Donald Trump is a clear and present danger
By: The Editorial Board ( httpswww. inquirer. com)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The Editorial Board ( httpswww. inquirer. com)
With the race for the White House formally beginning with the Iowa caucuses this week, America stands at a political precipice.
The November contest appears headed for a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Most voters are uninspired by either candidate, but the choice is clear: Will voters choose democracy or a demagogue ?
The stakes are high and the risks are great. America barely survived one Trump term. Another four years could do irrevocable damage .
Despite a chaotic first term that ended with an insurrection and four criminal indictments , Trump still has a hold on the majority of Republican voters. After eight years of driving the daily news cycle, Trump’s corrosive words and deeds have almost become normalized .
Trump spews so many reckless lies , threats , and hate that his norm-busting outrages often get lost or forgotten in the fire hose of information and misinformation coming at voters. Some people find Trump entertaining , while others like that he is crass and cruel . But voters — especially those tuned out or turned off to politics — must grasp the full import of a second Trump presidency.
That’s why The Inquirer Editorial Board plans to spend the next 10 months sounding the alarm that Trump remains a danger to our democracy. We plan to detail Trump’s many flaws and misdeeds while spelling out the risks of a second term , which the twice-impeached former president has made clear will be worse than his first four years .
Put simply, Trump is unfit for office.
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With the White House in the background, then-President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Jacquelyn Martin / AP
While President Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, may not be the optimal choice for many voters, this election is bigger than the traditional policy differences between the two likely candidates. This is about the kind of country we are going to live in and pass on to future generations.
Indeed, the choice is stark.
Will we side with the better angels of our nature, or elect a reckless tyrant seeking “retribution” ?
Will we elect a president who upholds the Constitution, or one who has suggested terminating it ?
Will we elect a president who believes in the peaceful transfer of power , or one who fomented a deadly insurrection ?
Will we elect a president who believes in the rule of law , or one who has been criminally indicted an unprecedented four times and is campaigning while out on bail ?
Will we elect a president who works with U.S. allies , or one who wants to leave NATO and is inexplicably enamored with war criminal Vladimir Putin?
Will we elect a president who confronts income inequality , or one who kowtows to the ultrarich ?
Will we elect a president who acknowledges racial inequality , or one with a long history of racism ?
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President Donald Trump reaches into his suit jacket to read a quote he made regarding the events in Charlottesville, Va., as he speaks to the media in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York in 2017. Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
Will we elect a president who appointed a record number of women to his cabinet, or a philanderer who bragged about grabbing women by their genitals , paid off an adult film star , and was found guilty of raping a woman ?
Will we elect a president who is supported by the military , or one who insulted dead soldiers , called top generals “losers,” and suggested executing former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley?
Will we elect a president who aims to combat climate change , or one who views the existential threat to our planet as a hoax ?
Will we elect a president who reads the daily intelligence briefings , or one who spent much of his time in office watching TV or golfing ?
Will we elect a president who pays his taxes , or one who engaged in shady schemes to dodge taxes for years and whose company was convicted of tax fraud ?
Will we elect a president who supports an independent attorney general , or one who would direct the U.S. Justice Department to investigate his enemies ?
Will we elect a president who supports workers , or one whose policies hurt them ?
Will we elect a president who understands he is not above the law , or one who brags about being a dictator ?
Will we elect a president who is decent and honorable , or a narcissistic bully who invokes the rhetoric of some of history’s most malicious figures ?
Trump’s many character flaws are disturbing and divisive. More alarming is how so many Republican officials , religious leaders , and voters continue to support and enable him.
A Biden-Trump rematch will likely depend on turnout among Democrats, independents, and swing voters in a handful of states — including Pennsylvania. With the future of American democracy on the line , understanding Trump as a clear and present danger is paramount.
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This article (Philadelphia Inquirer Editorial) speaks for itself.
Would like to have that but we certainly won't get that with Biden.
You deflect to Biden on a Trump topic.
We just started the primary season. Right now the choice is not Trump v Biden but, for the GOP, Trump v. Haley or DeSantis.
Does it not bother you that the GOP is all in for Trump and is going (apparently) to nominate this miserable character rather than someone who (relative to Trump) is substantially more decent and more honorable?
Wrong, the article brings up Biden. I’m told, by the back room, that makes it fair game. Right?
Biden is mentioned in the article, so fair game.
Not going to play your question games today.
The article is about Trump. Deflecting to Biden is (as usual) avoiding the question of why people are supporting Trump rather than Haley or DeSantis.
Do you understand that we are in the primary season?
We are not in the general. The GOP is picking its nominee. Why is the GOP seeking to nominate Trump vs Haley or DeSantis?
Does not matter. You are still deflecting.
The choice is Trump v. Haley or DeSantis.
Why is the GOP seeking to nominate Trump vs Haley or DeSantis?
Why are you defending Trump instead of acknowledging his wrongdoings and pushing for Haley or DeSantis?
So?
Again, Biden is mentioned in the article several times so it is allowed to bring into the thread.
Not playing your never ending question games today.
I did not claim you cannot mention Biden. I noted that you deflected to Biden rather than deal with the direct challenge of why the GOP (and you) support Trump rather than Haley or DeSantis.
You keep deflecting and running from a direct challenge.
So the article itself is deflecting to Biden?
Do you understand that we are in the primary season?
We are not in the general. The GOP is picking its nominee. Why is the GOP seeking to nominate Trump vs Haley or DeSantis?
Once again....
opinion.
Like assholes, everyone has one
and some even more than one, butt I digress, I know you are not a total Trump lackey, so is it peer pressure, or perhaps air pressure, pressuring you to defend a POS candidate. Yea, your buddies will be upset with you, as mine are and we can never discuss politix me off often, and thus why i come here, to smoke my bud and drink my BEER, but I will always stand by my Principals, irregardles of how many Vices of Principal, cause I refuse to lose when it comes to my opinion, unless, I am truly shown another MORE plausible explanation, and with the former potus, there is just too much damn evidence, and not Trumped up shit, shit I witnessed with my own two eyes, heard with my own two ears, as I watched Trump Brag about half the shit he is accused of doing and facing charges over.
I don’t know that they are. GOP primary voters may. The Party just wants to win and not alienate a large part of its base.
The evidence illustrates that they are. The GOP = the party and its members (and that especially includes the GOP electorate).
I'd prefer DeSantis or Haley or a combo of them. If Trump ends up the nominee, he'll get my vote.
It would illogical, idiotic, and unpatriotic to vote for Biden
There are many Party leaders that don’t back Trump, few speak out because they want to remain viable.
Of course, that is obvious.
In spite of the fact that there are always dissenters ...
Why is the GOP seeking to nominate Trump vs Haley or DeSantis?
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I think that many of his endorsements are because those politicians see Trump’s nomination as an inevitability. He continues to poll high and his two real competitors didn’t offer many compelling reasons to oppose him. Why back a rival and risk Trump ‘s wrath.
That could change if Haley continues to beat expectations, Biden didn’t get a lot of support until after SC. If Trumps court cases go to trial before the convention, it might also get interesting.
I agree.
The problem, as I have stated many times here on NT, is the GOP electorate. The slimy, weak politicians of course will do whatever they can to keep their office. They are focused on themselves and not the good of the USA (there are very few statesmen left).
The support for Trump via polls has driven the politicians. People who say they will vote for Trump as the nominee or will vote for Trump if he is nominated is what has caused the GOP as a whole to stupidly cling to Trump.
The GOP will NOT deliver a decent candidate because the GOP as a whole is currently such a dysfunctional mess that they will wholeheartedly endorse a traitor who is the only PotUS to attempt to steal a US election through coercion, fraud, lying and incitement.
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I know for sure I want no part of any legacy that Joe Biden leaves behind. Really don't care for Trump either. We need fresh new blood.
Equating decent and honorable to Joe Biden makes for one hell of a oxymoron.
At this point all of the Philadelphia Inquirer's words will fall on m ostly deaf ears. Either the voters who lean towards Trump think that they are being lead astray by the "Left Wing Media" when it talks about bad and undemocratic actions that Trump has and will continue to take or they simply do not care. Both are bad.
Let's hope that the actions that are brought to mind remind the rest of the public of just why Trump lost by 7 million votes the last time.
And now the public has over 3 years of Joes policies to think about as they shake their heads every time they leave the grocery store..
yep, and the man of the people Don the average Joe Trump, will be so concerned about how much a loaf of bread is, as he has a toaster of Gold, so his bread shall never grow mold.
You think people are going to forget when prices went through the roof and who was president?
What, you are for a command economy now? The President doesn't control the price of bread.
Oh, so the president has no control over prices when they are high but if they are coming down from all time highs he can take credit for it touting a failed bidenomics plan.
Your question suggests that you do not understand the distinction between politics and economics.
Politicians lie. They take credit for whatever they can and avoid blame whenever possible. Presidents, in particular, get blamed for a bad economy when they have very little (typically) to do with the state of the economy (especially while they are still in office). And then on the flip side, presidents will pretend that a good economy is all their doing because the naive, ill-informed electorate tends to buy that bullshit.
It is a game of lies and that game continues primarily because the electorate largely does not understand economics.
as they shake their heads every time they leave the grocery store..
I guess you should shop where I shop, since wherever you’re shopping is taking you for a sucker.
Thank you for your comment
Your chart shows the trend that you are refusing to admit to.
You are right because it does not include December's numbers, which shows inflation, once again, rising..
.But this is only temporary s/
Do you think inflation will permanently rise?
Then I guess it was an odd choice to post it, huh?
I am? Thanks for letting me know. So when was inflation higher than after joe took office?
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It will all be over within 8 years (according to AOC) so if the dems can just continue to spin their web of shit til then they can say inflation was transitory.
I do get a kick out of the blame game and taking credit for the economy when in reality the president doesn't have that much of an impact. Of course some of his policies do but not overall. But that doesn't matter when people are voting. Presidents get revoted in or dumped based on the economy. That is why Joe and his minions are spending so much time and energy trying to convince people the economy is great and it is all because of Joe. Obviously non partisans are not buying it.
Dog whistle.
That said, as distasteful as it was. Biden reaffirms my vote for Trump nearly every day and has been for over three years.
Unfortunately, looks like I’ll have the same decision to make this year. Fortunately many that voted for Biden last time have seen the light. Even through all the mud and stink being served up 24/7 by my friends on the left.
Lets hit the bottom line. You intend to vote for a traitor.
Like usual, you missed the bottom line. By a country mile.
My reasons are already clearly summarized above.
Your approval is not required.
I don't think he is going to vote for Biden, but if that's what you want to believe......
Tell us everything you know about Trump's behavior around and during Jan 6th. We'll see what you know.
He never said he was going to vote for traitor Joe.
John, why should I?. No matter what I say, you will insult me, delete my post as trolling or go on your usual tired rant that Trump is not fit for office and that he is a traitor (with yet still no evidence, by the way).
Not worth the evidence to educate you on something you refuse to wake up to.
I say you know nothing about it. Here is your chance to prove me wrong.
You seriously write this? That there is no evidence that Trump is a traitor who violated his oath of office by attempting to circumvent the CotUS through fraud, lying, coercion, and incitement? That he attempted to violate the foundation of democracy — the vote of the electorate? And you still defend him by deflecting to Biden and claiming there is no evidence of his wrongdoing.
No PotUS in our history has come even remotely close to what Trump did in his Big Lie campaign.
How can you or anyone deny this?
Thank you for your opinion.
See 3.1.5
A complete failure to deal with a direct challenge of your position.
Your opinion. And again, thank you for it.
Like assholes, everybody has one.
Still NO EVIDENCE ??? So you admit to knowing NOT of that which transpired on the sixth ...?
You're proven wrong all the time, it's on display here every day.
But no one is going to waste their time trying to prove it to you.
What did Trump have to do with "what transpired on the 6th"?
He wasn't even there and could not communicate with the mostly peaceful protesters.
15 Psychological Projection Examples (2024) (helpfulprofessor.com)
Are you not aware that TRUMP invited them there " it will be wild" or such ? He would have been there but his Secret Service detail refused to take him there even though Trump attempted to direct them there to the Capital. Where was this rioting Trump Enthusiastic group of insurrectionists directly before heading to the Capital ??? They were getting all fired up by the INSURECTIONIST IN CHIEF , TRUMP
"mostly peaceful protestors" PROOF you watched Not, the January 6th hearings !
Were you afraid ? Afraid you might learn the TRUTH ?
Watch the hearings and then tell US All they were mostly peaceful protesters, I dare Ya
This is the delusional thinking that has enabled Trump's viability.
"America barely survived one Trump term."
America survived just fine. The above statement alone makes the rest of the article not worth reading.
Biden is the first president elected by a virus.
One might think I’m talking about [(the term TDS is not allowed)] but I am not. I’m talking about COVID-19. That doesn’t happen and Trump wins 2020 by a landslide. Doesn’t sound like a country that barely survived his presidency.
Saying so is nothing more than “resist” propaganda.
Effectively censoring a very real issue in this world.
Goebbels would be proud.
LOL.
People intending to vote for a traitor is a much bigger issue, and negates the so called "TDS".
Donald Trump tried to overthrow the 2020 election and sat mute while the national legislature was under a riot intended to stop the electoral vote count. Those statements are not speculation, they are facts.
If Trump gets convicted of being a traitor, you might have a point, but in spite of the chosen ones best efforts …. No traitor banana for the resist whiners.
The rest is just propaganda/gaslighting by my triggered friends on the left. Can I still use “triggered” or is that on the censors list as well?
Tell us everything you know about Trump's behavior around and during Jan 6th. We'll see what you know.
No need since it’s a fools errand. That said, I’m very well versed on your interpretation of what happened on Jan 6th. Since it’s been bloviated here endlessly for the last couple years.
To which I say, opinions do vary.
For real Sparty, did you pay any attention to the 1/6 hearings? , or did you hide from it because you were instructed to. Because Cheney was a true conservative Republican and she sacrificed her political career because of her duty to put her Country, above her politics and she was cochair. That shit was as real as it gets, and anyone who didn't watch or follow it, owes it to themselves and our once great Country, to take a look at what actually happened for real, cause it is amazing how people's recollection of things changes, when they could go to jail for LYING about it. To hide ones head in the sand is not an option. People need to man and woman up to gain the full context about what really happened on that fcked up day, January 6th 2021.
For realz iggy, for realz …. For shizzle my nizzle …..
you fizzel, cause when one does not gain the vantage point of a more engrossed and well rounded view of actual Un revokable facts , one will never be enlightened, thus , fizzle out like a damp moist fuse, not a pro, just a con
To which I say, some assholes marry,
but I took you as and for one who didn't just follow the pseudo leader,
more so a fighter, not a conceder...
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He is also the first president elected by campaigning from his basement. If he got out and campaigned in front of people they would have seen him as the doddering old dementia ridden fool he is
as does your false moniker after one reads your schtick. How can supposed intelligent individuals be son damn narrow minded about the blatant shit they witnessed with their own faculty's. ?
You must mean the "sky is falling group". I know, what a bunch of Debbie Downers.
Trump either is a deranged lunatic or plays one on television and in the media.
In truth he IS mentally ill, he has malignant narcissism, which is a mental illness.
You have diagnosing credentials or are you just spouting?
Based on reading a magazine in the doctors office my professional diagnosis is Biden has stage 6 dementia and severe alzheimers. He is not fit to be president.
What is your diagnosis for Trump?
How can anyone say that Biden is senile , and then not say that Trump is crazy? Trump is clearly more insane than Biden is senile. Plus he's a traitor.
I didn't see a magazine to help me with this so my unprofessional diagnosis is narcissistic asshole.
Is crazy a politically correct term?
It is easy. They are both opinions.
The Trump campaign/cult is spewing so much venom and dictatorial impulses that it will be no surprise if Republican election officials overwhelmingly and blatantly break election rules and protocols en masse to steal the next election. That’s what cults do.
For the left the real danger is one of Trump's GOP opponents.
Trump only gets mad. We need the guy who gets even.