The Washington Post Interviews Donald Trump

August 3, 2016 //

The best way to understand Donald Trump is to watch, listen, or read what he says. He says a lot, but very little is about policies or issues.

This interview in The Washington Post illuminates his thinking.

Categories Trump

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Duane Swacker says:

August 3, 2016 at 6:30 pm

I saw where they’ve recently discovered light coming out of a black hole. Not sure if they were talking about Trump’s head or not.

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Laura H. Chapman says:

August 3, 2016 at 6:32 pm

The scary part is that people still think he is qualified to be President and more qualified than Hillary Clinton.

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- Cheryl says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 6:55 pm
  
  Real scary
  
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- Joel Herman says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 7:04 pm
  
  Reagan was suffering from dementia,possibly for 5 years . So pay no attention to the Wizard and worry who will be behind the curtain.
  
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- LeftCoastTeacher says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 8:34 pm
  
  He’s definitely not a polished, Ivy League professional class politician. I agree with the Wizard of Oz metaphor.
  
  By the way… Poet, are you there? SomeDAM Troll, are you reading? Come back.
  
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- Joel Herman says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 9:00 pm
  
  Your new found optimism in your young students was up lifting . Hate to set you into depression, really not a sadist but:
  
  Come gather ’round people
  Wherever you roam
  And admit that the waters
  Around you have grown
  And accept it that soon
  You’ll be drenched to the bone
  If your time to you
  Is worth savin’
  Then you better start swimmin’
  Or you’ll sink like a stone
  For the times they are a-changin’
  
  I’ve been waiting for 50 years. A little anger would serve us well . Certainly enough to mobilize for the fight we will have on Jan 20th.
  Have no fear according to Jack London’s time table we probably have 2-300 years to go. But all ends well.
  
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- LeftCoastTeacher says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 9:22 pm
  
  “Newfound” optimism? I have always appreciated the unbridled idealism of youth, my whole, short life. Best part of the job. Hey, I hate to be so negative about the past, and I am sorry if my Generation X level understanding of history is off, but maybe this time around, we can be a little more tactical than allowing the social justice movement to degenerate into rolling around naked in the mud with strangers at mega rock concerts. (And it didn’t help that Watergate crushed all belief in the Social Contract for a long while.) We can do better. My students can and will do better. This fight is older than both of us put together. Learn from mistakes. Never stop fighting. Always learn and teach, and never give an inch unless it will yield a mile. “A little anger would serve us well” is right. Thank you.
  
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- LeftCoastTeacher says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 9:40 pm
  
  I just now saw a Dr. Jill Stein ad on MSNBC. Great stuff!
  
  Poet, come back.
  
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- Joel Herman says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 11:07 pm
  
  Well Left Coast . Thinking back it wasn’t the rolling around in the mud although I was there ,that was before Kent State . Watergate had similarities to the DNC . It confirmed what we already new. Richard and Debbi were “crooks”. Perhaps the movements of the sixties were not all they were cracked up to be in the first place . Those truly active were fewer in number than is portrayed. Perhaps the assignation of RFK, followed by the defeat of McGovern took some wind out of the sails. The end of the War/draft and the All Volunteer Army took skin out of the game. The Donald is all too typical of the “jelly bellied armchair patriots”. Who spent years dodging the draft and a lifetime waving the flag.While others made the sacrifice instead of them or their children.
  
  The economy still had the appearance of growth for some time. Even if that growth became increasingly fueled by debt.
  I would think our economic realities may be a far more lasting motivator and part of that reality is the limits to growth that the planet can sustain.
  
  Keep the faith.
  
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- Joel Herman says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 11:43 pm
  
  Take that F out after Robert
  
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- Joel Herman says:
  
  August 4, 2016 at 8:22 am
  
  Amazing what sleep will do .Put that F back and put a k in front of that N .This would be embarrassing, but in this election season it could be a qualification for the highest office in the land.
  
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Dienne says:

August 3, 2016 at 7:10 pm

I don’t understand this obsession with understanding Trump. It’s really not all that complicated. He’s a blowhard who might talk a lot but really he says nothing. He’s a failed businessman turned reality TV personality (using the word “personality” loosely). Why give him so much of your power by being so obsessed with him? He feeds on your shock and outrage. Don’t give it to him. Ignore him, maybe he’ll go away. And even if he doesn’t, at least you won’t be living in fear, which is better for your blood pressure.

Focus instead on the Democrats (although, speaking of blood pressure…). If you really think Hillary is an acceptable choice, then focus on how are we going to work with her known shortcomings and hold her accountable? And what’s our game plan going forward, especially if she turns around and supports TPP, charters, Wall Street, etc.? That’s where our power is needed.

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- Abigail Shure says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 7:28 pm
  
  What is the game plan Dienne?
  
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- LeftCoastTeacher says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 8:28 pm
  
  Dianne has a good game plan. She insists that public office holders take actions to seek her vote instead of allowing fear to cause her to beg for a seat at office holders’ tables. It’s the Bernie supporter approach, the opposite of the Weingarten supporter approach.
  
  It’s perfectly reasonable, considering that no matter who wins the election, he or she is going to be the least popular, least supported, least powerful POTUS to date. There will be no public support, no support on Capitol Hill… which brings us back to the lame SCOTUS appointment argument, wherein, once again, there will be no support from Capitol Hill… We’re electing a lame duck. Ignore the Repugnant, keep the pressure on, and the Revolution rolling.
  
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- LeftCoastTeacher says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 9:45 pm
  
  Oops! Sorry for misspelling your name, Dienne. I just noticed.
  
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- dianeravitch says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 11:05 pm
  
  Dienne
  
  Who says Trump can’t be elected? The Russians have more emails to dump.
  
  I wish it were true that if I ignored him, he would go away.
  
  I have never been good at magical fiction.
  
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- Dienne says:
  
  August 4, 2016 at 7:31 am
  
  So, Diane, is obsessing about Trump making him go away? Or is it just keeping you up at night?
  
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  - dianeravitch says:
    
    August 4, 2016 at 10:12 am
    
    Nothing I do makes Trump go away. But it is normal to worry that a sociopath might become president. I can’t imagine shrugging off the possibility
    
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- Dienne says:
  
  August 4, 2016 at 7:36 am
  
  Abigail – I don’t have much of a game plan if Hillary is elected. I don’t see anyway of influencing her. She’s going to do her neoliberal thing no matter what we do. And threatening not to re-elect her is going to be a non-starter because the Republican candidate four years from now is going to be as bad or worse than Trump.
  
  My only game plan is not to play the game. LeftCoastTeacher has about the best solution – Hillary has to earn my vote up front. And, yes, even if she earns it, I’m fully aware that she can (and likely will) renege. Failing Hillary earning my vote, I guess the game plan is that things have to fall apart before they can be rebuilt. Not much of a plan, I realize. But then, I had a much better plan by the name of Bernie Sanders. We know what the DNC did to him.
  
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retired teacher says:

August 3, 2016 at 7:10 pm

Trump sounds like someone that has adult ADD from the way he bolts from topic to topic and trail off in his comments. He also shows he has an elevated opinion of himself, and a superficial understanding of what is at stake. We have good reason to be concerned. He knows more about pop culture than government. I agree it is scary so many people believe he has something to offer.

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- Joel Herman says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 7:41 pm
  
  Through all this my son had to post the Democracy Now, interview with Hedges vs Reich .
  
  So I like them both, but Chris if Climate change had to be addressed yesterday. How do we advance that ,by giving up the court for a generation . How do we address any issue important to working class Americans by setting them back at least a decade. Till damage can be reversed . Damage both will do . Just one worse than the other.
  
  Time to barf .
  
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- Joe says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 8:20 pm
  
  I saw the debate between the sour, seemingly dyspeptic, scowling gargoyle, Chris Hedges and the more optimistic Robert Reich. I’m with Reich on this one. Barfathon, indeed.
  
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- dianeravitch says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 11:03 pm
  
  Retired teacher,
  
  He is unable to stay on topic for more than a few minutes, then he wanders off. Can you imagine him sitting through briefings on complex topics?
  
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- Joel Herman says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 11:16 pm
  
  Diane
  No I can not . Probably the good and the bad news is he would not even be there. But lets hope we do not have to deal with that.
  
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- Dienne says:
  
  August 4, 2016 at 9:09 am
  
  “…the sour, seemingly dyspeptic, scowling gargoyle, Chris Hedges….”
  
  Not that you’d put personality ahead of substance or anything….
  
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Joe says:

August 3, 2016 at 8:29 pm

I caught the video of Trump in which he talks about a veteran giving him his purple heart award. Trump told the crowd at his rally that he has “always wanted to get the Purple Heart.” Oh my God, the man is clueless. He always wanted a purple heart?!?!?!?!!!!!!! Who in the name of sanity wants a purple heart, especially someone who’s never been in the military. I am going to go out on a limb and say that Trump has probably lost most mainstream ordinary Republicans even with Hillary’s negative ratings and unpopularity.

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- dianeravitch says:
  
  August 3, 2016 at 10:49 pm
  
  Joe,
  
  I too thought that Trump’s comments about getting the Purple Heart the easy way were disgusting, especially from a guy who had five draft deferments during the Vietnam war.
  
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  - ciedie aech says:
    
    August 4, 2016 at 1:02 pm
    
    Yes. Trump’s approach to how one might “earn” a purple star felt symbolic for how Trump thinks that one might “earn” money and power. Certainly not through any honest effort.
    
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wgersen says:

August 4, 2016 at 7:57 am

Diane, look at the chart in Thomas Egan’s article in today’s NYTimes showing the authoritarian tendencies of the American public. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/04/opinion/campaign-stops/the-eternal-return-of-unenlightened-despotism.html?ribbon-ad-idx=2&rref=opinion&module=Ribbon&version=origin&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&pgtype=article
I think it reveals a lot about why the “reform” movement has traction and how our current “safety measures” in schools reinforce authoritarianism:

Why Is ANYONE Surprised that US Voters Seek an Authoritarian Leader?

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Dienne says:

August 4, 2016 at 9:20 am

Sorry, I know I’m already pushing my limit, but what he said: https://gadflyonthewallblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/04/if-trump-drops-out-will-there-be-any-reason-to-vote-for-clinton/comment-page-1/#comment-4754

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- dianeravitch says:
  
  August 4, 2016 at 10:05 am
  
  Dienne,
  
  Expecting Trump to drop out is wishful thinking. But if he did, you could vote for Ted Cruz
  
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- Dienne says:
  
  August 4, 2016 at 10:12 am
  
  If you read my comment on Steven’s blog, I said as much – that Trump won’t drop out until the deal is sealed. And not that I think Cruz would be the Republican’s choice to replace Trump if he did drop out, but do you see what you did there? It’s not about Trump, it’s just about scary Republicans. So no matter who the Republican nominee is, we’ll always have to vote for Hillary or whatever Dem is on offer, right? No matter how neoliberal/corporatist the Dems get, we’ll always have to vote for them because the Republicans will always be scary, no? I don’t see much of a game plan in that. I’m tired of being scared and, again, my game plan is not to play that game.
  
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Akademos says:

August 4, 2016 at 11:38 pm

https://www.google.com/amp/www.nbcnews.com/politics/first-read/amp/nbc-wsj-poll-clinton-jumps-nine-point-lead-over-trump-n623131?client=safari

Hillary leads by 9 points.

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