President-elect Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a rally in Orlando, Florida on Dec. 16, 2016 as part of his post-election "Thank You Tour".
by Carolyn Yeager
LAST NIGHT IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA, our president-elect actually said to his enthusiastic base of loyal supporters who had gathered by the thousands to show their love and appreciation for him:
“You people were vicious, violent, screaming 'Where's the wall, we want the wall' … screaming 'Prison, prison, lock her up,' I mean you are going crazy, I mean you were nasty and mean and vicious, and you wanted to win, right?
Now, same crowd … now, it's much different. Now, you're laid back, you're cool, you're mellow, right? You're basking in the glory of victory, and we're already getting to work.”
He said that in response to a group in the vast audience who had started chanting “lock her up” after Hillary Clinton's name had come up. It's been clear since his election victory that Trump doesn't want to hear that chant anymore. He has more gently indicated his rejection of that chant in previous post-election rallies, but last night he tried something new. He was clearly using hyperbole, not meant to be taken literally, but it was wrong. It came off as ugly and “passing the buck” on his part. Who was vicious in dealing with his opponents in order to win? He was. Now he wants to be mellow and cool as he expands his base of support to include his former adversaries. My comment: His original supporters are intelligent enough to go along with this (up to a point) without his giving gist to the enemy, even if jokingly.
These are the first words Donald Trump has said that offended me personally, and today, seeing them brought up in news reports in all the mainstream media, I'm still offended and even angry at him for saying them. I'd like to wag my finger in front of his face.
I know he does not apologize, so probably that is not the right word to use. But he should put out a statement that he took exaggeration too far in describing his supporters at the rallies in the way he did last night, and take care not to do it again. Not one was ever 'vicious'. None were “violent'. They didn't 'scream.' They peacefully chanted “Build that wall,” showing how much they wanted him to follow through on that particular promise. They peacefully chanted “Lock her up,” exhibiting their thirst for justice, not politics as usual. All the violence, all the viciousness came from the anti-Trumpers and was directed at peaceful Trump supporters.
When he said to the crowd, “Now you're cool, you're mellow” … he was speaking about himself and signaling his shift from campaign mode to Oval Office mode. But his base wants him to know we still want that wall and the prosecution of Clinton if investigation supports it.
Never take your base for granted.
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We thank Mr Trump for
Gilson
We thank Mr Trump for appointing his buddies, the two most obnoxious Wall Street Russian Jews, Mnuchin and Gary Cohn for the Department of Treasury. Also good to know that the Trump Organisation is now run by the lovely Yael Kushner(nee Ivanka Trump) his daughter who happens to be Jewish.
Trump is a plutocratic genius who devised a winning plan to get elected: He portrayed himself as the anti-establishment champion of the little guy, carefully peppering his campaign discourse with un-pc soundbites and grandiloquent promises like building the wall(and Mexico will pay for it!!!!) to get free media attention, consciously running the risk of being called a racist-no pain no gain!
It's funny to watch Trump, the personification of global crony capitalism playing the role of a popular hero.
Get used to it: There will be no wall, no deportations- not even of criminal aliens. His presidency will the apotheosis of global capitalism.
Over here in Europe we can opt to vote for reasonably nationalist parties like the AFD, Le Front National etc...while Americans are stuck with the two-party straitjacket. Time for a third option!
Gilson, I figured writing the
carolyn
Gilson, I figured writing the small criticism I did here would bring out comments like yours. I certainly don't agree with you at all and am glad you pointed out you are a European living in Europe. You don't fully understand us Americans and our connection to Donald Trump. You don't understand Donald Trump, either. You see through ideological and conspiratorial eyes.
Do you think Frauke Petry or Marine Le Pen would not have any Jews in their cabinets?
Yes, Trump will build the wall - I never meant to imply he wouldn't. And he will deport at the very least the criminal aliens. Your multi-party system makes it close to impossible to elect an AfD or Front National candidate for Chancellor or President, since all the other parties will join together to defeat that candidate in the run-off elections. You can vote for someone you like, but the odds are far lower that you can elect him/her!
Orlando Thank You
Al Milligan
I didn't hear Mr. Trump insulting his base. Rather what I heard was Mr. Trump talking to his base in the voice of the opposition. You called it hyperbole. But I think it was more like sacasm. He called out the biased media and stuck to the agenda of building the wall. He didn't address HRC's prosecution but that doesn't mean the AG won't persue it. Now the opposition is blaming Russia for Mr. Trump's great victory. I am with Putin on this as he howled with laughter saying this is ridiculous. God bless the President Elect.
Of course he didn't mean to
carolyn
Of course he didn't mean to insult them, but he did anyway.
I considered the sarcasm angle, which he may very well call it, but he never succeeds with sarcasm and it was indeed preceded by the "lock her up" chant which you could see he clearly wanted to discourage.
Don't get Russia-Putin mixed up in this issue.
Donald responds to critics of "violent, vicious" at Mobile rally
carolyn
Thank you, Donald, for 'splaining at your Alabama rally today that your comments on "violence and viciousness" in Florida yesterday were "misunderstood" by the media. You said, "We were all laughing and having fun." I didn't notice anything like that, but since I know you will never admit you botched the whole thing, I'm pleased that at least you realized you needed to clarify those words. So I'll take that as an apology - I'm not hard to get along with.
BTW, a really great rally in Alabama today. A fitting wind-up to your Thank You Tour.
After watching the full rally
Anonymous
After watching the full rally, I would say Trump was just having fun. He often speaks jokingly. In response to the crowd chanting "Lock her up!" he could just as well have said "How terrible of you! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" In that case, he wouldn't mean it literally. He would just be joking.
"He ofen speaks jokingly."
carolyn
Trouble is, he doesn't properly signal that he is joking. You're supposed to know that he would never say such a thing seriously. But sometimes he does!!
In this case, I did not see or hear those in the crowd laughing, nor was Trump laughing in a way to signal he was joking. Yes, I considered at the time that he probably meant it as what he calls "sarcasm", but it came across as an attack, so much so that I wasn't really sure. When someone who is as big a fan of DJT as I am found his vehemence really offensive, then you know his "joke" failed badly, at least with some of us.
It is my hope that our leader will stop thinking he can joke around in an ad-lib manner and instead see every word he utters publlcly as "on the record." Could it be that he enjoys stirring up controversy because he loves the attenton it brings him? That is a double-edge sword.
Thus, I hope these were the last rallies for a good long time. I'm no longer interested in Trump the entertainer, Trump the "tweeter," or even Trump the media-critic, but in Trump the leader who accomplishes what he has told us he wants to do. Let him get to work, as he says he wants to do (and I believe him), and let's not hear from him until he's in the Oval Office putting out reports on all his administration's initiatives.
One more thing: I want to see as much of Melania in the White House as possible, and as little of Ivanka there. I get this uneasy feeling that the living quarters Ivanka and Jared find in D.C. will be at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Shudders.
JFK and AH
carolyn
I'd like to add that both John Kennedy and Adolf Hitler come to mind as national leaders who were very clever with words, and who used sarcasm and/or irony very effectively in speeches and talking with the press. They were truly funny. Donald Trump is not clever in that way - he is not good with words, or what's called dry humor. I like him best now when he lets Stephen Miller put the words together for him and he reads them off the teleprompter.
Trump is a consummate executive. This is where he will shine and become one of our greatest presidents. It will be easier for him if he keeps his mouth shut more of the time. Now, actions speak louder than words.