Getting The Dynasty We Deserve
November 12, 2019 5:20 AM Subscribe
The Heir: Ivanka was always Trump’s favorite. But Don Jr. is emerging as his natural successor. – The Atlantic, McKay Coppins, October 2019 issue. “...Some of the scion’s schemes pay off. Others prove disastrous. But his signal achievement is forging the Donald Trump persona itself—that high-flying playboy, that self-made man, that larger-than-life titan the tabloids can’t resist. It’s a creation of both father [Fred] and son [Donald], and it will do more for the family business than any casino or skyscraper. Today a photo of Fred sits in the Oval Office, looking out on an empire much vaster and more powerful than even he could have imagined. And while the president writes his chapter in history, the next generation waits in the wings, jockeying for position, feuding over status, knowing only one of them can be the heir.”
also in other frankenstein's monster news:
Donald Trump Jr walks out of Triggered book launch after heckling – from supporters
posted by lalochezia at 5:26 AM on November 12, 2019 [19 favorites]
Donald Trump Jr walks out of Triggered book launch after heckling – from supporters
posted by lalochezia at 5:26 AM on November 12, 2019 [19 favorites]
Ivanka was always Trump’s favorite. But Don Jr. is emerging as his natural successor.
As if the misogynist-in-chief would ever hand over the reins (reigns?) to a woman.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:45 AM on November 12, 2019 [9 favorites]
As if the misogynist-in-chief would ever hand over the reins (reigns?) to a woman.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:45 AM on November 12, 2019 [9 favorites]
Yeah, I think Ivanka's "favorite" status was never based on the criterion of "who would do the best job of building the Trump business and brand.
I think that was more about...other criteria.
posted by Naberius at 5:51 AM on November 12, 2019 [15 favorites]
I think that was more about...other criteria.
posted by Naberius at 5:51 AM on November 12, 2019 [15 favorites]
Whenever I think that Donald Senior is as dumb as someone can get, I remember Junior.
Always reminded me of Buford T. Justice, Jr. from Smokey and the Bandit.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:54 AM on November 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
Always reminded me of Buford T. Justice, Jr. from Smokey and the Bandit.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 5:54 AM on November 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
Every time I see Donald Jr. with that beard, I think of Emmett Kelly.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:05 AM on November 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:05 AM on November 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
They should all be in jail.
posted by Gadarene at 6:11 AM on November 12, 2019 [31 favorites]
posted by Gadarene at 6:11 AM on November 12, 2019 [31 favorites]
From the link on the botched book launch:
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:12 AM on November 12, 2019 [4 favorites]
When the shouting would not subside, Trump Jr tried – and failed – to argue that taking questions from the floor risked creating soundbites that leftwing social media posters would abuse and distort. Nobody was buying that.I urge the Little Donald (and indeed, Eric and Ivanka) to carry this policy over to other venues and events. If they never spoke in public again, I think we can all agree that their press would get better.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:12 AM on November 12, 2019 [4 favorites]
Pondering further on it, I think the only way Ivanka lands in-charge is in a caretaker position until Baron can take over.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:13 AM on November 12, 2019
posted by Thorzdad at 6:13 AM on November 12, 2019
Donald Trump Jr’s disastrous book launch may seem funny – but there’s a very dark side to the booing (Arwa Mahdawi, Guardian OpEd)
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:19 AM on November 12, 2019 [33 favorites]
Ultimately, however, there is nothing funny about the fact that the Trump administration has emboldened so many bigots that Maga-hat-wearing supporters are now coming after Jr for not being extreme enough. There has been a 30% increase in the number of US hate groups over the past four years, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center – a trend the civil rights organisation blames on Trump’s radicalising influence. Dangerous fringe groups have crept out of the shadows and are shouting at the top of their lungs.Emphasis mine.
Trump Jr’s book tour is also a reminder of the right’s limitless hypocrisy. One of the big themes of Triggered is, to quote Trump Jr: “A victimhood complex has taken root in the American left”. But let’s recap the situation shall we? Trump Jr (who describes himself as “hyper-rational” and “stoic”) has just published a book complaining that he is being silenced by the left. He is touring the US talking about how he is being silenced. He has been invited on primetime TV to talk about being silenced. And he is complaining about being silenced to his 4 million followers on Twitter. Maybe I am missing something, but that doesn’t exactly sound like being silenced to me.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:19 AM on November 12, 2019 [33 favorites]
Trump has a "natural successor" in the same way that flu viruses mutate.
posted by Flexagon at 6:34 AM on November 12, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by Flexagon at 6:34 AM on November 12, 2019 [6 favorites]
Maybe someone has been watching too much Succession? The cult of Trump begins and ends with Donald. When he is gone, the rest of the family will fade, if not from the cultural stage, at least from the center of political power.
posted by gwint at 7:03 AM on November 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by gwint at 7:03 AM on November 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
In my dream scenario, the right-wing Pinochet fanboys who keep going on about "helicopters" will finally make good on their threats--but against the Trump family for not being extreme enough. Then President Warren can go after right-wing gangs and hate groups and the Republican Party won't really be able to mount an objection.
posted by sugar and confetti at 7:08 AM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by sugar and confetti at 7:08 AM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Yeah, watching him flail around on stage for the book event is both funny in a "fuck this world" sense, but you do realize that the extreme narcissism is so central to DJT appeal that his sons cannot possibly hope to grasp that shit-stained golden ring. If they had even a tiny bit of their papa's gross hubris, he would've totally disowned them long ago because I don't think two narcissists can peacefully coexist.
His Chicago hotel had profits plunge something like 91%. The "brand" is garbage. The Trumps might seem king of grifters right now, but it's not going to end up well for them except as right-wing hucksters once this whole stupid mess is sort of past us. Cold comfort, eh? But still, it is a bit comforting.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 7:09 AM on November 12, 2019 [7 favorites]
His Chicago hotel had profits plunge something like 91%. The "brand" is garbage. The Trumps might seem king of grifters right now, but it's not going to end up well for them except as right-wing hucksters once this whole stupid mess is sort of past us. Cold comfort, eh? But still, it is a bit comforting.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 7:09 AM on November 12, 2019 [7 favorites]
The Trumps might seem king of grifters right now, but it's not going to end up well for them except as right-wing hucksters once this whole stupid mess is sort of past us.
You can do Very Well as the family of an ex-president right-wing huckster. The opportunities internationally are immense.
posted by lalochezia at 7:16 AM on November 12, 2019 [6 favorites]
You can do Very Well as the family of an ex-president right-wing huckster. The opportunities internationally are immense.
posted by lalochezia at 7:16 AM on November 12, 2019 [6 favorites]
And I hear Ashgabat is lovely this time of year.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:17 AM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:17 AM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Thread by "escapee from right-wing media " Matthew Sheffield worth reading: The booing of Charlie Kirk, Don Jr, and Kimberly Guilfoyle by alt-right activists was the culmination of a month-long campaign that received no press attention.
posted by gwint at 7:19 AM on November 12, 2019 [11 favorites]
posted by gwint at 7:19 AM on November 12, 2019 [11 favorites]
Maybe someone has been watching too much Succession?
From 9/2019 Ivanka Trump's new hair style: Is the bob a nod to her growing ambitions? (Ashley D. Stevens, Salon)
From 9/2019 Ivanka Trump's new hair style: Is the bob a nod to her growing ambitions? (Ashley D. Stevens, Salon)
In January — just as season 2 of the HBO series “Succession” was beginning to be filmed — actress Sarah Snook told E! News about a brief sent regarding the development of her character, Siobhan "Shiv" Roy: “Think: Ivanka Trump.”But there's more:
The timing of the new cut — summer is over, and the 2020 campaign season begins in earnest — suggests Ivanka might be trying out more than just a new look. In any other administration, this would be ridiculous conjecture, but she works for Donald Trump. And while the president reportedly likes the women who work for him to "dress like women," he's also very invested in an aesthetics-obsessed "central casting" approach to hiring, in which certain roles need to be filled with people who look the Hollywood-idealized version of the part. Could a business-like lob be a signal from Ivanka that she's ready and willing to take on a larger role in the new family business?posted by ZeusHumms at 7:20 AM on November 12, 2019 [7 favorites]
In 2017, Salon’s Erin Keane dissected the “Ivanka Drive-By,” a term coined by CNN to describe her habit of interrupting official meetings just to visit Dad, which echoed her childhood habit (or perhaps directive) to call her father while he was in meetings with industry titans and say “cute things.”
Keane concluded that piece by saying that the “White House is a place for adults.” It’s a sentiment that was echoed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who tweeted following the G20 Summit that being someone’s daughter isn’t actually a career qualification. In the context of our current administration, it bears being said that neither is a grown-up haircut.
They should all be in jail.
If Cyrus Vance, Jr., the district attorney of New York, had been doing his job Donald Trump would have been in jail long before he ran for president. Then most of us wouldn't even know who his kids were.
posted by Bee'sWing at 7:29 AM on November 12, 2019 [46 favorites]
If Cyrus Vance, Jr., the district attorney of New York, had been doing his job Donald Trump would have been in jail long before he ran for president. Then most of us wouldn't even know who his kids were.
posted by Bee'sWing at 7:29 AM on November 12, 2019 [46 favorites]
It would all be fascinating if the real-world consequences weren't so obscene.
Ivanka was always Trump’s favorite. But Don Jr. is emerging as his natural successor.
Don Jr. is indeed the natural successor, and Don Sr. is such a narcissist that he can't allow his namesake to be a loser, even if his girl is much better at this. When the old man goes, I can see Don Jr. being the real heir, both by design and by natural constituency.
But then Ivanka is going to be pissed. And she has the skills. Her brother does not. There is going to be an interfraternal war, and it is going to be delicious.
And in the little Shakespearean drama in my head, Tiffany comes skipping in like Henry Tudor from France and wins it all. Whatever there's left to win.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:30 AM on November 12, 2019 [11 favorites]
Ivanka was always Trump’s favorite. But Don Jr. is emerging as his natural successor.
Don Jr. is indeed the natural successor, and Don Sr. is such a narcissist that he can't allow his namesake to be a loser, even if his girl is much better at this. When the old man goes, I can see Don Jr. being the real heir, both by design and by natural constituency.
But then Ivanka is going to be pissed. And she has the skills. Her brother does not. There is going to be an interfraternal war, and it is going to be delicious.
And in the little Shakespearean drama in my head, Tiffany comes skipping in like Henry Tudor from France and wins it all. Whatever there's left to win.
posted by Capt. Renault at 7:30 AM on November 12, 2019 [11 favorites]
Your periodic reminder that Donald wants to fuck his daughter Ivanka, and has since she was about 13 years old.
posted by Nelson at 7:43 AM on November 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 7:43 AM on November 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
When Trump goes, the battle over his estate is going to be epic. I'm sure that the law suits between Melania and one or all of the Trump kids from his other wives will go on for years.
posted by octothorpe at 7:46 AM on November 12, 2019
posted by octothorpe at 7:46 AM on November 12, 2019
Here's to hoping Trump v. Trump becomes the new Jarndyce and Jarndyce.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:48 AM on November 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:48 AM on November 12, 2019 [8 favorites]
What if one of them becomes the vice presidential nominee for 2020?
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:29 AM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by ZeusHumms at 8:29 AM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
The religious right loves Pence, I can't see that happening. On the other hand, maybe that was behind him moving his residency to Florida.
posted by octothorpe at 8:33 AM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 8:33 AM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
So now we're tacitly conceding that the Trump family is going to be the next all-powerful political dynasty? It really is beyond me how and why we've completely ceded the narrative of the American' Republic's future to this family of barely literate low-life grifters.
But then Ivanka is going to be pissed. And she has the skills. Her brother does not. There is going to be an interfraternal war, and it is going to be delicious.
Skills? The entire family's IQ is somewhere south of room temperature, and that's if you added them all up and multiplied the sum by three. I don't understand why everyone, even those left of center, seems to have bought into the story that this is a family of bright and savvy people, and that their continued viability in American politics is inevitable. Frankly, I'm a lot more discouraged by that than I am by anything I see from those right of center.
posted by holborne at 8:37 AM on November 12, 2019 [22 favorites]
But then Ivanka is going to be pissed. And she has the skills. Her brother does not. There is going to be an interfraternal war, and it is going to be delicious.
Skills? The entire family's IQ is somewhere south of room temperature, and that's if you added them all up and multiplied the sum by three. I don't understand why everyone, even those left of center, seems to have bought into the story that this is a family of bright and savvy people, and that their continued viability in American politics is inevitable. Frankly, I'm a lot more discouraged by that than I am by anything I see from those right of center.
posted by holborne at 8:37 AM on November 12, 2019 [22 favorites]
I really hope for a future where 'which offspring is the Official Trump Heir?' is largely a question relevant to the courts. I fully expect their new show, the Bachelor-inspired Beneficiary to air be a big hit in Trump country.
posted by feloniousmonk at 8:39 AM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by feloniousmonk at 8:39 AM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I think Ivanka's "favorite" status was never based on the criterion of "who would do the best job of building the Trump business and brand.
It occurs to me that of all five offspring, Ivanka is the only one who doesn't look like the Donald. She's a younger version of Ivana, which is what he's always wanted.
posted by Miss Cellania at 8:40 AM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
gwint: Thread by "escapee from right-wing media " Matthew Sheffield worth reading: The booing of Charlie Kirk, Don Jr, and Kimberly Guilfoyle by alt-right activists was the culmination of a month-long campaign that received no press attention.
Thread unrolled (takeaway): "Cry 'Havoc!,' and let slip the dogs ofwar the alt-right.”
posted by cenoxo at 9:30 AM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Thread unrolled (takeaway): "Cry 'Havoc!,' and let slip the dogs of
posted by cenoxo at 9:30 AM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
My guess is the estate is smaller than anyone guesses and Melania's settlement will gut it.
posted by Ber at 10:00 AM on November 12, 2019 [10 favorites]
posted by Ber at 10:00 AM on November 12, 2019 [10 favorites]
When another right-wing asshole, Richard Mellon Scaife died, his heirs found out that he'd blown most of their inheritance on propping up his media empire.
posted by octothorpe at 10:06 AM on November 12, 2019 [11 favorites]
posted by octothorpe at 10:06 AM on November 12, 2019 [11 favorites]
"...bought into the story that this is a family of bright and savvy people..."
To be clear: I don't think Ivanka is objectively bright, but she certainly knows how to play her father, and to some extent other people in her circles. Her skill is in knowing how to play that grifter game.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:35 AM on November 12, 2019
To be clear: I don't think Ivanka is objectively bright, but she certainly knows how to play her father, and to some extent other people in her circles. Her skill is in knowing how to play that grifter game.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:35 AM on November 12, 2019
The Easiest Post-Trump GOP to Imagine Might Be One Led by Donald Trump Jr., National Review, Michael Brendan Dougherty, November 11, 2019:
posted by cenoxo at 12:35 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
...Of course, the elephant in the room is how we get to the post-Donald Trump era ASAP.
In fact, maybe Don Jr. has always been the most effective public face of his father’s political movement. His speech to the 2016 Republican convention was perhaps the best received of the entire affair. He did strong work connecting the playboy real-estate mogul to working-class concerns through his own life story, saying that his father forced him to work under “Guys like Vinnie Stellio, who taught us how to drive heavy equipment, operate tractors and chainsaws, who worked his way through the ranks to become a trusted adviser of my father.” (For emphasis, he added: “It’s why we’re the only children of billionaires as comfortable in a D10 Caterpillar as we are in our own cars.”)
In short, Don Jr. is the most natural candidate to synthesize his father’s populism with more-traditional conservative politics. Of the Trump children, he was the most conservative in his politics before his father ran for the presidency. He’s an authentic “winger” who has an instinctive aversion to liberals. He’s a hunter and gun enthusiast, things his father is not. He’s also a dedicated Republican-party man in a way that his father is not. He flies around the country constantly to campaign and fundraise for Republican candidates and causes, at a pace that reminds history buffs of the way Richard Nixon put work into the 1966 midterms.
...
posted by cenoxo at 12:35 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
But his signal achievement is forging the Donald Trump persona itself—that high-flying playboy, that self-made man, that larger-than-life titan the tabloids can’t resist.
Physician, heal thyself.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:49 PM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Physician, heal thyself.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 12:49 PM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
that larger-than-life [check the hands] titan the tabloids can’t resist -- his relationships (friendships? frenemiships? mutual hostage situations?) with David Pecker and Rupert Murdoch undergird that tabloid coverage, not any possible permutation of irresistibility.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:59 PM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:59 PM on November 12, 2019 [2 favorites]
Thread by "escapee from right-wing media " Matthew Sheffield worth reading: The booing of Charlie Kirk, Don Jr, and Kimberly Guilfoyle by alt-right activists was the culmination of a month-long campaign that received no press attention.
Great link, a few trends I've noticed from it:
1. the resurgence of internet Traditional Catholicism as an online far right ideology. Previously only the province of 10k-word walls of text blogs of the Orthosphere, it is now a label embraced by modern social media right-wingers, despite 1) American Christian conservatism being dominated by non-Catholics (other than the First Things/NRO crowd of blogger intelligentsia), and 2) the current Pope not being particularly very reactionary. Will this fad fade out like the previous reactionary embrace of Eastern Orthodoxy? State tuned!
2. the continual #NotYourShield-ing of the internet far right with the rise of Nick Fuentes, who self-identifies as "Afro-Latino" on his Twitter profile. Other figures include Joey Gibson (African-American founder of Patriot Prayer), Enrique Tarrio (Cuban-American Chairman of the Proud Boys), and Andy Ngo (Vietnamese-American anti-antifa "journalist"), not to mention Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro of the slightly more conventional right-wing associated with Turning Point USA and Charlie Kirk.
3. as Sheffield notes, the far right getting into more and more purity tests over "true conservative" vs "sell-out establishment Republican" at a seemingly geometric rate, the end of any sort of moderate tradition in the GOP, and social conservatives finally realizing that fiscal conservatives don't care a damn about them beyond the votes.
4. as Sheffield notes, free speech absolutism backfiring on the right, weaponized by far right factions against the more conventional/establishment right
posted by Apocryphon at 1:27 PM on November 12, 2019 [3 favorites]
Great link, a few trends I've noticed from it:
1. the resurgence of internet Traditional Catholicism as an online far right ideology. Previously only the province of 10k-word walls of text blogs of the Orthosphere, it is now a label embraced by modern social media right-wingers, despite 1) American Christian conservatism being dominated by non-Catholics (other than the First Things/NRO crowd of blogger intelligentsia), and 2) the current Pope not being particularly very reactionary. Will this fad fade out like the previous reactionary embrace of Eastern Orthodoxy? State tuned!
2. the continual #NotYourShield-ing of the internet far right with the rise of Nick Fuentes, who self-identifies as "Afro-Latino" on his Twitter profile. Other figures include Joey Gibson (African-American founder of Patriot Prayer), Enrique Tarrio (Cuban-American Chairman of the Proud Boys), and Andy Ngo (Vietnamese-American anti-antifa "journalist"), not to mention Candace Owens and Ben Shapiro of the slightly more conventional right-wing associated with Turning Point USA and Charlie Kirk.
3. as Sheffield notes, the far right getting into more and more purity tests over "true conservative" vs "sell-out establishment Republican" at a seemingly geometric rate, the end of any sort of moderate tradition in the GOP, and social conservatives finally realizing that fiscal conservatives don't care a damn about them beyond the votes.
4. as Sheffield notes, free speech absolutism backfiring on the right, weaponized by far right factions against the more conventional/establishment right
posted by Apocryphon at 1:27 PM on November 12, 2019 [3 favorites]
there is nothing funny about the fact that the Trump administration has emboldened so many bigots that Maga-hat-wearing supporters are now coming after Jr for not being extreme enough
I disagree. I find it both hilarious and uplifting that the bigot party is splintering over how bigoted they're supposed to be.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:46 PM on November 12, 2019
I disagree. I find it both hilarious and uplifting that the bigot party is splintering over how bigoted they're supposed to be.
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 1:46 PM on November 12, 2019
Other figures include Joey Gibson (African-American founder of Patriot Prayer)
Gibson’s not African-American.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 2:00 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Gibson’s not African-American.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 2:00 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
My mistake. Seems like he self-identifies as Japanese American. (“The Paradox of Patriot Prayer” covers the groups attempts to seem moderate and diverse)
posted by Apocryphon at 2:49 PM on November 12, 2019
posted by Apocryphon at 2:49 PM on November 12, 2019
Yeah, I think Ivanka's "favorite" status was never based on the criterion of "who would do the best job of building the Trump business and brand.
I think that was more about...other criteria.
Well for a time people were talking about Jared Kushner being the annointed one. Donald Sr. may not want to hand over power to a daughter, but it's never particularly seemed that he respects or likes his sons.
But of course at this point Jared looks just as hapless and hopeless as Don or Eric.
posted by atoxyl at 3:01 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
I think that was more about...other criteria.
Well for a time people were talking about Jared Kushner being the annointed one. Donald Sr. may not want to hand over power to a daughter, but it's never particularly seemed that he respects or likes his sons.
But of course at this point Jared looks just as hapless and hopeless as Don or Eric.
posted by atoxyl at 3:01 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Nick Fuentes, who self-identifies as "Afro-Latino" on his Twitter profile
Nick Fuentes might in fact technically be Latino (c.f. the surname) but this identification is definitely also his idea of a joke he's pretty out about the white nationalist stuff as I recall.
posted by atoxyl at 3:07 PM on November 12, 2019
Nick Fuentes might in fact technically be Latino (c.f. the surname) but this identification is definitely also his idea of a joke he's pretty out about the white nationalist stuff as I recall.
posted by atoxyl at 3:07 PM on November 12, 2019
Or I guess he claims to be 1-2 percent African by DNA test?
posted by atoxyl at 3:09 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by atoxyl at 3:09 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
But of course at this point Jared looks just as hapless and hopeless as Don or Eric.
No, no no. Nikki Haley has proclaimed that "Jared is such a hidden genius that no one understands."
Don't know whether this says more about Nikki's intelligence or Jared's. I guess both.
posted by JackFlash at 4:06 PM on November 12, 2019
No, no no. Nikki Haley has proclaimed that "Jared is such a hidden genius that no one understands."
Don't know whether this says more about Nikki's intelligence or Jared's. I guess both.
posted by JackFlash at 4:06 PM on November 12, 2019
Although it's generally critical of Don Jr's book,The Guardian's Triggered review: Donald Jr, the Trump kid with real political chops (Lloyd Green, November 11, 2019) offers some less than critical points:
posted by cenoxo at 10:30 PM on November 12, 2019
The son’s book is one-eyed, loose with the facts and a crude attack on the left. In short, it’s like his dad – and it might work.Perhaps Triggered is a trial balloon for Jr, floated over The Donald's base and the GOP?
...
Barack Obama and Don Jr get it right when they ding the left’s social justice warriors for their paroxysms of wokeness. But the president’s son has little to say about the sentinels of the right, starting with his father.
...
Still, Triggered’s critique of the left’s use of shaming as a cudgel should not be ignored. The fact is, members of the Democratic establishment continue to worship at the twin altars of identity politics and political correctness.
...
Ultimately, Triggered is best viewed as the opening salvo of the Trump child with real political chops. Ivanka may be the object of her father’s unsatisfied desire; it is Don Jr who truly connects with the party’s base. His convention speech warranted the attention it received.
...
Don Jr offers a less impulsive and younger version of the incumbent. He’s a bona fide hunter and outdoorsman. For him, guns aren’t a prop. In a rifle-centric party, that counts for plenty. Unlike Jared Kushner, there’s a there there and he’s a lot more fun than Mike Pence.
...
The GOP has been recast in the president’s image. Bottom line, come 2024 Don Jr could well be on the ticket, and Triggered is a better campaign biography than most.
posted by cenoxo at 10:30 PM on November 12, 2019
I doubt Trump thinks he can die so I am doubtful he thinks of succession much at all myself. He likes having the good looking one around and getting adulation from the others. But not so much as he would if they were better looking.
posted by lesbiassparrow at 10:37 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by lesbiassparrow at 10:37 PM on November 12, 2019 [1 favorite]
Still, Triggered’s critique of the left’s use of shaming as a cudgel should not be ignored. The fact is, members of the Democratic establishment continue to worship at the twin altars of identity politics and political correctness.
I can't take this seriously.
posted by armacy at 6:48 AM on November 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
I can't take this seriously.
posted by armacy at 6:48 AM on November 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Trump Boldly And Insanely Claims Ivanka Created 14 Million Jobs, Vanity Fair, Bess Levin, November 12, 2019.
posted by cenoxo at 6:57 AM on November 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
Two of the most dominant features of the failed human experiment that is Donald Trump are his pathological inability to ever tell the truth and his creepy obsession with his daughter Ivanka Trump. Those two attributes collided on Tuesday, when the president claimed that Ivanka has personally created 14 million jobs during her time in Washington, despite the fact that total U.S. employment has only grown by roughly 6 million in the last three years.The family that hyperbolizes together stays together.
...
posted by cenoxo at 6:57 AM on November 13, 2019 [3 favorites]
The part that worries me is that the right really loves political dynasties, and the Trumps have been feeding them the quasi-aristocracy they long for. I think at least one of the Trump tots is going to have a successful political career and will likely run for President after daddy Trump dies.
Ivanka would be the ideal Republican choice, she's conventionally attractive, willing to parrot conservative talking points, and they can do the stupid "see you feminists voted against a woman proving you hate women" routine they so dearly love.
OTOH, yeah, it definitely looks like Don Jr is trying to set himself up as the natural heir.
Maybe it'll end like the cats of Kilkenny? We can but hope.
posted by sotonohito at 8:54 AM on November 13, 2019
Ivanka would be the ideal Republican choice, she's conventionally attractive, willing to parrot conservative talking points, and they can do the stupid "see you feminists voted against a woman proving you hate women" routine they so dearly love.
OTOH, yeah, it definitely looks like Don Jr is trying to set himself up as the natural heir.
Maybe it'll end like the cats of Kilkenny? We can but hope.
posted by sotonohito at 8:54 AM on November 13, 2019
They scream and complain so much about shaming as a tactic because it works. If it didn't they wouldn't care.
That means we need to keep up and intensify the shaming campaign. Never let a Republican go to a restaurant without calling them out and shaming them. Escrache works.
posted by sotonohito at 8:56 AM on November 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
That means we need to keep up and intensify the shaming campaign. Never let a Republican go to a restaurant without calling them out and shaming them. Escrache works.
posted by sotonohito at 8:56 AM on November 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
Ivanka has personally created 14 million jobs
No-one's saying these are American jobs. Trumps think bigly.
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:14 AM on November 13, 2019
No-one's saying these are American jobs. Trumps think bigly.
posted by Iris Gambol at 9:14 AM on November 13, 2019
To be fair, Americans in general love political dynasties. Or maybe everyone does.
posted by Apocryphon at 3:02 PM on November 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Apocryphon at 3:02 PM on November 13, 2019 [1 favorite]
All this talk is assuming the lot of them aren't in jail for being participants in the Trump Crime Family.
posted by Mitheral at 9:55 PM on November 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 9:55 PM on November 13, 2019 [2 favorites]
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posted by lalochezia at 5:25 AM on November 12, 2019 [26 favorites]