Trump is a bully. Any ‘humour’ he is responsible for generally revolves around mocking people and he always punches down. Being the bully he always has a ready supply of nasty sycophants to laugh along with him
When I think of Trumps ‘humour’ the first thing that springs to mind is this…
I honestly don’t think any of those quotes are him being or trying to be funny.
Fairy nuff. But if you honestly think that Trump is always being completely serious and never trying to be funny then I don't think that you really understand him at all.
And remember this is a man who quite remarkably managed to get the majority of US voters to vote for him to become their president. He is actually pretty good at winning people over. I wouldn't be too dismissive.
When I think of Trumps ‘humour’ the first thing that springs to mind is this…
Yup, and what I found shocking at the time was the fact that his supporters didn't seem to have a problem with him mocking a disabled person. In fact I am fairly confident that they probably found it funny.
Okay but the point that TINAS made is both valid and important imo. Much of what Trump says should not be taken seriously because it is said for effect (including comedic effect)
In fact I take very little of what he says seriously. Although on the question of Greenland I don't really agree with TINAS and do think Trump is being quite serious. It isn't actually a totally crazy idea. Although I don't doubt that when the idea of buying Alaska from the Russians or Louisiana from the French was first suggested that the idea was also dismissed as crazy by some.
It is quite feasible for Greenland to become the 51st State, it would require Greenlanders to agree, and that's all really, unlikely but far from impossible.
He cannot be serious about Canada though. Although I suspect he is about the "Gulf of America".
He doesn’t appear to possess a sense of humour at all. One of the myriad of things that makes him the creepy bastard that he is
Has he ever laughed? What does his laugh sound like?
It is quite feasible for Greenland to become the 51st State, it would require Greenlanders to agree, and that’s all really, unlikely but far from impossible.
Far from impossible? Greenland, like most colonies is desperate for independence from Denmark and to keep them happy they’ve had to grant them ever increasing autonomy.
They’re far from going full IRA, but the very last thing on earth they’re going to vote for is to become an airbase and mineral mine for some imperialist madman
I think it is unlikely but perfectly feasible that the 58k inhabitants of Greenland might want their country to be declared the 51st State.
How many States do you know where the people are desperate to break away from the Union? I can't think of any.
Have you seen the film "The Mouse That Roared" btw?
Edit : Btw 53% of Greenlanders voted in a referendum to leave the EEC/EU 33 years before the UK voted to leave the EU, so Greenlanders don't necessarily always do what they are expected to do.
Everything Trump says has to be viewed in the light of him being a psychopath. I am sure he believes all his nonsense. However its all impulsive and he is quite capable of claiming things are true that are not. He has a totally distorted perception of reality. It's a waste of time trying to understand the rationale behind his words. He is not rational
Yup, and what I found shocking at the time was the fact that his supporters didn’t seem to have a problem with him mocking a disabled person.
Off topic, but that's not comedy, that's just being nasty, snarky and sarcastic...
A good comedian doesn't need to stoop to such low levels... Just look at Billy Connely or Bill Bailey or any other good comic.. they could tell you a story about a pair of shoes, and have you wetting your pants with laughter.
Jokes don't need to have a 'victim' to be funny, they just need to be funny.
No but that example that binners gave was a classic example of Trump trying to be funny. There is no point saying that Trump is always serious and never tries to be funny because that obviously isn't true.
And whether you and I found that funny is totally irrelevant to Trump, he wasn't trying to make us laugh. He was trying to entertain his target audience which I suspect he managed to do.
Btw in a matter of days Trump is about to become the most powerful man in the world, he has managed to do that by convincing millions of Americans to vote for him, a clear majority of voters in fact, I'm lovin how everyone on here seems to dismiss him as a totally incapable cretin.
His list of talents might be short but right there at the top is his ability to manipulate and mould public opinion to get him the results that he wants and needs.
Trump 'trash talks' just like a boxer or MMA fighter at a press conference.
It's his way of negotiating vulgar, public and pugalistic BI don't think Trump is a fascist either,elieve anything he says then the joke is on you. A lot of this trash talk isn't even aimed at the electorate, or me and you It's aimed at Putin, Xi, Rocket man and the Ayatollahs.
And Trump isn't a fascist, he's an anarchist. That's what most people get wrong about him.
I’m lovin how everyone on here seems to dismiss him as a totally incapable cretin.
Even a totally incapable cretin can have great PR.
We're almost at a point now of it being a cult of personality. Trump is clearly a sociopath, but viewed through a certain lens he's an entertaining sociopath.
And we can't throw stones either, this is exactly how we got Boris. For all of their successes and/or failings, Biden and Starmer both are dreary and who votes for dreary? Trump is the personification of "hey America, hold my beer and watch this!" Granted, "this" is almost certainly the last word of many Americans, certainly the ones with guns, but it's a compelling argument.
I’m lovin how everyone on here seems to dismiss him as a totally incapable cretin.
I don't think he's an incapable cretin. Just a regular garden variety cretin who's father left him lots of money.
I think it is unlikely but perfectly feasible that the 58k inhabitants of Greenland might want their country to be declared the 51st State
I don’t think the way Trump was talking that he was thinking of holding a referendum. He views everything as a transaction. He wants to buy their country. And if you look at his history of dodgy real estate dealing in New York, that’s par for the course. There are worse alternatives than buying it though, which it sounds like he’s also considering. He’s certainly refused to rule it out
I wonder what the inhabitants of Panama are feeling like they want to be another Trump colony for the ‘economic security’ of America. I doubt either of them do
The whole thing is absolutely ****ing unhinged and the ramblings of a megalomaniac
We are not talking about him because he is personally wealthy/his father left him lots of money. We are talking about him because in a few days time he will be president of the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth, a job that he has managed to secure by convincing the majority of US voters.
And a vital component to his success is that he could not care less if people, who are never going to vote for him under any circumstances anyway, totally hate him. He has his target audience and that is all that counts to him. Actually being hated by lefties/liberals probably does him more good than harm.
In fact Trump goes even further than that and sometimes doesn't even care if people who are likely to vote for him also hate him. A good example of that is when Trump stood in front of a Jewish audience and told them that he didn't like them because they were not very nice money grabbers but that they would have no choice but to vote for him because the Democrat alternative would be worse for them.
He has a similar attitude towards evangelical Christians. He knows that he has absolutely nothing in common with them and they are under no illusions about him. But the deal is that they will vote for him because it keeps the Democrats out of power.
It all works very well for Trump. The interesting thing will be whether not being able to stand for a third term will affect how he performs/behaves during his second term.
He’s certainly refused to rule it out
Of course he hasn't ruled it, that is precisely Trump's style. He would never rule anything out.
I really wouldn't focus too much on what Trump says. The primary purpose of everything that he says in public is to create an effect.
And like all narcissists he is a pathological liar.
Fair point Ernesto. That wall never got built and Mexico never paid for it, but nobody seems to mention that nowadays, let alone hold it against him
i suppose we can file Greenland and Panama in the same ‘things that sound great to get morons to vote for me, which I have absolutely no intention of actually doing’ bin
Its like Boris Johnson and ‘Levelling Up’
Dementia Don
@countzero do you think you could use one of the many nicknames that doesn't make light of a horrible disease that affects the lives of so many people?
Its not funny.
I favour Shit Gibbon
Which is.
Although I suspect he is about the “Gulf of America”.
"The English Channel" is called at least four different names. It all appeals to the home crowd, but the Cornish language version isn't likely to make it internationally, ditto this
i suppose we can file Greenland and Panama in the same ‘things that sound great to get morons to vote for me, which I have absolutely no intention of actually doing’ bin
"We take this situation very, very seriously," said Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen of Donald Trump's threats to acquire Greenland – and punish Denmark with high tariffs if it stands in the way.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp313e41jy1o
And Trump isn’t a fascist, he’s an anarchist. That’s what most people get wrong about him.
He is an anarchist for the super wealthy, and a fascist for the rest of us. He wants to free the oligarchs from any moral obligation to society, while imprisoning the rest of us to serve them. The 2 apparent conflicting views are absolutely the same when you realise how they will be applied to different sections of society.
edit. FFS this being taken to the page before the latest is getting really confusing, along with the time taken to even load a page this site is getting very unusable.
Trump appeals to the very people he needed to be voted in, twice. It's a very precise, targeted persona, in that sense. Brash, arrogant, vulgar; it's obviously served him very, very well.
He may well be like it in reality, away from the act of being Donald Trump, but then again he might be one-dimensional. Either way, it's terrifying that he's been elected, again, but utterly predictable.
We are not talking about him because he is personally wealthy/his father left him lots of money. We are talking about him because in a few days time he will be president of the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth, a job that he has managed to secure by convincing the majority of US voters.
Who's we? You might be. Some of us are here, as with the Musk thread, just to point out that he's a complete ****. Someone should rename the thread Donald! Trump! But! Only! President! Talk!
I remember on page 400 or something where some people genuinely seemed to believe he was going to jail. Oh you sweet, sweet people.
...if you honestly think that Trump is always being completely serious and never trying to be funny...
Oh, I believe he often thinks he's trying to be funny. Everybody knows someone like that. It doesn't mean they are funny.
Look at the way he behaves in public. A lot of the time he walks around with that sour, mean look on his face, as if he's permanently furious about something. When he does smile during a speech, it just looks like he's pleased with himself, not that he's actually trying to entertain other people. He's an insecure bully, who tries to relieve that insecurity by punching down on other people.
And Trump isn’t a fascist, he’s an anarchist. That’s what most people get wrong about him.
Trump is a textbook fascist.
Oh, I believe he often thinks he’s trying to be funny. Everybody knows someone like that. It doesn’t mean they are funny.
Well using the standard definition of the word "funny", which is to cause people to smile or laugh, Trump certainly qualifies on occasions, as most people obviously do.
If he is trying to be funny and people smile or laugh then he has succeeded.
But why this apparent obsession over whether Trump is funny or not? I could not give a toss if his supporters piss themselves laughing at his hilarious quips or not. I don't find him funny as in funny haha, nor have I ever given my support to a politician based on whether they make me laugh.
His skills (or lack of) as a comedian should be of no concern to anyone other than his more committed supporters.
What concerns me most about Trump is how he is likely to behave as US president. So whilst I hugely enjoyed the almost daily entertainment value his first term gave us, for example cure yourself of Covid by shinning a bright light or drinking bleach, I won't be judging him on his ability to make me laugh.
According to our Foreign Secretary Donald Trump is above criticism because the United States is our closest ally :
Mr Lammy told Wilfred Frost on Sky News he is "not in the business of condemning our closest ally" when asked if he would denounce the US president-elect's rhetoric.
The French and Germans don't seem to have this "closest ally" problem.
France and Germany have expressed concern over Mr Trump's comments, but Mr Lammy laughed off the suggestion he is worried.
And according to Lammy Trump is going to work for working people, which is why he is interested in Greenland. I find Lammy's faith in Trump's altruistic concerns quite touching :
"He came in very clearly saying he was going to work for working people. And, he sees America's national economic security as centring that.
"That is why he's raising issues, in relation to the Panama Canal, and I suspect to Greenland.
"He always amplifies that and does it at its most, at its strongest intensity. But sitting behind that are actually quite serious national security and economic issues."
And Lammy needs to brush up on his history, Turkey and Greece, both NATO members, went to war over Cyprus resulting in over 6,000 casualties.
He added: "Let's be clear. No NATO countries have gone to war since the establishment of NATO. And I don't envisage that."
Germany and France have warned Mr Trump against threatening Greenland but Mr Lammy said he would not be doing the same.
Will Trump now apologize on behalf of his country for their despicable behaviour over us protecting our interests regarding the Suez Canal?
WRT Canada, there’s some interesting stuff on SoMe at the moment pointing out that in both world wars, Canadians were regarded as natural shock troops, and that the reason much of the Geneva Convention exists is because of the Canadian Corps e.g. shooting prisoners out of hand.
This is obviously slightly different to their reputation for niceness in the US…
His list of talents might be short but right there at the top is his ability to manipulate and mould public opinion to get him the results that he wants and needs.
The problem with this is if you look back to older records from his first presidential campaign in 2000 and even further back to his comments on the central park five at the time his methods, techniques and arguments havent really changed.
Which suggests it isnt that he is great at manipulating people since otherwise he would have done so back in 2000 but instead the environment has changed so his approach now works.
Which suggests it isnt that he is great at manipulating people since otherwise he would have done so back in 2000
Er well yes, I didn't suggest that Donald Trump has supernatural powers of persuasion, which is what he would have needed as a non-Republican/Democrat candidate to win in 2000, when was the last time a third party won US presidential election?
All I am suggesting is that he isn't quite the incapable cretin which a few people seem to think he is. Nearly 80 million people voted to Trump in the presidential election, despite him not really offering any sort of coherent plan or policies which are proven to achieve their stated aims.
You have to assume that Trump has reasonable powers of persuasion when his central message seems to be "trust me, I will make America great again", and the majority of American voters say okay.
Just because a snake oil salesman's merchandise is worthless and he fools a lot of people it doesn't mean that he is stupid.
Not sure what this will achieve now, beyond polarising opinion even more, but it's crazy that a sitting President is legally untouchable. I suspect the incoming regime will not seek to change the position.
BBC News - Trump would have been convicted of election interference, DoJ report says
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpqld79pxeqo
but it’s crazy that a sitting President is legally untouchable
Ironically they are not, which is why they can be impeached whilst in office for committing crimes.
Imagine living in a country where you can avoid Court by playing for time..., previously this would have been referred to as a "Banana Republic".
Is that also why the Tories laid waste to the UK's legal process, so they'd also never have to face the Courts for their corruption?
And Trump isn’t a fascist, he’s an anarchist. That’s what most people get wrong about him.
Think you might need to look up what anarchists are interested in, it's the very opposite of what Trump stands for.
Trump is an uber-authoritarian, and he wants to reassert US geopolitical and economic power in the West and against China and Russia. I have no doubt he thinks Europe and the UK have been taken over by snowflake liberals which has resulted in Western power weakening against the threat from China and Russia. Like them he wants the US to be an authoritarian global power and to achieve that he has to crush liberalism in the US and UK/EU. This is why we're seeing his allies like Musk attacking liberal govts in the UK/EU and all the bluster about Greenland, the Panama canal and Canada (which he will see as aligned with the UK/EU more than the US). Not a good time to be a 'libtard'!
I guess it can happen anywhere.. If you have the money it's simply a war of atrittion... Wrap the opposition up with appeals, technicalities and general noise and distractions etc. until the other side runs out of money, momentum or both.
Conversely though Rudy gulliani seems to be getting totally ruined... He was trumps best mate at one point... Now he's been well and truly thrown under the bus... Not that he doesn't deserve it, but he's dead weight to trump now, so he's on his own.
Hell... Even the mafia look after thier own when they take a legal fall 'for the team'.
Makes you wonder why anyone would go anywhere near Trump.. And gulliani isn't the first.. Plenty of trumps Co-conspiritors have been ruined whilst Trump just sails on through.
You have to assume that Trump has reasonable powers of persuasion when his central message seems to be “trust me, I will make America great again”, and the majority of American voters say okay.
I don't think that logically follows.
He says little of substance - when you see a transcript of a speech it's pure gibberish. As with the sanewashing comments above it's always translated by Fox/Newsmax/Reps into words that make some sense, depsite how it's blurted out. That isn't a Trump superpower, it's a propaganda machine that is currently behind him. Plus hero of free speech Musk has all this nonsense on heavy rotation.
And at least he isn't a lib or black or a woman and that's how 80 million stupid/racist/sexist/gullible/angry votes are gathered.
See Brexit for more examples.
And Trump isn’t a fascist, he’s an anarchist.
He's neither really. He's a bullshitter (in the sense that people who lie need to know the truth in order to lie, a bullshitter has no interest in truth they just want to be seen to have something to say and will chose the thing to say that makes them look best in a given situation)
What he does is read the room and say the sort of things he thinks the room wants to hear. It's just the room he's chosen to stand in front of wants to hear thuggish, sexist, racist bullshit. He easily alights on fascistic tropes (and q-anon tropes and evangelical tropes) becuase he feels the room respond in a certain way and feeds people what they want.
His knack is to seemingly be doing his thinking out loud - he tries both sides of an argument, bracketing the options with 'people are saying' 'a lot of smart people think' and as he mulls it over the room willingly tells him where he should go with the rest of the sentence.
Rudy gulliani seems to be getting totally ruined… He was trumps best mate at one point… Now he’s been well and truly thrown under the bus.
Not just Rudy - the whole Starwars Bar Panini Album just canned. While Trump's been handing out jobs like sweets to .... people he's seen on tv mostly, and heralding jan 6 rioters as freedom fighters and so on - his actually co-accused, the only real allies he had in the last weeks of his administration, the people who really, properly nailed their colours to the mast for him - all forgotten about.
It's going to be really interesting to see whats in store for these folk once he's in office. You'd think Trump would pardon them - but to accept a pardon you're in effect accepting guilt. To offer the pardon you're confirming there was a crime. But trump is one of the accused the act of pardoning his co-accused validates the charge against him.
I suspect pardoning someone also removes their 5th amendment rights which means if the case ever comes to court again anyone he's pardoned can be compelled to testify.
What he does is read the room and say the sort of things he thinks the room wants to hear....
and points at an imaginary person over to one side. God I ****ing hate that .... and him!
He says little of substance – when you see a transcript of a speech it’s pure gibberish
That is precisely my point!
And yet he managed to get the majority of US voters to vote for him. It would appear that his incoherent gibberish was what they wanted to hear **
Actually making unnecessarily coherent arguments puts you at the risk of having them picked apart, something which Keir Starmer undoubtedly was aware of when he chose to mostly keep his mouth shut and instead watch the Tories commit political suicide.
Kamala Harris's powers of persuasion were obviously not greater than Trump's
Edit ** I am thinking along the lines of "I don't know what the **** he is on about but let's give him a chance because things have been shit for the last 4 years and we need a change".
If you look at the transcripts of Tony Blair's speech during the runup to the 1997 general election they were very similar in strategy. The Tories had been in power since 1979 and voters we just desperate for change. Tony Blair knew that so all he had to do was to promise change without going much into detail. So there were lots of long speeches with lots of key words but very little if any substance......good people, hardworking people, a confident Britain, a Britain full of hope, blah, blah blah,
That is precisely my point!
And yet he managed to get the majority of US voters to vote for him. It would appear that his incoherent gibberish was what they wanted to hear **
The biggest challenge for a presidential candidate is simply having people know who you actually are becuase people by and large are not consuming politics. On election night even, more people were watching schmaltzy christmas movies on the Hallmark channel than all the election coverage combined. People don't consume politics and current affairs in the US. Fox - as influential as it is deemed to be - has at best an audience of 1million in a country where 160million voted. CNN... doing well if it gets 600,000 viewers
Policy, really, seems to be secondary to just being recognisable, if it's even an issue at all.
Bill Clinton, during his 1992 campaign, was in third place, behind independent Ross Perot, until he appeared on a late night chat show playing the saxophone in raybans. Then- people knew who he was.
"Vote Bob Servant. Becuase you know him and he's OK"
Trumps masterstroke was being an illiberal white man.
And yet being illiberal white men didn't sufficiently help either John McCain nor Mitt Romney when a black liberal man easily beat them both to become United States President.
It's almost as if it's a tad more complicated than the obvious explanation.
