Gaslighting seemed to work when media told everyone how bad the economy was under Biden's administration despite evidence to the contrary in multiple sectors, and global strength.
"Same guy who spent a year ranting about a fake landslide win. Yes, he won the popular vote—but it wasn’t Obama ‘08. It wasn’t Reagan ‘84. It wasn’t close."
Well said, Mike, but the truth is even more damning: Trump only won a PLURALITY of the popular vote: 49.9%. To simply say that he won the popular vote, while technically accurate, is actually misleading. So I respectfully encourage you and all commentators to add "by a plurality, not a majority," every time you reference Trump's 2024 victory.
The economy was better under Biden but prices were still high, that’s corporate greed it’s a real thing! And now that Trumpy is prez they’re still HIGH and getting higher by the day!! Under Biden we were the envy of the world, it’s a fact, the economy isn’t just gas and groceries prices it’s far more than that!!
I’m not saying Biden was perfect but he inherited Trump’s first mess and it was trending in the right direction. I didn’t have to wake up each day while Biden was in office and worry that our democracy was on the verge of crumbling and that we would abandon our allies and basically say screw you to the world. I didn’t have to worry that we would get information from reliable scientists and weather experts! It will never be perfect but what we have right now is so broken and the future for our children and grandchildren is not looking great!
Much as I'd like to agree with you, as long as racism, misogyny and white supremacy are the accepted norms, Trump supporters will consider all personal suffering "worth it."
Yup. I went through the comments here and left when I saw ‘were the envy of the world’ …seriously..
The ‘Dems will fix this’ ‘the dems are better’ comments are just as naive as they say republicans are; because both parties are completely beholden to oligarch, war machine, tech interests.
I'm not sure where to start. The easy place is Erin Martin's comment, which is explained by Biden's failure to use the bully pulpit. And I will also agree with you that Biden didn't do something he should have done, and so should Obama: raise taxes on the rich.
But when you say "people aren't stupid," I would ask you to reconsider. In '15 and '16, when Donnie gave every indication that he was an incompetent inveterate liar whose only concern was himself, he squeaked by compliments of the Electoral College. Four years later, after he proved it beyond any doubt, he got more votes. Four years after that, he won the popular vote AND the Electoral College. It's hard to find intelligence in the public/voters in results like these.
I suppose it's nice/reassuring to know that there are enough Democratic Texas legislators to paralyze the process if they all skip town. But those Republicans got elected by someone. So did Abbott, and so did Paxton. You can tell me where is the evidence of intelligence.
Donnie has a knack or a talent for lying to people, and getting them to believe him. He got his Kim-style birthday military parade, and he's going to get his ballroom, all paid for by us. Substackers complain, but I don't know who of his people do.
As you rightly said, the GOP obeys him. Even when they disagree, and often enough because they're afraid of him. Again, I'm not seeing evidence that "people aren't stupid."
He didn't "try" to fire a statistician whose numbers don't fit the narrative. He fired her. And if you're keeping track of how many of his nominees got confirmed, and how many didn't, it's all of them, and none of them, respectively. What people with power concede when they shouldn't? Smart people? (Yes, I know their one and only interest is re-election, and they haven't figured out that pointing out the Emperor has no clothes makes them stronger, not weaker.)
Yes, they lie and cheat. And the kinds of people who lie and cheat were elected by the public who isn't stupid.
I hope you're right that they'll crash face-first into reality, but I'm not prepared to bet on it.
I hope you are right about the voters & non voters finally tiring of suffering. The people will come out if they believe as in 1932 that a Democratic candidate & Party will actually help them. That means the Democratic Party has to stop being fence riders. They have to go all in for the people! Can they get past the big money donors? I hope so!
That is one of the things that kills me. The Republicans are not debating or discussing items, they are ramrodding their agenda down our throats. Where are the established republicans and why aren’t they fighting the radicalized republicans?
I think we need a strong, tough democrat...someone like JB Pritzker...to get out there to tell the truth about what Trump is doing to this country. Tariffs. Immigration. Corruption. Retribution. The brain drain. The "Big Beautiful Bill". Treating long-time allies as enemies. But it can't be Pritzker because he's Jewish (I'm Jewish). Or Shapiro. And it has to be someone White. Also needs to be straight, leaving out Buttigieg. And he needs to be male. I think we need a tough, no-nonsense, White, Christian, smart male to go against Vance or whomever the Republicans put up. I'm thinking Mark Kelly. Does anyone out there have any suggestions? I think he needs to get out there NOW to start telling the country what we're facing with that Malignant Narcissistic, lying, cheating ass in the White House.
The Democratic field for 2028 is shaping up to be super strong. If you want a moderate straight white Christian dude you can support Andy Beshear, who's giving speeches in all the early states. If not, there are 18 other choices that I'm tracking so far.
He's tough enough to be elected Governor twice in a red state, to push through Medicaid expansion, and to forcefully denounce the Big Ugly Bill for decimating rural healthcare. It's Southern-style toughness - the "bless your heart" kind, not the #GFY style of NYC.
I really hope republicans get crushed. But they will not given up that easily, not after being in so much shit for so long. They will try to pretend shit is not that bad, if only you knew where to look. Sigh…
Wages rose under Biden, the economy created millions of jobs, inflation tamed, and interest rates were falling. Please don't do the same false equivalence that NYT, WaPo and ever other corporate news org did for the entire Biden presidency. If things were so bad under Biden, why did US have the best economy in the developed world? There were no crazy tariffs, TACO stupid, sladhing Medicaid, Medicare, ACA, federal jobs, FEMA aid, SNAP, and NWS just to name a few. Disaster areas received aid from dems and Biden. Sure, things weren't perfect, but when you have a opposition party that does nothing but try and stop EVERY effort to help people, it's a tough wall to climb.
As soon as September 2026 arrives, GOP will pull out the immigrant fear card, the trans hate ads, and the dems are taking away Christmas crap. What will happen? The same thing that happened in 2024. Dems will run scared not trying to hurt anyone's feelings while republican pummel them into submission. Corporate dems couldn't sell the best economy in the world. What makes you think they can sell anything?
And what's worse, is GOP has done absolutely nothing financially for the working or middle class in 40 years besides make them afraid of anyone who isn't a white republican.
Mike - you make very compelling arguments but the claim that things will go south for the MAGA party (not sure why we are using "Republican" anymore - they are long gone) THIS November, it's potentially creating unrealistic optimisim. We unfortunately have about another sixteen months until the next congressional election in Nov, 2026. So much damage and carnage between then and now...
Gaslighting seemed to work when media told everyone how bad the economy was under Biden's administration despite evidence to the contrary in multiple sectors, and global strength.
I would argue the economy wasn't strong because people were struggling and Democrats fell into the same trap here (not on purpose, mind you)
"Same guy who spent a year ranting about a fake landslide win. Yes, he won the popular vote—but it wasn’t Obama ‘08. It wasn’t Reagan ‘84. It wasn’t close."
Well said, Mike, but the truth is even more damning: Trump only won a PLURALITY of the popular vote: 49.9%. To simply say that he won the popular vote, while technically accurate, is actually misleading. So I respectfully encourage you and all commentators to add "by a plurality, not a majority," every time you reference Trump's 2024 victory.
I remind the right wing of this all the time when I do their shows
Thank you for all you do!
Thank you for facts!
The economy was better under Biden but prices were still high, that’s corporate greed it’s a real thing! And now that Trumpy is prez they’re still HIGH and getting higher by the day!! Under Biden we were the envy of the world, it’s a fact, the economy isn’t just gas and groceries prices it’s far more than that!!
Yes, that's right—we were trending in the right direction but it was tough out there for many people and it's even worse now
I’m not saying Biden was perfect but he inherited Trump’s first mess and it was trending in the right direction. I didn’t have to wake up each day while Biden was in office and worry that our democracy was on the verge of crumbling and that we would abandon our allies and basically say screw you to the world. I didn’t have to worry that we would get information from reliable scientists and weather experts! It will never be perfect but what we have right now is so broken and the future for our children and grandchildren is not looking great!
Agree totally!! ❤️
Much as I'd like to agree with you, as long as racism, misogyny and white supremacy are the accepted norms, Trump supporters will consider all personal suffering "worth it."
Don’t leave out homophobia, transphobia, and religious privilege, not to mention, imaginary religious persecution.
Trump supporters immediately denounce all personal suffering the nanosecond it hits them.
Or they blame it on Biden.
Ah yes...all those things that have made us great again.
Wish someone would have told Biden admin this. Wish an admin would actually do something about it.
Many people tried to...
Yup. I went through the comments here and left when I saw ‘were the envy of the world’ …seriously..
The ‘Dems will fix this’ ‘the dems are better’ comments are just as naive as they say republicans are; because both parties are completely beholden to oligarch, war machine, tech interests.
I'm not sure where to start. The easy place is Erin Martin's comment, which is explained by Biden's failure to use the bully pulpit. And I will also agree with you that Biden didn't do something he should have done, and so should Obama: raise taxes on the rich.
But when you say "people aren't stupid," I would ask you to reconsider. In '15 and '16, when Donnie gave every indication that he was an incompetent inveterate liar whose only concern was himself, he squeaked by compliments of the Electoral College. Four years later, after he proved it beyond any doubt, he got more votes. Four years after that, he won the popular vote AND the Electoral College. It's hard to find intelligence in the public/voters in results like these.
I suppose it's nice/reassuring to know that there are enough Democratic Texas legislators to paralyze the process if they all skip town. But those Republicans got elected by someone. So did Abbott, and so did Paxton. You can tell me where is the evidence of intelligence.
Donnie has a knack or a talent for lying to people, and getting them to believe him. He got his Kim-style birthday military parade, and he's going to get his ballroom, all paid for by us. Substackers complain, but I don't know who of his people do.
As you rightly said, the GOP obeys him. Even when they disagree, and often enough because they're afraid of him. Again, I'm not seeing evidence that "people aren't stupid."
He didn't "try" to fire a statistician whose numbers don't fit the narrative. He fired her. And if you're keeping track of how many of his nominees got confirmed, and how many didn't, it's all of them, and none of them, respectively. What people with power concede when they shouldn't? Smart people? (Yes, I know their one and only interest is re-election, and they haven't figured out that pointing out the Emperor has no clothes makes them stronger, not weaker.)
Yes, they lie and cheat. And the kinds of people who lie and cheat were elected by the public who isn't stupid.
I hope you're right that they'll crash face-first into reality, but I'm not prepared to bet on it.
Unfortunately, the belief that gaslighting won't work with the American people is wishful thinking. The past decade has proven otherwise.
On some issues where people aren't engaged, sure -- but it's not going to work on the economy
I hope you're right.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if, despite the rigged redistricting, voters threw them out on their asses? Now THAT would be a revolution.
I hope you are right about the voters & non voters finally tiring of suffering. The people will come out if they believe as in 1932 that a Democratic candidate & Party will actually help them. That means the Democratic Party has to stop being fence riders. They have to go all in for the people! Can they get past the big money donors? I hope so!
We have avenues to overcome this assault on our nation. The assault on the needy says it all. They have no honest Senators.
We just need to get to work! https://hotbuttons.substack.com/p/retired-judges-make-salient-points?r=3m1bs
That is one of the things that kills me. The Republicans are not debating or discussing items, they are ramrodding their agenda down our throats. Where are the established republicans and why aren’t they fighting the radicalized republicans?
I think we need a strong, tough democrat...someone like JB Pritzker...to get out there to tell the truth about what Trump is doing to this country. Tariffs. Immigration. Corruption. Retribution. The brain drain. The "Big Beautiful Bill". Treating long-time allies as enemies. But it can't be Pritzker because he's Jewish (I'm Jewish). Or Shapiro. And it has to be someone White. Also needs to be straight, leaving out Buttigieg. And he needs to be male. I think we need a tough, no-nonsense, White, Christian, smart male to go against Vance or whomever the Republicans put up. I'm thinking Mark Kelly. Does anyone out there have any suggestions? I think he needs to get out there NOW to start telling the country what we're facing with that Malignant Narcissistic, lying, cheating ass in the White House.
The Democratic field for 2028 is shaping up to be super strong. If you want a moderate straight white Christian dude you can support Andy Beshear, who's giving speeches in all the early states. If not, there are 18 other choices that I'm tracking so far.
Bob...I could be wrong, but my impression of Andy Beshear is that he's too nice, too easy going.
He's tough enough to be elected Governor twice in a red state, to push through Medicaid expansion, and to forcefully denounce the Big Ugly Bill for decimating rural healthcare. It's Southern-style toughness - the "bless your heart" kind, not the #GFY style of NYC.
also he protected abortion rights in a bible belt state, which is an extraordinary feat.
I really hope republicans get crushed. But they will not given up that easily, not after being in so much shit for so long. They will try to pretend shit is not that bad, if only you knew where to look. Sigh…
Wages rose under Biden, the economy created millions of jobs, inflation tamed, and interest rates were falling. Please don't do the same false equivalence that NYT, WaPo and ever other corporate news org did for the entire Biden presidency. If things were so bad under Biden, why did US have the best economy in the developed world? There were no crazy tariffs, TACO stupid, sladhing Medicaid, Medicare, ACA, federal jobs, FEMA aid, SNAP, and NWS just to name a few. Disaster areas received aid from dems and Biden. Sure, things weren't perfect, but when you have a opposition party that does nothing but try and stop EVERY effort to help people, it's a tough wall to climb.
As soon as September 2026 arrives, GOP will pull out the immigrant fear card, the trans hate ads, and the dems are taking away Christmas crap. What will happen? The same thing that happened in 2024. Dems will run scared not trying to hurt anyone's feelings while republican pummel them into submission. Corporate dems couldn't sell the best economy in the world. What makes you think they can sell anything?
You got all that right. GOPers can sell the most insane nonsense in the world while dems quiver in the corner. I’ll go to my grave mystified.
Same here. Dems fear losing so much that they don't know how to win. Dems have a great losing strategy though!
It took a special 40 years of spinelessNess to completely lose the working class to the effing GOP. Now THAT was a magic trick!
And what's worse, is GOP has done absolutely nothing financially for the working or middle class in 40 years besides make them afraid of anyone who isn't a white republican.
Mike - you make very compelling arguments but the claim that things will go south for the MAGA party (not sure why we are using "Republican" anymore - they are long gone) THIS November, it's potentially creating unrealistic optimisim. We unfortunately have about another sixteen months until the next congressional election in Nov, 2026. So much damage and carnage between then and now...
I agree with Mike on this - traditional statistics like CPI don't accurately measure the true cost of living. Here's an excellent summary by Eugene Ludwig. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/02/11/democrats-tricked-strong-economy-00203464
Nope, they're outdated