Trump is giving way too much credit to his supporters, who openly don't care about his previous 6 bankruptcies, and have even ridiculously tried to spin said bankruptcies to their GodEmperorDaddy's credit.
The tragedy of humanity is that we know we can be better than non-sapient animals responding out of emotional, knee-jerk survival instinct that is necessary in the wild but destructive in civilization. We have sparks, inklings, we can see the higher path, the path where our sapience has created the ability/technology to feed, clothe, shelter, educate, and even facilitate self-actualization for EVERYONE.
It's right there, some even do it on a small scale, very rarely humanity makes a step in that direction before taking a step back.
But most of the time, that inkling is extinguished. Our higher, sapient, empathetic mind still not quite evolved enough to overcome our lower brain that sees everyone else as competition and a threat that can only be defeated, ensuring individual survival, by hoarding moooooaaaar than them, and keeping them away.
Juuuuuuust barely smart enough to split the atom with concerted team effort, but still so dominated by our base, animalistic impulses that we did it explicitly to first and foremost make big boomie boom rival monkey tribe.
It's only growing a spine if it risks costing you power, pence has none and is losing none. Glad he came out against the fascist, but all that might indicate is some small, at least partial return to and recognition of the rational world. He's patting himself on the back about how virtuous this may make him seem in history, nothing more.
A sitting Republican Congressperson or party official with no intention of retiring would be demonstrating bravery coming out against the fascist.
2 had some pacing issues, but all 3 are amazing works of science fiction, the last 2 suffering from understandably not being able to top the first movie's reveal of "Your entire existence was a lie." 2 and 3 expand on the lore while visually presenting deep philosophical concepts, but as studios have learned, trying to appeal to the widest audience means not challenging your audience.
They have since gone so far with that lesson, it has lead to stuff like the new Star Wars trilogy, a plotless trainwreck of endless appeals to nostalgia so blatant I'm surprised they didn't have force ghost yoda turn to the camera and smile impishly like austin powers.
I'll never forget what elevated him into mainstream discourse, a game show literally about "I'm rich, so kiss my ass for half an hour" that somehow made him popular. You aren't supposed to like Gordon Gecko/Mr. Potter. They are to be hissed for their antisocial greed. Our people celebrate it. Many who hate him for his violent rhetoric today still loved him for his proud celebration of greed then.
I'll also never forget what singular event took him from paying extras to attend his rallies to basically owning the Republican party:
“We’re not allowed to punch back any more,” Trump lamented. The billionaire said he missed the “good old days,”
“You know what they used to do to a guy like that in a place like this?” Trump said. “They’d be carried out on a stretcher, folks.”
He's a fucking monster, yes. But what does that say about US that the above elevated him, through public popularity, to basically being worshipped as a God(GodEmperor as some called him) by 40% of the electorate, while making still more consider his message?
I'm voting for Biden, as I did last time and Clinton before, but I can't help some dark part of me knowing he does represent the US and is practically our mascot.
The embodiment of greed and gluttony, reveling in schadenfreude, cartoonishly shameless, crowing about who he beat and who he's enjoying the suffering of, and drunk on wholly undeserved vanity. A sociopath who stands against the very concept of empathy for others. If someone is suffering, he'll tell you what they did to deserve their suffering and suggest ways to really turn the screws. 🇺🇸
I'm ashamed of being an American precisely for all the American traits, that are also destroying us from the inside btw, that Trump unironically personifies. He's more American as America actually is, not all the pretty lies we say about ourselves, than Apple pies or school shootings.
I wish more Americans would look in the mirror that is Donald Trump and be ashamed of who we are, because we can't begin to do anything without recognizing what monstrous values we have.
I always think people like Santos and Menendez getting in trouble for bribery and fraud is hilarious.
Political PACs make political bribery perfectly legal and the US hates when boring, honest people run for office, they never get anywhere, we demand bullshitters that tell us we're pretty.
Do it to be sure, but why stop at single digit Congress people? There's like 10 between both chambers that aren't on the take.