President Trump: Making America Great Again...

[wally]

Go ahead and believe all the shit Trump sells, of which you admittedly swallow 85%. Yeah, you are "not a Trump fan". Its amazing a smart person like you can't see that. You can vote on "platform", but you bought the President. You can't separate yourself from that. "I don't like the platform", well, there is no separating the platform from the person. How can you possible argue otherwise?

Shaka - answer this: Is Trump unwell right now? Right NOW. Not when you voted for him (3 times), but right now. The bruises, the falling asleep (e.g. can't even handle the job responsibilities), bruised hands, swollen ankles, not to mention the ridiculous commentshe sends out (going to send Iran to the Stone Age??). I'm and SURE you called out Biden's health - Trump is equally declining, his mental capabilities have declined at an incredible rate, he's building monuments to himself at a crazy rate while flailing about in Iran, but "I only agree with him 85%).

Yet, you only agree with him "85% of the time". I know you'll respond with a non sequitur (RIP) about how blah blah blah, nothing of consequence. You don't engage on the issues (other than flippant remarks). Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but if you are going to state them, at least engage like the rest of us and explain your position. I cannot think of a single time you have ever done that. And that is why I never take your opinions seriously. Because you don't even take them seriously.

The falafel view of the spectrum of Trump support:

Pick one:

1. Boot-licking MAGat that has an IQ of 31, is racist, and fascist, so brainwashed they would die for the man.
2. The rest of us sane, rational people who want that tyrant (aka, Hitler reincarnate) gone by any means. (ANY means).

Please pick one option and only one option. Middle ground responses will be treated as a #1 answer.

[Northwestcoug]

The GOP platform. What does it even mean in the Trump era?

principled conservatives I understand and respect. Their presence is essential in our government. Unfortunately they are a rare species now.

MAGA-types I also understand (but not respectfully). They reflect the demagoguery that unprincipled politicians willingly shower on them. They couldn’t care less about policy or platform; they just want a leader who attacks the ‘right’ people. Mark my words, democrats are not dumocrats. Some unprincipled leftists are silent notes taking.

Someone please help me understand formerly principled conservatives who have jettisoned beliefs that up until a few short years ago were core GOP principles. Fiscal policy, limited government, respect for constitutional principles, projecting American decency to the world, etc etc. Trump has laid waste to every one of these. I guess maybe draconian immigration policy and unapologetic military use abroad are core GOP principles? Are those worth the price of supporting Trump?

[Bo Diddley]

The GOP platform. What does it even mean in the Trump era?

principled conservatives I understand and respect. Their presence is essential in our government. Unfortunately they are a rare species now.

MAGA-types I also understand (but not respectfully). They reflect the demagoguery that unprincipled politicians willingly shower on them. They couldn’t care less about policy or platform; they just want a leader who attacks the ‘right’ people. Mark my words, democrats are not dumocrats. Some unprincipled leftists are silent notes taking.

Someone please help me understand formerly principled conservatives who have jettisoned beliefs that up until a few short years ago were core GOP principles. Fiscal policy, limited government, respect for constitutional principles, projecting American decency to the world, etc etc. Trump has laid waste to every one of these. I guess maybe draconian immigration policy and unapologetic military use abroad are core GOP principles? Are those worth the price of supporting Trump?

You're really dating yourself here. No one cares about that anymore.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Oh brother, Jeff. Its not about shaming. Its about being honest with people you have known for nearly 20 years. Don't shit on my shoes and tell me its fudge!

So, all this peer pressure to get Shaka (or whomever) to be honest and admit that HE REALLY IS A TRUMP SUPPORTER is just to ensure that he is being "honest with people"? Lol. You are proving my point.

[Jeff Lebowski]

The falafel view of the spectrum of Trump support:

Pick one:

1. Boot-licking MAGat that has an IQ of 31, is racist, and fascist, so brainwashed they would die for the man.
2. The rest of us sane, rational people who want that tyrant (aka, Hitler reincarnate) gone by any means. (ANY means).

Please pick one option and only one option. Middle ground responses will be treated as a #1 answer.

Nailed it. But most certainly not limited to falafel.

[falafel]

So, all this peer pressure to get Shaka (or whomever) to be honest and admit that HE REALLY IS A TRUMP SUPPORTER is just to ensure that he is being "honest with people"? Lol. You are proving my point.

I don’t appreciate people who are not honest with me or with themselves. Take that as you want.

[falafel]

Nailed it. But most certainly not limited to falafel.

And not limited to Shaka either. Why can’t we have some intellectual honesty around here, and why am I being blasted for asking for it? If people are not honest here, what’s the point? Why are we participating here?

[BigPiney]

Why are we participating here?

Because it is so much better than working.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I don’t appreciate people who are not honest with me or with themselves. Take that as you want.

But what is the point? Why are you (and others) so concerned about Shaka's level of allegiance to Trump? What actually is the "intellectual honesty" that you seek? That by god, Shaka finally comes out of the closet and admits that he really is full MAGA as you have suspected all along? Seriously?

Furthermore, I hate Trump and would never dream of voting for him. But if Shaka's calculus is different than mine, who the hell cares? Our political discussions would benefit from more diversity around here, not less.

For example, when Trump does something incredibly stupid, a common reaction from some folks here is:

"Why are our trump supporters silent about this?"
"Where is the outrage from our trump supporters?"
"How can Shaka, etc continue to support this guy?"
Etc

It's as if the idea that someone here has the audacity to be a Trump supporter (at any level or at any point in time) is more disconcerting than the actual dumb stuff trump does.

[dabrockster]

The falafel view of the spectrum of Trump support:

Pick one:

1. Boot-licking MAGat that has an IQ of 31, is racist, and fascist, so brainwashed they would die for the man.
2. The rest of us sane, rational people who want that tyrant (aka, Hitler reincarnate) gone by any means. (ANY means).

Please pick one option and only one option. Middle ground responses will be treated as a #1 answer.

[dabrockster]

And not limited to Shaka either. Why can’t we have some intellectual honesty around here, and why am I being blasted for asking for it? If people are not honest here, what’s the point? Why are we participating here?

I find this to be rather arrogant. Who or what determines when a person is not being honest. Based on their answer which you do not like hey see they don’t fit into your pre-conceived opinion of what a person is in regards to Trump. Your TDS is shinning through.

[The_Tick]

I voted for Biden in 2020. I am not a Biden guy. Two years into the Presidency I regretted voting for him. But I didn't want another 4 years of Trump.

In 2024 I voted for Trump. I am not a Trump guy. But I was not interested in a Harris Presidency. She was a lesser version of Biden and I was already done with him. I regret my vote for Trump already.

But voting for Trump doesn't make me a Trump guy, doesn't make me MAGA, doesn't make me dumb or lesser than anyone else. It is the free agency type of thing.

Who will I vote for in the 2028 election? No idea. But there are some core beliefs that I have for myself that will always drive how I vote. There are things Biden did that I agreed with. Doesn't make me a Democrat. There are some things that Trump has done that I agree with. Doesn't make me MAGA.

I'm always going to want less spending. I'm always going to want less government. I am always going to want closed borders. I am always going to be America first. I'm always going to want to see US Citizens taken care of first before others. This doesn't make me a bad person. I'll tell you this though...there are some folks on here that will try and twist it that way.

I am a principled person. I left California for two reasons....one was grandchildren and the other one was that I no longer identified with the politics of the state. Am I a hypocrite because I work for a California based company that allows me to have California pay and be in the pension system? Probably. And that is something I'll have to deal with. But I don't want to see America run the way that California is run.

I don't know why I am jumping into the conversation because I am not interested putting a target on my back. But I will say that some of the slings and arrows thrown Shaka's direction do keep me from hopping in to discussions because I don't want to become the target.

[Flystripper]

Maybe it would be helpful if we understood what some of that "85%" number that Shaka threw out there? Many of us struggle to see one thing that Trump has done that has been a net positive for our country. When Shaka throws out that he agrees with the majority of his platform, many of us are left to wonder if the atrocities that he does almost daily fall into the "85%". Since we like Shaka and know he isn't stupid or a piece of shit, it leaves us with a massive amount of cognitive dissonance.

[Donuthole]

Also, even if someone could identify the 85% they agree with (they likely can't,FWIW), intellectual honesty dictates that we must also weigh the effects of the 85% "good" vs the effects 15% "bad". Trump's bad has been so bad that it far outweighs anything good he has done. Only a MAGAt hack will even bother to debate that.

[wally]

Also, even if someone could identify the 85% they agree with (they likely can't,FWIW), intellectual honesty dictates that we must also weigh the effects of the 85% "good" vs the effects 15% "bad". Trump's bad has been so bad that it far outweighs anything good he has done. Only a MAGAt hack will even bother to debate that.

Are you talking about the way Trump has and is attempting to execute on conservative positions, or are you talking about the actual positions?

Also, to meet your standards for intellectual honesty, can I just add, like, a disclaimer to every comment to address your requirements, m' lord? I am thinking like below:

*** I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT TRUMP IS THE DEVIL. I UNDERSTAND THAT HE IS VERY, VERY BAD, AND I WILLFULLY RENOUNCE HIM****

Uh, I actually think that immigration laws should be enforced instead of wholly ignored.

*** AGAIN, TRUMP=HITLER, THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER***