Dogwhistling a la Teleprompter

[Elixir]

Trump's "denouncement" of hate, racism, white supremacy etc. was one of the creepiest things I've ever seen.
In any other universe, that would be a captive with a gun to his head reading a propaganda script.
In this universe, you could almost see the subtitles:

"Listen up you good 'ol boys - if you want me to stay in office so we can carry on with our racist agenda, I need to mouth this shit, and trust that you know I don't mean one word of it. Hell - I don't even care which city in Ohio y'all shot up.
I appreciate you taking up arms against the immigrant-loving libtards, but this is as close as I'm allowed to come to saying so in public. Trust me - I'll make it ok as soon as the news cycle moves on."

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

That isn't it. It isn't the dogwhistle, it is desperate damage control. Trump can't afford to lose the Hispanic vote as badly as the African American vote. The El Paso shooting has harmed Trump's 2020 election chances severely.

 

[ZiprHead]

That isn't it. It isn't the dogwhistle, it is desperate damage control. Trump can't afford to lose the Hispanic vote as badly as the African American vote. The El Paso shooting has harmed Trump's 2020 election chances severely.

It was terrible damage control. It was lip service. Elixir's depiction above was spot-on.

 

[Brian63]

Some commentators on the show Morning Joe got it right. He seemed simply uncomfortable reading that script. It was an obvious struggle. He just had to do it, but it was entirely insincere. When you get him on his Twitter account or in the center of a rally, then you see more of the real deal. Previous to the shootings we had the Twitter Trump, then the shootings occurred and we get the Telemprompter Trump, but already today he has gone back to the Twitter Trump version of himself.

His public "apology" for the Access Hollywood tapes (about bragging women by their pussies and getting away with it) was even more obviously insincere and phony, but it seemed also that it was easier for him to say the words. It seems like this job of being president has caused tremendous wear and tear on his mind and body, evidenced by other speeches and speaking habits (and gaffes) and other habits of his as well (tendency to repeat himself and repeat talking points, be inarticulate, spout simplistic thoughts without any depth, to say things slowly, etc.). A year from now he will be in even worse shape, which gives one hope that people who STILL are not paying attention to politics will take a look at him and be unimpressed, even nervous, about having this guy as president for 4 more years.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Agree with above. That's not being cynical; that's saying that one teleprompted speech that is out of step with everything he's done since the Trump Tower Elevator Descent (or Trump's E.D.) means nothing. His voice was labored and lumpy, like that of a kid who is forced to make an apology or to read some religious horseshit in church that he just isn't feeling. A true MAGA man doesn't say stuff like 'Together we lock arms to shoulder the grief' -- does that sound ANYTHING like the gleeful scamp who likes to walk up and grab pussy? Or the guy who described wanna-be immigrants as -- you know the rest. And who wants to lock arms with Donald Trump? Trump + KumBaYa moment = nausea. I also loved how one minute he was saying that "Mental illness and hatred pulled the trigger" and the next he wanted the presumably mentally ill perpetrators -- all of 'em, right? -- to face capital punishment "delivered quickly, decisively, and without years of needless delay."
Now, on the positive side, I live only a 40-minute drive from Toledo, and I was pleased that he wished this area to have a healing from our ordeal. Unless that was a call to a sleeper cell and Toledo is the next Big Story. But I'll give DJT the benefit of the doubt on that one. I'm positive he wants no more violence -- he hates making nice-nice at the mic.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Trump is now bemoaning on Twitter how unfair it is that Obama wasn't blamed for Sandy Hook (an act of outright random violence) when he is getting serious heat for the El Paso slaughter (a hate crime against of group of people Trump has been whining about for two years, as President).

 

[James Brown]

I don't recall Obama complaining about an invasion of kindergartners, raping women and joining ISIS. But then it's been a while since I've been in an elementary school.

 

[Elixir]

His voice was labored and lumpy, like that of a kid who is forced to make an apology or to read some religious horseshit in church that he just isn't feeling. A true MAGA man doesn't say stuff like 'Together we lock arms to shoulder the grief' -- does that sound ANYTHING like the gleeful scamp who likes to walk up and grab pussy?

You can chalk it up to the desperate need for damage control, but I believe - to a point of rare certainty - that much of that awkwardness is, in this case, an enhanced affectation specifcally intended to signal to his racist base how very much he doesn't mean what he's saying. If he DID mean it, or if he failed to communicate that he didn't mean it, THAT would pose a real threat to his re-election chances.

 

[Gun Nut]

That isn't it. It isn't the dogwhistle, it is desperate damage control. Trump can't afford to lose the Hispanic vote as badly as the African American vote. The El Paso shooting has harmed Trump's 2020 election chances severely.

I think what Elixir is saying (and I agree) is that Trump signals his devotees by the way he speaks. When he sounds like he sounds when reading a teleprompter, his words are "ignore this.. this is to shut up the idiots". When he speaks how he wants to be heard, it sounds biggly different... the most different.. the best different..

He's an actor with decades of practice... he could deliver a convincing speech on any topic, whether he agreed or not with the content, just because he knows how to read a script and be on TV for a living.... He is no idiot... he is a criminal. When you ask a criminal why he did something, they don't usually say "because I really thought it out and thought I would get away with it"... they say something that ends up sounding pretty fucking dumb... cause that is better than saying "because I thought I could get away with it".

So, you are underestimating him (a la Dem strategy) quite a bit.

"I could sound presidential" he said as mimed "I am being Mr. J.P. Serious right now" in a satirical manner that belays the message, "look folks, this is who I am, but when I look like this, I am just pretending"... he more than "signaled" it... he "taught" it to his followers.

When he "sounds like Mr. J.P Serious", he is pretending to be presidential... when he sounds like he usually sounds like, he is being "real".

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So, you are underestimating him (a la Dem strategy) quite a bit.

How is it underestimating him?

Trump received about 28% of the Hispanic vote in 2016, while Clinton received 66%. This means Clinton received about 5.3 million more votes. If the Hispanics take Trump's statements seriously and link him to the massacre of Hispanics, and his support amongst them drops to that of African American divisions, ie 90% for Clinton, 10% for Trump, that would mean Trump's opponent gets 11.4 million more Hispanic votes than Trump in 2020. For those playing at home, that is about 6 million more votes... and there would seemingly be no way Trump can mobilize enough white racist voters to counter it.

In Texas, it would mean the state tilts blue, as the 2020 opponent gains about 1 million Hispanic votes.

While there seems to be a Teleprompter Trump and Twitter Trump, make no mistake that Teleprompter Trump is trying to save his ass in 2020.

 

[starwater]

Dishonest teleprompter Trump spoke with his eyes squinted to slits - a sure sign he was lying. Give the Hispanics more credit - they can see right through this as well as we can.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Dishonest teleprompter Trump spoke with his eyes squinted to slits - a sure sign he was lying.

Well that... and he is too proud to wear glasses. He has crap vision.

 

[Gun Nut]

So, you are underestimating him (a la Dem strategy) quite a bit.

How is it underestimating him?

I believe that it is underestimating him to claim that the poor dumb guy just can't pull off sounding sincere (because he isn't).. and that is just the best he can do.
I believe that it is intentional, weighed, and purposefully executed signal to his loyalists.
Furthermore, I believe that it is harmful to underestimate the purposefulness of it.

Reminds me of a cartoon during the baby Bush era where someone meets Bush for an interview, and he speaks to them off camera in a sophisticated, intelligent voice.. with like an English accent.. The interviewer says, "Wait a minute... I thought you were an idiot... you don't sound anything like you normally do". To which Bush replies, "That is for the common fellows. I went to Yale for Christ's sake". The interviewer asks a question on the record, to which Bush replies, "Well, I don't know 'bout all of that but they are dirty fightin and unAmerican!".

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

So, you are underestimating him (a la Dem strategy) quite a bit.

How is it underestimating him?

I believe that it is underestimating him to claim that the poor dumb guy just can't pull off sounding sincere (because he isn't).. and that is just the best he can do.

He is a clinical narcissist, they can't pull off sincere, because they don't care.

Reminds me of a cartoon during the baby Bush era where someone meets Bush for an interview, and he speaks to them off camera in a sophisticated, intelligent voice.. with like an English accent.. The interviewer says, "Wait a minute... I thought you were an idiot... you don't sound anything like you normally do". To which Bush replies, "That is for the common fellows. I went to Yale for Christ's sake". The interviewer asks a question on the record, to which Bush replies, "Well, I don't know 'bout all of that but they are dirty fightin and unAmerican!".

As a reminder, that was a cartoon you read.

 

[Gun Nut]

I believe that it is underestimating him to claim that the poor dumb guy just can't pull off sounding sincere (because he isn't).. and that is just the best he can do.

He is a clinical narcissist, they can't pull off sincere, because they don't care.

Reminds me of a cartoon during the baby Bush era where someone meets Bush for an interview, and he speaks to them off camera in a sophisticated, intelligent voice.. with like an English accent.. The interviewer says, "Wait a minute... I thought you were an idiot... you don't sound anything like you normally do". To which Bush replies, "That is for the common fellows. I went to Yale for Christ's sake". The interviewer asks a question on the record, to which Bush replies, "Well, I don't know 'bout all of that but they are dirty fightin and unAmerican!".

As a reminder, that was a cartoon you read.

yes.. illustrated... hoping it illustrated my point.

oh I'm just too dumb / crazy to be held accountable... we shouldn't worry at all about what he does.. just a big dumb guy... look somewhere else.

I don't want a Dem in charge, and I also don't Trump... but the Dems are acting like they do want Trump.. at least a little bit on the inside... only explanation for all this underestimating.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

He is a clinical narcissist, they can't pull off sincere, because they don't care.


As a reminder, that was a cartoon you read.

yes.. illustrated... hoping it illustrated my point.

Your point? That the humor punch line would be "Imagine if W wasn't actually as dumb as he came across?" Wouldn't that be funny that it was all an act. It isn't funny if it wasn't an act. So the cartoon doesn't illustrate your point.

oh I'm just too dumb / crazy to be held accountable... we shouldn't worry at all about what he does.. just a big dumb guy... look somewhere else.

I don't want a Dem in charge, and I also don't Trump... but the Dems are acting like they do want Trump.. at least a little bit on the inside... only explanation for all this underestimating.

Ah, and now the reverse psychology begins with our guest here. Nice.

 

[Gun Nut]

Your point? That the humor punch line would be "Imagine if W wasn't actually as dumb as he came across?" Wouldn't that be funny that it was all an act. It isn't funny if it wasn't an act. So the cartoon doesn't illustrate your point.

oh I'm just too dumb / crazy to be held accountable... we shouldn't worry at all about what he does.. just a big dumb guy... look somewhere else.

I don't want a Dem in charge, and I also don't Trump... but the Dems are acting like they do want Trump.. at least a little bit on the inside... only explanation for all this underestimating.

Ah, and now the reverse psychology begins with our guest here. Nice.

I am not a guest, I am a resident... or is your logically consistent position that new (brown) immigrants are less American than old (white) immigrants? (that I am less a member than you, based on join date).

 

[starwater]

Dishonest teleprompter Trump spoke with his eyes squinted to slits - a sure sign he was lying.

Well that... and he is too proud to wear glasses. He has crap vision.

They just make the words bigger and move the teleprompter closer.

 

[southernhybrid]

Dishonest teleprompter Trump spoke with his eyes squinted to slits - a sure sign he was lying.

Well that... and he is too proud to wear glasses. He has crap vision.

They just make the words bigger and move the teleprompter closer.

I doubt it's his vision. He just can't read. He can't spell and he has a difficult time pronouncing a lot of words. Maybe pre or very early stage dementia? His memory doesn't seem to work very well. It could be he lies when he claims he never said certain things, or it could be that he honestly forgets a lot of the things he has said in the recent past. Of course, he is a pathological liar but sometimes he also seems to have a problem with his short term memory. Regardless,we need to get him out of the WH for good.

 

[Elixir]

He just can't read. He can't spell and he has a difficult time pronouncing a lot of words.

Those things are true. In this case, he knew that these deficiencies needed to be accentuated for the benefit of the base, even if it reduces the number of hispanics who will forgive him for being responsible for the heinous acts of his administration. He is an actor! He is more than capable of credibly feigning sincerity - it's how he got elected for chrissakes.
Gun Nut is correct that people are underestimating Trump, and not only in that regard. It is human nature to project our human nature upon others, even though in this case it means projecting the ability to empathize or feel compassion upon a soulless lump of self-dealing lard. We shouldn't make that mistake (again).