I have noticed that Trump exhibits the same sociopathic behaviour as Flat-Earthers.

[DetlefK]

I have been talking to Flat-Earthers regularly for a few years now and I noticed something:
What is the best way to get a Flat-Earther to shut up about Flat-Earth? - Ask him for more details on Flat-Earth.

What is the best way to get Trump to shut up about his wild claims and lies? - Ask him for details about his claims.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-refuses-to-explain-obamagate-tells-reporter-you-know-what-the-crime-is?ref=home

Confronted about his Mother’s Day tweets in which he accused former President Barack Obama of committing the “biggest political crime in American history,” President Donald Trump refused to explain what the actual crime was. “Obamagate,” Trump exclaimed Monday afternoon when asked by Washington Post reporter Philip Rucker to provide an explanation. “It’s been going on for a long time!”

After Trump offered no specifics, Rucker again asked him what is the exact crime he is accusing his predecessor of. “You know what the crime is. The crime is very obvious to everybody, all you have to do is read the newspapers, except yours.”

Flat-Earthers don't believe that Earth is flat because of something they have seen or read. They believe it because they WANT to believe it, because the delusion satisfies their emotional and psychological needs. And they are willing to do anything, to say anything, to protect this sweet, sweet delusion from collapsing. They are doing measurements incorrectly on purpose, they are falsifying data, they throw scientific words around in the hopes that those magic words will somehow protect their delusion from criticism.

I still remember a debate a particular Flat-Earther had with someone else on Youtube. (Not gonna name names.) You could literally see how he mentally checked out every time it was the other guy's turn to talk. And he was unwilling to get into any specifics for his claims.
- "What causes tides on a Flat Earth?"
- "The movement of the Sun. Next question!"
- "But how..."
- "Next question!"

Trump would have called that a "nasty question".





Trump doesn't say anything because he wants to convey facts. Reality must bow to the need to feed his delusion.
Rudy Giuliani has said that there is not truth, that prosecutors decide what is and isn't truth. Bill Barr has basically said that questions of legality are decided by politicians.

Trump has built this fragile little world in his head, where he is the greatest person ever doing the best job ever. When he lies, he doesn't lie because he wants to influence the real, physical world. He lies, he manipulates, he fudges numbers, he dodges questions, he runs away from press-conferences because he wants to protect this delusion in his head from collapsing under criticism.

Flat-Earthers have built their delusion to protect them from the grim reality of being nobodies. Inside their delusion, they are heroes and genuises standing up for a noble cause.

I wonder why Trump built his delusion. What is he running away from? From which grim reality does he want to protect himself?
From being universally reviled by his peers, other rich people?
From his financial track-record of failures?
From being made fun off over and over again?

[murielm99]

1. It is best sometimes to ignore trump's rantings.

We should ignore this Obamagate crap. He will stop ranting about it and move on to something new if this is met with silence by the press and social media.

[Boomer]

2. Trump is a broken shell of a person

From all accounts, Fred Trump was a mean, racist, verbally abusive bully who destroyed his son's psyche with constant criticism.

Unfortunately, the entire world is suffering from the damage he inflicted.

[Scarsdale]

3. President Obama's crime?

Being black and intelligent. Showing the world what a REAL President does. Setting a standard that the gop finds impossible to emulate. Moscow Mitch is now calling President Obama "classless" for speaking out about the Covid response by the idiot-in-chief. Classless??? Does Mitch not listen to tRump? The entire country is frozen because of the "classy" president we have, Mitch. No jobs, no food, no money for the working people. Classy. The orange blob is the person responsible for this mess, FACE IT!

[cate94]

8. Obamagate

Tan suit.

[oldsoftie]

4. I used to think the "Flat Earthers" were actually just a satirical group.

Then that guy DIED trying to prove it

[keithbvadu2]

5. Flat earth all around the globe

Flat earth all around the globe

Link to tweet

/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdisqus.com%2Fby%2Fkeithtbva%2F

[neeksgeek]

6. These words and phrases they throw around...

Like “Obamagate,” or my favorite, “teach the (nonexistent) controversy” are not themselves meaningful. They are just meant to stir people up. They don’t have to have details or a real basis in fact. It’s just coded language meant to reinforce their existing point of view. Take a look at this:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gostak

It doesn’t mean anything, but in Breuer’s short story “The Gostak and the Doshes,” it’s enough to divide people.

This sort of linguistic nightmare plays havoc with a rational person’s thinking, while an emotionally-motivated one can latch on to the slogan and join the rabid mob chanting for whatever head they’re demanding on a pole.

*I am not a linguist or a semanticist.

[Captain Zero]

7. "well, I just meant to inform, not debate the data"

Was a response I recently got on FB. A number of people were posting the bright and shiny new OPENING SCHEDULE PLANS that seemed to be coming out in nice detailed graphics suddenly designed and disseminated to push aside graphs showing no downward curves of the virus incidence.

I had posted a graph showing that Indiana had no curve and that each upward spike in cases went higher than the last spike. And I had asked why do we think REOPENING WILL HELP THIS?

This person is a high school math teacher and replied she was just showing the Reopening Schedule to inform everyone (she seemed giddy in the prospect of her next Target shopping trip) and thenm added the comment that she did not intend it to be a debate about the data, because the data could always be debated. So even when they are math teachers they don't want to address quantifiable facts.

[safeinOhio]

9. I love the 5G-COVID-19 connection theory

journal study of it.

Results: Social network analysis identified that the two largest network structures consisted of an isolates group and a broadcast group. The analysis also revealed that there was a lack of an authority figure who was actively combating such misinformation. Content analysis revealed that, of 233 sample tweets, 34.8% (n=81) contained views that 5G and COVID-19 were linked, 32.2% (n=75) denounced the conspiracy theory, and 33.0% (n=77) were general tweets not expressing any personal views or opinions. Thus, 65.2% (n=152) of tweets derived from nonconspiracy theory supporters, which suggests that, although the topic attracted high volume, only a handful of users genuinely believed the conspiracy. This paper also shows that fake news websites were the most popular web source shared by users; although, YouTube videos were also shared. The study also identified an account whose sole aim was to spread the conspiracy theory on Twitter.
Conclusions: The combination of quick and targeted interventions oriented to delegitimize the sources of fake information is key to reducing their impact. Those users voicing their views against the conspiracy theory, link baiting, or sharing humorous tweets inadvertently raised the profile of the topic, suggesting that policymakers should insist in the efforts of isolating opinions that are based on fake news. Many social media platforms provide users with the ability to report inappropriate content, which should be used. This study is the first to analyze the 5G conspiracy theory in the context of COVID-19 on Twitter offering practical guidance to health authorities in how, in the context of a pandemic, rumors may be combated in the future.

https://www.jmir.org/2020/5/e19458/

[Mr. Ected]

10. Not to beat a dead horse, but it's the news media's job to "ask for details about his claims"

And ask and ask and ask.

No need to relitigate here the reasons why the media has failed so spectacularly in their one and only task. But it goes without say that they have allowed the door to stay wide open to let in notions of "fake news", alternative facts, conspiracy theories and idle claims.

It gives the Flat Earth Prez the opportunity to control the discussion....and 350 million of us.

[Woodwizard]

11. I was having a discussion with a Qanon nut

not something I recommend, and I said there is about enough evidence in qanon conspiracy as there is in the flat earth society. She then proceeded to claim that the earth was flat. How do these people exist? Our school systems are failing the anti intellectual crowd is doing serious damage. I call them proud to be ignorant.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

14. There are people who are proud of ignorance.

I was once told by a conservative that I should be ashamed to have a graduate degree from Harvard. When I told this to another conservative, he said that a Harvard degree is not something to be proud of.

[DetlefK]

15. They are snowflakes trying to be special. Have you heard of Mud-Flooders?

Everybody says the Earth is a globe? Well, as "they" are lying to us, it must be flat!

Everybody says vaccines prevent diseases? Well, as "they" are lying to us, vaccines must be bad!

Everybody says the microwave-radiation from 5G is harmless? Well, as "they" are lying to us, it must be dangerous!


Mud-Flooders have the conspiracy-theory that there once was an ancient super-civilization that was wiped in the 1840s with a mud-flood that covered the whole world and all the official history before the 1840s is fake.

Also mountains are petrified giants and dragons and volcanoes are petrified tree-stumps.

Not kidding.

[Ford_Prefect]

12. Donald is afraid of being called a FOOL, or worse being caught out as one on camera by a woman.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

13. Two things

First, Phillip K Dick said, "Reality is that which, even if you don't believe in it, doesn't go away."

Second, Trump has an almost classic case of the Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Read the list of symptoms and you will recognize him. The ego underlying the narcissist is actually quite fragile, and the narcissist will go to extreme lengths to protect it. This explains the pathological lying.

I am now going into pure armchair psychologizing. Trump knows, deep down, that he isn't very good at most things. He was a mediocre student, and I am sure that the only way he got through Penn was because of the Gentleman's C (something I saw more than once at Harvard). None of his marriages are successful, basically because he doesn't know (or isn't interested in) how to do interpersonal relationships. His casino went bankrupt, because he paid too much for both the building and the property, and the income wasn't enough to service the debt on top of the operating expenses -- which says that he really isn't the genius real estate man he claims to be.

I believe that had he not inherited several hundred million dollars, he would probably be a not very successful salesman.

[DetlefK]

16. I think Trump would be a way better person if hadn't inherited that money.

That money has shielded him from having to take responsibility. Trump is the archetypical affluenza-guy.

Just imagine how Trump would have turned out if he had gotten his ass whooped for groping women.

Just imagine how Trump would have turned out if he had gone to jail for defrauding investors and tax-evasion.