Donald Trump says he would encourage Russia to attack NATO allies who pay too little

[Maj. Bill Martin]

The U.S. was the first and only NATO member to activate Article 5, the collective defense clause, after the 9/11 attacks. That day, U.S. fighter jets had no weapons for a drill. Canada helped by sending its armed fighters to guard the airspace over New England. Trump has no clue about NATO and its importance for our security and freedom. He should stop spewing nonsense and go pound sand.

Right.  Not only is Trump himself ignorant, but he spreads that ignorance like a malignancy to his supporters who accept without question everything he says.  And the GOP is dumber for it.  I mean, think of what this says about Trump himself. He was commander-in-chief of the US military while we had troops deployed in Afghanistan, and he apparently was completely unaware that NATO allied troops were fighting alongside us. How is it possible to be that ignorant?

It is beyond humiliating for us as Republicans when our nominee says crap like that publicly about our allies, and they know it is false.  And we vote for him anyway.

The real kicker is when he says something like this, his supporters cheer that "he's right", and when you point out the truth, they just vanish.   No admission he (and they) were wrong, no commentary about him making crap up.  They just ignore it like he never said it.

What makes people behave that way?  I'd really like to know how some folks can just lie to themselves like that.

[LMAO]

What makes people behave that way?  I'd really like to know how some folks can just lie to themselves like that.

Cult of personality

And you don’t doubt or question the cult leader

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Cult of personality

And you don’t doubt or question the cult leader

I know a ton of people voting for Trump who justify it by saying "yes, he's a goober who says stupid things, and some of them are indefensible.  But I'm voting for him anyway because what the Democrats are offering is so much worse.

I'm fine with that.  What I don't get are those who idealize him as "the only person who can save America" and ignore all the incredibly stupid stuff he says/does.

[LMAO]

I know a ton of people voting for Trump who justify it by saying "yes, he's a goober who says stupid things, and some of them are indefensible.  But I'm voting for him anyway because what the Democrats are offering is so much worse.

I'm fine with that.  What I don't get are those who idealize him as "the only person who can save America" and ignore all the incredibly stupid stuff he says/does.

Your last sentence describes his cultists

[berdie]

I can't for the life of me understand why he says such things. Oh, I really can..never mind.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

I can't for the life of me understand why he says such things. Oh, I really can..never mind.

I think there's a very good chance that the things he says meet the definition of a "gaffe" in the context of Washington, which is when a politician inadvertently says exactly what they truly are thinking.

We should stop thinking of the things Trump says as hyperbole, or just trolling his opponents, or verbal miscues.  After all, when was the last time you heard Trump himself say that he didn't really mean something he said, or that it was taken out of context, or that it was just hyperbole?  I've honestly never heard Trump say that.  It's always his supporters, defenders, etc., making that excuse.  But why should we believe them, when the man himself has never said it?

It's time for Occam's Razor.   Trump says the things he says because it is exactly what he believes, and he means every word of it..  It's about time to ditch that silly "oh, that's just how he talks, we shouldn't take him literally" excuse.  Especially when it never comes from him, but only from his excuse-making fan club.

[roamer_1]

It's time for Occam's Razor.   Trump says the things he says because it is exactly what he believes, and he means every word of it..  It's about time to ditch that silly "oh, that's just how he talks, we shouldn't take him literally" excuse.  Especially when it never comes from him, but only from his excuse-making fan club.

I think it's worse than that... I don't believe he believes ANYTHING (except in himself).

 have often posted 'Hook - Blues Traveler' in response on Tumpy threads. Watch the vid with the lyrics close by... That's more the thing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdz5kCaCRFM

https://genius.com/Blues-traveler-hook-lyrics

[NavyCanDo]

Throwing raw meat out to his MAGA cult who by all definition are isolationist who would be perfectly fine leaving NATO, even dissolving it.

[Hoodat]

Trump is an idiot.  He is completely clueless when it comes to NATO and the strides its member States have taken over the last few years.  NATO (minus the US) is probably at it strongest position today than it has ever been.

[bigheadfred]

Trump is an idiot.  He is completely clueless when it comes to NATO and the strides its member States have taken over the last few years.  NATO (minus the US) is probably at it strongest position today than it has ever been.

How much of that came after Trump pressured them to pony up?

[Hoodat]

How much of that came after Trump pressured them to pony up?

All of it, thanks to Biden's incompetence with the Ukraine war.  But instead of Trump choosing to take credit for where NATO is today, he trashes it.  Trump is an idiot.  They have actually done what he wanted and more.  And he trashes them.

[Texas Yellow Rose]

Does Trump want to win this election or not!   

I can't tell you how many times I have asked that same question.  He has foot in mouth disease! 

[Maj. Bill Martin]

I'd just add that perhaps the single biggest goal of NATO is deterrence, not actually fighting a war.   So when Trump gets out there and announced publicly that we wouldn't come to the defense of a bunch of NATO members, it doesn't matter whether he'd actually follow through with that as President because deterrence is undermined whether he follows through or not..

[mountaineer]

President Putin says that Biden is better for Russia than Trump.
Biden is "Predictable"

https://twitter.com/jj_talking/status/1757894034654466469

[mountaineer]

@maxseddon
Putin says he’d rather have Biden as President than Trump. “He’s more experienced, he’s predictable, he’s an old-school politician.”

https://twitter.com/maxseddon/status/1757882276363346005

[mountaineer]

Biden is utterly in Putin's pocket...his environmentalist political base DIRECTLY takes money from the Kremlin.

https://twitter.com/AndrewCFollett/status/1757915776861036781

[libertybele]

Biden is utterly in Putin's pocket...his environmentalist political base DIRECTLY takes money from the Kremlin.

https://twitter.com/AndrewCFollett/status/1757915776861036781

"Biden is more predictable"...Putin knows the U.S. is weak and has Joe right where he wants him.

[Hoodat]

"Biden is more predictable"...

You got that right.  With 100% accuracy every time, you can predict that when faced with any decision, Joe Biden will ALWAYS chose the side that harms America more.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Of course, there's always the chance Putin was just playing to a U.S. audience when he said that.   I don't think he's naive enough to think that him stating a preference actually helps that candidate....

[NavyCanDo]

If I was writing a reelect Biden ad that clip of Trump saying that would be all that is needed.

[LMAO]

If I was writing a reelect Biden ad that clip of Trump saying that would be all that is needed.

You can bet it will be

[Hoodat]

If I was writing a reelect Biden ad that clip of Trump saying that would be all that is needed.

Biden brought it up in his speech yesterday.  Or at least tried to before he started mumbling incoherently.  And then he took off for yet another weekend at the beach.