[Politics] The 2024 US Election - *MATCH DAY*

[Mellotron]

Watched it last night and tried so hard to ignore my own biases in terms of how it was going.

I think the best way to get subjectivity though is to compare to the Trump v Clinton debate.

Trump was SO much weaker here. Much lower energy, much less focused, much less powerful seeming.

Harris did seem to play a blinder also.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I'd like to agree but I just can't begin to get my head round how anyone who might have watched that debate has only just figured out Trump is a basket case.

I get that the vast majority are already decided and there will be a significant number of the rest that simply won't bother or don't want either.

What I don't get is why anyone can be undecided, particularly when Trump is such a polarising character. What are they waiting for?

Deliverance?

 

[US Seagull]

Trump supporters reflecting solemnly during this day of remembrance:

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I was talking to my girlfriend this morning about his supporters and trying to work out why he's so beloved.

In a roundabout way I can kind of understand why white Christian males would follow him.

He's promising to make sure they have all the power and the money and that they won't have to feel shame about having all the power and the money. He's plugging into that fear and anger so brilliantly satirised by Bo Burnham in his song Straight White Man:

We used to have all the money and land, And we still do, but it's not as fun now

So I get why that demographic would follow a demagogue like Trump.

But what about everyone else? What about everyone of his supporters who isn't a straight white man? Why? Perhaps his female support is happy with having less control of their own bodies. Perhaps his LGBTQ support is happy with the idea of their entire existence being criminalised.

It's baffling. Absolutely baffling.

During my life I have had a range of groups of pals.

At school, four of five mates who would all go to gigs together.
In my job, a few academics who I'd go for a beer with, and occasionally plot and scheme over something or other
At the football, a loose group of pals who meet up ad hoc, and may travel together to away games
In Faversham, friends and neighbours who may pop round to dinner or meet for a drink

I cannot imagine any of this lot responding in any way, at any time, to Trump other than to laugh at him and call him a creepy, weird ****.

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

It is a sign of respect. People are referred to with the title of the highest honour they've held for the rest of their careers. I don't know if you're familiar with Pete Buttigieg, but during his presidential campaign he was known at Mayor Pete as he'd been Mayor of South Bend. Now he's Transportation Secretary, so he's known as Secretary Pete now as that's a higher post. He'll be a high ranking Secretary under president Harris and likely a future President himself (I also spent some time there trying to remember were the capital P is required in president and where it is a lower case p!).

Only while in office for the vast majority of positions, mayor Pete was called mayor Pete after office as it was his nickname.

The only positions that carry the title post office are President, Vice, secretary of state and speaker of the house

 

[Easy 10]

Kamala: "You got fired by 81 million people"

ZINGER !

 

[Withdean South Stand]

Only while in office for the vast majority of positions, mayor Pete was called mayor Pete after office as it was his nickname.

The only positions that carry the title post office are President, Vice, secretary of state and speaker of the house

I would disagree, Senators and House Representatives as well as Mayors and Governors are all referred to with those positions after leaving office. I think most news outlets have dropped the Mayor from Rudi Guiliani now but for a long time even that mess was referred to as Mayor.

 

[US Seagull]

One of my (many) favorite moments from last night:

 

[Triggaaar]

I am unable to reconcile the before and after pictures.
View attachment 188788View attachment 188789

It looks pretty clear that either no damage was done to his ear, or that is little more than a scratch. Assuming the original photo hasn't been edited at all, maybe it's just a quirk of the lighting etc that makes it look like it's been nicked, when it hasn't

 

[Triggaaar]

I was chatting with a friend the other day and he felt as a white, middle-aged, successful man he had a target on his back and was part of the most victimised group in society.

Jesus wept.

 

[Triggaaar]

You must all have been watching the wrong debate!

View attachment 188793

View attachment 188794
The Guardian

Amazing that it was all dishonest and stacked against him, but he won easily anyway

 

[Albion my Albion]

The only positions that carry the title post office

The USPS? (United States Postal Service). United States Postmaster General

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

When fact checked Trump lied 33 times in an hour and a half , with 1 mistruth from Harris.

 

[Triggaaar]

I may have missed this, but did Trump refuse to say, when directly asked, whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war?

 

[hans kraay fan club]

When fact checked Trump lied 33 times in an hour and a half , with 1 mistruth from Harris.

What was Harris' mistruth? Seems foolish to even slip in one. It allows the inevitable false equivalence, "So what if he lied? they BOTH lied?"

 

[Professor Plum]

The bottom line is that this election will be decided not on each candidates ability, personality or policies, but rather on how racist and sexist the majority of voters are feeling at the precise moment they cast their vote.

Too simplistic. There are actually millions of Americans who prefer Trump’s nationalistic bluster and who share his paranoias about cat-scoffing immigrants and the ‘communists’ who believe in publicly available healthcare. Yes there are plenty of people with racist/sexist leanings just as there are plenty of people who don’t like obscenely rich aging white lunatics like Trump. I’m hopeful that Harris will squeeze home but I’m fearful for what the consequences might be from the fanatical Trumpers if that does happen. I’m even more fearful of the consequences of a Trump victory.

I’m actually fairly socially conservative myself on some issues, more so as I get older, but the one thing I can’t get my head round is the support for Putin you see with Trump and new Republicans, as well as people like Farage and the Iranian hardliners. It wasn’t long ago that these guys would be full of paranoia about Russian expansionism and political corruption/assassinations etc. Now they’re falling over themselves to disparage Ukraine and paint Putin as some misunderstood great statesman. Does my head in.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

What was Harris' mistruth? Seems foolish to even slip in one. It allows the inevitable false equivalence, "So what if he lied? they BOTH lied?"

It was mentioned on CNN but they didn't say what it was.

 

[theonesmith]

I may have missed this, but did Trump refuse to say, when directly asked, whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war?

Correct

 

[US Seagull]

I may have missed this, but did Trump refuse to say, when directly asked, whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war?

Yes. He did not answer. The moderator pressed him on his non-answer and he continued to not answer.

 

[US Seagull]

FFS. Who knew cats were going to be such a big issue in this election?



For context, it's a "play" on these ads from Chick-Fil-A, which is, unsurprisingly, a fast food chicken restaurant (and actually very good). They serve no beef.