26 Comments
User's avatar
Mark Mansour's avatar

This is spot on, Paul. There comes a point where it simply defies belief and even the most credulous realize that what is happening is a direct reaction to what Trump is doing.

Expand full comment
Sofla's avatar

When someone 'jumps the shark' isn't as important as when the majority of people realize they did. It's all downhill for that person from then on.

Expand full comment
Cynthia Phillips's avatar

When Trump says tariffs are going to make us rich as hell, he really means they will make him rich as hell. Personally, I think Trump's ego never developed past age two. He simply cannot separate his thoughts and wishes from those of others. He literally never developed the cognitive maturity necessary for a fully developed 'theory of the mind'. He cannot see that others have their own thoughts, wishes and identities.

So, this 'rich as hell' formulation is Trump anticipating all the bribes into his crypto account he will be collecting from industries and countries supplicating for an exemption from his tariffs.

Expand full comment
Nathan L. Walker's avatar

I agree

Expand full comment
N KB's avatar

This is spot on but also... It's very painful that most of us have to suffer because some of us can't pay attention to this charlatan.

Expand full comment
Peter's avatar

The problem with being a lazy liar is that at some point the lies run headlong into reality. And reality wins. Trump's spin is only effective with the cult. The rest of us have figured it out. It will lead to his downfall, sooner or later, likely sooner than he, or the cult, thinks.

Expand full comment
Charles's avatar

The super genius, brilliant businessman is completely ignorant when it comes to economics, trade policy and tariffs. He must be glad that he can bamboozle a large part of the population and he only has to worry about the (small) portion who recognize how little he knows. Unfortunately, even the poorly educated are beginning to understand.

Expand full comment
antipode77's avatar

Let me change that last sentence for you.

"Fortunately, even the poorly educated are beginning to understand."

Expand full comment
Rain Robinson's avatar

Always good to read your timely posts. I am glad you have a column here; I used to read you in the now horrid WaPo. I also believe that more people are sussing, finally, what the fpotus is trying to do with his outrageously tacky, looney, illegally founded, blasts on media platforms: flood the zone with distractions and nonsense, in the hope that people will not pay attention to the unraveling of US democracy. But we are paying attention. And more and more people and institutions are pushing back, with online and media posts, independent journalists' questioning, lawsuits, contacting government representatives daily about our outrage, and attending protests and demonstrations. These efforts can get results, in stopping this authoritarian regime.

Expand full comment
Neal Stiffelman's avatar

Is “disbelief defiant” in the DSM? I believe it must be, but don’t have the most recent edition so unsure of the Code.

Expand full comment
Theodora30's avatar

The media constantly harangued Biden, Harris and Democrats in general for not “messaging” effectively about their accomplishments but, as you point out, the media repeatedly slammed any Democrat who dared point out the the US economy had recovered from the Covid collapse far better than other countries. Last summer when the World Bank said it was increasing its prediction for world growth because of the strength of the US that was powering that growth I expected that to be headline news in all mainstream US media outlets but that story was buried in back pages or outright ignored by most.

As economist Dean Baker, Paul Krugman and other experts have pointed out the media misled us about the Biden economy.

“Yes, the Media Lied About the Pre-Election Economy”

https://cepr.net/publications/media-lied-about-pre-election-economy/

Expand full comment
HarrisWalz FTW 2024's avatar

I'd be willing to bet money that not even Ivanka got 30 dolls for Christmas. Where the hell he got the "five pencils instead of 250" is anybody's guess. Think that's what Donny and Eric and Barron got? Or did they get the 30 dolls? Any pencils DJ gets are likely from his golf courses, which would fit his tiny hands better anyway.

Expand full comment
Sara Robinson's avatar

And no normally-developing girl is still playing with dolls at 11. Most girls give this up around the age of seven or eight. The fact that he doesn't know this lets us know that he wasn't the one buying those 30 dolls for either of his daughters.

Expand full comment
HarrisWalz FTW 2024's avatar

Ah, yes. I would say there may be some who do, but the fact that he equated baby girls with 11-year-olds was pretty bonkers. Almost certainly an indication of the way he interacted with his own children, which is to say not at all (until he started lusting after Ivanka. Blech).

Expand full comment
RCThweatt's avatar

Agree that what is of signal importance is that Trump's narrative has already failed, he is already being blamed. Thus, the widespread fear, even despair, that he can lie his way out of this one too, is unfounded. Take heart!

Expand full comment
John_manyjars's avatar

He looks disgusting and weak which doesn’t help him - but makes maggats even more pathetic

Expand full comment
Gabe's avatar

What powers

Expand full comment
Margo Lindsey's avatar

MAGA maniacs believe anything Trump says. This “brilliant businessman” borrowed heavily to build casinos and told his creditors that next year they would be fantastic and profitable. Never happened. Trump couldn’t pay his creditors so declared bankruptcy. Same with his Plaza Hotel purchase. Belly up. Again Trump paints a rosy picture so we believe eventually after the recession, the economy will surge. Not likely. Then what? Will Trump declare bankruptcy when tax revenues decline and it becomes harder to pay our national debt payments? He fancies himself an economic genius but actually he’s not. Shame on Treasury Secretary Bessant for playing along and lying to us that Trump’s tariff plans have merit.

Expand full comment
BoboBodkin's avatar

No persuasion, bullying and degradation

Expand full comment
pete gee's avatar

It's simple. Let's face it. Trump is a prick surrounded by supine pricks. Trump is a grifter, a cheat, a thief who despises all others, obsessed with any deal which he can pervert to claim it favours him.

The real truth , the real shock is how easily, how swiftly PRINCIPLE and a political system based on agreed DECENT traditions can be subverted to the Dark Side.

And how a return to enlightenment thinking may be nigh impossible without a killing fields civil war.

Thus history tells us.

Good luck with that, Murica, Land of the not so Free.

Expand full comment
antipode77's avatar

It was forty years in the making.

To be exact since 1971.

Expand full comment