cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17300245

Archived version

Donald Trumpā€™s angry threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on all U.S. imports from Mexicoā€”delivered Monday via the cautious diplomatic language of a Truth Social rantā€”is widely being depicted as a bluff. Trump declared that once in the White House, he will impose the tariffs unless Mexico stops migrants and fentanyl from ā€œpouringā€ into the United States. Seen as a feint, the tactic could theoretically get Mexico to halt the migrant flow, allowing Trump to pull back on tariffs later while boasting that on the border, he has already bent Mexico to his will.

But amid all this parsing of Trumpā€™s intentions, a crucial fact about his new move is getting lost: At the center of it is a lie. This lie is hiding in plain sight: Itā€™s the underlying suggestion that Mexico is not doing anything to stop migrants from coming and that Trumpā€™s threat of tariffs is needed to change that. Here weā€™re getting an early glimpse of how he will deceive voters about some of his most potentially destructive designs, on tariffs and immigration alike.

All this is laid bare by the sharp response to Trumpā€™s threat that new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum issued Tuesday. Her statement is getting attention for its barbed claim that American guns trafficked to Mexico are fueling crime and violence there among gangs supplying U.S. markets with drugs. ā€œTragically, it is in our country that lives are lost to the violence resulting from meeting the drug demand in yours,ā€ Sheinbaum noted acidly, suggesting that the two countriesā€™ interrelated national challenges underscore the need for cross-border cooperation rather than Trumpian confrontation.

Thatā€™s a harsh indictment of Trumpā€™s whole worldview.

  • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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    20 days ago

    All youā€™re doing is making excuses for people. If your life is shitty and you simply accept that and donā€™t look to what might be the cause of your life being shitty, in this case being that our conservative controlled government supporting oligarchs and corporate monoliths over working class Americans, then you are absolutely 100% fucking stupid if you donā€™t take the time to find out and understand what the fuck is wrong.

    I have no sympathy for the people who voted for Trump and are crying now because they didnā€™t take the time to find out who it was and they were voting for and what it is he actually stands for. Not just what he says he stands for. And make no mistake, a huge portion of the people who voted for Trump were not MAGA people, they were just regular Republicans voting the way they always have.

    P.S. I also have no sympathy for people who didnā€™t bother to vote at all and are complaining because Trump is going to be president and make their lives harder. Seriously fuck you if you didnā€™t bother to get out and vote.

    • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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      20 days ago

      Thatā€™s a lot of text to say you are completely missing the fucking point and to vent to people here that honestly donā€™t give a shit about your opinion of others.

      All youā€™re doing is making excuses for people.

      Itā€™s not an excuse, itā€™s a real world explanation for why this happens. For someone struggling to survive every day, politics is a much lower priority than keeping food on the table and a roof over their head every day. Youā€™re immediately going to the same place as the Republicans, dehumanizing a group of individuals because youā€™re either incapable or unwilling to of consider their perspective. Lots of ā€œtheyā€™re taking our jobsā€ energy from you in that post.

      The only way I can think that you canā€™t even consider this position is because youā€™ve lived your entire live in a position of privilege in comparison. Youā€™ve never had to worry about losing your home, or not having enough food to feed your family even with a full time job, or even multiple jobs. Your lack of willingness to even consider this point of view and instead immediately demonize a large section of the country shows a lot about your character, whether youā€™re willing to admit it or not. That is not the way to fix our problems. We need to recognize the root causes of WHY people donā€™t vote, or directly vote against their interests, and work to fix those.

      There ARE people that voted for Trump specifically because heā€™s a shitty human being, just like they areā€¦ statistically there HAS to be. But thatā€™s not going to be the majority. The majority are instead going to be the ones that donā€™t have the time to research, donā€™t have the education to critically evaluate situations, and the ones that take the various media propaganda and sane-washing of candidates as fact because itā€™s coming from a ā€œnewsā€ outlet. The majority of those people are a lot more nuanced than you are willing to admit, because thatā€™s harder to deal with instead of your simple explanation. Simple explanations about a group are what the Republicans do to create their coalition of single issue voters and their black and white view of the world.

      • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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        19 days ago

        The majority are instead going to be the ones that donā€™t have the time to research, donā€™t have the education to critically evaluate situations, and the ones that take the various media propaganda and sane-washing of candidates as fact because itā€™s coming from a ā€œnewsā€ outlet.

        Yeah, these are exactly the people I have a problem with. They are all trash and I hope they feel absolutely fucked with voterā€™s remorse in the next few years as Trump takes away all the systems and governmental services they take for granted.

        The majority of those people are a lot more nuanced than you are willing to admit, because thatā€™s harder to deal with instead of your simple explanation.

        They really arenā€™t. They are just lazy and very very stupid.

        So yeah it is all one giant excuse. Youā€™re trying to excuse their stupidity and lack of engagement by giving them some kind of noble self-involvement which is just fucking stupid in and of itself. So please, step off your bloody soap box and ditch the rose colored glasses and have a look at the real world where the majority of the electorate is completely devoid of intelligence at all and should probably be barred from voting because they are incapable of critical thought and the ability to understand the basics of how government works.

        • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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          19 days ago

          I see. Youā€™re just a spiteful person and still unwilling to consider a different perspective than your own. Exactly like the die hard Trump supporters. The ones that actively picked Trump because of his policies hurting people. You should reflect on that fact youā€™ve made so plain in these comments.

          • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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            18 days ago

            Oh no! You said the magic thing. Iā€™m just like the racist homophobic selfish assholes who actively campaigned for a narcissistic megalomaniac who will do or say anything to gain power. I feel so regretful for passing judgment on the millions of morons who were duped into believing his lies because they are too stupid to spend half a nanosecond to read and comprehend how full of shit he is. It turns out Iā€™m the bad guy. ā€œsadface emojiā€