Trump: “There are a lot of killers. We’ve got a lot of killers. What do you think—our country’s so innocent?”

[txradioguy]

Well, to be fair, it was O'Reilly that used the deliberately provocative word "killer" and made Trump react to it.   I have no problem with Trump's response.  Heck, I think O'Reilly may have been trying to promote his book franchise ("Killing Lincoln", "Killing Reagan", etc.)

That's called a leading question...he got the answer he wanted from Trump because of the way he phrased the question.

[Jazzhead]

That's called a leading question...he got the answer he wanted from Trump because of the way he phrased the question.

If you're suggesting that Trump is easy to bait,  then I agree with you.    That's why he needs to have his twitter taken away.   His style is both improvisatory and improvident.   

[libertybele]

That's called a leading question...he got the answer he wanted from Trump because of the way he phrased the question.

Without a doubt, O'Reilly bated him ... however, Trump should learn when it may be better just to remain silent; he could have very easily repeated his original statement that he's hoping to work with Putin to defeat ISIS. He could have very easily then turned the focus on defeating ISIS.

[libertybele]

If you're suggesting that Trump is easy to bait,  then I agree with you.    That's why he needs to have his twitter taken away.   His style is both improvisatory and improvident.

Agreed.  Trump is passionate in his beliefs and it is very easy to get him riled; especially if he's defending his actions.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Agreed.  Trump is passionate in his beliefs and it is very easy to get him riled; especially if he's defending his actions.

I don't think he has any core beliefs.

[musiclady]

Agreed.  Trump is passionate in his beliefs and it is very easy to get him riled; especially if he's defending his actions.

What beliefs?  He's been on both sides of every issue that matters, so we have no idea what his "beliefs" are.

What's he's defending is himself, because President or not, he's still a self-absorbed narcissist, just like his predecessor.

[libertybele]

I don't think he has any core beliefs.

That's quite a statement ... and you're entitled to your opinion.

http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Donald_Trump_Principles_+_Values.htm

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-situation-lab/201603/donald-trumps-values

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/donald-trump-believe-candidate-stands-10-issues/

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

That's quite a statement ... and you're entitled to your opinion.

http://www.ontheissues.org/2016/Donald_Trump_Principles_+_Values.htm

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-situation-lab/201603/donald-trumps-values

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/donald-trump-believe-candidate-stands-10-issues/

I think Trump's core belief is love thyself. The rest is just sugar for the screamers.

[txradioguy]

I think Trump's core belief is love thyself. The rest is just sugar for the screamers.

 

[libertybele]

What beliefs?  He's been on both sides of every issue that matters, so we have no idea what his "beliefs" are.

What's he's defending is himself, because President or not, he's still a self-absorbed narcissist, just like his predecessor.

My opinion based on my observations, is yes, I still see him as a narcissist but I see that he also takes pride in himself and what he's accomplished. I see him as a perfectionist and doesn't tolerate imperfection or those who don't strive to be better. I feel that he also values his family his business and yes, I believe he is proud of this country and is troubled by what has happened to her.  I may not agree with all of his values as reported by the media and his blatant disrespect for others during his campaign, but I do think he has some core beliefs.

[Cripplecreek]

I think Trump's core belief is love thyself. The rest is just sugar for the screamers.

He's got all the integrity of warm water and always takes the path of least resistance.

[musiclady]

My opinion based on my observations, is yes, I still see him as a narcissist but I see that he also takes pride in himself and what he's accomplished. I see him as a perfectionist and doesn't tolerate imperfection or those who don't strive to be better. I feel that he also values his family his business and yes, I believe he is proud of this country and is troubled by what has happened to her.  I may not agree with all of his values as reported by the media and his blatant disrespect for others during his campaign, but I do think he has some core beliefs.

His recent statements don't seem to support pride in his country.

It's fine that you're seeking to see the best in him, LB.   I've seen a few good decisions (most likely accidental), but he's still the same guy that he was during the campaign.   You don't magically change from a bad guy to a good guy just because you win an election.

I respect those of you who are working to make lemonade out of this unfortunate lemon, but it's not going to happen with me.  There's been no transformation.  Just an election.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

My opinion based on my observations, is yes, I still see him as a narcissist but I see that he also takes pride in himself and what he's accomplished. I see him as a perfectionist and doesn't tolerate imperfection or those who don't strive to be better. I feel that he also values his family his business and yes, I believe he is proud of this country and is troubled by what has happened to her.  I may not agree with all of his values as reported by the media and his blatant disrespect for others during his campaign, but I do think he has some core beliefs.

His actions and words in the last 3 weeks are not that of a perfectionist.

[ABX]

I also have to disagree that he is a perfectionist, quite the opposite actually. His tweets are just a minor example, full of grammar and spelling mistakes that stand out, even by Twitter standards.

But his whole history, including his own admission in his writing (albeit not in a self-deprecating way) is that he cares more about the veneer than the product. What is the image something gives, not the perfection of the product.

I'll let everyone decide on their own if this is good or bad.

[libertybele]

His recent statements don't seem to support pride in his country.

It's fine that you're seeking to see the best in him, LB.   I've seen a few good decisions (most likely accidental), but he's still the same guy that he was during the campaign.   You don't magically change from a bad guy to a good guy just because you win an election.

I respect those of you who are working to make lemonade out of this unfortunate lemon, but it's not going to happen with me.  There's been no transformation.  Just an election.

I don't think Trump has been transformed, I just think we're seeing more of what's really behind him. Yes, I remain cautiously optimistic at this point and I am very, very thankful that Hillary is defeated. I can't even being to imagine what we would be facing right now with her in place. When Hillary was defeated, I decided to give Trump the benefit of the doubt. He has made some good cabinet choices, he seems to have appointed a conservative justice to SCOTUS (most important) and I fully agree with him on banning people from areas of known terrorism (I feel though the ban should be permanent), and I believe we should build a wall and start deportation.  I believe he has the ability to stimulate this economy and put people back to work.  I believe he will repeal and replace Obamacare.  I'm not confident that I am going to like how he accomplishes those things or what the end result will be; that of course remains to be seen.

The things I didn't like about him in the past, I still don't like about him.  That hasn't changed. I still think he's a narcissist and has a propensity to be a demagogue. His comments about women, Cruz and others still disgust me and therefore,  I am not confident that he won't insult other leaders of the world and put a higher price tag on our backs.  I still think it was sheer lunacy, with his wealth, to give him so much power.  I don't believe that his sole motive in becoming president is to make America great again -- that still hasn't changed.

Like him or not at the end of the day, he defeated Hillary.  He has a tremendous amount of power and right now has the ability to make this country great again.  Every loud-mouth liberal who feels some sort of dejection is throwing a tantrum right now, so much so that they are encouraging other liberals to go against this president.  To me that's a sign that he's not as liberal as I thought he was.

Time will surely tell.  I pray BIGGLY (the word still drives me crazy) for Trump and this country.

[endicom]

I'll let everyone decide on their own if this is good or bad.

Decision based on nothing but your word?

[Idaho_Cowboy]

My opinion based on my observations, is yes, I still see him as a narcissist but I see that he also takes pride in himself and what he's accomplished. I see him as a perfectionist and doesn't tolerate imperfection...

That would explain the divorces right there.

Over all I tend to agree with you. He may not have our standards, but Trump is not a completely rudderless individual. It's taking some time to figure him out. I still think Feudal Lord is perhaps the best way of thinking of him. The media is completely clueless.

[XenaLee]

Here is the interview.  I sat and watched...Trump said we are not innocent, he stated that there are a lot of killers and to look at the war in Iraq, said a lot of people were killed, mistakes were made and that he was against the war in Iraq. My assessment after actually watching the interview is that he is stating that the U.S. is not innocent of killing, and pointed to the war in Iraq as an example.  It was absolutely wrong on his part...it seemed he was defending Putin's actions by pointing to our actions.   


www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbIdPUX7zg8

Yeah, it was wrong.  And yeah, he seemed to be defending Putin there. 

So what now?  Do we take this one comment and use it to symbolically destroy any good things he is doing for America to counteract the damage done by the Obama leftists?  Or do we go on, cautiously optimistic .... if not holding our breath and crossing our fingers.... that he will not make even more comments, like this one, that we don't approve of.   

My bet is that his presidency will be an ongoing funfest of similar comments by Trump.  We might as well get used to it.  I am fully prepared to not be surprised.  But I'm also prepared to weigh the importance of what he says vs. what he does.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Yeah, it was wrong.  And yeah, he seemed to be defending Putin there. 

So what now?  Do we take this one comment and use it to symbolically destroy any good things he is doing for America to counteract the damage done by the Obama leftists?  Or do we go on, cautiously optimistic .... if not holding our breath and crossing our fingers.... that he will not make even more comments, like this one, that we don't approve of.   

My bet is that his presidency will be an ongoing funfest of similar comments by Trump.  We might as well get used to it.  I am fully prepared to not be surprised.  But I'm also prepared to weigh the importance of what he says vs. what he does.

In other words look the other for something you would excoriate a liberal for?

[Cripplecreek]

In other words look the other for something you would excoriate a liberal for?

#whataboutism : the practice of condoning our side doing wrong while pointing to the opposition and saying "What about when they did it".

[Idaho_Cowboy]

#whataboutism : the practice of condoning our side doing wrong while pointing to the opposition and saying "What about when they did it".

Yep, very common argument that people make and often completely pointless.


https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/tu-quoque
tu quoque
You avoided having to engage with criticism by turning it back on the accuser - you answered criticism with criticism.
Pronounced too-kwo-kwee. Literally translating as 'you too' this fallacy is also known as the appeal to hypocrisy. It is commonly employed as an effective red herring because it takes the heat off someone having to defend their argument, and instead shifts the focus back on to the person making the criticism.
Example: Nicole identified that Hannah had committed a logical fallacy, but instead of addressing the substance of her claim, Hannah accused Nicole of committing a fallacy earlier on in the conversation.

[bigheadfred]

IMO, having a military full of killers is perfect. That is what they should be. Send them to war and I don't care who they kill. And when they come home when someone calls them a killer they should wear it with pride.

When BOR asks a stupid loaded question and gets a stupid loaded reply I figure that is what it is. No respect on the part of BOR for this country or (at least) the Office of the President.   

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

IMO, having a military full of killers is perfect. That is what they should be. Send them to war and I don't care who they kill. And when they come home when someone calls them a killer they should wear it with pride.

When BOR asks a stupid loaded question and gets a stupid loaded reply I figure that is what it is. No respect on the part of BOR for this country or (at least) the Office of the President.

   Ridiculous answer. It's disrespectful of a President to ask if he respects a dictator? Should be an easy to question to answer.

[bigheadfred]

   Ridiculous answer. It's disrespectful of a President to ask if he respects a dictator? Should be an easy to question to answer.

And...he answered it.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

And...he answered it.

Why is asking that question disrespectful to you? Trump has resisted every attempt to come out against Putin.