[Farm93]

I think it is more likely Trump truly is sick. I think Trump is addicted to the crowds and adulation, the constant never-ending Twitter Messianic complex. He is so insecure he has never once stopped proclaiming his “strength and stamina” to the point of absurdity with the health summary he dictated to his doctor.

I have commented in the past that these needs supercede Trump’s own rational best interest for political survival, and now they may have supeceded his literal survival, as well.

The glee in these parts is amazing (though I admit to asking my law school buddies "Who says there is no God (and that he has no sense of humor?)"  But it was in the context of assumed survival, which I still think is very likely - even though Trump is old and overweight (and may have other vulnerabilities that we don't know of).  We'll see.

Fascinating developments.  But a friendly comment:  it's these kinds of comments that turn off Middle America.  And you don't want it turning off too many Middle Americans in swing states.

I was honestly confused by your comment, but after a third reading, I can see how a person with certain sensitivities might read the comment as expressing schadenfreude, which wasn't my intent.

It's my interpretation of Trump's behavior. His conduct this year was so inexplicable -- why does he do what he does? Why doesn't he advocate masks? Why doesn't he ramp up PPE? Why doesn't he get the virus under control first, then re-open the economy? In my opinion, had he simply done those things, he would have cruised to re-election, despite all his flaws.

The only explanation I could think of is that Trump has needs that go beyond his own political survival. He's so defensive, narcissistic and insecure that he must always be proclaiming his virility, he must claim he never makes mistakes and always be incapable of error, and thus, incapable of change. Can anyone think of a different explanation of why Trump didn't go all-in to promote masks to save the US?

Why did he continue to hold rallies when they were unsafe? Any spike in cases afterwards, deaths like Herman Cain's could harm his re-election. So why? Because he needs them. He needs the crowds. He needs thousands of people laughing when he makes fun of people, and he needs to hear crowds chanting his name, and he needs to rant on Tweet. He *needs* to. 

I'm not trying to kick Trump when he's down, I'm just trying to explain why I believe he really is sick. He must truly be ill because he's not Tweeting and he's cancelling his rallies (for now), which to me means he is physically incapable. Michael Moore has his "sneaky liar" theory to explain why Trump might not be sick, other people have the "president of Notre Dame wouldn't lie" theory of why Trump really is sick, doctors have their "a healthy person would never take monoclonal antibodies" theory of why Trump really has Covid. My explanation is the "undisciplined narcissist/addicted to adulating crowds" theory of why he must really, truly be unwell. Not just Covid positive -- he is ill enough that he cannot Tweet frequently.

It is very hard to not point out that one reaps what they sow in this case.    And those observations may seem gleeful to some that are rightfully worried about POTUS' health.

However literally on Tuesday's debate the idea of COVID19 related precautions was a question and Trump's responses capture precisely how we got here.    He even mocked Joe's use of masks, which I suspect has a bigger impact on these middle America types then this board.  Still Trump is our POTUS and COVID19 is not a game, unlike the normal topics on this board.

I don't think anyone here has "glee" about the situation, and this idea that anyone opposing Trump must be gleeful has come up a few too many times IMHO.   

That said the candidates and their campaigns are responsible for messaging to middle America.  Their actions are seen by those in middle America.  FWIW - POTUS flippant responses to questions at that debate related to COVID and mask wearing during that debate should have greater influence on those sensitive middle America types than anything on a sports board.  

Does not matter at the moment because several members of the Trump campaign are battling a deadly disease.   That's not a gleeful situation.  I hope all of the members of Team Trump recover and then share their greater appreciation for the dangers of the disease with those in America inclined to follow their lead.

[Farm93]

I think it is more likely Trump truly is sick. I think Trump is addicted to the crowds and adulation, the constant never-ending Twitter Messianic complex. He is so insecure he has never once stopped proclaiming his “strength and stamina” to the point of absurdity with the health summary he dictated to his doctor.

I have commented in the past that these needs supercede Trump’s own rational best interest for political survival, and now they may have supeceded his literal survival, as well.

The glee in these parts is amazing (though I admit to asking my law school buddies "Who says there is no God (and that he has no sense of humor?)"  But it was in the context of assumed survival, which I still think is very likely - even though Trump is old and overweight (and may have other vulnerabilities that we don't know of).  We'll see.

Fascinating developments.  But a friendly comment:  it's these kinds of comments that turn off Middle America.  And you don't want it turning off too many Middle Americans in swing states.

I was honestly confused by your comment, but after a third reading, I can see how a person with certain sensitivities might read the comment as expressing schadenfreude, which wasn't my intent.

It's my interpretation of Trump's behavior. His conduct this year was so inexplicable -- why does he do what he does? Why doesn't he advocate masks? Why doesn't he ramp up PPE? Why doesn't he get the virus under control first, then re-open the economy? In my opinion, had he simply done those things, he would have cruised to re-election, despite all his flaws.

The only explanation I could think of is that Trump has needs that go beyond his own political survival. He's so defensive, narcissistic and insecure that he must always be proclaiming his virility, he must claim he never makes mistakes and always be incapable of error, and thus, incapable of change. Can anyone think of a different explanation of why Trump didn't go all-in to promote masks to save the US?

Why did he continue to hold rallies when they were unsafe? Any spike in cases afterwards, deaths like Herman Cain's could harm his re-election. So why? Because he needs them. He needs the crowds. He needs thousands of people laughing when he makes fun of people, and he needs to hear crowds chanting his name, and he needs to rant on Tweet. He *needs* to. 

I'm not trying to kick Trump when he's down, I'm just trying to explain why I believe he really is sick. He must truly be ill because he's not Tweeting and he's cancelling his rallies (for now), which to me means he is physically incapable. Michael Moore has his "sneaky liar" theory to explain why Trump might not be sick, other people have the "president of Notre Dame wouldn't lie" theory of why Trump really is sick, doctors have their "a healthy person would never take monoclonal antibodies" theory of why Trump really has Covid. My explanation is the "undisciplined narcissist/addicted to adulating crowds" theory of why he must really, truly be unwell. Not just Covid positive -- he is ill enough that he cannot Tweet frequently.

It is very hard to not point out that one reaps what they sow in this case.    And those observations may seem gleeful to some that are rightfully worried about POTUS' health.

However literally on Tuesday's debate the idea of COVID19 related precautions was a question and Trump's responses capture precisely how we got here.    He even mocked Joe's use of masks, which I suspect has a bigger impact on these middle America types then this board.  Still Trump is our POTUS and COVID19 is not a game, unlike the normal topics on this board.

I don't think anyone here has "glee" about the situation, and this idea that anyone opposing Trump must be gleeful has come up a few too many times IMHO.   

That said the candidates and their campaigns are responsible for messaging to middle America.  Their actions are seen by those in middle America.  FWIW - POTUS flippant responses to questions at that debate related to COVID and mask wearing during that debate should have greater influence on those sensitive middle America types than anything on a sports board.  

Does not matter at the moment because several members of the Trump campaign are battling a deadly disease.   That's not a gleeful situation.  I hope all of the members of Team Trump recover and then share their greater appreciation for the dangers of the disease with those in America inclined to follow their lead.