US Election & Presidency

It is interesting to see this happen, I agree with TD, Trump doesn't need the base anymore, all he needs is those loyal to him in office (the power hungry will do what he says), but I do think quite a few in MAGA will be willing to change their stance on something when Trump changes his mind, because that's how cults work. Quite simple really.

^You know that bleach that The Orange Ape though could cure COVID? Well, I need it for my eyes right now.

(29-12-2024 12:35 )skully Wrote:  It is interesting to see this happen, I agree with TD, Trump doesn't need the base anymore, all he needs is those loyal to him in office (the power hungry will do what he says), but I do think quite a few in MAGA will be willing to change their stance on something when Trump changes his mind, because that's how cults work. Quite simple really.

There are also increasing murmurings that he will continue supplying Ukraine with weapons. Once again, he's got the votes in the bag and won't need them again so, as per usual Trump will do what's best for Trump because he fancies a slice of what's underground in Ukraine.

When you think I suppose in some ways it feels like it didn't take very long for Musk to start a power struggle from within did it? I wonder now if it'll be Trump or Musk being inaugaurated on 6th January 2025.

(29-12-2024 23:41 )Tumble_Drier Wrote:  ^You know that bleach that The Orange Ape though could cure COVID? Well, I need it for my eyes right now.

will a shot of his tan lotion help too?

One thing that doesn't really get talked about is the whole twitter deal. I mean twitter gets mentioned, but only really in passing. When Musk bought twitter, he got ripped a new one by most commentators. He paid way over the odds for it, then basically destroyed it a s a meaningful platform, making it a shell of what it was, and effectively destroying any credibility it once had.
And yet, look at him now, de facto joint president of the US, and largely, if not wholly, due to the impact he has courtesy of his unchallenged posts on his discredited platform. Not only can he help bend and shape government policy, but as an unelected person, he gets to continue his business transactions,m and can take advantage of the economic situation that he helps create.
Suddenly, that purchase doesn't look like such a dumb idea. I can't help feeling this has happened more by luck than judgement but even so.

The whole social media element, and its impact, shouldn't be ignored either. There are a bunch of reasons why america wants to ban or control tiktok, and its influence on the minds and thinking (and therefore votes) of young people is undoubtedly one of them.
Trump has already had Zuckerburg round for tea and biscuits, making sure that even if he isn't exactly on his side, he, and more importantly his platform, isn't against him. And of course he has Musk on board, along with his platform, I wonder if Musk would have such a foothold without twitter behind him.

His ideas are very old-fashioned and out of favour these days, but an old guy called Karl Marx once said something along the lines of 'The prevailing ideas in any epoch are the ideas of the ruling class'. He meant primarily that the ruling class controlled things like education and the media, which meant they were able to indoctrinate society with their views and opinions from birth through to death. A similar viewpoint can be applied with social media these days, such is its influence on peoples minds. Whoever controls social media has an incredible control over a significant portion of the voting population, and things can be posted on social media without the hassle or burden of requiring any proof whatsoever. Opinions can be changed in an instant with a single post without any need for evidence to back it up.

Its kind of scary how politics has been trivialised and reduced to little more than just another reality tv vote where personality matters more than policy. Ed Davey looked a prize pillock with all his social media stunts during the election, but he was along the right lines. Get someone a bit younger, more photogenic doing those same things, and suddenly it has a whole different impact.
The reason its so scary is that this stuff matters, it has consequences. Truss showed how one wrong move can have dramatic consequences for the entire country, consequences which are arguably still being felt today.
Trump is surrounding himself with personalities instead of politicians. It remains to be seen what consequences that will have on america and the rest of the world, but I fear it won't end well!

(30-12-2024 10:28 )munch1917 Wrote:  The whole social media element, and its impact, shouldn't be ignored either. There are a bunch of reasons why america wants to ban or control tiktok, and its influence on the minds and thinking (and therefore votes) of young people is undoubtedly one of them.
Trump has already had Zuckerburg round for tea and biscuits, making sure that even if he isn't exactly on his side, he, and more importantly his platform, isn't against him. And of course he has Musk on board, along with his platform, I wonder if Musk would have such a foothold without twitter behind him.

It's sort of scary how things have deteriorated. Our consumption of media has made us ripe for the taking.
Indoctrinate is a very apt word. It's more than just social media, it's all media. Movies, Sports, Gaming, Television are just easy advertisements for the cause. Come up with a bogeyman that's trying to repress your beliefs. It's become pretty profitable to fight against things viewed as "woke" Hell, you even get paid on Social Media for it. So you get a lot of people chasing the carrot dangled in front of them. We are just pawns for money over here I'm afraid

And I guess you can now begin to wonder just when - or IF & when - Musk will push the button that will possibly will crush Trump from within - if he hasn't done so already.

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(30-12-2024 10:28 )munch1917 Wrote:  {snip}

It's not going to end well one way or another and we're all going to be caught in the crossfire somehow.

Noteworthy that Trump has asked The Supreme Court to delay enactment of the law that was passed banning TikTok in the US. Remember Trump was all for a ban when he was previously President however it’s unlikely to be a coincidence that major investors in ByteDance (owners of TikTok) have donated millions to his campaign & Republican causes in this campaign cycle.