After years of relative peace for the American empire, Trump was challenged in the final year of his term with a crisis of Biblical proportions—a plague from the Far East that brought the world to its knees. Politically speaking, it was a gift, if Trump were willing to unwrap it.
rump achieved his highest approval ratings of his term in the first half of May 2020—49 percent—weeks after he had officially declared the Coronavirus a national emergency.
Great stress brings out “animal instincts”; people desperately want to “follow the leader.” At that moment, Trump was, at least potentially, poised to transcend polarization.
For all of the shrill talk about Trump being a “fascist,” the reality is that Benito Mussolini would have relished the chance to mobilize the nation under “pandemic socialism.”
And if Trump governed more like a fascist—perhaps openly donning a knightly hazmat suit during press briefings—he would have a much better chance of being re-elected.
No leader on Earth has paid a political price for “overreacting” to Coronavirus—even if some have, indeed, overreacted.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has consistently urged lockdowns, has had an approval rating in the mid-to-upper 60s on his handling of the pandemic—double that of Trump. The nation was clearly begging to be given marching orders by a strongman.
Trump, for his part, chose the “power of positive thinking,” a uniquely American form of Christianity articulated by Norman Vincent Peale, a minister who presided over Trump’s first wedding.
Trump’s response to Coronavirus will forever be remembered by his claims that it was a “Democrat hoax,” that it will go away in the spring “like a miracle,” various goofy proposals for instant cures, and his fretting about the health of the Dow Jones Industrial Index.
By October, Trump was [losing seniors]—those most vulnerable to Covid-19—by 10 points in the all-important state of Pennsylvania.
Voters over the age of 65 would seem to be the natural constituency of any conservative; 65 percent of them voted for Mitt Romney in 2012. Yet in 2020, “the olds” have a voting profile much like their self-centered, left-wing grandchildren.

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More from @RichardBSpencer

28 Oct
This is exactly why I don't take Republicans seriously on the issue of platform denial. By bringing up Holocaust Revisionism, Gardner is essentially urging Twitter to engage in *more censorship*. He makes @Jack seem like a free speech advocate as a result!
I, too, think Twitter censorship of the @nypost and the Hunter Biden story is outrageous. But the proper argument is that Twitter must act as a "free speech zone"; it's a privately operated public space. And some problematic information and opinion will have to be tolerated.
Instead, by focusing on §230 of the Decency Act—by threatening Twitter that it will be treated like a publisher—Republicans are encouraging Twitter to act more like a publisher: fact checking relevant information, censoring bad opinions, etc.
Read 4 tweets
24 Oct
Joe Biden will comfortably win the Presidency of the United States, earning between 325 and 375 Electoral College votes, matching Barack Obama’s results in 2008 and 2012.
In the age of polarization—and in light of Trump’s tremendous popularity among conservatives—Biden’s victory will be viewed as a “landslide” and a national denunciation of Trumpism, leading to demoralization, confusion, and infighting among the Republican Party faithful.
In addition, Democrats will take control of the Senate, with a tight majority of 51 to 49. More than one long-time Republican stalwart and Trump ally will be sent packing.
Read 7 tweets
24 Oct
Sacha Baron Cohen films—and the "Borat" character, in particular—are the ultimate form of postmodern thought policing. After all, the best kind of racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, and homophobia is that which the system controls.
The funny moments in Cohen's films are purchased on the cheap. They come when the audience is allowed to indulge in crude racism and sexism, usually coming from the mouth of Borat himself. Or, in the guise of "Brüno," when we're granted the right to laugh at an absurd queen.
Cohen can play to the gay stereotype with Brüno precisely because Cohen himself has the stamp of approval by the liberal system. We're thus allowed to laugh at the gay minstrel show precisely because the moral and political battle over homosexuality has already been decided.
Read 8 tweets
24 Oct
It's not wrong—not entirely—to read Nietzsche as the ultimate "self-help guru," on an individual and group level. "Chicken soup for the soul writ large," as it were.
Nietzsche demands that you face the truth of the "death of God": the loss of credibility of religion, philosophy, and morality—institutions that have undergone such scrutiny that they can no longer stand. Don't deny it. The first step is admitting that we have a problem!
Nietzsche's solution, imagistically offered, is to view the collapse of Western civilization—and your own resultant emotional destress—as bringing us into a world of new horizons. An opportunity for creativity and artistry...or great terror and despair.
Read 27 tweets
15 Oct
I'm going out on a limb here...

I'm skeptical of the #HunterBidenEmails. No, I don't think Biden is an angel. To the contrary, the basic accusation that he was given a lucrative sinecure in Ukraine in a tacit exchange for influence with the America VP is almost certainly true.
"Hunter Bidens" are the predictable, unavoidable outcomes of empire. And stories like his—including his fall from grace—have reoccured over and over since Babylon. Child of privilege gets cushy job in exchange for influence + too much money and debauchery = scandale du jour.
The main source of my skepticism about the emails is that the acquisition of these things seems sketchy as hell. A computer repairman took them off Biden's laptop (likely illegally), when it was in for repair. He then contacted Rudy! It's nuts.

soundcloud.com/rptrbnd/mac-sh…
Read 5 tweets
7 Oct
I have, rather reluctantly, come to the conclusion that a) some kind of "herd immunity" to #COVID19 is inevitable and b) knowing this, bringing about this outcome in a reasonable fashion is the best policy.
Last spring, we were dealing with two problems in addressing #COVID19 in a rational manner:

a) ignorance about its nature and effects (it was a novel virus, after all);

b) rank denial, wishful thinking, and delusion on the part of Americans, particularly Republicans.
We should remember how far we've come. Last spring, if anyone suggested 200,000 deaths, he'd be laughed off as a doomsayer indulging in "apocalypse porn." Today, 300,000 deaths by next summer seems baked into the cake.
Read 14 tweets

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