Will the drip-drip-drip of Trump being Trump overflow his bucket and ruin his chance of winning? By Hal M. Brown, MSW

Digital image created by Perchance Photo AI

You may read articles like this (above, subscription)  which is summarized in RawStory here:

‘Scores of people leave early’: Interviews reveal why Trump rallygoers bow out prematurely

Of those who leave and who were interviewed by far most of them will still vote for Trump. Here’s an example of why some people in this group left:

“Trump often runs late and goes long, prompting many to bow out because of other responsibilities, priorities or, sometimes, waning patience and interest,” the Post‘s reporters found through interviews and observing dozens of events. “Some said they wanted to beat traffic or had work the next day. Others complained about sound quality. One man wanted to go home to his French bulldog. Another needed to get home to his daughter. A third had a Yorkie with him that started acting out. A fourth man said his phone died.”

The Post reporters managed to find one person who decided to vote for Harris as a result of attending the rally:

“Anastasia Bennett, 22, quickly grew tired of the insults and was ready to leave,” the Post reported. “Bennett was undecided before attending the rally with her aunt, who supports Harris. But after hearing Trump speak, she said she planned to vote for Harris.”

“It was the insults and just being an hour late,” she told the newspaper.

The Post article featured an attendee named Linda Prescott. The article begins with her as follows:

Less than 25 minutes into Donald Trump’s remarks, Melissa Prescott walked out.

She arrived at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall in Tucson at 8:30 a.m. on a hot September day, waited in line outside with her teen daughter for more than four hours, then waited another hour inside before Trump took the stage about 2:15 p.m. As Trump was complaining about 2016 exit polls and speaking about how he likes “the old people the best,” Prescott, along with dozens of others, started trickling out.

“I’m glad we got in. I wish I could stay to hear more,” said Prescott, 36, who explained that she needed to go pick up her disabled cousin.

It also ended with her:

Prescott said she was excited to see Trump, even if briefly, after driving for two hours in August to Glendale and waiting more than two more hours in line, only to be turned away because the rally was at capacity.

When she entered the Tucson event, Prescott was frustrated to learn that the concession stands were already closed, and she and her daughter were unable to get food.

I assume Linda Prescott still plans to vote for Trump.

Trump has shown no indication nor inclination to rein in his lunacy and juvenile rhetoric. Consider his recent Truth Social post promoted apparent by Liz Cheney speaking at a Wisconsin rally saying “I was a Republican even before Donald Trump started spray-tanning.”

“Liz Cheney lost her Congressional Seat by the largest margin in the history of Congress for a sitting Representative. The people of Wyoming are really smart! She is a low IQ War Hawk that, as a member of the J6 Unselect Committee of Political Hacks and Thugs, ILLEGALLY DESTROYED & DELETED all documents, information, and evidence.”

Whether one wants to use my drip-drip-drip metaphor or “the straw that breaks the camel’s back” metaphor, it is possible that in the few weeks leading up to the election enough people will decide that they’d been hoodwinked by Trump into thinking he was the stable genius he says he is who wants to make their lives better. I hope they either decide not to vote at all or to vote for Kamala Harris. She needs enough of a voting margin to prevent GOP shenanagins (like these) from allowing Trump to win despite her getting the most electoral college votes.

Yesterday:

It can’t happen here. Some people “get it” and want it. Some people don’t “get it”, don’t want it, and may vote for it. 

Wednesday:

“On the initiative of the vice president” should be on the top of the page story today,

Read other previous blogs here.

It can't happen here. Some people "get it" and want it. Some people don't "get it", don't want it, and may vote for it. By Hal M. Brown, MSW

J.D.Vance just put a sugar coating on what he and Trump want to turn America into. Those watching the debate who want Trump's MAGA dictatorship for the country saw through this as a performance to make Trump look reasonable, although, lest they believe he was more moderate than Trump, he made it clear he was a loyal co-pilot flying the end of democracy Trump airplane when he refused to say whether or not Biden legitmately won the election (see article).

There are those in America who are all in with Project 2025 to the extent they understand it in broad strokes, i.e., that it turns the United States into a White dominated authoritarian country. Among Trump supporters I expect there are at least a few who see that he is becoming more and more unhinged and know that if he doesn't succumb to dementia he could get seriously ill or die in office. This would make a very happy Vance president. (Image by Perhance Photo AI)

  I wrote about this yesterday (here). 

It has to be reassuing to the hard core Project 2025 Trumpers that should this happen his co-pilot Vance is there to keep the airship of state flying in the right, the very far right, direction.

Then there's a large group of Trump supporters who don't "get it" and don't want it. They see the Democrat's warning about the end of democracy as political fear mongering. Whether they know about the Sinclair Lewis 1935 dystopian novel of the name or not, they may think "it can't happen here" with the important addition "but if it does it won't effect me."

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia about the novel:

Having previously foreshadowed some authoritarian measures to reorganize the government, Windrip (the new president) outlaws dissent, incarcerates political enemies in concentration camps, and trains and arms a paramilitary force called the "Minute Men" (named after the Revolutionary War militias of the same name), who terrorize citizens and enforce the policies of a corporatistregime. One of Windrip's first acts as president is to eliminate the influence of Congress, which draws the ire of many citizens as well as the legislators themselves. The Minute Men respond to protests harshly, attacking demonstrators with bayonets. In addition to these actions, Windrip's administration, known as the Corpo government, curtails women's and minority rights, and eliminates individual states by subdividing the country into administrative sectors. The government of these sectors is managed by Corpo authorities, usually prominent businessmen or Minute Men officers. Those accused of crimes against the government appear before kangaroo courts presided over by military judges. A majority of Americans approve of these dictatorial measures, seeing them as painful but necessary steps to restore American power.

For those who don't think it can happen here and don't want it to happen here the message to get through their fog of denial is very simple. Vote for Trump and not only can it happen here, it will happen here. It is a visual cliche by now but bears sharing again.

Previous blogs.

"On the initiative of the vice president" should be on the top of the page story today, by Hal M. Brown, MSW

Why is this man laughing?

Image of laughing Vance from Perchance Photo AI

Unfortunately you need a subscription to read this entire Washington Post article:

The major coverage on the WaPo website was the Vance-Walz debate:

On your computer you had to scroll past a couple of ads and even the Better Living section to find the article "Trump mixes up words, swerves among subjects in off-topic speech" (bottom left):

If RawStory hadn't summarized it (here) it was so far the WaPo website page I probably would have missed it.

The (subscription) NY Times also covered this story: 

In a Pair of Disjointed Events, Trump Talks Gaza, Migrants and ‘Full Metal Jacket’

President Donald J. Trump criticized President Biden’s leadership and insisted again he would have prevented the crisis in the Middle East had he won in 2020.

RawStory barely scratches the surface in their summary of The Washington Post article. 

Here are some of the excerpts they left out:

“I think I’m booked every single day for 33 days,” he said at the end of the news conference, incorrectly citing the number of days until the election, which is 35. “I’ve worked for 17 or 18 days when you say in a row, and I’m working even when I’m not working.”

Trump was more energetic during a speech to supporters in Waunakee, Wis., earlier Tuesday. He went on an extended riff about the 1987 film “Full Metal Jacket” and made up a false claim that Harris raised taxes as the San Francisco district attorney, which is not a power of that office. 

"Full Metal Jacket" I wondered, what the hell was he talking about about. I looked it up and found the following: 

'What Are You Babbling About?' Jimmy Kimmel Spots Trump Going 'Full Mental' In Real Time in HuffPost. It included a video clip of this part of his speech:

Here's another excerpt from The Washington Post article:

“They come from, from the Congo in Africa,” Trump said at the event at Discovery World, a science and technology museum a couple of miles from where the Republican National Convention was held in July. “Many people from the Congo. I don’t know what that is.”

Trump elaborated on his proposal to eliminate the Department of Education by describing what he envisioned the agency would look like: “I think you will have like one person plus a secretary. You’ll have a secretary. The secretary will have one person plus a secretary. And all the person has to do is: Are you teaching English? Are you teaching arithmetic? What are you doing? Reading, writing and arithmetic. And are you not teaching woke? Not teaching woke is a very big factor. But we’ll have a very small staff.” 

This all relates to J.D. Vance because it is a reminder that should Trump win he would be a Trump brain-fart leading to an undeniable descent into dementia, or a life threatening or life ending medical event, from becoming president.

I have no doubt, nor should you, that J.D. Vance is very well aware that if Trump wins he may not serve out his term and that he will end up as president. 

Vance is also aware that the vice president is the only member of the Executive Branch that can't be fired. However, he probably can recite every word of the 25th Amendment since in essence it says that the vice president can fire the president. I bet his internet search history shows many clicks on this Wikipedia link.

I bet he has it printed out with this one line highlighted (click image to enlarge):

Vance knows first hand that Trump's mental condition is deteriorating. He knows that the vice president has the ceremonial role of certifying an election, but he knows that his role in beginning the process of enacting the 25th Amendment is anything but ceremonial. 

Read previous blogs here.

Vance doesn't project the villainy vibe that Trump does, by Hal M. Brown, MSW

 

To be a popular villain in fiction a character has to express their villainy with panache. Trump is a master of doing this, from floating the idea of putting alligators in the Rio Grande or shooting immigrants trying to cross the border in the legs to, just the other day, talking about having one day when police can round up criminals without the usual retraints on using violence against them.

Here's his latest crowd pleasing suggestion:

Trump's call for police to have a 'Purge'-like day is an authoritarian strategy.

Excerpt:

In the 2013 dystopian thriller "The Purge," America observes a tradition wherein, once a year for a designated 12-hour period, all crime is permissible — up to and including murder. During the purge, society is rocked by spectacular violence, which is said to have a cathartic effect: It dramatically reduces crime and unemployment. "The Purge" provides audiences with a warning about the horrifying consequences of selective observation of morals and a world ruled by a "might makes right" ethos. But at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Sunday, former President Donald Trump effectively floated the idea as a good thing. Except in his spinoff version, the twist is that it’s only the cops who get to do what they want. 

Poor J.D. Vance tries to pull off this kind of unabashedly evil persona, but he just can't manage it. Trump, with his sing-songy voice and the hold he has on his audience, manages it. Perhaps this works because he is able to use that modulated voice the way hypnotists use theirs to put subjects in a trance.

I suppose we can excuse Vance for seeming to be a Trump Mini-Me. 

Trump has been acting for decades. Vance is on the big stage now, but he has barely the skill for a small role in a community theater performance. If his best lines are about cat ladies and people eating pets he can't even deliver them well.

Tonight in the debate he has one last chance to prove his acting chops. He will have to do this debating someone who isn't going to be mouthing lines from a script written by lunatics.

Yesterday's blog:

Other recent blogs

It can happen here, right? RIGHT!!! Start by asking what kind of monsters put children in cages and go from there. By Hal M. Brown, MSW

Let's say the new $100,000 Trump watch is worth $100,000, why the hell does Trump think it is a good idea to sell it now? By Hal M. Brown, MSW

It happened in Germany and Russia. If Trump wins It could happen here, by Hal M. Brown, MSW

Read more previous blogs here.

 

There's shtick, there sick, there's sick shtick, and there's sick and insane sociopathic shtick. By Hal M. Brown, MSW

 

Consider the meaning of these two words:

sick1 | sik | adjective 1 affected by physical or mental illness: nursing very sick children | (the sick as plural noun) :  visiting the sick and the elderly | we were sick with bronchitis. • relating to those who are ill: the company organized a sick fund for its workers. • (of an organization, system, or society) suffering from serious problems, especially of a financial nature: their economy remains sick. 2 [predicative] feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit: he was starting to feel sick | Mark felt sick with fear. • [attributive] (of an emotion) so intense as to cause one to feel unwell or nauseous: he had a sick fear of returning. • informal disappointed, mortified, or miserable: he looked pretty sick at that, but he eventually agreed. • archaic pining or longing for someone or something: he was sick for a sight of her. 3 (sick of) [predicative] intensely annoyed with or bored by (someone or something) as a result of having had too much of them: I'm absolutely sick of your moods. 4 (especially of humor) having something unpleasant such as death, illness, or misfortune as its subject and dealing with it in an offensive way: this was someone's idea of a sick joke. • (of a person) having abnormal or unnatural tendencies; perverted: he is a deeply sick man from whom society needs to be protected. 5 informal very good; excellent: it was a sick party and there were tons of cool people there. 

shtick | SHtik | (also schtick) 

noun informala gimmick, comic routine, style of performance, etc. associated with a particular person: there are many great comics who have based their stand-up shtick on observational comedy | her shtick was to haul out her pet ferret.• a person's special talent, interest, or area of activity: movies about ordinary women who do extraordinary things—that's my shtick.

Here's a more detailed definition of shtick. a word that is derived from the Yiddish word schtik .

Plain old shtick is a type of humor. Preface the word shtick with the word sick and we have a number of possible meanings, some good, some bad, and one very, very bad. Sick shtick humor can be good as in the example above meaning excellent or cool.  

Also related to humor as described above, it can be something unpleasant.

Trump engages in shtick in the formal sense of the word. His performances are a combined gimmick and a comic routine, but it is more than that. It is sick but not in a good or cool way, although I am certain he would disagree and most of his MAGA cult members would also disagree.

In fact, his shtick is sick in the very worst way. It is vicious and vomitous. It is also sick sick because it is coming from a person who is mentally sick.  

Trump's sickness has been decribed many times by his critics, some mental health professionals including his niece psychologist Mary Trump, the founder of the Duty to Warn group Dr. John Gartner, psychoanalyst Lance Dodes, MD, and myself, as well as some savvy amateur psychologists like George Conway who started the Anti-Psychopath PAC and Charlie Sykes (read his opnion here about Trump's "gibbering nonsense" here). There's no reason to further elaborate on this topic here.

If you follow the news on progressive media like HuffPost and RawStory you'll see stories like these just from this morning (click image to enlarge):

Trump wanting to implement Project 2025 and what this will mean for the country is only just starting to get major media coverage, but the exponentially growing evidence that Trump's cognitive decline and lapse into clinical delusional and sociopathic mania is still barely a major story and the coverage it does receive is mostly relegated to progressive media. 

More: 

The likelihood of Trump dying in office should make everyone voting for him realize that they are very possibly voting for J.D. Vance, who is clinically sane unless you consider the sociopathic personality disorder a form of insanity, to be president within four years. Vance, like Trump, fits most of the crtieria for being a sociopath (I won't spell it out why I say this when you can easily click this link). However, Trump is an unstable or insane sociopath. Vance is a stable or sane sociopath.

The Vance shtick isn't as flamboyant as the Trump shtick, but shtick it is because it is a gimmicky performance. One might say all politicians engage in shtick to some extent including Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. I can agree with this only if one says that it is a matter of degree. Harris and Walz avoid shtick and Trump and Vance revel in it and use it to manipulate their audience with lies and distortions.

UPDATE FROM RAWSTORY

Yesterday's blog:

I hope these two articles are right but I am still scared. How scared am I and how scared are you?

Recent blogs:

It can happen here, right? RIGHT!!! Start by asking what kind of monsters put children in cages and go from there. By Hal M. Brown, MSW

Let's say the new $100,000 Trump watch is worth $100,000, why the hell does Trump think it is a good idea to sell it now? By Hal M. Brown, MSW

It happened in Germany and Russia. If Trump wins It could happen here, by Hal M. Brown, MSW

Read more previous blogs here.