Well, I just texted my MAGA Dad.

[Coventina]

As you know, I basically cut off associating with him last October, when I found out he was going to vote for RUMP.

I texted him the following message:

So how do you feel about Trump tearing down the East Wing of the White House to build his ballroom? With zero permission or accountability? And spending $260 million taxpayer dollars to do it? What if Obama had done that?

He's read it, but not responded.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

He's either pissed at me, or ashamed, or maybe both.

I probably shouldn't have done that, but I'm just soooooooooooooooooooooooooo angry about this!



It's shitheads like him that has enabled this.....

[BeerBarrelPolka]

1. It's a cult

And it's OK for you to vent.

[Coventina]

2. Thanks.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

5. I feel like you

Not in a family way as I have no family, but in a people way. I just want the magats to snap out of it, but they won't.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

3. MAGAs.. "what about..."

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. Yeah, but what about when Obama wore a tan suit?

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

6. and "what about" when Michelle Obama went sleeveless?

[JoseBalow]

29. If I had arms like hers, I'd go sleeveless too!

[Wuddles440]

76. And what about those "mom jeans"...

A national "crisis". Oh, the humanity!

[chouchou]

7. It's possible that your father knows he voted for the wrong person...

...and is severely embarrassed. I have a friend exactly like that. (She won't admit it)

[ShazzieB]

18. Yeah, people don't lIke admitting when they're wrong

[Dr. T]

22. It's easier to fool someone

than convince them that they've been fooled. I think that's a Mark Twain quote.

[ShazzieB]

23. Whoevsr said it, I definitely agree!

[moose65]

62. Spot on!

There are two quotes that adequately sum up the MAGAs:

1. It is easier to fool someone than to convince them they’ve been fooled.

2. There are none so blind as those who will not see.

[vanlassie]

63. And yet. The truth will set you free!

[Coventina]

8. OH MY FUCKING GOD!!!!!! Here is his response:

"It was emphasized that it is not tax payer dollars. As to changes to the White House, I'm sure each president/First lady has made their own adaptations. This one may be on a larger scale than others. The White House appears to be more a location for hosting people and events than for housing the first family. Biden didn't use it much."

FUCK HIM!

He's dying and he can't die fast enough for me!

[BOSSHOG]

10. As soybean farmers in fly over country would say

Maybe the president will pay us next year.

[MIButterfly]

11. Not tax payer dollars? Then what else? Everybody knows DJT doesn't use his own money for anything.

I'm sorry about your father. He sounds like my uncle; he has an excuse for everything DJT does and I mean EVERYTHING. There's no reasoning with this type of person. Absolutely none. It's an exercise in futility. That's why I never talk politics with him and change the subject when he starts.

Of course, my tongue hurts like hell from biting it but that's the price I have to pay for keeping the peace.

[Ilsa]

49. Donations from

CEOs and other entities rump will owe huge favors to after it's finished. Possibly a huge money laundering scheme right in our faces.

[Big Blue Marble]

54. Donations or bribes...

you decide.

[sop]

64. "A vile big-box Barbie Dream House ballroom so Trump can pack more in more paying sycophants per square foot."

- Rick Wilson

Trump's gilded throne isn't depicted in the architect's renderings of the ballroom's interior, but you can bet there will be an elevated dais where the monarch will sit and receive gifts from members of his court to win favor, display loyalty, and secure patronage.

[Blue Full Moon]

65. That's what he is good at.

106 money laundering charges. His casino's slot machines was used to pay Russians. Jim Baker used the example to say that insiders with access, can program the machines.

[travelingthrulife]

70. He's turning tricks for rich people as always.

[erronis]

12. Sometimes you just have to admit that a relative (even a parent) is not worth the air they breathe.

I'm sorry. The genetic ties are strong, but the intellectual/social ties are better. Best when they are in sync, but not always common.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

14. I'm so sorry

That's a cult member response

[Mz Pip]

19. There are procedures for renovations

Trump bypassed all of them and just went ahead with what he wanted. Nobody had the guts to stop him.

[Polybius]

30. You want him to die just because he voted for Trump?

That's a bit much. His response was rather tame compared to the rest of MAGA.

[Coventina]

34. I want him to die before I grow to despise him

I feel like all my memories are tainted now. He was a closet nazi all the time

[Groundhawg]

59. That Isn't very tolerant.

[Bettie]

66. Being tolerant of the intolerable

is how we got to this place in this country.

[Groundhawg]

72. Tolerance doesn't have limits and we are the party of tolerance. Not just to whom we like.

[Bettie]

77. So, we should just accept the abusive

assholes and make excuses for them?

Nope.

That is literally how we got here, everyone accepted and excused the worst possible people for so many years that...well, we're here, with internet trolls running every aspect of our government.

[Groundhawg]

78. So you think we should be intolerant.

[Groundhawg]

95. Being tolerant does NOT mean we make excuses for anyone, It means we are tolerant.

[Coventina]

87. Well, he is not tolerant of LGBTQ+ people or immigrants.

Why should I show tolerance to bigotry?

[Bettie]

96. You shouldn't

none of us should.

As I've said. This is how we got here...we were tolerant of their views and they doubled down over and over on the hate and bigotry. In tolerating it, we tacitly told them that it was OK to be monsters.

I'm done with it. I'm not going to pretend that any of this is okay.

I'm no longer going to try to pretend that MAGAts are the same as the rest of us. They have shown us who they are, who and what they have always been deep inside, and we should believe them.

We should also treat them as they treat, well, everyone else. Maybe that will hold up a mirror for them to see...I doubt it, but we can give it a shot.

Some of them are lost at this point.

[Melon]

69. This is wrong. He's your father.

Most here are on the extreme side of hatred, but you need to ground yourself. Trump will be gone in 3 years. Your father raised you from birth and his presence should be irreplaceable. We hate trump but as an American he’s entitled to one vote, just like you.

[CTyankee]

74. I'm hoping for an early demise. Yeah, we get JD but we got him figured out. Tsf is batshit crazy.

Crazy evil is so unpredictable...

[PatSeg]

80. I agree

Evil + crazy is terrifying and yes "so unpredictable". Some of the things he's doing and saying go beyond evil.

[Coventina]

88. Please explain what you mean by

"Most here are on the extreme side of hatred"

[ColoringFool]

60. Votes for Trump Are Votes for Trump's Actions

And his actions have caused deaths, from Covid-19 to the Caribbean.

[womanofthehills]

81. Agree - I find this post very sad

Why don’t you just agree to not speak politics? Wanting a family member to die is not a healthy place to be in.

[Coventina]

89. Sorry, I'm not going to be a good German and get along just to get along. n/t

[Polybius]

92. So you want half the population dead?

That's worse.

[Coventina]

93. The only good Nazi is a dead Nazi. n/t

[Polybius]

94. That word is used far too loosely by many on this board n/t

[OMGWTF]

31. You have my sympathy. He's already dead to you just like my Talibangelical MAGAt mother is dead to me.

[Bettie]

67. My MAGAt brothers are in that category

I no longer have time or energy to deal with them. It isn't worth the time or frustration.

[paleotn]

32. So....Donnie is going to stiff the contractors again?

[mountain grammy]

35. Thanks for sharing.. good to know in advance

what the brain dead response will be from the cult. I wondered how they would spin it and boy can they spin.

This is infuriating what he's doing. He's a pig and has no intention of leaving alive so everyday I wake up and ask:

Is he dead yet?

[Martin Eden]

38. How the ballroom is being funded is still largely unknown

I checked multiple sources including BBC, and all are reporting private funding -- though that remains to be seen.

Your father is at best gullible in characterizing the demolition of the East Wing and construction of a huge ballroom as the kind of renovations previous presidents have done. Facts and common sense refute that Faux Noise talking point.

And, of course, what he's doing is not lawful. He fired the board that governs such things, then promoted one of his own staff to say the laws don't pertain to demolition.

There are even worse abuses of power by this administration you can cite, though your dad is likely to respond with more righwing gaslight talking ooints.

[calimary]

50. I'm SO SORRY you have to go through something like this at a time like this.

Just bad all around. But looking at those demolition photos - O. M. G. OMG OMG OMG!!!

[LymphocyteLover]

84. So Sorry. I was arguing with MAGAts on FB and they honestly just don't think it's a big deal at all.

So depressing.

[stollen]

85. Hello??

Your dad will forgive Trump anything.

How do you do the holidays?

[Coventina]

86. I'm not going to see him for the holidays.

It will be a blessing.

[stollen]

98. Smart

I left the country to avoid people with fascist leanings, relations or not. Rellies will never get it, and I'm not going to talk banal subject matter when an attempted coup is going on.

[flying_wahini]

90. He had to go see what Fox News was regurgitating

Before he was able to answer.
Their brains only remember what they tell them for about a week.

[alcuno]

97. So your dad's response is pretty reasonable.

His language and tone seem pretty measured to me. This idea that the White House is somehow like a banquet hall (a place for hosting events) is really quite curious. Like who decided that? Maybe I watched too many episodes of the West Wing but I always thought it was the place where the president worked.

You started this dialogue with your father and it's kinda nice that he answered you. Why not just tell him what you think and why this hurts you personally. Why the deceit hurts us all. Saying the White House wouldn't be touched and then knocking the whole East Wing down. Putting in a ballroom/banquet hall by lying to the American people. It may or may not be our money paying for it but anyone in on the plan/construction will get our tax dollars in other ways. That's how these people operate.

[Trueblue Texan]

9. Call it an intervention to his Right wing addiction...

...and be proud of holding him accountable.

[Coventina]

13. LESSON LEARNED HERE: DON"T REACH OUT TO MAGATS!

Gods, I'm so stupid!



ETA: And his response about Obama? He claims he wouldn't have cared. What a crock of shit!

[BeerBarrelPolka]

16. You're not stupid

You are wishful.

[Cha]

17. You're Hurting like so many of

of us.

[lostnfound]

24. It takes more than once. Deprogrammers say to ask questions...

asking questions causes cult members to ask questions of themselves, too. So the question to follow up with is: “you’re right. Dad, private people ARE paying for it — got any ideas what they hope to get in exchange for their big donations?” Like what’s the payoff? Will it be good for the country?

According to Robert Reich:
-Google, whose CEO thanked Trump for "resolution" of an antitrust case
-Palantir, which has lucrative contracts with ICE
-Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman, who would profit from Trump's regulatory rollbacks for private equity

[Cha]

15. There's No "What Abouts?" here... This

is Tearing Down the East Wing of the People's House to build himself a Vanity ballroom for Fascists.. and Spending $250 Million $$$ of Our Tax Payers $$$$ To Do It.

Unamerican Shitting on the American People. May Karma Get his Nazi Ass Soon!

[BigmanPigman]

20. As soon as I read your OP I asked out loud,

"Why would you do that?". I guess you won't be doing this again for a while, if ever. Go with your instinct! It keeps me from doing stuff like that, which I am often considering doing but then my instinct tells me "why would you do that, will it matter, will it change anything, will it make me even more pissed off?". I am an emotional person and I KNOW the answer...it WILL make me MORE pissed off!!!!!

[Coventina]

21. I knew Trump has no bottom. I guess I thought my dad did.

He does not.

Stupid of me. There is no bottom for cult members.

[electric_blue68]

41. I'm sorry. It's a distressing situation.

[BidenRocks]

25. Frankenstein's Monster is in the White House castle.

We are the Villagers.

It's only a matter of when.

[Coventina]

27. That's an insult to the Monster.

But, I get and appreciate your sentiment!

[Dave Bowman]

28. But please no Tiki torches, the idiots looked ridiculous when they used them in Charlottesville.

[mntleo2]

26. Maybe you could ask ...

How happy he is about jacking up his healthcare so tRump's greedy $billionaire buddies can buy a bigger yachts and/or jets to hell with any other Americans? the No Kings march and Bernie Sanders speeches are heueueuege and not all of them are progressives.

Is he ecstatic that your dad gets tm make rich men richer? Here is an article about it: https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/aca-marketplace-premium-payments-would-more-than-double-on-average-next-year-if-enhanced-premium-tax-credits-expire/

Just sayin' ...

Cat from Seattle

[Remball]

33. Ballroom funding

Supposedly it is funded by private donors, known and anonymous, and by Trump. Supposedly no taxpayer money involved.

[Norrrm]

36. Probably with no accountability for money collected vs spent with 'profit/excess' going to Trump.

[dedl67]

61. Right, and the donors will want nothing in return?

You sound a bit on the innocent side.

[bluestarone]

68. YOU believe this?

[herding cats]

39. I am so sorry.

I've lost people dear to me too. I know how it hurts deep down even though it's for our own good.

I doubt he's suddenly become self aware. They're so deep down that rabbit hole. I had an elderly uber driver from a nearby rural town working in Austin (TX) pick me up a few weeks ago to give me and my daughter ride downtown. Her profile said she was driving because she was paying for her husband's brain cancer treatment. I told her I was sorry her husband was sick. My daughter told her I was also battling cancer and struggling financially to stay alive. I mentioned she might look into Obamacare to see if it might help her. She said it's the ACA, not Obamacare, and Trump was working on a better plan and how he was the best thing to happen to this country in ages. By the time she dropped us off my daughter and I both bolted from the vehicle.

[usonian]

40. Graphic in the works. I was busy today but had many inspirations.

I'll alert you, so you can share.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

43. Odd post. Nothing to do with the OP, has spelling error, oddly pointed invocation. . . . nt

[canetoad]

44. I hope the bot

Takes your reasoned criticism on board.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

46. Three posts with three insincere misspellings. Still nothing to do with the OP. . . . . nt

[JoseBalow]

52. This looks like a troll

I can tell from some of the pixels, and from seeing quite a few trolls in my time.

[Emile]

57. Who is Mamdini?

[FHRRK]

47. Sorry about your father

But at this point, all Trump supporters are bad.

It isn’t you that is the problem, unless he is a billionaire, in which case he is still the problem.

[usonian]

48. Share

caveat maga

[Bread and Circuses]

51. Keep it up! Republican voters OWN this shite show

[Keepthesoulalive]

53. Don't beat yourself up because you have a good heart

And you wanted him to have one too. He is sick with fear, hate and selfishness. I am glad you don’t have that burden. For whatever reason we have all had to adjust to new family situations. Your family and friends are here.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

91. That was touching.

[usonian]

55. A late night thought.

You really aren't talking to the person. You're talking to what amounts to a chatbot programmed to respond in a predetermined way. The real person under there no doubt has flaws, but a cult member gives up individuality, so you really are talking to the cult persona, or chatbot, IMO.

Like I said, that does not wash away personal flaws, but those are subjugated, and while they are indeed "improvable", the group mind is in control until the spell is broken. I read a bit on cults, for survival in these times, and a couple of possible escapes are a feeling of betrayal, and also inability to keep holding the contradictions in one's mind that cults demand. I defer to experts, but none of this is easy.

[kellytore]

58. I have cut off all communications with two of my sisters

who continuously defend Trump's actions. A friend of mine told me that life is too short to not associate with family. I told her life is too short to be around fuckers who are hateful.

[dedl67]

73. It can be tough to cut off people with whom you are related ...

... or who are friends or with whom you do business. However, there come times at which it must be done. At this time, folks who follow Trump are complicit in the evil he is doing. They don’t seem to mind, or may even delight in, the harm he does to people and our country. These MAGA people are not worth the time and effort to stay connected with. I say, let them stew in their own juices.

[womanofthehills]

82. I live in a very small town - half Republican & half Dem

I’m nice to everyone. If I know a person is a Republican, I do not bring up politics. Our mayor is a Democrat but he’s such a great guy, he’s even loved by some Republicans in town. . When I was sick, who brought me soup ??- 2 Republican women in my town and 90% of my friends are Dem.


I would never cut off family for political views - Actually- most of my family, except for my granddaughter, just do not pay as much attention to politics as we do.

Trump is one of the most evil people on earth along with Netanyahu-

At least the young - both Republican & Dem youth are anti-war so hopefully the future will be more peaceful.

Genocide is what keeps me up at night - thousands of kids with no legs & no food - not White House ballroom narcissistic stuff. When a narcissist acts like a narcissist - we can’t be surprised 🙃 Of course he will want a gold gold gold best ever ballroom. He thinks he’s a Saudi prince.

That’s really gross & shitty about the White House but it will pass - but the tens of thousands of Gaza kids will have no limbs and many will be orphans forever.

[Rebl2]

71. trump said

the ballroom is paid for with his and private funds, but I never believed that for a second because he lies about everything.

[maxsolomon]

75. You'll never reach him through confrontation.

If he's fully in the bubble, I doubt your Dad even knows about it.

When I ask mine if he's seen X or Y MFer outrage, he hasn't. I never ask what he THINKS about it, because he doesn't. He's 89 and he watches Fox.

He knew about Antifa burning down Portland, though.

[H2O Man]

79. Very good.

I have asked my niece in Portland about the fires. She assures me that the only one she has seen was limited to candles on one of her daughter's birthday cake. Luckily, no one was injured, and no property damage ..... only some cute photos for her to send to her favorite uncle.

In my full extended family, there are but three out of a few hundred that watch Fox, etc. In limited conversations with them, I am reminded of when the Hurricane used to quote Mark Twain in his letters. One of my favorites went something like, "The problem today is not one of ignorance, it's of people knowing so much that just isn't so." Hence, in my long lifetime, I havenever asked their opinion on any political issue.

[Mountain Mule]

83. I had to do the same with my maga Mom

She is/was so toxic that two different therapists told me that I should just "divorce" her. When I finally followed their advise, I was so relieved. My Mom lives in MAGA la-la land. If I try to point out reality to her, she becomes enraged and/or covers her eyes so that she doesn't have to see and/or just completely runs away. In short, she behaves exactly the way any cult member would. Unreachable.