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 Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

CaliforniaPeggy

(153,816 posts)
Sun Mar 16, 2025, 11:17 PM Mar 16

How do we get rid of Trump? Ian Boothby has something to say about that.

Ian Boothby
March 11, 2025.

People are still trying to attack Trump by pointing out his hypocrisy, the incompetence of his staff and the reality that the economy is tanking and his policies have no hope of actually working.

These would be solid hits against any other politician, but they don’t work on Trump. Democrats are like the soldiers still shooting at Godzilla. They do it because it’s all they know how to do but it’s not working and they keep getting stomped on.
They’re attacking him like he’s a politician and he’s not. He never has been.

He’s a celebrity. That’s it. Sometimes he’s a celebrity real estate mogul, sometimes a celebrity reality tv host and sometimes a celebrity president.

Do you remember when The Apprentice was cancelled? You do? Well, good news if you liked it, bad news if you didn’t, it never stopped. It just went global. You’re living in the show right now, Black Mirror style. Nothing he does makes sense as the leader of a country and everything makes perfect sense as a reality show producer.

Everyone he’s hired have no idea how to do their job but are great reality show material. The anti-vax nut in charge of health care? The guy with no experience and a drinking problem in charge of the military? The head of the FBI can’t believe he got the gig and hired an extreme right wing podcaster as his voice of reason? How can you not watch that train wreck? Actually it’s plane crashes but you get it.

It’s a TV show and so all that matters to him are the ratings. He’s said it over and over. After the terrible Zelenskyy meeting the last thing he said was, “This is going to make great TV”. Almost 60,000 Ukrainians dead and he and Vance set up their own Real Housewives scenario where they called Zelenskyy ungrateful, bragged about themselves and made fun of his clothes. Made no sense in reality but perfect sense if your goal is ratings.

Trump is producing a reality show because it one of the only things he knows how to do. And he’s learned that it doesn’t matter how bad things get, he’ll be safe and the show will be renewed as long as there are eyeballs on him interested in what he’s doing. In the world of real life he’s a felon in court answering charges and paying for sexual assault. As long as he’s on TV he’s safe. A million Americans died from a disease he called a hoax because reality wasn’t good for the plot of the show he was producing.
He won the popular vote because doing extreme things is interesting. Keeping things in chaos keeps you the centre of attention. There’s no winning in winning, only in saying you’re about to win. Ratings go down when plot lines are resolved. You can never have a healthcare plan, a great one has to always been a few weeks away. Once something exists it becomes reality and people can judge it. Keep things nuts and all hope in the future and you’re gold.

So how do you beat him? Run a qualified sensible candidate against him? Maybe, reality has the advantage if it actually being real. But you need to weaken him first.

Remember how mad he got at Alec Baldwin’s impression on Saturday Night Live? Really got under his skin. Because Trump is about image and Baldwin’s impression was a counter image that made him look ugly. Baldwin was enough of a celebrity to enter into the only world Trump cares about. It made Trump number two on the call sheet.

The same thing happened with Steve Bannon. The hashtag #PresidentBannon started to trend after a popular editorial cartoon and some Tweets saying Bannon was the one actually in charge and it caused a big split between them. Because Trump can’t be the co-star. He needs to be what he was on The Apprentice, the be all and end all voice of authority and power. Unquestionable. With the final say on all issues. If he’s not, he’s got nothing.

He was furious at Spy magazine for saying he had small hands. So much so he bragged about his penis size in a debate. He has doctors tell people he’s taller than he is and weighs less than he obviously does. He cannot have any shortcomings. He’s a reality show character, and like most of them with the name of a real person but more fiction than an actual person.

So to bring him down you need to attack one thing, his image. You need something fictional with a core of truth that takes the place of the fiction he’s presenting. Like JD Vance having sex with a couch. A stickier narrative than the one they’re putting forth.
The problem with just attacking with the truth is it’s not as interesting or appealing as a good made up story. You need to back up the truth with facts and by the time you do that people have lost interest. It’s what John Oliver has shown, wrap the medicine of the truth in the tasty cheese of jokes and made up scenarios and that pet might actually get better.

The only things that have worked against Trump are image based. Jokes. Memes. Sketches. Cartoons. They’re the first thing you need to do in the boss level of the video game before any of your truth based hits can land and bring them down.

You’re in Season 21 of The Apprentice. Like it or not. Time to be like past Celebrity Apprentice winner Joan Rivers and get mean and hilarious. All that matters is today. No one remembers last week. People write books with the most horrific stories but they might as well take place in the Roman Empire. You’re on the reality show now, make a scene, take focus, mess with his image, it’s all he has. Once that’s gone, he falls.

Time to cancel this terrible show.

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10171784500985001&set=a.10151086445775001

24 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
How do we get rid of Trump? Ian Boothby has something to say about that. (Original Post) CaliforniaPeggy Mar 16 OP
He's right. Flux Mar 16 #1
Kick knr I_UndergroundPanther Mar 16 #2
Do you mean... oldsoldierfadingfast Mar 17 #3
Making fun of him works, so that joke might be a start. CaliforniaPeggy Mar 17 #8
Kick canetoad Mar 17 #4
Spot on. n/t yellow dahlia Mar 17 #5
Take down the news network that turned the government into a reality show clown show. Initech Mar 17 #6
Make fun of him. Get under his skin. FuzzyRabbit Mar 17 #7
Mock him and then do him in. pandr32 Mar 17 #9
Mass action of all kinds, especially economic, will bring his ratings to the fore and get under his skin Bernardo de La Paz Mar 17 #10
Thank you for this, my dear Bernardo de La Paz! This is a great idea. nt CaliforniaPeggy Mar 17 #11
Make it the Summer of Reclaiming Democracy. . . . .nt Bernardo de La Paz Mar 17 #13
How did "The Apprentice" get rid of him? Hugin Mar 17 #12
I think this is right. Figarosmom Mar 17 #14
Nobody remembers last week crud Mar 17 #15
I have to disagree. LT Barclay Mar 17 #16
Gawd. Fucking. Damn. AKwannabe Mar 17 #17
Well yeah. Gubment is just a TV show. moondust Mar 17 #18
"So to bring him down you need to attack one thing, his image." J_William_Ryan Mar 17 #19
Late night rage inducing cardiac arrest? nt. druidity33 Mar 17 #24
kick must read HAB911 Mar 17 #20
Yup, he came right out and whined, "I hate being laughed at." GoCubsGo Mar 17 #21
Cancel the show malaise Mar 17 #22
This is why "weird" worked alarimer Mar 17 #23
3. Do you mean...
Mon Mar 17, 2025, 12:05 AM
Mar 17

with jokes like this one?
Q. - Why doesn't Trump have to zip up his pants?
A - Because what can't get up, can't get out!

canetoad

(19,005 posts)
4. Kick
Mon Mar 17, 2025, 12:06 AM
Mar 17

This is an important read, thanks for posting, Peggy.

It's all true. I hope someone pays attention to this.

Initech

(104,802 posts)
6. Take down the news network that turned the government into a reality show clown show.
Mon Mar 17, 2025, 12:12 AM
Mar 17

I'm of course talking about Fox. We need to take them down, they're the source of the madness.

FuzzyRabbit

(2,147 posts)
7. Make fun of him. Get under his skin.
Mon Mar 17, 2025, 12:33 AM
Mar 17

It may not work to get rid of him, but it sounds like more fun than continuing to tilt uselessly at the Trump windmill.

Nice find, Peggy.

Bernardo de La Paz

(55,566 posts)
10. Mass action of all kinds, especially economic, will bring his ratings to the fore and get under his skin
Mon Mar 17, 2025, 12:44 AM
Mar 17

The stock market is like a TV ratings meter. He thinks he's such a genius and a little correction here or there is no problem. His bubble tells him there will be pain, but it will be brief and not deep. When that turns out to be false, be ready with mass action. Make it so that a dozen Republican Senators request a meeting with the White House as an impeachment bill enters committee. When RepubliCons and maga turn on him, he will truly be done.

Figarosmom

(5,593 posts)
14. I think this is right.
Mon Mar 17, 2025, 01:07 AM
Mar 17

I don't watch SNL any more because there is nothing nean about the way tsf us played on there any more. Baldwin was down right mean.James Austin Johnson just makes him seem fuddy dud.

LT Barclay

(2,926 posts)
16. I have to disagree.
Mon Mar 17, 2025, 01:19 AM
Mar 17

If it was ratings, he would be more concerned about the large percentage of the country that hates him.
I think stronger motivators are greed, the need to feel powerful, and the need to be accepted by other billionaires because in his heart he knows he is a failure.
So he executes the policies fed to him for those reasons, but I will contend unless hopefully proven wrong, that the billionaires are intent on reducing global population by war, disease, famine and death:

?si=7b981b0I688txucP

moondust

(20,859 posts)
18. Well yeah. Gubment is just a TV show.
Mon Mar 17, 2025, 03:17 AM
Mar 17

Old Ronny Raygun was a B-list actor who rode his horse around for the cameras in his cowboy hat and the GOPee loved it! They've always been the party of "all the imagery money can buy." Media love following actors around, showing the scenes to their viewers, and discussing it endlessly. That's what they do! And it pays! Ain't it great!


J_William_Ryan

(2,722 posts)
19. "So to bring him down you need to attack one thing, his image."
Mon Mar 17, 2025, 03:45 AM
Mar 17

Okay, so what constitutes ‘bringing him down’?

Congressional Republicans remove Trump via the impeachment process.

Trump is removed via the 25th Amendment.

Trump resigns.

Not seeing any of the above happening.

GoCubsGo

(33,814 posts)
21. Yup, he came right out and whined, "I hate being laughed at."
Mon Mar 17, 2025, 08:12 AM
Mar 17

It was at a campaign event some time late last spring or early summer. Bob Cesca plays the clip of him saying it on his podcast at least once a month. And, we're ultimately here because he was upset that Barack Obama made fun of him at the Press Corps dinner. He's the most thin-skinned piece of shit in existence. Mock the ever-loving hell out of him.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»How do we get rid of Trum...