I find the idea that we are supposed not to take Trump literally very problematic. Words are what we have. Words have meanings. Not taking Trump “literally” in essence means lying doesn’t matter. What do you think?
Comments
Log in with your Bluesky account to leave a comment
Words have meanings (and indeed consequences) but does Trump have the intelligence and/or cognitive ability to connect the semantic bouillabaisse that emanates from his mouth with those meanings?
Perhaps what people mean when they say that is that Trump himself doesn't know what he means? Given the incoherent word salad that pours from his mouth, that wouldn't surprise me.
But I'm afraid we should absolutely take him at his word.
I think sometimes these sentiments come from people not wanting to think about the full awfulness of what has just happened and what is coming. Wanting to wriggle away from it somehow, to feel more comfortable. Which is understandable.
I think we, in a way, help to create space for liars and wrongdoers by downplaying the problem. It's part of how they get away with so much. People are inclined to bend a little, to feel more comfortable in themselves and more able to carry on with life, because it's hard to just sit with the bad
If what's terrible is genuinely a bit hard to live with, then: yes. Exactly. That is the point
We shouldn't compromise who we are by lying to ourselves a little to help create room for a liar and a villain. Not even if it makes us feel less uncomfortable
It gives his voters the opportunity to say they don't agree with him and dodge the shame or questions, to give themselves cover, even if they voted for him. In many cases I think it's just a cynical form of selective denialism.
I hate it. What I wonder is if he thinks of words as chess pieces and not representations of truth or meaning. Either way, it is a disruptive, garbage way to behave.
Not just Trump, but the people around him and his appointees. A dictator always needs loyal lieutenants to feed him ideas and carry out his directives. History shows that often those lieutenants are even more extreme than the dictator. Project 2025 will be implemented in Trump's name by his zealots.
There seems to be a very close correlation between what he promised/threatened and what he is actually doing. Stephen Miller as deputy chief of staff for policy is a terrifying portent of the ethnic cleansing they are planning.
Every time someone says he’s using rhetoric I want to ring my old teacher… either I misunderstood what rhetoric is or Trump is a fracking genius of misdirection.
I’m with you Gavin, words do matter and giving Trump a free pass for his words is a terrible sign of societal weakness.
The biggest problem is the media taking Trump seriously: since 2015 they’ve been sane-washing everything he says and treating him as if he were a serious person and not a demented old gobshite.
We’re told not to worry and don’t take his words literally, others voted for him because they took him literally - the concern is that at some point those two realities will collide.
Every competent adult is responsible for what they say. If they didn't mean it they shouldn't have said it or corrected themselves later. Otherwise they should be held accountable to follow through or be found out as a liar. Is Trump a competent adult? Debatable, but I hold him responsible anyway!
I think we should take him literally. Whilst also being aware that many of his supporters are not taking him literally and are instead hearing a dog whistle about who he is, what he stands for and who he represents. He is trying to connect emotionally not logically.
Same tactics like before. Make the fact a matter of debate where the truth can be bent. Claim the other side is doing it, not you, when you in fact are. A kind of maskirovka if you will? And as before, how do we reinforce right from wrong for our kids when these stories are in the media?
They said that about Hitler in January 33. He will calm down. He doesn't really mean this or that. We've hired him. And then, once he was let loose... 🔥
I think we have already made enough mistakes in not believing what he was saying. Take him at his word. And right now what he's already said is looking ominous.
Same. We persuaded ourselves last time that he would be reined in by the grown ups. This time there aren’t any. So, are we to be persuaded that he doesn’t mean what he says and will be reined in by .. what exactly? Convention? Humanity? Constitutional respect?
Like many of his clueless kind he greedily feasts on the carrion produced by the chaos he promotes instead of sharing in the rewards brought by the creation of growth through intelligent development
But he's not the only one, he's just the most outstanding example. We've let the meaning of words slide or "evolve" as some would have it, until there's pretty much no meaning left and somebody somewhere will take offence and someone else will be cancelled and forced to apologise. It's "progress" 🤦♀️
In the UK, the electorate seem to have firmly rejected liars, despite the propaganda. It’s incredible that the US electorate have swallowed the lies they’ve been fed.
Have also been thinking about this too - as in even more confusing that people take him seriously (not literally 🙄) when he barely articulates anything vaguely coherent & is vocally consumed by relentless obsession with money, ego & now revenge. What are they taking “seriously”?
A similar argument was made to me in 2016. Somebody earnestly explained to me that it had all been performance and now that he had won, he would behave differently. He didn't then, and I don't understand why anyone thinks he would do so now. He actually has more of a mandate to do what he says.
Sane washing his words and actions was a full time occupation for some Rs in the election. It will be as good as impossible now he's back in power. Depressing time ahead for us over the next four years. And even worse than that for Ukrainians.
Indeed, I think it is problematic… Maya Angelou’s quote comes to mind… “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time”. It’s hard not to take him literally.
"by their fruits you shall know them"
Words are one thing, actions are another.
US electorate wants him to act, we know what he did last time and how he did it.
Let's remember the words as a measurement, expect same behaviour as last time, and judge by his actions.
It's another part of the plan to make the world unsure what is the truth or what to believe in the media. By creating this confusion they can get away with whatever they like by just denying it was ever intentional. *others will put this much more eloquently I'm sure
Comments
But I'm afraid we should absolutely take him at his word.
But we can't. It really is "that bad"
We shouldn't compromise who we are by lying to ourselves a little to help create room for a liar and a villain. Not even if it makes us feel less uncomfortable
Those backing his campaign are just plain lying - and it does matter because dishonesty keeps proving a winning strategy in our democracies.
I’m with you Gavin, words do matter and giving Trump a free pass for his words is a terrible sign of societal weakness.
We can't run the risk of being caught off guard should he go to the greatest extremes, and knowledge of that could potentially encourage him.
Words are one thing, actions are another.
US electorate wants him to act, we know what he did last time and how he did it.
Let's remember the words as a measurement, expect same behaviour as last time, and judge by his actions.