#JAILTOTHECHIEF- Shit Just Got Real

[Kara Spengler]

Did you notice that he also referred to himself in the third person?

He has been doing that for ages. I call it the royal wee.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Macron uses toddler reverse-psychology to trick Trump into being supportive of NATO

The French president gave an interview last month decrying the “brain death” of NATO, which he said had failed to account for America’s shrinking commitment under Trump.

Trump himself has called NATO “obsolete,” openly questioned whether the U.S. would come to the defense of allies under attack (the very foundation of the alliance), and privately told aides on several occasions last year he wants to withdraw from the alliance. But the notion that somebody else would question NATO, and blame its demise on Trump, has enraged him.

And now Trump is lashing out at Macron. “NATO serves a great purpose,” he declared today. “And I hear that President Macron said NATO is ‘brain dead.’ I think that’s very insulting to a lot of different forces … When you make a statement like that, that is a very, very nasty statement to 28 — including them — 28 countries.”

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Macron uses toddler reverse-psychology to trick Trump into being supportive of NATO

Manipulating children into doing what you want by pretending to demand they do the opposite thing is a trick most parents learn to use. It usually stops working around the age of 5.

 

[Jolene Benoir]

He has been doing that for ages. I call it the royal wee.

Ew, now that conjures up images of *Toad*.

 

[Brenda Archer]

New trade war incoming:

So now the farmers can have trouble competing AND their costs can go up all at once. Because Trump can’t see that the purchaser is paying the tariff.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

If anyone's interested in the background, there's a summary here of the interview with Macron:

Macron warns of Nato 'brain death' as US turns its back on allies

French president says in interview that Europe is in danger of disappearing geopolitically

www.theguardian.com

“What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of Nato,” the French president told the Economist in an interview. “You have no coordination whatsoever of strategic decision-making between the United States and its Nato allies. None. You have an uncoordinated aggressive action by another Nato ally, Turkey, in an area where our interests are at stake.”

Asked whether he still believed in the “collective defence” stipulations of article five of Nato’s founding treaty, under which an attack against one member is considered an attack against all members, Macron answered: “I don’t know.”

Nato “only works if the guarantor of last resort functions as such. I’d argue that we should reassess the reality of what Nato is in the light of the commitment of the United States,” he said.

There's a transcript of the whole interview here:

Emmanuel Macron in his own words (English)

The French president's interview with The Economist

www.economist.com

 

[danielravennest]

He has been doing that for ages. I call it the royal wee.

Or he thinks the voice in his head is someone else.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

 

[Romana]

And Rump handled it with his usual aplomb:

Trump Calls Trudeau 'Two-Faced' and Leaves NATO Summit Early After Video of World Leaders Mocking Him Leaks

Typical.

secondnexus.com

 

[Innula Zenovka]

What's the joke? Mugged off Trump sulks his way through Nato summit | John Crace

US president ditches 70 years of Nato diplomacy and opts for some good old-fashioned name-calling

www.theguardian.com

John Crace's take on the day:

t’s war. The summit that was meant to celebrate Nato’s 70th anniversary as one of the greatest peacetime alliances in history ended in open hostility. Had it gone on for another day, nukes might have been fired. Donald Trump stomped off from the golf resort just outside Watford in a huff, cancelling his scheduled press conference. For the first time in living memory, the US president was lost for words – even the usual ones that mixed lies with unintelligibility.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

What's the joke? Mugged off Trump sulks his way through Nato summit | John Crace

US president ditches 70 years of Nato diplomacy and opts for some good old-fashioned name-calling

www.theguardian.com

John Crace's take on the day:

I guess Trump got all butthurt because it wasn't all about him.

 

[Kamilah Hauptmann]

Aged well: Coping with Chaos in the White House

 

[Chin Rey]

I guess Trump got all butthurt because it wasn't all about him.

But it was, he was very much the star of the whole show! Unfortunately for him, it was all slapstick comedy.

What is interesting is that Trump tries to blame Trudeau for it all. He doesn't dare confront Macron again of course but he's also very careful not to say anything about Johnson.
The obvious reason is that he's still trying to court the British upper class (which is about the same as a black supremacist trying to join Ku Klux Klan because he supports racism).

 

[Innula Zenovka]

I'm in two minds about this kind of video.

It's both very amusing and also needs saying, but "Vote for us because the other side are so dreadful" really isn't a good election winning strategy -- one of the reasons the UK general election is so dispiriting (apart from the fact Brexit cuts across party lines) is that both the main parties seem to banking on the hope the voting public will hate the other side's Brexit policy and leader sufficiently to vote against them rather than providing reasons to vote for anyone or anything, so "Vote for me to stop Brexit/ get Brexit done and keep Johnson/Corbyn out of Number 10".

That works on fellow party supporters and activists but not so well on the general public.


ETA: I realise that, in posting this, he's trying to appeal to voters in the Democrats' primaries, but that's open to the same objection -- "I'm not Trump and I think he's a dangerous incompetent at whom the rest of the world laughs" is true enough, but any of his rivals for the nomination could say the same with just as much truth.

 

[Cat Fratica]

It's happening: Trump impeachment to go ahead - Pelosi

 

[Romana]

I'm in two minds about this kind of video.

It's both very amusing and also needs saying, but "Vote for us because the other side are so dreadful" really isn't a good election winning strategy -- one of the reasons the UK general election is so dispiriting (apart from the fact Brexit cuts across party lines) is that both the main parties seem to banking on the hope the voting public will hate the other side's Brexit policy and leader sufficiently to vote against them rather than providing reasons to vote for anyone or anything, so "Vote for me to stop Brexit/ get Brexit done and keep Johnson/Corbyn out of Number 10".

That works on fellow party supporters and activists but not so well on the general public.


ETA: I realise that, in posting this, he's trying to appeal to voters in the Democrats' primaries, but that's open to the same objection -- "I'm not Trump and I think he's a dangerous incompetent at whom the rest of the world laughs" is true enough, but any of his rivals for the nomination could say the same with just as much truth.

Tantrump is a dangerous incompetent at whom the rest of the world laughs; but there Target audience either knows that already, or doesn't want to and probably won't.
Negative ads are just sinking to his level. He--all of them--should talk about their policies and what they will do. Didn't Biden have any policies or positive changes, like building back up and fixing the ACA (since M4A is to much for him), or, well, anything?

 

[Fionalein]

It's happening: Trump impeachment to go ahead - Pelosi

I doubt that...

Anti-Trump acitivists: "Look at where he brought us, the world still cannot believe our people fell for him."
Trump-activists: "That is foreign medling, we now will vote for him despite knowing better - because we can ... because M U R I C A !"

Believe me, their crooked minds will come up with a way to weaponize this incident.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

What's it like to stand stark naked on the world stage? Ask Donald Trump | Richard Wolffe

Stripped of his usual protections inside the White House, Trump exposes himself on the world stage at every conceivable opportunity

www.theguardian.com

 

[Salome]

ETA: I realise that, in posting this, he's trying to appeal to voters in the Democrats' primaries, but that's open to the same objection -- "I'm not Trump and I think he's a dangerous incompetent at whom the rest of the world laughs" is true enough, but any of his rivals for the nomination could say the same with just as much truth.

There’s a dynamic to this that might not be obvious across the pond. The core of Dem voters (the majority that voted for Clinton) has been living with erasure and demonization since 2016. The media has chosen to focus on Trump voters and the Bernie left while dismissing those who actually, you know, support Democrats. There is a palpable frustration among that large population and the worry among some strategists is that level of frustration coupled with infighting will lead to depressed turnout.

One thing we’ve found out from the debates is that mainstream Democrats and further-left-but-not-insane voters prefer focusing on Trump. The post-debate polling we have all shows favorable reactions to candidates going after Trump and negative reactions for going after other Democrats. While I personally feel that goes against one of the main purposes of a primary, I understand the thinking behind ads like this.

It also plays to one of Biden’s few strengths which is that blue collar tough mentality that still appeals to a surprising number of voters and which helps to downplay his age issues.

 

[Chin Rey]