Kamala Harris gets it. Yes, we should fear Trump—but we should also mock him mercilessly, because it drives him nuts.

Donald Trump is in free-fall. Read this description from Sunday’s Washington Post of how the GOP nominee spent last week: “[A]ides did not want a situation where he was watching the convention every night, getting angry, and then just golfing all day and stewing, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private interactions. Trump also had grown annoyed with the news coverage that depicted him as not working as hard as his opponent, one person who talked to him said.”

If you didn’t know that the article was about Trump and you just read it cold without knowledge of the context, you might think it was a description of parents trying to figure out how to handle an ungovernable four-year-old. So they convinced Trump to get out of Bedminster and hit the road, trading suck-ups with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In the past, Trump has called Kennedy the “dumbest member” of the Kennedy family and a “radical left lunatic.” Kennedy has calledTrump a “terrible human being” and “probably a sociopath.”

  • K1nsey6@lemmy.ml
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    3 months ago

    They still haven’t figured it out, ridicule still keeps his name in the news which feeds his ego. The best way to fight narcissists is to STOP talking about them. But to Democrats he’s a boogeyman gold mine that helps keep the duopoly in power.

    • troglodytis@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      The US news runs on clicks. His name gets clicks. So it’s gonna be in the news. Best Dems use that to ridicule.

    • frezik@midwest.social
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      3 months ago

      Doesn’t work. What narcissists actually do when you ignore them is make sure to insert themselves into more situations until you can’t ignore them.

    • scops@reddthat.com
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      3 months ago

      I disagree. There is no ignoring Trump between now and the election. If the Dems stop now, then the only messaging out there will be GOP messaging which can put a spin on his hissy fits and work to salve his ego.

      He’s a weirdo and we shouldn’t let anyone forget it (until it’s time to forget him).

    • notabot@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      That only works if you can get everyone to stop talking about them. Unfortunately, he has a large enough cult that someone will always be talking about him positively, so the only reasonable counter is to flood the conversation with mockery. Against a more well balanced candidate that would just rankle, but it’s really got under his skin, and under the skin of those who support him, so it’s proving to be a worthwhile tactic.

  • Media Bias Fact Checker@lemmy.worldB
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    3 months ago
    Forbes - News Source Context (Click to view Full Report)

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    Search topics on Ground.News

    https://newrepublic.com/article/185270/democrats-harris-trump-achilles-heel-ridicule
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/24/trump-energy-campaign-harris/
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/24/kennedy-trump-endorsement-environmental-issues/
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2024/08/23/rfk-jr-endorses-trump-after-calling-him-sociopath—his-reversal-explained/

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  • teft@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    “The news is saying I don’t work as hard as my opponent. You know what I’ll go do? Golf some. That will show them how hard I work.”

    Every time i have a dumb idea i just have to remember there is always a bigger idiot in the world. That always makes me feel better.

  • penquin@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    Well no shit, Sherlocks. Ever heard of “bully the bully”? Glad they’re finally catching on. Took too long.

    • Kyrgizion@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Bully the bully requires unity among their victims though, and if there’s one thing bullies do well, it’s sow discord.

      • penquin@lemm.ee
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        3 months ago

        I mean, back in my country, I used to beat the shit out of the fuckers and they straighten up after that. Doesn’t work that way in the USA unfortunately. Lol

          • penquin@lemm.ee
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            2 months ago

            I don’t even know what that means honestly. I didn’t go to school in the US.

            • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              2 months ago

              I’m saying that the tactic you described works against bullies in the US, if we are talking about bullies at the schoolyard level.

              Not sure what was unclear about my response?

              • penquin@lemm.ee
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                2 months ago

                I see, I was confused with the “schoolyard” term. Sorry, English is my second language. So, you mean it’s in US schools, too?

                • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                  2 months ago

                  Ah now I feel bad lol. No worries.

                  Yeah that’s basically what I meant.

                  There are bullies at all levels of society, and unfortunately, the US allows many of them to not only get away with it, but it’s often encouraged.

  • zephorah@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    Toxic masculinity always hates being laughed at. It’s that Margaret Atwood quote all over again. Too applicable when you consider complete abortion bans and project 2025.

  • DaddleDew@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    That was no secret. He is acutely insecure and copes by keeping himself wrapped in a shell of mental gymnastics and denial about all of his shortcomings and inadequacies as a political leader and a grown adult instead of working at correcting them. Insecure people hate to have their insecurities exposed and mocked.

  • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    3 months ago

    It took them 8 years to realize what Thomas Jefferson found out in 1816

    “Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions.”

    Bullies don’t like when you hit back because they base their power on the fact that they think you’re going to play by the rules while they’re free to break them. You so much as look like youre bending a rule and they’ll cry foul. Look at how Trump responded to Biden dropping out.

      • nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        2 months ago

        I believe the zero tolerance rules do help bullies, they’re the ones who’ve made a habit of playing jussst outside the rules but with enough deniability that they can feign ignorance. Zero tolerance is great at catching people who don’t make a habit of breaking rules though. Teachers always seem to notice when the quiet one does something, but a bully being a bully is just another day for them. Been a long time since I was in school though so grains of salt and what not.

    • Adderbox76@lemmy.ca
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      3 months ago

      “Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions.”

      I’ve never heard that quote before, but I love it.

      • SkybreakerEngineer@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Extra funny because Jefferson had plenty of unintelligible propositions himself, for which he was ridiculed while he was alive

        • ripcord@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Like what?

          (Not arguing, I just really need a refresher in colonial + early American history)

          • Zombiepirate@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Like how you can own people if “all men are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

            • mhague@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              I think it makes more sense if you were mentally fucked up like they were. All men are equal, aka whoever they considered civilized races were aesthetically thought of as equal. Everyone deserves to be happy and to thrive, but of course lesser beastlike races can only do that under the yoke of their superiors.

              What a shitty “defense” though right? “He’s not a hypocrite, he’s just monstrously delusional by our standards.”

              • frezik@midwest.social
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                3 months ago

                He also thought black people were incapable of being educated. Fairly late in life, he met a black person who actually had the opportunity to be educated, took it, and was every bit the equal to any educated white person. Jefferson took him as an exception to the rule.

    • Adalast@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I have taken to using my a quote of my own with people recently, on both sides in different situations. Quote: “Those who neither ascribe to nor participate in the social contract of tolerance are not afforded the protection it brings.”

      I say it to the right when they complain about me calling them out on their BS or making it known that they are generally shit human beings.

      I say it to the left when they try to call me out for saying that literal Nazis holding signs on the side of the road should have beverages thrown at them by passing cars at the tamest. I would prefer throwing much heavier objects, but the law protects them. The Law, not the social contract of tolerance. Within the confines of the law, people like that should not be tolerated and should be informed with as much force as possible.

      • trafficnab@lemmy.ca
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        2 months ago

        Arguing with someone, within the confines of the marketplace of ideas, about how the marketplace of ideas should be abolished, is a fools errand

        If they refuse to even agree to the basic social ground rules of discourse whatever they have to say isn’t even worth entertaining

  • shalafi@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    “Theatricality and deception are powerful agents to the uninitiated… but we are initiated, aren’t we Don?”

    “Stop calling me that!”

  • yesman@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Trump has been ridiculed the whole time. The only people who treat him as a serious candidate are his supporters and the media. That was true in 2015, that’s true today.

    • sebsch@discuss.tchncs.de
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      2 months ago

      But having Obama bringing in the size of it’s dick is somewhat of a new situation.

      It hilarious and I am sure this does hurt little Donny deep into his heart.

    • RubberDuck@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      That is not the impression I got as someone not from the US. I mostly saw scared and angry from democrats, and scared, angry or reverence from the news media. And that seems to be what he thrives on.

      Ridicule came from stuff like the tv comedians and internet sources like YouTube… but these are easy enough to ignore.

      Now that the ridicule is coming from the actual establishment, it cannot be ignored.

      I find it very cool that the vile hatred, fearmongering and general dispicable behavior can be countered with joy, ridicule and a general cheerful demeanor.

      Just the other day one of the GOP ghouls came out and actually said there is no joy… ROFL… they’re melting…

      Now dial it up to 11 dems.

      • Mnemnosyne@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        Yeah, while there was mockery it didn’t come from ‘official’ sources. They called him serious names and didn’t ridicule him. They made it clear he was dangerous, but they also gave him respect like a serious candidate, contender, opponent, rival.

        It probably would have worked from the beginning to just laugh at him, IF it was coming from the actual political establishment. If Clinton had essentially based her entire campaign around ‘hahah…oh wait you’re serious? Let me laugh harder.’ there’s a good chance he would’ve crashed and burned before ever getting off the ground, I think.

    • bastion@feddit.nl
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      2 months ago

      You’re right. He has been mocked the whole time, and mockery isn’t the determining factor.

      He has simply played out his power arc. The same mockery that didn’t land before now lands, because he’s on the downside.

      Populism depends on emotional support from the people, but if you don’t have a framework that actually meets the peoples’ needs (or is effective at controlling them) you just rise as the restless populace tries you, then fall as they toss you aside.

  • dnick@sh.itjust.works
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    3 months ago

    Trump doesn’t know how to handle people laughing at him because he’s never had anyone laugh with him.