Trump 2nd term prediction thread

Trump will propose that the Palestinians from Gaza can all move to Saudi-Arabia and build 'The Line'.

From Sam Harris's latest blog post. This guy was once good friends w/ Musk.

Does the world still need good people, or are we all free to become monsters now?

It may seem priggish to say it, given the current “vibe shift,” but we really can’t give up on personal integrity just yet. The day we celebrate our children for their selfishness and cruelty will be the point of no return.

Clearly, we need systems and institutions that can withstand the intrusions of a charismatic psychopath. We also need ones that can resist when otherwise normal people behave like psychopaths (e.g. on social media). However, if we want to live in good societies—where most games are positive-sum and decency is the norm—there is no substitute for having a sufficient number of people who are actually good, or struggling to be so.

It is, therefore, ominous that our political culture now celebrates figures who are obviously unethical—liars, bullies, and conmen—many of whom see no reason to even pretend to harbor deeper values or virtues. Whatever your politics, President Trump has said and done a thousand things that should make it impossible to admire him as a person—and he will commit further atrocities this week. Elon Musk has achieved a similarly vile orbit—lying with abandon, making common cause with racists and lunatics, and pointlessly defaming ordinary people—it seems, just for the fun of it. Both men are conspicuous for the degree to which they still resemble children, having retained a juvenile sense of entitlement, recklessness, and self-absorption. Both are already cautionary tales about the corrupting influences of fame, wealth, and power—even as they continue to achieve new heights.

Narcissism is one key to understanding both Trump and Musk. One can’t say that they suffer from narcissism, exactly—as they have become its high priests. Neither man ever apologizes for the mistakes he makes or the harms he causes. Each luxuriates in a moral weightlessness conferred by the adulation (and short attention span) of the crowd. Did Trump attempt to steal the 2020 presidential election, while falsely claiming that it had been stolen from him? Did Musk just get exposed as a fraud by some of his most ardent fans? No one cares or remembers, because there are fresh antics and outrages to contemplate today. For all their flaws, the chaos that these men bring into the world, hour by hour, is at least interesting.

Of course, their fans love them, in part, because the chaos is also transgressive. In different ways, Trump and Musk prove that it is okay to be terribly flawed—and to aspire to no ethical standards whatsoever—because you can always be washed clean by the attention of others. In this way, each man has become a kind of savior for people who don’t want to be judged. It is a mutual absolution and intoxication.

For those who are unconcerned about this phenomenon, it seems worth asking, what would it take to startle you? What could Trump or Musk do to make you suddenly feel that something essential to the health of our politics, or our society, has been broken?

And if it really is all about the price of eggs, how expensive would a dozen eggs have to be for you to realize that Trump 2.0 has been a terrible mistake?

I would probably give him longer than a week to pass judgement on his administration. But that's just me.

Sam Harris was on record claiming that any amount of lies would be justified to try to avoid Trump being elected. "good friend of Musk" is something you came up with just to cover for someone who was 100% against trump, and so will muster whatetever he can to ... still hate on Trump.

Your side tried it already during the campaign picking up trash "republicans" who went against core pillars of rightwing ideology to go on the record to side with Harris.

It doesn't work, normal people don't give an actual ****

How many different promises did he make that he would get done "on day 1?" or even "BEFORE I EVEN GET IN OFFICE?"

You mean he lied yet again? Crazy.

When he said "on day 1", it wasn't meant to be taken literally silly.

Of course not.

lolololololol

He's busy dismantling the deep state with Elon at the moment. These things take time.

Have patience grasshopper.

Maybe he should just stop lying. And maybe you should just stop excusing it.

Just a thought.

Firstly, dismantling the deep state is a terrible idea. Countries without a deep state are inherently unstable, both politically and economically. This makes them bad places to live.

Secondly, dismantling and replacing government institutions without debate, expertise and oversight is obviously not a smart move.

The "deep state" (career employees of the state basically) should simply be accountable.

Do you need career employees for state functions? yes , for all the core functions of the state (which are fewer than what the left claims). Not for anything else.

But the fact you do need career employees in , say, intelligence, doesn't translate into "and even if they then organize as an independent , illegitimate power of the state that pursues it's own agenda" we should leave them be.

I think there seems to be a conflation of 'deep state' meaning unaccountable inner groups with their own agenda (like the CIA have always been?) and sets of government employees who have been in the same posts (or the same career paths at least) that all know each other - but don't have their own agenda other than serve their country (with a little bit of watch-your-back that goes with most careers). The latter is just the usual for a mature civil service, and is a requirement for any functioning democracy.

Feels to me like Trump cannot or will not distinguish these two things, and he seems to be saying a functioning mature civil service is equally as 'evil' as some inner sanctum special agenda group.

But who can tell what he means, he's a moronic narcissist cockwomble.

The latter is the term as it originally arose in political science, the former is how it is wielded by conspiratorially-minded morons.

Not that the odd conspiracy doesn't arise in any society, but they hardly need a deep state to do so. If anything, they are harder to carry out in societies that have a deep state. Conspiracies don't like record-keeping.

So discussion is only interesting as it pertains to the actual useful concept and definition. To go down the other route is to be dictated by village idiots.

I'm pretty sure all the previous, common chatter about 'deep state' was definitely about inner sanctum power groups with their own hidden agendas.

Well, then I refer back to my point about village idiots.

I don't think the priority of which definition came first here matters much tbh, more the fact the chief cockwomble is conflating them and seemingly acting with malicious intent against a standard mature civil service.

Yes, he does reasoning exercises w/ intellectuals on his podcast. I don't doubt he said lying to avoid Trump would be more ethical than the outcome.

He 100% was good friends w/ Musk. They have had many twitter wars over the years, and he used to be a close confident of Must many years back. All of this you can google and verify. I don't know why you're projecting and lying, but:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new...

This is all well documented publically.

You should probably be afforded some grace, because I'm sure the blog I posted isn't easy to read, but you're continually breaking your fellow man into normal and abnormal (you've said this many times, and I've called it out before) is nazi adjacent language. You're not all the way there, but it's on the same road of turning people into "others", and the next step is duhumanzing them.

And the bigger irony in all of this hate for liberals and push for individualism is.... this is your community. You spend A LOT of your time in here talking to liberals and collectivist and people w/ many different views. You could be doing anything, but you chose to do this every day for hours on end. This group of people you disagree with help make your life better.

I wonder if you even see that... at all.

anyone else remember when Biden said he was going to cure cancer?

Several types of cancer in fact had cures developed under his presidency. You probably just don't remember or didn't actually care.

And in case it wasn't clear, yes I agree Biden should also not lie.

Why are people mad that they are uncovering so much fraud with things like USAID? Shouldn’t everyone be happy we are finding this out? If the other side found this stuff, they’d be praised. It’s just weird

Also the new press secretary is doing a fantastic job. Much better than the last lady who seemed in over her head.

Can you show us this "fraud?"

Come on, we all know Twitter is filled with evidence of such fraud.

Any bets on condoms to Gaza? What are you thinking he'll say?

I'm 50/50 on Condoms vs just disappearing and not replying or ignoring the question

Let's see if any allegations or accusations made by Trump or Musk are actually not baseless for a change, and then it's worth talking about.

I mean, evidence is sort of a requirement for those of us that can engage critical thinking.

He'll think what the influencers say, and then he will repeat it.

There might be a brief moment of introspection, but it will dissipate, because introspection is sinful.

This is also likely.