Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

muriel_volestrangler

(106,585 posts)
Mon May 18, 2026, 11:56 AM 2 hrs ago

Is it better for our mental health, and for focussing on what will defeat Republicans, to ignore simply-crazy Trump

and concentrate on the illegal and immoral stuff he does, and that Republicans do?

I start from the point of view that he will not be able to get support for "running for a third term" in any meaningful way. Even most Republicans see that is clearly against the Constitution. So I'm not that concerned about what support in polls is for Trump himself; it's a question of what will help, or hurt, Republicans in Congress, and whatever douchebag they put forward to run for President in 2028.

Many people have remarked on how fucking much Trump seems to hog the news. And sometimes it becomes too much to handle, even if it's an important topic - a few weeks ago, I saw in the day's headlines "Trump threatens Cuba", and I just thought "no, I can't handle reading about this fucking rapist and his random shit about the world yet again today", even though I knew that a threat against another country that he quite likely will attack with weapons at some time was perhaps the most important new development that day.

So, if there's a limit to how much you can take thinking about how much Trump fucks everything up (and I appreciate that, for me in the UK, it's easier to turn him off - though god knows he's in the fucking news here all the time too), should we just ignore the stuff that is obviously crazy, but which is not going to be a go-to topic for "why you should never vote for Republican X"?

For instance, the lunatic has posted AI crap about aliens. Are we going to be campaigning on why a member of Congress didn't speak out against this? I don't think so. If there is something Trump-related that other Republicans need to be held to account for, it's, as one example among many, Trump trying to steal $1.7 billion of taxpayer money to give to his "allies" because a contractor leaked his tax returns. "You let Trump steal our money" is a good argument against them, personally; "Trump is nuts" is not.

And a lot of the "look, he posts 50 times in one night" stuff falls under that too. I don't think anyone's going to convince a Republican-curious acquaintance that the real problem with that party is that the old man it allowed to lead them is going senile; it's that Trump started a war on Iran, and gas prices shot up as a direct consequence. And none of them opposed Trump. Trump's senility may explain why he attacked Iran, but we're not here to psychoanalyse him. We're here to make sure no one votes Republican, ever again.

Perhaps "Trump humiliated in China" is also a sideshow. It doesn't look good for Republicans, but it's nowhere near as important as "they are locking up tens of thousands of non-criminals, in appalling conditions, because they're not white", or "they're gerrymandering every state they get their grubby hands on, to exclude non-whites from political power, and to stop democracy working". And we really can hold all Republicans accountable for their part in these atrocities.

4 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Is it better for our mental health, and for focussing on what will defeat Republicans, to ignore simply-crazy Trump (Original Post) muriel_volestrangler 2 hrs ago OP
agree that the 'everyday crazy' should not be the focus stopdiggin 2 hrs ago #1
It's difficult to avoid a wildfire threatening your house. Sneederbunk 2 hrs ago #2
Protect your mental health, turn off conservative media ck4829 1 hr ago #3
I don't think it's healthy to hang on every deranged sound his face emits, or every social media wet fart Ocelot II 1 hr ago #4

stopdiggin

(15,636 posts)
1. agree that the 'everyday crazy' should not be the focus
Mon May 18, 2026, 12:13 PM
2 hrs ago

(either on a personal level or collective/politically) We should concentrate on the true damage - criminality, etc.. As both strategy - and to preserve our energy, and last shreds of sanity.

With an occasional aside of, "The man is clearly batsh*t crazy - and anyone that is watching the clown show knows it."
(presented as simple statement of fact. not a source of debate.)

Ocelot II

(131,209 posts)
4. I don't think it's healthy to hang on every deranged sound his face emits, or every social media wet fart
Mon May 18, 2026, 12:37 PM
1 hr ago

that soils the internet every morning like clockwork. Yes, it's insane and infuriating and everybody rants about how it's insane and infuriating and we all go, Look what he just said, isn't it horrible! I'm all in favor of being aware of what his pet grievance or obsession is on any given day, but making the effort to remark on and howl about every obnoxious thing he says or fake-tweets doesn't do anything useful. Blow off what he says and work on what he does.

Kick in to the DU tip jar?

This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.

As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.

Tell me more...

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Is it better for our ment...