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JLeslie's avatar

Are Democrats being too serious?

Asked by JLeslie (65743points) September 13th, 2019 from iPhone

I’m talking about things like when Trump talks about nuking a Hurricane, if anyone else said it would Democrats assume it’s just a flippant comment said in jest?

Or, if Trump gives his permission to beat someone up because they say something they don’t like, is that just an expression like when Ralph Cramden threatened to send Alice to the moon.

I personally feel a president has to be more careful with his words, but what if he was just a regular guy on the street, or a friend, family, or work colleague, is what he says a big deal then? Would you take his comments very differently if he wasn’t president?

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19 Answers

chyna's avatar

But trump has shown over and over that he says really stupid things, usually in only one or two syllable words because anything over that is beyond him, so how can anyone know what he’s saying is a joke or what he really thinks?

Tropical_Willie's avatar

As the head of a country he should not be saying things in jest, especially about things like hurricanes that kill people or having someone attacked because that person has a different viewpoint.

canidmajor's avatar

You seem to be somewhat supporting the idea that it’s OK for heads of state, or those who aspire to those positions, to joke about committing personal violence.
It is not OK.

zenvelo's avatar

But Trump is not a regular guy off the street, and his lack of humor is legendary. He isn’t joking because he is incapable of telling an honest joke.

Humor and joking require a bit of humility, an understanding of keeping oneself in check. Compare Trump to Reagan – Reagan joked after he was shot during an assassination attempt. his closest aides knew it was an expression of his humility.

JLeslie's avatar

@canidmajor It’s right in my details that I don’t think it’s ok. It has been one of my biggest concerns about Trump since he started running for office.

kritiper's avatar

NOBODY is “too serious.”

LostInParadise's avatar

There is something not quite right about Trump, and by extension, something not quite right about the country that he has as many supporters as he does. He has no moral compass. All he focuses on is power. He uses an elementary school vocabulary. I don’t know if this is a mental illness, but this is not normal human behavior. I did not care for Nixon, but Nixon was not creepy in the way that Trump is.

chyna's avatar

^I will welcome ANYONE but trump to run the country.

ARE_you_kidding_me's avatar

Careful what you wish for.

Demosthenes's avatar

Yes, I do think the Democrats have become too sensitive in that they flip their shit every Trump says anything at all. But I think we’ve all become a bit more attuned to gaffes. It’s possible that Obama’s “57 states” comment might have cost him the election in today’s climate.

Darth_Algar's avatar

But he’s not a regular guy off the street. He’s the President of the United States. Holder of the most powerful office on the planet. What he says matters. What would simply be a moronic comment coming from Joe Regularguy becomes a terrible possibility coming from the President, as he actually has power to make those words happen.

That’s one of the most infuriating things about Trump – he has no understanding of, or respect for, the gravity of the office he holds.

flutherother's avatar

I liked Obama’s approach to the presidency. He seemed in control but relaxed and easy going. He made sense when he spoke and he weighed his words with some care. To go from that to Trump was like going from day into night.

stanleybmanly's avatar

That’s the mistake of those confusing the reign of Trump with relegation to just another peculiar kink in our history. And I don’t want to hear any bullshit about how it is Democratic reaction to the fool that it is over the top. The very notion buttresses the absurdity that this is a tolerable idiot. Once again, no one should be deluded into acceptance of the blather from the right that Trump’s glaring warts are about ideology. He is not a despicable human being because he is conservative. In fact he is NOT a conservative by any definition I can recall. All of you should be damned near catatonic at the thought that every day the fool is in office reinforces the idea that even a veneer of character and ethical comportment is irrelevant.

ARE_you_kidding_me's avatar

@flutherother I liked this about Obama too but it also scared me. Charisma can mask horrible policy decisions.Thing that does not scare me about Trump is just this, he is not smooth talking his way out of anything. At least we know exactly what he is blatantly fucking up and can move quickly to stop things. The scariest person is someone in charge with charisma and horrible decision making.

mazingerz88's avatar

Here’s the really terrifying part. Listen well. If all those officials around trump said yes, we can nuke the hurricane and you’ll be a hero, trump would give the order to launch. Terrified yet?

ARE_you_kidding_me's avatar

That type of behavior is indicative of a team that is afraid to express dissent.

flutherother's avatar

@ARE_you_kidding_me I’m surprised you found Obama scary. Many politicians give a me a sense of unease when I see them but not Obama. He seemed an honest, decent guy. That doesn’t mean I agreed with all his policy decisions but I didn’t think any of them were particularly horrible.

You are right not to trust any politicians however and we need a free press so we are kept informed of any horrible decisions our leaders might make. That is just one thing among many that I dislike and fear about Trump; his relentless attacks on the media.

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