Great piece; nice writing and interesting. I'm often trying to get people to see how they're manipulated and to stop reacting to the Latest Outrage of the Day, Trump derived or otherwise, and that he's orchestrating this purposely for reactions. I'll accept 7-dimensional, but I'm not sold yet on the muscle memory hypothesis. He could benefit from a squelch dial and knowing when too much of a good thing (for his ends) is too much. I think he's easily sixth dimension, but too sloppy. Yet, pity the fools who think they can beat him at his own game (loosely, the Resistance and state AGs, not FIRE which isn't in this class.)
The MSNBC piece is great, I thought SNL was dead beyond any chance of being funny or mildly self aware.
Never forget he was a lifelong Democrat until he decided to run for President. He uses the same tactics, just on a incredible scale with no remorse or worry about what The Establishment thinks.
I watch The Left do this all the time, especially with race/DEI/MAGA: George Floyd riots, Kyle Rittenhouse, Very Fine People Hoax. Russian Collusion Hoax, White House documents hoax, Hunter Biden laptop hoax, Suckers and Losers military comments, Vindeman impeachment hoax, Democratic Judges and AGs trying to keep Trump off the ballot. I could go on forever.
Greg's a good guy. He has a hard job, glad he's willing to do it.
By the way, it's kinda satisfying watching the Left get a taste of it's own medicine. How many good people have been driven out of politics because of the Left's lawfare? Too many to count.
I think John Barron should team up with Ron Vara to take another shot at empasizing that the tariffs are paid by the countries on which they are imposed and not by American consumers.
What's the point of the media ban? Was it actually to kick the press out of the WH?
I find that hard to believe. Trump loves being talked about. He is the embodiment of the Wilde quote that the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. In addition, if Trump's media strategy is to be omnipresent, how is that going to work if the media isn't there to report on his every provocation?
If Trump's goal is simply to keep his name in the spotlight, when difference does it make if he loses the case? In fact I have to wonder if he believed the ban had a snowball's chance at surviving in the first place. If the goal is just to create another outrage with the understanding that it has zero chance of surviving legal challenge, why not tweet about it? You're going to lose in court anyway, and if the real goal is exposure then the more angry posts the better.
The real question with regards to Trump's competence is the same one that applies to any leader: you're not just talking about Trump, you're also talking about the people that work for him. The canonical example is perhaps the 2016 election. Now we take for granted that Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, etc. are swing states. But ten years ago nobody thought that the blue wall would crack--except for Trump's campaign team.
That's not mere "competence". Competence is just executing on the conventional wisdom. Seeing the opportunity and overturning that conventional wisdom is something that is far more formidable.
Too bad Schmerconish didn't play his video of his debunking of your allegation that Trump was referring to white nationalists as "very fine people" in Charlottesville:
The Reflecting Pool is a good example. Trump has improved literally *hundreds* of monuments and statues in DC from graffiti and neglect, but he announces renovations to the Reflecting Pool in his usual bombastic manner and the press went stark raving bonkers. Normal DC behavior is to get out the "Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa" card and apologize, but Trump took the attacks head on, made sure the pool was filled for the America 250 celebration (where the previous contractors would have just left it dry), and has the pool presently going through an extensive refresh of the lining since the fireworks are over. And lo and behold, only a few diehard nuts are still posting pictures of the empty pool being worked on and crying about it. Same thing for renovating the side of the White House and the ballroom. Typical DC behavior is to set up a working group (which does little working) to examine the problem for four years, and pass it onto the next President. Nope. Trump goes straight to demolition and renovations of the below-ground bomb shelter and associated offices while his opponents are still wondering what happened. Every case gets slapped down in court (because as all good businessmen do, he ran the whole thing by Legal before starting) and the few whiners still posting pictures show just how *fast* the ballroom and associated security measures are going up as opposed to DC As Usual. Trump's a builder.
No real journalist goes to a press conference to get all the details. They go to get the administration's narrative. They go to get themselves in front of the camera. They go for the prestige.
They don't go to get accurate, unbiased, in depth information, because it's not there. For that they go to their unidentified sources, who have their own narratives.
I've never tried it, but I think it's safe to say that nobody at the White House is going to invite me into a press conference. Are CNN and MSNBC (or whoever they are now) more entitled to be there than me? I'm sure they would say so. I would say they are thoroughly biased to the point of outright lying. They don't have the right to take that anyplace.
When you're the POTUS people kind of feel the need to respond to the things you say, no matter who's in office. When the POTUS is DJT everyone interested in politics has become coiled like a spring waiting to jump at the latest thing, even when it's trivial. This creates a very strong illusion that he's orchestrating all these reactions. But he doesn't have to, chaos is his home turf & he has a huge comms apparatus around him. They can react to the reactions for him, spinning it in whatever way works best. He can play to his strength, lighting fires, and let Rubio, Bessent and whoever sort them out.
What Trump is doing is his version of Obama's Stray Voltage. Every time Obama wanted a distraction someone would mention the "Birth Certificate" or was he born in Kenya or the many versions of his life in his multiple biographies. And it worked! Trump is doing the same thing with renaming The Gulf of Mexico, or this or that. Sometimes (See Greenland) it plays out. A magician waves the wand in his right hand and has the pretty assistant walk across the stage to distract you from what he is doing with his left hand. Same difference so to speak. What Trump should have done ( in my opinion) as far as the media is to point out what Biden\Obama did with banning or ignoring certain networks (not to mention locking reporters in a close) and make a statement that HE wasn't going to do that! Missed opportunity there. Trump's main problem is he lacks a tape delay between his brain and his mouth. His remarks or Reiner's murder show that. He also tends to take the cheap shot and has a limited vocabulary of insults. "Failing" seems to be his go to word. Someone should gift him with a Thesaurus.
My guess is it will all hinge on Iran and I think he really doesn't know what he's doing there. No plan to really win and more importantly no plan what to do if he does. Some are comparing it to a modern day siege. You siege cities (Troy is a good example . Not countries.
Great piece; nice writing and interesting. I'm often trying to get people to see how they're manipulated and to stop reacting to the Latest Outrage of the Day, Trump derived or otherwise, and that he's orchestrating this purposely for reactions. I'll accept 7-dimensional, but I'm not sold yet on the muscle memory hypothesis. He could benefit from a squelch dial and knowing when too much of a good thing (for his ends) is too much. I think he's easily sixth dimension, but too sloppy. Yet, pity the fools who think they can beat him at his own game (loosely, the Resistance and state AGs, not FIRE which isn't in this class.)
The MSNBC piece is great, I thought SNL was dead beyond any chance of being funny or mildly self aware.
Never forget he was a lifelong Democrat until he decided to run for President. He uses the same tactics, just on a incredible scale with no remorse or worry about what The Establishment thinks.
I watch The Left do this all the time, especially with race/DEI/MAGA: George Floyd riots, Kyle Rittenhouse, Very Fine People Hoax. Russian Collusion Hoax, White House documents hoax, Hunter Biden laptop hoax, Suckers and Losers military comments, Vindeman impeachment hoax, Democratic Judges and AGs trying to keep Trump off the ballot. I could go on forever.
Greg's a good guy. He has a hard job, glad he's willing to do it.
By the way, it's kinda satisfying watching the Left get a taste of it's own medicine. How many good people have been driven out of politics because of the Left's lawfare? Too many to count.
I think John Barron should team up with Ron Vara to take another shot at empasizing that the tariffs are paid by the countries on which they are imposed and not by American consumers.
What's the point of the media ban? Was it actually to kick the press out of the WH?
I find that hard to believe. Trump loves being talked about. He is the embodiment of the Wilde quote that the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. In addition, if Trump's media strategy is to be omnipresent, how is that going to work if the media isn't there to report on his every provocation?
If Trump's goal is simply to keep his name in the spotlight, when difference does it make if he loses the case? In fact I have to wonder if he believed the ban had a snowball's chance at surviving in the first place. If the goal is just to create another outrage with the understanding that it has zero chance of surviving legal challenge, why not tweet about it? You're going to lose in court anyway, and if the real goal is exposure then the more angry posts the better.
The real question with regards to Trump's competence is the same one that applies to any leader: you're not just talking about Trump, you're also talking about the people that work for him. The canonical example is perhaps the 2016 election. Now we take for granted that Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, etc. are swing states. But ten years ago nobody thought that the blue wall would crack--except for Trump's campaign team.
That's not mere "competence". Competence is just executing on the conventional wisdom. Seeing the opportunity and overturning that conventional wisdom is something that is far more formidable.
Too bad Schmerconish didn't play his video of his debunking of your allegation that Trump was referring to white nationalists as "very fine people" in Charlottesville:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXvxgjumk2s
The Reflecting Pool is a good example. Trump has improved literally *hundreds* of monuments and statues in DC from graffiti and neglect, but he announces renovations to the Reflecting Pool in his usual bombastic manner and the press went stark raving bonkers. Normal DC behavior is to get out the "Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa" card and apologize, but Trump took the attacks head on, made sure the pool was filled for the America 250 celebration (where the previous contractors would have just left it dry), and has the pool presently going through an extensive refresh of the lining since the fireworks are over. And lo and behold, only a few diehard nuts are still posting pictures of the empty pool being worked on and crying about it. Same thing for renovating the side of the White House and the ballroom. Typical DC behavior is to set up a working group (which does little working) to examine the problem for four years, and pass it onto the next President. Nope. Trump goes straight to demolition and renovations of the below-ground bomb shelter and associated offices while his opponents are still wondering what happened. Every case gets slapped down in court (because as all good businessmen do, he ran the whole thing by Legal before starting) and the few whiners still posting pictures show just how *fast* the ballroom and associated security measures are going up as opposed to DC As Usual. Trump's a builder.
No real journalist goes to a press conference to get all the details. They go to get the administration's narrative. They go to get themselves in front of the camera. They go for the prestige.
They don't go to get accurate, unbiased, in depth information, because it's not there. For that they go to their unidentified sources, who have their own narratives.
I've never tried it, but I think it's safe to say that nobody at the White House is going to invite me into a press conference. Are CNN and MSNBC (or whoever they are now) more entitled to be there than me? I'm sure they would say so. I would say they are thoroughly biased to the point of outright lying. They don't have the right to take that anyplace.
When you're the POTUS people kind of feel the need to respond to the things you say, no matter who's in office. When the POTUS is DJT everyone interested in politics has become coiled like a spring waiting to jump at the latest thing, even when it's trivial. This creates a very strong illusion that he's orchestrating all these reactions. But he doesn't have to, chaos is his home turf & he has a huge comms apparatus around him. They can react to the reactions for him, spinning it in whatever way works best. He can play to his strength, lighting fires, and let Rubio, Bessent and whoever sort them out.
What Trump is doing is his version of Obama's Stray Voltage. Every time Obama wanted a distraction someone would mention the "Birth Certificate" or was he born in Kenya or the many versions of his life in his multiple biographies. And it worked! Trump is doing the same thing with renaming The Gulf of Mexico, or this or that. Sometimes (See Greenland) it plays out. A magician waves the wand in his right hand and has the pretty assistant walk across the stage to distract you from what he is doing with his left hand. Same difference so to speak. What Trump should have done ( in my opinion) as far as the media is to point out what Biden\Obama did with banning or ignoring certain networks (not to mention locking reporters in a close) and make a statement that HE wasn't going to do that! Missed opportunity there. Trump's main problem is he lacks a tape delay between his brain and his mouth. His remarks or Reiner's murder show that. He also tends to take the cheap shot and has a limited vocabulary of insults. "Failing" seems to be his go to word. Someone should gift him with a Thesaurus.
My guess is it will all hinge on Iran and I think he really doesn't know what he's doing there. No plan to really win and more importantly no plan what to do if he does. Some are comparing it to a modern day siege. You siege cities (Troy is a good example . Not countries.