Best case scenario is he starts visibly slipping but genuine cult members brush it off as eccentricity and something that must be protected, creating fissures in the party and effectively stalling out new horrors while they visibly infight over 25th Amendment stuff.
The most useful part about this scenario is it's also the likeliest scenario. Even sick people die slow but have obvious bad days. The Death of Stalin shit will be visible and intense and hopefully tear things apart until they get to consensus to drag him out.
yeah, it’s also very damaging to a personalist regime to spend time in that stage
We're already seeing consequences just in the form of Vance and Rubio getting questions about whether they're ready to step into the presidency. Trump isn't dying, but this has made his circle *think* about Trump dying, which is trouble in its own way.
also clearly something trump really, really, really doesn't like thinking about so god knows what that dynamic is
I think it's less that he doesn't like thinking about it, and more that he knows damn well we, the public, can't be thinking about it. The whole point of a personalist dictatorship is that the personalist dictator has to look invincible. Pol Pot can't have bruised hands.
So I guess we talk about the Epstein Files instead?
a thing to keep in mind: his inner circle has better info than we do, not just because they see him more often but also because they can smell him
I generally thought the health stuff was overblown until he started talking about heaven all of a sudden. When he got COVID all the reports said he got pretty existential when it was looking hairy (Stan Chera!), then he was right back to being a piece of shit when it cleared up.
Apparently his pulse ox got to some really low number (in the 80s IIRC). It's only that he got the absolute best care that he survived. And remember Long COVID is terrible for the circulatory system. Look at his pained breaths: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQYE...
I read the "heaven" line as more of the self-worshipping messianic talk that he's been sinking into ever since the assassination attempt. I kind of don't think he personally fears death because he believes that he's functionally immortal.
oh man I think he’s terrified of it
Trump reminds me of my dad in so many ways including this.
It's possible that he is, and it's also possible that he's so densely immune to introspection that he doesn't know he is
The COVID thing scared the hell out of him.
Oh yeah, I think it's very clear that Trump is very, very afraid of dying
It could end up being very consequential whether he keels over before or after 1/3/27, since it's unlikely that they could confirm a new VP with a Democratic House (or Senate) and that means they lose their tiebreaker for the duration
I think the right dose of psilocybin in his mashed potatoes would cause him to hallucinate three ghosts and then cancel all his executive orders.
One of my favorite memes that loses relevance by the day…what was that twitter handle that would post someone in heaven with him? Peak niche comedy
I'm convinced that first bout of COVID would have done it were he not POTUS at that time, dude was HEAVING when he did that photo op on the balcony after he got back from Walter Reid
It's also a big range like...he could have a bad diagnosis but the doctors think it won't KO him until after his term.
or at least, 1-2 years out if not actually 2029. Like my uncle's had terminal esophogeal cancer for 2+ years now. It's not getting better but it's also lasted a long time, during which he's limited but like, lucid.
All I know is that I want Elizabeth Gilbert to start hanging out with him all the time.
Eat Pray Love, though not where he eats but where he is eaten
I gagged a little bit reading that.
The origin of this report at least is Rick Wilson who I don't really trust to have sources in this admin
No, I'm sure this specific story is pure BS Kremlinology, but the visible facts are facts
I’d guess it’s no worse than secondhand for him, but also I don’t have the sense that he’s especially averse to inflating a story
There probably isn’t a ton of merit to this beyond “he looks like shit”, which is true. But I don’t think we should be above reckless gossip
"He looks like shit" is literally the reason America tossed out its most recent president, so don't sell it short
hold on, let him cook (the president and current administration)
that is a good point and also I am immediately putting it OUT of my mind thank you
Yeah, I regret reading it while eating.
the occams razor reason for why all these summits get planned like a week ahead of time is because this admin is logistically incompetent. but... the danger of planning something that's far out when youre in questionable health, especially if you want to hide it, is inherent.
There is a greater than zero chance they try to trick us with an AI Trump at some point.
I don't think the 25th amendment happens unless he is too incapacitated to do revenge. His cabinet are weasels who will only knife him in the back when they know he can't respond. He would literally have to be near catatonic for them to do it.
I think JD is a true careerist and striver who would lose to RFK in a primary, since the party is just that nuts. I agree it would have to be very visible sickness or decline, though.
Feels like he's already rotting in public if you look closely enough [ew]
They're definitely brushing it off. They think we're overreacting. The only thing they trust is trump; they think he's everlasting.
What do people think about the bruises on the back of his hands? Is he getting some RFK crazy infusions? Why not put an IV somewhere the bruise wouldn't show?
I have no idea what it is, but he always gets the Real Shit healthcare and seems to understand RFK's bit is a ruse for his base that he has an uneasy alliance with. He was saved by traditional medicine when he got COVID. I don't think he fucks around with the fake stuff. I agree it's likely an IV.
Yeah, the man’s known to be a germaphobe. Now way he’s messing with the woo bullshit.