Trump's "except for day 1" dictatorship remark.

[hay rick]

The quote:

“We’re closing the border. And we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.”

As far as I know, elevating "drill, drill, drill" into the lofty realm of top two Trumpian talking points is a new development. I think this reflects a demonstration of submissiveness domestically to the Koch political machine and internationally to the pro-fossil fuel forces currently gathered in Dubai for COP28.

Trump is afraid of real billionaires and he knows he can't "win" the 2024 election without their support.

[Maeve]

1. He didn't answer the real question

Which is typical....yes, he'll go after perceived enemies and try to harass them!

[RobertDevereaux]

2. And "January 20th" will thenceforth...

. . . be the name of every 24-hour period ever after

"DAY ONE" shall last FOREVER.

[EleanorR]

3. Not a new development

Trump Moves to Open Nearly All Offshore Waters to Drilling-

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-drilling/trump-administration-issues-last-minute-arctic-refuge-drilling-leases-idUSKBN29O2K5/

On his last day in office he issued drilling leases on more than 400,000 acres (160,000 hectares) of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)-

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/climate/trump-offshore-drilling.html

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Thursday it would allow new offshore oil and gas drilling in nearly all United States coastal waters, giving energy companies access to leases off California for the first time in decades and opening more than a billion acres in the Arctic and along the Eastern Seaboard.Jan 4, 2018

Trump ‘turns back the clock’ by luring drilling companies to pristine lands-

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/feb/12/trumps-legacy-drilled-public-lands-and-the-resulting-carbon-emissions

The Trump administration has offered oil companies a chunk of the American west and the Gulf of Mexico that’s four times the size of California – an expansive drilling plan that threatens to entrench the industry at the expense of other outdoor jobs, while locking in enough emissions to undermine global climate policy.

Energy companies have leased 9.9m acres from the unprecedented 461m acres put up for rent by the Trump administration, according to a new analysis from the Wilderness Society.

[hay rick]

6. The new development is elevating his miserable fossil fuel policies to "top two" issue status. nt

[llmart]

4. He's such a jackass.

He thinks he's funny when he says stuff like this. He really does.

I honestly wish this creature would give us all a Christmas present and croak already.

[MiHale]

5. Maybe it meant drilling down for info...

On his perceived enemies. Or drilling down the list. Or drilling into his enemies heads on 5th Ave.

Try to find logic with an insane demented person.

[Johonny]

7. I just think he has no new material

He has no understanding of the state of world affairs or actual issues in America. It's impossible to understand his appeal. It's certainly not because he's addressing key issues. For instance, oil prices are currently dropping from over supply.

[hay rick]

9. I agree.

He doesn't know or care about issues. His bluster is a defensive mechanism to insulate himself from the need to engage in serious discussion about anything.

My speculation is he doesn't think about climate change and fossil fuels as an issue so much as labels that identify groups of people who may or may not be useful to him. Part of his fear of the fossil fuel people is that they are highly focused and capable propagandists. If he can't get their direct support, he wants to signal that he is not a threat to their profits.

I also don't understand Trump's appeal. I believe a lot of the people that express support for him publicly or in polling actually dislike and disrespect him. Supporting him is a way of rejecting the burden of responsible adult citizenship.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

11. Are you for real?

I also don't understand Trump's appeal.

He's a racist, like a significant percentage of Americans. Why would anyone find it odd or bewildering that racists love a racist?

I believe a lot of the people that express support for him publicly or in polling actually dislike and disrespect him.

You can believe whatever you want, but reality doesn't care about beliefs, only facts. Facts like, oh, how racist white Americans adore and respect TFG. They really do. They don't hate him at all. They think he's wonderful.

I don't know how you've managed to avoid that much reality, but it's time to wake up.

You are surrounded by bigoted, violent monsters. They are everywhere--even in the bluest of blue cities. And a whole bunch of them want you dead for not marching lockstep with them.

Welcome to reality.

[hay rick]

8. The drill, drill, drill statement is also relevant to his primary opposition.

He is echoing Ramaswamy who is a supporter. He also might want to engage Haley on the issue because she has admitted that climate change is real- even though she helped engineer the withdrawal from the Paris Accord and has clearly signaled that she is on the "abatement" side of the current COP28 discussions.

[GuppyGal]

10. Maybe he's going to 'drill drill drill' his perceived 'enemies' nt