Lol Trump

[woolfe9998]

Trump has spent a year and half running off at the mouth about trade, like he's some expert. It was a signature campaign issue for him. Yet after all this time, he still can't find any countries with which we have a trade surplus? Trump is the POTUS with access to all kinds of information, yet any citizen could have found such information with 1 minute of time and a google prompt at the ready. And we're arguing over whether one of 15 countries listed really is a separate country, as if that matters.

Just ignore the ridiculous deflection.

 

[Chiropteran]

Just ignore the ridiculous deflection.

Yet you fail to realize the entire thread is a pointless deflection.

Nothing of importance is being discussed here.

 

[woolfe9998]

I take a general offense to both the thread title and the content of the OP. The thread title is not a headline or in any way indicative of the content of the article being linked, only a reaction. Then the content, is just the article basically and his opinion of the article without any real argument or further articulation.

How can one have a discussion based on the thread topic and OP? What is being asked? How would you like me to respond? You got the hack knee-jerks to respond, good for you, but I think most of us need a little bit more to get our discussion juices flowing.

Look, another deflection. It isn't about Trump's honesty. First it's about whether one country of 15 is really a country. Now it's really about whether the OP in a discussion thread offered enough commentary of his own, even though his point was simple enough and quite easy to digest.

Come on guys, next lets hear about how the issue is really about whether Kim Kardassian got another ass implant this year. Because it just has to be about anything but Trump's honesty.

 

[woolfe9998]

Yet you fail to realize the entire thread is a pointless deflection.

Nothing of importance is being discussed here.

Sorry, but the honesty of the POTUS is no deflection. It is, rather, a matter of grave public interest.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Sorry, but the honesty of the POTUS is no deflection. It is, rather, a matter of grave public interest.

Herein lies the rub.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literal_and_figurative_language

 

[Chiropteran]

Sorry, but the honesty of the POTUS is no deflection. It is, rather, a matter of grave public interest.

"We don't have any good deals." - opinion

"I'm trying to find a country where we actually have a surplus of trade as opposed to ... Everything's a deficit." - He didn't say we don't have a trade surplus anywhere, he says he is trying to find one.

"But I actually said to my people, 'Find a country where we actually do well.' So far we haven't found that country. It's just losses with everybody. And we're going to turn that around." - Probably still true. This article has a list of figures with no context. When we are 500B in the hole from China, it's hard to see how a mere 1-2B surplus with another country means we are "doing well", you might just argue that that is close enough to call it even. Netherlands is the only outlier.

None of those statements are dishonest.

 

[fskimospy]

"We don't have any good deals." - opinion

"I'm trying to find a country where we actually have a surplus of trade as opposed to ... Everything's a deficit." - He didn't say we don't have a trade surplus anywhere, he says he is trying to find one.

"But I actually said to my people, 'Find a country where we actually do well.' So far we haven't found that country. It's just losses with everybody. And we're going to turn that around." - Probably still true. This article has a list of figures with no context. When we are 500B in the hole from China, it's hard to see how a mere 1-2B surplus with another country means we are "doing well", you might just argue that that is close enough to call it even. Netherlands is the only outlier.

None of those statements are dishonest.

If he wasn't lying about trying to find one that's even worse. That means he is so incompetent that with all the resources of the federal government at his disposal he can't find out information that you can get in 10 seconds with Google.

 

[woolfe9998]

Herein lies the rub.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literal_and_figurative_language

Yeah, yeah. I could give him a pass on that theory, but his statement leaves a false impression. And the kicker is, it's a pattern with him. Every time he discusses a problem that he poses himself as a solution to, he embellishes and exaggerates the problem. He wants to restrict immigration? Why not throw out references to terrorist attacks that didn't happen, or say the press is intentionally not covering them so that people think there are more of them than there actually are. Same thing with inflating crime statistics in general, or as they pertain to illegals in particular. With Trump, the sky is always falling, and he's the one who's going to save us from it. Sorry, given his consistent track record, there is just no reason to let any of this slide.

I'm not a big fan of Ayn Rand, but I think it's apt here to mention that her theory was that government is more often than not a solution in search of a problem, and specifically that government invents/creates problems then offers itself as the answer. This is generally posed as an argument against "big government" liberalism, but I'll be damned if Trump doesn't exemplify it more than anyone in history.

 

[Chiropteran]

If he wasn't lying about trying to find one that's even worse. That means he is so incompetent that with all the resources of the federal government at his disposal he can't find out information that you can get in 10 seconds with Google.

You are not reading.

Find a country where we actually do well

The list of countries in the OP is not proof we actually do well. Out of context, all it shows in most cases is a 1-2B surplus. If we are 350 in the hole to China, do you think 1-2 billion is enough to say we are honestly "doing well"? Fuck no. That is barely breaking even. Best case, such as netherlands, we are some 25 billion up. That still might not be "doing well" when you are looking at all the information, as Trump is. I mean that doesn't even cover the interest on the debt, so it's not really a lot in the scheme of things.

 

[momeNt]

Look, another deflection. It isn't about Trump's honesty. First it's about whether one country of 15 is really a country. Now it's really about whether the OP in a discussion thread offered enough commentary of his own, even though his point was simple enough and quite easy to digest.

Come on guys, next lets hear about how the issue is really about whether Kim Kardassian got another ass implant this year. Because it just has to be about anything but Trump's honesty.

It is not a deflection. I do not know what the OP wants me to say about this. He did not open with a question, or a statement that invites feedback, it was a single sentence with a link to an article.

If everything Trump said on this forum was posted in a similar fashion.

Lol Trump

Trump is dumb (hyperlink)

How lame would this place be? He is a valued member of this forum and often contributes to its value, this thread did not. It may or may not even pass submission guidelines. That is all I am getting at. It isn't a deflection, its a request to provide value.

 

[umbrella39]

The Chiropteran account fires up, other TrumpTard accounts go dormant... YAWN. WTFDYTYAK

 

[woolfe9998]

"We don't have any good deals." - opinion

"I'm trying to find a country where we actually have a surplus of trade as opposed to ... Everything's a deficit." - He didn't say we don't have a trade surplus anywhere, he says he is trying to find one.

"But I actually said to my people, 'Find a country where we actually do well.' So far we haven't found that country. It's just losses with everybody. And we're going to turn that around." - Probably still true. This article has a list of figures with no context. When we are 500B in the hole from China, it's hard to see how a mere 1-2B surplus with another country means we are "doing well", you might just argue that that is close enough to call it even. Netherlands is the only outlier.

None of those statements are dishonest.

The issue here is not the other comments. No one has even raised those. It's a straw man. Only his comment about not being able to find a country with which we have a surplus is at issue here. And what he said is nonsense. Like I said, he's been opining on trade for a year and half now, making it his signature economic issue during the campaign. Yet after all this time and with how easy it is to discover this information, he still can't "find" any? Bullshit.

 

[woolfe9998]

It is not a deflection. I do not know what the OP wants me to say about this. He did not open with a question, or a statement that invites feedback, it was a single sentence with a link to an article.

If everything Trump said on this forum was posted in a similar fashion.

Lol Trump

Trump is dumb (hyperlink)

How lame would this place be? He is a valued member of this forum and often contributes to its value, this thread did not. It may or may not even pass submission guidelines. That is all I am getting at. It isn't a deflection, its a request to provide value.

Funny, no one else had trouble seeing his point. It was pretty damn obvious to me. Donald Trump is lying again. I see value in pointing out when the POTUS is lying. YMMV

 

[Chiropteran]

Only his comment about not being able to find a country with which we have a surplus as at issue here.

Trump never said those words.

The closest thing was "In fact, I'm trying to find a country where we actually have a surplus of trade as opposed to ... Everything's a deficit."

Which is obviously taken out of context, and certainly isn't a lie. Anyone seen the actual conference in entirety or a full transcript?

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

It is not a deflection. I do not know what the OP wants me to say about this. He did not open with a question, or a statement that invites feedback, it was a single sentence with a link to an article.

If everything Trump said on this forum was posted in a similar fashion.

Lol Trump

Trump is dumb (hyperlink)

How lame would this place be? He is a valued member of this forum and often contributes to its value, this thread did not. It may or may not even pass submission guidelines. That is all I am getting at. It isn't a deflection, its a request to provide value.

You seem concerned.

 

[fskimospy]

Trump has spent a year and half running off at the mouth about trade, like he's some expert. It was a signature campaign issue for him. Yet after all this time, he still can't find any countries with which we have a trade surplus? Trump is the POTUS with access to all kinds of information, yet any citizen could have found such information with 1 minute of time and a google prompt at the ready. And we're arguing over whether one of 15 countries listed really is a separate country, as if that matters.

Just ignore the ridiculous deflection.

While I think in this case he's lying or simply doesn't care if what he's saying is true or false, it's important to remember that Trump is basically entirely incompetent when it comes to trade and economics. He thought purposefully defaulting on US sovereign debt was a good idea, he is calling up his NSA at 3AM asking if we want a strong or weak dollar, etc, etc.

While I agree that Trump lies almost reflexively when it comes to things like this there's also a solid chance that he's just that stupid.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Yeah, yeah. I could give him a pass on that theory, but his statement leaves a false impression. And the kicker is, it's a pattern with him. Every time he discusses a problem that he poses himself as a solution to, he embellishes and exaggerates the problem. He wants to restrict immigration? Why not throw out references to terrorist attacks that didn't happen, or say the press is intentionally not covering them so that people think there are more of them than there actually are. Same thing with inflating crime statistics in general, or as they pertain to illegals in particular. With Trump, the sky is always falling, and he's the one who's going to save us from it. Sorry, given his consistent track record, there is just no reason to let any of this slide.

I'm not a big fan of Ayn Rand, but I think it's apt here to mention that her theory was that government is more often than not a solution in search of a problem, and specifically that government invents/creates problems then offers itself as the answer. This is generally posed as an argument against "big government" liberalism, but I'll be damned if Trump doesn't exemplify it more than anyone in history.

It's not a theory...the man talks figuratively all the time and the left just doesn't seem to get it....or, more likely, really don't care to get it.

 

[woolfe9998]

While I think in this case he's lying or simply doesn't care if what he's saying is true or false, it's important to remember that Trump is basically entirely incompetent when it comes to trade and economics. He thought purposefully defaulting on US sovereign debt was a good idea, he is calling up his NSA at 3AM asking if we want a strong or weak dollar, etc, etc.

While I agree that Trump lies almost reflexively when it comes to things like this there's also a solid chance that he's just that stupid.

He's certainly ignorant when it comes to...pretty much any area of policy. But as I said above, there's a pattern to his "errors." They always seem to somehow enlarge his point, never to detract from it. What's quite likely here is what we call "reckless disregard for the truth." Trump
can't "find" any countries that we have a surplus with because he doesn't want to find them. His statement was willfully ignorant.

 

[fskimospy]

It's not a theory...the man talks figuratively all the time and the left just doesn't seem to get it....or, more likely, really don't care to get it.

Is this a variation on the 'you should take Trump seriously but not literally' shtick? I thought we all realized that argument was stupid once the Muslim ban and his moves on immigration started happening. When he said he wanted to ban Muslims it wasn't figurative, he wanted to ban Muslims.

The idea that it is our responsibility to figure out when Trump means what he says and when he's just rambling figuratively about something is complete bullshit. His job as president is to communicate effectively with his constituents. If he can't do that then the failure lies with him, not us.

 

[woolfe9998]

It's not a theory...the man talks figuratively all the time and the left just doesn't seem to get it....or, more likely, really don't care to get it.

No, sorry. "Talking figuratively" doesn't work when it misleads people into thinking that problems are larger than they are. "We have the highest murder rate in 47 years" isn't a metaphor. It's a literal statement of fact, and it's a lie. He's not "talking figuratively." He's no poet. He's just saying things that aren't true. And he does it all the time.

 

[Chiropteran]

The idea that it is our responsibility to figure out when Trump means what he says and when he's just rambling figuratively about something is complete bullshit. His job as president is to communicate effectively with his constituents. If he can't do that then the failure lies with him, not us.

There is absolutely nothing confusing about Trump's direct communications.

It's the media middle-men who muddle the message.

Hmm let me try that again:

"Meddling media middle-men mindlessly muddle my magnificent messages!"

Someone convince Trump to tweet that.

 

[fskimospy]

He's certainly ignorant when it comes to...pretty much any area of policy. But as I said above, there's a pattern to his "errors." They always seem to somehow enlarge his point, never to detract from it. What's quite likely here is what we call "reckless disregard for the truth." Trump
can't "find" any countries that we have a surplus with because he doesn't want to find them. His statement was willfully ignorant.

Exactly. If he had cared to see if his point was true or not he could have found out in five minutes. It's kind of amazing that people are defending him by basically saying since he hasn't bothered to find out if what he's saying is false or not he shouldn't be held accountable for saying false things.

You are totally right that it is no accident that these falsehoods ALWAYS magically happen to occur in the direction of whatever point he's trying to make. At some point even the most zealous defender of this guy might want to wonder why his coin flips have ended up heads the last 500 times in a row.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Funny, no one else had trouble seeing his point. It was pretty damn obvious to me. Donald Trump is lying again. I see value in pointing out when the POTUS is lying. YMMV

The OP's point is clear...let's have another another anti-Trump circle jerk...derp.

 

[zinfamous]

It's not a theory...the man talks figuratively all the time and the left just doesn't seem to get it....or, more likely, really don't care to get it.

Is this a serious comment? Or were you laughing when you typed it?

 

[Brainonska511]

Find a country where we actually do well

Whoops.

he said. "I actually said to my people: Find a country where we actually do well. So far, we haven't found that country."

Data from his own federal agencies tell a much different story. This chart shows the top 15 countries with which we run a trade surplus in goods. At the head of the list are Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium and Australia.