Whenever I go out to play cards, there's roughly a 50/50 chance I'll hear a Trumpster go on a rant. That was indeed the case this past Saturday night. Instead of getting into a heated exchange as tends to be the result, I decided to listen, just in case I had been missing something when it comes to understanding the average Trumpster. After listening to the man rant for several minutes, I decided, at least to that point, I sadly had a "bigly" excellent understanding of the average Trumpster.
The pain arguments this Trumpster made were arguments I had heard ad nauseum throughout election season. There were as follows:
1) Barack Obama didn't do one good thing as president
2) He is the king of liars
3) Donald Trump isn't a regular politician who has been corrupted by the system, which makes him more trustworthy than the average politician
4) Contrary to popular belief, Trump isn't a bigot; he's just smart
5) Last, but certainly not least, Trump is honest, because he believes what he says
Let's go through these arguments one by one...
1) I find it difficult to take any person seriously when they claim not one good thing came from Barack Obama's presidency. It's a claim that's so ridiculous it borders on delusional and results in me providing them the yellow pages to psychiatrists in the area.
When President Obama took the reigns in January of 2009, here were the numbers:
Unemployment: 7.9%
Gross Domestic Product: -5.4%
Consumer Confidence: 37.4
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 7,949.09
Median Household Income: $54,988
Americans Living Below the Poverty Level: 43.6 million
Americans Without Health Insurance: 49 million
U.S. Troops in Iraq: 140,149
U.S. Troops in Afghanistan: 34,400
...and here are the numbers just before Obama left office in December of 2016:
Unemployment: 4.7% (down 3.5%)
Gross Domestic Product: 3.5% (up 8.9%)
Consumer Confidence: 113.7 (up 76.3)
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 19,855.53 (up 11,906.44)
Median Household Income: $56,516 (up $1,528)
Americans Living Below the Poverty Level: 43.1 million (down 500,000)
Americans Without Health Insurance: 29.8 million (down 19.2 million)
U.S. Troops in Iraq: 5,200 (down 134,949)
U.S. Troops in Afghanistan: 9,800 (down 24,600)
No matter how much a person dislikes Barack Obama, how can he or she look at those numbers and say with a straight face, "Nothing positive happened during his 8 years in office"? Unemployment's down, the uninsured is down, those living in poverty is down, the number of troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan is down, while the gross domestic product, consumer confidence level, and the Dow Jones industrial average are all up. Let's also keep in mind Barack Obama entered the Oval Office in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, the peak of which wasn't felt until after he was inaugurated. So, taking all of that into account, the before-mentioned numbers have to read quite impressively, to the nonpartisan reader anyway.
2) It's quite comical to hear a Trump supporter label Obama as a liar. Has Obama stretched the truth at times while he was in office? Yes, of course. Yet the man is Honest Abe next to Donald Trump. Courtesy of Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checker Politifact, here are their scorecards:
Barack Obama
Totals statements graded: 596
True or Mostly True: 286 (48%)
Mostly False, False, or Pants on Fire: 150 (26%)
Net: +22%
Donald Trump
Total statements graded: 376
True or Mostly True: 60 (16%)
Mostly False, False, or Pants on Fire: 262 (70%)
Net: -54%
Difference: Obama +76%/Trump -76%
Like I said, it's rather comical to hear a Trump supporter label Obama as a liar. Moving on...
3) As it was noted in argument #2, just because Donald Trump had never previously been a politician doesn't make the man any more honest than long-time politicians. The pain lies approximately 70% of the time he speaks. That number increases to 84% if you include the half truths/half lies. So between 7 in 10 and over 4 in 5 times the guy opens his mouth, at least 50% of what he's about to spew is BS. His general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, lies approximately 26% of the time, 50% if we include half truths/half lies. No, that's not optimal truth-telling, yet it's a hell of a lot better than non-politician Donald J. Trump, that's for certain!
4) Trump's "bigotry" "non-bigotry" is smart? What, the wall? The wall, which is estimated to cost $21.6 billion and which Trump has only been able to uncover $20 million for it? The wall which he said Mexico was going to pay for, but is now changing his tune and saying Americans will pay for it, but Mexico will pay us back? The wall which will be nowhere near 100% effective at preventing immigrants from entering this country? Yeah, that's, eh, smart. How about the "Muslim" "non-Muslim" ban? The seven countries (now six) which were included on the initial ban were responsible for zero major terrorist attacks inside this country. Meanwhile, some countries which were left off the list, have been responsible for a large majority of such attacks. Again, yeah, that's smart... You then take this in conjunction with the fact Trump has been anything but coy on using angry and hateful language at the expense of any demographic outside of straight white Christian men, and the result has been an uptick in hate crimes. But no, the man isn't bigoted at all; he's just being smart. There are times I seriously wonder if a large majority of Trump supporters celebrate every day like it's opposite day.
5) Just because I person believes what he or she says doesn't mean they're right. This person may believe they're being honest, but the fact of the matter is, they're being the antithesis of honest. Donald Trump "honestly" believes that climate change is a hoax perpetuated by China. However, 100% of those with IQs above 75 claim he's wrong, and 97% of climatologists believe it's at least partially manmade. The major problem here is the fact, as I mentioned earlier, Donald Trump tells at least a half lie approximately 84% of the time he opens his mouth, yet he and many of his followers believe he's being honest. Newsflash, just because a person says what you want to believe, doesn't make it true. When opinions run contrary to facts and we still believe in said opinions in spite of facts showcasing otherwise, that doesn't display honesty; it simply displays ignorance, craziness, and denial.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/then-vs-now-obama-s-presidency-numbers-n704856
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/barack-obama/
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/hillary-clinton/
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-funds-idUSKBN1685SY
The pain arguments this Trumpster made were arguments I had heard ad nauseum throughout election season. There were as follows:
1) Barack Obama didn't do one good thing as president
2) He is the king of liars
3) Donald Trump isn't a regular politician who has been corrupted by the system, which makes him more trustworthy than the average politician
4) Contrary to popular belief, Trump isn't a bigot; he's just smart
5) Last, but certainly not least, Trump is honest, because he believes what he says
Let's go through these arguments one by one...
1) I find it difficult to take any person seriously when they claim not one good thing came from Barack Obama's presidency. It's a claim that's so ridiculous it borders on delusional and results in me providing them the yellow pages to psychiatrists in the area.
When President Obama took the reigns in January of 2009, here were the numbers:
Unemployment: 7.9%
Gross Domestic Product: -5.4%
Consumer Confidence: 37.4
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 7,949.09
Median Household Income: $54,988
Americans Living Below the Poverty Level: 43.6 million
Americans Without Health Insurance: 49 million
U.S. Troops in Iraq: 140,149
U.S. Troops in Afghanistan: 34,400
...and here are the numbers just before Obama left office in December of 2016:
Unemployment: 4.7% (down 3.5%)
Gross Domestic Product: 3.5% (up 8.9%)
Consumer Confidence: 113.7 (up 76.3)
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 19,855.53 (up 11,906.44)
Median Household Income: $56,516 (up $1,528)
Americans Living Below the Poverty Level: 43.1 million (down 500,000)
Americans Without Health Insurance: 29.8 million (down 19.2 million)
U.S. Troops in Iraq: 5,200 (down 134,949)
U.S. Troops in Afghanistan: 9,800 (down 24,600)
No matter how much a person dislikes Barack Obama, how can he or she look at those numbers and say with a straight face, "Nothing positive happened during his 8 years in office"? Unemployment's down, the uninsured is down, those living in poverty is down, the number of troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan is down, while the gross domestic product, consumer confidence level, and the Dow Jones industrial average are all up. Let's also keep in mind Barack Obama entered the Oval Office in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression, the peak of which wasn't felt until after he was inaugurated. So, taking all of that into account, the before-mentioned numbers have to read quite impressively, to the nonpartisan reader anyway.
2) It's quite comical to hear a Trump supporter label Obama as a liar. Has Obama stretched the truth at times while he was in office? Yes, of course. Yet the man is Honest Abe next to Donald Trump. Courtesy of Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checker Politifact, here are their scorecards:
Barack Obama
Totals statements graded: 596
True or Mostly True: 286 (48%)
Mostly False, False, or Pants on Fire: 150 (26%)
Net: +22%
Donald Trump
Total statements graded: 376
True or Mostly True: 60 (16%)
Mostly False, False, or Pants on Fire: 262 (70%)
Net: -54%
Difference: Obama +76%/Trump -76%
Like I said, it's rather comical to hear a Trump supporter label Obama as a liar. Moving on...
3) As it was noted in argument #2, just because Donald Trump had never previously been a politician doesn't make the man any more honest than long-time politicians. The pain lies approximately 70% of the time he speaks. That number increases to 84% if you include the half truths/half lies. So between 7 in 10 and over 4 in 5 times the guy opens his mouth, at least 50% of what he's about to spew is BS. His general election opponent, Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, lies approximately 26% of the time, 50% if we include half truths/half lies. No, that's not optimal truth-telling, yet it's a hell of a lot better than non-politician Donald J. Trump, that's for certain!
4) Trump's "bigotry" "non-bigotry" is smart? What, the wall? The wall, which is estimated to cost $21.6 billion and which Trump has only been able to uncover $20 million for it? The wall which he said Mexico was going to pay for, but is now changing his tune and saying Americans will pay for it, but Mexico will pay us back? The wall which will be nowhere near 100% effective at preventing immigrants from entering this country? Yeah, that's, eh, smart. How about the "Muslim" "non-Muslim" ban? The seven countries (now six) which were included on the initial ban were responsible for zero major terrorist attacks inside this country. Meanwhile, some countries which were left off the list, have been responsible for a large majority of such attacks. Again, yeah, that's smart... You then take this in conjunction with the fact Trump has been anything but coy on using angry and hateful language at the expense of any demographic outside of straight white Christian men, and the result has been an uptick in hate crimes. But no, the man isn't bigoted at all; he's just being smart. There are times I seriously wonder if a large majority of Trump supporters celebrate every day like it's opposite day.
5) Just because I person believes what he or she says doesn't mean they're right. This person may believe they're being honest, but the fact of the matter is, they're being the antithesis of honest. Donald Trump "honestly" believes that climate change is a hoax perpetuated by China. However, 100% of those with IQs above 75 claim he's wrong, and 97% of climatologists believe it's at least partially manmade. The major problem here is the fact, as I mentioned earlier, Donald Trump tells at least a half lie approximately 84% of the time he opens his mouth, yet he and many of his followers believe he's being honest. Newsflash, just because a person says what you want to believe, doesn't make it true. When opinions run contrary to facts and we still believe in said opinions in spite of facts showcasing otherwise, that doesn't display honesty; it simply displays ignorance, craziness, and denial.
http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/then-vs-now-obama-s-presidency-numbers-n704856
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/barack-obama/
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/donald-trump/
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/hillary-clinton/
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-funds-idUSKBN1685SY
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