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Sarah and the guys discuss the president’s threats to crack down on Twitter, Joe Biden’s ‘Breakfast Club’ controversy, the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the president pushing a conspiracy theory that falsely accuses Joe Scarborough of murder.
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In this podcast, French endorses the idea of censoring Trump (of course!).
Will the folks at the dispatch please stop calling themselves conservatives? There are no adults in the room at _The Dispatch_.
I didn’t realize you weren’t a conservative unless you support the President slandering people in the worst way possible on Twitter.
Fact: Trump tweeted about a real event (i.e. death of Joe’s aide) that was investigated (I assume) to the point that related conspiracy theories (including the one promoted by Trump) have been shown to be false.
Fact: Myriads of people on Twitter etc are continuously tweeting/repeating the slander that Trump is a Russian stooge and, thus, traitor even though this slander was investigated and proven to be untrue by the Mueller investigation. Current investigations seem to be showing that the entire Russian narrative was a nefarious hoax intended to nullify the American electorate’s choice in the 2016 election.
Fact: Trump’s tweeting about this “Joe” issue has resulted (intended or not) in a spotlight being shown on the hypocrisy of MSM and social media platforms who are horrified by his tweet but who continue in their promotion of Trump slander. I tend to think this was the intent behind his tweet which was otherwise inexplicable and something I personally wish he hadn’t done.
ah, but What is Truth?
Fact: Many of us would prefer that the President of the United States not trade in baseless conspiracy theories on social media in the midst of a global pandemic and 35% unemployment. He’s the POTUS, not a Reddit commenter.
Fact: All Presidents get skewered by their opponents and members of the opposite party. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Or better yet, just shut up. For once.
Fact: The ostensible leader of the Republican Party is not only endangering his own re-election chances, he is putting the Senate in play too. Is besting Joe Scarborough on Twitter really worth losing the White House and Senate?
Fact: If you really believe this is acceptable and justifiable behavior for a President, then ask yourself how you’d feel and what types of comments you’d be writing if say, Obama had engaged in these types of antics. Be honest when you answer that question…
It’s also not a First Amendment issue. POTUS is using a private platform to exercise his free speech rights, and Twitter can exercise it’s rights to censor him if they believe he is violating Twitter’s rules. That said, I agree with Sarah’s position. I think it’s grotesque and awful what the President is doing, but it gets really bad really quickly if Twitter goes down the road of kicking off elected/public officials. Particularly if it isn’t done consistently.
Twitter is not going to kick him off. If they were, they would have done it a while ago, They are stuck with each other — for the foreseeable future at least. What they do when Trump is once again a private citizen is anyone’s guess.
… If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Or better yet, just shut up. For once.
I figure you’re talking about Trump and not the commenter, but still. I have never listened to Trump. Ever. Didn’t vote for him. I’m fine with criticizing him severely. In this case, for sure. What I’m not fine with is ignoring the context and thus finding very little to criticize much less condemn about the Democrats, and that’s pretty much all I hear from these guys.
Enough already. I’m gone girl now. And when I say I’m gone I’m actually gone.
Agree 100%.
I’d like our heroes at The Dispatch to comment on youtube’s treatment of Jennifer Zeng https://twitter.com/jenniferatntd
I suppose that’s just more fair treatment, incorrectly inflaming right wing lunatics.
For more info: https://reclaimthenet.org/jennifer-zeng-demonetized/
The topic of this thread (and this podcast) is Trump’s behavior on social media and insistence on rhetorically shooting from the hip. There is no shortage on this site and zillions of others of posts and comments criticizing Democrats.
Donald Trump is the POTUS, not the opposition party, and not some guy from Queens with a Twitter account. What he says matters. Is it too much to ask that he act like one? Because his behavior is endangering R majorities and his own incumbency with swing voters and suburban women, two constituencies he must have in order to win in November (go look at the polls for MI, PA, and WI) as well as key Senate races in ME, CO, IA, and AZ.
@lesliewatkins, if my small bit of tough love causes you to abandon ship, I don’t know what to say, except that on some level, I guess I admire your ability to compartmentalize.
This is unquestionably bad, and if the President spoke out on her behalf, I would stand up and cheer. To my knowledge, he has not. Mostly (although not completely), he has spoken out on behalf of himself. This is my shocked face…
Tough love?!? Seriously? I’ve heard this podcast topic innumerable times in the past three years. Does anyone think this President is going to be any different from the way he is? I’m bored. And then you end your comment with a put down. I appreciate you making this easier for me.
You’ve not heard it from me and for the record, we do not coordinate the topics our podcasters, contributors, or members talk or write about. They cover the topics they are interested in.
Yes, we keep hoping that President Trump might hear us or see the light and change some of his more damaging and corrosive behavior in some way. Because the stakes for not doing so are so enormous. Many of us fear waking up in very different country on November 7th. If that bores you, then I apologize for not being more…stimulating?
To that end, what I wrote above was not intended as an insult in any way, shape, or form and I’m sorry you read it that way. I honestly do envy some people’s capacity to rationalize or compartmentalize Trump’s behavior from his legislative accomplishments. Beyond a certain point, I can’t do it. I guess accusing someone of murder on Twitter with no evidence and dragging an innocent family into the national spotlight crosses a boundary for me. And I fear neither can millions of swing voters can’t do it either.
Did you not see where I wrote that the president deserves scorn for these tweets? But I have to ask: don’t you see how potentially boring it is to listen to this incessant, futile hoping? It’s not as if this message isn’t everywhere already.
Also, I’m sorry you read it that way is not an apology. Not that you owe me one. You absolutely do not. Godspeed.
Once more: As I explained above, my comment about compartmentalization was meant a compliment. What I am sorry for (again, as I said) is that you did not read it that way. I guess my writing wasn’t clear enough. Sorry for that too.
I know this is going to get me in more trouble, but it’s always strange to me when supporters of the President –a man who dishes out insults and slights multiple times a day– are so easily offended by even a perceived slight. If in part you like him because he fights, why so sensitive? Would love some insight on that.
I do not believe I’m offended by criticism of Trump. I’m bored by the lack of variety in the objects of moral outrage. Not saying I’m right to feel this way, but I certainly don’t feel wrong in doing so. As a person with skin in the game, my problem is with the act. New jokes are needed.
I guess where we really disagree, Yeti, is that I see dishonor all around and not simply in the White House, where, to my mind, it is the least potentially damaging over the long haul. The FBI. The CIA. The Congress (this includes all those Republicans who claimed to have shovel-ready plans to replace the ACA and then didn’t). The NSA. DOJ. IRS. CDC. FDA. There’s so much more to focus on and discuss. But it’s not nearly as entertaining as going after this guy.
I’m going to sign off now. I don’t think you get me at all, but I like genuine engagement. And you’re clearly an honorable guy.
But the President is the titular leader of the Republican party, we’re in the second half of an election year in which we are in real danger of losing the White House and both houses of Congress, and we are debating on a Conservative web site. Honestly, what else would we be talking about right now?
I completely agree with you on the ACA and all of the government agencies you mention. I think what the FBI did to Michael Flynn was disgusting. And there has been tons of conversation on that. On the Ricochet Podcast, which I produce, three weeks ago we devoted not only an entire show to it (with Andrew McCarthy and Kim Strassel) but we then did an additional extra hour with Andy and Rob Long. Those two shows generated a couple of hundred comments both under the shows and in other thread on the site.
So we do talk about this stuff. Just not everywhere all the time. And that’s OK.
I hope you stick around, @lesliewatkins. We (this site and the movement) need thoughtful and passionate people like you. Because this is going to be a bumpy flight for the foreseeable future.