The secret to Trump's success. The pattens are emerging and it's an alarming mix of

[Baitball Blogger]

corruption, lack of integrity and self-protectionism. The man is a socio-path.

1) Underplayed the number of soldiers injured from an Iranian missile attack. Rachel Maddow exposed how Trump denied the number of injuries from one Iranian missile attack in order to downplay the success of that attack. "Not very serious." Just a few headaches, he said. So he denied purple hearts to the soldiers who were injured to support his message.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1017693419

2) "Trump called Chris Christie when they were both hospitalized with COVID-19 to make sure he wouldn't be blamed for the infection."
https://news.yahoo.com/trump-called-chris-christie-were-112149701.html

3) Also, in line with number 2, "A new investigation reveals Trump ignored experts on Covid-19 for months." And we all know one of his strategies was to try to interfere with an accurate count of Covid cases.
https://www.vox.com/2020/4/12/21218305/trump-ignored-coronavirus-warnings

4) Then, there's the Georgia Gimme. That's when he called Georgia to ask for 11,000 votes he didn't earn.

I guess I am having trouble understanding how someone managed to make it through life without someone calling him out before now. Where were our criminal and intelligence agencies? The rest of us would never been allowed to live like this. How many people had to look the other way for someone like Trump to bubble up to the highest position in American government? And, what can we do to expose others that will follow in his footsteps?

[JohnSJ]

1. The influence of right wing media is huge

[Rebl2]

4. Absolutely

[Wounded Bear]

5. Don't leave out the influence of money...

on literally everything in our society.

When you have it, or can manipulate it, you can get away with shit we mere peons can't.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. That is especially true in Florida.

They have a way of living down here, that corrupts everyone that is willing to play their game. Shock troops are especially in demand when there is big money in the area. I hope Biden puts some strings on the money that trickles down here.

[PatSeg]

21. Yes

Money, sometimes just the appearance of money, and lots of over the top bullying. Trump has always known how to effectively intimidate people with old school persistent bullying. Of course, it wouldn't have worked so well, if he'd been held accountable more times in his life.

[SergeStorms]

84. If only somone....

would have rearranged his face for him when he was in his early teens. Getting the crap kicked out of you, in front of a bunch of other kids, has a humbling effect on most bullies.

Then again, when you're as big an asshole as DJT, there aren't many "teaching moments" that take hold. For those who don't want to learn, there's no teacher who can reach them.

[PatSeg]

94. True

Sometimes such "teaching moments" just make some bullies even meaner and more vindictive. Perhaps more oversight and adult intervention from a young age would have made a difference, as well as setting a constructive example.

[jimfields33]

13. He's talked about constantly all over the place. It is so bizarre that he gets

so much attention for every move he makes. No other former president has gotten so much attention. If they ignored him, it would be so much better. But alas, nobody will do that.

[wnylib]

59. We talk about him a lot at DU, too.

This thread, for example.

[jimfields33]

71. True and even I participated.

[Tommymac]

14. Being backed by first the Soviets then 1% Oligarch Putin helped a lot.

Money is power.

Trump had lots of powerful people propping him up...he is an ass clown but that fit the role he plays perfectly.

He is a boon for the 1%.

[KS Toronado]

24. Yes, He is a boon for the 1%.

Just like every R President we've had since Ike, they always give their big donors tax breaks.

[Farmer-Rick]

29. This is 1000 times

Yup, money is power in a capitalist economy/political system.

[uponit7771]

16. +1,

[AmBlue]

36. Especially hate radio.

The vile, hateful lies they spew 24/7 is a festering cancer on this country causing so many to hate their fellow citizens. That and Faux, OAN and others are are tearing this nation apart.

[Evolve Dammit]

49. Agree 100%. Limbaugh was on Armed Forces Radio for decades and the program broadcast

extensively on college campus radio stations. I think the number of outlets was 1200 or more. And it has torn us apart. I remember accidentally tuning in to his program in 1989, when the work vehicle I was using only had an AM radio. After 5-10 minutes I was mad, thinking to myself "who is this ASSHOLE??" Such blatant lies. Now hundreds of jocks have copied his model so yeah, it's permeated our nation.

[calimary]

50. All those godawful media outlets.

Like a big red rash spreading across the country.

[AmBlue]

93. I believe in freedom of speech, but...

I'm not sure why 24/7 demonstrable lies and hate speech with the express intention of sewing discord and division is legal. Just like twitter and FB accounts that traffic in falsehoods are now suspended or banned, I think the same should be done with hate radio.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. People have called him out all his life, he just didn't act...

like some one called out.

Every time he failed, which was about every time he tried, he managed to put the blame somewhere else. And some people fell for it but most just didn't care.

[Baitball Blogger]

9. And there is a third group who admire him for getting away with it.

They applaud him every time he avoids consequences.

[shrike3]

45. That group is sadly larger than we'd like to admit.

I told a bigtime Trumpee about Trump's pattern of stiffing people out of money he owed them. His response?

"Sounds like a good businessman to me!"

[Baitball Blogger]

47. +1

[keithbvadu2]

60. Wonder if the Trumpee would agree if he was the one owed the money?

Wonder if the Trumpee would agree if he was the one owed the money?

Rhetorical question of course.

[shrike3]

78. I find these people have an astonishingly lack of empathy

Or ability to put themselves in another's place. That is all.

[Siwsan]

3. He has always surrounded himself with loathsome sycophants.

For the most part, highly defective people. And he was rich enough for people to believe he could destroy them if they spoke out against him.

[FakeNoose]

6. Yes ... a combo of sycophants and litigious lawyers

... and his Daddy's money kept it all going.

[Baitball Blogger]

10. Which is more reason to take seriously all those threatening phone calls that his supporters

keep making to anyone that is contrary to their program.

[dalton99a]

7. And the media let him get away with it.

[Baitball Blogger]

11. What were they thinking?

They never had a long game.

[Tommymac]

15. The Corporate Media is Complicit.

THEY MADE TFG.

[Duppers]

31. Absolutely!

You & Dalton are right imo.

[Sherman A1]

42. Precisely

[lunatica]

74. They can't get enough of him

He knows they will talk about him. He doesn’t need Twitter. As long as he is the news he’s powerful. The media make him the news every day.

[Wolf Frankula]

85. Right. They gushed over the tRump for years

"Oh, he's such a genius." He believed it after a while.

Wolf

[wnylib]

61. Corporate media, owned by

people who favor conservative politics and politicians. They didn't just let him get away with it. They promoted him with their breathless, eager coverage of him. Good for their ratings AND he was a Republican.

[Arazi]

12. I believe experts who surmise he's been an informant for decades

That's why he's skated on his illegal shenanigans for this long.

It would explain a lot about how he's evaded criminal charges so far

[stopdiggin]

17. an informant that is also in bed,

some would say asset, with the Russians (which has also been an open speculation for years)? If the intelligence community had any 'tools' in play in order to control this individual - there is precious little evidence of them ever having employed them.
----- -----

[Arazi]

25. Yup. He's deeply enmeshed with the Russian mob

I believe he's been an informant for decades AND a useful tool for our NatSec community who have also watched/used/manipulated him and his criminal cronies.

Giuliani's going down imo. And soon. He's useless anymore even though he's been running with the same mob as #Traitor for the same amount of time. If the FBI can play it right, I hope they snag Jarvanka, Jr and Eric as well.

There are way too many others to mention obviously but I think when Giuliani goes down there will be some cracks exposing how #Traitor's escaped justice all these years

[stopdiggin]

35. Well, OK

But there is that little thing about crashing the democratic system, massive dis-information campaign (targeting the American public), destabilizing the global order, and sedition ... From this point of view it would seem as though the Russians are gaining more from this asset than our own government (which we tend to believe the 'intelligence' community works in service of).

[Arazi]

44. Definitely agree. There's real angst in the NatSec and law enforcement community

Ex-CIA like John Sipher and ex-FBI like Asha Rangappa and others are ringing alarm bells (and getting louder about it) in public now.

Others who study authoritarianism like Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Sarah Kendzior, Marcy Wheeler have been hair-on-fire for 4+ years now.

Amateur NatSec watchers like Zev Shalev and Greg Olear have pieced together a lot of very incriminating details on what the inaction means and whose involved (and why - usually money money money).

January 6th was a massive national alarm bell. The 2020 BigLie election propaganda is another. The 2022 elections will be a harbinger of whether we stay a democracy imo

[chia]

105. +1,000,000

[Lars39]

46. I do, too, Arazi.

[wnylib]

65. Nah, he would never have

survived this long as an informant.
No elaborate hypothtecal explanation is necessary. He is a sociopath and has been all his life so he's had a lifetime to hone his skills.

[orangecrush]

18. Success?

[dalton99a]

19. And every time he gets away with stuff, he points to it as more proof of Fake News

The cult: "If he's bad like they say, why is he not in jail?"

[Baitball Blogger]

20. +1

[ConstanceCee]

22. Less Coverage Would Help

Too much constant coverage of him in the news. Also, too many photographs. Limiting this would help a lot.

[MineralMan]

23. Success? Is he in his second term right now?

No? I didn't think so. He is no longer the President. He lost. No success.

[Baitball Blogger]

26. I disagree. He hasn't faced serious legal consequences

And his power over his supporters gives him the leverage to keep it that way. He is still a threat in the next election and if we lived in a just world, he wouldn’t be.

[MineralMan]

32. Give it some more time.

We have never charged a former President with a crime. That may change, but will take time to happen.

[Baitball Blogger]

38. Hope you're right.

[MineralMan]

40. Yes. So do I.

I'm not in any position to influence that, though.

[bpj62]

27. One name stands out.

Les Moonves who was the President of CBS in 2016 famously said that Donald Trump was great for ratings. It was all over after that. Most New Yorkers are quite aware that Trump is a sociopath. They never thought he would get this far. The corporate media enabled Donald Trump and to this day they cannot shake thier addiction to anything related to Trump. If Trumo is indicted by either the State of New York or the Feds I can guarantee you that the corporate media will portray Trump as a victim because once again it will generate ratings.
As several other posters have said money is all that matters here.

[Nasruddin]

39. Always useful

1) He's always useful to someone (not just media but that's a big one)
2) There's always another fool who thinks he can ride the tiger (to get #1)

[ProfessorGAC]

64. And, He Was Wrong

The three over air networks did NOT see a statistically significant uptick in ratings due to TFG.
The cable networks were the big winners, & 2 of them mostly spent the last 4 years deservedly bashing him.
So, Moonves was not just cynical, he was wrong.

[c-rational]

28. Good question, how did he succeed. Also, how was 1/6 so downplayed during the moment and to

this day. TFG's wealth (almost 500 MM to start) allowed him to both play the crowd, and subdue it when he chose. Regarding 1/6, the corporate interests of money money money allowed them to turn a blind eye as long as their $$ were not at stake.

[cilla4progress]

30. Would like to know why

there is so much sociopathy / psychopathy going around these days?

Doesn't bode well...

[Baitball Blogger]

51. It is part of living in a capitalist society.

They teach kids in school how to stretch the truth or lie in their resumes. First step.

[cilla4progress]

62. This makes sense to me.

When survival is a matter of stepping on and over others, which capitalism embodies, rather than communally pulling together... this is where it leads.

Woe unto the next generations.

[OldBaldy1701E]

107. When one lives in a society that has two distinctions for lying

As if there are degrees of malfeasance in the act. Lying is lying, regardless of whether it is a 'white' lie or a 'real; one. Lying is one of the things we as a culture are very good at. Depending on who you ask, you will get one thousand different replies as to where we are as a species and as a society, and most of it is a lie. It is also S.O.P. for our society. If you are not the greatest thing since sliced bread, you simply lie until everyone believes it.

[Baitball Blogger]

109. People don't even blink anymore when people get called out for lying on a local level.

Either you'll have people who are so uncomfortable with confrontation that they would be horrified at you for breaking rules of engagement. (i.e.blaming a dark person is okay, but never walk down to the basement of the house, and absolutely never open the door to the room that the good buddies and racists never want you to peer into.) Or you'll have people who know the person is spreading misinformation, but they have a relationship with that person and will support him, no matter what. That's what happens at a local level. Trump, with his Florida country club connection is directly tied to people who play by those rules.

[OldBaldy1701E]

112. Yep! (n/t)

[tblue37]

33. Some suspect he often skated in the past because he sometimes served as a government informant.

[Snackshack]

34. Yep.

It’s frustrating that so many posts and “news” coverage focus on DT as being the problem. He’s not, he is the result of years and years of people and LE and other government agencies looking the other way.

DT could never have done all the damage he did during his 4 yrs as president if not for the help and cover of the GOP. $8 trillion in new debt. A Coup attempt. Attempted blackmail of foreign government. ~780,000 Americans dead. Without the GOP he never even becomes a candidate for President.

The decades before DT was president there were also a lot of eyes that looked the other way.

[malaise]

92. THIS

[90-percent]

37. It never ceases to amaze me.......

It never ceases to amaze me that all the NYC contractors he stiffed since he joined his fathers business didn't give him the Jimmy Hoffa treatment. Especially since NYC was infested with building contractors connected to organized crime. We should have been reading about his disappearance since maybe the mid-eighties.

He got away with his business practices scott free for FIVE DECADES, give or take an occasional loss in court.

Living proof that if you have the right category of sociopath, crime affords a gold plated life without consequences.

-90% Jimmy

[dalton99a]

43. He had a well-connected and well-paid security detail of ex-cops

whom he later rewarded with powerful positions in the campaign and then in the White House

[dlk]

41. When someone has no conscience, they can do anything

It gives them an edge.

[Jetheels]

48. Long before tfg was ever president, his nickname in NYC was Teflon Don. For good reason.

Government corruption all the way through is how he was never called out.
He is a product of lawless NYC, and Roy Cohn.

[dalton99a]

52. And the NYT knew about his criminal dealings.

[Loge23]

53. It comes down to ignorance

Ignorance on the part of so many "Americans" who are locked in to their own idiocy.
The nation is sadly full of stupid people who will follow anyone who offers legitimacy to their flawed understanding of government, freedom, and community.
They are wrong, dead wrong about just about everything. But con men like #tfg and other notable extremists on the right understand this and play them for the fools that they are to prop up their political power.
It's not just #tfg and his astounding rise to power - it's the people who continue to support and empower these idiots - idiots like themselves.
Much more so than COVID - idiocy, stupidity, and ignorance are the most dangerous plagues affecting what remains of the USA.

[The Mouth]

54. The very definition of "Privilege" :

"I guess I am having trouble understanding how someone managed to make it through life without someone calling him out before now"

[secondwind]

55. SiX BANKRUPTCIES.

[Wounded Bear]

56. Just curious...how is any of this really new news?

[Jon King]

58. And how is any of it going to keep us from losing the House in 2022?

I feel like I am watching a bus load of friends heading towards a cliff and yelling and yelling a warning while no one listens.

We have lost swing voters, we have lost independents. None of them care about Trump's misdeeds or 1-6 at all.

They care about gas and food prices. They care about Repugs telling them every day Biden and Dems are soft on crime and borders. They care about Repugs selling them that their kids and grandkids are being taught being white is bad, their little brother was born with no established gender. They are being sold radical lefties are controlling the school curriculum.

Until this site has 100 'how can we help our House candidates get the messaging back for the midterm' threads to every 1 'how terrible Trump and Desantis are' threads....we be in big, big trouble heading into 2022.

[Justice matters.]

77. DU is a great discussion board, but not that much influencal on midterm turnout.

There are occasional OPs in General Discussion calling for activism in congressional districts, but not much activities in the Politics & Government specific groups, and in the U.S. *states* groups under "Places" (on the left-side panel)

All the while, the DNC is working on the midterms and we have Marc Elias's group actively fighting illegal gerrymangerings by repuQs on a daily basis:

Link to tweet

NEW from @SenSchumer : "But just because Republicans will not join us doesn’t mean Democrats should stop fighting. This is too important. Even if it means going at it alone, we will continue to fight for voting rights and work to find an alternative path forward."

[lame54]

57. He's most likely to follow in his shoes

[keithbvadu2]

63. Like Michael Jackson, Trump had enough money to surround himself with sycophants and yes men.

Like Michael Jackson, Trump had enough money to surround himself with sycophants and yes men.

Michael wanted that super duper sleep drug but people of integrity turned him down. He kept asking until he found a doctor who needed money.

[Sherman A1]

66. The patterns are emerging?????

Anyone paying the least bit of attention figured this out long, long ago.....

[OMGWTF]

67. I found this gem in with my Christmas cards, of all places. I think it originated here on DU:

"Don the Con is a ramshackle makeshift train wreck carrying a cast of pig-shit-covered lunatics down the tracks into a wasteland."

Sounds about right.

[Baitball Blogger]

82. In a nutshell.

[Desert Dog]

68. Mob boss

He thinks he is a mob boss. That is his management style- if you will. It is all about loyalty to him and vengeance for others. The dudes ego is so huge that he thinks he can create his own reality. GQP is so afraid of his followers that they cower in silence at his daily antics.

There is only one way to get rid of a mob boss. I am convinced that a crazy conservative will get to him and it wont end well. Maybe one of the 1/6 traitors that he abandoned? One huge mistake with Democrats / DOJ is believing that he would go away. No chance. That dude is addicted to power like no American we have seen in decades. His endless stream of BS will overshadow the Biden presidency and dominate the corporate media. The DOJ should not wait for congress to do their job for them. Stormy case and obstruction charges are just waiting for them. Drag lard ass into court and make GQP support the indicted loser.

[bucolic_frolic]

69. They needed him as much as he needed them.

[NullTuples]

70. Until he's in prison...he hasn't actually been "called out"

Accusations can be thrown, there can be investigations & court cases but that's all happened before with him. That's normal for him. Also normal for him is his role of useful idiot to those with just as much greed but far more power, ambition and stealth.

[traitorsgalore]

72. 40 years of GOP dumbing down of America, 100 years of propaganda, 155 years of confederacy

A nation built on lies and stupidity that's in major decline and about to expire unless corruption is dealt with immediately. Trump is just a symptom, a symbol of what we've become.

[Baitball Blogger]

81. +1

[Grasswire2]

73. always see him through the MOB lens

It explains most things.

[C Moon]

75. I still say that outside of being racist asses, these Republican are owned by Russian money.

They all dipped their greasy, dirty hands into the Russian cookie jar.

[Joinfortmill]

89. Yup.

[onecaliberal]

76. Credibly accused of sexual assault 29 times.

[Joinfortmill]

90. Holy shit

[13Dogs]

79. A success?

So you classify a mentally ill guy responsible for hundred of thousands of unnecessary deaths as a success? What would a failure look like in your eyes? With titles this stupid we’re doing the R’s work for them. Do better

[Baitball Blogger]

80. Yours is a linguistic game that really serves no purpose.

He was successful in twisting reality to his advantage. And until we do better in putting up good guardrails to protect us against people like him, our democracy will continue to be in a vulnerable situation.

[Baitball Blogger]

98. Sounds like the problem is yours.

Playing a linguistic game isn't going to change our reality. 75% of the solution is understanding the problem we're dealing with. And I would suggest you be careful with how you launch accusations at DUers. Perhaps you should reread the Terms of Service.

[JI7]

83. What's new about any of this ? As long as he hates minorities and women

he will keep certain support in this country.

[kairos12]

86. The Media has never been able to quit him. He makes them $.

In addition, if you have to work your way through platoons of lawyers people give up.

Even U.S. Housing Authorities essentially gave up on his racist housing practices in the 70s.

[Baitball Blogger]

88. The laws should be changed to prevent someone from using this kind of political might

to overpower a plaintiff in a legal case. The law should be about getting down to the truth in a civil case, since corrupt, evil people are very good at overpowering the only system that will protect ordinary people. The police and city government couldn't care less what happens "privately" even though they are good at using the backwater channels to conspire with those who are abusing the system.

[Joinfortmill]

87. Here's looking at you New York. NY.

[Blue Owl]

91. tRump 's success is because too many stupid people love guzzling bullshit

[demtenjeep]

96. he has been corrupt all his life

he thinks the rules don't apply to him




and people let him get away with it

[colsohlibgal]

97. He Is Dumb And Evil

A sociopath and more. That tens of millions would vote for that should tell us the USA is on the precipice. We need a vaccine for cluelessness.

[CaptainTruth]

99. Research all the condos he sold to people but then never built.

He's been doing his crap & lying & ripping people off his entire life. Yes, he has been "called out" for it, thousands of times over the decades in thousands of lawsuits & charges against him. The thing is he always manages to reach a settlement & keep people quiet by throwing lawyers & money at the problem.

How people don't know this, & how they could possibly support him, is beyond me. It's willfull ignorance.

[Baitball Blogger]

110. We should revisit the eighties, because something happened during that time with real estate that

set the stage for a lot of the bad character flaws that seemed to have stuck. So many swift land deals were made, so many rules broken because of bankruptcies. I think people came out of that period thinking it was the new norm.

[summer_in_TX]

101. A key question.

We need to take a look at the norms blown through and make many of them into laws.

[cstanleytech]

102. Well as for the whole Georgia issue I honestly doubt anything will happen to Trump asking to

find the votes as Trump will claim he meant he wanted the votes recounted.

[Mr.Bill]

103. Excuse me? Trump's success?

What has he been successful at? He has failed at everything he has ever done.

[halfulglas]

104. It's all part of the reality show loving phenomon.

He doesn't use a gun himself, but he encourages violence. He keeps churning the chaos and a large segment of the public gives him their lives and their souls while the media makes oodles of money on the spectacle. He does a lot of it in plain sight alternating between the strongman and the victim and his public loves it. Meanwhile behind the curtain are numerous slimy operatives who know he isn't going to last forever but they hope to have the reins of the fascist movement well in hand for themselves as rulers.

[Baitball Blogger]

111. He does have his own language. He usually doesn't come out and order people to

break the law (I think the Georgia Gimme was an exception.) but he does wistfully say out loud what he wants, and his underlings will do whatever they have to do to bring it to him.

This also happens in city government, which is something I might know about from research and personal observation. And when the city gets called on the carpet for a mysterious zoning approval, for example, the underlying will reveal the conversation that led him to believe the approvals were desired by the higher ups. And the higher ups have plausible deniability. Except, that it's a game that has been played out so often, no one believes them.

[New Breed Leader]

106. Read Mary Trump's book. That will tell you all you need to know

Nm

[Baitball Blogger]

108. I think there are people who will stand out as makiing heroic efforts to stop him.

And, God forgive me for saying it, but Mike Pence will be one of them. The Georgia elections officer who refused to throw the election for Trump will be another. But, yes, Mary Trump's story is also important.