dutch founded New Amsterdam and its tradition of tolerance for all.

Make Holland great again. There , is that European enough for you.

FullMoon said...

Althouse said... [hush]​[hide comment]

"Question; Is that your answer for Trump, Professor Althouse? Or are you simply voicing an answer in Trump's presumed voice?"

I am paraphrasing the words that are in the quote. If you think I'm wrong, go ahead and argue why. I think the meaning if obvious, but Trump haters will feel moved to distort. I am not a Trump supporter, but I react to what feels unfair to me and I hate serious disorder -- as opposed to amusing disrespect -- and violence.

No doubt many feel the same. Will backlash against MSM, protesters, and rivals blaming Trump be reflected in primaries, or will the "blame" actually work against him. I would vote for him to show displeasure with his opposition.

Anonymous said...

We're seeing some of the "pay back" of Trumps rhetoric already. Just think what will happen when he's President. Can't wait.

http://bipartisanreport.com/2016/03/12/milwaukee-man-shoots-and-kills-3-neighbors-because-they-dont-speak-english/

Three people are dead in Milwaukee because their neighbor, identified by police as Dan Popp, took offense with them not speaking English. The three were Popp’s neighbors.

Police say Jesus R. Manso-Perez was stopped by Popp as he and his son were on their way the laundry room of the apartment complex where all involved in the incident lived. Popp allegedly tried to gain Manso-Perez’s trust by offering him a beer. When Manso-Perez declined the invitation, police say Popp asked where Manso-Perez and his son were from. The father said Puerto Rico, to which Popp commented:

‘Oh, that’s why you don’t speak English. You’re Puerto Rican.’
As Manso-Perez and his son were returning to their apartment, Popp met them on the stairs with a rifle and told them: ‘You guys got to go’. With that, Popp then shot the elder Manso-Perez in the head and attempted to kill his son, but missed."

Anonymous said...

"Still enraged, Popp broke down the door of the apartment belonging to Phia and Mai K. Vue. He proceeded to gun them down in cold blood as they were huddled with their children."

FullMoon said...

Amanda said... [hush]​[hide comment]

We're seeing some of the "pay back" of Trumps rhetoric already. Just think what will happen when he's President. Can't wait.

http://bipartisanreport.com/2016/03/12/milwaukee-man-shoots-and-kills-3-neighbors-because-they-dont-speak-english/

Three people are dead in Milwaukee because their neighbor, identified by police as Dan Popp, took offense with them not speaking English. The three were Popp’s neighbors.

Police say Jesus R. Manso-Perez was stopped by Popp as he and his son were on their way the laundry room of the apartment complex where all involved in the incident lived. Popp allegedly tried to gain Manso-Perez’s trust by offering him a beer. When Manso-Perez declined the invitation, police say Popp asked where Manso-Perez and his son were from. The father said Puerto Rico, to which Popp commented:

‘Oh, that’s why you don’t speak English. You’re Puerto Rican.’
As Manso-Perez and his son were returning to their apartment, Popp met them on the stairs with a rifle and told them: ‘You guys got to go’. With that, Popp then shot the elder Manso-Perez in the head and attempted to kill his son, but missed."


Mandi, honey,
You were in such a rush to comment, you neglected to intelligently tie Trump to the shooting. Was the murderer wearing a TRump hat? Attended a rally? Donated? Or, was he just some ordinary drunk asshole?

Michael said...

Amanda

Pay Back? Does that explain the shooting death of rapper Bankroll Fresh? Bankroll was down with Trump as I recall.

How about the 21 gun deaths in Chicago last week?

buwaya said...

It's only March 12.
It's only going to escalate from here.
Day after day after day.
What is everyone going to be saying in October?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Well, as in the PP clinic shooting, if we wait long enough we get to see the true motivation and who motivates the crazies. Keep pushing the notion that Trump's rhetoric is harmless, by all means. I don't see most drunks shooting immigrants.

Michael said...

Amanda

No comment on Bankroll Fresh, eh? Anti-trump prog guns down rapper and you have nothing to say. Because he's black.

Michael said...

buwaya puti

If I owned a business in Cleveland I would be getting ready to board up. There is nothing progs love more than breaking glass. Oh, and robbing the contents.

Michael said...

buwaya puti

On a positive note an enterprising person could begin measuring windows and cutting board that fits. Or stocking up on the masks the progs like to wear when they are smashing windows and stealing the contents. Or those kid-sized baseball bats.

Progs do love a riot, especially if it can be done in the name of peace.

jg said...

I was also impressed by Trump's pivot to the delightfully ambiguous "It's Payback Time" (was this his runner up campaign slogan?). It's clear that he was going to say in a boring, humble way about how he owes the nation that gave him so many opportunities, blah blah blah.

Infinite chum for the haters. He loves driving them wild. I cannot get enough of the way they dance at his tune.

jg said...

Which violent mob does Amanda most fancy being overwhelmed by. The Trumpenwaffen she often thinks of, or is the story really about the antifa who humiliate them. Does she offer willing adoration, or is she absolutely powerless in the confused press of bodies, or does she fight tooth and nail for what's virtuous and good. (no question marks)

Moneyrunner said...

Please be aware that on another post there are references to coprophagia – a practice of the Marquis de Sade - by Amanda. The Marquis was imprisoned a number of years for torturing both men and women. I’m not saying that Amanda is an insane lunatic, but there is an obvious association. Just like Trump and a killer in Milwaukee.

Anonymous said...

Moneyrunnner, unbundle your undies. You sound a bit hysterical.

Rosalyn C. said...

Actually the attempt to implicate Donald Trump for the murder of people who didn't speak English was quite irrational and perhaps hysterical.

Anonymous said...

Really R Chatt? Who or what influenced the PP clinic shooter? Right wing hysteria over the heavily doctored PP videos. Look who's being prosecuted. We shall see in due time what or who motivated this murderer in Milwaukee.

Rosalyn C. said...

Lots of people saw the PP videos and didn't go murder anyone or even think about doing that. Why weren't we all "influenced" to commit murder? Because most of us are not crazy or murderers even if we get angry or upset by things people do.

The PP videos didn't include any orders or suggestions to go out and kill abortionists. Don't blame the videos.

rcocean said...

The man arrested for charging at Donald Trump today in Akron, Ohio is amateur actor Tommy DiMassimo, who recently appeared as Stanley Kowalski in a Wright State U. production of A Streetcar Named Desire. His now deleted Twitter account was under the moniker “Marlon Bando.”

His mother is well known Democrat politician.

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

The lefties are talking about the "final solution" again. I guess that progressive wars, reactive parenthood, and Planned Parenthood have not satisfied their greed and bloodlust. With leaders like Obama, Dr. Gosnell, and #CecileTheCannibal, they are well represented. Hopefully, the far right, and the special and peculiar interests of the immoderate, will reorient their axis.

Anonymous said...

Huh? Trump is speaking in Kansas City and just said the guy who rushed the stage in Akron is ISIS related and intimated he wasn't "from this country".

tim in vermont said...

Huh? Trump is speaking in Kansas City and just said the guy who rushed the stage in Akron is ISIS related and intimated he wasn't "from this country".

One thing we can always count on from Amanda is that she has her facts straight![] <-- Irony marker.

(CNN)Donald Trump on Saturday denounced the protests that led him to cancel a scheduled rally the previous night in Chicago, calling them "a planned attack" that was "professionally done" and blaming Bernie Sanders supporters for inciting violence.

Sanders, however, pushed back against Trump, calling on him to denounce violence at his rallies and labeling him a "pathological liar."

The accusations come on a day when Trump refused to apologize for his rhetoric at his rallies, one of which was interrupted when a man tried to rush the stage. Secret Service officers protected the GOP front-runner, who was unharmed.

Trump focused on Sanders in his comments about the protesters Friday night.

"Some represented Bernie, our communist friend," Trump said in Dayton, Ohio, his first campaign appearance since the Chicago event was postponed.

Later in the day, Trump said protesters at his Cleveland event are "Bernie's crowd."

"You know Bernie was saying Mr. Trump should speak to his crowd," Trump said. "You know where they come from? Bernie's crowd. They're Bernie's crowd."

And when a protester momentarily disrupted Trump's rally, the GOP front-runner again said the demonstrator was a "Bernie person."

"Get your people in line, Bernie," Trump said. He reiterated the claim at a rally in Kansas City, Missouri, Saturday night, when scores of protesters repeatedly disrupted his address.

At one point in Kansas City, Trump asked police to arrest the protesters.

"I'm going to ask that you arrest them. I'll file whatever charges you want. If they want to do this ... we're going to go strongly for your arrests," Trump said.


Maybe CNN missed the part about Trump blaming ISIS, but I doubt it.

tim in vermont said...

It is also funny that when describing the Secret Service at Trump rallies, the press calls them the SS. And this whole "Drumpf" thing that the lefties are all parroting from John Oliver's show, it's just code for Nazi.

Fen said...

Amanda: "Who or what influenced the PP clinic shooter?"

By your own standard, the PP staffers who murdered babies were responsible for the shooter.

I don't think you've really thought this through. Your little nazi tactics may win a few battles like Chicago, shutting down people you don't agree with. But you'll spend the rest of your days running and hiding from people like me who only stayed our hand because we thought America was about respecting the 1st Amendment rights of others. Its the only reason marxist scum like you have been allowed to exist in this country.

You want to throw that all away, you want to make it permissible to do violence unto people simply because you disagree with what they say... please do so.

Moneyrunner said...

Amanda: coprophagia and now “undies.” Something is seriously wrong with this person. Someone close to her needs to help, but be careful how you approach her.

Moneyrunner said...

@Fen, Chicago was a strategic win for Trump. Announcing that you're going to hold a rally in the heart of Commyland is like a red flag to a bull. They literally can't help themselves. Trump managed to expose his remaining Republican rivals as wusses panting for MSM respectability. And he's exposed the Sanders backers as fascist brown shirts.

I was watching an old movie last night "The Thomas Crown Affair" and was reminded of it when I read about the Chicago riot. If Trump had planned and staged the whole thing it could not have gone better for him.

Fen said...

Agreed, I am for Cruz. But his weak-kneed response to this threat was horrible, and I think it will be what kills his chance to catch Trump. People still may not vote Trump, but if Cruz is just another Mitch McConnell, we've got better things to do with our time and energy.

Fen said...

Amanda. Something is seriously wrong with this person.

She's a self-confessed troll who supports violence in response to hateful rhetoric.

Not too smart there.

Drago said...

"Lifelong Republican"Chuck:"But when I was in college, the military was basically shedding all of the Vietnam-era personnel, the war was ending, and they weren't even recruiting all that much."

Lol

And to think Chuck wrote this almost immediately after calling out Trump for not serving!

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

Personally, I'm always suspicious of "lifelong Republicans."

chickelit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

Sanders, however, pushed back against Trump, calling on him to denounce violence at his rallies and labeling him a 'pathological liar.'

Sanders deserves to lose Illinois for that remark -- deserves to lose IL to Clinton who probably instigated the Chicago protest.

I used to admire the old coot. He blew it. He's toast to me now.

Anonymous said...

Here you go Tim. Just because you're uninformed doesn't mean it didn't happen.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-claims-man-rush-stage-connected-isis-37608748

"Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is claiming that the man who tried to rush the stage at his Ohio rally Saturday morning is connected to Islamic State militants — an allegation Middle East experts dismiss as farcical.

Trump was mid-speech at a rally at an airport near Dayton when a man, later identified by authorities as Thomas Dimassimo of Fairborn, Ohio, jumped a barricade and rushed at Trump. Video from the rally shows Dimassimo was able to touch the stage before security officials tackled him.

Speaking at a rally later Saturday in St. Lois, Trump told the crowd about the incident and said that, after learning the man's name, one of his "Internet people" discovered something shocking: alleged evidence that linked Dimassimo to Islamic State militants.

"It was probably ISIS or ISIS-related. Do you believe it?" Trump asked the crowd. He said that an online search had revealed "the guy is playing all sorts of, let's say music that you wouldn't be liking, dragging an American flag along the sidewalk, making all sorts of gestures, having all sorts of things on the Internet. And he's probably or possibly ISIS-related.""


SukieTawdry said...

I'm sure he'd like to believe he's doing it to give back (is this the appropriate time to tell him just keep it?). Hell, maybe sometimes he even does believe it. But there are a significant number of us who don't believe, not for a minute. How does he plan to convince us because, I gotta tell ya, what's been going on up to now? It ain't working.

He's another Barack Obama who thinks the presidency needs to grow into him instead of the other way around. And like Obama supporters, with the able assistance of the candidates themselves and, in Obama's case, the media, Trump supporters have created a creature that exists only in myth.

jg said...

Amanda's right that there's footage of this weirdo posing as an arab. He seems a poser/provocateur. White college kid. Really weird dude. https://amp.twimg.com/v/977860d3-6b1b-4a5f-a81e-67baa6e2e3b1 I suppose his mom bailed him out for $3000 because they didn't find a lethal weapon on him. His "gonna kill Trump" tweets were just bravado. Still, you'd think there would be bigger consequences.

jg said...

He enjoys acting tough. An ISIS affiliation (real or imagined) would give him a lot of tough-guy cred.

Anonymous said...

Isis. Oh my. The commies, Bernies' friends offed JFK, and relatives of Isis did in RFK. History repeats. I'm sure some here would say for good reasons, they brought it on themselves. And I'm sure they've blamed Bush 2 here somewhere. Strange planet you've got. I need a better telescope the fools are blending together. Nice to see the Pope's high school kids read 2 Corinth, where Paul says it's not my job to condemn bad behavior, because without free will there can be no salvation. Which can also be read with government controlling your lives there's no salvation because you have no free will. Well, perhaps there is justice in the great beyond. The most libertarian passage in your bible. No wonder your pTb got thunderous applause when he and minister agreed that "this is what it's all about for you, right?"

Lewis Wetzel said...

I think that if Sanders gets the nomination, Trump should casually mention that some of his relatives were the Germans who killed Sanders' Polish relations. Keep Sanders off balance, that's a fantastic negotiating ploy, just fantastic. Trump also might mention that if he is elected, we wont need senators anymore.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to burst your bubble, gang, but Amanda is correct. Trump DID suggest the protester was "ISIS-related." Of course,he did it in his usual style-- with vague statements that he will later claim he never made, so that folks listening can all hear what they want to hear. He didn't just make that claim, he made it at a later public event, so he got a large audience of his followers to hear what he wanted them to hear, but then on the morning shows this morning, the ISIS connection has magically faded away, because the folks who watch the Sunday shows are a different constituency and he needs to try to project seriousness and presidential demeanor to them, not feed their fears of terrorism. Thanks for being persistent, Amanda.

Today, Trump is busy claiming that "no one has been hurt at one of our rallies," despite the evidence to the contrary. If he says it with enough conviction, his fan club will buy it.

Anonymous said...

Ann, I hope that the last line of your post reflects what you think Mr. Trump is thinking or at least trying to imply that he's thinking, rather than what you think. You say the answer is obvious, that he feels an obligation to give back to the country which has given him so much. Mr. Trump has never displayed any particular altruism or selflessness. He is not sacrificing his luxury lifestyle and inconveniencing himself for the good of his country. He is building his personal brand and feeding his ego at the country's expense. This is all about what's in it for me, Donald Trump, not about what's best for America.

Lewis Wetzel said...

It is amusing to hear Hillary backers complain about Trump's dishonesty. Why, it makes him unfit to lead this great nation! We can't put a liar in the White House!

SukieTawdry said...

Love the Google translation of the amp.twimg.com video caption:

Tommy D is just a goof perfusion mother poof else is trying to be cool and fit bag. It is believed that by standing on the American flag Bible that it would be a big man and has only Kberholknhithbt testicles to his penis

I wonder what Kberholknhithbt testicles are.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

"Left visibly shaken" was the description chosen to make Trump look feeble and cowardly. Shouldn't a sixty-nine-year-old candidate be able to fight off any attacker, and if not, why would we want such a short-fingered weakling as president?