I'm thinking the way it works now is like this: Trump says something like "I've always loved tapioca pudding." Then the folks in charge at The Daily Show, Stephen Colbert's program, Late Night with Seth Meyers and other places assign interns to go dig up all the video clips of Trump in the past saying, "Anyone who eats tapioca pudding is unfit for public office." No one asks if he ever said something which contradicts what he currently says but they just assume he did. And indeed, such footage is quickly located and aired.
To those who already think Trump is a man of zero integrity and a belief that reality is less important than whipping your supporters into a compliant frenzy, it's just one more bit of evidence that he's as horrible as he seems. To those who cheer the guy, it's…well, some might try arguing or rationalizing by saying, "He said he's always loved it. He didn't say he actually eats it."
Most though won't bother. They want to believe they have a bold leader who always speaks his mind and they don't really care if it's so. He can even do something Barack Obama did as long as he never admits it's what Obama did. I'm going to stop getting frustrated that they won't change their opinions of our current Oval Office Occupant…and so should you. These folks would sooner change their genders. Here are some links…
- The very liberal Fred Kaplan explains why it's a mistake for Trump to do what he seems to be trying to do in the Middle East.
- The very conservative Daniel Larison explains why it's a mistake for Trump to do what he seems to be trying to do in the Middle East.
- And meanwhile, what's the deal with Trump's budget and all the things he's proposing to cut? Dylan Matthews explains.
- As Jonathan Chait explains, the rationale behind these tax cuts is based on the premise that tax cuts will pay for themselves. In the word of the noted Flying Squirrel named Rocky, "That trick never works." But people who want to cut taxes for the rich will never stop claiming it can, no matter how many times it fails.
- And then Ed Kilgore explains that Trump's proposal will never pass Congress. Some bad things will but not all of them and Trump is already rolling out the excuses why so much of his proposal won't even make it past other Republicans…
- …because even Conservatives like Todd Scribner think it would send things in the wrong direction for those who want a smaller, less intrusive government.
I haven't written anything about the awful, awful bombing outside the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England because I can't think of anything to say beyond the obvious. It's always chilling to think that someone who technically qualifies as a human being thought that killing innocent people — in this case, a lot of very young ones — would be a good thing to do.