Trump’s worldview is that everything is a transactional zero-sum game, so he doesn’t understand deals that are advantageous for both parts. To him, you either win in a deal, or you lose. There is no such thing as a win-win deal. And he doesn’t understand NATO, collective deals, collective defense, or mutual benefits. Don’t take my word for it, but listen to his former advisor, Jon Bolton:
Segment with Bolton starts at 2:51. Some interesting parts:
7:08 “Trump is totally transactional. […] It’s important to understand though that Trump has no philosophy. […] Everything is a potential deal to him.”
8:18 “I think Donald Trump simply doesn’t understand what NATO is, whether it’s a collective defence alliance or a bilateral alliance like we have with Japan or South Korea. His basic view is just simple minded. He believes we’re defending Europe. We don’t get anything out of it. And the Europeans don’t pay. Very little of that happens to be true. […] And we do get a lot out of it.”
11:41 “He sees the world in personal terms. He thinks if he has good relations with Vladimir Putin, the US has good relations with Russia. That’s total nonsense. But if he thinks he has bad relations with [German chancellor] Friedrich Merz, then he’ll think he has bad relations with Germany.”
And I think this last characterisation at 11:41 is very important. He is unable to differentiate between a person representing a country and the politics of the country itself, and projects personalities into political reality.
Maga is willing to tank the economy over ‘woke’ things? They are upset over blue androgynous hair? or androgynous clothing styles? I thought even Republicans were upset over the stock market tumbling. Or are they somehow blaming someone else other than ‘trompo’. Trompo means ‘deception’ or fraud.
MAGA aren’t clear thinkers so I don’t pretend to know for sure. They seem to have faith that it will work out. The best way to understand them IMO is that they are in favor of leadership that they feel share their resentments, hatreds, prejudices, sense of entitlement and bogeymen. If the leadership share their beliefs, it’s just a bonus, but not a requirement.
When it comes to the fundamentalists / Christian nationalists, Trump is rationalized as a “modern King Cyrus” – the pagan leader that God supposedly used to return the Jews to Israel after the Babylonian diaspora. In addition, their God is a tyrant so they are comfortable with tyrants running the joint. They think everything wrong with the US is its lack of submission to God, the toleration of LGBTQ persons, making people lazy and irresponsible by insulating them from personal responsibility for bad decisions with public aid (plus the belief that bad outcomes are always from the person’s bad choices / “sins”). They literally think that if people just became faithful, church-going Christians (per their particular definition), all their problems would evaporate. They are for the most part in denial that their own adherents have as many, if not more, personal problems than the next person.
There’s a lot of bleed-thru / overlap between MAGA and Christian fundamentalism. I think some on the left way underestimate the influence (and the agenda) of Christian fundamentalists in all this. An excellent book on the topic is Wild Faith by Talia Lavin. It’s a good explainer for those not familiar with the movement and the depth of its long game.
And again, I read another Mordant post and think “BINGO”. This part in particular resonated with me when I read it:
Although not all of them share the geography, they share the mindset - impotently raging slave state trailer trash, that have been toddler stomping ever since they were told they couldn’t call African-Americans “niggers”. A rage they’ve since transplanted to not being able use “spick”, “dago”, “heeb” and “fag” without consequences.
They’re basically wannabee bedsheet wearers with gigantic pans of chips on their shoulders. Plus, a disturbing percentage are also Cameron Hooker/Dennis Rader wannabees with lurid sexual desires, centring on re-enacting Numbers 31:18, a passage for which they have a particular hard on, because they regard it as a licence to unleash all their inner nastiness.
Indeed, that’s why despite calling themselves “Christians”, what they really worship is a caricature magic man in the sky straight out of the most vicious parts of Leviticus and Deuteronomy, who they see as “validating” their wish to be unrestrained sadistic monsters, acting out their most psychotic fantasies free from judicial sanction.
At bottom, the MAGAl’Qaeda hordes (the male ones certainly) read Numbers 31:18 and jack off to the thought of having their magic man cut them loose as priapic war criminals, butchering brown and gay people, then turning underage girls into Josephine Otero style rape slaves. They are, not to put too fine a point on it, modern day savages.
Every last one of them is another Oskar Dirlewanger in waiting. Be under no illusions about this, being the perpetrators of an anachronistic American Inquisition is their wet fantasy, their fentanyl fever dream, and ultimately their goal. They won’t stop until they’ve turned the country into a veritable circus of death, and will probably try to export the same horrors to the wider world if they’re not dealt with ruthlessly. They, and the self-propelled pustule they’ve levered into the White House, are an existential threat to the human species and to the planet.
I read a very provocative thought piece yesterday about how the ‘bourbon South’ never really gave up illiberal thinking and ran local governments in authoritarian and corrupt and racist ways on a routine basis. How they have been nursing a seething resentment ever since Reconstruction and how this has now exploded on the national scene in the US.
It has been said that when south abandoned the Southern Democrats for the GOP, the South did not become Republican so much as that the Republicans became Southerners. Republicans came to LIKE the bile and violent fantasies of authoritarianism. And when Shitler came to power, they found he was their man.
Of course the deep or “bourbon” South is just another name for the Bible Belt. This would not have happened without the cover provided by Christian Fundamentalism.
At this point about a third of the populace of the US is Evangelical, and according to Pew Research over the past few years, they estimate 30% of the populace is either Christian Nationalist (10%) or sympathetic to it (20%). Given how these people are especially without critical thinking skills, such that they won’t think through consequences of actions, of COURSE they will vote for some vague notion of “change” because the price of eggs is too high or they are fed up with transgender people, and be fine with it if Democracy itself is a casualty of the resulting regime.
I heard a story about that. I thought WTF with the evangelical support of Trump, he wasn’t a good example of a Christian. But in fact they actually were not concerned about him being a good, or a bad example of anything, just that he is being used to achieve their goals.
The insidious thing is that there are branches of bible literalist which believe in a sense of ‘grace’, which applies only to them. Meaning yes, they list certain things are ‘sins’ but they won’t be accountable for them in this life or the next.
However, others will be accountable for their ‘sins’. For example atheists, Muslims, competing branches of Christianity, Hindus, Jews, basically anyone that isn’t of their particular branch of fundementalism. But even within their group, this sense of grace isn’t extended to lgbt, unless they ‘change’. Of course they are not required to change, as grace covers them.
Hasn’t trump thrown a fit saying “stop mentioning the price of eggs”. The signs are all here that the economy is NOT in good hands of the President. A president can only do so much to the economy. Most of what they can do is mostly bad, or so it seems from the example of “Trompo” (deception or fraud in esperanto)
A friend said that many republicans in congress are concerned they will loose their position the next election. But apparently that is a miscalculation as the majority of ‘republicans’ like the job Trump is doing, I guess there isn’t enough of them loosing jobs, or money yet…
My MAGA brother says Trump is “too brash” but it’s okay because the Christards get their SCOTUS judges, etc.
OWWW! THE STUPID!!! IT HURST US!!!
Sorry about that …
Anyway as for this business of grace. The teaching is that grace = “unmerited favor” – we deserve nothing but god in his magnanimous mercy loves us anyway. And yes they apply that selectively. They lavish grace on themselves and deny it to deviants from their party line. Their rationalization is that grace is freely available to anyone who wants it, by repenting (“changing their mind” about their sins) and trusting their god-boy to save them from their just punishment. So … “refusing” to repent is a self-inflicted problem for which they have no empathy whatsoever.
Once again, buying a copy of Airey Neave’s account of the Nuremberg Trials has proven to be one of my best library purchases (ISBN 0 340 18128 1 for those who want their own copy). Because much of the chapter devoted to Franz von Papen in that book, covers exactly what you’ve mentioned above.
The first part of the chapter in question is devoted to his hilarious career as a spymaster for Germany during World War I, and is worth reading for that alone, as there is much comedy gold to be mined therefrom. But, the second part of the chapter is devoted to the arrogance and complacency of people who thought they were, to use a phrase that became apposite in British politics not too long ago, “born to rule”.
We start with:
As an indication of the contempt that serious politicians had for him, we have this:
Immediately following on from the above, we have this revealing passage:
Von Papen’s memoirs, which were described by Sir John Wheeler-Bennett, who knew von Paper personally, as “remarkable more for their mendacity than their historical value”, contain various excuses, in part aimed at deflecting criticism of his own manifest deficiencies, which had been on display for decades. Some of these excuses are presented in Neave’s book, which I highly recommend as a frankly compelling history tutorial of the era in question. A clue to his complacent, self-satisfied and self-important personality is provided from the last paragraph of page 151 onwards, through to near the end of page 152. At the end of this chapter, we have the following observation:
While many here reading the above might be thinking that the above has compelling parallels with Trump, I would posit that a far more apposite comparison would be with the utterly odious creature that was Julius Streicher, another of the Nuremberg defendants. Streicher much more closely mirrors Trump’s lumpen core, and also shares with the Orange Pustule several revolting traits. I may expand upon this later.
I have a substantial list of such individuals, this one being a recent addition thereto.
This is the 2025 list alone …
Eric Gregory, a police officer from Ohio, has been arrested on charges of voyeurism. The charges state that he installed a hidden camera in his bathroom to record images of nude children. More on this can be read here and here.
Zachary Radcliff, a youth pastor (oh, quelle surprise), CPAC performer and supporter of the Orange Scrotum otherwise known as Donald Trump, has been indicted for sexually abusing children, and furthermore denied bond for trying to silence his victims during the inverstigation into his sleazy kiddie fiddling.One of several news articles covering this case is this one. Radcliff was formerly youth pastor at Oakwood Baptist church (again, quelle surprise) in Augusta Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, and the church, unusually, has issued an official statement on the case that can be read here.
Aaron Craig Gleason, who, it will not surprise anyone to learn, is a supporter of the Orange Scrotum, a violently anti-LGBTQ “writer” of various screeds for the likes of the Daily Wire and The Federalist, and who has repeatedly accused drag queens of “grooming” children for sexual abuse, has once again demonstrated that every reich wing accusation ends up becoming a confession. He has been arrested and charged with molesting a child under the age of 12. It also transpires that he was, wait for it, a schoolteacher at Rocky Bayou Christian School (it just had to be a Christian school, didn’t it?) in the ironically named Niceville in Florida (again, the location drips with irony, given recent news about the state), who taught Bible classes (ah, once again, quelle surprise). More on this case can be viewed here, and at the time of writing, that page includes a viewable PDF of the afidavit against Gleason.
Charles Goff, a youth pastor (oh, quelle surprise) at the Beltway Park megachurch (again, quelle surprise) in Texas (again, quelle surprise) has been arrested for child pornography offences. More on this news item here and here. From that latter link:
Mike Bickle, the founder of the International House of Prayer-Kansas City (IHOPKC),is accused of 17 counts of sexual offences, including rape, involving both adult women and minors, in a 68 page report conducted after an investigation, as revealed here. As revealed here, the religious organisation Bickle founded has been brought crashing to a halt by the scandal.
Daryn Blake Edwards, a police captain in Houston, Texas, and (quelle surprise) part of the circle of MAGAs around Trump, was originally charged with possiessing videos featureing child sexual abuse. The charges have now been upgraded, to aggravated sexual assault and sexual performance of a child (strange wording I know, but this is US law after all). Both of these charges constitute felony offences in US jurisdictions. According to this news item devoted to the case, the victim of his creepy attentions was a sixth grade school pupil (for those outside the USA, this refers to a child aged 11 or 12). This news item covers his lurid criminal behaviour in more detail, including the allegation that he had sex with this underage girl between 85 and 100 times. He also threatened to blackmail her with a collection of nude photos of her, that he demanded she send to him over Snapchat, and used hidden cameras to take salacious photgraphs of her.
Dale Burbank, a “houseparent” of a “Christian ranch for children”, has been arrested for the rape of a child. Again, it’s Quelle Surprise time.
The establishment in question, the “Mustard Seed Ranch”, a “faith based” establishment based in Cookeville, Tennessee (again, quelle surprise), was supposed to be a refuge for abused and neglected children, according to this news report.
Dwight Daniel Suttles, a Baptist pastor (quelle surprise) in Tennesse (quelle surprise), has been arrested on charges of raping five children under the age of 13.
Patrick Anderson, a Baptist pastor (quelle surprise) from South Dakota (quelle surprise) has been arrested for rape and sexual abuse. Remarkably, this individual was allowed to set up a programme to rescue women escaping sex trafficking. Bfrief account of this case here.
Benjamin Garlick, a “travelling pastor” (oh, another pastor? Quelle surprise) and his wife Shaantal, have been arrested on charges of raping children. Details of this case can be found here.
Both are scheduled to appear in Rutherford County Circuit Court for an arraignment hearing on the new charges on Monday, April 15.
Albert Carlson, a member of the Mormon Church in Texas, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for grooming and raping multiple children (note, his victims were BOYS). the case is covered in some detail here.
Kevin Christensen, who by way of an interesting change, is (or was) a sitting judge in the Box Elder County Court of Justice (Utah, I note), has been arrested for child sex offences, as covered here:
I suspect some percentage of people decide, when they are quite young, to go into the preacher business because they think it will help them not act on those impulses only to find out later that it actually provides them a fertile hunting ground.
The more duplicitous move into the preaching business precisely because it provides them with a fertile hunting ground. The gullible rubes fall for this every time, because they mistakenly think that anyone making the right noises about Jeebus must automatically be respectable and trustworthy. Consequently, they fall for this time and time again.
Meanwhile, quick change of topic now that this has just crossed my path - the irony of seeing Apartheid Muskrat pull a reverse race card over doing business in South Africa really does take some chutzpah, but the clown circus the USA has become has emboldened him to become even more outrageously pathological a liar. More on this courtesy of this Reuters news report.
Though this incident is also relevant to the manner in which the rubes fall for slimeballs and reprobates. The Muskrat hasn’t spent any of his time operating in religious circles, and instead has become exactly the sort of money hoarder that the NT is supposed to have warned believers about, yet they’re silent about this. In his case, he appeals nakedly to their bigotries, with his ranting about “woke” and “DEI” etc., though the part that really should be sending chills down everyone’s spine, is his assertion that empathy is a weakness to be eliminated. The last group of people to push this sort of rhetoric ended up being hanged at Nuremberg.
It’s conceivable that some target that profession precisely to provide such opportunities of course. It is well known that predators of that ilk, seek jobs and hobbies that might bring them into situations where they can have power over, and prey on children.
The only answer is strict regulations about how such roles are accessed, and men should never be in situations where they have complete power over children alone. In most jobs there strict guidelines to help protect children, I wonder if private churches enforce such standards? Tragedies like this are simply inevitable if they do not.
