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 Originally Posted by boost
But you can't have it both ways. Or at least I'd argue that Trump trying to have it both ways is detrimental to our society.
What I mean is Trump likes to appeal to the cynic when he bullshits-- "it's how politics is played, I'm just better at it!" -- but the game is not played that way, the stability of the game relies on the bullshitters making their bullshit believable enough that they have plausible deniability. Citing made up shit in a discussion with a foreign head of state, ok, sure... but then openly bragging about it... That's ruinous to the game.
I don't deny that Trump personally can gain from this, but it's at all of our expense.
I may have a different view of what's being bullshitted. I'm getting at things like pacing and leading, thinking past the sale, etc.. The Amazon/tax thing may be an example of thinking past the sale. Let's say Trump's goal is to get people to talk about Amazon getting special tax treatment. I don't know if that is his goal, but let's go with it for now. If that is Trump's goal, how does he get people to talk about it? By thinking past the sale. How does he do that? The way that seems to work best in an arena of hostile media is telling a small lie that gets a reaction that assumes the sale. So, when Trump says Amazon is paying zero in sales tax, naysayers say "aha blumpf, it's these other taxes Amazon isn't paying, not sales tax." Little do they realize that they just confirmed the premise he wanted from the get-go.
I don't think the kind of lies Trump tells are the dangerous kind. They are the "honey you don't look fat in that dress" kind of lies. They're the kinds of lies that people tell (in attempts) to help others, like what a counselor might tell a client, or a parent might tell a child, or a friend might tell another friend.
If your Sweden is getting molested by its retarded migrant related policies, maybe telling a little lie about it that gets people to unwittingly confirm that Sweden is getting molested by its retarded migrant related policies is actually the right thing. It was fun when Trump did that. His simple lie got the entire world to affirm the truth they were trying to hide, at least for a brief period of time.
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