June 22, 2017

The NYT acknowledges that Trump's rally speeches are "mesmerizing"  — "even for his detractors."

Here's Maggie Haberman's report on Trump's performance at a rally in Iowa last night:
Style-heavy and substance-light, the speech went over an hour: an epic version of the fact-challenged, meandering and, even for his detractors, mesmerizing speeches he gave during his upstart presidential campaign....

Free from his handlers for roughly 70 minutes, Mr. Trump described his administration as he wished it to be: one in which he had made historic governing accomplishments and been stymied solely by the “resistance.”...

And the president frequently embellished details during his speech, or told outright falsehoods. He tried to catch himself at one point, saying, “I have to be a little careful, because they’ll say, ‘He lied!’”...

97 comments:

Rumpletweezer said...

I cannot recall any similar analyses of Obama's speeches.

Kevin said...

And the president frequently embellished details during his speech, or told outright falsehoods.

Anything about the rise of the oceans?

WisRich said...

Kevin said...
And the president frequently embellished details during his speech, or told outright falsehoods.

Anything about the rise of the oceans?

6/22/17, 8:59 AM


Or keeping your health plan?

tcrosse said...

And the president frequently embellished details during his speech

With a cloth ?

Curious George said...

"The NYT acknowledges that Trump's rally speeches are "mesmerizing" — "even for his detractors."

OK, to be fair, Inga isn't one of them. She isn't mesmerized. She's just a dullard.

The Godfather said...

How's it working out for him?

TosaGuy said...

The NYT article reads with a sense of exasperation similar to HRC's "I don't know how I am not winning by 50 points."

The NYT, WAPO and others have established that they will deliberately twist and manipulate and have thus destroyed their ability to be an honest communicator.

Trump is Trump and we knew that before he announced he would run. Articles such as this one trying to tell us that now that he is elected are whining, not analysis.

Fernandinande said...

What’s happened to The New York Times?

Neither honest nor mesmerizing.

CJinPA said...

I think she means "mesmerizing" the way a researcher crouching behind a bush is mesmerized by a groups of apes interacting socially. They might as well be a foreign species to her. George Will calls it the left's "Gorillas in the Mist" approach to covering non-progressives. They're fascinated by their subjects' crude attempts at human-like behavior.

Fen said...

The article is laced with so many biases, assumptions and falsehoods that it has zero informational value. Your time would be better spent reading fiction.

What are these hacks thinking? Maybe it's the 1st Amendment we need to revisit, not the 2nd. Because our media has devolved into a PAC for the Left.

President Trump should order an investigation of what campaign finance laws the "Democrat Operatives With Bylines" have broken.

rehajm said...

We can't believe we're losing to this guy.

DanTheMan said...

Some liars tell me somebody else is lying.

Sebastian said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Sebastian said...

If you are gonna take the anthropological Gorillas-in-the-Mist approach to the exotic non-prog tribe, you can at least be sophisticated about it and unpack what is so mesmerizing about Trumpian discourse. Jacques Derrida, perhaps even Levi-Strauss, would have had a blast. Then again, the intellectual equivalent of orientalism serves the left better in Othering non-progs, so the Haberman approach is about as far as they can go.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

There aren't many comics or clowns that can sustain an hour-long performance. Trump really is at the top of that game. And unlike a lot of politicians, he's always trying out new material, in Iowa the Solar Wall played well. He stole that joke from Scott Adams.

dreams said...

I think most Americans know dishonest when they see it, NY Times and we're feeling good about a very able and honorable, potentially great president. I believe Trump is going to Make America Great Again!

Bay Area Guy said...

I'm mesmerized by how humorless, stuffy and pedestrian the NY Times writers are.

Just report what Trump said in his speech, and then shut up.

Ambrose said...

"mesmerizing" - Nazi dog whistle.

Fen said...

The writer, Maggie Hagerman, is the one who "broke" the fake Russia story for the NYTs. The one Comey testified was "mostly wrong".

BUT IT GETS BETTER

From Podesta email leak: "We have had Maggie tee up stories for us in the past and have never been disappointed"


...why does this woman still have a job?

Once written, twice... said...

From the article--
"When he mentioned Hillary Clinton, the crowd lustily chanted, “Lock her up,” as if the election had not taken place."

Trump and his supporters constantly whine he is not being treated fair. They scream "witch hunt!"

What irony.

Bay Area Guy said...

On the other hand, I do like Trump's idea to put solar panels on the Wall he's building to keep out illegal Mexicans.

Heh - Going green for green cards......

Limited blogger said...

Are you a detractor or a deplorable?

Ron Winkleheimer said...

The left is buying into its own bullshit. Never buy into your own bullshit.

I read an article the other day, one sane lefty talking to another not so sane one. The sane one was trying to tell the not so sane one that calling people bigoted and stupid was a bad strategy for winning them over. "But," said the not so sane one, "they voted for a bigoted, racist, homophobic, islamaphobe who is conning them and is going to exploit and cheat them because they are ignorant rubes! Why should I not point out their stupidity and bigotry, after all, they are stupid bigots!"

Because, the sane one said, "they are not going to react well to that. Perhaps, instead, you should argue against Trump's policies."

"But, they are hateful bigots and stupid, there is no other possible reason for voting Republican! I must point that out to them so that they can see the error of their ways," stated the not so sane one.

My best guess is that the Democrat party is attracting a lot of highly functional autistic individuals.

Technocrats just don't make very good politicians and, for the moment at least, elections have consequences.

Also, since the people who run the Democrat party want to think well of themselves, and not think too hard about the fact that the policies they support are financially beneficial to them, while being deleterious to the middle and working class, they demonize the people who are not profiting from globalism so as to avoid bad feelz.

Also, they are on the right side of history. All the smart people say so.

Fen said...

Where is Inga? Maggie is the one who put you on a wild goose chase for the last 6 montbs. And Podesta was caught admiting that this "reporter" colluded with the Hillary campaign to print "news" fed to her by Podesta et al.

Any comment? Do you feel played? Does it make you angry? If not, why not?

AllenS said...

"generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on Earth" -- BH Obama

That there is some mesmerizing shit, man.

Marc in Eugene said...

I think Ambrose has it right-- she, MH, is wanting to remind us of that other mesmerising orator who was bad, very bad.

Peter said...

What happened to the New York Times?

And here is another cri de coeur about the state of that newspaper:

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/2016-election-demise-journalistic-standards/


(As for "mesmerizing," it can be used as a synonym for "hypnotizing." Thus, Trump supporters are zombies (with images of Nuremberg rallies?).

dreams said...

"When he mentioned Hillary Clinton, the crowd lustily chanted, “Lock her up,” as if the election had not taken place."

It would be poetic justice if Robert Mueller ultimately brings Hillary and the deep state intelligence agency criminal leakers to justice. Yeah, lock Hillary and the other crooked Dems up.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

What irony.

I don't think that word means what you think it means.

I will try to explain to you and the NYT. People didn't chant lock her up because they wanted her jailed for opposing Trump. They chanted lock her up because they think she broke the law and got away with it. They still think that. The election has nothing to do with it and that clause "as if the election

Ron Winkleheimer said...

..." literally makes no sense.

Hagar said...

Two hundred odd years ago, the Democrats (though called "Republicans" then) could not directly criticize Washington, so they said he was just a simple-minded old army general led astray by that devil Hamilton.

Fen said...

Why the hell does a "reporter" who

1) fed America the fake Russia scandal and

2) colluded with the Clinton campaign

still have a job?

MikeR said...

Heh. Good thing the author helped us to recognize all those falsehoods. It's her _job_. No such thing as straight news any more.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

@Fen

Because the NYT is owned by Carlos Slim. Never forget that the NYT is a propaganda organ for a billionaire who derives much of his wealth via illegal aliens in the US remitting money to Mexico.

Dave from Minnesota said...

I was a never Trumper until a week before the election. But I have to say.....I watched his speeches live on the nights he won primaries and saw the appeal. I just thought I was smarter and was thinking he was acting. He was a liberal NYC pro-choice pro-gay marriage Atheist Democrat, or so I thought.

I am happy how things are working out.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

He's so relaxed and personable in this element. I only watched a few minuteness after hearing the first few on the radio driving home. It was enough to hear his aside about them saying "Trump lies" and the context was amusing. It's clear these rallies enervate and uplift Trump, and his easy sense of humor was one of the finer points of distinction between he and The Pantsuit Candidate last year.

Unfiltered, I think it would be difficult to hate Trump. He seems so ordinary for a billionaire, so natural at working crowds, that he destroys the caricature MSM+Fox paint of him. He's obviously learned that the stream-of-consciousness style rap he delivers will be parsed, will be mined for "lies" the idiots at CNN and NYT and WaPo can feed their crybully babies. So he walks up to the edge and teases the MSM. Even the whistling protesters didn't fluster him. He took it in stride and worked in good words for the cops while the crowd shouted, "U! S! A!" Such a difference from the Fall, when we heard the hillbilly-hater's favorite candidate inspire her rallies to chant, "Hill-a-ry!" over and over.

Please tell me which is more a personality based cult, the crowd that cheers for our shared country or the crowd that chants the candidate's name?

dreams said...

Maybe Maggie Haberman should start worrying about going to jail for contempt of court for not revealing her source, maybe she should seek out Judith Miller about what it's like to spend time in jail with women trash, lesbo or otherwise.

Fen said...

Mike, there's a good article on President Trump's branding genius that dovetails into your comment. I'll try to find it.

It's about how President Trump came up with his Make America Great Again slogan, contrasted against Hillary's H->

TrespassersW said...

"Style-heavy and substance-light..."

As have other commenters, I note with amusement how aptly that phrase fits the previous occupant of the Oval Office. My eldest daughter (then in high school) commented about Candidate Obama's speaking style that "He talks a lot, but he doesn't say anything."

Oddly enough, the Lickspittle Media was remarkably reluctant to delve into Candidate Obama's lack of substance.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

@Mike

Trump's roots are working class. Trump haters will protest that his dad was a millionaire, but he made it building houses. His dad started a business before he was 18 and made a success of it. Trump then worked in that business, learning the building trade and making the acquaintance of trades people. Trump "gets" the people who live outside the liberal bubble.

There are stories about Hillary being rude to her Secret Service detail (which is stupid, they are supposed to take a bullet for you) and generally being an ass to the "little" people. There is even one that claims people were told not to talk to or look at Hillary when she was the first lady. I have no way of knowing if that is true, but notice that you don't hear stories like that about Trump.

Nope, the stories about Trump are that he likes to stop and talk to people. That he takes a personal interest in people's stories, asking (and remembering) their names and eliciting their story and showing real interest in it.

So, who is the better politician?

Fen said...

"Maybe Maggie Haberman should go to jail for contempt - "

Investigate whether she violated campaign finance laws while working for John Podesta during the election.

The IRS should also look into checks she received from the Clinton Foundation.

Dave from Minnesota said...

He took it in stride and worked in good words for the cops while the crowd shouted, "U! S! A!" Such a difference from the Fall, when we heard the hillbilly-hater's favorite candidate inspire her rallies to chant, "Hill-a-ry!" over and over.

Please tell me which is more a personality based cult, the crowd that cheers for our shared country or the crowd that chants the candidate's name?


There's a school of thought about how the 2 sides treat their political leaders. That the left worships the person, while the right can at times, but mostly worships the ideas that the person talks about.
For example, I have an old liberal friend who I am Facebook friends with. She ran into Sen Amy Klobuchar a while back. Had her picture taken with the senator, and went on and on about how great Klobuchar is and how she almost hyperventaled when meeting her. Put the photo up for her profile.

I think of my political heros more as partners. If I met Scott Walker, I won't fawn over him like he was in a boy band, but just show my appreciation for his work. That's it I guess. I admire their work, not idolize the person.

William said...

Obama can deliver the iambic pentameter lines with flawless diction, but there is something about his delivery that causes the eyes to glaze over after a few minutes of listening. Trump is nowhere near as polished, but his grit has more traction. You pay more attention to his earthiness than to Obama's lofty intonations of beautiful aspirations that point the way to our shared future as evolved beings at play in the halls of his library.

Fen said...

Yes. One of my character tests is too watch how people treat the janitor when they think no one else is in the room.

Or I'll play stupid and helpless just to see what they will try to pull. Will they try to take advantage of me or will they be a good samaritan?

I know these are common tactics, I didn't come up with them, but they work.

And my most damning judgement of Hillary comes from accounts of how she treated the "help". Horrid person. It's the reason I am comfortable referring to Hillary Clinton as a cunt.

hombre said...

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/2016-election-demise-journalistic-standards/

tim in vermont said...

Trump is Ricky Gervais, and these reporters and other liberals are Karl Pilkington. They just don't know it.

tim in vermont said...

I am comfortable referring to Hillary Clinton as a cunt.

You are guilty of lèse-majesté which is why so many state worshipping liberals here are offended, It's a worse crime than unconstitutionally avoiding Congressional oversight by keeping a private server, don't you know, which is no crime at all!

walter said...

Blogger Fen said...Why the hell does a "reporter" who
1) fed America the fake Russia scandal and
2) colluded with the Clinton campaign
still have a job?
--
I agree completely. But being caught is a resume enhancer in her field.

tim in vermont said...

I don't think that word means what you think it means

Pretty much no word means what Once thinks it means.

Once written, twice... said...

Trump tweeted this morning "I certainly hope the Democrats do not force Nancy P out. That would be very bad for the Republican Party - and please let Cryin' Chuck stay!"

How presidential. But both he and Ivanka whine about how mean Democrats are.

tim in vermont said...

and please let Cryin' Chuck stay!

So he reads this blog?

walter said...

Yes Once..gloves are off..get used to it.

Fen said...

He commented today. He and I agree about Citizens United.

But don't head for the fallout shelter just yet ;)

bgates said...

How presidential.

"We're down there pushing, pushing, pushing on the car. Every once in a while we'd look up and see the Republicans standing there. They're just standing there fanning themselves -- sipping on a Slurpee."

both he and Ivanka whine about how mean Democrats are.

Jeez, you cut a guy's head off in effigy, stab him on stage every night for a few weeks, and attempt to murder several members of his party, and he starts whining. The nerve.

tim in vermont said...

I wonder if Democrats get it that it wasn't just the baseball shootings that drove Republican turnout in GA06, but the gleeful pleasure liberals in and out of the media took from it. No. They enjoy their "gleeful pleasure" too much.

Oh yeah, Once, you clutch those pearls so often you might need to get them sonically cleaned.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...



Blogger Once written, twice... said...
Trump tweeted this morning "I certainly hope the Democrats do not force Nancy P out. That would be very bad for the Republican Party - and please let Cryin' Chuck stay

That's hilarious! Thank you for sharing that, Once Written.

I'm liking Trump more and more...

Fen said...

"How Presidential"

You, a law professor!

But ya got us. We don't recognize "prezidental". We're too busy being bitter, clinging to our guns and God. Why, it's almost Deplorable.

Achilles said...

How presidential. But both he and Ivanka whine about how mean Democrats are."

I miss being called a stupid hillbilly.

Drago said...

Once written: "Trump tweeted this morning "I certainly hope the Democrats do not force Nancy P out. That would be very bad for the Republican Party - and please let Cryin' Chuck stay!"

Love it.

Love. It.

Fen said...

I think it's great the Left is pining away, living or dying on the next Trump tweet. A constant elevated state of outrage.

I missed the last meeting - are the mass epileptic fits predicted for August or September?

Drago said...

Once written: "Trump tweeted this morning "I certainly hope the Democrats do not force Nancy P out. That would be very bad for the Republican Party - and please let Cryin' Chuck stay!"

Quick clarification on "Cryin' Chuck".


Is that Sen Schumer or "lifelong republican" Chuck?

Drago said...

Fen: "I missed the last meeting - are the mass epileptic fits predicted for August or September?"

Whenever Kurt Eichenwald pops up out of his Japanese Hentai driven timeout.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Is that Sen Schumer or "lifelong republican" Chuck?

6/22/17, 11:32 AM

They sound the same to me.

walter said...

bgates said...Jeez, you cut a guy's head off in effigy, stab him on stage every night for a few weeks, and attempt to murder several members of his party..
--
Heh..true.
Just like they prefer to chase Russian smoke to distract from MSM collusion flames, they'll focus attention on civility bullshit while pushing actual violence under the rug.

Dude1394 said...

This really makes me wish I did not live in such a red state. I would love to attend one.

Michael said...

Once Written...."Trump and his supporters constantly whine he is not being treated fair. They scream "witch hunt!"

What irony."

You haven't yet gotten the fact that we do not give one shit about hypocrisy or irony. We haven't yet learned how to punch back twice as hard and may never learn since punching back a quarter as hard seems to be getting the job done. Or, in short, sod off.

Fen said...

Hey Ritmo, maybe you can role model Shame for us. As a teaching exercise.

Go on...

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Ron Winkleheimer said...
I read an article the other day, one sane lefty talking to another not so sane one.

Was this it? Link via Instapundit.

I was hoping Althouse would blog it at some point.

Unknown said...

Quiz: Who has been fined the largest fee in the USA for money laundering?
Answer: Donald Trump

Yep Trumpski's, that is your President. And, you can keep him.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

@NorthOfTheOneOhOne

Yep, that's it.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Yep Trumpski's, that is your President. And, you can keep him.

Thanks, we will.

MayBee said...

It is weird to hear Trump speak- not like a politician. I'm not sure what I think of his speeches. But it makes other politicians doing their usual politician speak seem so old-fashioned.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

It is weird to hear Trump speak- not like a politician.

Trump is the anti-politician. The people who support him by and large think that politics and politicians are out to screw them over. They think this because they are sentient beings who possess eyes to see and ears to hear.

Limited blogger said...

This thread is great. Whether the poster is right or left, he/she makes Trump's point.

tim in vermont said...

ep Trumpski's, that is your President. And, you can keep him.

Like it's up to you! :^)

readering said...

They're mesmerizing because they include a lot of "I can't believe he just said that . . .
" Will he lead to others doing the same? I doubt it. But seems like he is in the tradition of a Fidel Castro or Hugo Chavez.

Francisco D said...

Haberman is setting up the Trump = Hitler meme.

Most of us who do not speak German and have heard clips from Hitler's speeches don't fully appreciate what a mesmerizing speaker he was. He seemed sort of manic to me because I could not understand his words..

However, a HS friend (lets call him Frank) took four years of advanced German. (His parents were from Germany). One of his four year classmates was a Black kid (lets call him John) whose parents were from Mississippi. John had a knack for languages.

Their senior year German teacher played one of Hitler's speeches to the (largely German fluent) class. Frank told me that at the end of the speech, everyone stood up from their seats and just barely kept themselves from saluting, John included. That was 1971.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

Hey, you know who else was a mesmerizing speaker...?

Pathetically transparent.

tim in vermont said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
tim in vermont said...

You can see that readering heard the dog whistle and responded though.

Dr Weevil said...

V.U.
I'm pretty sure Castro and Chavez lived as billionaires, not "like" them. They were in fact billionaires in any but the most nitpicky technical legalistic sense.

MayBee said...

Trump is the anti-politician. The people who support him by and large think that politics and politicians are out to screw them over. They think this because they are sentient beings who possess eyes to see and ears to hear.

hahahhahaha!

dreams said...

"Yep Trumpski's, that is your President. And, you can keep him."

Yeah, and for about 7 and 1/2 more years. I'm still not tired of winning yet.

Skeptical Voter said...

Mesmerizing! That is the ticket. Hitler's speeches mesmerized the German public. Trump's speeches mesmerize his followers. Ergo Trump=Hitler. That is Ms. Haberman's next article. Or was it the one before last? I get so confused.

Bay Area Guy said...

Hitler only had one ball. So it was very difficult to Jack Ossoff.

Achilles said...

Unknown said...

Yep Trumpski's, that is your President. And, you can keep him.

Every day for the next 7.5 years we will both wake up in the morning with the same president.

We are also going to watch democrats get wiped out in the house and senate. 60 republican senators from 30 red states will be the over under number.

We are also going to have 7 constitutionalists on the court for a generation.

The only thing left to hope for are reporters committing ritual seppuku on live TV.

Anonymous said...

"I'm still not tired of winning yet."

When does it start?

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Inga said...
"I'm still not tired of winning yet."

When does it start?


6/22/17, 3:02 PM

It started on Nov. 8.

And it's driving you insane.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

In fact, the left is becoming even more murderous and ugly. A Trump supporter was stabbed and run over after a rally:

http://www.foxla.com/news/local-news/262816980-story

You people are vile.

Curious George said...

exiledonmainstreet said...
"Inga said...
"I'm still not tired of winning yet."

When does it start?


6/22/17, 3:02 PM

It started on Nov. 8.

And it's driving you insane."

That's a short trip. You could walk it.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

The left has moved beyond just keying the cars of those they disagree with.

Now they want blood.

khesanh0802 said...

Oh Inga, so easy. It started on November 8, 2016. Now you remember!

khesanh0802 said...

@Curious George Sorry; went on the attack before I read your post. Much better!

OGWiseman said...

I'm a detractor who doesn't think Trump is a Nazi and never did, but also doesn't find him even slightly "mesmerizing". I guess I'm just a hoary old intellectual elitist, but I am mesmerized by speakers who command the language and make complex points seem simple and digestible. Trump speak of platitudes in sputtering sentence fragments most of the time. I get why it's effective, especially compared to the obtuse, condescending legalese that Hillary Clinton passed off as campaign speeches, but mesmerizing? Not by a long shot.

wild chicken said...

Trump is Hitler because of the rallies. The whole format is suspect. It's like Nuremberg! Without the uniforms and salutes.

But it's a way of going over media's head to reach le peuple.
Like Fireside Chats.

Wilbur said...

You got me hypnotized
So mesmerized.

Johnnie Taylor

Unknown said...

That's the problem with the DLSM—they always lie about Trump's speeches being "substance light". Trump doesn't package the substance like a politician.