Reminder: Trump’s Last Year in Office Was a National Nightmare

One of the amazing political achievements of Republicans in this election cycle has been their ability, at least so far, to send Donald Trump’s last year in office down the memory hole. Voters are supposed to remember the good economy of January 2020, with its combination of low unemployment and low inflation, while forgetting about the plague year that followed.

Since Trump’s romp in the Super Tuesday primaries, however, the ex-president and his surrogates have begun trying to pull off an even more impressive act of revisionism: portraying his entire presidency — even 2020, that awful first pandemic year — as pure magnificence. On Wednesday, Representative Elise Stefanik, the chair of the House Republican Conference, tried echoing Ronald Reagan: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”

And Trump himself, in his Tuesday night victory speech, reflected wistfully on his time in office as one in which “our country was coming together.”

Non-paywall link

mindbleach,

And involved at least six different efforts to subvert the election. Extorting Ukraine, fucking with mail-in voting, openly suggesting we “delay” the election because of the plague he helped spread, telling states to stop counting, sending fraudulent electors, begging governors to “find” more votes, and oh yeah, just, by the way, DIRECTING A MOB TO STORM THE US CAPITOL.

This motherfucker should be in prison - at best. He is a fascist traitor. He has openly suggested becoming a dictator. Fuck anyone treating this as a tolerable option. Vote for the other guy or you’re an asshole.

It’s not like this bastard was any less of an Israel fanboy.

scripthook,
@scripthook@lemmy.world avatar

Does everyone forget that the first few days of 2020 after Qasem Soleimani was assassinated, Iran almost went to war with us? Trump bragged how all the other Presidents before him never tried to take him out. There was a reason. But then covid happened.

phx,

The country did come together, enough to vote the fucker out. I really, REALLY hope they do so again. It would be nice if they also gave the boots to the ones that enabled and shielded him in the other branches of the executive too.

model_tar_gz, (edited )

echoing Ronald Reagan: “Are you better off today than you were four years ago?”

Yes, very very much so. Undoubtedly and in nearly every way. And I work in one of the industries that’s been hit hard by the recent layoffs (info Tech).

The economy under Trump’s leadership was burning bright because he lit the candle on both ends and doused it in lighter fluid.

lorty,
@lorty@lemmy.ml avatar

Biden’s term has been a disgrace ever since october.

TodaviaTyler,

OP was kind enough to provide a source, care to share yours?

lorty, (edited )
@lorty@lemmy.ml avatar

Sure

Israel-Gaza crisis: US vetoes Security Council resolution

US vetoes call for immediate Gaza ceasefire at UN

US vetoes resolution on Gaza which called for ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire

I believe using your veto powers in the UN to block attempts to stop a literal genocide that’s happening right now because of one of your allies is pretty disgraceful if you ask me.

docAvid,

Yeah, I mean you’re technically right, but it’s still a trash take because nobody in the running will even plausibly be better, or even just not worse, and ignoring that reality is BS.

TheOtherThyme,

Lol, yeah man. Trump will be so great for Gaza.

mojofrododojo,

Trump’s been a disgrace since he was born. What’s your point?

Cryophilia,

Piss off, tankie. No one wants you here.

hamid, (edited )

deleted_by_author

    •
    blazeknave,

    Bullshit. Trump getting elected is far worse for democracy than Biden. Stop. You have no logic. Explain how him winning will make things better or cut the shit. I’ve had enough of you people.

    Nudding,

    Trump is a symptom of your broken culture.

    blazeknave,

    It’s a feedback loop. The environment allows for his rise. He stokes the people and rewrites the environment to support his normalization. Rinse repeat. Also fwiw it’s about capitalism not American culture. We’re just at this stage and have a history of “liberation” in the 20th century that makes it look even worse than elsewhere. Look at the populists all over the place though.

    agamemnonymous,
    @agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works avatar

    No no, they’re right, you’re confusing them for the actual “both sides” crowd. They are saying to vote for Biden. Obviously Trump is worse than Biden, and voting blue is prudent harm reduction.

    They’re just saying that while voting blue is necessary it is not sufficient. We must also take actions in addition to voting if we hope to transition from the important task of decelerating fascism to the important task of stopping fascism.

    blazeknave,

    They’re not “saying” it aloud and you give too much credit to the people consuming the comments that they can separate the two.

    norbert,
    norbert avatar

    Go ahead and vote for Biden but unless you start taking non-voting actions and immediately it really won’t matter.

    I understood them pretty well, direct action is needed. Voting is a requirement and is only the very beginning if you want to achieve your goals. You have to organize and canvas and make calls and attend those city council meetings.

    The left is scared to say the quiet part out loud other than (non) jokes about "eating the rich," because it gets you visited by the FBI. The right can organize and scheme and the status quo is fine with it but if "commies" start agitating they bring out the rubber bullets and teargas (see BLM protests).

    TSG_Asmodeus,
    @TSG_Asmodeus@lemmy.world avatar

    Go ahead and vote for Biden but unless you start taking non-voting actions and immediately it really won’t matter

    blazeknave,

    I reread it. You’re right. I thought there was a sarcastic/rhetorical tone. Sorry, I was wrong.

    Nudding,

    Fall of Rome in real time, expedited by its media and put under a microscope thanks to the Internet.

    Dagwood222,

    Trump lied about the size of Inauguration crowd on his first day of office, and embarrassed the whole country on his second day.

    cbsnews.com/…/president-trump-cia-headquarters-sp…

    DrPop,

    I can assure you I’m better of today than I was for years ago. I have had the highest pay raise for CoLA than any other year, My union rights aren’t at risk (federal worker), my gender status is respected at the federal level, and I’m not afraid of WW3 at them moment.

    My only real issue is that the administration needs to cap utility price hikes. My electricity bill doubled because they are upgrading their infrastructure which to me is bullshit. I’m contacting my governor for that too.

    mindbleach,

    All the things that got worse for me since 2020 are because of things this bastard did.

    And I’m not allowed to say how I feel about Mitch McConnell on any website people should visit.

    samus12345,
    @samus12345@lemmy.world avatar

    Reminder: All of Trump’s Last Years in Office Was Were a National Nightmare

    homesweethomeMrL,

    NYT pretending to progressive by hiding in the opinion section

    macaro,

    I remember being very worried about Trump’s presidency in the year before and directly after the 2016 election. I also remember people saying the US was ripe for a widespread pandemic circa 2014 or so. I would never have imagined a more wildly destructive event than those two things combined.

    ptz,
    @ptz@dubvee.org avatar

    Plus the death of RBG in the midst of it was the triple play of “we’re fucked”

    madcaesar,

    God I’m still pissed at her for not stepping down

    mindbleach,

    Let’s ask Justice Garland how much it would’ve helped.

    mindbleach,

    I also remember people saying the US was ripe for a widespread pandemic circa 2014 or so.

    People like Joe Biden, who suggested shutting down commercial flight over H1N1.

    NuXCOM_90Percent,

    I am not in the slightest bit complaining but:

    If he had just been able to even pretend to give a shit about covid, he would have won. He would have been a war time president for all intents and purposes.

    republicans gonna fasc, but it still just boggles my mind that they are rallying behind such a complete and utter loser of a candidate.

    radiohead37,

    The thing is: the guy doesn’t want to do the job. He doesn’t read security briefings, doesn’t pay attention in meetings. He had a unified congress in the first two years and barely got anything done. No long-term planning, just sugar-high tax cuts. He just enjoys the title and authority that comes with it. To him, it’s just a competition to beat the Democrats.

    Countess425,
    @Countess425@lemmy.world avatar

    Actually, he’s trying to stay out of prison now.

    ChunkMcHorkle, (edited )
    @ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world avatar

    deleted by creator

    CileTheSane,
    @CileTheSane@lemmy.ca avatar

    Every new case is a new case, it has no effect on the timeline for decided cases. Of course, I don’t expect Trump to understand that.

    ChunkMcHorkle, (edited )
    @ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world avatar

    deleted by creator

    NuXCOM_90Percent,

    I don’t think it is even The Democrats

    It is Obama for ribbing him (after all the accusations of being an illegal immigrant…). Hilary for being a woman. And Biden for clearly and definitively beating the shit out of him in every single interaction (watching trump “back down” during their debate when Biden thought he heard an attack on Beau is beautiful).

    Diplomjodler,

    He’s the only one that can appeal to their core audience of morons. None of the other fuckers has that talent.

    ChunkMcHorkle, (edited )
    @ChunkMcHorkle@lemmy.world avatar

    deleted by creator

    jordanlund,
    @jordanlund@lemmy.world avatar

    That was the weirdest part to me… it would have been SO EASY for him to monetize… red facemasks with “Make America Great Again”. How hard would that have been?

    Instead? 1,000,000 dead Americans.

    DrPop,

    But but but look how many people died while Biden was president. It’s not like Trump told everyone the mask mandates don’t work and then told people about bleach and hydro blah blah blah. Also how own constituents booed him when he told them about the vaccine he actually helped get funded but the damage was done at that point.

    CileTheSane,
    @CileTheSane@lemmy.ca avatar

    He was expecting COVID to be worse in cities than rural areas, and therefore hurt (kill) more Democrats than Republicans.

    shani66,

    People say he’s a good conman, but he couldn’t be farther from it. The dude is a total loser, a complete buffoon, and he only got as far as he has by having the stupidest marks in human history.

    NuXCOM_90Percent,

    I mean, rolling back 40 or 50 years and he/His People very quickly keyed in on the idea that it was more important to be a brand than to actually have money. And considering that most of his support base haven’t had an original thought in 30 or 40 years, it makes sense. They were “taught” that “donald trump is good business man” and just stick with that regardless of the vast amounts of evidence to the contrary.

    We STILL see similar in pro wrestling where people insist that (rapist piece of shit) vince mcmahon was a savvy business man rather than someone who more or less just got real lucky that WCW killed itself. The TV told them so it must be true.

    neptune,

    My pet theory is he knew he was losing the Romney Republicans hard. So he knew he had to juice his support amongst his actual base: the crazies. COVID was therefore the perfect wedge issue for Trump and Trump alone. Any other candidate would listen to the doctors, put them on TV, and win. Yes, think Bush in 2004.

    But he was in a bind because his rabid supporters hated being told what to do.

    So he tried to play both sides like always. He invented the vaccine, but you didn’t have to take it. COVID is fake, but I’m blocking people from China (weeks too late). Etc.

    So how did his vote count increase from 2016? I think a bunch of alcoholics and people who don’t know how to have fun except taking their kids to Applebee’s voted for him. They desperately wanted the rules and the closures to be done so they could leave the house. That simple. He juiced a little more of the rabidly selfish people who rarely vote, whereas a lot of his “hold your nose” voters voted for Biden or stayed at home.

    He’d really painted himself into a corner on listening to experts.

    ech,

    Yeah. Been saying this since 2020 as well. His choice to go with the worst option in nearly every situation that year, and purposefully further the country’s political divide over a national crisis was so, so stupid, though so very on brand for him. He could’ve easily swept up a second term by even just pretending to care about the nation as a whole, but it’s him, so of course he didn’t.

    Probably the most indicative moment of the whole thing was at a press conference:

    Following questions about Trump’s promotion of chloroquine

    Alexander: So, what do you say Americans who are scared, I guess? Nearly 200 dead and 14,000 who are sick and millions as you witness who are scared right now, what do you say to Americans who are watching you right now who are scared?

    Trump: I say that you are a terrible reporter, that’s what I say. I think it’s a very nasty question. I think it’s a very bad signal that you are putting out to the American people. They’re looking for answers and they’re looking for hope. And you’re doing sensationalism and the same with NBC and Concast – I don’t call it Comcast I call it Concast. Let me just, who do you work, let me just say something.

    That’s really bad reporting. And you ought to get back to reporting instead of sensationalism. Let’s see if it works. It might and it might not. I happen to feel good about it, but who knows? I’ve been right a lot.

    Asked to reassure the nation and just resorts to lashing out and name calling. What a dumbass.

    OpenStars,
    @OpenStars@startrek.website avatar

    I dunno, a good third if not half or whatever of the nation seems ready to fall back asleep and return to this dream. And another third or whatever seem ready to let them. Meanwhile the remaining third downvote you if you dare to say that “Biden is old” - an objective fact if I ever heard one.

    Everywhere I look, all I see & hear is “fear” - on literally all sides.

    Prandom_returns,

    Ah, the enlightened centrist.

    dhork,

    It’s not “Biden is old” that gets you down voted, it’s “Biden is too old to do the job, so vote for the other guy who is almost as old but is worse in every way that matters” that gets the LemmyHammer.

    OpenStars,
    @OpenStars@startrek.website avatar

    Except that’s not what I said - it is a reaction to what people fear that I might have meant. And I understand that, I do, but it is still not what I said, and sometimes (not here though) I have even gone to great lengths to try to painstakingly say that that was explicitly not what I meant.

    Btw, please allow me to clarify that I am not saying anything against you personally - you have been nothing but polite and helpful here.

    A straw man argument, sometimes called a straw person argument or spelled strawman argument, is the logical fallacy of distorting an opposing position into an extreme version of itself and then arguing against that extreme version.

    I also have fears. And they go beyond Biden v. Trump in the next election. I fear that we are losing the ability to even so much as talk in a halfway civilized manner about political matters. Not that downvotes are themselves the same as impoliteness…:-)

    But my main point here isn’t about the downvotes, it is that people are doing the latter b/c of being driven by their extreme fear of what is to come. Which ironically seems to be the one thing that is shared in common amongst all Americans right now - the only real difference for most people being which set of facts you choose to believe in.

    ptz, (edited )
    @ptz@dubvee.org avatar

    Candidate 1: My side has a plan to enact some truly horrible, regressive shit. You thought I was a dictator the first time? Well, you haven’t seen anything yet. Get ready for my revenge tour. Also, I’m only 4 years younger than the other guy.

    Candidate 2: I won’t do any of that. Everything else is just a bonus.

    Candidate 3: [Does not exist]

    “Undecided” Voter: Man, Candidate #2 is soooo old, you guys. I’mma just vote 3rd party or stay home.

    Nudding,

    The white conservatives aren’t friends of the Negro either, but they at least don’t try to hide it. They are like wolves; they show their teeth in a snarl that keeps the Negro always aware of where he stands with them. But the white liberals are foxes, who also show their teeth to the Negro but pretend that they are smiling. The white liberals are more dangerous than the conservatives; they lure the Negro, and as the Negro runs from the growling wolf, he flees into the open jaws of the “smiling” fox.

    Malcom X

    I think this is timeless.

    blazeknave,

    Democracy and elections for all, we’re not on the ballot then. Do not compare the two.

    Nudding,

    Clarify; what do you mean?

    blazeknave,

    Supposed to be “were” - sorry.

    My point is that the black community letting another 4 years of Democrat status quo vs Republican status quo happen, was as you say, and I agree with. Today is not the same. It’s Democrat status quo vs potential end of free elections and democracy, as espoused first hand by the man at the cusp of taking victory himself. So we have to eat the shit again for 4 years. And if we don’t activate at the local and state level, every future federal election will be to protect the status quo from worse annihilation. So instead of whining about Biden, people should be fighting progressive DSA fights on the smaller stages where they are actually able to and have already begun to win. Then you build a solid democracy. Un-gerrymander the red states. Pass legislation to reform the supreme court. And have the ability to elect a third party or push the DNC to the left, for the White House. But that’s the actual and only way. Electing Trump does not move the movement forward. Full stop. I’d love to see that refuted bc it’s likely happening whether we whine about Biden being left enough.

    Nudding,

    I don’t think you can save a country founded on the back of a genocide and made strong by 300 years of slavery. I think y’all need to start fresh.

    blazeknave,

    So Europe is going to ship their wealth back to Africa and Asia?

    Nudding,

    Are they?

    OpenStars,
    @OpenStars@startrek.website avatar

    Right, I did not explain myself well there - in the past I have gone to greath lengths to say all of that, but people still downvoted even the tiniest, most mundane, even if delivered in a three-quarters joking manner, that “Biden is old”. Also, I may have been condescending after having been challenged by people who did not really want me to answer their questions - and that part would be on me:-).

    For more info, check out Jon Stewart’s position.

    blazeknave,

    May I copy and paste this several times every day?

    ptz, (edited )
    @ptz@dubvee.org avatar

    As long as you use it for good, be my guest :)

    AnotherAttorney,

    Candidate 2: I’ll also refuse to complete my initial campaign promises unless you promise to vote me and my cronies back in (and even then, who knows), try to install a Ministry of Truth and make you lose your job if you refuse my medical advice, and also wreck the economy and any future ability of your children to buy homes. Oh, and I know most of my supporters want me to stop arming Israel, but lol whoops.

    Forgot that part.

    OpenStars,
    @OpenStars@startrek.website avatar

    Biden is basically an old-school Republican:-). Whereas the GOP has had a wasp (named Trump) lay eggs in its brain and is currently being taken over to become actual neo-Nazis.

    If the answer to the question “what is 1 + 1 = ?”, Democrats answer with “negative 2!”, while the GOP say “plugative i”, and the GQP punches you in the face, kills your wife, and fucks your mom, not necessarily in that order.

    ptz, (edited )
    @ptz@dubvee.org avatar

    [Citation needed]…for all of that.

    Edit: I saw your reply when viewing your profile but it doesn’t show up here.

    Pointing out a bunch of things and blaming Biden without supporting evidence is not providing citations. Your display name implies you are an attorney, so you should really know that.

    The only part of that response that isn’t straight-up crackpot is the arming of Israel. I’m not touching that with a 20 ft pole, but I will say it’s a complex situation mired in decades of foreign policy, several critical military bases in the region, and a lot of other factors that don’t make it to the daily soundbites in the news. It’s not as simple as flicking an “off” switch.

    AnotherAttorney,

    refuse to complete my initial campaign promises unless you promise to vote me and my cronies back in

    Utter inaction on student loan forgiveness until midterms, at which point it was used as a political chip to buy voters.

    Ministry of Truth

    DHS Disinformation Governance Board.

    lose your job if you refuse my medical advice

    OSHA COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

    wreck the economy and any future ability of your children to buy homes

    Inflation, grocery prices, gas prices, home prices.

    I know most of my supporters want me to stop arming Israel, but lol whoops

    Israel-Hamas conflict.

    Feel free to google any of these phrases. I’m happy to provide links for you, but my hourly billable rate is pretty high. Just give me somewhere to send the invoice.

    AnotherAttorney,

    Pointing out a bunch of things and blaming Biden is not providing citations.

    When negative things happen under your presidency, it’s your responsibility to control them. Also, lmfao at thinking student loan forgiveness, the DGB, and OSHA mandate, three things explicitly created by his administration, are somehow not attributable to Biden.

    ghostdoggtv,

    I’m not really that worried about his age tbh, but I keep being told this means I’m afraid of something.

    The political meta matrix surrounding Biden’s age is a bunch of bullshit. Anyone expressing concerns with his age should worry about who his vice president is. There’s really nothing to fear there unless you’re a conservative worried that the Dems could pivot off Biden’s death in office into a 14-year stretch of democratic administration. That is basically the death of the living GOP.

    OpenStars,
    @OpenStars@startrek.website avatar

    I dunno - personally I think his age is a whole third thing. There’s: (a) I am alive and healthy and well and President, there’s (b) I am dead now, so control passes over to my VP, while I go sit in my coffin for… forever, and then (c) I am old and so while I seem to be health enough on most days, I am also unreliable in that at any time I could zone out and miss a crucial detail in a meeting, before having to make decisions with literally nuclear consequences.

    A vote for Biden would hopefully, in practical terms, translate into a vote to separate out the Commander-In-Chief role (that needs a much more active presence than e.g. a mere speaker behind a podium) from the other aspects of the Presidency, except that is simply not how the Presidency is defined.

    And, I should point out, the former at least has some hope of working out the way we might want it to, whereas for Trump there is no hope at all that he would not hold on tightly to the reigns of power, and he could literally decide to assassinate someone on a mere whim, again.

    AbidanYre, (edited )

    There’s also Regan’s, and likely Trump if he wins, d) “I’m basically a vegetable being propped up by advisors.”

    OpenStars,
    @OpenStars@startrek.website avatar

    (he said the quiet part out loud:-P)

    mindbleach,

    Could it be because some shit is actually fucking terrifying? Nooo, surely not. Both sides sound alike, and saying so is all there is.

    Gradually_Adjusting,
    @Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

    “…our country was coming together.”

    Said the twice-impeached insurrectionist.

    Hasuris,

    I kid you not but only a few days ago someone here on lemmy argued that you can’t take anything he says at face value… Because you know… He lies. Especially if he only said it once.

    Yes it was supposed to be a pro-Trump argument because Trump said he’d want for Israel to finish the job (in Gaza) and that guy argued, he’ll vote for Trump because Biden is complicit in genocide.

    Gradually_Adjusting,
    @Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world avatar

    I’m tired of hearing people victimsplain away the terrible things their malignant narcissist abusers do.

    Rapidcreek,

    Did I not see corpses being stored in refrigerated trucks and long lines of cars for food? Nightmare?

    AnotherAttorney,

    More Americans died from COVID-19 under the first year of Biden than all four years of Trump lol

    norbert,
    norbert avatar

    [Citation needed]

    AnotherAttorney,

    Lol

    norbert,
    norbert avatar

    Anything that's reputable?

    AnotherAttorney,

    Those are CDC numbers Norby dear, feel free to take a look at their website and you’ll see the same.

    Don’t you have some line from Sartre to be quoting me though?

    norbert,
    norbert avatar

    I'm just here to waste your time smoothbrain.

    If they're CDC numbers link them, don't link some NRO propaganda and expect me to sift through your bullshit.

    AnotherAttorney,

    Nah, you’ve got Google.

    I do this on the can between work — so I’m getting paid as I’m doing this, I hope you are too lmfao.

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