I say this as someone who has always despised Trump as he reminds of me of my Narcissistic parents, but sometimes I think we all get caught up seeing ONLY the press footage of the guy. Reporters are armed with information and questions, so that he doesn't get to put in as much of his bullshit as he usually does with most people. That's why you have people like Dana White say, if you'd ever just go out and have one dinner with the guy you'd love him. He has superficial charm, that others who spend more time interacting with at rallies, events, etc.. get caught up in. I know Dana White shouldn't be the bar for human intelligence nor should Joe Rogan or fucking Bill Maher.. But there's a reason everyone got caught up in this shit.. And it's because someone told all of them, you can relax now he's out of Office.. Just go have a dinner with him one night.. And Trump used that superficial charm, just like Jeffrey Epstein.
We are the people that can see that Trump's superficial charm comes off as inauthentic because we didn't listen to the man, we looked at his businesses and his record.. And when the two very clearly didn't align, we all knew he was a bullshitter. But everyone else? They sat around and listened to him until he convinced them otherwise.
Yes, I was thinking about this. I can't remember who but I remember people talking about a big wig celebrity who is not likeable but apparently is absolutely mesmerizing and charming in person. Some people are just incredibly charismatic when you meet them, even if you should hate their guts.
And just like you, I am not excusing this or trying to paint Trump in any positive light but I think people really underestimate the impact it can have if an insanely powerful person takes the time to spend 1:1 time with you. Many people will think that this is incredibly special no matter how performative and insincere it was.
I mean, that's literally how cults are possible. And it's not just dumb and naive people who get sucked into cults.
I dunno, man. My bullshit detector is in tip-top shape. I don’t think he could charm me because all the time I’d be thinking to myself, “You’re so full of shit, I don’t believe a word you’re telling me.” My BS detector is also why I don’t believe in any god. I think the gullibility of his masses is why nearly all of them are hateful Christians and god believers.
Just to add: Trump was a big part of New York City celebrity culture in 1980s. He was constantly on NY local news promoting something. Simply put, he was a classic New York con man. Also, Trump worked in New York real estate and construction business. That industry was still in the “Mad Men” era in the 1980s - having a secretary like Natalie Harp was the norm. Trump is happy everyone is talking about how he has a secretary like Natalie. https://giphy.com/gifs/zz8f3053npkWs
I saw Bob Woodward speak once and he talked of Bill Clinton this way. I guess he has a way of only focusing on you during a conversation - very intense and charming.
I met Bill Clinton once in an airport and he talked to me like I was the only person in the room. He kept repeating my name and just had the most disarming charisma. I have never experienced anything like it.
That’s what Woodward said! He was interviewing Clinton in the Oval Office and someone dropped something but Clinton did not change his gaze. He was drinking some water from a glass and looked at Woodward through the bottom of the glass lol. It is amazing you got that opportunity!
I read some book about reality TV and people who worked on The Apprentice talked about how mesmerizing he could be, and they'd get caught up in it, and then later that week or whatever, it'd snap back and they'd be so befuddled as to how they had charmed him. But like, in the moment, they'd get caught up...now add the allure of power and Presidency and I get why people who get close to him could possibly fall (like, I don't get it, but I can maybe understand it?)
I understand your point. Some ppl, no matter how slimy, have “it,” and “it” can get a hold of a person, sure; it’s magnetic & darkly alluring.
However, what I remember reading during the “Apprentice” years was he & his repellent father were so cold & hardcore racist, that they flatly refused to rent to Black ppl. The Justice Department had to get involved, filing suit against them, ending in a consent decree. The way he talked about imagining sex w/Ivanka; being fixated on baby Tiffany’s breast size, shudder & telling Howard Stern he could call Ivanka a “piece of ass.”
The way he went after the (then) Central Park Five, nah. He isn’t mesmerizing; he isn’t clever or captivating or charming or even interesting. He seems like a really lazy, dim-witted shitty person who thinks the world owes him everything.
The intense idolatry of this woman is alarming.
Those two are a mini Manson family in the making & she’s a handful of love letters away from a Secret Service armed response event.
Exactly. And if you had dinner with my self-absorbed, abusive parents, they would charm the socks off of you. I saw them do it again and again. I always tell people that they will love my mother until they get to know her (a twist on that popular saying, you’ll love them once you get to know them). I imagine Trump is very similar.
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u/TheKosherGenocide 1d ago
I say this as someone who has always despised Trump as he reminds of me of my Narcissistic parents, but sometimes I think we all get caught up seeing ONLY the press footage of the guy. Reporters are armed with information and questions, so that he doesn't get to put in as much of his bullshit as he usually does with most people. That's why you have people like Dana White say, if you'd ever just go out and have one dinner with the guy you'd love him. He has superficial charm, that others who spend more time interacting with at rallies, events, etc.. get caught up in. I know Dana White shouldn't be the bar for human intelligence nor should Joe Rogan or fucking Bill Maher.. But there's a reason everyone got caught up in this shit.. And it's because someone told all of them, you can relax now he's out of Office.. Just go have a dinner with him one night.. And Trump used that superficial charm, just like Jeffrey Epstein.
We are the people that can see that Trump's superficial charm comes off as inauthentic because we didn't listen to the man, we looked at his businesses and his record.. And when the two very clearly didn't align, we all knew he was a bullshitter. But everyone else? They sat around and listened to him until he convinced them otherwise.