Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

LudwigPastorius

(8,943 posts)
Sat Mar 21, 2020, 02:53 PM Mar 2020

"Donald Trump's Cult of Personality Did This"

Adam Serwer -The Atlantic

https://outline.com/WgwXc3

The president of the United States is a menace to public health.

-snip-

Neither the tide of pestilence sweeping the nation nor the economic calamity that will follow was inevitable. They are the predictable outcomes of the president’s authoritarian instincts, his obvious incompetence, and the propaganda apparatus that has shielded him from accountability by ensuring that the public is blinded to his role in the scale of this disaster.

-snip-

The coronavirus pandemic provides a rigorous case study in the priorities of most of the conservative press: Faced with a choice between informing their own audiences about dire threats to public health, and propping up a Republican president, they chose the latter, because informing the public is not their job. The job of outlets like Fox News is to ensure that the conservative masses believe that their leader is infallible, even if it causes them tremendous personal harm.

-snip-

Americans want to believe that their leaders are competent, engaged, and concerned about their well-being. Recognizing that the presidency is occupied by an incompetent narcissist whose major life accomplishment is parlaying an inherited fortune into reality-show celebrity is rather less comforting, but it is the world we live in.


___________________________________________________________________________

The other day I remembered that line from Trump's inauguration speech about "American carnage".

Thanks to his egotism and blithering incompetence, we're about to see that carnage manifested in economic terms and in the deaths of many.
3 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
"Donald Trump's Cult of Personality Did This" (Original Post) LudwigPastorius Mar 2020 OP
Thanks for reminding about that weird phrase: American Carnage." enough Mar 2020 #1
He used it to refer to what he was inheriting, but... LudwigPastorius Mar 2020 #3
K&R ck4829 Mar 2020 #2

enough

(13,235 posts)
1. Thanks for reminding about that weird phrase: American Carnage."
Sat Mar 21, 2020, 03:22 PM
Mar 2020

It was so chilling at the time, the idea that this was our new President’s vision oh the country.

LudwigPastorius

(8,943 posts)
3. He used it to refer to what he was inheriting, but...
Sat Mar 21, 2020, 04:14 PM
Mar 2020

like everything negative that Trump says about others, it turns out he was projecting the result of his time in power.
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»"Donald Trump's Cult of P...