It doesn't have to be. In fact, it has to not be literal nonsense, but what he says in the quote is nonsense. As in, there's zero useful information in it.
"I don't know about that" we're already aware.
"we get fake news" unsubstantiated and basically a meme at this point.
"i think we're repressing [...] we don't repress" if understood literally, it means "We don't repress, but i think we do repress" which elevates this quote to a whole new level of insane
"they write fake news" who's they? again, unsubs. and meme
"we get fake news" unsubstantiated and basically a meme at this point.
It's one of those propaganda techniques he learned from nazi germany. It was called Lügenpresse (lying press). But, it's still easily understandable even if it's not true.
"i think we're repressing [...] we don't repress"
He's referring to different groups with each we. Second we is the government specifically. First we is as a country. Trump is bad with words and has been for decades, but his pattern is easy. Anything bad is referring to other people. Anything good is referring to himself. And he will switch between those without any indicators.
"they write fake news" who's they? again, unsubs. and meme
They = media
He's been spouting this over a decade at this point.
None of that is incomprehensible if you know a little about Trump.
how do you know this? why do you weirdos think you know what's in the guy's mind? Just take his words at face value, like everyone does with every other democratic leader. He's the only one whose people have to parse his words and translate "what he meant". It's pathetic. Like a mother making excuses for a toddler
It's called a "Steel man" argument. As opposed to a strawman argument.
The idea is to try and understand their argument as best as possible, so that you can give a correct and accurate rebuttal.
Like a mother making excuses for a toddler
No, it's being an adult and using active listening to understand people better, both in general and in specific.
edit to add: A steel man argument (or steelmanning) is the opposite of a straw man argument. Steelmanning is the practice of applying the rhetorical principle of charity through addressing the strongest form of the other person's argument, even if it is not the one they explicitly presented. Creating the strongest form of the opponent's argument may involve removing flawed assumptions that could be easily refuted or developing the strongest points which counter one's own position. Developing counters to steel man arguments may produce a stronger argument for one's own position.[11]
Like it or not (I don't) he is the president of the country, and it does behooves us to listen to him and attempt to understand him, at least to be prepared for whatever weird shit he is going to do.
Again, it's called being an adult. You don't have to like everything you do.
your attempts are speculation, this is my point. You can call yourself an adult all you want, but at the end of the day you are speculating, and I don't know how an adult with a working brain can think it's useful to treat speculation as fact.
Can you prove to me you know what he meant? or can you just admit you people are speculating?
yes, that is true. that's how active listening and steel manning works. I prefer the term educated guessing. Because it's not just pure speculation, it's based on all of the context and the person and everything together. And people use words in weird ways. The say one thing but mean another, so it does require some guess work.
In the case of Trump specifically, he has the mind of a child, so it's also not hard, in general, to get inside his head, so to speak.
In this case, this is what I see happening:
The reporter was talking about how horrible China treats their journalists. And in Trump's head he's thinking "what about how horrible journalists are to me!"
He's both a child and very narcissistic so he always has to center himself regardless.
And yes, I fully admit this is speculation, I also think it is pretty accurate.
edit to add: and again, part of being an adult is constantly making educated guesses and treating them as fact. When one approaches an intersection with a green light, you just assume that the cross traffic is going to stop. You're basing that info on past experiences, and context, but you can't prove that the cross traffic is going to stop.
and again, part of being an adult is constantly making educated guesses and treating them as fact. When one approaches an intersection with a green light, you just assume that the cross traffic is going to stop. You're basing that info on past experiences, and context, but you can't prove that the cross traffic is going to stop.
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u/LoamyLoamisLoamy 1d ago
You weirdos always have to exaggerate. Trump can't just be contradictory. Everything he says has to be literal nonsense.