Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Here is the transcript of Trump's "terrorist attack" in Sweden comment:

The references to Nice, Brussels and Paris make it clear he's talking - primarily - about Islamist terror attacks. He adds Sweden to this list, and specifically says "look at what's happening...last night". Now never mind the nonsensical grammar; the ploy is clearly aimed at planting the idea in people's heads that Sweden is the latest (European) target of a significant Islamist atrocity. Because there had been a major attack the previous day - but in Pakistan, not Sweden.

Now this is all classic Trump, because he has left himself just enough wiggle room to be able, sort-of-plausibly, to later say "I wasn't talking about a terrorist attack, just general crime and inter-cultural tension". (Leaving aside the obvious fact that "general" levels of any cultural phenomenon are observed over a period of months or years, rather than happening on a particular day.) In much the same way that he didn't explicitly say "If you value your guns, then please assassinate Hillary Clinton" - while at the same time dog-whistling that very message to his supporters. It's all nudge-nudge-wink-wink - the sort of nudges clearly intended to make you spill your drink on yourself, while just casual enough that he can say "Oh sorry mate, accident" with a semi-smirk on his face as he says it.
 

josef k.

Dangerous Mystagogue
It's all nudge-nudge-wink-wink - the sort of nudges clearly intended to make you spill your drink on yourself, while just casual enough that he can say "Oh sorry mate, accident" with a semi-smirk on his face as he says it.

I must say that I think that this wiggle room, at least in this case, exists in your mind - it is also precisely the space dividing the factual from the imaginary.

You see - from the perspective of your hostile opinion towards him - obvious dishonest inference.

Trump's supporters see - fake news media conspiracy putting words into his word.

The literal truth - Trump does not claim there was a terrorist attack.

I think we really need to stick as close as possible to the literal and the empirical and the provable these days.

On which point, I doubt that it is true - as Trump claimed in the second half of his statement -

We’ve allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country and there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing.

This is the part of his statement should have been challenged.
 

Leo

Well-known member
good god, so much hair splitting and semantics here. people think trump is a dangerous incompetent because he gets his information from fox news instead of his own intelligence community and can't even articulate that clearly. is that so difficult to understand?
 

josef k.

Dangerous Mystagogue
good god, so much hair splitting and semantics here. people think trump is a dangerous incompetent because he gets his information from fox news instead of his own intelligence community and can't even articulate that clearly. is that so difficult to understand?

It is if you're a Trump supporter, who relies for your view of the world on Fox News.
 

Tentative Andy

I'm in the Meal Deal
A question for those given to suggesting that the most important/perhaps only worthwhile project for those on the left is to thoughtfully & respectfully engage with the views of Intelligent Conservative writers : do you suppose that many conservatives spend their time & energy on respectfully studying intelligent socialist, feminist, liberal etc. writing?
 
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Tentative Andy

I'm in the Meal Deal
Also why is it only ever intelligent conservatives that we're supposed to read? If the idea is to better understand the positions that are out there, surely you could learn just as much from reading really stupid conservatives?
 

Tentative Andy

I'm in the Meal Deal
(Spent ages trying to write a serious post addressing roughly those issues, but then decided I'd rather just troll a bit. Felt quite good if I'm being honest).
 

Leo

Well-known member
I think BuzzFeed should retaliate with something devastatingly satirical like "13 mouldy potatoes that look like Donald Trump." You know, something that'll really make him rue the day ever tangled with them.

knowing trump, that would probably really get under his thin skin.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
knowing trump, that would probably really get under his thin skin.

Ha, yeah. Loser liberals can't take that they lost, so resort to mocking POTUS for his physical appearance. Very "liberal" of them, I'm sure! SAD.
 
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