Former President Donald Trump’s supporters say they hold him as a source of true information over their family, friends, and religious leaders, according to a new CBS News/YouGov poll out on Sunday.

  • CapgrasDelusion@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    If you told me 10 years ago Donald Fucking Trump would be the head of the largest American cult of all time…

    Just… What the fuck guys? What the actual fuck.

    • radix@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The only way you can control people is to lie to them.

      and…

      If a man really wanted to make a million dollars, the best way to do it would be start his own religion.

      – L. Don Trumppard

        • Ser Salty@feddit.de
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          1 year ago

          That part is genuinely the most baffling part to me. Like, I can see why somebody would fall into the cult of a really charismatic leader, a great public speaker that gets to your emotions etc.

          But I can’t decipher half the shit that man says. He’s not just incapable of forming a proper sentence with a point, but he also has a terrible speaking voice, making his incoherent ramblings even harder to understand when not transcribed.

          • 100_kg_90_de_belin @feddit.it
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            1 year ago

            He says the offensive stuff that’s been repressed for 60 years on the political stage. Trump could use the N-word with a hard R and his polls would go up.

          • phillaholic@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            His transcribes are incoherent. His speeches are like listening to music. You don’t even know all the words, but you get the feeling. That’s all they are looking for.

            • Fuck_u_spez_@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              “Look, having nuclear — my uncle was a great professor and scientist and engineer, Dr. John Trump at MIT; good genes, very good genes, OK, very smart, the Wharton School of Finance, very good, very smart — you know, if you’re a conservative Republican, if I were a liberal, if, like, OK, if I ran as a liberal Democrat, they would say I’m one of the smartest people anywhere in the world — it’s true! — but when you’re a conservative Republican they try — oh, do they do a number — that’s why I always start off: Went to Wharton, was a good student, went there, went there, did this, built a fortune — you know I have to give my like credentials all the time, because we’re a little disadvantaged — but you look at the nuclear deal, the thing that really bothers me — it would have been so easy, and it’s not as important as these lives are — nuclear is so powerful; my uncle explained that to me many, many years ago, the power and that was 35 years ago; he would explain the power of what’s going to happen and he was right, who would have thought? — but when you look at what’s going on with the four prisoners — now it used to be three, now it’s four — but when it was three and even now, I would have said it’s all in the messenger; fellas, and it is fellas because, you know, they don’t, they haven’t figured that the women are smarter right now than the men, so, you know, it’s gonna take them about another 150 years — but the Persians are great negotiators, the Iranians are great negotiators, so, and they, they just killed, they just killed us, this is horrible.”

              …for example.

          • somethingsnappy@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Clinton is a great example. Great speaker, knew everyone’s name, talked in broad generalities. He and Obama are two of the best republican presidents of modern times.

          • z3rOR0ne@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            I’m from the future year 3023, we have cloned Sylvester Stallone and genetically modified him to somehow have an even harder to discern speech pattern than he has in your time. He is our great leader, bow before your incoherent God!!

    • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      You could have told me 40 years ago and I would have believed it instantly. Ronald fucking Reagan.

  • gndagreborn@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    This is absolutely grade A batshit crazy, not just your average dystopian batshit crazy.

  • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Not the smartest bunch. Unfortunately, that bunch seems to encompass 30-40 percent of the American population.

      • nyoooom@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Half are dumber than the median, not the average (although they’re probably close)

      • YeetPics@mander.xyz
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        1 year ago

        Trump has made a great litmus test for shitty humans. They even wear hats so we don’t have to waste our time trying to find out their beliefs through dialogue.

      • zefiax@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Half of all people are dumber than the median. I am assuming the mean is actually higher than the median so chances are way more than half of all people are dumber than what people normally think of when they think average.

  • Efwis@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    My father is one of them. Because of his idiotic glorification and idol worship of trump, my family has told him to fuck off. Haven’t talked to him for almost 3 years now. He even believed the big lie

    • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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      Pretty much the same for my family. My parents were always hard right conspiracy types but it used to be that they still had something redeeming about them. I don’t like to remember the Thanksgiving Dinner of 2009, the last time we got together.

      Hey mom I am dating a girl and it is getting kinda serious. Also I finished that engineering degree and loving working in a big city. Plus you know I flew out here to see you guys. Can we maybe talk about something besides Obama being a Satan Muslim for like a minute? No?

      • BOMBS@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        same shit happened with my biological half-sister. i drove 16 hrs one-way to visit her. what does she want to talk about? making fun of transgenered people. i left early. never again will i visit her. i rather go to the beach.

        • BOMBS@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          My sister called me today, and I didn’t answer because I was at the beach. I said it. I meant it.

      • imgonnatrythis@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, tore my family apart too. So bad now that I’m pretty certain it’s irrepairable. Guess there was a lot of underlying issues but there always is with family right? This shit really just scratched the scab off and the pus came pouring out. Still though, I think family is fragile in many cases and you just make it work, but when something this polarizing comes around it can shift the balance enough to start a casastrophic cascade. The GOP is an ice-9 motherfucker right now. They turn everything they touch into complete shit.

      • Efwis@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        I’ve found political hatred is actually one of the worst traps to fall into. Personally I thought some of obama’s policies were good, although implemented incorrectly. I was hoping trump would be similar, but he turned out the complete opposite. If it doesn’t involve making the rich richer he didn’t want anything to do with it.

      • Efwis@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        True, but I’m a firm believer in the motto of you made your bed now lie in it.

        • GladiusB@lemmy.world
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          I mean I get it. I don’t talk to my own dad (not political reasons). However I am a father myself and it would be really sad to raise my kid for him to just say “later” and never talk to me again. Then again I wouldn’t believe Trump and his cult. Still sad to think you could be alone because of something that has nothing to do with me.

          • Efwis@lemmy.zip
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            1 year ago

            I agree, I feel sorry for the man getting lost like he did. But I will not raise my family around such a narcissistic attitude.

    • ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I have a sister that’s the same.

      I would have never guessed she’d fall victim to such a thing… she’s intelligent and Trump prior to running for election was the type of person she’d despise. I don’t know what happened. It’s like the person I knew got taken over by a sick, alien virus that’s destroyed the person I remember. She’s angry, condescending and downright hateful to anyone that tries to talk to her about the lies and real evidence she ignores. It’s sad, and I miss the sister I remember.

      • Efwis@lemmy.zip
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        1 year ago

        Same with my father. He was a great guy until he jumped on the Trump train. Now he is a hateful, bigoted racist that thinks if you don’t think the way he does you aren’t worth his time. I learned my thought process from him where you don’t blindly follow someone else. Research, research and more research before you commit youself to something. Make sure you are making an informed decision, hell he is a retired cop, he was a detective, he knows how important it is to look at the evidence and make the right decision. But not since Trump, he even started looking up Qanon shit to base his decisions on. I miss who he was, but I won’t join his beliefs just to keep him in my life.

        • krakenx@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Your father is still probably following his process, but one of the most dangerous things Trump did was sew distrust of trustworthy sources. If you throw out government agencies, the mainstream media, and what scientists say, then doing extra research ends up coming from rightwing sources and just pushes you further right. And it’s a hard thing to defend against because government agencies can and have been dishonest and the mainstream media usually is.

          • Efwis@lemmy.zip
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            1 year ago

            Yea they have and the media is pushes a narrative that only focuses on the negative side. Back when I was younger the media at least reported some positive news, but now it all sensationalized and antagonistic rhetoric

              • Efwis@lemmy.zip
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                1 year ago

                Part of the reason I look at more than one source for my info. If I see a blurb of something that catches my eye, I’ll read an article then search up other sources of info.

                I trust nothing the media says without researching multiple sources. If all the sources are getting their info from the same place, I look for outside means. Like world wide news mentioned her in the states, I will go to local sources for the info. As long as it’s in English language.

        • AreaSIX @lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          I’m sure he was a good father to you since you miss his old self, but being a cop in no way implies that he’d be intelligent or competent in any way. In fact, it would provide some of the explanation as to why he’d be joining the cult of an authoritarian figure. Not only are cops often required to not be too intelligent, they also already belong to an authoritarian organization, so it wouldn’t be a big change to jump on the Trump train. It’s not exactly a coincidence that he has such strong support among law enforcement people.

          https://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836

          Again, I know that people can be good fathers regardless of their professional lives, and I don’t doubt that he was good to you. I’m not looking to be offensive or attack you, I have nothing at all against you personally. It’s just slightly jarring to see someone’s status as a former cop being held up as evidence of competence. It is not now, nor has it ever been a good thing to be a cop.

          • Efwis@lemmy.zip
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            1 year ago

            No no offense taken. My dad wasn’t your normal cop. He actually showed empathy as well as sympathy towards situations. He never had that billy badass mentality like most do. Hell even when he went to talk to someone in inherently bad parts of town, like the Watts in LA during the riot era or even like Harlem as the gangs started getting bad, he would leave his firearm in the car. And he stood in solidarity with those that looked at cops like they were the devil themselves. His outlook changed drastically during the trump administration.

            He didn’t believe socialism was a bad thing, unless it turned into violent rhetoric. He was always a progressive conservatism. Everyone had the right to voice what they believed in as long as they didn’t push their narrative to being the only right answer.

            Now the only narrative he believe in is conspiracy theories, such as engaging with a gay person WILL make you gay or that everything is evil unless it’s the far-right wing way. My father has even gone to the point of denying the innocent until proven guilty, now you are guilty for even thinking that it might be a good idea. The man has changed for the worst, if I didn’t know any better you’d think he had Alzheimer’s and only focuses on the wrongs of people, no matter what, even if they didn’t do anything wrong, unless they believe how he does. It’s actually scary. If you don’t think like him you should be shot on site, that’s not the man that raised me.

            I’m actually ashamed to call him my father.

      • SolNine@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Admitting she is wrong about a single fact would bring the entire house of cards tumbling down… Imagine having to admit you are wrong about everything you have come to represent. It would come with soul crushing pain to your ego, and these people can’t confront that.

    • jimmydoreisalefty@lemmus.org
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      1 year ago

      It is sad to hear how we let the wealthy class and politicians divide us on culture wars and identity politics.

      We should be talking more to the people we don’t agree with and come together over class lines, working class vs. wealthy class.

      Trump and Sanders were both able to create a grassroots movement for a reason.

      Talking is the way to get to what we share in common, instead we focus on what we disagree on.

      • RGB3x3@lemmy.world
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        That’s a nice sentiment, but there’s no talking to these people. They WILL NOT listen to their family or friends. Any information they absorb must be from Fox News, Trump himself, or the other far right information platforms.

        They don’t live on the same level of logic that the rest of us do and approaching them with logic only angers and confuses them. They become belligerent, obtuse, and steadfast in their views. It can’t be broken through logic because it’s a cult and they’re not operating with logic.

        My father is also one of these people.

      • Efwis@lemmy.zip
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        Unfortunately you are right. But haters and bigots don’t want to talk about bettering themselves, they want destruction of what they don’t like.

        I miss the 80’s and 90’s where people had their differences but listened to the other side without whataboutisms or evil rhetoric.

      • Efwis@lemmy.zip
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        He’s ~ 80+ years old, I don’t expect him to. At least not before he passes away.

  • Narrrz@kbin.social
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    I feel like we need some sort of legal protection for circumstances like this. no objective analysis of these people’s behaviour would agree that they’re acting rationally, and probably can’t even be considered to be in their right minds. should we risk individuals so afflicted being able to determine the direction an entire country takes? do they pass out voting forms at mental institutions?

    • MrMusAddict@lemmy.world
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      Disqualifying a candidate is the intended legal protection. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that will ever be used effectively if it’s not done to Trump.

      • Narrrz@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        that’s not going to work for his supporters, though. they’ll scream conspiracy and the next capital riot might not be such a joke.

        • MrMusAddict@lemmy.world
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          Rioting will come and go. Assuming a disqualification is recognized by enough people, then the noise makers will go back into the woodwork for a time.

          There’s a lot of misguided people out there who would vote for Trump if he was on a ballot but would not start a civil war if he was not.

          I feel like it’s true to say that we are the closest we’ve been to a civil war since the last, but that doesn’t mean that the risk of civil war is high.

    • ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca
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      If Americans actually voted this wouldn’t be an issue. The problem is the only people who actually vote at every chance they get are these types.

    • crdz@lemmy.one
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      I feel like this could be a slippery slope for whoever is in charge and if not done right which is more than likely it’ll be like going back in time where anytime someone disagrees with something “you’re being hysterical” then you get institutionalized.

      • Narrrz@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        it certainly carries risks, but then, seemingly so does doing nothing to address it. I wonder how many people would still be alive if trump had never gotten a first term.

      • Narrrz@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        so if a country manages to reach a critical threshold of cultists, the government should just hand over the reins, despite the likelihood it will never again (or at least, for an extensive period) see a fair election?

        • acetanilide@artemis.camp
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          You said mental illness, which is what I was referring to. Also, cultists are (generally, unless they’re otherwise forbidden) allowed to vote as well (unfortunately).

  • WiildFiire@lemmy.world
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    I got told I’ll get kicked out of my own apartment by someone who isn’t on the lease if I make fun of trump and Republicans out loud lmao.

    Me and my mother are on the lease. Her BF who lives with us isn’t . Apparently he’ll kick me out of my own apartment (I’m 25 btw. Not a kid.)

      • VentraSqwal@links.dartboard.social
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        1 year ago

        Seriously, after that story about the guy who killed that women for having a pride flag, you never know how randomly violent these people will be.

        • logen@lemm.ee
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          Or if you read that story about how people rioted, burned down buildings, looted, attacked jews, etc… etc… etc… in portland… You never know how randomly violent /those/ people will be.

          Seriously, people are fucked on both sides, and the more I watch things, the more I believe that it’s the people left and right of center that are the psychos.

          The far right and left seem tame by comparison.

          It’s like the honorable Zap Branagan said. You can’t trust those neutrals.

            • logen@lemm.ee
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              Well, people saying right is violently psycho, just pointing out that the left is just as bad.

              • BigNote@lemm.ee
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                That’s fair. The far left certainly can be violent, as it was in the late 60s and early 70s --my parents were actually friends with SLA members in SF in the late 60s, though they themselves had nothing to do with it-- but it’s just a fact that far right violent extremists happen to be far more active in our current era.

                Various IC organizations have been saying this for at least the last 6 or 7 years, and events have proven them correct; while the far left is certainly guilty of violence against property, the far right has accrued a much higher body-count.

  • eran_morad@lemmy.world
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    I was downvoted for this comment on another thread:

    1/3 of the electorate would be happy to have trump rape their kids live on C-SPAN and would line up to suck his asshole as an expression of gratitude.

    I stand by it.

    • Asafum@feddit.nl
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      They would only agree to that if Trump had asked for it and in return he would torture liberals, then they’d line up for it.

      He’s unapologetically hateful towards “the left” and they love that. He’s their vehicle to hurt us which is what they ultimately want as we’re all “Goldstein.” Reich wing media plays their “2 minutes hate” every day to remind them to hate “Goldstein.”

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        The fact that Jews were the first to secularize in the rapidly secularizing West will be used against them until it can’t be. As if being the first means you caused the rest to follow suit. I was naïve to feel surprised about this fact, but it still feels like a disaster.

        EDIT: in hindsight I see my comment can be read in terrible ways - I am all in favor of secularization and nearly converted to Judaism a lifetime ago before I started taking Wellbutrin, no problem with Jews here.

    • logen@lemm.ee
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      I feel that the (crazy) leftists would support this.