The previous post discussed the origins and goals of the Populist Party. Today, the media have forgotten what the true populists were. They spoke for the “little man,” the farmers and laborers who were being crushed by the wealthy and powerful. They allied with unions. Now that you know what a Populist was, back in the day when they existed and when people had some historical knowledge, this picture below shows what a Populist is not.
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Diane Ravitch's blog 
Puerto Ricans: ““They want everything done for them.”
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Trump has never been and never will be a populist.
Who is Donald Trump?
He is a psychopath or sociopath (your choice) – I pick the first one.
He is a malignant narcissist.
He is an elitist.
He is a serial liar.
He is a manipulator.
He is a bully.
He is a con-man.
He is a tax cheat.
He has repeatedly failed at business.
He is a fraud.
He is a misogynist.
He is a racist.
He is a traitor.
He is a criminal.
Donald Trump is for himself and no one else.
Did I miss anything that describes who Donald Trump is?
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You missed Maxine Waters description.
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I must agree with elitist, narcissist, manipulator, bully and a failure at business (though recovered to a greater station each time) in your description of the president. But, there are many successful businessmen who fit that description and many political figures as well. Why beat up the wealthy? Would we not like to be one of them at some level? They are the job creators. The poor get benefits that the middle class only dream of and largely provide. DT supports ALL Americans and he is being hindered from all angles. He is not a traitor, criminal or tax cheat I would hardly call him a fraud–he is up front in his beliefs. You can either like it or not but he has been correct more times than not after folks have called him a liar.
I am not sure about populist–words and meaning change over the years. Antifa says that they are anti fascist but they are fascists in behavior and date back to 1938 Germany Nazis. He is not liberal or conservative but believes in less government and the constitution. I believe he could run as an Independent and win.
I think Donald Trump is by far the best person at this time to lead this country. Problems in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Virgin Island and now Las Vegas and the transgender military on the domestic front and ISIS, Afghanistan, Iran, and N. Korea on the foreign affairs side with additional attacks coming from the Republican and Democrats in congress, DOJ investigations, as well as the media pundits and late night comedian know-it-alls … is mind boggling! A lesser person would have collapsed under the pressure.
He needs our support.
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Yes, he needs our support. He made a fool of himself in Puerto Rico. Throwing paper towels to the peons. And Rex Tillerson called him a “moron.”
Poor Donald.
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April,
Who pays you to write your comments supporting the women groping, liar in chief? If you say no one, then I can only conclude that you are a deplorable, brainwashed fool and must be blamed for that idiot living in the White House pretending to be a president.
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April says: “He is not a traitor, criminal or tax cheat I would hardly call him a fraud–he is up front in his beliefs. You can either like it or not but he has been correct more times than not after folks have called him a liar.”
Donald Trump is a fraud and a cheat as his Trump U. settlement proved. He is probably a tax cheat although no one knows since he won’t release his taxes. And his campaign — including his son, son-in-law, and high ranking campaign officials — dropped everything to meet with Russians offering to help them win the election. After which Trump fired the FBI Director after he refused to obey Trump’s “suggestion” that he drop the Russia investigation. So whether Trump is a traitor is still being investigated.
Finally, Trump IS a liar. That has been proven endlessly, starting with “I have in my possession absolute proof that President Obama was born in Kenya”. For six years. Not mention the hundreds of other lies he has told since beginning his campaign.
April, you seem to be a troll. It’s fine to support Trump. It isn’t fine to lie and make all kinds of claims that are outright lies and try to pass them off as the truth, which you just did.
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My therapist thinks 45 has dementia….and that it is getting worse.
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How can anyone who has a Tweet for a brain have dementia – how much memory and processing power does it take to write a brainless 144 character tweet?
I think a meandering cockroach could send a better Tweet than the Kremlin’s Agent Orange.
You have to have something to lose before dementia can take it away.
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This picture looks like Downton Abby goes tropical, only the tiaras are missing. The photo does not say “man of the people;” it says “man of the manor.” I wonder if the black faces behind them were deliberately placed to show that Trump is an equal opportunity employer.
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“Populist” is just the latest wimp-media euphemism for “Fascist”.
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The far right has a torrid history of taking popular terms/words used by the left and twisting those words out of context to fool and mislead people so the extremists on the right can achieve their own goals.
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That gets a ‘LIKE’
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I don’t consider Trump a populist in any way, shape, or form. (And I don’t give a rosy rat’s @ss what people in Europe consider populism to be. To me, populists aren’t right-wing neo- Nazis.)
Yes, pundits called Trump “anti-establishment” and hence, a populist. But he was and is no more “anti-establishment” than Ronald Reagan was.
Trump IS part of the establishment. He is a wealthy businessman, and he is for the interests of other wealthy businessmen. He has filled his Cabinet with wealthy businessmen and women. And if the blue collar, working class people who voted for him still think he’s on their side, well, I feel very sorry for them, because they were deluded into voting for him, and most of them still seem to be deluded.
I would consider Bernie Sanders a populist in a whole lot of ways, although even he is not perfect.
Robert M. La Follette Sr. Wisconsin, founder of the Progressive Party was what I would call a populist. I considered Paul Wellstone a populist. George McGovern, at least to a great extent, was a populist. Same with Russ Feingold. None of them were perfect, but G*d I would love to have people like La Follette, Wellstone, McGovern, and Feingold in the Senate today.
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I often wonder what terrible things he suffered when he was a child to make him, with all his wealth and the power that brings, so desperately needy, a man whose every action screams, “I am worth something. Let me tell you what I am worth.” This makes me feel very sad. I would like to think that it is never too late to get some help.
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It is never too late to get help. I had therapy for five years in my 50’s. The problem is that tRump would smash anyone who would dare to suggest that he needs any type of psychiatric help. It would be admitting a flaw and he knows that he has none.
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Even sadder, Carol!
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From what I’ve read from experts, there is no treatment for malignant narcissists. Trump is a lost cause. He will go to his grave unchanged or worse than he already is.
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I’ve also read that he will get worse based on the increasing stress of the job. It will make him more unstable. Rough days are ahead. Aides are having a great time convincing him of just how wonderful he is.
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I’ve read that when Trump travels to other countries, members of his staff arrive early to teach foreign leaders how to talk to Trump, how to praise Turmp, and how to salt their speeches with Trump’s name using terms like great, popular, great, sexy, great, smart, great, winner, great, best, great …
Popular might be a challenge for Trump because it has three syllables unless he thinks the second syllable “U” refers to him in a positive way.
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He is not a Populist
He is a Paperist — specifically a towel Paperist
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Or is it Papertowelist?
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Or since those paper towels were made by Koch Industries, how about just calling him a Koch head.
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What was the source for this photo? Sources are always appreciated.
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Vanity Fair. Google Trump and family and staff Mar-a-Lago.
I first saw it on Twitter, where there was speculation that Barron’s face was photo-shopped.
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We should reread the article Diane linked months ago:
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And apparently Trump employs lawyers who know how to buy off judges, because Trump’s kids typify the acorns that do not fall far from the tree: “How Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump, Jr., Avoided a Criminal Indictment”
https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-ivanka-trump-and-donald-trump-jr-avoided-a-criminal-indictment
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Sorry, my bad, it was a DA, not a judge –even more clever since that’s what prevented the indictment, etc. OTOH, maybe they could still be indicted. Does anyone know if there is a statute of limitations on fraudulent business practices in NY?
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I love comedians who bash Trump. They point out inconsistencies and problems that the media won’t tackle.
……………….
Did Rex Tillerson Call Trump A ‘Moron’ Or A ‘F***ing Moron’?
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Published on Oct 5, 2017
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson boldly refuted allegations that he called the President a ‘moron’ by refusing to explicitly refute that he called the President a ‘moron.’
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