Please enlighten a non American.
I know this is a surprise for some Americans on here, but there are some people in foreign lands that are allowed to use the internet in their near
fascistic, communist prison state.
I'm sorry, I'm only joking. I'm also sorry for making yet another thread on Trump but I can't find this question answered quite as I'm asking it
here. I thought this section was the best place to put it.
I actually wanted to understand one thing: why don't all these awful things about Donald Trump bother his supporters? I'm serious here, I
desperately don't want this to be one of those cartoon-esque political mud slinging threads where the entrenched hyperbole easily defeats any actual
political/ historical discussion. I'm serious on this bit, there's a trait in US media which so many people imitate where people turn the discussion
into such exaggerations and side-taking that there is only a minsicule amount of actual content discussed. Statements like "Hillary is a fascist!"
or "Trump is the new Hitler!", "The Dumbocrats"are spoken far more often than should ever be tolerated in adult discussion, so many people seem to
talk like children and as if politics is a children's film with an obvious 'goodie' and an obvious 'baddie' and you simply pick your side and
stick with it.
It's like all political debate in US mainstream media is an election campaign in action- P.R. spin, slogans and 'dirt' on people rather than
policy, aims, theoretical political knowledge etc. This absolutely happens in all party political countries now but I find it near impossible to
escape the shiny, sparkly P.R. rubbish to hear actual information in US media.
Now, the actual point. I've wondered it for so long but after seeing this article
(
www.alternet.org...) I thought I'd actually
ask people on here. Now, I expect the inevitable "That's some Liberal website!" Firstly, when did the political term "Liberal" become a negative
thing? The entire US was based fundamentally on civil liberty! But secondly and more importantly I don't care where it is from, it is the content
which I want to ask about. I'll say it again, as a non US citizen I cannot vote, I'm not on any side here. I don't want political debate tennis!
I've heard so many strange things said about Trump from his supporters which I just cannot get my head around:
-"He'll take down the rich elite" - I consider him to be the absolute archetype of rich/ business/ corporate elite! He was an inherited millionaire
from his, let's say ethically questionable, father.
- "He tells it like it is!" - he is a self aggrandising attention seeker! I'm still waiting for that London postcode where police are "Scared to
go to"! This populist (in terms of his audience) rubbish which he consistently comes out with is not straight talking! Plus there are several points
on that article which are definitely not "telling it like it is".
- "He understands the poor!" - this is the man who used eminent domain to forcibly evict people from their homes so he could build larger casinos!
Again on that site he shows no understanding of real life working wages or practices. He has been a seriously rich person since he was 0 years old,
I've seen nothing from him which demonstrates any serious attempt to delve outside of his lavishness to see what happens in places without red velvet
carpeting.
- "He's a business genius! A true entrepreneur!" - Again, inherited a fortune. His companies have gone bankrupt 4 times. Sometimes with him jumping
ship just before it sinks to hand all the trouble to his employees and to attempt to escape the mark besmirching his record. Then we have the study
that he would be far richer (Some say by $10 billion dollars) if he had simply left all his father's money to gain interest than investing it as he
saw fit.
There are plenty more and I would guess you have all heard far more of them than I have. One other point (frankly this should be irrelevant), we all
know the cringe worthy photos of politicians kissing babies to show how "Family orientated" they are, with a great deal of coverage in parts of
America being focused on the personal lives of candidates and whether they're 'Trustworthy' in real life. When Trump first met Melania he
apparently "Sent" his then wife to the toilets so he could ask for her phone number (apparently that's charming when you're a multi
millionaire...); normally that sort of mildly sordid story gets lapped up by certain media organisations but for this one....nothing.
He has always seemed like a grown up spoilt brat (many stories seem to portray him as such) who has been moulded by sycophants into having an
outrageously exaggerated opinion of himself. A Machiavellian narcissist who refuses to accept 'No' for an answer and will actively target with any
means available to him anyone who does so.
I'm sure I'll get hammered for this thread, but I am serious here: why do these things not matter to his supporters? As an outsider, I just can't
understand it. Obviously, he has used his media presence to effectively just run propaganda for himself- who knows how many of these common statements
were originally planted by one of his P.R. team and caught on with other supporters.
I've said this before but I'll reiterate it. Trump is in the process of being politically an almost carbon copy of Silvio Berlusconi and his rise to
power. Berlusconi decided after practically no political education before hand decided he wanted to used his vast personal wealth and array of media
outlets to effectively saturate all political debate in Italy. This coupled with minor scandals and populist speeches got him into power. The two are
remarkably similar in their campaigns.
So why do these things not matter to so many people? It is a question being asked around the world. Please could people step back from their
entrenched support for either party and answer me honestly rather than simply insulting me for asking?
Thanks anyone who answers!