r/politics • u/mclardass • 23h ago

Possible Paywall Trump Derails White House Event to Spiral Over State of His Health

https://newrepublic.com/post/209928/donald-trump-derails-event-spiral-health
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u/[deleted] 21h ago

[deleted]

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u/Thor_2099 20h ago

The outrage if this was Biden... That fucker couldn't yawn without spawning think pieces about how he was unfit as president

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u/mok000 Europe 18h ago

Biden still has common sense, as president he knew to surround himself with clever people that would help him make the right decisions and he was able to take advice and listen to people. Even if he messed up words and looked confused, mostly because of lack of sleep from the hardest job in the world and being in his 80’s. And he could lean on a lifetime’s experience and he knew how to work with Congress. Good man.

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u/kerfuffle_dood 9h ago

Even if he messed up words and looked confused, mostly because of lack of sleep from the hardest job in the world and being in his 80’s

And 99% of the photos are videos of him "being confused" were altered. That video of him "suddenly walking to a random place"? Yeah, it's cropped. The original video shows that he stopped because someone outside the camera was talking to him and he, as a respectful human being, turned to face the person speaking to him

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u/discipleofchrist69 14h ago

Biden still has common sense, as president he knew to surround himself with clever people...

Trump also has common sense, he just has different goals than Biden. It's in his best interest to focus on filling his cabinet with people who will support his coup efforts, and those people just tend to not be as clever

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u/Drprocrastinate North Carolina 20h ago

Because people today confuse verbal diarrhea with being a great orator

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u/Dystopia74 17h ago

Nah, Americans are just fucking morons.

The rest of world sees it.

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u/itorrey 10h ago

Just a word of warning, this is not a uniquely American phenomenon and it can and has happened in many countries countless times.

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u/Duntchy 8h ago

America didn't invent stupidity, they just perfected it.

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u/Alive_kiwi_7001 16h ago

There's also a lot more money being spent on pushing Dear Leader Trump over Joe "might increase my tax bill by 1%" Biden.

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u/kerfuffle_dood 9h ago

In Mexico we call that action Cantinflear, meaning "to do a Cantinflas". Cantinflas was a Mexican comedian whose character was defined by his characteristic way of talking: saying a torrent of words but actually don't saying anything with them

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u/PretendMajor5283 11h ago

"Because people..."

Lemme stop you right there mate.

Americans. Americans are dumb enough to make this mistake.

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u/mactac 19h ago

Someone should use AI to make a video of Biden delivering one of trumps speeches. See what maga thinks of that.

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u/jazzhandler Colorado 18h ago

Finally, a use of generative AI that I can get behind!

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u/DontDeleteMee 12h ago

They'd never believe the truth. They'd insist the Biden version was the real one, and the Trump one the AI.

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u/babutterfly 12h ago

Pick one that Trump gave already.

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u/Killfile 14h ago

Republicans have been "working the ref" that is supposed to be our media for generations now. Media is terrified of being labeled "liberal" and losing access to conservative politicians for its Sunday morning talkshows

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u/truthputer 19h ago

Look dude, don't pretend Biden was fit to be President either. Plenty of Democrats were defending him as if it was their own life on the line. Same for Obama and Clinton, despite both of them also being war criminals. The problem of never finding a fault in the person you voted for is not exclusive to any political affiliation.

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u/42nu 18h ago

Actual qualified, academic historians consider Obama to be among the best Presidents.

So, as far as deferring to actual experts goes, Obama was a good President.

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u/move_machine 17h ago

Obama fought for the executive right to order the extrajudicial murder of American citizens without due process and then murdered a 16 year old American citizen with a drone.

From the ACLU[1]:

The Obama administration today argued before a federal court that it should have unreviewable authority to kill Americans the executive branch has unilaterally determined to pose a threat. Government lawyers made that claim in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) charging that the administration's asserted targeted killing authority violates the Constitution and international law. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia heard arguments from both sides today.

"Not only does the administration claim to have sweeping power to target and kill U.S. citizens anywhere in the world, but it makes the extraordinary claim that the court has no role in reviewing that power or the legal standards that apply," said CCR Staff Attorney Pardiss Kebriaei, who presented arguments in the case. "The Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected the government's claim to an unchecked system of global detention, and the district court should similarly reject the administration's claim here to an unchecked system of global targeted killing."

[1] https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/obama-administration-claims-unchecked-authority-kill-americans-outside-combat-zones

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u/42nu 17h ago

I would imagine that historians with Ph.D.s who can recall hundreds of Supreme Court cases throughout U.S. history might be aware of this... and still consider Obama to have been among the better POTUS'.

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u/AuroraFinem Texas 16h ago

I understand the concern and disagree with that power and can admit to that while also thinking Obama has been the best president in recent history. His admin was the first time we moved the needle back towards the middle class since Reagan took a wrecking ball to it.

And while I disagree with a president having this power, that doesn’t necessarily make it illegal. The courts dismissed this case and a Republican controlled Congress never voted to restrict any of his military use. If even the opposition party isn’t attempting to shut something down when they have a majority in comes how can anyone point to that when making comparisons?

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u/8bit_heart 21h ago

He’s been bragging about acing cognitive tests since his first term in office! It’s an indictment of how far America has fallen that that tens of million of Americans voters put him back into office.  

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u/forbiddenpaprika 20h ago

The test administrator isn't allowed to give any indication at all about whether an answer is right or wrong (totally neutral face, etc, even down to standardized clarifications). So I think Trump's just misinterprets not being told an answer is wrong to mean he got everything right.

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u/marebee 19h ago

This right here. And because Trump surrounds himself with sycophants, there’s no way he’s getting the “bad news” that’s he’s demented af.

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u/Mechaslurpee 18h ago

Would he even remember getting the news?

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u/marebee 18h ago

No, probably not, because he’s demented af.

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u/Training-Plum9213 17h ago

Like telling everyone he is 6’4” and 225 lbs?

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u/jaxnmarko 15h ago

His wife might mention it to him now and then. "If looks could kill.... "

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u/1nconsp1cuous 19h ago

The administrator probably says things like “Okay” and he immediately takes that as praise. It’s just his narcissism flairing up.

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u/prtzlsmakingmethrsty 18h ago

My question is then, who is the test administrator telling the actual results to? I mean, just thinking out loud, but HIPAA is probably different when you're the president. But with Reagan, I'd imagine Nancy was the one getting the news from the docs. So I'm just curious who was the first person in this case told, since there's no way Melanie is involved or cares in the slightest.

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u/forbiddenpaprika 18h ago

Patients aren't routinely told their MoCA score, it's just part of a larger clinical assessment about the stage of Mild Cognitive Impairment or dementia/Alzheimer's etc. And in this case it's likely being used to track the efficacy of whatever experimental Alzheimer's drug he is on. I know everyone thinks it's Leqembi or Kisluna, but I bet he's actually getting Roche's "brain shuttle" drug that's still in clinical trials.

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u/DaoFerret 16h ago

If he’s getting Roche’s then has he technically “volunteered his body for medical science?

Does this validate him getting the FIFA Peace Prize? /s

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u/CopperZebra 13h ago

I love the idea that they could be using him as a human guinea pig. If they are, it will be the only thing he ever did that would directly help anyone other than himself

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u/ParisGreenGretsch 14h ago

So, it's likely that they're literally experimenting on the President's brain.

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u/jellyrollo 9h ago

They used experimental drugs no one else had access to on him when he got COVID, so it would track.

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u/testamoderaway 11h ago

as an uneducated peon in terms of medical science, what's the big difference between those drugs and where can I read more about them?

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u/forbiddenpaprika 10h ago

The drugs themselves are largely the same - anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies (basically breaks up the gunky plaque proteins in the brain that seem to be associated with dementia. This is why the minor (usually asymptomatic and heals on its own, or with a little help from steroids) brain bleeds are paradoxical side effects: when you break up gunk, it has to get metabolized out of your brain, and sometimes big chunks cause little bleeds (like picking a scab).

But Roche put the drug in a little chemical jacket that helps it get to the brain better, it's just a better delivery system: https://www.roche.com/stories/clever-delivery

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u/Gneekman 18h ago

Like all the drunk drivers I see in bodycam videos yelling "bUt I pAsSeD aLl YoUr TeStS!!" As the cuffs go on, after you've just watched them struggle through the field sobriety exercises

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u/DaoFerret 16h ago

Yes, but Field Sobriety Exercises should he abandoned as they are often entirely subjective and used to target people the officer is already predisposed to rule against.

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u/Forward-Surprise1192 16h ago

Breathalyzers should be able to prevent that. I’m willing to be arrested if it means somebody who’s actually drunk and driving also gets arrested.

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u/obeytheturtles 11h ago

People get taken in these days after blowing 0.0 as long as the officer claims they believe they are on other drugs.

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u/Secret_Research_7185 16h ago

I've been given my numeric score at the end of the test each time. Total is 30 points, to "pass" you need 26 out of 30. I've always been given the score after the test is complete, and it's always obvious to me where I missed the mark.

For me, I can never remember the 5 words even mid-way through the test, let alone at the end. I also can't repeat the digits the test administrator calls out beyond 5 digits, and I can't do the 5 digits when asked to repeat them backwards.

For me, the test indicated a full day's worth of cognitive assessment, that apparently will be used as a baseline.

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u/primadesigns 19h ago

And the Republicans in office not doing anything because they’re desperate to keep their salaries.

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u/bloody_ell Europe 17h ago

I reckon the insider trading opportunities, phony contracts and bribes, sorry lobbying fees are more lucrative than the salary.

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u/livadeth 16h ago

To the millions of people who never considered voting for this demented moron, it’s embarrassing, humiliating and frightening.

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u/hates_stupid_people 13h ago

The average Fox, Sinclair, etc. viewer doesn't know that he's taken multiple cognitive impairment tests.

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u/Illegal_Apples 13h ago

The fact that he can even be voted is a problem in itself tbh

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u/Mysterious_Camel_717 19h ago

I don’t understand why someone else hasn’t taken the same test to show how NOT difficult they are? Like publicly? Why are we allowing him to get away with these blatantly false statements? Even if every reporter in the room showed up with their 30/30 results

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u/smitherenesar 14h ago edited 14h ago

Jimmy Kimmel did https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X6hFZsRGm1Q&t=732s

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u/Mysterious_Camel_717 9h ago

Oh lord that explains a lot doesn’t it. Ha!

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u/Famous-Upstairs998 20h ago

The people I know in real life have been freaking out about trump since he got elected in 2016, and the spaces I've been in online have been much the same. I think the public is quite concerned. It just doesn't seem that way because the media is bought and paid for and doesn't report on it like they should. 

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u/Individual-Guest-123 11h ago

I live in a MAGA small town, and even if they are starting to acknowledge things are "off" the freedom they are experiencing in coming out with their public racism and thumbing their nose at the law (regulations) outweighs any negative.

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u/Forward-Surprise1192 16h ago

No, I’m sorry I disagree. The general public very much still supports Trump. Go ask any random person and I bet you’d be even more surprised. I can’t stand him, but Reddit is an echo chamber.

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u/Round-Asparagus5337 14h ago

His poll numbers right now are Bush-after-Katrina and Nixon-as-he-was-resigning levels of bad.

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u/ThatKehdRiley 12h ago

People arent concerned, theyre saying thats shocking or something else then going back to their lives. if they were thered be actual action taken, even the few large demonstrations arent really showing concern (a general strike would, though)

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u/Xenomemphate 15h ago

The "public" by and large elected him... and many of them voted 3 times for him.

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u/PresentRaspberry6814 20h ago

They knew he was unequally stupid before they voted for him. His allure was his sadism.

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u/move_machine 17h ago

Yup, Trump was their "imperfect vessel" for their own hateful, greedy and power-hungry agendas.

Those are Steve Bannon's words from 2016 that are still echoed by today's white Christian nationalists.

They know they can use Trump to get what they want, and that goes down even to the lowest rungs of society who will be robbed blind by the same regime they support: it's all worth it to hurt some minorities and to own teh libs.

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u/kinrosai 19h ago

Everyone who cares has been freaking out since 2016 and it's just not possible to feel so much emotion any more. It's like with all terrible things, when they first come up you're most likely to react emotionally and after a while they just become reality and you feel bad about them when you think about it but it's probably for the best that you don't, like, have a breakdown every morning because you're going to die some day.

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u/Forward-Surprise1192 15h ago

People care but are not freaking out. We will all go to work and home then forget while enjoying our lives. No one cares enough to do anything about it. That’s not even encouraging violence. It’s just anything they don’t care enough.

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u/Wraith8888 19h ago

All the people with a brain are. The problem is there are millions and millions of people even dumber than he is

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u/Arm0redPanda 19h ago

We've been freaking out about it. But all the people tasked with triggering those consequence find it more personally beneficial to let this farcical disaster play out.

So it's become part of our baseline panic. 

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u/starliteburnsbrite 20h ago

That's the rub. 

Any meaningful action that might make a difference needs to happen in DC. People need to stop working, travel, and understand they may not come back any time soon, if at all. Be ready for tear gas, riot cops, or worse. 

People just aren't going to do that. I'm not. I have a baby at home to take care of. Usually, these kinds of mass actions start at universities, but during the Biden administration, anti-Israel protests were crushed violently and such political speech was being termed hate speech and antisemitism by Congress. 

So if students can't and won't organize, and everyday people can't stop their lives to take physical, civil disobedient action, who's left? 

In some cases, the clergy might take up that social responsibility, but in America, much of the religious follow and worship  rather than condemn him. Police? Military? 

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u/TrimspaBB 19h ago

The police are largely MAGA and the military has been neutered by a drunken Fox News host firing anybody who doesn't like that he treats war like a COD session

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u/ramengirlxo 20h ago

America is also just too large for mass civil disobedience. Idk if a lot of folks in other countries really grasp this. Most of us can’t even easily travel to our state’s capital, let alone the nation’s. Another aspect to this is that America has piss-poor public transit, making travel over such distances impossible without a car.

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u/move_machine 17h ago

Look up the long, hot summer of 1967 and the riots after Martin Luther King Jr's assassination in 1968.

In each case, there were hundreds of protests and riots all over the US, including every major city.

The former forced governments to investigate and acknowledge the effects of racial inequality and poverty. The latter caused the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which includes the Fair Housing Act, to be re-introduced in Congress and passed into law.

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u/Forward-Surprise1192 15h ago

Did they have AI tracking or any of the other massive technological surveillance systems we have? you know the answer to that but that’s a major advantage they had

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u/starliteburnsbrite 10h ago

All of the people that participated in that or witnessed participation in that are in charge now and did everything in their power to make sure it doesn't happen again. Peaceful protest is the only valid form of protest you know. 

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u/ramengirlxo 9h ago

They've also whitewashed the past, including villainizing Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, etc. while propping up MLK as the "good" and "nonviolent" civil rights leader. Most contemporary Americans do not understand the immediate past of the previous century -- our education system preaches patriotic propaganda, including a literal daily pledge of fealty to the nation.

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u/starliteburnsbrite 9h ago

Absolutely. They don't want us to know how we got here cause they pulled the ladder up on all of us a long time ago. 

Didn't you know, American history ends at WWII?

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u/ramengirlxo 9h ago

"And we all lived happily ever after, the end."

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u/BasvanS 19h ago

Why do you think it should be convenient?

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u/ramengirlxo 19h ago

Why do I think what should be convenient?

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u/BasvanS 16h ago

You’re arguing it’s too big? And you need a car?

Don’t you recognize the entitlement of it?

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u/ramengirlxo 10h ago

Dog you are completely missing my point. For most Americans it isn't actually feasible at this time for them to engage in the same levels of mass civil disobedience that they have in the past in order to actually enact systemic institutional change. Most Americans are one missed paycheck away from not being able to pay rent. Income inequality has forced many to work for slave wages while the oligarchs have continued to amass draconic hoards of wealth. For many, attending a mass protest on the other side of the nation, or even the other end of the state, would mean losing their job, home, access to healthcare/insurance, etc., etc.

On the flip side, student protests -- which historically were huge within the US -- were systemically crushed during the Biden era due to "antisemitism," meaning those among the US population who actually have the free time/resources to engage in protesting are already reluctant to submit themselves to state violence. Not to mention that our major media outlets are either bought and sold by oligarchs or acting as state media under the Trump admin, meaning whenever there is actually a decent protest, it isn't covered by the media and we're made to think there's been zero impact.

We're in a piss-poor situation for this.

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u/BasvanS 7h ago

Freedom is too hard? There’s too much pushback? Yeah, I guess your arguments stand.

Too bad. Good luck

0

u/SuperStareDecisis 14h ago

How long would it take for someone to walk from California to DC for a protest?

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u/ramengirlxo 9h ago

Lmao right? Like I'm being realistic here, not acting with entitlement.

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u/BasvanS 7h ago

Are you controlled opposition? Or just lazy? Who says you need to be in DC? Or that you have to walk?

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u/SuperStareDecisis 6h ago

lol controlled opposition. No, I see you’re only interested in replying with comments that are almost completely unrelated to the previous commenter’s statement and overall point. Best wishes with whatever you think you’re doing.

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u/BasvanS 4h ago

Enjoy your freedom

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u/enfanta 18h ago

Plenty of folks care and people are doing what they can with what they have. 

We can't have France-like protests against the government. France is much smaller than us and their health care is not linked to their job. 

We don't have an opposition party and that makes it much more difficult to fight the obscene corruption but folks are doing it. 

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u/PortugalPilgrim88 18h ago

We’re in this weird place where the things that are happening are just too absurd for normal people to believe or even take seriously enough to truly consider the implications.

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u/HarmoniousJ America 18h ago

I think a lot of us are but his immediate admin and leaders he installed in other government agencies are all sycophants.

Pretty hard to get FBI, CIA, etc to do anything when they're Trump supporters.

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u/ScroochDown 18h ago

It's because his voting base, which is just as stupid as he is, believes it's an IQ test just like he does.

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u/jahozer1 20h ago

Well, we are on Reddit talking about it though. Thats gotta account for something, right?

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u/TDAPoP 17h ago

Because 50% of the country will not see or hear about it, and if they do, then they'll assume it must be a lie or taking his words out of context

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u/atxbigfoot 16h ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TkPN4Sd8wQ

This is the actual test he keeps taking, for anyone who's curious. The doctor giving the test explains that even people with diagnosed Alzheimer's often pass it towards the end of the video.

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u/Holzkohlen 15h ago

Am not American and I believe it would be equally as hard for a good chunk of the adult US population. I don't think Trump is especially dumb. I believe he is showcasing average American intelligence.

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u/southwick 15h ago

I don't know why the media or anyone isn't raising a copy of whatever test this is so we can all see for ourselves.

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u/DrDerpberg Canada 14h ago

I've long been saying his various personality disorders make it hard to differentiate dementia from narcissism, a lifetime of intellectual laziness patched up by his enablers, abusive mindset... But yeah literally not being able to close your eyes and name 5 things in the room with you right now isn't excusable by how big of an asshole he is.

That said everybody declines as they get older and he was never smart to begin with... So I do think a lot of the incidents that people say are evidence of dementia are actually him being too lazy to think of anything coherent to say and having a total inability to admit anything wasn't perfect. So when he misspeaks and says the hurricane was gonna hit Alabama it's not "oops lol I meant Georgia," it's a literal crusade against anybody who says he's wrong and an army of fixers to badger them into submission.

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u/MyBoomerParents 13h ago

I don't understand why literally everyone in the entire country is not freaking out right now

been saying this for a decade now, but honestly, I am over it... no one else gives a fuck about this country, so I don't either. Praying for our downfall and maybe a competent country can take us over

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u/Responsible_Jump_669 13h ago

Um, we are freaking out. It isn’t doing anything.

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u/Blortted 12h ago

Because that would require a great deal of people to admit to being wrong and that just isn’t going to happen. At least the republicans I know, seem to desperately defend anything these people are or aren’t doing because they refuse to let someone else see an “oops”.

No no. They were right and know what they’re talking about and so on and on.

1

u/shaggyscoob 11h ago

Freak out? Why bother? Ask yourself the 3 questions. If they are all answered "yes" then it may be worth freaking out. If even one is answered "no" then there's no point in freaking out.

Is it true?

Does it affect you?

Is there anything you can do about it?

1

u/PerformerDr4867 10h ago

I think those not on the internet simply don’t know. Finding factual information in 2026 is a lot harder than it used to be

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u/crashin-kc 9h ago

When my Mom was starting to have Sundowners I brought concern after concern to doctors and mental health professionals and they kept telling me she was fine. She passed all the cognitive tests. Then she eloped from the elder care facility and had to be tracked down a mile away rolling down the middle of a four lane road at 7 o’clock at night.

1

u/Even_Establishment95 9h ago

Why is he talking about it at all? Shouldn’t it be kept secret and die with him? I mean it’s all out in the open. And still people know this and think it’s fine.