“How can Ted Cruz be an Evangelical Christian when he lies so much and is so dishonest?”
—Donald Trump tweet, Feb. 12, 2016. [A better question: how can evangelical Christians support one who “lies so much and is so dishonest”?]
“A dishonest slob of a reporter, who doesn’t understand my sarcasm when talking about him or his wife, wrote a foolish & boring Trump ‘hit.'”
—Donald Trump tweet, Feb. 14, 2014. [Full disclosure: whenever Trump is caught in a flat-footed lie (which is often), he invariably claims he was being “sarcastic.”]
“Happy Veterans Day to ALL, in particular to the haters and losers who have no idea how lucky they are!!!”
—Donald Trump tweet, Nov. 11, 2013.
“For all of the haters and losers out there sorry, I never went Bankrupt.”
—Donald Trump tweet, April 18, 2015. [Not personally, but his companies did—six times—and that’s not counting the times he simply defaulted on paying his bills.]
Louisiana Voice 
There is a psychological phenomenon in which stupid people do not know that they are in fact stupid. Psychologist David Dunning describes it thus: “In many areas of life, incompetent people do not recognize — scratch that, cannot recognize — just how incompetent they are, a phenomenon that has come to be known as the Dunning-Kruger effect. For poor performers to recognize their ineptitude would require them to possess the very expertise they lack.
Poor performers — and we are all poor performers at some things — fail to see the flaws in their thinking or the answers they lack. What’s curious is that, in many cases, incompetence does not leave people disoriented, perplexed, or cautious. Instead, the incompetent are often blessed with an inappropriate confidence, buoyed by something that feels to them like knowledge.”
Chauncey DeVega, in an article in Salon, says “Donald Trump is an almost perfect living, breathing example of the Dunning-Kruger effect: a president in a time of plague whose ignorance and stupidity are amplified through apparent and obvious mental illness as well as cruelty, compulsive lying, grand immorality, corruption and evil.”
I think we are living with the problem of how dangerous it is when those that do not know that they do not know worship Trump. They just do not know how vile and corrupt he is and they do not know that they do not know this….therein lies our problem!
Those are all good points, but I will submit that there is a startling similarity in his behavior to that of Niccolo Machiavelli which leads me to believe that he knows exactly what he is doing. I only hope that the outcome is similar.
CJ, I suppose it is a matter of perspective. I always felt that President Obama was in far over his head in virtually every matter, and in particular in areas of economics and foreign policy.. He was not qualified by experience to administer anything at all.Trump a Poor performer ? Really ? The man is a billionaire. The man was elected President , our highest office, in his very first political endeavor. He spent about half of what Mrs. Clinton did, and none of his money paid for a phony Russian scandal sheet. Were we all only as “incompetent” as Trump.
kamarcan; a quote : “Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.” If that does not sound like Hillary Rodham Clinton, I do not know what does.The “outcome” will be that you will be unhappy for another 4.5 years because Joe Biden could not survive an election without crumbling. Surely you realize that after watching Joe in last few months.
Dear, dear Ms. Zoe…no, it is not a matter of perspective. It is a matter of facts. And feelings about Obama are not facts either. Feelings are an emotional state or reaction (as defined by Merriam-Webster). And as far as someone being “far over his head,” you are definitely describing Trump. And yes, as kamarcan said, “he knows exactly what he is doing.” But that only applies to his self-promotion, his verbal bashings of anyone who disagrees or criticizes him, his ability to keep his political allies and his base in line, his demagoguery, his self-adulation, pomposity, and complete moral abdication as president (“Politics have no relation to morals” – Machiavelli). Yet, when it comes to being president of this country he is an utter and complete incompetent. And you keep referring to the supposed fact that he is a billionaire. Let us see his tax returns. We can then judge for ourselves. What is he hiding? Russian loans? Maybe, maybe not. What is it he fears we will learn? Why is he so afraid to release them? Explain please.
And as far as economics is concerned, here is a report by the Joint Economic Committee just before the pandemic (The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) is a bicameral Congressional Committee composed of ten members from each the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are ten Democrats and ten Republicans on the Committee. The JEC was established by the Employment Act of 1946 (Public Law 304). Its main purpose is to make a continuing study of matters relating to the US economy. The Committee holds hearings, performs research and advises Members of Congress). Doesn’t sound to me that Obama was over his head.
Click to access did-trump-create-or-inherit-the-strong-economy-final.pdf
Here is the link….
Click to access did-trump-create-or-inherit-the-strong-economy-final.pdf
Zoe, I don’t know what your choices are, but mine do not involve “love”, “fear” or Hillary Clinton. None of those are germane to this election, or on my ballot. And that particular Machiavelli quote would appear to reinforce everything that is wrong with a “Machiavellian” politician. Now, I won’t be so bold as to predict the future but I can respect that you do. So, without knowing the future, there is definitely a stark difference between the 2016 and 2020 elections. This time we know exactly what Trump is about.
Zoe, how do you know he’s a billionaire? Have you seen his tax reports? No one else has, so no one really knows what his worth is. If he lies about his net worth the way he lies about everything else (and there’s no reason to suspect he doesn’t), then he could be the world’s most dishonest con man. I, for one, suspect that his net worth is far below what he boasts – for no other reason than we just can’t believe anything he says. List to him: he’s the greatest this, the greatest that, the greatest everything, who ever lived. He says so himself and we know he’s so full of B.S. that his eyes are brown.
I really don’t understand people like you who just accept everything he says without question and spout every rumor and innuendo about Obama as gospel. You have no credibility than Trump himself.
Zoe, you hit the nail on the head, “the man is a billionaire” (ok, we haven’t seen his taxes, record of bankruptcies, his duplicitness in business dealings…but I digress, not hard to do when discussing Donald). He has had no experience in governing and he does not know how to govern..All the Presidents,(with the exception of military leader Eisenhower, had experience in government; some fell short of expectations. Eisenhower had proven himself a military hero and leader and harnessed these qualities while President.. Trump? He has rewritten the playbook for sure. Where do I start?
Have you seen Donald Jr.’s (a chip off the old block) vile memes implying that Biden is a pedophile? Going that route b/c the Tara story is not sticking. When confronted, Jr. said that he “was just joking”. Now we know how vile and how low the Presidential campaign will go..of course, “the base” will believe anything. Jr. is worse than Dad–more vicious and repugnant..the student is outscoring the teacher (maybe is in the genes).
… the irony of Trump questioning another’s mental stability or accusing them of sexual impropriety. That dog don’t hunt.