Trump supporters reject the claim that they are stupid. Is that a valid claim for these MAGA wingnuts to make?
Consider for a moment what we have seen.
- When they saw a man who had owned a fraudulent University, intent on scamming poor people, they thought “Fine.”
- When they saw a man who had made it his business practice to stiff his creditors, they said, “Okay.” (https://thedailybeast.com/trump-hotel-paid-millions-in-fines-for-unpaid-work…)
- When they heard him proudly brag about his own history of sexual abuse, they said, “No problem.” (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/list-trumps-accusers-allegations-sexual-misconduct/story?id=51956410…)
- When he made up stories about seeing Muslim-Americans in the thousands cheering the destruction of the World Trade Center, they said, “Not an issue.” (https://washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/11/22/donald-trumps-outrageous-claim-that-thousands-of-new-jersey-muslims-celebrated-the-911-attacks/…)
- When they saw him brag that he could shoot a man on Fifth Avenue and they wouldn’t care, they exclaimed, “He sure knows me.” (https://usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/23/president-donald-trump-could-shoot-someone-without-prosecution/4073405002/…)
- When they saw him mock the disabled, they thought it was the funniest thing they ever saw. (https://nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-criticized-after-he-appears-mock-reporter-serge-kovaleski-n470016…)
- When they heard him brag that he doesn’t read books, they said, “Well, who has time?” (https://theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/01/americas-first-post-text-president/549794/…)
- When the Central Park Five were compensated as innocent men convicted of a crime they didn’t commit, and he angrily said that they should still be in prison, they said, “That makes sense.” (https://usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/19/what-trump-has-said-central-park-five/1501321001/…)
- When they heard him tell his supporters to beat up protesters and that he would hire attorneys, they thought, “Yes!” (https://latimes.com/politics/la-na-trump-campaign-protests-20160313-story.html…)
- When they heard him tell one rally to confiscate a man’s coat before throwing him out into the freezing cold, they said, “What a great guy!” (https://independent.co.uk/news/people/donald-trump-orders-protesters-coat-is-confiscated-and-he-is-sent-into-the-cold-a6802756.html…)
- They have watched the parade of neo-Nazis and white supremacists with whom he curries favor, while refusing to condemn outright Nazis, and they have said, “Thumbs up!” (https://theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/08/why-cant-trump-just-condemn-nazis/567320/…)
- They hear him unable to talk to foreign dignitaries without insulting their countries and demanding that they praise his electoral win, they said, “That’s the way I want my President to be.” (https://huffpost.com/entry/trump-insult-foreign-countries-leaders_n_59dd2769e4b0b26332e76d57…)
- They have watched him remove expertise from all layers of government in favor of people who make money off of eliminating protections in the industries they’re supposed to be regulating and they have said, “What a genius!” (https://politico.com/agenda/story/2017/12/29/138-trump-policy-changes-2017-000603…)
- They have heard him continue to profit from his businesses, in part by leveraging his position as President, to the point of overcharging the Secret Service for space in the properties he owns, and they have said, “That’s smart!” (https://usnews.com/opinion/articles/2018-03-05/how-is-donald-trump-profiting-from-the-presidency-let-us-count-the-ways…)
- They have heard him say that it was difficult to help Puerto Rico because it was in the middle of water and they have said, “That makes sense.” (https://washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/09/26/the-very-big-ocean-between-here-and-puerto-rico-is-not-a-perfect-excuse-for-a-lack-of-aid/…)
- They have seen him start fights with every country from Canada to New Zealand while praising Russia and quote, “falling in love” with the dictator of North Korea, and they have said, “That’s statesmanship!” (https://cnn.com/2019/07/02/politics/donald-trump-dictators-kim-jong-un-vladimir-putin/index.html…)
- That Trump separated children from their families and put them in cages, managed to lose track of 1500 kids, has opened a tent city incarceration camp in the desert in Texas – he explains that they’re just “animals” – and they say, “Well, OK then.” (https://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/more-5-400-children-split-border-according-new-count-n1071791…)
- That they have witnessed all the corruption and lacking moral character, rudeness and contempt for the working American voter, and they still show up grinning and wearing their MAGA hats and threatening to beat up anybody who says otherwise. (https://americanprogress.org/issues/democracy/reports/2018/06/04/451570/confronting-cost-trumps-corruption-american-families/…)
What they don’t get is that our succumbing to frustration, thinking of them as stupid, may very well be wrong, but it’s also…hear me…charitable. Because if they are NOT stupid, we must turn to other explanations, and most of them are less flattering.
(Hat tip to Ryan Shead for the above)
Let’s take a look at what has been happening this past week amongst the wingnut community..
Wingnut proclamations from the last 7 days
It is all very much everything you might expect and a lot more. Here are some of the highlights …
The Cult Of Trump
- Dominionists Say Crises and Trump’s Reelection Will Set Stage for Church to Take Greater Authority … “Wallnau is part of the leadership of POTUS Shield, a network of dominionists organized to support Trump’s presidency and help bring about the “prophetic order of the United States.”
- They are going to be bitterly disappointed when the idiot-in-chief looses the election.
- CBN’s David Brody Says Bible Photo-Op Shows Trump’s ‘1950s Mindset’ and Fear of God
- That’s not exactly what he actually showed the world.
- James Robison praises President Donald Trump as “an unbelievable father” with “amazing children” who does what is right because he is surrounded by wisdom and prayer.
- Hey, I do agree. “Unbelievable” is indeed a rather key attribute of his.
- “Prophetess” Kat Kerr goes to battle against those who are seeking to use the power of the moon to conduct “operations of witchcraft or sorcery coming against our president, who was chosen by God.”
- It is wholly appropriate for her to deploy imaginary powers against an imaginary enemy.
- Robert Henderson Says His Patriotic Shirt Makes God ‘Remember the United States of America’
- Friendly Tip: Just like magic beans, magic shirts don’t actually work
- Right-Wing Catholic Bishop Praises Trump for Fighting ‘Biblical’ Battle Against Deep State
- A Catholic bishop promoting mythical stories as “truth” is not exactly new news, it’s part of the job description.
- Robert Jeffress responded to polls showing that President Donald Trump may be losing support among evangelicals not by faulting Trump but by attacking his fellow Christians for being “very weak.”
- Mr Jeffress is clearly a bit upset that somebody dared to criticise the love of his life
- DeAnna Lorraine coos that President Donald Trump is “like the dad of the world.”
- The immediate thought that comes to mind when faced with that is “Abusive Parent”
- Stephen Strang says that Christians must support President Donald Trump because he … “has probably been one of the staunchest defenders of religious liberties and freedoms we have seen. He also makes it no secret that he has an evangelical council that meets with him periodically, ministers to him, advises him, and at times even lays hands on and prays over him.”
- Translation: If we support him, he will give us privileged access to inflict our beliefs upon everybody
George Floyd and the Protesters
I’m guessing that none of these folks support BLM
- Candace Owens Smears George Floyd, Claims Racism ‘Doesn’t Exist as a Problematic Thing’
- George Floyd and many others disagree
- Glenn Beck claims that Black Lives Matter is a “Soros operation” that is “trying to get blacks to separate from their church—that way you can move progressive policies forward and you can completely destroy these people.”
- Soros is a standard go-to Bogeyman to frighten the gullible with these days
- Dave Daubenmire questions whether George Floyd actually died: “I don’t even know if he’s dead. Closed casket. Today he’s going to have this third or fourth funeral. Has anybody seen the body of George Floyd?”
- Mychal Massie proclaims that …“Black Lives Matter is a Stalinist domestic terrorist group comprised of bigots, racists, anarchists and terrorists with three things in common: 1) They all hate America; 2) they’re funded by taxpayer money and Soros money; and 3) they’re all going to hell when they die, if they do not confess their sins, repent and turn from them, and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.”
- QAnon Conspiracy Theorist DeAnna Lorraine Says Black Lives Matter Wants White People to ‘Bow Down’ and ‘Treat Them Like Gods’
- MassResistance says that Black Lives Matter is … “basically a Marxist-Leninist organization, founded by self-styled communists, that uses black suffering as a prop for its larger goals. The group was formed from a staged riot meant to destroy the physical and economic community, and inflame racist hysteria, and continue along that path. Their violence, disruption, and intimidation tactics are reminiscent of the Nazi Brownshirts, the true original fascists.”
- Jesse Lee Peterson says the George Floyd protests are …“about taking the power away from the white people, enslaving them, and controlling them.”
- Walid and Theodore Shoebat declare that Floyd … “was a criminal, a thief, a loser and a drug user.”
- John Guandolo Wants Black Lives Matter and Antifa Leaders Rounded Up and Executed
- Morton Klein Calls Black Lives Matter a ‘Hate Group,’ Receives Condemnation From Jewish Groups
Way beyond just Bizarre
- Rick Wiles Declares That ‘The Republic Is Over’ … “the republic is over” and that the time had come for him to seriously consider fleeing the country“
- I do most certainly support the idea of him fleeing the country. He would make it a far better place by doing so.
- Lance Wallnau declares that … “everyone who seeks to justify political and social mob anarchy is under the influence of the same spirit as Nazi Germany. It is AntiChrist in nature. It is lawlessness. This spirit works with a false prophet. Media is the false prophet.”
- Does anybody know which media outlet he thinks is using the supernatural to predict future events incorrectly?
Fake COVID-19 Cure – Jim Bakker Update
- It seems as if Jim Bakker’s legal woes are getting worse, as his ministry is now facing legal inquiries from “three California jurisdictions and the state of Arkansas” for presenting the silver solution he sold as a possible cure for COVID-19.
What else came out of the Wingnut fantasy land?
Lots of other stuff.
As always, it is an endless stream. Some of it is good, some sad, some is rather grim, and some is quite frankly hilarious. Here are a few more samples …
- Milwaukee Police Chief: My Officers Are “Being Crucified” During These Protests
- Now is not the time to compare cops to Jesus
- Conservative Charlie Kirk Mocks Protesters: Racism “Doesn’t Exist”
- Listen up, everyone. A white man is talking about why racism is a hoax.
- Christian Preachers Offer Costly “Master’s Class” to Teach You Power of Prophecy
- I had no idea it was possible to do homework and get less educated…
- Creationist Kent Hovind Is Revenge-Suing the Government for $536,041,100.00
- That’s the largest number Creationists have ever seen.
- Without Public Funerals, Westboro Baptist Church Is Struggling to Spread Hate
- A Former Liberty U. Staffer Wants to Help Others Escape Jerry Falwell’s Racism
- LeeQuan McLaurin is raising money to help other Black staffers walk away from the racist school.
- A Photographer Describes Her Fear After Jerry Falwell, Jr. Wanted Her Arrested
- The Liberty U. president terrorized a journalist for doing her job.
- Robert Jeffress: If Democrats Ever Win, They Will “Bring Out the Guillotines”
- Strange… I thought we were saving those for the rich.
- Governor Lovingly Addresses COVID-Spreading Churches: “Be a Little More Careful”
- That’s all he’s got? Really?!
- Christian Mommy Blogger Blames Recent Protests on the “Perversion of Humanity”
- I hate to be a tad picky, but I think Police brutality has had something to do with the protests.
Wingnut of the Week – The GOP Party
This week we learned that the GOP has decided to not bother writing a new platform policy for 2020, but that they have instead decided to simply reuse their policy platform from 2016.
This existing 66 page document includes everything you might expect, and also some things you might not expect. For example …
- It calls for the U.S. embassy in Israel to move to Jerusalem … it will prove remarkably easy to accomplish that since it has already happened.
However the true gem is that their official 2020 policy document now criticizes the “current president” and “current administration” on more than three dozen occasions.
That’s perhaps a policy position we can all get behind and vigorously support.
To be specific, their official policy document riles against …
…“The huge increase in the national debt demanded by and incurred during the current Administration has placed a significant burden on future generations,”
…“Middle East is more dangerous now than at any time since the Second World War” because of the president’s “impotent grandstanding,”
…“the survival of the internet as we know it is at risk.” “Its gravest peril originates in the White House,” the platform points out, “the current occupant of which has launched a campaign, both at home and internationally, to subjugate it to agents of government.”
This is so very symbolic of the entire administration. It is not only lazy, but it also panders to the idiot-in-chief who thinks that since it won him the election in 2016, it will be fine for 2020 as well.
It also sends a very clear message that they don’t believe their actual policy matters, and that anything will do. “Just vote for us and we will wing it as we go“, is the actual policy that they have here.
Will this be final or will they alter it?
These days common sense has become so elusive within the GOP ranks that it would now appear to be something akin to a superpower.
Bonus Item
Here is Write/Comedian Sarah Cooper’s latest video …
If you look carefully you can see that she has his nose wipe, and even has his Adderall on the counter.
The above went out live on the Tonight show this past week. here is Jimmy introducing it …