Has Trump done anything good?

[marshwiggle]

Most people don't really trust medicine and science when it conflicts with what they want to do.  If everyone really believed, then everyone would exercise regularly and eat as nutritious a diet as their budget allows.

Most people want civil as long as they like the current situation and then quickly argue that calls for civility silence the necessary voices for change when they want change.

A corollary to this is that people favour "dialogue" and "openness" as long as their view is the minority one, and then switch to "not going backwards" and claiming the debate should be closed when their view is the majority one.

[mahagonny]

Finally, your list is actually paltry when it comes to results. Signing legislation (often in spite of his rhetoric), and a bunch of meaningless proclamations hardly outweighs his faults.

What about the First step Act. One might think the people concerned about systemic racism would applaud that one.

Mocking Ford at the rally just before the confirmation hearing is definitely in the "good" column in my book. People need to stop taking these last minute hit jobs seriously. If you can't come forward to the police within the same decade or two and by doing so rob the accused of the ability to defend themselves, that's a you problem. If you disagree, do you believe there aren't any number of opposition research firms trying to "find" someone who will me too the right person at this given moment? You don't think there's one woman in a nation of 150 million of them that would say whatever it took if they thought Row was on the line? No one actually believed this nut job.

I didn't believe her but to me the republicans were complicit. They deserved her after what they did with Obama and Merrick Garland. So when they said people weren't being fair...what goes around comes around.

[Parasaurolophus]

What about the First step Act. One might think the people concerned about systemic racism would applaud that one.

Yes, he signed it. He can have a cookie for that. To be totally fair to him, a pen is almost as hard to lift single-handedly as a glass of water.

[mahagonny]

What about the First step Act. One might think the people concerned about systemic racism would applaud that one.

Yes, he signed it. He can have a cookie for that. To be totally fair to him, a pen is almost as hard to lift single-handedly as a glass of water.

It could be a hard thing to sign if you were a racist who thought poor blacks who have screwed up belong in jail.

[Parasaurolophus]

What about the First step Act. One might think the people concerned about systemic racism would applaud that one.

Yes, he signed it. He can have a cookie for that. To be totally fair to him, a pen is almost as hard to lift single-handedly as a glass of water.

It could be a hard thing to sign if you were a racist who thought poor blacks who have screwed up belong in jail.

Not so tough when it's very popular and enjoys strong bipartisan support.

[Ruralguy]

Its disingenuous to think that this particular race has anything to do with comparing lists of career accomplishments, or recent political accomplishments and then having a dispassionate member of the media or whoever declaring "This guy's list is clearly longer, he wins!"  (OK, no jokes about long lists please....).

Perhaps some of the President's accomplishments have not gotten sufficient attention, but it doesn't matter.

[mahagonny]

What about the First step Act. One might think the people concerned about systemic racism would applaud that one.

Yes, he signed it. He can have a cookie for that. To be totally fair to him, a pen is almost as hard to lift single-handedly as a glass of water.

It could be a hard thing to sign if you were a racist who thought poor blacks who have screwed up belong in jail.

Not so tough when it's very popular and enjoys strong bipartisan support.

Do you mean those bigoted republicans in Congress supported it too? That's even more startling.

[jimbogumbo]

Finally, your list is actually paltry when it comes to results. Signing legislation (often in spite of his rhetoric), and a bunch of meaningless proclamations hardly outweighs his faults.

What about the First step Act. One might think the people concerned about systemic racism would applaud that one.

How on earth is that not an example of what I wrote? He signed a significant piece of legislation IN SPITE OF HIS RHETORIC.

[Parasaurolophus]

Do you mean those bigoted republicans in Congress supported it too? That's even more startling.

If you look at the reasons cited for its support, you'll discover that there was a big push for it from the Koch brothers and elsewhere in the Republican party because it's a lot cheaper than the alternative. For one part of the Republican coalition, spending less government money is a very attractive proposition.

How on earth is that not an example of what I wrote? He signed a significant piece of legislation IN SPITE OF HIS RHETORIC.

Yeah, it's absolutely an example of what you wrote. It was also the very first suggestion made in this post. I don't understand what's to be gained with pretending it's a counterexample to your claim, or just ignoring the fact that people in this thread are willing and able to recognize it as one good thing (with the caveat that all he did was sign it, not craft it or lobby for it, of course).

I'm left to conclude, as you observed elsewhere, that the purpose of this thread is not actually its advertised purpose.

[bopper]

What Trump says:

"Every day of my presidency, we will fight for a cleaner environment and a better quality of life for every one of our great citizens.


What Trump does:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html?

[mahagonny]

Do you mean those bigoted republicans in Congress supported it too? That's even more startling.

If you look at the reasons cited for its support, you'll discover that there was a big push for it from the Koch brothers and elsewhere in the Republican party because it's a lot cheaper than the alternative. For one part of the Republican coalition, spending less government money is a very attractive proposition.

How on earth is that not an example of what I wrote? He signed a significant piece of legislation IN SPITE OF HIS RHETORIC.

Yeah, it's absolutely an example of what you wrote. It was also the very first suggestion made in this post. I don't understand what's to be gained with pretending it's a counterexample to your claim, or just ignoring the fact that people in this thread are willing and able to recognize it as one good thing (with the caveat that all he did was sign it, not craft it or lobby for it, of course).

I'm left to conclude, as you observed elsewhere, that the purpose of this thread is not actually its advertised purpose.

But the two of you are talking about the signing of this order as though no thought process about it being good for our nation could possibly have been present, which really illustrates personal dislike of the man. OK, I appreciate your candor. I asked for it.
I don't like his demeanor much, but all this talk about him being 'all about himself' is only a little bit valid. All these presidents and congressmen have egos.

[Parasaurolophus]

Signing decent legislation rather than vetoing it gets you some credit. We're happy to grant that.

But it doesn't get you a ton of credit, especially when you had zero involvement in the legislative process that generated it. Nor is it like he was going against any kind of grain in signing it; it was an easy decision. That's worth something. But it's not worth much, and when it's held against the balance of torrent of utter shit he's actually responsible for, it disappears like a turd in a sewer.

[mahagonny]

Each to his own calculation. Lately I've been noticing the amount of sh!t being peddled by the left. Kamala Harris proclaims, with great drama 'there's no vaccine for racism!'  So, who is she referring to, whereas, it is not at all clear that whites are more racist than non-whites.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlGE9dg7fyM

[Aster]

I'm pretty sure that he will have significantly boosted the viewership of the next episode of 60 Minutes.

[financeguy]

Regarding the Elder clip, I think the answer to the racism of other groups is a resounding yes. I am constantly surprised that no one pushes back when people lose their minds about the dating partners of blacks. I've mentioned here before the backlash Robert Smith (the CEO who paid off student loans for a class of graduates at Morehouse) got due to his white wife. Many have harassed actor Michael B Jordan for dating outside his race. One of the most shocking surprises on this issue is that the focus group firm that did some pro bono work for the city of L.A. during the OJ case rated the likability of the victim Nicole was LOWER than the suspect and several others in the trial, due to resentment over this issue. Let's also not forget that juror Cassie Bess has admitted the jury decided that it was ok to let off a double murderer who killed two whites as "payback for Rodney King."

This doesn't even bring into account the institutionalized racism against whites in the form of affirmative action, diversity hires and earmarked opportunities such as federal contracts and scholarships. You don't even need to say the code words anymore. "Non white" is acceptable.