"deal" is a magic word, part of the Trumpian spell, but vacuous. Challenge to reporters: write the news, especially regarding Ukraine, without using it.
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I greatly respect you and your work, but it is worth noting that courage can be a vacuous word too, especially when it is your prescription to fascism, (chapter 20 On Tyranny). However you personally illustrated that when the going gets rough, you run to Canada.
You know how Trump loves to talk about playing cards. Criticized Zelenskyy for not having any.
Never reads. Writes nothing except his Sharpie signatures. Is it possible Trump thinks book “Art of the Deal” is about distributing playing cards? Explains Trump’s past fascination with casinos.
Agreed. “Deal” has become a hollow incantation, masking complexity with illusion. Reporters must rise above empty rhetoric, capturing the true gravity of events—especially in Ukraine—without resorting to language that trivializes real human struggle. Precision matters.
Yes, "deal" seems suddenly valorized. Apparently it now sounds smart as usage to journalists; before it sounded transactional. Is the change an insidious form of agreeing in advance? If a journalist writes resisting what's going on but adopts the language-register of the one being resisted...?
Yes please! I am so tired of hearing that word. Its use is constant. I don’t recall any previous administration using that term basically to describe everything they are doing and hope to do.
Perhaps this is a case of typographical real estate: negotiations, compromise, diplomacy are all valuable tweet space in contrast to "deal". "Reached an agreement "=deal done. The latter is vague, bite-size, catchy, final.
Language is a fascinating tool. I would go so far as to assume that "deal" in this particular context could imply "just get it over with already". And the "deals" in question are a force feeding frenzy.
Exactly. One of the 4 or 5 buzz words ( and perhaps the size of his vocabulary?) that he uses. Just hate that word now. S tired of hearing it from him and the media who parrots him.
Language shapes how we see the world. When politicians call everything a “deal,” they turn wars, justice, and human lives into bargaining chips. It’s not just empty talk, it’s a trick to make power plays feel normal. We owe it to each other to break the spell and call things by their real names.
I hate how everyone started to use Trump‘s talk about “having the cards“ or not, as if this were just a big poker game, after he used it in that Oval Office debacle.
It reminds me of how the character of The Dude in The Big Lebowski would parrot phrases that he heard recently from other people.
Yes! iIt’s wild how fast borrowed language takes over. It’s like once someone powerful says it, it slips into our mouths without us noticing. But every time we call war a “card game,” we make it feel smaller, safer, less real. We owe it to each other to speak with clear eyes.
A "distraction" from Putin's war crimes, that's how I see the Felon Guy's role in Ukraine. Nothingness faking as somehow important with treasonous intent to aid the enemy.
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The word has been ruined. It cannot be used in serious conversation any longer.
Never reads. Writes nothing except his Sharpie signatures. Is it possible Trump thinks book “Art of the Deal” is about distributing playing cards? Explains Trump’s past fascination with casinos.
Can you imagine bombs raining down on your town or city? People in Ukraine are used to it now and just go about their daily business as best they can.
And in America, people shrug as Trump destroys democracy.
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In the MAGA world, "deal" means: agree to submit.
"A deal" is a mutual agreement, often a business transaction or bargain.
In Trumpworld, a deal means screwing someone, then telling them to "deal with it"
It reminds me of how the character of The Dude in The Big Lebowski would parrot phrases that he heard recently from other people.