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You are here: Home / Politics / An Unexamined Scandal / Open Thread: Trump Caters to His (Very) Base

Open Thread: Trump Caters to His (Very) Base

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Trump — not to mention his “Chief Strategist” Steve Bannon — only care about religion as a tribal marker to help them pick off the rubes. But how does Mind-Behind-the-Man (Trump’s son-in-law) Jared Kushner handle the dichotomy between the shoddy rhetoric and the ugly truth?

USAToday reports:

In a departure from predecessors on both sides of the political aisle, President Trump’s statement Friday marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day did not mention the deaths of six million Jews — a lapse the head of the Anti-Defamation League called “puzzling and troubling.”

In the three-paragraph statement Friday, Trump said: “It is with a heavy heart and somber mind that we remember and honor the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror.”

“Yet, we know that in the darkest hours of humanity, light shines the brightest.‎ As we remember those who died, we are deeply grateful to those who risked their lives to save the innocent,” he continued, again referring only to “the innocent.”

“In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good,” he concluded. “Together, we will make love and tolerance prevalent throughout the world.”…

Trump’s generic phrasing contrasts considerably with Obama’s fuller statements on the occasion, which always spoke about the sufferings of the Jewish people, even though Trump has consistently portrayed Obama as a foe of the Jews and Israel.

The failure of the White House to mention the distinctive Jewish losses in the Holocaust could be problematic given that Trump has been accused of trafficking in anti-Semitic stereotypes and his campaign has been accused of employing anti-Semitic tropes. He has also been criticized for failing to call out virulent anti-Semitism among some of his supporters.

(Video proof here, if you don’t mind giving the ‘Christian Broadcasting Network’ a click.)

Reader Interactions

135Comments

  5. 5.

    cmorenc

    This is both (yet) another fresh Trump Admin horror-show move AND a shiny object to distract us (and the MSM) away from all the other egregious horror-show moves they’ve made already (which doesn’t even include some under-the-radar moves by GOP congress-critters under cover of the Trump million-watt kleiglights – such as preparing the way for an attempted looting of western federal lands by sagebrush rebels (via declaring zero value on such assets to facilitate transfer of ownership to states).

  8. 8.

    NeenerNeener

    Kushner may have been born into a Jewish family but he actually worships Mammon. That’s the only way I can square any of the circles that include Jared Kushner and the Trump machine.

  9. 9.

    skerry

    Not sure if this has been mentioned, but for those of us living in deep blue Congressional districts, swingleft is a great resource for helping flip a red district in the midterms.

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    I am now a member of Team VA-10. Look out Barbara Comstock – I’m coming for you.

  10. 10.

    ? Martin

    You start out in 1954 by saying, “Nigger, nigger, nigger.” By 1968 you can’t say “nigger”—that hurts you, backfires. So you say stuff like, uh, forced busing, states’ rights, and all that stuff, and you’re getting so abstract. Now, you’re talking about cutting taxes, and all these things you’re talking about are totally economic things and a byproduct of them is, blacks get hurt worse than whites.… “We want to cut this,” is much more abstract than even the busing thing, uh, and a hell of a lot more abstract than “Nigger, nigger.”

    ..extreme vetting…

  12. 12.

    Hal

    Facebook friend is on her third “there’s nothing you can do about it, just accept Trump is president” post in the past two weeks. Water is wet, that’s just life etc. 30 plus likes and from the names I noticed, all Trump supporters.

    Honestly? I’m ticked. It’s hilarious how butt hurt she is that so many people don’t like Trump. Facebook is soooo negative! Waaahhh. Love it.

    Facebook should add a feature in a couple of years that let’s people wipe their timeline clean of any pro-Trump references. I wonder how much use that would get?

  13. 13.

    J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford

    This is Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller. Trump doesn’t write or think about anything that isn’t told to him by his handlers.

  14. 14.

    trollhattan

    @SFAW: One suspects “the blahs” weren’t the onliest group Dear Old Daddy kept out of his precious rentals.

  16. 16.

    NotMax

    Have been going back and forth, back and forth, mulling about a succinct term for (my own) regular use to avoid typing out the T name when referring to the person.

    The proverbial light bulb over the skull has illuminated.

                      Dolt 45

    Feel free to steal. (Acknowledgment gratefully accepted but not expected.)

  18. 18.

    dr. bloor

    The failure of the White House to mention the distinctive Jewish losses in the Holocaust could be problematic given that Trump has been accused of trafficking in anti-Semitic stereotypes

    Never change, USAToday.

  19. 19.

    Anne Laurie

    @Major Major Major Major:

    What the fuck is The Brody File?

    AFAICT, the Sean Hannity of CBC CBN — aka, Fox News for people too timid for potty-mouthed men like Bill O’Reilly or slutty bimbos like Toni Lahren.

  20. 20.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @NotMax:

    Dolt 45

    Stolen! I can’t bring myself to type or utter the T name either. I’m also disinclined to use the various epithets bandied about here, although I totally enjoy them.

    ETA: Upon further consideration, I realize that this is another epithet for He Who Must Not Be Named – very clever, but still an epithet. I shall examine my scruples. Maybe.

  21. 21.

    Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA

    I don’t know if this was discussed here — is anyone familiar with the Countable app? It’s supposed to make it easier to keep up with legislation — you vote on whether you’re opposed or in favor, and it automatically emails your representatives. Has it actually had any impact?

  30. 30.

    humboldtblue

    @O. Felix Culpa:

    You’d find a far better example in Tony Blair. At least Chamberlain had just witnessed five years of bloody combat that had taken the lives of millions of young British men and was doing his best to avoid a repeat.

    Blair, on the other hand actively concocted evidence to back Bush in his war to prove to his daddy he was a big boy.

  31. 31.

    Brachiator

    @cmorenc:

    This is both (yet) another fresh Trump Admin horror-show move AND a shiny object to distract us (and the MSM) away from all the other egregious horror-show moves they’ve made already (which doesn’t even include some under-the-radar moves by GOP congress-critters under cover of the Trump million-watt kleiglights – such as preparing the way for an attempted looting of western federal lands by sagebrush rebels (via declaring zero value on such assets to facilitate transfer of ownership to states).

    Is it really the case that the most important thing,once you get past the “distractions” is the looting of the Treasury or federal lands.

    Fucking up the lives of people seems bad enough without looking for plots within plots.

  39. 39.

    Bill from PA

    Pennsylvania Readers: Lawmakers in Harrisburg are acting to support the anti-immigrant Trump agenda. Senate Bill 10 passed a PA Senate committee on Wednesday of this week. The bill seeks to punish communities like Philadelphia that declare themselves Sanctuary Cities by denying state funding.

  40. 40.

    lollipopguild

    Off topic-I come home from work and my wife informs me that Newt g. made a statement that any federal employee that voted for Clinton should lose their job. Has anyone else heard this and where did you hear it?

  41. 41.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @humboldtblue:

    You’d find a far better example in Tony Blair.

    Yes. He came to mind too. May’s NATO remarks started immediately sounding off “peace in our time” bells in my head. Your tintinnabulation led quite reasonably to Blair.

  42. 42.

    Aleta

    But how does ( ) Jared Kushner handle the dichotomy between the shoddy rhetoric and the ugly truth?

    Believes that money and influence will protect him. That worrying about others leads to downfall.

  47. 47.

    trollhattan

    @NotMax:
    That is freakishly good amongst the many entries to the ongoing naming competition. Twenty Quatloos awarded to Griffindor!

  48. 48.

    bemused

    I’ve met online a lovely, liberal lady, 82, who marched on the 20th with a few folks in a very small town in next door county. We’ve been emailing back and forth documenting the atrocities. I don’t think she has seen the blog post that first pointed out that it’s always about 27% of Americans who make up the fringy far right. Now I can’t find that post or even remember the name of the blogger(s) who originally wrote it. Help.

  50. 50.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @lollipopguild:

    Off topic-I come home from work and my wife informs me that Newt g. made a statement that any federal employee that voted for Clinton should lose their job. Has anyone else heard this and where did you hear it?

    I knew I had seen something about it. A bit of googling found this Salon piece from about a week ago. Don’t know of anything more recent.

  53. 53.

    rikyrah

    @Hal:
    They really get in their feelings when they realize that not only do we not respect him, and have no intentions of respecting him, but their vote for him had lowered respect that we may have had for them.

  57. 57.

    Mnemosyne

    BTW, since today was also the “March For Life” by the forced birthers, I abso-fucking-lutely GUARANTEE you that the wording is a shout-out to the forced birthers. Because legal abortion and the Holocaust are the exact same, don’t’cha know. In fact, legal abortion is worse.

  59. 59.

    J R in WV

    Well, no surprises there. Bigots are usually equal-opportunity haters, niggers, spics, rag-heads, kikes, all othered, all hated, all banned from immigration. And we are supposed to believe that the USA has been discriminating against Christians seeking asylum? Really? Nope!

    You can tell when these folks are lying – they’re breathing, they’re lying. About everything.

    I’m way against selling off our land, I’m way against slacking off environmental controls, mileage requirements for vehicles, letting bigotry come back to life in schools or the workplace, listing people by religious beliefs or national origin, sending people who grew up here back to a “native country” where they don’t even know the language.

    There’s probably as long a list of despicable plans at the White House as ly short list above. They plan on 3 new predatory revelations daily, no doubt.

    We have elected a fascist to the Presidency, and he is surrounded with smaller fascists making policy.

    GrrGrrrr~!!!

  60. 60.

    Elizabelle

    @bemused: Kung Fu Monkey. The Crazification factor.

    Tyrone: Obama vs. Alan Keyes. Keyes was from out of state, so you can eliminate any established political base; both candidates were black, so you can factor out racism; and Keyes was plainly, obviously, completely crazy. Batshit crazy. Head-trauma crazy. But 27% of the population of Illinois voted for him. They put party identification, personal prejudice, whatever ahead of rational judgement. Hell, even like 5% of Democrats voted for him. That’s crazy behaviour. I think you have to assume a 27% Crazification Factor in any population.

    John: Objectively crazy or crazy vis-a-vis my own inertial reference frame for rational behaviour? I mean, are you creating the Theory of Special Crazification or General Crazification?

    Tyrone: Hadn’t thought about it. Let’s split the difference. Half just have worldviews which lead them to disagree with what you consider rationality even though they arrive at their positions through rational means, and the other half are the core of the Crazification — either genuinely crazy; or so woefully misinformed about how the world works, the bases for their decision making is so flawed they may as well be crazy.

    John: You realize this leads to there being over 30 million crazy people in the US?

    Tyrone: Does that seem wrong?

    John: … a bit low, actually.

  63. 63.

    Brachiator

    Trump’s generic phrasing contrasts considerably with Obama’s fuller statements on the occasion, which always spoke about the sufferings of the Jewish people, even though Trump has consistently portrayed Obama as a foe of the Jews and Israel.

    The only thing smaller than Trump’s hands (aside from, well, you know) is his moral sense.

  64. 64.

    Ian

    It was harder for Christians than Muslims? I know he lives in an alternative reality, but come the fuck on. Facts, they are irrelevant.

  66. 66.

    geg6

    @Mnemosyne:

    Did you see some GOPer running for some office in MS or some other Deep South state tried to pass off the 2009 inauguration photos as today’s march? And was busted immediately. How are we losing to these idiots?

  67. 67.

    O. Felix Culpa

    @Josie:

    Booman rightfully points out that our commander in chief seems to be ignoring the fact that American soldiers are currently involved in the fight for Mosul.

    More accurately, he’s probably ignorant of that fact.

  73. 73.

    Josie

    @O. Felix Culpa: True, and even if he knows about it, he is ignorant of how difficult it may be for the troops to work with the Iraqi soldiers after his stupid pronouncements.

  75. 75.

    oldster

    Sure, there’s the anti-semitism, which was manifestly evident throughout the campaign.

    But don’t forget the Russian angle!

    It has been a long-standing complaint among Russo-philes that the “obsessive” focus on the Jewish victims is unfair to the Russians, who lost even more people to Hitler’s predations.

    Those Jews–they’re claiming special victim status, when we Russians are the real victims!

    So today’s letter was a Trump-n-Bannon two-fer: they got to piss off the Jews, and also please their Russian master.

    Good work, you two! May you rot in hell together, along with your pal Putin!

  76. 76.

    bemused

    @Elizabelle:

    Thx and I had just found it. Forgot the “crazification” but knew that was it when the word finally popped up in my searching. Definitely bookmarking it this time.

  79. 79.

    Ian

    @O. Felix Culpa:
    While Chamberlain might have had bad judgement, he acted in good faith. He assumed the Germans wanted an end to Versailles, not Lebensraum. If a similar situation arose today, I would prefer the diplomacy option, provided the other party isn’t Hitler. Or Trump.

  80. 80.

    Mnemosyne

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    So far, so good! They had to leave the breathing tube in several hours longer than usual because she’s in the early stages of COPD, but they said that’s common with smokers. Otherwise, all of her numbers are really good. We’re hoping she can be moved to a regular room and start PT by tomorrow.

  86. 86.

    Ian

    @Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA:
    I have been a staffer for Betsy Markey (D-CO4). We ignore emails that we get that are automatic or have been read before. The amount sent is noted, but not taken as seriously as letters/emails that are clearly personal.

  87. 87.

    magurakurin

    @schrodingers_cat: my airtight ideological bubble of friends on Facebook is one of the main reasons I haven’t jumped off a bridge. It’s become a support group. It’s not the bubble that is the problem, it’s not knowing that you are, in fact, in a bubble that is the problem. I constructed my FB feed to basically be a safe space. I know that. The people who think their FB feed is a pipe line to the pulse of the world or nation are deluded.

    The enemy is ignorance. Its tools can be legion.

  88. 88.

    Mnemosyne

    @debbie:

    Thanks! She had a planned bypass that seems to have gone smoothly, which we’re hoping means we’ll have at least another 10 years with her despite her lifetime of smoking. She comes from pretty tough stock, so her odds are good.

  93. 93.

    NotMax

    @schrodingers_cat

    You said a mouthful.

    The new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, pledged on Friday to overhaul the world body and warned U.S. allies that if they do not support Washington, then she is “taking names” and will respond. Source

  97. 97.

    Mnemosyne

    @debbie:

    She doesn’t know it yet, but she has. My brother has already thrown away all of her remaining cigarettes. ?

    She was already down to only smoking 3 or 4 cigarettes a day, so she shouldn’t miss them by the time she gets done with her PT.

  102. 102.

    magurakurin

    @schrodingers_cat: If companies want to pay him for information as useless as that, what can I say? What personal information can they possible gather that I wouldn’t freely admit to? If they pull my posts and give them to the newly minted secret police force it won’t make a difference because I’ll freely tell them of my opposition if they ask anyway. As for the commerce…FB is way, way behind Google in terms of knowing who I am. If you are worried about that issue, you should definitely not use Google in any way. I can turn it around, if Zuk wants to give me a free platform to network with 20 old friends, why shouldn’t I use it?

  104. 104.

    Major Major Major Major

    @magurakurin: FB/Google/etc., all the data miners and ad-based services, don’t just know things you know, they try to know things about what you’re going to do before you do. Keep in mind they gobble up subscription info, credit reports and other stuff beyond just what you share, plus all your web browsing habits and physical locations. The predictions are far from as creepy as it sounds at this juncture but they’re getting there.

    Source: did something similar for two years.

  106. 106.

    magurakurin

    @Major Major Major Major: so how do you connect to the web? Microsoft is doing the same thing. What browser do you use? Are you connecting through a proxy server? Basically, unless you are a hacker…it is what it is. I honestly just don’t give a shit. Not saying you shouldn’t either…just that it’s more than likely that we are all kidding ourselves if we think we have any sort of privacy when connected to the network.

  107. 107.

    NeenerNeener

    @debbie: He’s not all that observant; he and Ivanka went to Trump campaign events and debates on the Sabbath last year. He’s a Trump first; Jewish is somewhat farther down on the list.

  111. 111.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Mnemosyne:

    I’m glad it went well. Hope she doesn’t resume smoking the minute they spring her from the hospital — quitting can make an enormous difference in the rapidity and thoroughness of her recovery. And she can tuck away the money she would have spent on cigarettes and after six months or so treat herself to a lovely celebratory gift.

    All best to her from one who has been there (former heavy smoker and quadruple bypass).

    (Small edit.)

  112. 112.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    @cmorenc: This… this is gonna come… and FAST…

    I suspect one reason these flaming arseholes are moving so fast is that they realize once the rest of us catch onto what they’re doing, all hell will break loose…

    That land belongs to all of us and they’re going to rip us off for a trillion dollars worth of public land…

  113. 113.

    Mnemosyne

    @debbie:

    I live in California, so I’ll be fine. My brother is the one who has to worry, because he lives with her in Illinois! ?

  119. 119.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Anne Laurie:

    I’d be lying if I tried to claim I dont find Tomi appealing in that “taking the ‘Walk of Shame’ home from the party after having woken naked, run around the strange house wearing nothing but a stained tshirt from one of the passed out guys she woke up with (while muttering ‘sluts’ at the girls still asleep) in order to find her clothes and purse scattered across three rooms, then angrily proclaiming her forever virginity to a girlfriend on the phone as she walks to her yellow VW bug on a broken heel while planning a trip to the pharmacy for Plan B” way.

  120. 120.

    Sloane Ranger

    I didn’t get a Chamberlain or even a Blair vibe from what May said re HO’s position on NATO. She made a point of turning and looking directly at him as she said it and he didn’t contradict her. According to one report from someone who was in the room he even mouthed an agreement. This could just be his previously noted tendency to agree with the last person he spoke to but the point is that this was said at a formal press conference with the Head of Government of a close ally. Other leaders of close US allies are already cautious of dealing with him, so any attempt to take the US out of NATO will be a signal that he can’t be trusted on anything and lead to a widespread breakdown in diplomatic relations that will negatively affect the USA, which wiser heads will realise and want to avoid. I think that’s the best we can hope for in the circumstances.

    What I found interesting was that May clearly knew the reporters she picked out and the questions they asked Dump were extremely pointed. Although that could have been because the British press were almost denied entry to the conference because they had given their birtdates in the standard British format of day/month/year and Dump’s staff were shirty with them about this!

  122. 122.

    Mnemosyne

    @Sloane Ranger:

    I think your comment is correct, except in its assumption that there are any “wiser heads” that can prevail over the anti-NATO faction. And the sooner our current allies realize that, the better it will be for them, though not for us. Leave now, save yourselves!

  125. 125.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Major Major Major Major: It was reported in The Sun online. Not normally a source I trust but they cite the Mail on Sunday and Buzzfeed UK reporters as fellow lockouts.
    @Mnemosyne: You may be right but he currently seems to rate Gen Mattis who’s pro-NATO and,as it’s a Treaty, presumably Congress will have a say. Anyway, what choice do we have? The French are pushing for a European Army but we’re committed to the stupidity of Brexit and a European Army is a joke given the low defence spending of most European countries.

  126. 126.

    Sloane Ranger

    Tried posting responses to MajorX3 and Mnemosyne but they are not showing up. Don’t know if the problem is my phone or the site. Seeing if this gets through.

  127. 127.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Major Major Major Major: It was in The Sun online. This is not normally a source I would trust but they name reporters from other media outlets who were also caught up in this so I tend to believe it.

  128. 128.

    Sloane Ranger

    @Mnemosyne: What choice do we have? We burnt our bridges with Brexit. Although the French are pushing for a European Army it’s a joke given Defence expenditure in most other European countries.

  130. 130.

    PIGL

    @Sloane Ranger: why need be a joke how big it Army does it really need to be a nuclear deterrent is probably essential a Davie to keep an eye on the approaches and the Mediterranean. Otherwise there’s no real need to prepare to refight World War II it with the Russians.

  131. 131.

    Lurking Canadian

    @NotMax: It is one thing to win 46% of the vote and believe that gives you a mandate to revolutionize a country because 46>54.

    It is a whole new level of delusional to have one vote (OK, 2: I’ll spot them Micronesia) out of 160 and think that gives you a mandate to revolutionize an institution because 2>158.

    I wonder which country will be first to introduce the “Donald Trump should go fuck himself” resolution at the General Assembly.

  132. 132.

    Byron King

    In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good,” he concluded. /blockquote

    Is the president(asterisk) unaware who won WWII? I know the fact that it was in all the papers wouldn’t affect him, but surely it must have been mentioned on at least one of The Shows.

    Or maybe he knows and this is just his non-traditional assignment of the roles of Good and Evil.

  133. 133.

    Byron King

    In the name of the perished, I pledge to do everything in my power throughout my Presidency, and my life, to ensure that the forces of evil never again defeat the powers of good,” he concluded.

    Is the Prez unaware who won WWII? I know the fact that it was in all the papers wouldn’t affect him since his name probably wasn’t mentioned very prominently in the story. But surely they must have mentioned the result in passing on one of The Shows.

    Or maybe he does know and this is just his non-traditional assignment of the roles of Good and Evil.

  135. 135.

    btom89

    @bemused: I think it’s John Rogers, and it’s called the Crazyification Factor. There’s another prominent post on Balloon Juice from 2011 that talks about it. The interesting thing is 46 percent of the eligible voters who turned out, went for Trump. Less than 60 percent of all eligible voters turned out at all. 45 percent of 60 percent is 27 percent. So slightly more than the crazyifcation factor of the eligible voter population turned out for Trump. This is why I’m consistently depressed by the voter turnout—it seems like too many people sit out the election like it doesn’t matter to them. It does. The Republicans have made voter suppression a standing tactic of their own party to make sure they stay in power so they can shave away at the margin of the voters who actually turn out.

    https://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html

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