What Trump says does not matter any more. Reacting to what he says just gives him energy.

[Yavin4]

We all know that he's going to lie, be racist and sexist, steal money, etc. All that we can do is be prepared for what he does, what bills get passed, etc.

Constantly reacting to what Trump says does nothing more than give him, and his followers, energy. Ignore his tweets, truth socials, whatever. Ignore it all. Deprive him of energy. It's the best and only resistance.

[Blues Heron]

1. It's a discussion board?

Of course there will be close scrutiny of each and every utterance, it just goes with the territory.

[Yavin4]

2. It is. And there's millions of other topics to discuss. Very important topics.

We should be talking about local issues, local organizing, promising new candidates, platforms, Democratic party organizations, how to get involved, how to become a precinct captain, support of local public schools, support of labor unions, food kitchens, global issues, global elections, etc., etc., etc.

Anything other than what some troll says just to get a rise out of you. He feeds off of your emotions. He wants you tuning into MSNBC and see them covering every stupid thing he says.

Enough.

[Blues Heron]

8. Or just take a break and let people post what they want?

Freedom of speech much?

[Yavin4]

12. People can post whatever they want, but they should know that posting what Trump says does nothing.

Nothing can be done about it, and it only creates anxiety among us.

So, yes, if you want to be angry and stressed out all of the time, feel free.

[William769]

27. I respectfully disagree.

Silence = death. My fellow LGBTQ learned this the hard way.

[Scrivener7]

55. Yes, but most of what he says is a distraction. We need to

become capable of reacting to his actions and ignoring his bullshit distractions.

He's not that smart. It wouldn't be particularly hard if the powers that be on our side decided to do this.

[Scrivener7]

18. *sigh* No one is taking away your freedom of speech. Yavin was stating an opinion on

the best way to deal with his bullshit. Did the OP somehow take away your ability to post what you want?

[Blues Heron]

20. Everybody is stating there opinion, it's why we have the board sigh

If your getting stressed by this or that topic, take a break, don’t try to police the site?

[William769]

29. Don't you just want to do this sometimes?

[Scrivener7]

31. Police the site as you are doing?

[Blues Heron]

36. sigh

[Scrivener7]

37. sigh, indeed

[Jilly_in_VA]

3. What happens

if you laugh at him?

[Yavin4]

5. He doesn't care. It doesn't affect him.

Your attention is all that he needs.

[Scrivener7]

17. I disagree with this. Being laughed at is his achilles heel.

[electric_blue68]

50. 🤔we Might need some new Additional ways to laugh at him...

But he is pretty thin-skinned.
Keep some of what been really irritating to him, then either mix it either new ideas, or totally new verbal jabs.

[Scrivener7]

54. Yes. Psychologically, he's anything but complicated. Our side should be

throwing him off balance every day. I don't know why we aren't doing that.

[Scrivener7]

16. THAT should be where we spend all our energy and airspace. THAT will hurt him.

The "weird" and "smelly" stories had legs. We may not love that approach, but we should use it whenever possible.

[Think. Again.]

4. I agree, I can't wait for DU's new "Latest trump B.S." forum so I can trash the forum and never have to read his B.S.

[Tommy Carcetti]

6. Yes, but he's going to be President.

Or at least in theory hold that title.

We can't just ignore that fact away simply because we don't like it.

[Yavin4]

9. So he says some foul things. What can we do about it?

Other than be angry and stress out.

[RockRaven]

7. Goes double for those who post in ALL CAPS how he is DESTROYED, OWNED,

SELF-DESTRUCTED, MELTED-DOWN, BLUNDERED, etc. in reaction to his logorrhea du jour.

Also just attention-seeking. Also not news. Also should be ignored and not posted or commented upon. But like TCF probably will be, ad nauseam, anyway if past behavior is any guide.

[live love laugh]

35. And "HUMILIATED" ...

[sop]

10. Trump's own supporters: "You can't take him literally."

[D23MIURG23]

11. It also just gets dismissed with the old "trump derangement syndrome" canard.

It's harder to dismiss things he actually does (although I'm sure they'll try). If we get lucky maybe they'll be right because he accomplishes nothing. I doubt it, though.

[Qutzupalotl]

13. As Rachel says, watch what they do, not what they say. nt

[eppur_se_muova]

47. YES !!

(Was getting ready to post that, if someone hadn't already.)

[peggysue2]

68. Exactly!

I vaguely remember an episode of Star Trek that featured an alien entity that fed off the hate and anger of others. The negative energy was the entity's source of power which grew in direct proportion to the rage exhibited by its captives.

Seems to fit Trump and his minions who exhibit unabashed glee when we react to every stupid, vile utterance.

I agree with Rachel: what they DO or attempt to DO is the important stuff. The rest is noise to keep dissenters off-balance and in a constant state of agitation. The chaotic spewings help to distract us from the really ugly plans Trump and Project 2025 want to inflict on Americans.

We need to choose our targets, carefully, not get caught up and tangled in the daily nonsense.

[global1]

14. We Should Have Been Ignoring Him From The Get Go.....

Paying any attention to him is like providing him jet fuel. He thrives on attention.

With Jimmy Carter's passing and the NOLA tragedy - it took his name off the front page.

It was like a miracle that the Cybertruck exploded in front of the Tr**p Hotel in Vegas. Instantly
his name was on the front page again.

He's just lucky - I guess!!!

[Scrivener7]

15. And all of his most outrageous comments are very carefully designed to distract from

the crimes he's committing in plain sight.

I totally agree with you. I love EarlG's idea of quarantining his comments. Starve the beast.

[Justice matters.]

19. The felonious rapist does not read DU.

And nothing else either.

But I predict many who already regret their votes will - if not already - read and tell others like them to join.

[live love laugh]

34. Somebody in his camp does ... he just posted about flags half mast

a topic that originated here.

[William769]

21. A grifter is a grifter is a grifter.

[uponit7771]

22. THIS !!! Most of what Benedict Donald says is to distract away from the BS he's doing

[Xavier Breath]

23. Puts me in mind of The Simpsons episode where the advertising mascots come to life and terrorize Springfield.

Too bad ignoring him to the tune of a Paul Anka ditty doesn't make him keel over.

[OldBaldy1701E]

24. Love that episode.

(I think it was one the Halloween 'Treehouse of Horror' episodes.)

No, the tune won't do that to him.

But, practicing what the tune is saying will. Guaranteed.

[Xavier Breath]

25. Yeah, Bart appearing on the mascot devil's shoulder to egg him on was truly inspired.

[OldBaldy1701E]

26. "BART!" (n/t)

[Blue_Tires]

28. Exactly

Everyone needs to just tune out Donnie and the rest of his cabal

[Paladin]

30. Yes, by all means. Let's be good little Democrats.

Keep our opinions to ourselves. Let trump shoot off his mouth exactly as he pleases. None of that reacting to the foul pronouncements of a vengeful madman.

Those of you that have been keeping track of things in recent years may have noticed that this sort of passive action hasn't worked out very well for us. "Best and only resistance" my ass...

[Yavin4]

40. We've done just the opposite for the past 10 years.

We've done nothing but amplify every stupid utterance out of his mouth. The entire MSNBC lineup has done nothing but cover whatever he says. We have podcasts, columns, tweets, etc., and yet, he's about to resume the presidency in 17 days.

So, if you want to wallow in anger after every stupid thing he says, feel free. Just know that you're not accomplishing a damn thing.

[PortTack]

46. Ding ding ding

[Paladin]

53. Yeah, well. Congrats on your "accomplishment," here.

One of the most dangerous, potentially catastrophic threads I've ever come across in all my years at DU.

Enjoy your silence. Because our enemies damn sure will.

[Yavin4]

56. How about this. Use your energy to rebuild the Democratic party.

There are elections this year. For example, VA will elect a new governor. There are primaries all over the country. Get involved with them. Work to get new Democrats elected.

Wallowing in anxiety over every Trump tweet is wasted energy and does nothing.

[Paladin]

58. Enjoy my silence. (nt)

[Dem4life1970]

45. I note that Joe Biden came out of retirement

Last edited Sat Jan 4, 2025, 12:55 PM - Edit history (1)

because of what Trump *said* about Charlottesville. He felt that he had to, to defend the soul of the nation, which he did masterfully (not perfectly) for four years. Thank you President Biden for not passively sitting it out. I am going to actively and unapologetically resist T**** for the next 4 years.

[Yavin4]

57. Yes. That was back when Trump had to stand for re-election.

He doesn't any more. Talking about him now only elevates him. They want us crying. They want us in a constant state of anxiety and fear.

[Dem4life1970]

60. Yavin4, you are right. But that cuts both ways....

....he will be the lamest of lame ducks. I am not afraid of a lame duck, and no one else should be either. He is incompetent, arrogant, lazy, unprincipled, and ignorant. We will oppose and defeat him and everything that he tries to do.

[Yavin4]

61. That's the wrong frame.

Politics is much more than opposing Trump. If all we are is Trump opponents, then we will lose in the long run. The American people do not hate Trump as much as we do. We just have to accept that and move on.

[Dem4life1970]

63. I respect your opinion...

People voted FOR Trump for many diff. reasons: they like(d) him as a celebrity, they vote (R) no matter what, a friend told them to vote for him, they are single issue (R) voters, yes for some Racism, Misogyny, he gives people permission to be their worst selves, they believe in trickle down economics, they buy the culture war stuff....

and people oppose Trump for many diff. reasons as well. Not liking him is enough to ride to victory. It's why Harris lost. That thin top line that put Trump over the top was inflation. We Dems can sometimes tend to overthink it. We offered policy proposals to deal with real issues.

All he offered were culture war distractions and tax cuts for the uber rich (same stuff as 2016).

[Yavin4]

64. Again, does not matter. Move on.

Focus on the future.

[Dem4life1970]

67. Yes, I am focused on 2026 and taking the House and Senate back.

...and blocking/opposing whatever the Convicted Felon and his minions try to do in 2025.

[nini]

66. Opinions have nothing to do with enabling the constant chaos which his words are meant to do

Of course Dems need to speak up, but we also need to not play into his hand with the mind games and keep his lies and propaganda front and center all the time.

[Paladin]

69. Why is it that Democrats have to retreat, all the time?

I've had a belly-full of Democrats accepting blame for the unmatched evil of trump.

[nini]

70. Who said to retreat?

Stop playing his game and keep every lie and piece of crap that come out of out of his mouth the focus.

He wants us to get all wound up about every little thing to control the narrative and attention, while the real damage isn’t noticed because we’re talking about his latest rage bait.

[Paladin]

71. In other words, retreat.

No, thank you.

[evemac]

32. Exactly what you do in response

To any narcissist's behavior.
They are devoid of creating their own energy, so they feed off of the reactions from others, whether good or bad. It is so weird and disturbing.
Ignore, grey rock, no eye contact, zero response.
Makes them crazy.

[Yavin4]

41. Exactly. Move forward without him. n/t

[Firestorm49]

33. Prepared for bills to be passed? What! By whom?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

38. You wrote "the only resistance". You've given up? "the only resistance"? . . . NO. . . . . . . nt

[Joinfortmill]

39. Boycott coverage of inauguration. Boycott MSM period.

[PortTack]

44. I have been boycotting m$m for years now. No need to break that and watch the sickening event scheduled on 1/20

[J_William_Ryan]

42. "Constantly reacting to what Trump says..."

We should practice selective reaction, pick the useful battles, as it were.

For example, Trump’s idiocy about Greenland and Panama – that we could ignore.

But hammer Trump on his lies about Shamsud-Din Jabbar being a ‘migrant.’

[PortTack]

43. Very sound advice...it's certainly my plan as we move forward.

My biggest hurdle will to be not silently naw on it

[summer_in_TX]

48. Reminds me of the teacher training I took in the 1970s. The advice for how to handle student

misbehavior was to ignore it, deprive them of reinforcement (positive or negative).

Only problem was it assumed that only the teacher's attention mattered. The students laughing and encouraging their misbehavior far outweighed any ignoring I could do.

Later in looking back at the textbook for the course, I discovered the research on the effectiveness of ignoring was all done in a behavioral hospital setting where the researchers had far more control of the setting and the presence of an audience than any classroom teacher has.

US ignoring Trump won't do a damn thing.

At least not to stop or slow him in any way. It just means he does things without any resistance.

Maybe posting the firehose of news of the terrible things Trump administration will be doing and our discussion of it will be too overwhelmingly stressful and just seem hopeless to many here. I understand that feeling.

But for those of us working to help as many as possible who will be targets, we need the info. We also need to brainstorm and we need the discussion to inform our own thinking and formulate the best arguments, ones that will be an effective way to push back and delay or divert or rally the public opinion of fellow Americans.

I read this today and have been thinking about it ever since.

Will Stancil
‪@whstancil.bsky.social‬
The liberal answer of “sitting back and waiting for reality to reassert itself” doesn’t work because people don’t get their information about the world from reality, but mostly from each other. You have to go out there and contest the bad beliefs. That means talking to people you DON’T agree with.

And by “talking” I specifically mean “arguing with.” The dusty liberal fallback of “we need to be better listeners” does absolutely nothing to contest those false beliefs. It’s a contest for the collective mind and you’re never going to win it unless you actually try to take territory.

…You contest claims in public not to persuade the other side but to persuade the audience. In politics everything is always, always, always about persuading the audience. Looking like the smarter side to the audience. Convincing the audience.

Democrats and liberals specifically are terrible at this: they seem to think persuasion happens by directly making your case to voters. No! That’s wrong! The goal is to win the sympathies of the crowd, by engaging in conflicts where you look good and the other side looks stupid/venal/weak. It’s WWE

The reason you have to persuade people this way is that if you convince one person to agree with you, but the audience thinks the other side is winning, then the person you convinced will still most likely return to the popular consensus the moment they realize it exists

https://bsky.app/profile/whstancil.bsky.social/post/3leu4yk4zt222

I'd like to be able to do that. Only problem is I don't think fast on my feet and need all the help I can get to think things through. It'll take a lot of work to overcome those traits and get better in areas that are needed and then have a plan.

[ThePartyThatListens]

49. Basically

I've been saying this for the longest.

Starve the beast.

[LastDemocratInSC]

51. That energy is commonly known as a "narcissistic supply".

[arthritisR_US]

52. You are spot on, don't give the sick attention!

[Autumn]

59. You may not like it but what he says does matter. His words impact us all.

Follow your suggestion but I won't ignore what the fucker says and does. He is a US president, he and his cronies wield tremendous power. We ignore him at our own peril.

[MineralMan]

62. You Are Incorrect, I Believe.

What Trump says will now become reality. Watch. We're not going to stop him by mocking him. That's not going to work. It didn't work in the past, either. He was elected again, for pity's sake.

No, we need to pay close attention to what he says, and counter it as best we can. Loudly and publicly.

[TommieMommy]

65. So true 👍

[prodigitalson]

72. Exactly.....

My blood pressure and overall mental health has gotten so much better adopting that attitude. I just saw a headline about him saying something disgusting. I just scrolled on. Don't give a shit. He feeds off our hatred as much as he does their devotion. My youtube recomendations almost never show his face or name anymore.