"Overeager staffer" posts video to Trump's personal Truth Social account predicting “the creation of a unified Reich” if he wins in 2024

SimplyMe

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Really?


The Lincoln Project, the anti-Donald Trump political outfit, imploded Friday evening amid mounting criticism of its handling of sexual misconduct allegations against one of its co-founders and of the management of its finances.​
Steve Schmidt, a prominent political strategist and one of the original co-founders of the organization, on Friday evening became the latest in a string of departures from the group. In a lengthy statement, Schmidt said he was “incandescently angry” about allegations that former Lincoln Project leader John Weaver sent sexually explicit text messages to young men.​
“I detest John Weaver in a way I can’t articulate,” wrote Schmidt, who in the statement divulged his own experiences of being molested when he was young. “My heart breaks that young men felt unseen and unheard in an organization that I started. I am ashamed of it.”​

An ad hominem attack based on news from three years ago, about a person that left the group four years ago? Perhaps using your standard, I should claim that Republicans, to include Trump, are White supremacists because of how they embraced Strom Thurmond. Neither has anything to do with the posted video.
 
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SimplyMe

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curious - why did you choose not to include the link for the video?

Which would you not want in America?

It's not that I don't want these things for America, I just don't believe -- largely based on his past track record -- that he can deliver.

  • An economic boon
  • Prosperity

These two seem largely the same and weren't something that Trump left us with at the end of his last term. His successes were not any better than what Obama had left him, other than his tax decreases to "grease" the economy, but that was slowing even before COVID hit. There is no indication of what Trump might do that would create more prosperity -- particularly since much of his early political capital will have to be used just to get the extension of his tax cuts for individuals and families.

  • Border closed

Why will he be able to do it this time, when he couldn't the first time?

  • 15 million illegals deported

Again, where is his plan for how he will accomplish this; particularly since he wasn't good at it his first term? This seems to be much like his medical plan that was supposed to replace Obamacare but ended up being “nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.” I can just see him making a similar comment.

  • Peach through strength

Again, what is the plan? I will admit, based on his comments, he will likely try to force Ukraine to concede a peace treaty to the Russians in exchange for military equipment to better protect themselves "the next time." After all, appeasing Putin to end the Ukraine war will merely embolden Putin to try again in a few years, to take more of Ukraine.

I'd be genuinely interested in how he might try to solve the issues with the Palestinians and Israel; though maybe, like his last term, he can get someone like Afghanistan to sign a peace treaty with Israel (even though they haven't actually been at war).

  • Law and order

Again, plan? The issue I see here is that "law and order" tends to be a local issue and has to be solved with local police, DAs and courts; the federal government has no real role in enforcing local laws. As such, it is hard to see what Trump could do for "law and order" -- other than his promise to pardon lots of his supporters who have broken laws (which doesn't really help law and order).

  • The American Dream

Not even sure what is being talked about here, beyond everyone getting a house with a white picket fence, a car in the garage, and a ham in the oven. This is little more than a catch phrase being thrown out to appeal to those who "yearn for the good ole' days"; but the truth is that Trump is not going to reverse inflation, fix "law and order", or even fix the border -- though I'm sure he'll bluster a lot about how great he is.

Which of those is abhorrent to you?

Again, my issue isn't with the things claimed, it is instead that Trump has shown no real plans that will improve on any of these nor does his track record inspire confidence of his ability to improve things.
 
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Fantine

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An economic boom and prosperity. That's Biden's record of the past free years, despite global inflation which we addressed more quickly than other country.

The Trump record:
Chaos
Corruption
COVID
and a tax cut that gave the 99%:
Chump change.
 
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probinson

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Critical thinking includes evaluating the media in the context of the character (or lack thereof) and behavior of the person portrayed.

Tragically, the video was entirely consistent with our experience of the person portrayed.

Those who lacked critical thinking immediately dismissed it because, with absolutely no corroborating evidence, they think the man portrayed is their champion.

I know you really, really believe this. But the reason I (and I suspect others in this thread) dismissed it immediately is because it was untrue. It's really that simple.

You see, there are those of us, unlike you, who don't belong to any tribe. We don't gush over how spectacular Biden is, or think that Trump is here to right all that is wrong in the world. Many of us are just fed up with politicians in general, and the lies that all the tribal folks incessantly push. The fact of the matter is, tribal Democrats and Republicans do not care about the truth. They care only about what keeps their guy in power.
 
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essentialsaltes

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I know you really, really believe this. But the reason I (and I suspect others in this thread) dismissed it immediately is because it was untrue.
Trump's account did post a video
That video did contain those words
Trump's team did say it was not a campaign-created video
Trump's team did say it was not Trump himself who posted it

All of this is in the story and the OP and is all true.

As the OP, my error was using the verb 'predicting'. The original article used 'referencing'. AP said "includes references". Both of which are true.
Without knowing the intent of the creator, we can't know if it was intentional. Others have noted very plausible reasons to doubt it was intentional.

So it seems likely it is a non-issue (as others have said).
But the story is not untrue.
 
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probinson

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So it seems likely it is a non-issue (as others have said).
But the story is not untrue.

But your conclusion almost certainly is, which is what I was saying is untrue. Heck, you even admit here when you say it "seems likely it is a non-issue".

I get it. You've been conditioned to believe anything bad about Trump without question. As a result, that predisposition is going to cause you to get duped sometimes.

So I was very encouraged to see the very first response actually provide actual context. It goes to show me that there are still objective, critical thinking people out there, and that is encouraging.
 
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Fantine

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I know you really, really believe this. But the reason I (and I suspect others in this thread) dismissed it immediately is because it was untrue. It's really that simple.

You see, there are those of us, unlike you, who don't belong to any tribe. We don't gush over how spectacular Biden is, or think that Trump is here to right all that is wrong in the world. Many of us are just fed up with politicians in general, and the lies that all the tribal folks incessantly push. The fact of the matter is, tribal Democrats and Republicans do not care about the truth. They care only about what keeps their guy in power.
When I hear a dog bark, I believe it, because my experience has taught me dogs bark all the time.

On the other hand, if I hear a dog miaow, I don't believe it, because miaowing is not part of a dog's customary communication.

Let's extend that analogy. We believed the Trump video because it was 100% consistent with his usual communication style. It was not a dog miaowing.
 
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probinson

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When I hear a dog bark, I believe it, because my experience has taught me dogs bark all the time.

I think a more apropos analogy here would be, "When someone tells me that a dog is barking, I'll believe them without actually hearing the dog bark myself".
 
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The Barbarian

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But it is still Trump's fault - right?
It merely shows who some of his followers are. The staffer read the text and realized it fit Trump's values. If neo-nazis find him admirable, it's not the fault of news media.
 
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RocksInMyHead

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It merely shows who some of his followers are. The staffer read the text and realized it fit Trump's values. If neo-nazis find him admirable, it's not the fault of news media.
I really think you and Fantine are off-base on this one. As has been pointed out, it's a piece of stock footage that's used in multiple pieces of media having nothing to do with politics. The added headlines are clearly emphasized over the background text. Making a big deal out of this is the same as the right making a big deal out of Biden's verbal gaffes - they're just cheap shots that have no relationship to actual policy positions.
 
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The Barbarian

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I really think you and Fantine are off-base on this one. As has been pointed out, it's a piece of stock footage that's used in multiple pieces of media having nothing to do with politics. The added headlines are clearly emphasized over the background text. Making a big deal out of this is the same as the right making a big deal out of Biden's verbal gaffes
Gaffes matter. Gaffes such as Biden's and Trump's are little windows into their souls.
 
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RocksInMyHead

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Gaffes matter. Gaffes such as Biden's and Trump's are little windows into their souls
I'm not sure what insight you can gain about someone based on unrelated parties' choice of stock footage.
 
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Fantine

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I really think you and Fantine are off-base on this one. As has been pointed out, it's a piece of stock footage that's used in multiple pieces of media having nothing to do with politics. The added headlines are clearly emphasized over the background text. Making a big deal out of this is the same as the right making a big deal out of Biden's verbal gaffes - they're just cheap shots that have no relationship to actual policy positions.
The problem is that the word Reich does have a relationship to his proposed policies. "Camps" for immigrants? Being a dictator for one day, he could establish an agenda that shreds the Bill of Rights. He could return to his desk on Inauguration Day (heaven forbid), ring for a diet coke, and just sit and sign Machiavellian executive orders his staff had prepared for him previously.
Going after his enemies? Like his buddy, Putin?
 
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The Barbarian

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I'm not sure what insight you can gain about someone based on unrelated parties' choice of stock footage.
So you're claiming the person who put the "reich" material on Truth Social had no connection to Trump? Seriously?
The video, she said, “was created by a random account online and reposted by a staffer who clearly did not see the word.”
Yes, we get that Trump's staffer missed the telling word when he reposted that stuff. Not sure why that makes it O.K.
 
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essentialsaltes

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Yes, we get that Trump's staffer missed the telling word when he reposted that stuff. Not sure why that makes it O.K.

Culpability can only attach to an intentional act.

The creator of the video might have intended the connection, but given the context that the headline is not about Nazi Germany, and readily available as stock footage, makes even that possibility remote.

Since the post was deleted, even Trump's team doesn't think it's OK, but its importance is at the ironic chortle level, rather than outrage.
 
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The Barbarian

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Culpability can only attach to an intentional act.
Yeah, it's not Trump's fault. For someone who dislikes reading, he rarely if ever retweets stuff that is openly neo-nazi. So I'm thinking he'd have caught that one.
 
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RocksInMyHead

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The problem is that the word Reich does have a relationship to his proposed policies. "Camps" for immigrants? Being a dictator for one day, he could establish an agenda that shreds the Bill of Rights. He could return to his desk on Inauguration Day (heaven forbid), ring for a diet coke, and just sit and sign Machiavellian executive orders his staff had prepared for him previously.
Going after his enemies? Like his buddy, Putin?
Right - and he's already openly said that he wants to do all that. He doesn't need to "subtly signal" it by having a staffer dig up an ad created by a fan that happens to use a piece of commonly-used (and readily available) stock footage which includes a reference to the formation of the 3rd Reich. Trying to claim that this was intentional is a huge stretch, and the outrage you're expressing over the use of this video clip comes across as hysterical. Save it for situations that actually deserve it - like when Trump says that he'll be a "dictator for a day".
 
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