this post was submitted on 23 Aug 2024
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[–] MrJameGumb@lemmy.world 375 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Note that everyone mentioned in the article only regretted their statements once they realized the kid was disabled... Maybe just don't make fun of people's kids in general? Is that so difficult? WTF do his kids have to do with his political campaign???

[–] Nougat@fedia.io 245 points 2 months ago (14 children)

Everyone please take note:

Barron Trump has been 100% unmentioned by anyone except when he was going to speak at some gathering, as an adult. Then, when he decided not to do that, everyone stopped talking about him entirely.

That is how you do that. If an adult is getting invovled in politics, they're fair game, regardless of who they're related to. People who aren't involved in politics, you leave them the fuck out of it.

[–] bamboo@lemmy.blahaj.zone 121 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

Barron Trump has been 100% unmentioned especially by his father, who doesn't want to be seen next to him because Barron is taller.

[–] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 54 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Melania has taken him and fucking noped them both out of life with Donald.

I'm not sure a life with Melania is healthier, but it's certainly less public.

[–] Boddhisatva@lemmy.world 53 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Yes, her feelings about her husband have become clear over the years but since she's keeping Barron around, I'm thinking she likes him better.

[–] fluxion@lemmy.world 41 points 2 months ago (1 children)

"Notice how sad she gets when the warm glow of my magnificent gaze is no longer upon her."

[–] LotzaSpaghetti@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 months ago

Too articulate.

[–] inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world 28 points 2 months ago (1 children)

After Trump dies, she is going to write one hell of a book.

[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 21 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You think Trump likes his women being able to read?

[–] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 months ago

No but I doubt Trump can read so he thinks his wife cant.

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[–] Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world 36 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Melania has taken him and fucking noped them both out of life with Donald.

You know, I'm not entirely certain any more that she wants out of life with Trump.

Melania was a former topless model who wanted nothing more to spend the rest of her life as some billionaire's trophy wife once her tits stopped making her money. Her entire "marriage" to Trump is and always has been nothing more than a dystopian business transaction. I do not believe for a second she has ever loved him or even pretended to. And for all the times we've seen her in public where she looks like she'd rather be anywhere else and with anyone else, she has always, always held the standard views of the stuck-up, holier-than-thou trophy wife she is, who thinks she's better than everybody else because she was blessed with mediocre genetics, a half-decent plastic surgeon, and some luck.

I think, rather than a general disdain for Trump, she has an even bigger disdain for having been dragged into public life where she'd have things like responsibilities and expectations of her. How is she supposed to be spending her days showing off her plastic tits to the pool boy if she's having to give a political speech she doesn't believe in, is completely uninformed on, and can't even deliver very well to an audience of people who she'd never dare let shake her hand? Having to sit and be the "first lady" at one of Trump's WH events means that's time not in Gucci having her ass kissed by overpaid 20 year olds selling her tacky shoes. It means she can't talk freely to her debutant friends about the peasants that work for them without worrying that it's going to become front page news. That wasn't part of the deal, in her mind. She wanted nothing to do with any of that.

Heck, even stealing "Be Better" from Michelle Obama and turning it into "Be Best" probably was less about just one more thing to shit on the Obama legacy, and more because even coming up with that probably expended more time and thought to the idea than she ever intended to give it in the first place.

I don't think she hates Trump. I think she hates that he dragged her into the spotlight with him. If she truly hated him, she could have easily divorced him years ago and be spending her days getting wildly fucked on the yacht of some businessman in Dubai right now. Someone who, most likely, has even more money than he does.

The two may not be like a couple of lovers on their honeymoon, but she doesn't hate the guy either. She's made it abundantly clear that she's perfectly willing to stick with Trump as long as the money continues to flow freely and, more importantly, she can go back to spending her days quietly showing her tits off to the pool boy.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago

If she truly hated him, she could have easily divorced him years ago and be spending her days getting wildly fucked on the yacht of some businessman in Dubai right now. Someone who, most likely, has even more money than he does.

Disagreed on the first half, second half made me a believer.

[–] Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world 17 points 2 months ago

This is a 100% legitimate question . I've seen a couple of pictures of Barron recently, and it's right in Donald Trump's wheelhouse to suddenly disown his own son for having the audacity to be taller. There's not a question in my mind. He will never allow even his own children to overshadow him, ever. Unless he wants to fuck them, of course coughivankacough.

I remember some speculation that Barron had some kind of developmental disability. Autism, possibly. And it wasn't the usual bashing because he's Trump's kid. Legit questions on if the kid was autistic. Has that ever been confirmed one way or the other? Because if Barron has any kind of developmental issue that's noticeable at first look, there is no possible way Trump would ever be seen in public with him.

And keep in mind: I know nothing of Barron. I do not fault him for being Trump's son because he can't control that. I do not know his political views, if he even has any. And if he does have some kind of disability, I wish him nothing but the best. But go on Netflix and watch the first season of Bridgerton. Look at how the Duke's father treated him growing up. If Barron does have a disability himself, that is exactly how his father treated him.

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[–] aStonedSanta@lemm.ee 61 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Yuup. Agreed. The last time I recall hearing of presidential kids being bullied was Obamas kids. Interesting.

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 56 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Chelsea Clinton got it pretty hard for years also.

I had to look up if GWB had kids or not. Both daughters got involved in the campaign a bit, and now I recognize the one from various TV stuff too. I don't remember much said about them at the time.

The grown up Trump children get blasted, but they are all welllll into adulthood regardless of what their defenders say, and they are actively involved in all the political BS, so they are fair game for criticism.

[–] mosiacmango@lemm.ee 33 points 2 months ago (3 children)

GWB daughters liked to party, so they got some airtime for being drunk and whatnot, but not political flack.

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[–] JustZ@lemmy.world 23 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

The grown-up Trump kids were also working at the White House and appearing in media and in political meetings of all kinds, on behalf of the Trump administration. As soon as that happens, the familial relationship is irrelevant to the coverage and disclosure requirements. Any shield of "oh, not family members" is subsumed wholly by the public interest in open government and a free press.

If family members fuck off out of politics and keep their mouths shut, they'd mostly get left alone, except for the most conspiratorial weirdos on the right.

[–] Wrench@lemmy.world 21 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Palin's kids were in the public crosshairs. But I think that had more to do with Palin's awful hypocrisy on family values than anything else.

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[–] Hubi@feddit.org 26 points 2 months ago

The only times I've seen Barron being mentioned is when people said that they hope he won't turn out like his father.

[–] dariusj18@lemmy.world 17 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Ditto, one could also comment on the use of a kid as a political prop while not making it personal about the kid.

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[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago

A reporter commented something like "wow he's tall" and apparently Fox felt the need to call them out on that.

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[–] Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world 24 points 2 months ago

Note that everyone mentioned in the article only regretted their statements once they realized the kid was disabled… Maybe just don’t make fun of people’s kids in general? Is that so difficult? WTF do his kids have to do with his political campaign???

Because the GOP have found that harassing random family members of their opponents is an effective strategy.

Think of how many people have exited politics because of threats to them or family members.. How many people, especially in the Trump years, who otherwise may have made good representatives, have decided that it's just not worth it? Think of the senators that refused to convict Trump during his impeachments because of threats to their families.

They do it because it works. Whether the kid had disabilities doesn't matter, outside of my belief that the more disabled the kid is, the more they're going to attack, simultaneously hoping to exploit a parent's desire to shield their child from harassment at any cost and the child's potential inability to defend themselves at all or even mentally process what's going on properly. They do it because it gets a rise out of their base, and also because of the sliver of a chance that maybe, just maybe Tim Walz will wake up in the morning and look for an exit because he's afraid he bit off more than he could chew.

They just don't know how to handle it when they realized that instead of backing off, he came back for another bite. So they're doing the only thing they know how to do. Attack. Punch down. Insult. Belittle. Make sure everybody knows you're better than "them", by any means necessary.

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[–] 24_at_the_withers@lemmy.world 129 points 2 months ago (1 children)

All conservatives seem to be anymore is 3rd grade schoolyard bullies. I guess they're just as weak and insecure. Such a shame that such a huge chuck of the population will never reach self actualization. What a pitiful existence - kinda makes me sad for them.

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 40 points 2 months ago (5 children)

Something President Obama said in his speech the other night - instead of making it about us and them, you try and find some common ground. And there's always something to agree on, even totally opposing sides. We're still people living our lives.

"That sense of mutual respect has to be part of our message. Our politics have become so polarized these days that all of us across the political spectrum seem so quick to assume the worst in others unless they agree with us on every single issue. We start thinking that the only way to win is to scold and shame and out-yell the other side. And after a while, regular folks just tune out, or they don’t bother to vote.

Now that approach may work for the politicians who just want attention and thrive on division, but it won’t work for us. To make progress on the things we care about, the things that really affect people’s lives, we need to remember that we’ve all got our blind spots and contradictions and prejudices. And that if we want to win over those who aren’t yet ready to support our candidates, we need to listen to their concerns and maybe learn something in the process. "

None of that is easy, and not everyone is going to change. But the other choice is to be like them, and that helps no one.

[–] solsangraal@lemmy.zip 60 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

if we want to win over those who aren’t yet ready to support our candidates, we need to listen to their concerns

dems have been trying to do this for years. YEARS. what do republicans do? vote against THEIR OWN bills, because they don't want anything to get accomplished while a democrat is potus.

i love obama, but unfortunately the only thing that seems to be starting to work is calling republicans weird couchfucking fascists who need to be defeated in a landslide just to keep the country from devolving into a christofascist dictatorship

the "lets play nice" approach gave us trump 2016 , a 6-3 corrupt conservative scotus, and not even a guarantee that it won't all happen all over again starting november

fuck trump, fuck trump voters, and fuck anyone who claims to still be "on the fence" about which choice is best for this country.

"undecided" doesn't mean undecided for this election. "undecided" means "i'm voting R, but don't want to say it out loud," because that person knows that they'll be--correctly--shat on for voting for the objectively wrong choice

[–] snooggums@midwest.social 38 points 2 months ago (1 children)

And that if we want to win over those who aren’t yet ready to support our candidates, we need to listen to their concerns and maybe learn something in the process. "

This take the high road attitude can fuck right off when the other side's concerns are irrational racist hatemongering bullshit.

[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 22 points 2 months ago (9 children)

The high road only works when your opponent as a sense of shame and the capacity to self-reflect, even a little bit.

MAGA has neither. The few republicans that still do, the few who are still the adults in the room, have already pledged for Harris. Any of them who haven't by now are lost causes addicted to Trumps tit milk.

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[–] eestileib@sh.itjust.works 15 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Obama was, and remains, shockingly naive in this way.

The entire republican mindset is being trained to abuse this kind of attempt at good faith engagement. Fascism thrives on that kind of naiveté.

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[–] jaggedrobotpubes@lemmy.world 14 points 2 months ago

These are beautiful and healing words and also we're dealing with the white Taliban whose very identity is not to play along with that.

Obama's approach is more preventative, whereas we're in the cancer-killing phase of things. We're trying to get back to where we can do things that way safely, if we're doing things right.

And even the preventative approach has to be fucking ballsy and loud about not letting rich cocksuckers hijack civil conversations to justify robbing everybody blind while calling it "business as usual", which is what set the stage for all this in the first place.

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[–] JustZ@lemmy.world 68 points 2 months ago

Seems like a pretty normal kid to me. The Republican proving their weirdness yet again.

The most surprising part of this story is that what got the guy off the air was an appeal to advertisers, as if they didn't know the brand of hate these rage bait media personalities are selling on righty radio.

[–] 58008@lemmy.world 56 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I love how he said "I didn't know the kid was disabled", as if that makes any difference whatsoever to the fact that he sent an unprovoked abusive tweet out about a kid being happy. Jay, you're an absolute CUNT.

[–] iAvicenna@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

That might be the best part of his apology :

"I didn't realize the kid was disabled, and have taken the post down. But, I've been challenging Walz on substance AND character ever since he was named as the VP candidate. He's a congenital liar who's destroyed Minn in a number of ways"

Basically a dickwad with the mental age of a five year old who can't own up to his mistakes. He even deleted his apology lol.

[–] Nastybutler@lemmy.world 50 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Faux News and Alina Habba were pearl clutching at the thought of Trump's "boys" being prosecuted for their role in the organization's fraud, which was weird because they're in their 40s, but then an actual child gets mocked and the right wing nut jobs are okay with it. It's always hypocrisy with these motherfuckers

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[–] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 50 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

Republicans can't resist attacking minors. It's like they have an obsession with them.

[–] modifier@lemmy.ca 12 points 2 months ago

They can indeed resist, they just don't wanna.

[–] BigBenis@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago (1 children)

They're cowards who feel big when punching down

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[–] nifty@lemmy.world 40 points 2 months ago

The attacks on Walzs son are just to mess with his dad’s head, it’s just part of political strategy. It shows how sociopathic Republicans are, nothing is off-limits for them because they have no class, morals, ethics or standards

[–] TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org 33 points 2 months ago

The kind of people who think "gay" is still an insult and haven't joined us in the 21st century yet.

[–] ZagamTheVile@lemmy.world 32 points 2 months ago (7 children)

What a great example of free speech. A radio station has decided what they want aired and what they determine as appropriate and are allowed to take action to achieve that. They have the right to free speech and use that to hire and fire anyone they want as an exercise in that right. They won't be made to allow what they consider objectionable opinions to be broadcast on their platform. Free speech in action. (Inb4 "muh 1st ammemunt rites".)

Bob bless America.

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[–] BigMacHole@lemm.ee 14 points 2 months ago

STOP Making fun of Trump's Adult Children!

-Republicans making fun of an Autistic 17 Year Old!

[–] expatriado@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

we shouldn't care about the family of politicians anyway, unless involved in nepotism hired positions

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[–] Theprogressivist@lemmy.world 12 points 2 months ago

This is the best type of Schadenfreude. Delicious.

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