this post was submitted on 03 Dec 2023
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[–] [email protected] 167 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

"That's why it was one of the great presidencies, they say. Even the opponents sometimes say he did very well, I have to say. 'Take it back,' they scream. his people say 'Take it back.' From that day on, our opponents, a lot of opponents, but we've been waging an all-out war on American democracy."

Doesn't sound like a gaffe to me. He has been waging a war on American democracy, literally tried a coup.

[–] [email protected] 87 points 7 months ago (3 children)

This. Why are people treating it like it's a joke? He's literally been spouting the bullet points from Project 2025 practically since it came out.

This wasn't a gaffe, it was the mask slipping.

"When somebody tells you who they are, believe them."

[–] arensb 31 points 7 months ago (1 children)

"When somebody tells you who they are, believe them."

No. Donald Trump told us he was a brilliant deal-maker, a stable genius, and a gifted billionaire.

A better idea is to do as Maya Angelou said: when somebody shows you what they are, over and over, believe them.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

We could just amend it to be, "When somebody tells you who they are, believe them until they demonstrate otherwise."

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

rule 2: when someone tells you who they are, believe them
rule 1: trust but verify

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[–] cultsuperstar 8 points 7 months ago

It's not even the mask slipping. This is saying what they want and their supporters going right along with it. They don't even bother lying or beating around the bush anymore.

[–] elbarto777 2 points 7 months ago (4 children)

What if they tell me they're awesome?

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[–] makyo 17 points 7 months ago

Yeah I've been waiting for the day he decides to own the term fascist the way he's taken other terms. I don't see a downside for him either really, the base would eat it up

[–] [email protected] 87 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Not even a gaffe, he's just saying the quiet part out loud.

[–] SinningStromgald 37 points 7 months ago (3 children)

I'm convinced he would prefer to take power via coup in lieu of winning the election.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 months ago (1 children)

There's absolutely no doubt that this is the case.

[–] meco03211 6 points 7 months ago (2 children)

At least this time is he loses, he won't be in command of the government to do any shady shit. No attempts to kidnap the fucking vice president to delay congress.

[–] superduperenigma 10 points 7 months ago

Yeah but if he wins the heritage foundation is already prepping to stuff the government full of right wing extremists. They've got full blown fascism on deck and all they need is 1 big election win or a handful of small election wins.

Hell, even if he loses we've got Mike Johnson as second in line to succeed the president. That's not a long list of targets for the MAGA mob.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

If he loses.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

He just wants to dodge the prison sentence any way he can.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Of course that's mean more people suffered in actions that gave him power. More people suffering/working for his goals is all that matters, as long as goals are achieved of course.

[–] [email protected] 50 points 7 months ago

do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?

[–] [email protected] 37 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (2 children)

The biggest joke about Trump headlines is that Americans are still talking about him as if he's still a viable politician.

Trump isn't the joke - the world isn't laughing at Trump.

The American political system is - the world is laughing at America as a whole.

[–] [email protected] 79 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Actually, no. We're not laughing. We're horrified. It would be funny if this wasn't the most powerful country on earth about to once again give command of the most powerful military on earth to a certified moron and clinical psychopath. If this was happening in Liechtenstein or Andorra, it would be funny.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 7 months ago (2 children)

The US also has a tendency of exporting its nonsense to the rest of the world. So it's not like we're safe out here watching the clown show.

See Myanmar justifying its 2021 coup d'état by "election fraud" (wonder where they got that idea) and Bolsonaro's fanbase doing a more violent copycat version of Jan 6 in Brasil as examples.

[–] Jiggle_Physics 24 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah it always weirds me out when I see Trump fans from other countries... Like, wtf? I understand the US politics affects the rest of the world, but fangirling to near cult like praise for one of our authoritarian clowns just hurts my head.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

i have a friend here in au who’s a barrister, and he said that one of the witnesses started going on about their 5th amendment rights… the judge rolled his eyes and just explained that we aren’t in the US, we don’t have the 5th amendment, and if he refuses to answer the question he will take it as an admission of guilt

it’s crazy how ingrained in just… global culture… the US is

[–] MamLaLiq 7 points 7 months ago (1 children)

In the Netherlands Geert Wilders, a.k.a Dutch Trump, won the election. There is no more shame to admit you want certain people gone because you feel you're better.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Even Geert Wilders has more political experience than Trump ever had.

They might share some delusional extreme right-wing views, but at least Geert knows that it would take a great feat to bring those into fruition.

His party also has no chance to find someone to have a coalition with.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 7 months ago (4 children)

Snopes' take on this is really weird. They seem to be bending over backwards to invent an alternative narrative for him for some reason.

Listening to the videos, it sounds pretty clear to me that Trump did in fact say "we've been waging an all-out a war on American democracy." Not in. _In _doesn't even make any sense in the context. You wage war _in _a place, like Ukraine or Palestine. You wage war _on _a concept, like terror or democracy.

That said, I can definitely give him a pass that he didn't mean what he said. I can believe that it was very much a gaffe, because he is such a goddamned moron who rambles on without thinking. It sounds to me like he wanted to express that he is fighting in a war that his opponents are waging on American democracy, and he just said it wrong because he's a fucking idiot. It seems obvious that's what he meant to say, and he just said it wrong.

Which is what makes this snopes article so weird... why call the claim false and then defend him in this way? Why not rate this as mixture? Oh well...

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

The only way to justify it IMO is if he meant "for".

[–] RGB3x3 7 points 7 months ago

What kinda sucks here is that to me, it does sound like "in America." So you're going to have people thinking it's one way or the other, people are going to argue over the semantics, and completely ignore the implications of another Trump presidency in favor of inane bickering.

[–] anarchy79 4 points 7 months ago

They have done that for over a decade, I don't understand why people ever took them seriously.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Did Trump acknowledge that this was a gaffe or is everyone assuming it was? Genuine question

[–] [email protected] 14 points 7 months ago

Narcissists aren't particularly interested in admitting even little mistakes, so I doubt it.

[–] FlyingSquid 23 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Not everyone who replied to the post had a negative opinion about Trump, with the verified account Jordan Vegan Patriot said: "What do you consider the definition of democracy to be? I'm curious, give me your definition, I'll wait right here."

[–] [email protected] 18 points 7 months ago (2 children)
[–] FlyingSquid 11 points 7 months ago

Yes, and one who thinks he's especially witty. Incidentally, I once got to have lunch with David Malki, who came up with the term. He was a super nice guy.

[–] Fapper_McFapper 5 points 7 months ago

Or, as I like to call it, Truth Social.

[–] PunnyName 17 points 7 months ago

The coup marches on.

[–] NewPerspective 17 points 7 months ago

How old is this article? Is this one of those articles that the onion releases every week like "No way to prevent this says only nation where this regularly happens"?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago

His true thoughts are starting to slip out in his old age.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago

You know what I think, Walt? I think you accidentally told the truth for once.

[–] CharlesDarwin 9 points 7 months ago

Gaffe? Or Freudian slip?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:


Former President Donald Trump became the subject of jokes and memes after his gaffe about waging all-out war on American democracy, which he later corrected, went viral.

"We want to put our country first; they haven't done that in a long time, but we did it for four years and that's why we did so well," Trump, who is the current favorite to claim the Republican nomination, told a supportive crowd in Cedar Rapids.

The segment of the speech containing the "all-out war" gaffe went viral on X, formerly Twitter, after being uploaded by Acyn, a researcher for the self-styled "pro-democracy" MeidasTouch Network.

Verified account VBrian Resists responded to Acyn's post with a cartoon of Trump placing dynamite at the base of a statue with the word "Democracy," and added the caption "No ****."

Not everyone who replied to the post had a negative opinion about Trump, with the verified account Jordan Vegan Patriot said: "What do you consider the definition of democracy to be?

An unedited version of the speech at Iowa shared by Right Side Broadcasting Network, a Trump-supporting channel, also showed the former president seeming to attempt to correct himself shortly after making the gaffe.


The original article contains 474 words, the summary contains 198 words. Saved 58%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago

Oh, this guy's political prospects are completely GONE now B)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

The Founding Fathers DEFINITELY meant to Protect School Shooters when creating America but DEFINITELY didn't want to base the Country off of ANY form of Democracy! They LITERALLY made this country to be a Catholic Country that Kills Children!

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