10 Comments

I think his "fantasy based.... scattershot language which makes little logical sense"... is actually a very effective form of hypnotism.

Preachers use similar effects.

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May 4·edited May 4

He's working some magic on people. He's got that "charm" that ropes some ( enough) in. If you listen to his act, he seems quite confident in his casual extemporaneous spiel. It is gobbledy gook, incoherent, nonsensical, lies. It is always disparaging of others, them, Democrats in superlative terms about who they are and what he is going to do to fix it all. It's to his believers, his flock, to keep them in his spell.. He's ministers and sings his words in a lullaby voice, a sing song to mesmerize the crowd. They dress up in their best costumes to show off as in a church-- red white and blue. Trump, in costume as well, blue suit, white shirt and red tie.. very patriotic.

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You have a point. Many of us keep searching for reasons why he has such power over folks.

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I wish there was a way to "gift" these audio files. I know people who need to listen to this particular podcast as they would never bother to read it.

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Trump's plans for his second term are terrifying. They would no doubt spark massive resistance, especially as he attempted to round up 11 million undocumented immigrants, place them in cattle cars, and ship them south of the border. The last time that was done in the U.S., in the 1930s, half of the Latinos who were deported were U.S. citizens. https://jimbuie.substack.com/p/18-million-latinos-were-deported

How would Trump respond to massive resistance -- give order to shoot to kill?

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So, just wondering here... If tRump is granted total immunity, President Biden would have it as well and could simply have tRump removed, from...

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Thank you! I appreciate your letters, though a little sad to hear your take on the student protests across the nation.

The press often vilified the BLM as one of violence that ultimately created a backlash to Affirmative Action and other hard won Civil Rights laws.

We are now seeing a similar trend with the student protests and the violent crackdown on them. Meanwhile, reports highlight the antisemitic elements while downplaying the message of most of these student demonstrations. Maybe it isn’t a pivotal moment in American History, like the Civil Rights Movement; however, it is a piece of a larger strategy that you referred to by the Right. Why can’t both narratives be true? There is a move by the Right to destabilize democracy by tearing down our institutions; while at the same time a large portion of our country is fed up with the constant cycle of violence in the Middle East.

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I remain haunted by Eric's article. I’m not sure it will have much effect on those on the right, as they are locked-in, but maybe it will stimulate those in the middle to migrate left. My wife is a first-generation German immigrant. She is deeply proud of her US citizenship but is scared that her experiences as a young child in Germany will be resurrected under the rule of Trump. Eric's article clearly listed many ideological and other issues associated with a Trump authoritarian rule. My wife shared many stories related by her mother of Russian, East German and other dictator impacts on her family. But more importantly that her family moved here to escape those threats to be safe, and now her safety may be threatened, hence the fear of her young childhood returns. I wonder how many other immigrants have this feeling. I think a great research project for someone would be to explore the impact of Trump on immigrant-refugee citizens.

One other thought, as I read Eric's article I recalled the Declaration of Independence. Specifically, the list of reasons, or rather indictments against the King. So, I re-read your article and I couldn’t help but see quite a few parallels between the list and what Trump has in store for us, let alone what has already done. Déjà vu.

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I am a paid subscriber.

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Appeasement. This historical perspective on how we got here is very important and useful for understanding... the move rightward to bothsides-ism, the triangulation of the Clintons, Bill especially. Obama was trying more to compromise than deal or even threaten when he had the power. He overpromised hope and audacity but carried on. Meanwhile Rush Limbaugh and his ilk continued their "work". By comparison Biden looks a lot better. But still the Truth is not winning. Fox is a formidable enemy of it. No longer (to my knowledge), are they even claiming fair and balanced. Instead they have their loyal listeners that spread the "news" in social channels. And the ill intentioned are very blatant about their agenda. Who is listening? Who is believing that this could happen here?

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