Via Keith Olbermann:
BREAKING: Dementia J. Trump again says the name of the current president is Obama.
(Within five hours he will insist this is a...palindromeš¤·š¼āāļø)
Confused Trump forgets whoās President: "I hear that they like Obama better. They should like Obama better. You know why? Got bad under under this guy. So he now wants to send them $60 billion..."
For what it's worth, kind of apropos of nothing, I was hosting a group call this morning and used "Obama" instead of "Biden." I don't think it means much. At least, I hope it doesn't. :)
@GottaLaff @abhayakara Yeah, it's one thing to mix up Ayatollah Khomeini with Ayatollah Khamenei, but he's also mixed up Orban and Erdogan, Haley and Pelosi, and this isn't the first time he's mixed up Obama and Biden.
And he'll never admit to being wrong about anything, so there's always a post hoc justification. "No, I meant Obama is secretly running things behind the scenes" or whatever.
Not defending trump here. Just noticing the irony that I did the same damned thing.
Honestly, the reason we are hassling trump about this is that heās hassling Biden about it. Of all the fucked up things trump says, this is to me just about the least interesting or damaging.
@abhayakara @GottaLaff And if this were the only sign that Trump is experiencing cognitive decline, you would have a point.
But it isn't. It's a single data point among many. Trump was never a smart man, but he used to be more coherent.
Unquestionably. I just think itās not the most useful talking point. The people who respect trump donāt mind that heās got dementia, so it just works in their favor to point it out, because it gives them something to riff off of against Biden.
@abhayakara @Thad @GottaLaff ā>āHonestly, the reason we are hassling trump about this is that heās hassling Biden about it.ā
This is a bad faith argument. This isnāt a childish ābut he started it!ā situation. (1/3)
Being outraged is understandable and justified, but not useful. What I care about is what works. I donāt think this works.
The task for 2024 is to get people who are not going to vote to vote, and to get people who are going to vote for trump to stay home.
The people I know who would vote for trump are immune to arguments like this. Seriously. What we want is for them to care less, not more, so they stay home.
I think that getting people to /see/ that they are not the same is a good goal. I am questioning whether this is a good way to get them to see that.
When you say something about someone, you are at the same time saying something about yourself, and you don't actually control /what/ you are saying about yourself, because it's subjective.
Coming from a place of outrage feels authentic (because it /is/!) but does it communicate the right thing?
@MisuseCase has some good ideas.
I think the work Indivisible is doing is really important.
I highly recommend reading Anand Ghiridharadasā blog at the.ink.
Thereās a lot of research going on in this space, which isnāt at my fingertips. Anand is the best source.
Not every problem we see in the world is ours to solve. I donāt know how to prove that Biden is 100% okay. That just seems like a bad argument to try to win.
To me, the winning argument is the one we see with the handmaids in their red hoods talking about how Biden just seemed too old. Itās talking to people about why strategic voting matters, and how to actually get different people on the ballot in 2026 and 2028, rather than voting third party in 2024.
This is to say, donāt pretend thereās no problem with Biden. I can think of lots of reasons to praise him and lots of reasons to criticize him. Stop insisting that people like him. Thatās not why we should vote for him in 2024.
How are you going to tell all those Palestinians in Michigan to like him? They canāt. Think about that. If theyāre going to vote for him, itās going to be for some other reason.
I'm talking about what to do in 2024. I'm just suggesting that there are effective pivot points and ineffective pivot points.
You know about the phenomenon where when you argue with someone, even if you provide evidence, it makes them believe their position more? The frontal attack doesn't workāif you want to get them on side, you need to come at it from a different angle.
That's why I'm suggesting to not even engage on this point. It just doesn't matter, weird though that seems.
@GottaLaff I think the term ādementiaā is getting thrown around a little too loosely, and it could be a bit hurtful to family members struggling with it
My MIL has dementia. Neither Biden NOR Trump shows me any signs of that, but guess what, Iām not a doctor
Any parent who's ever called one of their children by the other's name likely could empathize when President Joe Biden mixed up the names of French leaders Macron and Mitterrand. Donald Trump is making similar gaffes, such as confusing Republican challenger Nikki Haley and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Experts say everyone makes these kinds of flubs. Only medical tests can tell whether a verbal stumble is a sign of trouble. The 81-year-old Biden has long history of verbal gaffes. But theyāre getting new attention after a special counsel decided Biden shouldnāt face criminal charges for his handling of classified documents, while describing him as an old man with trouble remembering dates.
@peterbutler I've cared for many loved ones who suffered from various forms of dementia (Alzheimer's, strokes, aneurysms, etc).
Dementia can be mild too, not just the really bad stuff. I've cared for family members and friends with all ranges. It never gets better, only worse, sadly.
Please, someone get a straightjacket...
Donations must be down and lawyers are not being paid.
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