There’s nothing new about Donald Trump attacking those seeking a better life in the United States. But “poisoning the blood of our country” is new.
  • LordOfTheChia@lemmy.world
    176·
    a year ago

    The specific quote:

    “Nobody has any idea where these people are coming from, and we know they come from prisons. We know they come from mental institutions and insane asylums. We know they’re terrorists. Nobody has ever seen anything like we’re witnessing right now. It is a very sad thing for our country. It’s poisoning the blood of our country.”

    From the article:

    Laura Barrón-López, White House correspondent for PBS, told viewers last night, “I checked with a historian, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, and she said that language that he’s using … echoes language used in Nazi propaganda by Adolf Hitler when Adolf Hitler actually said that Jewish people and migrants were ‘causing a blood poisoning’ of Germany.”

    Additional site reporting the same (in an interview):

    https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trump-amplifies-violent-rhetoric-against-his-perceived-enemies-as-civil-fraud-trial-begins

    • CarlsIII@kbin.social
      109·
      a year ago

      Nobody has any idea where these people are coming from…

      …and we know they come from…

      Ok, logically, at least one of these is guaranteed to be a lie.

      • Unaware7013@kbin.social
        49·
        a year ago

        If you think of a trump speech like a LLM talking, you realize that he frequently doesn’t know where a sentence will go when he opens his mouth because he’s just stringing words and concepts together in a freeform flashy propaganda wordsalad.

        • cyd@lemmy.world
          28·
          a year ago

          LLMs nowadays have more long range structure than a Trump speech. Trump is more like an attention-free Markov chain.

          • Schadrach@lemmy.sdf.org
            12·
            a year ago

            Markov chains occasionally produce something clever or unexpected though. For example King James Programming (a Markov chain generator fed with KJV, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, and some of Eric S. Raymond’s writings) sometimes wrote some amusing things. Later Why’s Poignant Guide was added as an additional source, and still later started mixing in posts from a second generator fed the works of Lovecraft and Isabelle/HOL documentation.

            Investigate the shell’s here documents and Python’s triple-quote construct to find out the Almighty unto perfection

            they smote the city with the edge of the sword. 22:20 And one of his main motivations was the high cost of proprietary software houses.

            I know not why I went thither unless to pray, or gibber out insane pleas and apologies to the calm white thing that lay within; but, whatever my reason, I attacked the half-frozen sod with a desperation partly mine and partly that of a bounded natural functor (BNF)—a well-behaved type constructor for which nested (co)recursion is supported.

            2:4 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more like a controlled use of shared memory.

            Using Lisp we restrict or limit not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us.

            It even produced more coherent political notions than Trump:

            But the right to bear arms—you don’t want to edit

            All of those quotes are in the first 3 pages, out of 94.

    • agent_flounderEnglish
      46·
      a year ago

      Maybe he did read Mein Kampf after all?

      Fucking fascist Nazi piece of shit.

    • osarusan@kbin.social
      83·
      a year ago

      And he almost crossed the line this time! Don’t worry, they’ve already moved the line 10 yard back to give him some extra space to push the envelope further.

      • PeepinGoodArgs@reddthat.comEnglish
        58·
        a year ago

        It isn’t. He’s started his campaign with fascist rhetoric. He’s just saying with the emotion of a deranged fool and not the balanced charisma he had before.

        Edit: Nvm. I watched the actual video. He’s still got that contemplative attitude. He was being interviewed, after all.

          • Optional@lemmy.world
            18·
            a year ago

            American carnage!

            What a perfect kickoff to a never-ending clownwreck of hypocritical idiot crooks.

        • clif@lemmy.world
          15·
          a year ago

          He had balanced charisma? When?

          I’ve been around about the same amount of time he has and I’ve never seen it.

          • Chunk@lemmy.world
            3·
            a year ago

            Did you know that Trump is extremely popular among Republicans? He throws these rallies and hypes up crowds of supporters. He’s also really big on social media and at one point had a super popular Twitter account.

            I’m surprised you’ve been around the entire time and haven’t seen any evidence of his charisma!

              • Chunk@lemmy.world
                2·
                a year ago

                But like, so? They vote. They are (IMO) degenerates for sure but he does have the ability to whip them up in a way that e.g. Ted Cruz cannot.

              • Chunk@lemmy.world
                1·
                a year ago

                What is balanced charisma? I’m unfamiliar with the term and balanced is such a broad word it’s hard to understand specifically what you mean. It almost seems like so many people hate Trump that any acknowledgement of his strengths are met with downvotes.

                • thesprongler@lemmy.world
                  1·
                  a year ago

                  I can’t explain what the other guy meant by balanced charisma. I was just commenting that, love or hate him, you simply cannot argue that he is balanced. The man is chaotic.

        • WaxedWookie@lemmy.world
          12·
          a year ago

          Because accusing the media of dishonesty is a perfectly defensible thing to do. The way Trump did it was indefensible, and reminiscent of lugenpresse, but this is a far more specific use of Nazi language and concept.

            • agent_flounderEnglish
              4·
              a year ago

              They’re just happy. I don’t see any Nazi armbands or flags, so therefore it isn’t really a Nazi dogwhistle.

              #/S

            • WaxedWookie@lemmy.world
              1·
              a year ago

              And while he’s cultivated these fans for obvious reasons, it’s harder to make that stick, because it’s them, not Trump.

              Again, fuck the Nazis, fuck Trump courting the Nazis with his Nazi rhetoric, and fuck the complacent press giving him a pass because Trump stories are a lay-up cash grab for them and the GOP benefits them - I’m being descriptive here not prescriptive.

              • Madison420@lemmy.world
                1·
                a year ago

                Just to be clear trump is a Nazi. He is known to have a beloved copy of mein Kampf he left on his bedside table. He is known to quote sections of mein kampf. He is known to quote sections of Hitler’s addresses to the reichstad. His father was arrested at a kkk meeting. His father was so horrible to minorities woody Guthrie wrote an absolute banger about what a piece of shit he is. His father is a credibly alleged member of the German American bundists (ww2 American Nazi supporters). His father and himself have both been charged with harassing minority tenants to get them to leave. Trump’s father outright refused to sell to minorities extremely vocally.

                He’s a Nazi, it’s been very clear for a very long time.

                • WaxedWookie@lemmy.world
                  1·
                  a year ago

                  This is a distinction without a difference, but while he’s perfectly comfortable courting Nazis with words and actions aligned with their views, I don’t think he’s ideologically a Nazi.

                  He’s clearly fascinated with Hitler, and has probably read parts of Mein Kampf, and has almost definitely read speeches like the Reichstag address, but I’m not sure I believe he’s read the whole thing (not that that would indicate much in isolation), and I think the idea that he’d have it as a permanent fixture on his bedside table is laughable.

                  I can’t find evidence of him quoting Mein Kampf (feel free to prove otherwise), but he certainly uses Nazi terms.

                  I’m not one for sins of the father - this is a super-weak point to raise. Fred was unquestionably a racist piece of shit though, and it’s very plausible (though unconfirmed) he was a Nazi.

                  I think Trump is a racist fascist that has an understandable fascination with historically effective populist fascist rhetoric, who relishes the positive attention he gets from Nazis, but I think he’s too self absorbed to be ideologically Nazi. This changes nothing though - his policy and rhetoric doesn’t change based on whether or not he’s an actual Nazi, or just functionally near-indistinguishable from one.

          • agent_flounderEnglish
            3·
            a year ago

            Ok, fair point. “Lying press” is a phrase harkening from the 19th C and questioning the integrity of the media in general is fine but for a president to do it as often as Trump did and for the obvious purpose of deflection and personal gain and whatever is, as you say, indefensible. Taken alone, “lying press” would be one thing but in context of everything else it’s hard to imagine he got the phrase from studying about its use prior to the 1930s.

            But I agree the blood thing is more unique to Nazi language and worldview. Trump continues to make it clearer and clearer what he is about.

            Hopefully anyone who cares to stop fascism isn’t waiting for him to start exterminating people en masse to be sure.

      • iegod@lemm.ee
        3·
        a year ago

        You’d have to be dense to think this is new for him. Quit being naive

    • pingveno@kbin.social
      20·
      a year ago

      Yes, he is pushing the envelope now. And in the past. And in the future. Asking Donald Trump to not be a trash fire is like asking gravity to suddenly reverse. It ain’t happening.

    • foggy@lemmy.world
      7·
      a year ago

      If he’s not careful, he’s gonna get in trouble maybe someday kinda eventually probably 🤞🤞🤞

    • Socsa@sh.itjust.works
      4·
      a year ago

      This is the one thing South Park has nailed recently.

      “Oh yeah, that was your line? Finger in the butt upsets you, but fucking immigrants to death is completely fine?”

  • halfempty@kbin.social
    96·
    a year ago

    "Adolf Hitler actually said that Jewish people and migrants were ‘causing a blood poisoning’ of Germany.”

  • jordanlund@lemmy.worldM
    79·
    a year ago

    Only a matter of time before he starts talking about a “Final Solution” to the immigrant problem…

  • DigitalTraveler42@lemm.ee
    59·
    a year ago

    Donald Trump, second generation German immigrant, who has lived within sight of Lady Liberty most of his life, what an embarrassment, not only to Americans, but specifically New Yorkers, one of the most mixed melting pots of a city in the entire world. What a racist idiot, especially when you consider the fact that south and central Americans were here before white people, so if anybody is diluting America’s blood line, it’s white motherfuckers like myself and Donald Trump.

      • DigitalTraveler42@lemm.ee
        3·
        a year ago

        That’s the whole GOP platform, with first generation immigrants like Ted Rafael Cruz, Vivek Ramaswam, Nikki Haley, and immigrants like George Santos, these people talk about immigrants like they’re subhuman meanwhile they’re actually talking about themselves, their parents, their grandparents.

        My paternal family came over from Ireland and had members who fought in every American war since WWII, I don’t see any of these people doing that, yet they’re drawn to power like moths to flame, typical chicken hawk behavior.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOP
      6·
      a year ago

      First generation Scottish immigrant. His mother was from Scotland. But that’s not quite the same… I’m not sure white I can’t put my finger on the reason…

      • DigitalTraveler42@lemm.ee
        3·
        a year ago

        His grandfather, the man who changed the last name to Trump, was a German immigrant, that’s whom I was referencing.

  • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
    32·
    a year ago

    I can’t really comprehend how evangelical Christians find this man to be at all acceptable. In fact, he’s treated as some sort of savior. Major disconnect.

    • isles@lemmy.worldEnglish
      34·
      a year ago

      Evangelical’s whole platform is divine authority to rule. It ties right in with colonialism, white supremacy, and fascism. “I’m right 'cause I say my god said so”. But I also believe that most Christian’s today would crucify Christ all over again as a communist.

      • GiddyGap@lemm.ee
        5·
        a year ago

        divine authority to rule

        Yet, they don’t seem to accept Biden even though scripture is pretty clear:

        Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

        Romans 13:1‭-‬2

        I saw lots of crosses among the rebels on Jan 6.

    • Socsa@sh.itjust.works
      14·
      a year ago

      It’s easy when you understand that their moral framework is actually completely hollow, and their independent moral intuition is completely atrophied to the point that they are unable to conduct even basic moral synthesis.

      Religion, as we know it, has always been a framework for social control and cooperation. The morality bits have always served this end, so it’s not really surprising that in our modern context they just dispense with any moral pretenses as soon as they are in obvious conflict with their power aspirations.

      • winterayars@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        a year ago

        Yep, the thing they like about religion is handing all the messy decisions over to a central authority. Just put your trust in the right authority and you don’t have to worry about anything! Which authority is the right one? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you!

    • nucleative@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      a year ago

      I think this is a group of people who identify with being told what to believe by strong personalities who take strong positions.

      Doesn’t matter what they are told, that’s not the point. It’s the freedom from being asked to think, which if you consider it for a while, is a heavy burden removed.

      • GlendatheGayWitch@lib.lgbtEnglish
        2·
        a year ago

        It also plays into the rhetoric that Christians are being persecuted, like the early church. It makes them feels more connected to their scriptures and further deepens that emotional connection to their religion. Church is a massive endorphin/serotonin trip. Feeling more connected to the early church makes them feel more like Paul is writing directly to them, which pushes more endorphins. The music style that’s become popular is pretty trance-like, which releases more endorphins and then when their high on the explosion of endorphins, the pastor comes in and weaponizes that feeling claiming that the gays or trans people or Muslims or the left or whoever they want to villanize are going to take that feeling away and persecute them just as the Romans did to the early church.

    • sanguine_artichoke@midwest.social
      9·
      a year ago

      I suppose because they don’t really believe or understand what they claim to be their philosophies. Look at all the BS that Christians have happily indulged in over the centuries such as slavery, other racist oppression, child and spousal abuse and colonialism. The culture also trains people to accept whatever authority figures have to say. I think that some Christians who actually do engage their faith in an intellectual sense (to whatever extent that is really possible) have rejected him for being obviously immoral. I mean, the guy not just indulges in but personifies each of the seven deadly sins… sloth, greed, lust, vanity, pride, gluttony, and wrath.

    • Smoogs@lemmy.world
      4·
      a year ago

      Because in their eyes he’s the ‘non political’ politician just “saying what’s on all our minds”

      They would vote in a potato salad if they thought it was racist enough.

  • WarmSoda@lemm.ee
    16·
    a year ago

    When a reporter asked how his five children were doing, the former president loudly exclaimed:

    “Nobody has any idea where these people are coming from, and we know they come from prisons. We know they come from mental institutions and insane asylums. We know they’re terrorists. Nobody has ever seen anything like we’re witnessing right now. It is a very sad thing for our country. It’s poisoning the blood of our country.”

    • agent_flounderEnglish
      8·
      a year ago

      I’m convinced he could use the original German, grow a toothbrush moustache, wear a red swastika armband and the answer would still be “no”.

    • Chunk@lemmy.world
      4·
      a year ago

      He would grow a Hitler stache but trim it just a bit too wide so he has plausible deniability 🤣