Joshua, you are so level headed that most of the emotionally driven electorate can't relate to you. I say that as a compliment! Here is a story about choosing your priorities. When Ed Koch was running for re-election for mayor if NYC in the 80's, he famously said, "if you agree with me on 8 out of 10 issues , you should vote for me. If you agree with me on 10 out of 10 issues, you should see a psychiatrist"
Happy to see that finally democracy is presented as democracy not as it is democracy when my favorite candidate wins. We have been abusing this term for quite a while. (Sorry for my convoluted language.)
Unfortunately, this is the state the US has been expeiencing and has reached a crescendo with this attempted assassination of former President Trump. Just days before this, Biden made the statement, “We're done talking about the debate. It's time to put Trump in the bullseye.” When you have people who don't think clearly, what might this mean to them? All the talk about Trump being a HItler, Fascist, Nazi, he and the MAGAS will cause violence in the country (this is what Maxine Waters said fairly recently. And now some on the Left (especially on social media) talking about how the shooter should have practiced more. how could the shooter have missed? or the best one, "it was staged." President Biden pledged in 2020, he would be the great divider and he, his staff, the Legacy Media have done everything they could to divide this country and put people in opposition. There is no room for actual argument anymore. Does anyone even know what an argument is? The WH didn't even call this an assassination attempt, it was a "shooting incident." I would like to believe this may have an effect on people's attitudes, but it may just be a piece of news that will quickly go the way of all unexpected and surprising news events and disappear. By saying what I have, does this mean I'm a supporter of Trump? Between the two politicians, I would say yes, and I won't apologize for it. I've lived through presidents of both parties and survived and so have the citizens of the US. It's time we respectfully listen to each other's ideas and leave it at that when we don't agree. Until that happens, we may be looking at a greater violence that we never thought could happen in 2024.
For a number of years I've written (on social media) these are a Politician's Jobs: a) get elected b) begin your re-election campaign c) illustrate to your Party that you are loyal to the Party d) convince your electorate that you are doing a good job - convince - you do not have to do a good job - you only have to convince your electorate e) stay in the game (the political game/rort/scam) long enough to earn the big fat Pay Out including your Superannuation (retirement fund), and your Investment Portfolio. That's a - e. On the other hand, at least in the USA there are a number brilliant, dedicated individual Congressmen/women and Senators who are also deeply patriotic, dedicated workers in their positions. Nonetheless it has been amazing to occasionally watch a Congressional or Senate Hearing in recent years and see the Witnesses being questioned and see that there are so many Witnesses who are Professionals high up in their professions and that many of those individuals are professional liars/cheats/scoundrels. As part of the "peanut gallery" many of the Congress and Senate members call out the liars point blank... but the liars/cheats/scoundrels are not effected in the slightest. So it appears that 'we' in some of the formerly great democracies ... are in a precarious life threatening amoral unethical global situation.
Thank you so much for your wonderful article.......I love that you call all politicians by their right name !!!! Like you, being an American citizen and Jewish, when I vote, my priority is ( an now more than ever) the relationship between USA and Israel !......God help us all.....Blessings.....
I agree that we need to cherish and protect our democracy. There's been a dramatic decline in the losing side accepting the winning candidate since at least 2004. There has been a lot of complaining and finger-pointing instead, the worst offenders being members of Congress, because they waste time on rhetoric instead of doing their jobs.
Regarding who is impeding democracy, I know that in my state (Massachusetts), a candidate must submit a petition with at least 10,000 signatures to get on the primary ballot. That is the law. I assume there are similar requirements in other states.
Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson were on the ballot, along with President Biden. Kennedy was not, but as he is generally regarded as a crank here, I'm sure it would not have mattered.
You are speaking about technicalities and I appreciate that. I was talking about two Democratic Party mega doners (meaning, insiders) saying that there was a deliberate behind-the-scenes strategy to keep Biden from being challenged by others in the primaries.
Being a donor doesn't necessarily make you an "insider". Especially when you support insurgent candidates when there is an incumbent President. As I point out in my larger comment, these are two RFK Jr. supporters, who are of course going to complain that there was a "conspiracy", because parties will always put the weight of their support behind an incumbent. They aren't members of the DNC, and it makes no sense that Democrats would conspire to keep them out when (again, as I explain in my larger comment) neither of them had any chance of winning the Democratic primary.
It's nice that you think neither of them didn't have a chance of winning the Democratic primary. It would've been nicer to let the American people make that decision via vote.
I subscribed to this newsletter because I am a liberal appalled by what has transpired on the American left recently with regard to support for Hamas in the wake of the abominable Oct 7th massacre. Much as I grieve for the loss of innocent Palestinian life, when it comes to protecting Israel as the sole liberal democracy in the Middle East, I am with you, my friend.
However, if you are going to comment on American elections, you need to know what you're talking about. And I am truly sorry to have to tell you that you don't.
There is *no* comparison between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
In 2020, Donald Trump engaged in an actual conspiracy, abusing his powers as President in an attempt to overthrow our Constitutional order, in order to reverse the results of an election he had clearly lost. The violent attack on our Capitol on Jan 6th was not an organic, spontaneous, legitimate protest. It was the tip of the iceberg – the publicly visible part of a last ditch scheme hatched behind the scenes, to intimidate his own Vice President into claiming constitutional powers he did not have. He wanted Mike Pence to contest state electors that had already been certified by their resepective states, based on nothing but bogus intenet conspiracy theories that his Justice Department had already looked into and *told him* were complete garbage. All of this has been documented extensively by a bipartisan Congressional committee which held public hearings in 2022.
This is unquestionably the greatest betrayal of our country by a sitting president in any of our lifetimes, and possibly ever. Nobody had *ever* refused to concede a lost election and peacefully transfer power. Until Donald Trump. This is a blight on our history that can never be erased, and continues to threaten the perception of American stability and reliability around the world.
Understand that in this plot (one of several between November and January), there were fake electors lined up and ready to go, and many of the participants in these schemes have actually been indicted in state courts in Virginia, Michigan, and Arizona. Unfortunately, Donald Trump's allies on the Supreme Court intentionally delayed his federal trial for this, and have likely put him beyond reach of the law even if Trump doesn't get elected. Of course, if he does, he will end the DOJ prosecutions and corrupty undermine the rule of law in this country.
Now you say you believe Joe Biden "conspired" to keep Dean Phillips and RFK Jr. from competing in the Democratic primary, because two billionaire donors to the "Democratic Party" said so? You understand that these are two guys who both support RFK Jr., right? Ackman is a short seller who is apparently no longer a Democrat, and Palihapitiya is a wealthy venture capitalist who doesn't like that Biden wants to increase taxes on the wealthy, crack down on SEC violations, and boost unions. But you believe two obviously biased rich men over somebody who "just reads headlines".
Well then, how about someone who reads the actual news accompanying the headlines, and also has some clue as to the realities of politics in America?
Because I can assure you that I'm of the latter stripe. And I can tell you flat out that neither RFK Jr. nor Dean Phillips had a "decent" chance of beating out Biden in the Democratic primary, unless you think zero is "decent". Firstly, RFK Jr. is an anti-vaxxer crank who touts crazy conspiracy theories, some of them plainly anti-Semitic, and most Democrats are well aware of this. And those who didn't would have found out about it soon enough, and that sort of thing is political poison among most Democrats.
As for Dean Phillips, the guy literally ran *unopposed* in the New Hampshire primary because of a spat between the DNC and New Hampshire regarding the date of the primary. So Biden literally *wasn't on the ballot*, and Phillips thought this would be a great chance to grab some headlines with a cheap victory. Do you know what happened? Biden *destroyed* him as a write-in candidate.
So no, neither of these men ever had a snowball's chance in Phoenix to defeat Joe Biden in the Democratic primary. There is always someone to attempt to primary an incumbent President, and they always fail. Of course, that almost never involves a party doing what Republicans did in 2020 and literally *shutting down* state primaries so the President couldn't be challenged – if you want an example of what an *actual* conspiracy to keep a President from being primaried looks like.
I could regale you all day with examples of Donald Trump's corruption. Most notably, he intentionally stole classified documents from the government upon leaving, lied about not having them, then gave a few back, lied and claimed he didn't have any more, repeated this cycle again, then secretly sneaked the rest away to a different location after it became known he had boxes of classified documents strewn about his primary residence in Florida, which foreign nationals often frequented when he was President.
And no, this is nothing like the classified documents that were found to have been retained by mistake by both Biden and Mike Pence (Trump's VP), both of whom submitted voluntarily to further searches of their residences and neither of whom gave the government the run-around for a year, necessitating a search warrant for an FBI search of the premises, as in Trump's case.
As for your boilerplate cynicism about how a politician who isn't convicted is just one that hasn't been caught yet, consider the fact that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has been desperately digging into Joe Biden's affairs trying to find something, *anything* to pin on him – all in an attempt to exact revenge at Trump's behest. They even launched an impeachment inquiry before they had anything to investigate, just so they could obtain subpoena power. And do you know what they found?
*Nothing*. They've claimed to find things, only to be embarrassed by their witnesses when they showed up to testify at hearings and say Joe Biden had no involvement in what they were there to discuss, or when their "informants" turned out to be felons and con-men with zero credibility – or in one case an actual Russian informant – telling them what they had asked to be told.
All the while Republicans have lied through their teeth accusing the Biden administration of "weaponizing" the Justice Department against Trump, when in fact Biden has been a model of integrity, keeping his nose completely out of the DOJ, even while *his own son* has been prosecuted and convicted of tax fraud. Meanwhile, Trump's DOJ dropped prosecutions into his political allies – even the Russians indicted by Robert Mueller for their role in the campaign to interfere with the 2016 election – all while his AG acted like Trump's personal attorney. And Trump himself pardoned numerous political allies – including the ones who agreed not to squeal on him during the Mueller investigation.
Look, I understand your impulse here to take a balanced perspective on all of this. That's my general nature too; I like it when I can "both sides" things. It makes it seem like we're all fighting over nothing, when we should instead be uniting in brotherhood fighting the people who are our real enemies. A big part of me wishes that were true here, because I am sick and tired of these godforsaken, never-ending culture wars.
But sometimes things just aren't symmetric. Sometimes, one side is overwhelmingly in the wrong and the other is overwhelmingly right, and the differences of opinion are largely due to ignorance. I know you think that's elitist and disrespectful, but that has no bearing on whether or not it's true.
Donald Trump is different than any politician either the Republican or Democratic party has ever seen. At first, much of the Republican establishment – both politicians and prominent conservatives – were opposed to him. Over time, one by one, they have been compelled to bend the knee due to Trump's base of support, which has effectively become a personality cult. He has been the cause of numerous defections, retirements, and denunciations of/from the Republican party by formerly powerful and influential people on the American right. He has completely remade the party in his image – his family runs the RNC now – through both political and personal intimidation by both him and his supporters, who have literally threatened the lives of numerous local election workers, creating a crisis of stability at local polling locations. His lies – and almost everything that comes from his mouth is a lie – have destroyed countless lives in one way or another.
And you don't see this on the Democratic side. People have taken issue with Biden on some things, and many people want him to step down now because they're worried he can't beat Trump. But note how they're having this argument out in the open. In contrast, no current officeholder in the Republican Party *dares* speak a word against Donald Trump.
I could go on forever about this. I'm sorry, but this just isn't a "both sides do it" situation. I guarantee you if you asked our foreign allies in private (aside from Netanyahu, of course), they would all tell you they are incredibly worried about Trump's return to power. And I would think you would be able to appreciate the similar anti-Netanyahu sentiment, with the power grab he tried to pull last summer, threatening the basis of Israeli democracy while effectively ignoring intellingence regarding the massacre that was soon to happen.
Again, I'm sorry. I don't mean to pick on you. Your attempt to take an even perspective is admirable in many ways. But unfortunately in this case, it is dangerously misplaced, and you have a lot to learn if you believe you are going to change anyone's minds.
Thank you for the detailed reply. It's a lot to respond to everything, although I'm sure my readers will appreciate your reply. I'll only say that I wasn't both-sides-ing. I was saying both sides are guilty of what they accuse the other of doing. I'm tired of the "what about [the other]" argument. Whataboutism is a poor argument. It's like 5-year-old Johnny justifying that he smacked his classmate Rachel because Rachel hit him first. As I said in my essay, I am voting for what my top priorities are (just as all voters do) and I respect and appreciate whomever people vote for.
That’s fine, I am a very strong Israel supporter, having spent half my long life going back & forth & being married to an Israeli who fought in the War of independence & 6 day war. His parents came as Pioneers in the 1930’s. And I agree with you about the US Aid, which much of it gets paid back due to the MOU by Israel having to buy military equipment from the USA. BTW, Israel is the only country in the world that gets aid from the USA that has to pay it back, to my knowledge.
But this country is falling apart due to the open Southern border, millions of illegals being allowed in, not vetted, not health screened, given every benefit that is being taken from American citizens. Allowed to register to vote by motor voter. Our cities are full of homeless, crime is out of control, no funding for police.
Lawfare against political opponents. Jan 6 people held in prison with no due process, no speedy trial, no medical care for years on end. This is all Unconstitutional and an atrocity. The United States has become the largest human trafficking country in the world because of our open border & the cartels running the trafficking. ALL OF THIS IS UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION.
Joshua, I realize I've thrown a lot at you here, and I'm sorry about that. It's just that there is so much, and I'm trying to give a sense of the scale of things. But I do think a lot of people reading your piece would come away thinking that you were trying to establish a rough equivalence between the two sides.
To be clear, what we often call "whataboutism" isn't the universal wrong that it's often portrayed as. Particularly as we grow and mature, we often have to recalibrate our moral compasses to account for some of the harsh realities of the world. For example, I have recently done so with regard to Israel, of whom I was once much more harshly critical. In such instances it's necessary to establish a baseline of reasonable expectations from people and groups of people, so it's perfectly natural to say, "well if your guy can do this, why can't my guy do something similar". Without a fixed, agreed upon moral framework, moral arguments really more resemble negotiations than they do formal proofs from first principles.
But it's here that the "whataboutism" from Trump supporters becomes untenable, because they tend to frame Trump's actions in gallingly innocuous terms so as to make them seem commonplace and unobjectionable, when in fact they are often unprecedented. They take advantage of people's general cynicism about our institutions to create false equivalences, but ultimately their claims boil down to something more like, "if your guy threw a pebble, why can't my guy drop a boulder?"
As I said, I understand and respect your inclination to see the good in people's decisions to vote for whom they choose. I have always said that many of Trump's voters are simply misinformed. They may be voting for Trump based on what Trump claims he will do, influenced by Trump's often comically inaccurate and self-serving portrayals of the state of American society. Yet even aside from his misrepresentations, Trump's promises are generally worth about as much as a small child assuring you that they will never again do that thing you told them not to.
Believe me, I understand being politically misinformed, especially from when I was a young man, when I was positively ignorant (though as a result I declined to vote). I feel sorry for people in this day and age that having only a superficial knowledge of political realities carries such a huge risk relative to what it used to; such was not the case when I came of age.
Unfortunately, social media and the Internet are forcing us to endure a transition similar to that which transpired after the invention of the printing press, when "information" could easily spread and both be used and abused for noble or ignoble ends. We went in relatively short order from being a world where most people were illiterate to one where most could read and be influenced by ideas and people from distant places.
Now, America's peculiar vulnerability to conspiracy theories, a byproduct of our general anti-authority ethos, is being weaponized by autocratic regimes who have an interest in demonstrating to the world that democracy is decadent, unstable, and just as corrupt as their systems are. Our older generations lack "immunity", so to speak, to the Internet disinformation tactics being deployed. In contrast, our younger generations lack the ability to distinguish a "rough around the edges" maverick from a true crook, thanks to generations of worshipping the stereotypical archetype of the "straight shooting" cowboy hero – or what many might refer to as the "ugly American".
So this is where we are, and while I understand why some people choose to vote for Trump, I often warn them to strongly consider Trump's well established history of dishonesty, and whether they are really getting what they believe they are.
Again, I appreciate your reply. But the core problem is that you are trying to convince me of something, such as to not vote for the Republicans. I don't like that. You should vote for whomever you want and I should vote for whomever I want — we are two different people with two different sets of priorities and life experiences — and we should respect each other accordingly.
Well actually I wasn't trying to convince you to vote for anyone; by all means, if you think that Republicans represent your interests, then vote your interests. I did not read your original post as a support for Republicans.
But at the very least I want people to vote having a clear understanding of what the choices are. So the point of my comment was to correct the notion, "virtually every argument that people make against Biden or Trump can also be leveled at the other." Because that's just not even close to being true. These are two very different candidates, and the baggage each brings to the table outside of party platforms are as different as the platforms themselves.
However, now you've got me curious, if you don't mind humoring me again. It's just that, here you are writing a newsletter attempting to change peoples' minds about Israel and other related things. So even if I were trying to change your mind about who to vote for, why do you object to the idea? Or is it my tone you object to (I did try to be respectful and conciliatory, but I suppose I could have tried a bit harder)?
I object to you trying to explain away everything that Biden and the Democrats do and justifying it because of “Trump.”
And we don’t try to convince people of anything here. We provide a different, far more nuanced perspective of certain topics. And our readers can do whatever they want with it.
Im sorry Joshua but I think that's an extremely unfair description of what I said to you.
I did not even come close to justifying "everything Biden and Democrats did". You gave an example of something Biden and the Democrats supposedly "did", and I explained why it probably wasn't true, or at the very least isn't what you think it is. Dean Phillips was on the ballots and lost. RFK Jr. switched to an Independent in October after complaining the Democrats were "rigging" things by not holding primary debates, which incumbent administrations *never* do, usually to similar complaints from prospective challengers. And the guys complaining about it in *this* case were two finance bros who supported RFK Jr., not two longstanding Democratic insiders.
By you saying that I "explain that away", you're implying that they really did something nefarious and I'm just making excuses. But these are norms of American politics that you're elevating into some kind of subversion of democracy. If you don't like those norms, that's completely understandable. But using it as an example of a common criticism of Trump which can also be leveled against the Biden administration is just plain absurd and misleading.
As for me "justifying it because Trump" I assume you mean the fact that I mentioned that Republicans did the same thing, only worse – they actually undermined the primaries themselves instead of not holding debates. Now Joshua, *you are the one* who used the charge as a basis of comparison – one which you claimed to be close to an equivalence – between Biden/Democrats and Trump/Republicans. Telling you that what the former did was a norm of American politics, and that what the latter did was actually unprecedented and much closer to what you seem to think the former did, is merely an argument against that claim, not a "whataboutism" justification.
As to your claim that you "don't try to convince people of anything here", I'm sorry Joshua but this makes no sense. I've read your articles – you specifically. You're telling me you *aren't* trying to convince people that Israel is being treated unfairly in much of Western liberal discourse? Of course you are. What would be the point of saying it otherwise? So that we can all go back to "respectfully disagreeing" on whether Israel is merely defending itself, or an evil, imperialist nation run by Zionist murderers which must therefore be wiped off the map? Just because you're doing it in what you regard as a nuanced way doesn't mean you don't have a point of view of which you hope to convince others.
Now, if you think that I'm not being sufficiently nuanced, well let me assure you I have plenty of nuanced discussions where nuance is called for. But some things just aren't that nuanced.
As a perfect example, the moral case for specific aspects of the war in Gaza may be a discussion calling for nuance; the moral case for the October 7th massacre is not.
Now, I'm not at all saying the Biden v. Trump discussion is the same thing, but by choosing to draw a comparison between Biden and Trump on being a threat to democracy, you really picked a very unnuanced subject. There is simply no basis for claiming that Biden and the Democrats have done anything that undermines *American democracy*, with all of its understood and accepted norms, whereas Trump literally tried to steal a Presidential election, and is currently attempting to subvert the rule of law through the Presidency.
Anyway, its becoming increasingly clear here, and I apologize in advance if I'm getting the wrong impression, that you support Trump and feel that I am coming down hard on you and trying to make you feel guilty. I'm not. But I am extremely worried for my country, with very good reason, and I have a tough time letting it slide when I feel that people are being misinformed. If people are going to support Trump, they should do so with full understanding of what they're supporting, and not be kept in the dark about important things because those who know differently want to be "respectful". I assure you that I am being as respectful as I know how to be given the gravity of this situation.
Trump has said repeatedly that he would never have mandated the vax. He was a believer in HCQ & Ivermectin & they excoriated him over it. Every idea he had was received with scorn. The man has never been given a chance to succeed.
Excellent and very knowledgeable reply - thank you. I was thinking exactly the same thing. This is my favorite newsletter about Israel, but this article is off-base about American politics, which I also follow closely.
"actual conspiracy"? Really? Oh yes, of course there had to be some sort of conspiracy/organizing. But I am not so sure that Trump was particularly involved in that. I would say also that even if he were - where is the UNBIASED proof? Further - it seems that there were several official organizations who likely were part of a 'grand' conspiracy that was out of Trump's domain.
Ira, when Ronna McDaniel took over as RNC Chair, her first action was to declare the Republican Party the party of Donald Trump. Now, you might say that sounds reasonably normal. But her entire tenure as chairwoman was characterized by basically nodding along with whatever Donald Trump said. In 2020 they literally had no platform outside of a relatively terse statement to the effect of "whereas < bunch of stock Republican slogans >, we're with Trump." It was gobsmacking.
But that's the thing about the corruption Trump has engendered. If you went to him and said that the party "conspired" to keep him from being primaried, well he might not like the phrasing, but he would more or less acknowledge what happened. That's perhaps Trump's principal trick: his corruption is aired out in the open, so that it doesn't look like some nefarious plot. Many people will judge the propriety of an action by how much someone tried to cover it up. And in some, many cases really, it is entirely believable that it never even occurred to Trump that what he was doing was "wrong". He often appears to have a very poorly defined sense of what constitutes ethical behavior.
I will give you one thing, Ira, and that is that Trump is no singular mastermind. There are always a lot of people and players involved in any corrupt political movement such as this. Victor Orban doesn't act alone, for instance, and at one point at least, neither did Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping. And in Trump's case, this is probably even moreso, because he is basically a selfish spoiled rich narcissist whose pathologies have been exploited by a loose assemblage of outside governments and organizations who ultimately seek to undermine Western Civilization.
I will even say to people that if they really do care about Trump personally, they should really hate all of the people around him who have enabled his worst impulses and set him up to be the threat to American society he has come to be. From cowardly, hypocritical American politicians like Lindsey Graham and J.D. Vance (both of whom were once strongly opposed to Trump), to malignant autocrats like Putin, Xi, Orban, Kim Jong Un, and to some extent even legitimately elected autocrat wannabes like Jair Bolsonaro (perhaps the closest foreign analog to Trump, except for the fact that Brazil overwhelmingly turned on him after his attempted Trump-like auto-coup), Trump has been a pawn who believes himself a king. In the end Trump wants power far less than he does glory, which is about his only saving grace.
Eric73, Thank you!! In my more general way of understanding, I follow all that and would agree in principle for a start. What you have written in the reply gives a dramatic plausibility. Insights via one's dramatic imagination is, as I am barely starting to see and appreciate, is the 'method' of Midrash. That is something am barely learning to grasp. Seeing wisps of 'method to the madness'. That is the madness of attempting to give a frame or dramaturgy so that a complex matter can be discussed as a complex whole. I see there is a fresh discussion of comments/replies between you and Joshua so I'll read that now. Regards
Wow, there is so much wrong with this tirade, it would take an hour to rebut it. Since it’s 2:35 am here in California I’m not even going to bother. I would suggest very strongly that you stop watching The Mockingbird Media & open your mind & learn the truth about all the misconceptions that you have laid down here. Your hatred of DT is so strong that I don’t think anyone could have a rational conversation with you & point out with proof where you are wrong. You are exactly what is wrong with this country and what was being pointed out in this substack. I do have to say that I disagree with the statement by Joshua that there is no difference between the two candidates for President. There are so many stories of anonymous kind, generous, private things that Donald Trump has done for people that very few people know about. I don’t think either of you know the man, his motivations, or really much about him. Maybe you should try to find out before writing him off as a POS. Which Biden has been his whole career. Not to mention everything DT accomplished as President while being relentlessly attacked every single day.
Leslie, firstly, I honestly have no idea what Mockingbird Media is, so I can assure you they have no influence on me. I read the newspaper and multiple sources of legitimate media that have proven themselves reasonably reliable over time, like any well-informed citizen. Tell me, from where do you get your information? One of Rupert Murdoch's various media properties, perhaps? Your reference to the "plandemic" in another of your comments actually suggests even less reliable sources, but I'd prefer to hear it from you directly.
Secondly, if you're trying to change anyone's mind, whether mine or someone else's, telling me that it's impossible to have a rational conversation with me and then presenting a litany of unsupported statements and opinions renders you far more vulnerable to that exact same charge. You see that, no? Justifying that by pointing out the time of day and saying you're not going to bother does not in any way strengthen your argument or absolve you of the responsibility to support your statements.
In contrast, I have supported my arguments with numerous objective observations and references to factual occurrences. I am not claiming that I have all of the answers or am always right. But in your comment here you don't even try to contradict or challenge a single concrete statement I make. I'm very sorry, but you have no room to criticize me for not discussing things rationally.
And you claim that I am what's wrong with this country? I would invite any objective observer to evaluate which of us does a greater service, or disservice, to productive public discourse with their comments. But I assure you, if you would like to point out "proof" of where I am wrong, I'll be more than happy to address it.
Do I hate Donald Trump? Of course I do! But you speak as if that somehow precedes my observations regarding what he has done. As if I just don't like his cologne or his hair, and everything else falls out from that. I hate Donald Trump because of what he has done to my country. That doesn't invalidate my observations any more than your obvious hatred of Joe Biden does to your observations about him – that is, if you actually made any other than just calling him a "POS". And I would confidently say to you that you obviously don't know him. So where does that leave us?
I assure you I know as much about Donald Trump as anyone can from the standpoint of a private citizen, as I have followed him *very* closely. I have not "written him off" – Trump's constant and consistent public behavior continually reinforces my opinion of him. Every day he has the opportunity to show redemptive aspects of his character, and virtually every day he does the opposite. And I don't know how anyone who pays attention to his unending stream of hateful rhetoric can say otherwise, even if they weren't paying attention to what he did as President.
You talk about numerous stories of "anonymous" kind, generous, private things he's done. While I'm not sure how something can be anonymous and then conclusively attributed to Trump, I take your point. Care to share any of these?
Because Joe Biden has a plethora of such stories, and they aren't secondhand rumors. Ask Meghan McCain about how he was there for her in her hours of need when her father was dying. You can even watch one such situation on an episode of The View (it's quite touching), but Meghan has attested to plenty of other private conversations of support. Or you can talk to the family of one of the officers slain prior to the New York anti-police riots in 2014 (following the death of Eric Garner). As VP, Biden personally visited their home to counsel the grieving wife and family, because he has a lot of experience dealing with personal loss – in 1974 his first wife and infant daughter were killed in a car accident right before he was set to take office for the first time. (Shortly afterward his son Beau would die as well, so he was probably terminally ill at this point.) There are many more examples I could dig up if you care to know.
But I have no doubt that Trump has done some nice things for people in private from time to time. Everyone does. That's no defense of the numerous awful things he's done in private and public. The failure to pay contractors who work for him. The conning of people with "Trump University", the prosecution of which was ended by a political ally of his in Florida. The using of his own charity as a slush fund. Cheating on his taxes. And that's just a sample of things he did *before* attaining public office, and doesn't even touch his repugnant marital infidelity or credible accusations of sexual assault.
As for all of the things he accomplished in office – such as? Tax break for the rich? Sure. Failed to deliver health care, but actively worked to undermine our existing healthcare by cutting subsidies promised to participating providers. Meanwhile, his DOJ worked behind the scenes to kill the guarantee against denial of insurance for pre-existing conditions – all while Trump publicly lied and said he was working to preserve it! Supposed champion of the working class? He stocked the NLRB with anti-union people (whom Biden immediately replaced upon taking office with actual pro-labor people) and stuffed the Federal judiciary with anti-union judges.
Stemming the tide of immigration? Well he never did build more than a small section of the wall he claims he erected. And the reduction in illegal immigration that he brags about was all due to Title 42 powers under the pandemic. Prior to that he was pleading with Congress to give him new laws, just like Biden was doing before Trump killed legislation by making phone calls to Senators – openly admitting he didn't want to give Biden a political win, thus actively sustaining a real problem so that he could have something to run on. What a guy.
First Step Act? All he did was sign it – that had been in the works for years and was an incredibly popular piece of bipartisan legislation. It was a political gift at a time that his poll numbers were sinking. He has nothing to do with its crafting or promotion; in fact, the only real obstacle that needed to be overcome was Trump himself. And ultimately he failed to uphold his responsibilities under the bill with regard to clemency reform, with the vast majority of such petitions piling up on his desk and going unaddressed (in contrast, Presidents normally clear the vast majority of clemency petitions submitted during their terms, one way or another).
The so called "Abraham Accords"? A lot of people credit him with that – yet the results are far from what most people think. These were countries that already had peaceful or under-the-table good relations with Israel already, and this was proposed as a momentary dissuasion from the "Peace Plan" (not a deal, as negotiations with the Palestinian Authority failed) that was going to greenlight more settlements in the West Bank, further inflaming tensions during a key political moment. So not nothing, but not exactly the "peace in the Middle East" many of his supporters claim, and in many ways a fig leaf over his administration's prior plans (which Netanyahu claimed were still being pursued), which would certainly have drawn more criticism than praise.
But this is all policy. None of this holds a candle to the way he tried to steal the 2020 election. An unforgivable crime against American society that tells you everything you need to know about his character.
Really, I could talk your ears off all day about the things Trump has done to selfishly benefit himself and his political fortunes at the expense of America. Feel free to argue with me on any of this. But if all you're going to do is throw around more vague, insubstantial claims about how Trump is really a great guy, or accusations that I don't "know" Donald Trump, I really don't think it's going to be worth your time or mine.
The rhetoric must be lowered but especially on the left which has pushed the edge of the envelope as to what tactics can be used against an opponent
Joshua, you are so level headed that most of the emotionally driven electorate can't relate to you. I say that as a compliment! Here is a story about choosing your priorities. When Ed Koch was running for re-election for mayor if NYC in the 80's, he famously said, "if you agree with me on 8 out of 10 issues , you should vote for me. If you agree with me on 10 out of 10 issues, you should see a psychiatrist"
Happy to see that finally democracy is presented as democracy not as it is democracy when my favorite candidate wins. We have been abusing this term for quite a while. (Sorry for my convoluted language.)
Unfortunately, this is the state the US has been expeiencing and has reached a crescendo with this attempted assassination of former President Trump. Just days before this, Biden made the statement, “We're done talking about the debate. It's time to put Trump in the bullseye.” When you have people who don't think clearly, what might this mean to them? All the talk about Trump being a HItler, Fascist, Nazi, he and the MAGAS will cause violence in the country (this is what Maxine Waters said fairly recently. And now some on the Left (especially on social media) talking about how the shooter should have practiced more. how could the shooter have missed? or the best one, "it was staged." President Biden pledged in 2020, he would be the great divider and he, his staff, the Legacy Media have done everything they could to divide this country and put people in opposition. There is no room for actual argument anymore. Does anyone even know what an argument is? The WH didn't even call this an assassination attempt, it was a "shooting incident." I would like to believe this may have an effect on people's attitudes, but it may just be a piece of news that will quickly go the way of all unexpected and surprising news events and disappear. By saying what I have, does this mean I'm a supporter of Trump? Between the two politicians, I would say yes, and I won't apologize for it. I've lived through presidents of both parties and survived and so have the citizens of the US. It's time we respectfully listen to each other's ideas and leave it at that when we don't agree. Until that happens, we may be looking at a greater violence that we never thought could happen in 2024.
Incredibly well said, Diane.
For a number of years I've written (on social media) these are a Politician's Jobs: a) get elected b) begin your re-election campaign c) illustrate to your Party that you are loyal to the Party d) convince your electorate that you are doing a good job - convince - you do not have to do a good job - you only have to convince your electorate e) stay in the game (the political game/rort/scam) long enough to earn the big fat Pay Out including your Superannuation (retirement fund), and your Investment Portfolio. That's a - e. On the other hand, at least in the USA there are a number brilliant, dedicated individual Congressmen/women and Senators who are also deeply patriotic, dedicated workers in their positions. Nonetheless it has been amazing to occasionally watch a Congressional or Senate Hearing in recent years and see the Witnesses being questioned and see that there are so many Witnesses who are Professionals high up in their professions and that many of those individuals are professional liars/cheats/scoundrels. As part of the "peanut gallery" many of the Congress and Senate members call out the liars point blank... but the liars/cheats/scoundrels are not effected in the slightest. So it appears that 'we' in some of the formerly great democracies ... are in a precarious life threatening amoral unethical global situation.
Thank you so much for your wonderful article.......I love that you call all politicians by their right name !!!! Like you, being an American citizen and Jewish, when I vote, my priority is ( an now more than ever) the relationship between USA and Israel !......God help us all.....Blessings.....
Agreed, totallly!
I agree that we need to cherish and protect our democracy. There's been a dramatic decline in the losing side accepting the winning candidate since at least 2004. There has been a lot of complaining and finger-pointing instead, the worst offenders being members of Congress, because they waste time on rhetoric instead of doing their jobs.
Regarding who is impeding democracy, I know that in my state (Massachusetts), a candidate must submit a petition with at least 10,000 signatures to get on the primary ballot. That is the law. I assume there are similar requirements in other states.
Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson were on the ballot, along with President Biden. Kennedy was not, but as he is generally regarded as a crank here, I'm sure it would not have mattered.
You are speaking about technicalities and I appreciate that. I was talking about two Democratic Party mega doners (meaning, insiders) saying that there was a deliberate behind-the-scenes strategy to keep Biden from being challenged by others in the primaries.
Got it, thanks. I do sometimes read things too literally:)
Being a donor doesn't necessarily make you an "insider". Especially when you support insurgent candidates when there is an incumbent President. As I point out in my larger comment, these are two RFK Jr. supporters, who are of course going to complain that there was a "conspiracy", because parties will always put the weight of their support behind an incumbent. They aren't members of the DNC, and it makes no sense that Democrats would conspire to keep them out when (again, as I explain in my larger comment) neither of them had any chance of winning the Democratic primary.
It's nice that you think neither of them didn't have a chance of winning the Democratic primary. It would've been nicer to let the American people make that decision via vote.
I subscribed to this newsletter because I am a liberal appalled by what has transpired on the American left recently with regard to support for Hamas in the wake of the abominable Oct 7th massacre. Much as I grieve for the loss of innocent Palestinian life, when it comes to protecting Israel as the sole liberal democracy in the Middle East, I am with you, my friend.
However, if you are going to comment on American elections, you need to know what you're talking about. And I am truly sorry to have to tell you that you don't.
There is *no* comparison between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
In 2020, Donald Trump engaged in an actual conspiracy, abusing his powers as President in an attempt to overthrow our Constitutional order, in order to reverse the results of an election he had clearly lost. The violent attack on our Capitol on Jan 6th was not an organic, spontaneous, legitimate protest. It was the tip of the iceberg – the publicly visible part of a last ditch scheme hatched behind the scenes, to intimidate his own Vice President into claiming constitutional powers he did not have. He wanted Mike Pence to contest state electors that had already been certified by their resepective states, based on nothing but bogus intenet conspiracy theories that his Justice Department had already looked into and *told him* were complete garbage. All of this has been documented extensively by a bipartisan Congressional committee which held public hearings in 2022.
This is unquestionably the greatest betrayal of our country by a sitting president in any of our lifetimes, and possibly ever. Nobody had *ever* refused to concede a lost election and peacefully transfer power. Until Donald Trump. This is a blight on our history that can never be erased, and continues to threaten the perception of American stability and reliability around the world.
Understand that in this plot (one of several between November and January), there were fake electors lined up and ready to go, and many of the participants in these schemes have actually been indicted in state courts in Virginia, Michigan, and Arizona. Unfortunately, Donald Trump's allies on the Supreme Court intentionally delayed his federal trial for this, and have likely put him beyond reach of the law even if Trump doesn't get elected. Of course, if he does, he will end the DOJ prosecutions and corrupty undermine the rule of law in this country.
Now you say you believe Joe Biden "conspired" to keep Dean Phillips and RFK Jr. from competing in the Democratic primary, because two billionaire donors to the "Democratic Party" said so? You understand that these are two guys who both support RFK Jr., right? Ackman is a short seller who is apparently no longer a Democrat, and Palihapitiya is a wealthy venture capitalist who doesn't like that Biden wants to increase taxes on the wealthy, crack down on SEC violations, and boost unions. But you believe two obviously biased rich men over somebody who "just reads headlines".
Well then, how about someone who reads the actual news accompanying the headlines, and also has some clue as to the realities of politics in America?
Because I can assure you that I'm of the latter stripe. And I can tell you flat out that neither RFK Jr. nor Dean Phillips had a "decent" chance of beating out Biden in the Democratic primary, unless you think zero is "decent". Firstly, RFK Jr. is an anti-vaxxer crank who touts crazy conspiracy theories, some of them plainly anti-Semitic, and most Democrats are well aware of this. And those who didn't would have found out about it soon enough, and that sort of thing is political poison among most Democrats.
As for Dean Phillips, the guy literally ran *unopposed* in the New Hampshire primary because of a spat between the DNC and New Hampshire regarding the date of the primary. So Biden literally *wasn't on the ballot*, and Phillips thought this would be a great chance to grab some headlines with a cheap victory. Do you know what happened? Biden *destroyed* him as a write-in candidate.
So no, neither of these men ever had a snowball's chance in Phoenix to defeat Joe Biden in the Democratic primary. There is always someone to attempt to primary an incumbent President, and they always fail. Of course, that almost never involves a party doing what Republicans did in 2020 and literally *shutting down* state primaries so the President couldn't be challenged – if you want an example of what an *actual* conspiracy to keep a President from being primaried looks like.
I could regale you all day with examples of Donald Trump's corruption. Most notably, he intentionally stole classified documents from the government upon leaving, lied about not having them, then gave a few back, lied and claimed he didn't have any more, repeated this cycle again, then secretly sneaked the rest away to a different location after it became known he had boxes of classified documents strewn about his primary residence in Florida, which foreign nationals often frequented when he was President.
And no, this is nothing like the classified documents that were found to have been retained by mistake by both Biden and Mike Pence (Trump's VP), both of whom submitted voluntarily to further searches of their residences and neither of whom gave the government the run-around for a year, necessitating a search warrant for an FBI search of the premises, as in Trump's case.
As for your boilerplate cynicism about how a politician who isn't convicted is just one that hasn't been caught yet, consider the fact that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has been desperately digging into Joe Biden's affairs trying to find something, *anything* to pin on him – all in an attempt to exact revenge at Trump's behest. They even launched an impeachment inquiry before they had anything to investigate, just so they could obtain subpoena power. And do you know what they found?
*Nothing*. They've claimed to find things, only to be embarrassed by their witnesses when they showed up to testify at hearings and say Joe Biden had no involvement in what they were there to discuss, or when their "informants" turned out to be felons and con-men with zero credibility – or in one case an actual Russian informant – telling them what they had asked to be told.
All the while Republicans have lied through their teeth accusing the Biden administration of "weaponizing" the Justice Department against Trump, when in fact Biden has been a model of integrity, keeping his nose completely out of the DOJ, even while *his own son* has been prosecuted and convicted of tax fraud. Meanwhile, Trump's DOJ dropped prosecutions into his political allies – even the Russians indicted by Robert Mueller for their role in the campaign to interfere with the 2016 election – all while his AG acted like Trump's personal attorney. And Trump himself pardoned numerous political allies – including the ones who agreed not to squeal on him during the Mueller investigation.
Look, I understand your impulse here to take a balanced perspective on all of this. That's my general nature too; I like it when I can "both sides" things. It makes it seem like we're all fighting over nothing, when we should instead be uniting in brotherhood fighting the people who are our real enemies. A big part of me wishes that were true here, because I am sick and tired of these godforsaken, never-ending culture wars.
But sometimes things just aren't symmetric. Sometimes, one side is overwhelmingly in the wrong and the other is overwhelmingly right, and the differences of opinion are largely due to ignorance. I know you think that's elitist and disrespectful, but that has no bearing on whether or not it's true.
Donald Trump is different than any politician either the Republican or Democratic party has ever seen. At first, much of the Republican establishment – both politicians and prominent conservatives – were opposed to him. Over time, one by one, they have been compelled to bend the knee due to Trump's base of support, which has effectively become a personality cult. He has been the cause of numerous defections, retirements, and denunciations of/from the Republican party by formerly powerful and influential people on the American right. He has completely remade the party in his image – his family runs the RNC now – through both political and personal intimidation by both him and his supporters, who have literally threatened the lives of numerous local election workers, creating a crisis of stability at local polling locations. His lies – and almost everything that comes from his mouth is a lie – have destroyed countless lives in one way or another.
And you don't see this on the Democratic side. People have taken issue with Biden on some things, and many people want him to step down now because they're worried he can't beat Trump. But note how they're having this argument out in the open. In contrast, no current officeholder in the Republican Party *dares* speak a word against Donald Trump.
I could go on forever about this. I'm sorry, but this just isn't a "both sides do it" situation. I guarantee you if you asked our foreign allies in private (aside from Netanyahu, of course), they would all tell you they are incredibly worried about Trump's return to power. And I would think you would be able to appreciate the similar anti-Netanyahu sentiment, with the power grab he tried to pull last summer, threatening the basis of Israeli democracy while effectively ignoring intellingence regarding the massacre that was soon to happen.
Again, I'm sorry. I don't mean to pick on you. Your attempt to take an even perspective is admirable in many ways. But unfortunately in this case, it is dangerously misplaced, and you have a lot to learn if you believe you are going to change anyone's minds.
Thank you for the detailed reply. It's a lot to respond to everything, although I'm sure my readers will appreciate your reply. I'll only say that I wasn't both-sides-ing. I was saying both sides are guilty of what they accuse the other of doing. I'm tired of the "what about [the other]" argument. Whataboutism is a poor argument. It's like 5-year-old Johnny justifying that he smacked his classmate Rachel because Rachel hit him first. As I said in my essay, I am voting for what my top priorities are (just as all voters do) and I respect and appreciate whomever people vote for.
That’s fine, I am a very strong Israel supporter, having spent half my long life going back & forth & being married to an Israeli who fought in the War of independence & 6 day war. His parents came as Pioneers in the 1930’s. And I agree with you about the US Aid, which much of it gets paid back due to the MOU by Israel having to buy military equipment from the USA. BTW, Israel is the only country in the world that gets aid from the USA that has to pay it back, to my knowledge.
But this country is falling apart due to the open Southern border, millions of illegals being allowed in, not vetted, not health screened, given every benefit that is being taken from American citizens. Allowed to register to vote by motor voter. Our cities are full of homeless, crime is out of control, no funding for police.
Lawfare against political opponents. Jan 6 people held in prison with no due process, no speedy trial, no medical care for years on end. This is all Unconstitutional and an atrocity. The United States has become the largest human trafficking country in the world because of our open border & the cartels running the trafficking. ALL OF THIS IS UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION.
And I have evidence of all this. It’s no secret.
Joshua, I realize I've thrown a lot at you here, and I'm sorry about that. It's just that there is so much, and I'm trying to give a sense of the scale of things. But I do think a lot of people reading your piece would come away thinking that you were trying to establish a rough equivalence between the two sides.
To be clear, what we often call "whataboutism" isn't the universal wrong that it's often portrayed as. Particularly as we grow and mature, we often have to recalibrate our moral compasses to account for some of the harsh realities of the world. For example, I have recently done so with regard to Israel, of whom I was once much more harshly critical. In such instances it's necessary to establish a baseline of reasonable expectations from people and groups of people, so it's perfectly natural to say, "well if your guy can do this, why can't my guy do something similar". Without a fixed, agreed upon moral framework, moral arguments really more resemble negotiations than they do formal proofs from first principles.
But it's here that the "whataboutism" from Trump supporters becomes untenable, because they tend to frame Trump's actions in gallingly innocuous terms so as to make them seem commonplace and unobjectionable, when in fact they are often unprecedented. They take advantage of people's general cynicism about our institutions to create false equivalences, but ultimately their claims boil down to something more like, "if your guy threw a pebble, why can't my guy drop a boulder?"
As I said, I understand and respect your inclination to see the good in people's decisions to vote for whom they choose. I have always said that many of Trump's voters are simply misinformed. They may be voting for Trump based on what Trump claims he will do, influenced by Trump's often comically inaccurate and self-serving portrayals of the state of American society. Yet even aside from his misrepresentations, Trump's promises are generally worth about as much as a small child assuring you that they will never again do that thing you told them not to.
Believe me, I understand being politically misinformed, especially from when I was a young man, when I was positively ignorant (though as a result I declined to vote). I feel sorry for people in this day and age that having only a superficial knowledge of political realities carries such a huge risk relative to what it used to; such was not the case when I came of age.
Unfortunately, social media and the Internet are forcing us to endure a transition similar to that which transpired after the invention of the printing press, when "information" could easily spread and both be used and abused for noble or ignoble ends. We went in relatively short order from being a world where most people were illiterate to one where most could read and be influenced by ideas and people from distant places.
Now, America's peculiar vulnerability to conspiracy theories, a byproduct of our general anti-authority ethos, is being weaponized by autocratic regimes who have an interest in demonstrating to the world that democracy is decadent, unstable, and just as corrupt as their systems are. Our older generations lack "immunity", so to speak, to the Internet disinformation tactics being deployed. In contrast, our younger generations lack the ability to distinguish a "rough around the edges" maverick from a true crook, thanks to generations of worshipping the stereotypical archetype of the "straight shooting" cowboy hero – or what many might refer to as the "ugly American".
So this is where we are, and while I understand why some people choose to vote for Trump, I often warn them to strongly consider Trump's well established history of dishonesty, and whether they are really getting what they believe they are.
Again, I appreciate your reply. But the core problem is that you are trying to convince me of something, such as to not vote for the Republicans. I don't like that. You should vote for whomever you want and I should vote for whomever I want — we are two different people with two different sets of priorities and life experiences — and we should respect each other accordingly.
Well actually I wasn't trying to convince you to vote for anyone; by all means, if you think that Republicans represent your interests, then vote your interests. I did not read your original post as a support for Republicans.
But at the very least I want people to vote having a clear understanding of what the choices are. So the point of my comment was to correct the notion, "virtually every argument that people make against Biden or Trump can also be leveled at the other." Because that's just not even close to being true. These are two very different candidates, and the baggage each brings to the table outside of party platforms are as different as the platforms themselves.
However, now you've got me curious, if you don't mind humoring me again. It's just that, here you are writing a newsletter attempting to change peoples' minds about Israel and other related things. So even if I were trying to change your mind about who to vote for, why do you object to the idea? Or is it my tone you object to (I did try to be respectful and conciliatory, but I suppose I could have tried a bit harder)?
I object to you trying to explain away everything that Biden and the Democrats do and justifying it because of “Trump.”
And we don’t try to convince people of anything here. We provide a different, far more nuanced perspective of certain topics. And our readers can do whatever they want with it.
Im sorry Joshua but I think that's an extremely unfair description of what I said to you.
I did not even come close to justifying "everything Biden and Democrats did". You gave an example of something Biden and the Democrats supposedly "did", and I explained why it probably wasn't true, or at the very least isn't what you think it is. Dean Phillips was on the ballots and lost. RFK Jr. switched to an Independent in October after complaining the Democrats were "rigging" things by not holding primary debates, which incumbent administrations *never* do, usually to similar complaints from prospective challengers. And the guys complaining about it in *this* case were two finance bros who supported RFK Jr., not two longstanding Democratic insiders.
By you saying that I "explain that away", you're implying that they really did something nefarious and I'm just making excuses. But these are norms of American politics that you're elevating into some kind of subversion of democracy. If you don't like those norms, that's completely understandable. But using it as an example of a common criticism of Trump which can also be leveled against the Biden administration is just plain absurd and misleading.
As for me "justifying it because Trump" I assume you mean the fact that I mentioned that Republicans did the same thing, only worse – they actually undermined the primaries themselves instead of not holding debates. Now Joshua, *you are the one* who used the charge as a basis of comparison – one which you claimed to be close to an equivalence – between Biden/Democrats and Trump/Republicans. Telling you that what the former did was a norm of American politics, and that what the latter did was actually unprecedented and much closer to what you seem to think the former did, is merely an argument against that claim, not a "whataboutism" justification.
As to your claim that you "don't try to convince people of anything here", I'm sorry Joshua but this makes no sense. I've read your articles – you specifically. You're telling me you *aren't* trying to convince people that Israel is being treated unfairly in much of Western liberal discourse? Of course you are. What would be the point of saying it otherwise? So that we can all go back to "respectfully disagreeing" on whether Israel is merely defending itself, or an evil, imperialist nation run by Zionist murderers which must therefore be wiped off the map? Just because you're doing it in what you regard as a nuanced way doesn't mean you don't have a point of view of which you hope to convince others.
Now, if you think that I'm not being sufficiently nuanced, well let me assure you I have plenty of nuanced discussions where nuance is called for. But some things just aren't that nuanced.
As a perfect example, the moral case for specific aspects of the war in Gaza may be a discussion calling for nuance; the moral case for the October 7th massacre is not.
Now, I'm not at all saying the Biden v. Trump discussion is the same thing, but by choosing to draw a comparison between Biden and Trump on being a threat to democracy, you really picked a very unnuanced subject. There is simply no basis for claiming that Biden and the Democrats have done anything that undermines *American democracy*, with all of its understood and accepted norms, whereas Trump literally tried to steal a Presidential election, and is currently attempting to subvert the rule of law through the Presidency.
Anyway, its becoming increasingly clear here, and I apologize in advance if I'm getting the wrong impression, that you support Trump and feel that I am coming down hard on you and trying to make you feel guilty. I'm not. But I am extremely worried for my country, with very good reason, and I have a tough time letting it slide when I feel that people are being misinformed. If people are going to support Trump, they should do so with full understanding of what they're supporting, and not be kept in the dark about important things because those who know differently want to be "respectful". I assure you that I am being as respectful as I know how to be given the gravity of this situation.
Trump has said repeatedly that he would never have mandated the vax. He was a believer in HCQ & Ivermectin & they excoriated him over it. Every idea he had was received with scorn. The man has never been given a chance to succeed.
Excellent and very knowledgeable reply - thank you. I was thinking exactly the same thing. This is my favorite newsletter about Israel, but this article is off-base about American politics, which I also follow closely.
"actual conspiracy"? Really? Oh yes, of course there had to be some sort of conspiracy/organizing. But I am not so sure that Trump was particularly involved in that. I would say also that even if he were - where is the UNBIASED proof? Further - it seems that there were several official organizations who likely were part of a 'grand' conspiracy that was out of Trump's domain.
Ira, when Ronna McDaniel took over as RNC Chair, her first action was to declare the Republican Party the party of Donald Trump. Now, you might say that sounds reasonably normal. But her entire tenure as chairwoman was characterized by basically nodding along with whatever Donald Trump said. In 2020 they literally had no platform outside of a relatively terse statement to the effect of "whereas < bunch of stock Republican slogans >, we're with Trump." It was gobsmacking.
But that's the thing about the corruption Trump has engendered. If you went to him and said that the party "conspired" to keep him from being primaried, well he might not like the phrasing, but he would more or less acknowledge what happened. That's perhaps Trump's principal trick: his corruption is aired out in the open, so that it doesn't look like some nefarious plot. Many people will judge the propriety of an action by how much someone tried to cover it up. And in some, many cases really, it is entirely believable that it never even occurred to Trump that what he was doing was "wrong". He often appears to have a very poorly defined sense of what constitutes ethical behavior.
I will give you one thing, Ira, and that is that Trump is no singular mastermind. There are always a lot of people and players involved in any corrupt political movement such as this. Victor Orban doesn't act alone, for instance, and at one point at least, neither did Vladimir Putin or Xi Jinping. And in Trump's case, this is probably even moreso, because he is basically a selfish spoiled rich narcissist whose pathologies have been exploited by a loose assemblage of outside governments and organizations who ultimately seek to undermine Western Civilization.
I will even say to people that if they really do care about Trump personally, they should really hate all of the people around him who have enabled his worst impulses and set him up to be the threat to American society he has come to be. From cowardly, hypocritical American politicians like Lindsey Graham and J.D. Vance (both of whom were once strongly opposed to Trump), to malignant autocrats like Putin, Xi, Orban, Kim Jong Un, and to some extent even legitimately elected autocrat wannabes like Jair Bolsonaro (perhaps the closest foreign analog to Trump, except for the fact that Brazil overwhelmingly turned on him after his attempted Trump-like auto-coup), Trump has been a pawn who believes himself a king. In the end Trump wants power far less than he does glory, which is about his only saving grace.
Eric73, Thank you!! In my more general way of understanding, I follow all that and would agree in principle for a start. What you have written in the reply gives a dramatic plausibility. Insights via one's dramatic imagination is, as I am barely starting to see and appreciate, is the 'method' of Midrash. That is something am barely learning to grasp. Seeing wisps of 'method to the madness'. That is the madness of attempting to give a frame or dramaturgy so that a complex matter can be discussed as a complex whole. I see there is a fresh discussion of comments/replies between you and Joshua so I'll read that now. Regards
Wow, there is so much wrong with this tirade, it would take an hour to rebut it. Since it’s 2:35 am here in California I’m not even going to bother. I would suggest very strongly that you stop watching The Mockingbird Media & open your mind & learn the truth about all the misconceptions that you have laid down here. Your hatred of DT is so strong that I don’t think anyone could have a rational conversation with you & point out with proof where you are wrong. You are exactly what is wrong with this country and what was being pointed out in this substack. I do have to say that I disagree with the statement by Joshua that there is no difference between the two candidates for President. There are so many stories of anonymous kind, generous, private things that Donald Trump has done for people that very few people know about. I don’t think either of you know the man, his motivations, or really much about him. Maybe you should try to find out before writing him off as a POS. Which Biden has been his whole career. Not to mention everything DT accomplished as President while being relentlessly attacked every single day.
Leslie, firstly, I honestly have no idea what Mockingbird Media is, so I can assure you they have no influence on me. I read the newspaper and multiple sources of legitimate media that have proven themselves reasonably reliable over time, like any well-informed citizen. Tell me, from where do you get your information? One of Rupert Murdoch's various media properties, perhaps? Your reference to the "plandemic" in another of your comments actually suggests even less reliable sources, but I'd prefer to hear it from you directly.
Secondly, if you're trying to change anyone's mind, whether mine or someone else's, telling me that it's impossible to have a rational conversation with me and then presenting a litany of unsupported statements and opinions renders you far more vulnerable to that exact same charge. You see that, no? Justifying that by pointing out the time of day and saying you're not going to bother does not in any way strengthen your argument or absolve you of the responsibility to support your statements.
In contrast, I have supported my arguments with numerous objective observations and references to factual occurrences. I am not claiming that I have all of the answers or am always right. But in your comment here you don't even try to contradict or challenge a single concrete statement I make. I'm very sorry, but you have no room to criticize me for not discussing things rationally.
And you claim that I am what's wrong with this country? I would invite any objective observer to evaluate which of us does a greater service, or disservice, to productive public discourse with their comments. But I assure you, if you would like to point out "proof" of where I am wrong, I'll be more than happy to address it.
Do I hate Donald Trump? Of course I do! But you speak as if that somehow precedes my observations regarding what he has done. As if I just don't like his cologne or his hair, and everything else falls out from that. I hate Donald Trump because of what he has done to my country. That doesn't invalidate my observations any more than your obvious hatred of Joe Biden does to your observations about him – that is, if you actually made any other than just calling him a "POS". And I would confidently say to you that you obviously don't know him. So where does that leave us?
I assure you I know as much about Donald Trump as anyone can from the standpoint of a private citizen, as I have followed him *very* closely. I have not "written him off" – Trump's constant and consistent public behavior continually reinforces my opinion of him. Every day he has the opportunity to show redemptive aspects of his character, and virtually every day he does the opposite. And I don't know how anyone who pays attention to his unending stream of hateful rhetoric can say otherwise, even if they weren't paying attention to what he did as President.
You talk about numerous stories of "anonymous" kind, generous, private things he's done. While I'm not sure how something can be anonymous and then conclusively attributed to Trump, I take your point. Care to share any of these?
Because Joe Biden has a plethora of such stories, and they aren't secondhand rumors. Ask Meghan McCain about how he was there for her in her hours of need when her father was dying. You can even watch one such situation on an episode of The View (it's quite touching), but Meghan has attested to plenty of other private conversations of support. Or you can talk to the family of one of the officers slain prior to the New York anti-police riots in 2014 (following the death of Eric Garner). As VP, Biden personally visited their home to counsel the grieving wife and family, because he has a lot of experience dealing with personal loss – in 1974 his first wife and infant daughter were killed in a car accident right before he was set to take office for the first time. (Shortly afterward his son Beau would die as well, so he was probably terminally ill at this point.) There are many more examples I could dig up if you care to know.
But I have no doubt that Trump has done some nice things for people in private from time to time. Everyone does. That's no defense of the numerous awful things he's done in private and public. The failure to pay contractors who work for him. The conning of people with "Trump University", the prosecution of which was ended by a political ally of his in Florida. The using of his own charity as a slush fund. Cheating on his taxes. And that's just a sample of things he did *before* attaining public office, and doesn't even touch his repugnant marital infidelity or credible accusations of sexual assault.
As for all of the things he accomplished in office – such as? Tax break for the rich? Sure. Failed to deliver health care, but actively worked to undermine our existing healthcare by cutting subsidies promised to participating providers. Meanwhile, his DOJ worked behind the scenes to kill the guarantee against denial of insurance for pre-existing conditions – all while Trump publicly lied and said he was working to preserve it! Supposed champion of the working class? He stocked the NLRB with anti-union people (whom Biden immediately replaced upon taking office with actual pro-labor people) and stuffed the Federal judiciary with anti-union judges.
Stemming the tide of immigration? Well he never did build more than a small section of the wall he claims he erected. And the reduction in illegal immigration that he brags about was all due to Title 42 powers under the pandemic. Prior to that he was pleading with Congress to give him new laws, just like Biden was doing before Trump killed legislation by making phone calls to Senators – openly admitting he didn't want to give Biden a political win, thus actively sustaining a real problem so that he could have something to run on. What a guy.
First Step Act? All he did was sign it – that had been in the works for years and was an incredibly popular piece of bipartisan legislation. It was a political gift at a time that his poll numbers were sinking. He has nothing to do with its crafting or promotion; in fact, the only real obstacle that needed to be overcome was Trump himself. And ultimately he failed to uphold his responsibilities under the bill with regard to clemency reform, with the vast majority of such petitions piling up on his desk and going unaddressed (in contrast, Presidents normally clear the vast majority of clemency petitions submitted during their terms, one way or another).
The so called "Abraham Accords"? A lot of people credit him with that – yet the results are far from what most people think. These were countries that already had peaceful or under-the-table good relations with Israel already, and this was proposed as a momentary dissuasion from the "Peace Plan" (not a deal, as negotiations with the Palestinian Authority failed) that was going to greenlight more settlements in the West Bank, further inflaming tensions during a key political moment. So not nothing, but not exactly the "peace in the Middle East" many of his supporters claim, and in many ways a fig leaf over his administration's prior plans (which Netanyahu claimed were still being pursued), which would certainly have drawn more criticism than praise.
But this is all policy. None of this holds a candle to the way he tried to steal the 2020 election. An unforgivable crime against American society that tells you everything you need to know about his character.
Really, I could talk your ears off all day about the things Trump has done to selfishly benefit himself and his political fortunes at the expense of America. Feel free to argue with me on any of this. But if all you're going to do is throw around more vague, insubstantial claims about how Trump is really a great guy, or accusations that I don't "know" Donald Trump, I really don't think it's going to be worth your time or mine.