Lots of psychopaths were said to be charming. Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer, Bernie Madoff, Charles Manson, to name a few.
It could be that Bill Maher met the well-cultivated Trump persona. Hitler could be a charming host, it’s been said. Maher said that he was surprised that Trump was not a monster. I agree. He is a person who does evil things. He’s not possessed. He is a psychopath in the same way all psychopaths are.
I think Trump may at least be strategic enough to put on a front for a few hours, but I don’t think he’s really the intelligent sociopath who’s capable of charming people. I see him as so many awful things, but a psychopath has never quite been one of them. He’s too keen on being liked. I see him as more of a narcissist and megalomaniac.
I understand he has been rated by mental health experts with a high score on the Hare Checklist, an internationally recognized standard for measuring dangerousness and psychopathy. This happened after the January 6th uprising at the Capitol.
Yep, sorry, I can’t go there with you, Ben. I agree with those who said here he will behave respectfully toward rich white men. And I’m sure he’s forgiven Maher for past “transgressions”, because now he criticizes the Democrats. and he recognizes a commonality with Maher’s”“don’t give a shit“ attitude. Trump’s clearly in mental decline and not fully in control of what he says or does. He certainly tries to cultivate the image of a strong man who doesn’t give a rats ass about what other people think. But that’s only part of the story.
I think it’s very interesting and telling that in the years (and even hours) leading up to their meeting, Trump continued disparaging Maher in his normal, childish fashion, only to do an about-face when the doors closed. I don’t think it’s quite in line with the “It’s just because he’s rich and white” hypothesis. In this case, it doesn’t seem like a stretch to believe Trump purposefully presented one way in public just to turn around and behave more civilly when no one was watching.
Trump certainly, Maher I don’t really believe that that’s true to say about from what I’ve seen. Imperfect certainly, but he’s a far more outspoken critic of Trump and his allies than he is of the left.
I don't trust Maher as far as I can spit. I haven't read much about this, so I'm speaking from ignorance (I'm okay with that for now), but I haven't seen any comments from Maher that speak to Trump's mental state. Most non-MAGA types who have encountered him for any length of time validate what most of us say about him: that he can't stay focused at all on one topic, and babbles nonsensically.
The reason he sounded different in the 80s is that he *was* different. He still had a functioning mind.
One more thing: Even if Trump was cogent, it doesn't mean much. I've been around dementia patients. They have good days and bad days. Trump could have been having a good day, which means he also would have been less grouchy than usual, most likely.
The Trump administration is mostly Susie Wiles and Stephen Miller, chief of staff and deputy chief of staff, at this point, along with the Project 2025 guys. And the MuskBrats, of course.
The problem with that is that Trump still thinks he's in charge, so he barks out crazy commands that people then implement: "Tariffs! No, wait! Yes! No. Hold off. Nuke Iran! No, don't!"
I’ve always known he was cunning. He responds like the boys in class who won’t stop being assholes when the whole class is there. But you get them one on one after the class and they’re as flimsy and pliant as a paper airplane. However, they’re just as likely to sit on a whoopsie cushion in the middle of the Principal’s address during assembly the next morning.
They also will email or post a picture of a naked female classmate to the whole world without hesitation.
What’s wrong with Trump is his certainty that he should make money off of doing whatever the hell he wants to anyone at anytime. Every bully I ever taught is just like that. Don’t let yourself be confused by his ability to change hats. He knows how to behave. He’s choosing not to.
Donald Trump is a walking shield for White Supremacy. Of course he's going to charm a fellow rich white man. All these guys do is charm each other.
I thought a fascinating moment was when Joe Biden was facing sexual assault allegations while campaigning against Trump. Trump was asked about it, and the easiest thing in the world would have been for Trump to say, "Oh, it sounds bad. HUGE IF TRUE. I wouldn't put it past old Sleepy Joe!" etc. etc.
Instead, he actually showed sympathy for Biden, and remarked that women were always trying to extort men or put them in bad positions, and he wished Biden well. Because it was an attack against another powerful white man, Trump looks after his own.
Recall that, when the scandal broke out about Donald Sterling being recorded by his mistress saying awful racist garbage, a moment that made Sterling completely indefensible, Trump was on Twitter declaring the woman "THE GIRLFRIEND FROM HELL".
A wealthy white man meeting Donald Trump should know the guy's gonna try to charm him. It's up to them to turn around and take Trump to task for the people unlike the both of them, who are suffering under Trump's foot. This is not Bill Maher being open-minded. This is a failure of Whiteness.
Hi Gen Zers and other stray generations who wandered into this space,
trump should be judged by what he does. Before he became president, trump was a liar and a con artist. Remember how he stood up and said Obama was not a citizen? That was kind of how he started his run for president, by lying about who he perceived to be his opponents. He is known for his fraudulent business dealings and not paying employees. He went bankrupt 6 times.
He paid almost no taxes.
He's a rapist. When he was conning, cheating, lying and stealing from people, there must have been some charm involved, which presents itself on rare occasions now when he thinks he can get someone to tell people he's ok. This time it was Bill Maher, whom I
think also wants to be liked and listened to, though he will deny it.
Now you can add dementia to trump's evil
nature. But don't kid
yourself into thinking
he's got morals, intelligence, or gives a shit about anyone or this country, he's pure evil.
"...it’s hard for me to believe that our president could be doing what he is to our country and muster civility in any scenario ." Hear hear. And I agree with your perception that he has a staff of non-idiots pulling the Project 2025 strings for him. Even more than evil, I think he's stupid. And I'll admit to having reservations about thinking him evil. It may very well be that he can't help himself, that he's no more capable of empathy than a color-blind person is of distinguishing different hues.
He's evil like a chameleon is evil. He has no soul. In other words, he's neither good nor evil. He has this vague sense that he shouldn't let his actions kill his children, but I don't think it's based on any moral principles emanating from his rotten gut. It's more because his dad taught him to keep the line moving.
Like all sociopaths, he doesn't care at all about how his actions impact people (other than the aforementioned vague sense of responsibility to keep the line of succession moving). His only consideration is whether or not it helps his ambitions, such as they are, and how his principality of Mar-a-Lago can continue to be the center of the known universe.
I was disgusted with Maher. He clearly didn’t understand he was just a tool. He was turned into a PR plug for humanizing a mad man. Trump is a lunatic in the literal sense. A functioning one. Everything and everyone is either an opportunity or a threat. There is no rational man behind an act. What a hideous disfigurement of the human psyche. Yet he’s an evil mastermind at manipulation. Stupid Bill.
I believe he’s, like you’ve said, a showman. He draws people into his web just as a spider does to a fly! Perhaps that’s what he did to Maher! Unfortunately, Bill fell for it!
This is such a ridiculous take that I just unsubscribed. You may not remember (or know) that Maher told David Letterman to throw out all his prescriptions on David’s first show after his heart attack and quadruple heart bypass surgery. Something about his cardiologist was just a tool of BigPharma and the drugs were a scam. David cut to a commercial and Maher never appeared on The Letterman Show again.
As they say, “This is not an airport, there is no need to announce your departure.” Of course Bill Maher isn’t perfect. I’ve strongly disagreed with him many times over the years and been confused by certain things he’s said. I can’t excuse all of it. But don’t delude yourself into believing I’m the enemy here just because I think Bill Maher didn’t lie about what happened at that dinner. I have every plan to keep voting blue while there’s still a blue party left to vote for. I’m plain about the threat Trump poses, regardless of what Maher says is true.
Lots of psychopaths were said to be charming. Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer, Bernie Madoff, Charles Manson, to name a few.
It could be that Bill Maher met the well-cultivated Trump persona. Hitler could be a charming host, it’s been said. Maher said that he was surprised that Trump was not a monster. I agree. He is a person who does evil things. He’s not possessed. He is a psychopath in the same way all psychopaths are.
I think Trump may at least be strategic enough to put on a front for a few hours, but I don’t think he’s really the intelligent sociopath who’s capable of charming people. I see him as so many awful things, but a psychopath has never quite been one of them. He’s too keen on being liked. I see him as more of a narcissist and megalomaniac.
I understand he has been rated by mental health experts with a high score on the Hare Checklist, an internationally recognized standard for measuring dangerousness and psychopathy. This happened after the January 6th uprising at the Capitol.
Yep, sorry, I can’t go there with you, Ben. I agree with those who said here he will behave respectfully toward rich white men. And I’m sure he’s forgiven Maher for past “transgressions”, because now he criticizes the Democrats. and he recognizes a commonality with Maher’s”“don’t give a shit“ attitude. Trump’s clearly in mental decline and not fully in control of what he says or does. He certainly tries to cultivate the image of a strong man who doesn’t give a rats ass about what other people think. But that’s only part of the story.
I think it’s very interesting and telling that in the years (and even hours) leading up to their meeting, Trump continued disparaging Maher in his normal, childish fashion, only to do an about-face when the doors closed. I don’t think it’s quite in line with the “It’s just because he’s rich and white” hypothesis. In this case, it doesn’t seem like a stretch to believe Trump purposefully presented one way in public just to turn around and behave more civilly when no one was watching.
Maher and Trump are scheming liars and grifters.
Trump certainly, Maher I don’t really believe that that’s true to say about from what I’ve seen. Imperfect certainly, but he’s a far more outspoken critic of Trump and his allies than he is of the left.
I don't trust Maher as far as I can spit. I haven't read much about this, so I'm speaking from ignorance (I'm okay with that for now), but I haven't seen any comments from Maher that speak to Trump's mental state. Most non-MAGA types who have encountered him for any length of time validate what most of us say about him: that he can't stay focused at all on one topic, and babbles nonsensically.
The reason he sounded different in the 80s is that he *was* different. He still had a functioning mind.
One more thing: Even if Trump was cogent, it doesn't mean much. I've been around dementia patients. They have good days and bad days. Trump could have been having a good day, which means he also would have been less grouchy than usual, most likely.
The Trump administration is mostly Susie Wiles and Stephen Miller, chief of staff and deputy chief of staff, at this point, along with the Project 2025 guys. And the MuskBrats, of course.
The problem with that is that Trump still thinks he's in charge, so he barks out crazy commands that people then implement: "Tariffs! No, wait! Yes! No. Hold off. Nuke Iran! No, don't!"
But this is what Americans voted for, right?
Fk him
I’ve always known he was cunning. He responds like the boys in class who won’t stop being assholes when the whole class is there. But you get them one on one after the class and they’re as flimsy and pliant as a paper airplane. However, they’re just as likely to sit on a whoopsie cushion in the middle of the Principal’s address during assembly the next morning.
They also will email or post a picture of a naked female classmate to the whole world without hesitation.
What’s wrong with Trump is his certainty that he should make money off of doing whatever the hell he wants to anyone at anytime. Every bully I ever taught is just like that. Don’t let yourself be confused by his ability to change hats. He knows how to behave. He’s choosing not to.
It’s all intentional and cunning 🌹
Donald Trump is a walking shield for White Supremacy. Of course he's going to charm a fellow rich white man. All these guys do is charm each other.
I thought a fascinating moment was when Joe Biden was facing sexual assault allegations while campaigning against Trump. Trump was asked about it, and the easiest thing in the world would have been for Trump to say, "Oh, it sounds bad. HUGE IF TRUE. I wouldn't put it past old Sleepy Joe!" etc. etc.
Instead, he actually showed sympathy for Biden, and remarked that women were always trying to extort men or put them in bad positions, and he wished Biden well. Because it was an attack against another powerful white man, Trump looks after his own.
Recall that, when the scandal broke out about Donald Sterling being recorded by his mistress saying awful racist garbage, a moment that made Sterling completely indefensible, Trump was on Twitter declaring the woman "THE GIRLFRIEND FROM HELL".
A wealthy white man meeting Donald Trump should know the guy's gonna try to charm him. It's up to them to turn around and take Trump to task for the people unlike the both of them, who are suffering under Trump's foot. This is not Bill Maher being open-minded. This is a failure of Whiteness.
Fromtheyardtothearthouse.substack.com
Hi Gen Zers and other stray generations who wandered into this space,
trump should be judged by what he does. Before he became president, trump was a liar and a con artist. Remember how he stood up and said Obama was not a citizen? That was kind of how he started his run for president, by lying about who he perceived to be his opponents. He is known for his fraudulent business dealings and not paying employees. He went bankrupt 6 times.
He paid almost no taxes.
He's a rapist. When he was conning, cheating, lying and stealing from people, there must have been some charm involved, which presents itself on rare occasions now when he thinks he can get someone to tell people he's ok. This time it was Bill Maher, whom I
think also wants to be liked and listened to, though he will deny it.
Now you can add dementia to trump's evil
nature. But don't kid
yourself into thinking
he's got morals, intelligence, or gives a shit about anyone or this country, he's pure evil.
"...it’s hard for me to believe that our president could be doing what he is to our country and muster civility in any scenario ." Hear hear. And I agree with your perception that he has a staff of non-idiots pulling the Project 2025 strings for him. Even more than evil, I think he's stupid. And I'll admit to having reservations about thinking him evil. It may very well be that he can't help himself, that he's no more capable of empathy than a color-blind person is of distinguishing different hues.
He's evil like a chameleon is evil. He has no soul. In other words, he's neither good nor evil. He has this vague sense that he shouldn't let his actions kill his children, but I don't think it's based on any moral principles emanating from his rotten gut. It's more because his dad taught him to keep the line moving.
Like all sociopaths, he doesn't care at all about how his actions impact people (other than the aforementioned vague sense of responsibility to keep the line of succession moving). His only consideration is whether or not it helps his ambitions, such as they are, and how his principality of Mar-a-Lago can continue to be the center of the known universe.
I was disgusted with Maher. He clearly didn’t understand he was just a tool. He was turned into a PR plug for humanizing a mad man. Trump is a lunatic in the literal sense. A functioning one. Everything and everyone is either an opportunity or a threat. There is no rational man behind an act. What a hideous disfigurement of the human psyche. Yet he’s an evil mastermind at manipulation. Stupid Bill.
3 Words: Fuck Bill Maher
I believe he’s, like you’ve said, a showman. He draws people into his web just as a spider does to a fly! Perhaps that’s what he did to Maher! Unfortunately, Bill fell for it!
This is such a ridiculous take that I just unsubscribed. You may not remember (or know) that Maher told David Letterman to throw out all his prescriptions on David’s first show after his heart attack and quadruple heart bypass surgery. Something about his cardiologist was just a tool of BigPharma and the drugs were a scam. David cut to a commercial and Maher never appeared on The Letterman Show again.
As they say, “This is not an airport, there is no need to announce your departure.” Of course Bill Maher isn’t perfect. I’ve strongly disagreed with him many times over the years and been confused by certain things he’s said. I can’t excuse all of it. But don’t delude yourself into believing I’m the enemy here just because I think Bill Maher didn’t lie about what happened at that dinner. I have every plan to keep voting blue while there’s still a blue party left to vote for. I’m plain about the threat Trump poses, regardless of what Maher says is true.
Was this before or after he brought the entire staff of the surgical wing at the hospital that saved him onto his show to thank them..