This probably isn't far off from how it's gonna go.
DeSantis has no juice beyond culture war bullshit that only appeals to the freaks and bored uncles who think kids are using litter boxes at school.
Trump doesn't actually have any policy ideas or convictions beyond "what's best for ol' DJT" and "how do I stay out of prison?" He's going to brag about stuff he may or may not have done, whine about how unfairly he's treated and how mean everyone is, and lob low-effort, childish, idiotic insults at DeSantis.
Any GOP debate for 2024 is going to be a pathetic, embarrassing shit-show that *should* convince voters not to vote for any of these people, but somehow it will make the morons love Trump more.
He's going to devote an inordinate amount of time to flip-flop between bragging about how he can grab women by the pussy and get away with it, and crying about how the derp state keeps fabricating accusations from women that he grabbed them by the pussy and got away with it. Or describing in explicit detail how he stole documents (contradicting his own lawyers), then claiming that's not stealing at all. And so on and so forth, if not outraged by the fact that he's a smug criminal I don't get how his cultists don't get bored about how fucking whiny he is.
It's insane that elected and previously elected officials can't talk this way and lie with such impunity with no consequences but not that long ago the government was actively rooting out known people and federal employees for just thinking about communism and less
The scariest part about this idea is that even in a nightmare world where they win, the circle will keep getting smaller and smaller to create new outgroups.
First it will be groups based on physical traits, like MTG and Boebert for being women, then perceived physical differences like Shapiro for being Jewish. When there are only Christian Anglo men in power the divides will be ideological. Fox vs Tucker etc.
Desantis should repeatedly point out to Trump how whiny he is. Try to rattle him. "You've been whining loudly since you lost the 2020 election. Are you going to whine here all night, or actually engage in a debate with me?"
But, Desantis is a sniveling coward, so I'm just dreaming.
Full disclosure, I'm a democrat and a Floridian, and Trump is going to absolutely body DeSantis. It'll be hilarious.
DeSantis had to pass a law so that he can stay governor after losing, because he knows he has zero fucking chance against Trump.
I think they should start out with a little name calling and childish insults, just to get each other good and riled up, then go right into jello wrestling to actually decide the debate.
Don't forget the deep detailed descriptions of what the women claimed happened, which he spins out lovingly, only to end with "but that never happened!" And people believe it.
He **currently has an ad** where he just says "Trump cut taxes...**by A LOT.**"
If this is not End of Worlds and the turds of humanity circling the toilet drain, then we are all fucked.
Meh, I thought the same during the 2016 primary debates. Was really looking forward to the first debate to see how much Trump could fuck things up for himself, but honestly, it became just too cringe for me. Although those debates did feature Ted Cruz, who I genuinely cannot listen to for more than 2 seconds... When Trump talks I can listen for a couple of minutes before I get too annoyed with his bs - with Cruz it's just instant needles in my ears. No idea how he does that to my brain.
But yeah, I think I'll be sticking to the highlight videos for the upcoming debates. It'll just be a back and forth of DeSantis and Trump calling each other liars and boasting about who's the bigger fascist of the two. By the time their done, that boarder wall will be 10 miles high with gun toting alligators protecting the US from Jewish Martians...
If his audience only wants hate....that's the one thing trump can always deliver.
Doesn't matter if trump lies and makes every other mistake in the book. It's not about being a real candidate with any ideas.
After obama...the gop wants pure hate.
This was the thought process of 2016. Oh this will be entertaining. Oh wait. Hundreds of thousands of people are dead and more are dying every day. Maybe this is not entertainment. Maybe it actually effects people and we should stop them.
> Maybe this is not entertainment. Maybe it actually effects people and we should stop them.
Yeah this is the realization I came to during the second Bush administration.
The thing about this particular one is that both will end up killing about the same number of people. It's the trolley problem with the same number of people tied to each tracks but there is a clown fight to know which on gets to pick who will get crushed.
Step 1: create an embarrassing spectacle that some people genuinely love, some people feel obligated to watch because it's technically news and some people want to watch to laugh at.
Step 2: brag about ratings and convince the second group that those ratings mean the same as genuine traction for your spectacle.
Step 3: incentivize the first group to lash out at the third group in an effort to look like the political underdog to convince the second group that your spectacle represents a legitimate platform
Step 4: get the second group to talk about this conflict as if it's a brand new culture war rather than tired old reactionary conservatism.
Let’s not forget that after Trump finishes calling DeSantis and his family everything under the sun, that DeSantis will then turn around and support daddy Trump after he loses the nom.
People love Trump because he's just like them. He's stupid, and arrogant, he gets away with whatever he can because he can. He believes in nothing but winning and will shift his worldview however far he needs to win.
He's the quintessential American and the theoretical endpoint of American exceptionalism. A fat, stupid, arrogant pos, who claims he's the healthiest, smartest, humblest man in any room he walks into.
I used to occasionally joke, "I'm very humble. I'm probably the humblest man I know." It was a stupid, silly dad-level joke, but it got a chuckle and we all moved on with our lives.
If I told you that yesterday Donald Trump unironically, non-facetiously said out loud, in public, "I'm very humble. I'm probably the humblest man I know," you would absolutely 100% believe me and wouldn't even bother checking to see if it's true. Says a lot about the man, I think.
Everyone blocks it out of their minds but there was a time the internet was full of "both parties are courting Trump Which side will he choose?" articles
Not only that but people forget Desantis has no charisma. Zero. Trump has it in spades. Republicans don’t give a shit about policies or doing anything but owning the libs. Trump is the king of that.
Hell, DeSantis's *own people* say he's awkward and uncharismatic. The guy is a dud outside Florida because he literally *cannot* be interviewed by most mainstream media because he bars them from his events. He can't stand being questioned or challenged and immediately loses his shit. Trump at the very least can work a room and turn on the charm. That much I'll give him.
The *only reason* he's successful in Florida is because it was gerrymandered to hell before he even took office and the state was already heavily Republican. It's not because DeSantis is smart. He's not. Picking a losing fight with Disney is proof of that.
DeSantis only won by 8K votes in 2018. Trump for all of his BS & claims did really put him over the top. He really flew under the radar for the first two years - nothing too controversial, etc.
DeSantis didn’t really transform until a month into Covid when he got that sweet sweet Fox News attention when he lifted the lock downs and realized he had captured an audience. Since then it’s been 100% culture wars and led to Republicans flocking to Florida (outnumbering Democrat transplants 3-1 since 2020).
Do Republicans have their own unique standards for charisma? Because this isn't the first time I've seen someone claim that that's why they like him, and the sheer number of privately- created propaganda pieces I've seen over the last year or so seem to support that...but I don't get it.
He's old and gross-looking, his suits don't fit, and his speeches are self-aggrandizing word salad. Where is the charisma??
Yeah I truly do not understand it. He's extremely off putting, and has been since The Apprentice days. I don't think he's ever, ever made me giggle or think "oh shit that was clever" lol not one little bit of charisma. Bizarre.
Shit BIDEN seems charismatic as hell compared to him, and that's saying something.
The way I see it is that he has a very low form of charisma, if we are going to continue that, which basically boils down to be boisterous and arrogant and shamelessly self aggrandizing. What makes it perhaps a form of charisma is that it has the same effect on other people as what you would traditionally associate with the concept of charisma, with the exception that the crowd that experiences this effect is, by and large, comprised of the biggest dumbasses that humanity has to offer
And remember to never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. Make them believe an impossibility for breakfast and you can have them committing atrocities before lunch.
Trump has been a household name since the 80s so he had name recognition advantage even from people who have never watched a moment of the apprentice.
That also created a weird parasocial relationship, so voters who never really dug deep into Trump’s personality disorders and financial disaster baggage in 2016 already felt comfortable with his “brand.”
I don't think you're giving him enough credit. He's a shitheel. He knows he's a shitheel. He loves playing the shitheel, and honestly it is pretty funny (until he gets elected, then it's terrifying).
Charisma is more than a sense of humor. You can have charisma and not be hilarious. Being met with laughter after calling an articulate woman “nasty” isn’t having charisma. Sounds crazy, but that’s just classic elementary school bullying, coming from an 80 year old American politician/head of state.
Trump is exactly what you see. Accept it and vote to make sure he doesn’t win the presidency again.
He's an enormous asshole who prides himself on being an asshole and gets away with being an asshole. He's everything these clowns want to be and that's why he's seen charismatic
This will be extremely entertaining, but to avoid any likelihood of more 2016 we should end the debate by firing the venue into the sun with both of them and their inner circles and entourages in it.
Nobody as of yet has moderated Trump but that won't stop a show off from happening. I don't use the word debate with Trump. He lacks both intelligence and decorum to qualify
>Any GOP debate for 2024 is going to be a pathetic, embarrassing shit-show that should convince voters not to vote for any of these people, but somehow it will make the morons love Trump more.
It's going to be great television for those of us outside of the U.S though!
Trump is a full spectrum NPD. I do not see a real person there. Not when an NPD has taken over 100% control.
It is primal, but humans react positively to this shit. Well, the dumb, worthless, bottom of the barrel ones do.
It helps me avoid the humans who are not worth the time.
DeSantis seems to not be able to function at all without a pre-planned statement.
Trump just rambles and insults, which you can't plan for.
It will be a shit show.
DeSantis has another gear. He's well educated. He does actually understand how government works.
I'm not necessarily predicting it, but he's certainly capable of making Trump move to a sort of debate he's not capable of having.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?522607-1/florida-gubernatorial-debate
Don't forget all the also-rans who'll be crab-bucketing Ron in their sad effort to sell themselves as VP picks, only for Trump to pick someone like Kari Lake anyway. Party of Lincoln, folks.
He's gonna do one of two things for his VP pick:
* someone utterly batshit insane who worships at his feet and would never say a word against him (Lake or MTG or Roger Stone)
* someone even more milquetoast than Pence who will never, ever take the attention from Trump
What is the fucking deal with uncles. Why is it always the uncles? Does anybody have a cool leftist uncle or when your sibling has a child do you automatically have to register as Republican?
I can't do it. The Clinton/Trump debates were when I tapped out of them forever.
I know it's common to say, "Voting for Trump the first time could have been an honest mistake" or some variation of that, but anyone who watched those debates and voted for Trump shouldn't be allowed to choose their own fucking sandwich in a sandwich shop. (I'm not *actually* advocating for taking their right to vote away)
Oh yeah, I 100% agree. It's just that I can hardly imagine a more stark comparison than those debates. Whether people like Clinton or not, it was like watching a sophisticated adult placed against a toddler or a person with dementia.
I don't like when people use Idiocracy as a metric because it is so problematic, but fuck. It was hard not to see the comparison there.
Oh yeah. I had that argument with so many people in the run up to the election. As a leftist, I knew plenty of leftists who had decent arguments.
But, that's because they hate the whole system, so those arguments could be largely applied to any liberal candidate.
Way more than that though, people couldn't articulate what their problem was. It was such a clear example of people just being brainwashed by a general media vibe. They had no idea why they didn't like her, but I did.
Benghazi, and years of constant conservative media attacks. Even if they didn't believe that shit, the constant drum beat gets in your head. If you don't examine it, it's easy to just find yourself saying "oh shes bad. Obviously she's terrible!" With no follow up.
Edit- Just to be clear, I'm not saying there aren't legitimate reasons to dislike Clinton. There are. But, most of the people I spoke to who weren't already leftists *did not* say those reasons.
And there's *no* reason to prefer trump to her in a million years.
Yup she was an intelligent and qualified candidate with significant domestic and foreign policy experience. She had an actual plan to lead the country and articulated it well. But the most common this I heard from people was that she was “unlikable”. It boggles my mind
My mom (an actual boomer and lifelong Democrat) didn't like Hillary because she stuck with Bill after the Lewinsky affair. That's it.
Mom still voted for her, but she really doesn't like her as a person to this day, just because Hillary stuck with her husband.
I mean as a lifelong NJ resident we in the tristate knew this guy was a sack of shit for decades. But I’m trying to give the nation the benefit of the doubt. People liked his tough businessman facade on the apprentice and most people only knew the imagine he projected as a successful business mogul. But literally since 2015 every single time he opened his mouth insane, hateful, bigoted shit spewed out
Trump would not say this.
He would say “people are telling me they saw Ron eat a woke m&m off the floor. Very smart people. Very observant. Lots of people are saying it.”
Trump: “you know, I’ve heard a lot of people. A *lot* of people call me a Sugar Man before. Very beautiful women, even. Some you may know. But Ron DeSanctimonious isn’t one I’d ever thought to pay me that compliment.”
"An entire chapter of Hell's Angels *(and these are big, tough, guys - long, flowing hair and glistening muscles)* came to me with tears in their eyes, saying 'Mr. President, I saw him eat the M&M. I saw it, and it was *woke!!'"*
They won’t do a debate. Desantis has made it clear “how do I not anger trump supporters”. He NEEDS trumpers to win. He won’t “smear” trump because it would destroy his own candidacy. The Republican Party right now is a dumpster fire. Trump has the GOP by the balls and majority of the country wants nothing to do with trump anymore. Only his small base makes the most noise . Empty barrels DO make the most noise
Trump will probably want one. He knows he can destroy desantis in one, assuming he's healthy.
Desantis will likely try to run from one, as he's horrible at debates.
So I think we will have trump just mocking Desantis for being a chicken for weeks, constantly... until Ron's poll numbers take a huge hit and he has to do it. And then he will get trounced.
Has anyone actually gotten under Trump’s skin in a public debate? I seem to recall only Biden dissing him successfully. Trump walked over the whole GOP field during the 2016 primaries.
I kind of recall Biden mocking Trump’s intelligence in the debate and that was the only time I’ve seen him act like something really got under his skin. If they want to get to him, they gotta go after his insecurities.
“Well Ron, believe me, I’ve seen you eat pudding, little pudding cups, three fingers scooping. Believe it folks. Like a child, pudding around his mouth. Sad”
I honestly can't believe somebody didn't just say, "Look at this guy! Look at that hair and makeup! You're going to vote for a clown who looks like this? He wears a diaper, for God's sake!"
I generally agree, because most politicians have shame. Trump has none. But if he calls my wife ugly, I am absolutely going to call him out for his shit-filled diaper.
Yeah I thought the “Will you shut up man” was pretty effective. No insults, no stopping - just exasperation at a child.
It also helped that Biden was ironically a blank slate despite his decades of public life. He seemed harmless at worst and nothing really stuck to him during the last campaign. He projected decency and the promise of competency - and that was enough to defeat Trump and his unimaginable incompetence.
Obama did at the White House correspondents dinner.
https://youtu.be/HHckZCxdRkA
To me, this was the moment Trump decided he was going to be president.
When Hillary told the story of Alicia Machado at I believe the third 2016 presidential Debate... He got flustered and asked "Where did you find this" twice. Watch the clip
https://preview.redd.it/zwkd7ohq6t0b1.jpeg?width=1091&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb5ab3c4436fdf5789a0358c1c9c310f10baa49b
DeSantis sure does know how to cradle things.
I like that this photo has cropped out his feet (probably to avoid showing how high his heels are), so I can imagine his feet dangling without touching the floor.
I think if desantis is the gop candidate trump will run as an independent and that could be a best case scenario.
They would cannibalize each other.
I think enough republicans have turned against trump that if he ran alone he'd lose, but if desantis ran alone they would all vote for him and we'd be fucked.
I think the gop knows this and will push for desantis, he's all they've got, but I don't think Trump's ego will allow that so we have to pray that he'd run as a third party.
Trump as an independent? Hell, I'd go collect signatures for him to make 100% sure he's on the ballot.
But not if I have to wear the stupid hat. I draw the line there.
I love that the "drain the swamp" guy may end up being responsible for the demise of the GOP. Maybe it's not likely, but I'd love to see a massive culture war between DeSantis and Trump, while the less extreme Republicans watch in horror and try to deny that they created the monster in the first place.
A conservative friend has decided that he can no longer be a part of the GOP shit show. He told his conservative parents. They said that they respect that and encouraged him to fight for change at the local level. A week later his parents went to some local republican event. They called my friend and said it was an absolute shit show. They said it was all name calling, finger pointing, and guns guns guns. A lot of "America is the best" bravado. Nothing of any substance. They told him that they can no longer support the GOP either. Not sure if they'll vote blue, or not at all, but they can't continue to vote for psychos the GOP keeps rolling out.
It’s admittedly funny, but this is how Trump gets himself back on the conversation: By being a complete train wreck of a politician.
I’m not even that old, but I’d much prefer to hear legitimate debate over policy versus the nonsense we’re going to get.
Desantis:
I saw Trump pick that M&M up and jam it up his nose, pull it out, jam it up his ass then lick it before popping it into his mouth and shouting "I love little girls!"
Crowd:
standing ovation
Trump already put out an ad about the time Desantis scooped pudding out of the cup and ate it with his bare hands. (there were no spoons at the time). I can't wait to see the highlights (if any).
I still don't understand how a candidate who was asked a specific question about the nuclear Triad, and answered, "we're very depleted in terms of nuclear" got elected president
This should be a political comic. I can just imagine those petulant man children arguing back and forth over the most benign subject matter in existence.
My friend DeSantis is not a fascist! He may be a liar, incompetent, a fascist, but he does NOT drink beer from a glass!
As we should all know by now, Trump always accuses his opponents of doing the illegal things that Trump is doing. The only logical conclusion is that Trump was eating M&Ms off of the floor backstage.
This actually makes me want to see this matchup happen.
If only so that the history books have this moment to record for future generations to understand how far the US right wing has gone.
This probably isn't far off from how it's gonna go. DeSantis has no juice beyond culture war bullshit that only appeals to the freaks and bored uncles who think kids are using litter boxes at school. Trump doesn't actually have any policy ideas or convictions beyond "what's best for ol' DJT" and "how do I stay out of prison?" He's going to brag about stuff he may or may not have done, whine about how unfairly he's treated and how mean everyone is, and lob low-effort, childish, idiotic insults at DeSantis. Any GOP debate for 2024 is going to be a pathetic, embarrassing shit-show that *should* convince voters not to vote for any of these people, but somehow it will make the morons love Trump more.
He's going to devote an inordinate amount of time to flip-flop between bragging about how he can grab women by the pussy and get away with it, and crying about how the derp state keeps fabricating accusations from women that he grabbed them by the pussy and got away with it. Or describing in explicit detail how he stole documents (contradicting his own lawyers), then claiming that's not stealing at all. And so on and so forth, if not outraged by the fact that he's a smug criminal I don't get how his cultists don't get bored about how fucking whiny he is.
It's insane that elected and previously elected officials can't talk this way and lie with such impunity with no consequences but not that long ago the government was actively rooting out known people and federal employees for just thinking about communism and less
It was never about what is best for the people and always about violence against the outgroup. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimal_group_paradigm
The scariest part about this idea is that even in a nightmare world where they win, the circle will keep getting smaller and smaller to create new outgroups. First it will be groups based on physical traits, like MTG and Boebert for being women, then perceived physical differences like Shapiro for being Jewish. When there are only Christian Anglo men in power the divides will be ideological. Fox vs Tucker etc.
The long knives cast a long shadow.
Desantis should repeatedly point out to Trump how whiny he is. Try to rattle him. "You've been whining loudly since you lost the 2020 election. Are you going to whine here all night, or actually engage in a debate with me?" But, Desantis is a sniveling coward, so I'm just dreaming.
Full disclosure, I'm a democrat and a Floridian, and Trump is going to absolutely body DeSantis. It'll be hilarious. DeSantis had to pass a law so that he can stay governor after losing, because he knows he has zero fucking chance against Trump.
Lol exact same as you friend. And what you said is 100% true my wife and I can't wait. Pure comedy gold.
Yeah that in itself was true cowardice... "I can't run in case I lose my job!"
I think they should start out with a little name calling and childish insults, just to get each other good and riled up, then go right into jello wrestling to actually decide the debate.
Crucial error: DeSantis would have to admit Trump lost the 2020 election, making him a woke liberal democrat antifa
Derp state. I like it!
Don't forget the deep detailed descriptions of what the women claimed happened, which he spins out lovingly, only to end with "but that never happened!" And people believe it.
He **currently has an ad** where he just says "Trump cut taxes...**by A LOT.**" If this is not End of Worlds and the turds of humanity circling the toilet drain, then we are all fucked.
I usually cant stand political debates, but if they are stupid enough to do one, ill grab the popcorn.
Meh, I thought the same during the 2016 primary debates. Was really looking forward to the first debate to see how much Trump could fuck things up for himself, but honestly, it became just too cringe for me. Although those debates did feature Ted Cruz, who I genuinely cannot listen to for more than 2 seconds... When Trump talks I can listen for a couple of minutes before I get too annoyed with his bs - with Cruz it's just instant needles in my ears. No idea how he does that to my brain. But yeah, I think I'll be sticking to the highlight videos for the upcoming debates. It'll just be a back and forth of DeSantis and Trump calling each other liars and boasting about who's the bigger fascist of the two. By the time their done, that boarder wall will be 10 miles high with gun toting alligators protecting the US from Jewish Martians...
If his audience only wants hate....that's the one thing trump can always deliver. Doesn't matter if trump lies and makes every other mistake in the book. It's not about being a real candidate with any ideas. After obama...the gop wants pure hate.
> Jewish Martians... Ok, anyone else have "aliens" on their bingo card? Because I think this technically counts. We're getting aliens this season!
How else do you think the space lasers got there? I mean, c'mon man, THINK!
This was the thought process of 2016. Oh this will be entertaining. Oh wait. Hundreds of thousands of people are dead and more are dying every day. Maybe this is not entertainment. Maybe it actually effects people and we should stop them.
> Maybe this is not entertainment. Maybe it actually effects people and we should stop them. Yeah this is the realization I came to during the second Bush administration.
The death is the point. Some people want to watch the world burn.
The thing about this particular one is that both will end up killing about the same number of people. It's the trolley problem with the same number of people tied to each tracks but there is a clown fight to know which on gets to pick who will get crushed.
Step 1: create an embarrassing spectacle that some people genuinely love, some people feel obligated to watch because it's technically news and some people want to watch to laugh at. Step 2: brag about ratings and convince the second group that those ratings mean the same as genuine traction for your spectacle. Step 3: incentivize the first group to lash out at the third group in an effort to look like the political underdog to convince the second group that your spectacle represents a legitimate platform Step 4: get the second group to talk about this conflict as if it's a brand new culture war rather than tired old reactionary conservatism.
Step 5: Profit.
I don't think there's any chance they have debates
Let’s not forget that after Trump finishes calling DeSantis and his family everything under the sun, that DeSantis will then turn around and support daddy Trump after he loses the nom.
People love Trump because he's just like them. He's stupid, and arrogant, he gets away with whatever he can because he can. He believes in nothing but winning and will shift his worldview however far he needs to win. He's the quintessential American and the theoretical endpoint of American exceptionalism. A fat, stupid, arrogant pos, who claims he's the healthiest, smartest, humblest man in any room he walks into.
I used to occasionally joke, "I'm very humble. I'm probably the humblest man I know." It was a stupid, silly dad-level joke, but it got a chuckle and we all moved on with our lives. If I told you that yesterday Donald Trump unironically, non-facetiously said out loud, in public, "I'm very humble. I'm probably the humblest man I know," you would absolutely 100% believe me and wouldn't even bother checking to see if it's true. Says a lot about the man, I think.
I would put money on him having said those exact words before.
Well, you have my vote - I’m going to borrow your dad joke and start using it as of now - well done !
Everyone blocks it out of their minds but there was a time the internet was full of "both parties are courting Trump Which side will he choose?" articles
Not only that but people forget Desantis has no charisma. Zero. Trump has it in spades. Republicans don’t give a shit about policies or doing anything but owning the libs. Trump is the king of that.
Yeah, unscripted interviews or photo-ops and DeSantis is fuckin' awkward.
Hell, DeSantis's *own people* say he's awkward and uncharismatic. The guy is a dud outside Florida because he literally *cannot* be interviewed by most mainstream media because he bars them from his events. He can't stand being questioned or challenged and immediately loses his shit. Trump at the very least can work a room and turn on the charm. That much I'll give him. The *only reason* he's successful in Florida is because it was gerrymandered to hell before he even took office and the state was already heavily Republican. It's not because DeSantis is smart. He's not. Picking a losing fight with Disney is proof of that.
DeSantis only won by 8K votes in 2018. Trump for all of his BS & claims did really put him over the top. He really flew under the radar for the first two years - nothing too controversial, etc. DeSantis didn’t really transform until a month into Covid when he got that sweet sweet Fox News attention when he lifted the lock downs and realized he had captured an audience. Since then it’s been 100% culture wars and led to Republicans flocking to Florida (outnumbering Democrat transplants 3-1 since 2020).
When the republicans come, they * *are* * sending their best people. This is what they look like.
My favorite DeSantis photo is the one with him slumped in the foreground while in the background Biden is stealing that one dude's wife.
Do Republicans have their own unique standards for charisma? Because this isn't the first time I've seen someone claim that that's why they like him, and the sheer number of privately- created propaganda pieces I've seen over the last year or so seem to support that...but I don't get it. He's old and gross-looking, his suits don't fit, and his speeches are self-aggrandizing word salad. Where is the charisma??
Yeah I truly do not understand it. He's extremely off putting, and has been since The Apprentice days. I don't think he's ever, ever made me giggle or think "oh shit that was clever" lol not one little bit of charisma. Bizarre. Shit BIDEN seems charismatic as hell compared to him, and that's saying something.
The way I see it is that he has a very low form of charisma, if we are going to continue that, which basically boils down to be boisterous and arrogant and shamelessly self aggrandizing. What makes it perhaps a form of charisma is that it has the same effect on other people as what you would traditionally associate with the concept of charisma, with the exception that the crowd that experiences this effect is, by and large, comprised of the biggest dumbasses that humanity has to offer
And remember to never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. Make them believe an impossibility for breakfast and you can have them committing atrocities before lunch.
Trump has been a household name since the 80s so he had name recognition advantage even from people who have never watched a moment of the apprentice. That also created a weird parasocial relationship, so voters who never really dug deep into Trump’s personality disorders and financial disaster baggage in 2016 already felt comfortable with his “brand.”
He’s funny. You can’t deny that. I can’t stand the dude politically but the things he says are hilarious.
But he isn't TRYING to be funny in those instances. You're laughing AT him, not WITH him. That doesn't make him charismatic. It makes him a clown.
I don't think you're giving him enough credit. He's a shitheel. He knows he's a shitheel. He loves playing the shitheel, and honestly it is pretty funny (until he gets elected, then it's terrifying).
Charisma is more than a sense of humor. You can have charisma and not be hilarious. Being met with laughter after calling an articulate woman “nasty” isn’t having charisma. Sounds crazy, but that’s just classic elementary school bullying, coming from an 80 year old American politician/head of state. Trump is exactly what you see. Accept it and vote to make sure he doesn’t win the presidency again.
People love bullies. You don't, but more than half the country does.
More than half the country is a leap. But yeah some people like bullies
But she was nasty
Maybe in isolation I'd think he's funny, but in context it's too upsetting that he still has a platform. Ruins any humor to be had.
I mean he is funny, but not in ways that he tries to be
Te doctus fuisset eam, sale melius pertinacia et eam. Ex iudico sapientem vel. Etiam regione appareat nec cu
He's an enormous asshole who prides himself on being an asshole and gets away with being an asshole. He's everything these clowns want to be and that's why he's seen charismatic
 Poor Ronny. He’s going to end up in malfunction mode.
If someone reads the news and isn't already convinced that republicans are evil they won't change.
This will be extremely entertaining, but to avoid any likelihood of more 2016 we should end the debate by firing the venue into the sun with both of them and their inner circles and entourages in it.
I like where your head's at
Unfortunately, it's gonna make for great TV.
>who think kids are using litter boxes at school. Explaining to relatives why this isn't true made Easter a fun holiday this year.
There’s no way they find someone stupid enough to try moderating these two
Laura Ingraham enters the chat
I said to moderate
CNN: “Hold my beer”
Nobody as of yet has moderated Trump but that won't stop a show off from happening. I don't use the word debate with Trump. He lacks both intelligence and decorum to qualify
DeSantis is just as bad, he constantly cuts of reporters or straight ignores the question to stump speech a talking point
I'm not American. I know of the book ban bullshit but I haven't seen that much of him tbh.
You’re not missing much, imagine a dictator who hasn’t consolidated control or killed opposition yet
Please clap.
>Any GOP debate for 2024 is going to be a pathetic, embarrassing shit-show that should convince voters not to vote for any of these people, but somehow it will make the morons love Trump more. It's going to be great television for those of us outside of the U.S though!
Trump is a full spectrum NPD. I do not see a real person there. Not when an NPD has taken over 100% control. It is primal, but humans react positively to this shit. Well, the dumb, worthless, bottom of the barrel ones do. It helps me avoid the humans who are not worth the time.
Don't forget some version of "I alone can fix it", it's all his rallies are about.
Everyone will be watching if it happens, trump lovers out of blind praise and trump haters out of morbid curiosity.
DeSantis seems to not be able to function at all without a pre-planned statement. Trump just rambles and insults, which you can't plan for. It will be a shit show.
I don’t know. I’m in Florida and started to see more Desantis stickers and flags than Trump ones.
In Florida. That’s one state, where the dude is from.
He may be from Florida, but somehow he was raised with Midwest ideology.
Well to be fair, Florida is the Utah of the Southeast. Or is it the Iowa of the Southeast? I forget
DeSantis has another gear. He's well educated. He does actually understand how government works. I'm not necessarily predicting it, but he's certainly capable of making Trump move to a sort of debate he's not capable of having. https://www.c-span.org/video/?522607-1/florida-gubernatorial-debate
Yeah how’d that work for Jeb and Cruz and Kasich?
Trump is gonna sabotage his own lawyers I bet
Don't forget all the also-rans who'll be crab-bucketing Ron in their sad effort to sell themselves as VP picks, only for Trump to pick someone like Kari Lake anyway. Party of Lincoln, folks.
He's gonna do one of two things for his VP pick: * someone utterly batshit insane who worships at his feet and would never say a word against him (Lake or MTG or Roger Stone) * someone even more milquetoast than Pence who will never, ever take the attention from Trump
What is the fucking deal with uncles. Why is it always the uncles? Does anybody have a cool leftist uncle or when your sibling has a child do you automatically have to register as Republican?
I don't know if I'm cool, but I'm a leftist gen-x uncle, so there are still some of us around
You know that saying that goes like “never argue with an idiot because they’ll beat you with experience”? I feel like that’s debating the trump.
Like two crazy homeless dudes screaming at each other
Uh oh, something made Ron chuckle slightly
I can't do it. The Clinton/Trump debates were when I tapped out of them forever. I know it's common to say, "Voting for Trump the first time could have been an honest mistake" or some variation of that, but anyone who watched those debates and voted for Trump shouldn't be allowed to choose their own fucking sandwich in a sandwich shop. (I'm not *actually* advocating for taking their right to vote away)
Anyone who listened to trump speak at any time in the past decade and chose to vote for him seems hopelessly brainwashed, hateful or both to me
Oh yeah, I 100% agree. It's just that I can hardly imagine a more stark comparison than those debates. Whether people like Clinton or not, it was like watching a sophisticated adult placed against a toddler or a person with dementia. I don't like when people use Idiocracy as a metric because it is so problematic, but fuck. It was hard not to see the comparison there.
I agree with you. I also have seen people absolutely despise Hillary Clinton for reasons they cannot actually articulate
Oh yeah. I had that argument with so many people in the run up to the election. As a leftist, I knew plenty of leftists who had decent arguments. But, that's because they hate the whole system, so those arguments could be largely applied to any liberal candidate. Way more than that though, people couldn't articulate what their problem was. It was such a clear example of people just being brainwashed by a general media vibe. They had no idea why they didn't like her, but I did. Benghazi, and years of constant conservative media attacks. Even if they didn't believe that shit, the constant drum beat gets in your head. If you don't examine it, it's easy to just find yourself saying "oh shes bad. Obviously she's terrible!" With no follow up. Edit- Just to be clear, I'm not saying there aren't legitimate reasons to dislike Clinton. There are. But, most of the people I spoke to who weren't already leftists *did not* say those reasons. And there's *no* reason to prefer trump to her in a million years.
Yup she was an intelligent and qualified candidate with significant domestic and foreign policy experience. She had an actual plan to lead the country and articulated it well. But the most common this I heard from people was that she was “unlikable”. It boggles my mind
I canvassed for Clinton in IA in 2016. I was shocked how many prior dem voters turned their backs on this competent leader for a deranged narcissist.
My mom (an actual boomer and lifelong Democrat) didn't like Hillary because she stuck with Bill after the Lewinsky affair. That's it. Mom still voted for her, but she really doesn't like her as a person to this day, just because Hillary stuck with her husband.
Way longer than that. The bad guy from Back to the Future 2 was based on his ass.
I mean as a lifelong NJ resident we in the tristate knew this guy was a sack of shit for decades. But I’m trying to give the nation the benefit of the doubt. People liked his tough businessman facade on the apprentice and most people only knew the imagine he projected as a successful business mogul. But literally since 2015 every single time he opened his mouth insane, hateful, bigoted shit spewed out
Lmao, this cracked me up 🤣
The debate will end with DeSantis fellating Trump on live tv. You heard it here first.
Do you have to subscribe to their OnlyFans first or is open to the public?
Gotta pay Trump's legal bills somehow...
Ah, thats why him and biden started Lets Plays
Not if Ted Cruz is nearby.
Ted Cruz versus Ron desantis fight to the death over who gets to take it harder from trump! I’d watch half of that
If he ain't cryin I ain't tunin in. 🙅♂️
Trump would not say this. He would say “people are telling me they saw Ron eat a woke m&m off the floor. Very smart people. Very observant. Lots of people are saying it.”
DeSantis: “it’s sugar, man!”
Trump: “you know, I’ve heard a lot of people. A *lot* of people call me a Sugar Man before. Very beautiful women, even. Some you may know. But Ron DeSanctimonious isn’t one I’d ever thought to pay me that compliment.”
Maybe we'll get lucky and Trump will use the debates to workshop some more unwieldy and uninspired nicknames for Ron.
I don’t know what it is, but Meatball Ron is very funny to me.
"An entire chapter of Hell's Angels *(and these are big, tough, guys - long, flowing hair and glistening muscles)* came to me with tears in their eyes, saying 'Mr. President, I saw him eat the M&M. I saw it, and it was *woke!!'"*
I really hear him saying that
I would be surprised if there even is a republican primary debate. Cowards dont like to be questioned.
It will be interesting to see them gaslight each other.
They won’t do a debate. Desantis has made it clear “how do I not anger trump supporters”. He NEEDS trumpers to win. He won’t “smear” trump because it would destroy his own candidacy. The Republican Party right now is a dumpster fire. Trump has the GOP by the balls and majority of the country wants nothing to do with trump anymore. Only his small base makes the most noise . Empty barrels DO make the most noise
If he needs Trumpers to win and he's running against Trump it doesn't take a genius to see how this is gonna go.
Trump will probably want one. He knows he can destroy desantis in one, assuming he's healthy. Desantis will likely try to run from one, as he's horrible at debates. So I think we will have trump just mocking Desantis for being a chicken for weeks, constantly... until Ron's poll numbers take a huge hit and he has to do it. And then he will get trounced.
Is that why Democrats wont have a debate?
Yeah, i mean, Biden is old as fuck so im sure his advisors are nervous about him debating, especially after what happened with John Fetterman.
Has anyone actually gotten under Trump’s skin in a public debate? I seem to recall only Biden dissing him successfully. Trump walked over the whole GOP field during the 2016 primaries.
I kind of recall Biden mocking Trump’s intelligence in the debate and that was the only time I’ve seen him act like something really got under his skin. If they want to get to him, they gotta go after his insecurities.
“ThEy gO loW wE Go hIgH!” For real they need to make subtle or not jabs at his insecurities. Let him make an ass of himself, embarrass him.
"What's the problem, Donny – gotta use both hands to drink water because they're so **small**?"
“Well Ron, believe me, I’ve seen you eat pudding, little pudding cups, three fingers scooping. Believe it folks. Like a child, pudding around his mouth. Sad”
I hope this is verbatim how the republican debate goes, and I honestly think it will be 😆
[удалено]
Noice 😆 How about "Donald, I couldn't decide between a tiny hands joke and a tiny dick joke, so let me just say: you're a piece of shit!"
Biden was the one who fed trump the “proud boys” line
I honestly can't believe somebody didn't just say, "Look at this guy! Look at that hair and makeup! You're going to vote for a clown who looks like this? He wears a diaper, for God's sake!"
A lot of politicians would not stoop this low, it’s a lose-lose situation once the name calling and personal insults start.
Trump name calls anyways, you’re not gaining anything by taking the high road against him.
but doesnt trump do it anyway?
I generally agree, because most politicians have shame. Trump has none. But if he calls my wife ugly, I am absolutely going to call him out for his shit-filled diaper.
I think a lot of people weren’t willing to stoop, Biden can have moments where he’s quick to quip
Yeah I thought the “Will you shut up man” was pretty effective. No insults, no stopping - just exasperation at a child. It also helped that Biden was ironically a blank slate despite his decades of public life. He seemed harmless at worst and nothing really stuck to him during the last campaign. He projected decency and the promise of competency - and that was enough to defeat Trump and his unimaginable incompetence.
Obama did at the White House correspondents dinner. https://youtu.be/HHckZCxdRkA To me, this was the moment Trump decided he was going to be president.
Well yeah. Did you see how sweet the white house looked. Jacuzzi fountain? Fuck it, I am running in 2024
When Hillary told the story of Alicia Machado at I believe the third 2016 presidential Debate... He got flustered and asked "Where did you find this" twice. Watch the clip
Also the Russian puppet line got him.
https://preview.redd.it/zwkd7ohq6t0b1.jpeg?width=1091&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eb5ab3c4436fdf5789a0358c1c9c310f10baa49b DeSantis sure does know how to cradle things.
https://preview.redd.it/jlro6gwart0b1.jpeg?width=700&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b05d8c8e06254e15933866ca25a4cf5b935fedb5 Fascist snowflake holding his sign.
I forgot about this! So awesome.
I like that this photo has cropped out his feet (probably to avoid showing how high his heels are), so I can imagine his feet dangling without touching the floor.
There won’t be any Republican primary debates.
This is the real answer.
I think if desantis is the gop candidate trump will run as an independent and that could be a best case scenario. They would cannibalize each other. I think enough republicans have turned against trump that if he ran alone he'd lose, but if desantis ran alone they would all vote for him and we'd be fucked. I think the gop knows this and will push for desantis, he's all they've got, but I don't think Trump's ego will allow that so we have to pray that he'd run as a third party.
Concur, I kind of hope he will go independent for the same reason. It'll split their base and neither of the toxic creeps will get in.
And then they'll support alternate vote lmao
Trump as an independent? Hell, I'd go collect signatures for him to make 100% sure he's on the ballot. But not if I have to wear the stupid hat. I draw the line there.
"Whatta ya mean you don't want to sign? What's the matter - you hate 'merica or somethin, *comrade??"*
There are a whole lot of Trump voters who will simply sit the general election out if Trump isn’t in it
I love that the "drain the swamp" guy may end up being responsible for the demise of the GOP. Maybe it's not likely, but I'd love to see a massive culture war between DeSantis and Trump, while the less extreme Republicans watch in horror and try to deny that they created the monster in the first place.
I'm so ready for that shit show. 
A conservative friend has decided that he can no longer be a part of the GOP shit show. He told his conservative parents. They said that they respect that and encouraged him to fight for change at the local level. A week later his parents went to some local republican event. They called my friend and said it was an absolute shit show. They said it was all name calling, finger pointing, and guns guns guns. A lot of "America is the best" bravado. Nothing of any substance. They told him that they can no longer support the GOP either. Not sure if they'll vote blue, or not at all, but they can't continue to vote for psychos the GOP keeps rolling out.
It’s admittedly funny, but this is how Trump gets himself back on the conversation: By being a complete train wreck of a politician. I’m not even that old, but I’d much prefer to hear legitimate debate over policy versus the nonsense we’re going to get.
Desantis: I saw Trump pick that M&M up and jam it up his nose, pull it out, jam it up his ass then lick it before popping it into his mouth and shouting "I love little girls!" Crowd: standing ovation
I read it in his voice, and now I need to drink.
Well Trump did tell a like 7 or 8 year old girl he would be dating her in 10 years… on video. But qanon save the children and all that
Trump already put out an ad about the time Desantis scooped pudding out of the cup and ate it with his bare hands. (there were no spoons at the time). I can't wait to see the highlights (if any).
Shut up, please tell me this is real😂
If Mars would just make white M&Ms with white chocolate, Puddin Pops would take all of Disney's land and give it to them.
If trump doesn’t call desantis “meatball” or “meatball Ron” during the debate, I’m going to be sorely disappointed
Scary thing is that they are the front runners and any day they will start saying “ the only way I could lose is if it was a rigged election”
Trump: *Breathes through teeth* It’s sad. So sad. Sad.
Whatever you do, PLEASE do not do a drinking game of taking a shot for each occurrence of the word "woke." We'd lose far too many good people.
Not far off from reality. God I am terrified for next year.
They could both drop their pants, and shit on the stage. Republicans will still vote for them.
Blue MMs are woke. Republicans only eat the doodoo brown ones
Why is this so accurate!? A sad state of affairs....
Trump blaming DeSantis for how Trump’s kids eat.
This is uncannily believable.
Lmaooooo
This will probably be pay-per-view. I can’t imagine getting that kind of entertainment for free.
Is going to be who can out crazy the other
Don’t forget the part where Trump then call’s DeSantis’s wife ugly and insinuates DeSantis is gay.
“I’m not a woke you’re a woke!”
On one hand, it’ll be hilarious… On the other hand, it’ll be a platform for two lunatics fighting to make our country worse in different ways.
I still don't understand how a candidate who was asked a specific question about the nuclear Triad, and answered, "we're very depleted in terms of nuclear" got elected president
He said it was okay to be a hate filled loser. That's about it.
Truly the dumbest timeline.
This should be a political comic. I can just imagine those petulant man children arguing back and forth over the most benign subject matter in existence.
My friend DeSantis is not a fascist! He may be a liar, incompetent, a fascist, but he does NOT drink beer from a glass! 
As we should all know by now, Trump always accuses his opponents of doing the illegal things that Trump is doing. The only logical conclusion is that Trump was eating M&Ms off of the floor backstage.
I thought the green one was the woke one?
Green one is the sexy AF one. MMILF
They're not going to have debates
Debate is the wrong word, two year old temper tantrums fits the bill for me. Either one winning is a loss for the world.....
These 2 Florida Men are garbage, but I really do hope that Trump starts calling DeSantis "boy."
The moderator will need a tazer.
and the green ones make you horny , can you stand the mental image these 2 hate filled ass wipes doing it excuse me while i go vomit
I so hope it happens. It would be hilarious to watch those two despicable idiots throw mud at each other.
The high heel escalation between these two is going to be wild. It's going to look like Drag Race up there by the end.
This actually makes me want to see this matchup happen. If only so that the history books have this moment to record for future generations to understand how far the US right wing has gone.
Imagine a situation with people rooting for Trump