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"A feral political offensive." Absolutely. He is running to stay out of prison, and the walls are closing in on him. He is a rabid, trapped animal - feral, if you will - and he will lash out in whatever way he can., before, during, and after the election. We have not seen the worst of it, but as he becomes more incoherent, angry, unhinged, and on attack mode, he may well be the architect of his own undoing . . . his own doom.

Let us hope.

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I predict that Trump has yet to commit the crime that will put him in prison for the rest of his life. But he will do something even more horrible than we have seen so far between now and Kamala's inauguration. Already he seems to be coming totally unglued. May require hospitalization shortly. Nope, sorry, no sympathy from me.

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Do you think this can all be an act that after he loses, please God he should lose, that if he does go to trial for any of his wrongdoings, his defense will be insanity? I can see that happening.

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Janis, I'm no psychologist, but I have an opinion nevertheless. I think he is a little boy who was never allowed to grow up. Encouraged to see himself as weak, stupid, incompetent and utterly unloved as a child, surrounded by the worst sort of sociopathic role models, convinced of his own worthlessness, he discovered lying as a tonic, a drug to get him through the pain of existing. That and million-dollar start up funding from his NY real estate mafia father and the rest is history.

Of course he could show us what a big boy he really is by taking his own life, but if he doesn't it will be up to our courts, with a lot of popular support, to put him away for the rest of his miserable life.

First, we have to have a blue wave election. I'm doing what I can from Italy, mostly explaining the USA to Italians and donating what I can afford to some down ballot Democrats. I dream of flipping Texas.

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Even popular psychology can recognize mental illness through behavior as we are now seeing, probably with dementia added. Yes there is an element of sorrow for such a mess of a man, but think about the fact that his brother was an honorable person coming from the same family, so there is an element of motivational responsibility that could be embraced. In the long run maybe we should be looking at psych tests for people running for office? Because there are so many misfits out there. That's tricky of course. The media could play a much stronger part here by simply calling out the realities in front of them. We have a lot to fix here don't we.

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The media has let us down in a million ways. And chump’s brother was an outlier in that family and he paid a price for being an ethical human. Daddy Fred was a skanky bastard by about any measure. I have seen more than a few families with parental dynamics that helped create dysfunctional kids. They are not rare, but just the right mixture (usually with money or power) can create monsters. A generalization but not a surprise. BTW, chump brags that he aced a psych test. hahaha

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Joan Didion. Ross Macdonald. Helen Eustis. James M. Cain. Dashiell Hammett. Vera Caspary. Raymond Chandler. Patricia Highsmith. Dorothy B. Hughes. Elmore Leonard. And so many more, JD, who have "seen more than a few families with parental dynamics that helped create dysfunctional kids."

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This might interest you and others - - YouTube recent interview with Mary Trump (Family Ties and Lies) on the conditions she grew up with and in the various parts of the Trump family. And how she finally was able to write her new book.

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We have not been able to count on the media to call out Trump's realities--only President Biden's age.

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Yep, and they did that ad nauseam

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Yes, Robin, we do.

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“…lying as a tonic, a drug to get him through the pain of existing.” Priceless and powerful description. Thanks, David.

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Whatever it takes...

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Oh he's going to cover all the bases he can; Count on it.

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That thought has crossed my mind as well.

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Nah . he'd have to show he was insane at the time and it was too long ago

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I don't believe his orange ego will allow him to "lie" about his true mental status. I'm done with being upset by him. Who I really get boosted by are the many Repugnicans who follow him, obviously unable to have rational judgement about what he does, or says.....

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I think his lawyers would love that as a "go to" defense - but I can't see trump ever going along with it. He'd have to admit to being "weak" and "helpless" - and he'd never be able to do that. And I REALLY can't see his family ever getting up the courage - or interest - to get him certified.

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Trump is certainly capable of additional crimes. but I think there is enough to "throw the book at him" as it is.

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I figured the events of Jan 6th 2021 would have ended his political life almost immediately, but it didn't happen. We may need some better book throwers than Merrick Garland and the GOP Senators unwilling to try Trump after most of them described his behavior as despicable (or worse) in the immediate aftermath.

There are too many cowards and sleaze-balls in high places to be sure of anything these days.

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I blame McCarthy for resurrecting that zombie. He should be tarred and feathered.

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Don't forget Mitch McConnell. He's the one who urged his Republican Senate colleagues to refuse convicting Trump in the first impeachment. (Something I'll never understand, because if convicted, Mike Pence would have become president and would have continued Mitch's policy agenda.) The Republicans could easily, legally, and justifiably been done with him. But they refused.

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They were as enamored with the shiny object as the MAGAts. May the shiny object be the end of the cretins who gave up on governing.

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yes, JD, one among many, unfortunately.

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Kevin felt sorry for the loser. How pathetic to resurrect Frankenstein and then his minions turn on you.

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At what point do the little men in white coats suddenly show up, dress him in a strait jacket and haul him off to the looney bin? Where is Peter Sellers when we need him most?

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Do you know who was dressed in a straight jacket and hauled around on a hand truck?

Hannibal Lecter!

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Perhaps that's what wakes Donald up at 2a.m.

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Alas, that will not happen. Only voters can pull him from the stage.

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That’s a good one 🙏

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I worried during the end of his first Presidency that he might self-destruct publicly. I didn’t want to watch—I felt sorry for him in a way—he was such a mess. It seems he may be doing that slowly this time, and I no longer feel sorry for him—I fear him coming to power. If he’s falling apart, I want to watch.

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I want to see him dangling from a lamp post upside down like his hero Mussolini.

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Tom I surmise that you are not a Quaker.

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Interestingly, from 1660-1862, the Cleaver's were Quakers, until my great--grandfather enlisted in the Union Army (with his Quaker Abolitionist father's approval) at age 18, before he was married. That put him out of the Church and we have been gone since. My sixth great grandfather joined the Continental Army and was cast out of the Church, but he was already married with children, so the family remained.

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Jim Brown, a first cousin, was Quaker. He landed in Guadalcanal in 1942 with the First Marine Devision and island hopped to Iowa Jim’s, the only soldier in his platoon who wasn’t killed or badly wounded.

He went to Yale on the G. I. Bill and, as a journalist, opposed the Vietnam war (as a Foreign Service Officer with boots on the ground experience in Congo I twice declined our Saigon ambassador’s ‘invitation’ to join him. Jim was on the NYT Editorial Board for about a decade.

I was gave a talk at the Media Friends Center on There Can’t be Peace without Force. One attendee suggested that the speaker lacked ‘love’ in his presentation.

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Interesting story! (Check your date typo :-) )

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Do you think the MAGA crowd will ever, ever give up their love affair with hate spewing monsters? I’m not convinced but hope springs eternal.

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What he gives the MAGAs is permission to act on their worst instincts. Racism especially, but also greed, bullying, political corruption, the works. I doubt they will give that up too easily. His greatest talent has always been to bring out the worst in everyone.

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I watched "Mississippi Burning" again a few nights ago.

That was a whole lot of people who had been coached for at least two hundred years.

Changing laws doesn't change minds.

The Civil Rights Laws were only introduced 60 years a go - the blink of an eye in societal change. How long did it take to get people to even think about the dangers of smoking? And how many are still doing it?

There HAS been a surprising amount of improvement, bearing in mind the depths of the problem - mostly from the young. But we still have a very long way to go.

Trump and his nasty enablers have grabbed on to the Hatred rope - and pulling on it as hard as they can. . .

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Nope. He gave them permission to overtly be the <insert colorful adjective of your choice here; mine is @$$Hats> they have always been. They will (if I may quote the Statler Brothers and amend the intent a bit) "...go to my grave lovin' you."

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No, he is a peek into our dark side

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I like you. I like how you think.

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That's too good for himTC, and too likely to make him a martyr for his worst followers. We all still remember Mussolini, and where I live plenty of folks are still trying to bring him back. Oblivion is never enough for these A-holes.

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Good point. An orange jumpsuit to match his lame makeup and a cozy room with bars in a nice federal pen (it could even be named after him). That’s what I’d like to see.

Hard to hero-worship that, even for the MAGA snowflakes.

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Might do the trick, George.

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Hitler made good use of his time in prison. Chump would too, selling pieces of his orange suit, most likely.

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At high prices, no doubt--perhaps in a gold frame?

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He certainly wouldn't write a book. . .

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Not so sure he's "running to stay out of prison," Paul.

The White House -- occupying it, running for it -- simply guarantees the most spotlights, and is there anything for narcissist, con man, and vaudeville hoofer more than that?

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Both you and Phil are correct - he is terrified of going to prison - that would brand him as the loser he has always been. But his narcissism demands to continual spotlight. The more attention Harris/Walz get - the more unglued he becomes. It's hard to tell which will destroy him more, losing this election or going to prison - both are inevitable.

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He's SAID he wants to avoid prison, if you care to read.

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Difference, TCinLA, between factual statements all know and, under them, analysis of human motivation, drama queen background, market profit, and personal etiology.

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But the specter of prison looms large, no spotlights there. Although he might be amenable if they kept a big spotlight on him all the time. Like Reality from Alcatraz, starring the great Chumpster

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Paul, I just hope he doesn’t take us down with him!

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he certainly doesn't care -

the arsonist that called the fire department in order to appear to be a "hero"

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Exactly what he is, wants the most publicity for his evil deeds

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"I could stand in the middle of 5th Ave and SHOOT myself ..."

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I'd vote for that!

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If he could barely get a drinking glass to his lips years ago, sadly, he’ll never get that gun fired off….plus he’s a cowsrd

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True, and he’s floundering because he built his whole campaign about running against President Biden, and can’t effectively change course to run against the Vice President.

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This reminds me of one of my favorite recent memes: “now that he’s had his ear clipped, he just needs to be neutered and relocated.” I do feel his approach will have the opposite effect from what he intends.

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