Former president Donald Trump disseminated on social media on Friday an image of President Biden with his hands and feet tied and his mouth gagged, the latest example of the Republican candidate’s use of increasingly violent rhetoric and imagery this campaign season.
The image can be seen about halfway through a 20-second video that Trump posted on his Truth Social site. The post says it was recorded Thursday on Long Island, where Trump traveled this week to attend a wake for a recently killed police officer.
In the video, two trucks decorated with giant Trump flags and altered American flags are driving on a highway. On the tailgate door of one of the trucks is the image of Biden lying horizontally, bound and gagged.
Trump has a history of sharing and promoting violent images featuring his perceived enemies.
Biden has funded a genocide and oversees an government which completely sold out to corporate interests, the military industrial complex, and the prison industrial complex. They watched big pharma kill thousands in the opioid epidemic. They bailed out the banks after the great financial crisis, while the middle class was left to die.
Every congress member relies on corporate funding for campaigns. They can literally hold stock in the companies they regulate. Those corporations' interests are completely opposite of the interests of the working class.
I couldn't care less if some feckless oaf posts a picture of a US figurehead in such a position.
Oh ffs.
On the other hand:
The fact is, is Trump wins, things will go from ACCEPTABLE to REALLY BAD internationally. From where I'm watching here in Australia, Biden is doing plenty.
**AND DEFINITELY VOTE PEOPLE, FOR THE GOOD OF THE ENTIRE PLANET. **
Do not listen to these Right-Wing nutjobs who are relying on discouraging people from voting next election.
There's a lot to respond to here. I'll go point by point.
There are so many issues to unpack here. Trump's base is a reactionary, anti-establishment movement, clearly. This should be expected in a society that is ran by and for an elite class.
I'm online quite a bit and I haven't noticed many Trumpers idolizing Putin, but I wouldn't care if they did. It's within their rights. The notion that Putin is trying to overthrow our government is unfounded at best. I have yet to see any credible evidence of Russian interference. This strikes me as a McCarthyism Revival that only seems to work on liberals.
As for the claim of not only a coup, but a second coup: I don't think that a reasonable person believes that an angry mob storming a government building would have a snowballs chance in hell at actually carrying out a coup. This isn't the 17th century. You don't just take over a building today and expect to be able to control the country.
Yeah, I wasn't a fan of what little foreign policy decisions he made. I did like that he pulled out of Syria, however.
Okay? Biden is too. It feels like you're under the impression that I support Trump, which I never claimed to.
Yeah, I agree that Trump is racist and a generic fascist strongman. This isn't a revelation. I assume that the subtext is that Biden isn't a fascist? We'd disagree on that. Biden and Trump certainly have different styles, but they both seem to embrace the deep state and the dictatorship of capital.
I'm not even sure how you got to this thought process. "Whataboutism" has completely lost its meaning at this point. I don't think you appreciate the gravity of our political situation. Politicians work for the ultra wealthy. We don't live in a democracy. They aren't going to do anything that would jeopardize the elites' position in society.
I agree. I like the LGBT community as well.
I it's difficult to draw a line between Trump and Tate directly. I personally think it's a larger reactionary movement in society, and Trump and Tate are symptoms of a larger societal sickness.
No comment here, I'm not familiar with this topic.
Reducing drug prices, especially at the paltry scale Biden negotiated for, is a measly concession that doesn't challenge the underlying power structure of Big Pharma's racketeering. Drug production should be nationalized.
Ah, you're Australian. I was thinking "this person must have been born yesterday" for many of my responses lol. I mean no offense. I can't say that I know another country as well as you the US, even with the corrections I've offered.
Yeah, medical coverage for all should be table-stakes.
I think this was about Hunter Biden? I honestly didn't follow that story too closely. I recall it dealt with the Biden family's racketeering, selling political favors, etc. The court system is highly politicized in this country.
Nepotism is everywhere in our society. We are a far cry from a meritocracy.
The opioid epidemic in the US predated the Fentanyl crisis. The opioid epidemic came from the systemic over-prescription of opioids to treat pain. The industry was aware of the dangers, but ignored them and profited as 500,000 Americans died of overdoses over a couple of decades. Doctors eventually stopped prescribing opioid which caused people to seek opioids off the street, which was far more dangerous, even before fentanyl made its way into the streets.
The great financial crisis can also be attributed to the rise in opioid use as many Americans lost their houses and livelihoods. It was an incredibly dark time for the working class.
The government didn't do anything to help citizens and families who were suffering. The Sackler family owned the main drug company responsible for producing the prescription opioids that killed so many people. They also bribed doctors to prescribe the opioids at a massive scale.
The Sacklers got a slap on the wrist and that was it.
I don't know about this, but it doesn't sound significant, especially considering the amount of oil he allowed to be drilled in Alaska.
EVs make sense in some climates, but they come with their own environmental and socioeconomic problems. The minerals used for batteries are extracted by slaves in Africa and the mining process isn't good for the local ecosystem. I need to read more into this.
IMO this is a case of treating a symptom instead of a root cause. Mass shootings are happening because our society is fragmenting. People are overworked, precarious, and have no access to healthcare or mental healthcare. Fixing healthcare and worker's rights would alleviate the crisis. I'm not even a gun-owner, but I never want to be in a situation where our fascist government has guns and citizens can't own guns.
Allowing for substantial oil-drilling is a funny way of going about this.
He reduced the rate of inflation. He still printed 30% of the US' money supply, which has predictably led to significant inflation.
"Acceptable" is subjective, I suppose. I don't find our government acceptable in the slightest. Anything short of democracy is tyranny.
Please understand that our media companies (CNN, FOX, MSNBC, etc.) are state propaganda. Our elites fall into factions that struggle for political power, which is evident in the ostensible differences between, say, Fox and MSNBC, but both companies are merely propaganda mouthpieces for the ultra-wealthy.
sigh
I hope you don't think I'm right-wing at this point. Notice my username.
Consider: the US Government deserves to be overthrown.
By... Religious facists?
I agree in the most basic way: get wall st power out of government. Buuuut the Republicans are not the way.
Consider that doing so is like a toddler having a temper tantrum.
What are you doing to fix politics? You're not starting a political party, you're not doing anything meaningful, you're not trying to get into office
You don't even have any real suggestions on how to fix things or who should be in charge
Being a keyboard warrior isn't helpful at all if you feel that way.
I do at least the bare minimum, and that is not voting for the parties of capital. That is a bar even liberals, the lowest of the low, can't clear.
Most people aren't (social?) fascists like you though and don't find genocide "ACCEPTABLE"
Unfortunately, facts don't matter to most people. Humans are emotional first. You say a bunch of stuff that clashes with their beliefs and group membership, and you hit a fight or flight response. They're not going to listen because losing group cohesion tells the brain you're going to die alone in the desert.
Think about how you feel when someone contradicts something you're emotionally invested in. Your favorite band sucks. Most people aren't going to calmly evaluate the situation.
Even given your exaggerations and lies, I’d ecstatically take four more years of this over four more hours of Trump.
Why do you shitlibs always make vague accusations instead of specifically enumerating the lies you perceive? You're all too cowardly to just say what you actually think because you know what you actually think is wet dogshit.
Huh? I didn’t make any accusations.
Coward
If you're not even capable of basic reading comprehension what are you even doing here
If you believe the things mentioned in the original comment have taken place just in the past three years or are the sole responsibility of Joe Biden, I would encourage you to... well, let's be honest, it's probably too late for you. I wish I could help you but I'm not an educator and don't have the time or inclination to re-educate the poorly educated.
But just to reiterate, strongly, I believe four more hours of Trump is literally worse than all the things mentioned that may or may not have to do with Joe Biden. You can disagree with that. I realize it's controversial.
I didn't think a Trump presidency was going to be that big of a deal at first but I was sorely wrong. It's by no means a stretch to imagine another Trump presidency, given the tone of this country and congress and judges, will be the undoing of the United States. Our democracy has failed. The oath our legislators have taken is worthless. They have all (all - dems included) put party over country.
And I will say it's not Trump whom I blame - it's the voters. What I am absolutely unable to comprehend is how anyone could possibly ever consider Trump for President of the United States, let alone vote for him. It's depressing that our culture has gotten to this point. Rather than educate and better ourselves, we choose stupidity. We choose freedom to be idiots ruled by fascism. We're regressing while other countries are evolving.
Biden might not fix what's broken but Trump very well make break everything it means to be American. So, for me, there's no choice.
Genuinely, nobody gives a shit about your personal opinion on voting, not only has nobody asked you about it, it's incredibly rote and predictable. You claimed there were lies and exaggerations - quit dodging and address your accusation with specifics.
Libs never engage with specifics. That's why their favorite dodge is to claim something is "complicated" and "needs nuance"
Nothing on this list is specific to Biden's presidency.
Every (modern) US government / congress has funded Israel, the military industrial complex, the prison industrial complex. These have always been gigantic concerns and now you're looking at this president and blaming him??
Current events aside, Trump was FAR more supportive of Israel than any other president this century, of not ever. I mean, you think shit's bad now? Imagine if Trump were president during this war.
Trump + Israel
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/100-times-president-trump-supported-israel/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50468025
Trump + Military Industrial complex
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/donald-trump-goes-all-in-for-the-military-industrial-complex/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewkorda/2020/09/10/trump-is-a-hypocrite-but-hes-right-about-the-military-industrial-complex/?sh=51b11e7d78da https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/trump-military-industrial-complex-eisenhower-pentagon-losers-suckers.html
Biden + Military Industrial complex
There's two wars going on right now so of course the current president is asking congress to appropriate more money towards those causes.
Trump + Prison industrial complex
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/trumps-first-year-has-been-private-prison-industrys-best
Biden + Prison industrial complex
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/biden-s-order-terminates-federal-private-prison-contracts-here-s-n1255776
"They" is used regarding the opioid criss and the 2008 financial crisis which obviously is not specific to Biden or his presidency.
Both Biden and Trump have taken positive steps towards solving the opioid crisis.
Biden + opioid crisis
https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/briefing-room/2021/11/17/fact-sheet-actions-the-biden-harris-administration-has-taken-to-address-addiction-and-the-overdose-epidemic/
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/05/19/biden-administration-announces-15-billion-funding-opportunity-state-opioid-response-grant-program.html
Trump + opioid crisis
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32113-9/fulltext https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/trump-signs-sweeping-opioid-bill-vow-end-scourge-drug-addiction-n923976
It was during the Obama administration that the economy was essentially saved so I'm not sure what this has to do with Biden's presidency. The "middle class" has literally been dying since the early 1970s when productivity and wages started to diverge. The death of the middle class sits firmly on the shoulders of Republicans who oppose federal minimum wages and more regulations on Wall Street, corporations, and consumer protections. So, to blame Biden's presidency on the death of the middle class is just not based in reality at all.
Trump + Middle class
https://apnews.com/article/bbd344ade2b74e17a172ac5a371ba756 https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-covid-response-economy-jobs-taxes-inequality-1080345/
Biden + Middle Class
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/11/biden-economics-middle-class-workers-heather-cox-richardson https://www.whitehouse.gov/build-back-better/
The list then goes on to mention congressional election campaigns and buying stocks which quite obviously has nothing to do with Biden or any president ever. FWIW, here's a bipartisan bill banning stock trades
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/npr/2023/07/20/1188869588/new-bill-would-fine-congress-members-for-trading-stocks-and-owning-blind-trusts/
https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/senators-propose-banning-stock-trades-us-congress-president-2023-07-25/
So, yeah for me, I'm more concerned about a candidate running for president posting an image of a current president bound up. That tells me that this person is not fit to be the leader of the country where I reside. I have no problem with Joes and Janes doing it (I'm 100% in support of this) but I personally hold my presidential candidates to a higher moral value than the rest of the public. That also includes holding the current president and congressional leaders to account when they don't voice their condemnation of mass civilian casualties. However, given the two choices we've got, frustratingly, there's not much of a choice.
So, when pressed over and over again to simply identify the "lies", the best you come up with is that it's all true but it's also true about other presidents?
Does anyone in your life take you seriously?
Buddy, are you feeling okay? Do you know where you are and what day of the week it is? Blink twice if you need help.
You may not get it now, but hopefully you will someday
Just wanted to add, no you fucking don't, because you're willing to forgive Joe Biden for genocide. I wouldn't forgive the average person for that, but since you're fixated on Trump you're willing to vote for genocide.
You are well beyond delusional. It’s sad and frightening how many people have been lost to these cults of disinformation and warped realities.
Surely you realize you're a clown, right?
Okie doke. I’m a clown who doesn’t have his head buried in a narrative chosen by my echo chamber.
being smug about being wrong is such a uniquely liberal trait
LOL! Saying someone is wrong when you’ve already acknowledged they’re right. Come on kid.
You claimed another user was lying. You dodged and dodged and dodged and finally decided to explain that their "lies" were omitting that other Presidents do the same shit. This is, you'll find, not lying.
You're a fucking clown and I am at this point absolutely certain that everyone in your personal life knows that you're a clown.
Dude. I don’t know what broke you but, on planet earth, claiming that a person did a thing when it was not only not them but someone else is called lying. I am going to inform you that because you reject truth and facts and reality, you are a member of a cult. Your brain has been manipulated for the gain of others. I want you to really think about this. Take the time to review this conversation and the facts presented by all parties. It’s not about me or my opinions; it’s about your ability to perceive reality. I sincerely hope you will take another look at this and take a breath. We’re losing too many people to propaganda and fear mongering.
You're really gonna be this stupid? If I say you posted on the internet, I'm a liar because so did millions of other people?
Holy shit man, log off and go look in a fucking mirror you joke.
If you say I posted something on tiktok when I have never had a tiktok account, yes, that would make you a liar. I’ve already offered the evidence to support my argument. You’ve chosen not to review this and continue to claim you’re right. We’re both looking at a clear blue sky and you’re saying it’s red. You’re a cultist. You are being manipulated for the gain of others.
shut the fuck up genocide lover
Yes the fuck you did
How are they lying?
Watch out, you're forgetting about the "crypto" part of being a cryptofascist
Its literally the same picture except one is tinted blue and the other is tinted red.
@TomboyShulk@hexbear.net tagline pls
If you aren't voting then you're complicit in letting all the things you listed happening too.
Joe Biden has done more about these problems than you have. You don't really care about any of these issues if you're too lazy to vote.
See my second paragraph. The same applies for the executive branch elections. We can't reform this. Direct action is the only solution.
Protests are only effective if the people in power are at least sympathetic to what you want.
You can vote and protest you know. Think of having Democrats in power as a buff in favor of whatever you're protesting.
If you're protesting and not voting, it's probably a movement that's represented best by that Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial. Just a fun get-together with your friends where you pretend to be angry about something. All performative bullshit. So just have a Pepsi and stop pretending you care about anything LOL.
Gaslighting, like a true liberal.
Being lazy and ineffective like a true socialist.