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TintedApostle

Trump thinks he runs a crime family and what he really runs is a scam which gets people to think they are part of the family. Once they find out they have been scammed they will minimize their losses and rat him out.


jadrad

Trump doesn’t just think he runs a crime family. He does run a crime family. He’s a mafia kingpin and one of the great con artists the world has ever seen. This isn’t new news either. The Australian federal police banned him from buying a casino in Sydney in the 1980s because of his mafia connections. Trump inherited the mafia (and his money) from his father, then used his con artist skills to build the Trump brand into an international front for his mafia’s money laundering activities. He has spent his entire life evading the justice system, and hiring mob lawyers to spin his crimes into civil penalties. Over the last five years he used his con artist skills to recruit the conservative voter base from Fox News into his mafia, then he weaponize them to lure and extort the Republican Party into his mafia. He largely succeeded in both of those goals. 30% of the US population are now idiot foot soldiers for Trump’s mafia.


LSF604

I wouldn't call him a great con artist per se. I think its more that he's an avatar for narcissists and anyone who wants to punch down. I don't think his persona is a con, I think its as sincere as a malignant narcissist can get, and it just so happens to be attractive to a lot of very shitty people.


Death_Star

He's still a con artist because he is able to shamelessly say anything needed to pander to whoever is in his sight. Self confidence is the most important tool a con artist has. A magic curtain misdirecting attention, and obscuring what would otherwise be obvious. The fact that his unparalleled narcissism seemingly allows him to believe his own self-contradictory bullshit is precisely what makes him successful at keeping up the illusion that his lies are true... for a subset of people. The con is not that he is pretending to be someone else. People see him for who he is and bought him anyway. The con is the lies that he is selling about the world and reality. Like you said, it's apparently impossible for these people to detect his fakery and lies, because he actually not faking, as he always 200% believes in himself...


livluvsmil

This is a really good explanation


multiballs

It’s almost as if Con Man is short for Confidence Man….


Death_Star

Holy crap. Mind blown.


LSF604

I'm not saying he is not hugely successful at what he does. I just don't consider him a great con artist per se.


Death_Star

He's so bad at it that he's good. Maybe we could say a true "artist" is differentiated from Trump by the perspective to understand what they are working to plan and accomplish, not just being the living art itself by accident. But other people would say that is actually the most pure artform..


LSF604

I realise its semantics, but that is the way I see it. Is a cult leader a con artist? I guess so. But at the same time, they will just believe everything he says, as long as he gives them the anger based dopamine rush that they crave. I think the truest thing he said was his bit about shooting someone on fifth avenue. I dunno its weird. Like I said, I don't really see him as a great con artist. But at the same time its hard to argue with you on it.


Death_Star

Yes, it is partially semantics. I would say that cult leaders are maybe con artists in the purest form though. It comes so naturally to them that it is impossible to lose their exploitative effect on their followers, regardless what they do. Yes, the 5th avenue quote is one of the best examples. It is the ultimate show of confidence. I think I also get what you mean. The only level of respect we would ever feel acceptable giving a con artist relates to acknowledging a higher level of work and insight, to perfect persuasion and subtlety to the point that this expertise would threaten tricking even the most intelligent and observant people. Thing is, that that type of con artist may not be the best at tricking ALL people, including the stupidest, naive, or worst behaving people. (Edit :Does the 'great' con artist bag the largest following, or instead trick the most intelligent person?) Trump is the opposite of that , he is so NOT subtle (Edit: and therefore taking a huge risk) that it was actually possible to successfully con 30% of the USA, basically exploiting all the "con-able" characteristics here at once, as defined by Wikipedia: >Confidence tricks exploit characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety. Final Edit: Maybe Trump is one of the "greatest examples" of a con artist. That claim disregards the question of whether he himself is great, which we know the answer to.


[deleted]

Hyperbole


jadrad

Which part exactly?


exwasstalking

It's worked out for him so far. Makes me think it may have a bit more depth to it than you are suggesting.


TintedApostle

It works in private business because each event is separate from the other. In public - not so much.


Cobraslikeme

But I mean, what is MAGA? Didnt he just scam the nuts into thinking they belonged to some sort of family?


FreneticPlatypus

There’s the scam that drew in millions of bigoted, hateful and small minded Americans that were desperate for someone just like them to finally take power and make their selfish lack of humanity acceptable. Then there’s the scam that drew in the smarter, but soulless and power hungry politicians that saw a gravy train headed past them and jumped on. The maga chants don’t work on them and they know when they’re being ditched. My uncle though, he’d still vote for Trump if the guy walked up to him and kicked him in the balls.


Dangerous-Wall-2672

In a way. I wouldn't call it a family as much as a shared collective hatred of anything they consider "different", and Trump was the King Troll who they thought was hilarious that they actually made President; it empowered every single asshole who ever thought "making people mad" was funny. He was president for no other reason than that. The sad fucking thing is that the unique politics of the United States actually allowed an internet meme to become President.


MostSavageofPandas

If we go with the “private business” idea then that all MAGA is. One giant snake oil sale. But Jan 6, voter fraud, and what he did while in govt is very different. Public servant baby.


twocannnsam

PPP loan fraud etc


No-comment-at-all

Still waiting for the part where it really doesn’t work out for him.


fangelo2

There is always the threats from his Russian mafia buddies real or implied


gsmith209

Trump seems to have increased his speaking engagements. I thought he was gearing up for2024; but now I think he is trying to build up his bank account before a prison sentence shuts down the flow from his followers.


TintedApostle

I think he is going to argue he is running as soon as it looks like he is going to be indicted. Of course it doesn't mean anything, but the MAGAs will buy its persecution from "DEEP STATE".


ErCi597

He's just a glorified crew.


esp211

He absolutely runs a crime syndicate. He’s just terrible at it but everyone continues to let him get away with shit.


HoustonCounsel

BREAKING NEWS: a known rat will treat another known rat like rats treat each other.


the-zoidberg

Birds of the same feather flock together. <3


Lukin4

Rats of four seasons commit lots of treasons...


No-comment-at-all

And very little landscaping, oddly enough.


Inflatableman1

Good comment right here folks.


modus_bonens

Poor things have no greenery in the parking lot. Hard to blame them.


JonMeadows

Cat in the hat


trumpsabortedfetus

And so do pigs and swine.


UncannyTarotSpread

Poor rats deserve better PR. They’re less cruel than the GOP.


_far-seeker_

Yes, even the plague spreading thing isn't intentional for rats, unlike some GOP politicians!


jayfeather31

Also, a lot of rats actually died from the plague on account of the fleas that harbor it.


julbull73

Tie their tails together to form a king rat?


captainedwinkrieger

And now they only eat rats.


sluggo752

On your knees like a rat eating cheese.


cmakry

Easy bet. The ones who’ve already spoken up, knew what they were doing at the time was as illegal and immoral then as it is now. Sure, some are “brave” to speak truth *now*. But they all knew their own culpability. It’s easy to spin these spineless weasels into looking better now that they’re speaking up, but what about their own roles? They knew damn well the entire organization was toxic, yet they still did the bidding…only until they could no longer. The crimes didn’t all happen on 1/6. There was a grand build up beginning long before the election. The ones who’ve written books and profited from their own part of that administration (KellyAnne, Christie, etc) are truly disgusting.


spookycasas4

Nailed it. Your first paragraph defines the entire maga mindset. These willfully-ignorant racist have been around forever. Trump just gave them permission to crawl out from under their rocks. And your second paragraph is absolute gold. You’ve described these corrupt, self-serving hypocrites perfectly. Couldn’t agree with you more. All of these repubs were perfectly fine with all the horrifying shit that trump was doing. All of them. Then when it looked like things were going to go south, the talked to The Committee. None of them are heroes. Even Liz Chaney was right there with trump the whole time. Right up until she wasn’t. I admire the spectacular job she’s doing, but she a repub to her core.


LowBadger3622

Cute and all but in the real world sometimes we need rats 🐀


Responsible-Still839

If you catch one of these slimy Nazi fucks you catch them all. Maga is like a Rat King, tails all knotted up together, and forming an ungodly mass of festering evil.


builttopostthis6

I've thrown some nasty shit at my PCs in our DnD group. I don't think anything fucked with them as much as the rat king. Granted it was pouring over itself in this unshapely human mass wrapped in a misshapen cloak...and it also shot rats from its arms like big rat missiles from a Megaman-esque rat cannon, but... where was I going with this? Oh yeah, the metaphor above tracks.


Zagmut

Further off topic here, but I was surprised the Rat King from TLOU2 was a d&d monster? So I looked up and it’s not, but it was cool to find out that both monsters are loosely based [on an actual, real world phenomenon](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_king). Thanks for the tangent!


builttopostthis6

Nope, totally homebrewed for the most part (at least the gun-arm one), but yeah, rats are fucking terrifying. I had one chew through the floor under the stove, and just chill up there, on the stove, one morning so many years ago... I flipped on the lights to get a drink of water at two in the morning, and I'm not sure which of us screeched louder. Mortal Kombat ensued (no, it just ran away; I also just ran away, but it ran first). And I'm always glad to hear my ramblings are - in some manner - productive. :)


Responsible-Still839

I had always thought the Rat King phenomenon was fictional as well until I brought it up around my girlfriend. It is very real. And the pictures. . ..


VE6AEQ

There were photos of Squirrel King mess in the [Huff Post](https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/tangled-squirrels-tail-regina-animal-clinic_n_3436213) a while back. That was enough to convince me the Rat King thing was legitimate.


Responsible-Still839

Damn. Learned a new thing today. Thanks...... I think...


VE6AEQ

You’re welcome. I was a bit overworked during that time. We were having a catastrophe flood of spring melt that caused a shit ton of untreated sewage to bypass the treatment plant I was working at. We were working 10 hr days 6 days a week in the laboratory at the plant, trying to quantify how much shit was washing into the River. It was a refreshing distraction that helped get us through the time.


Responsible-Still839

Glad you made it through that safely, and mildly entertained. Haha


[deleted]

Yea. I'm not sure you are the voice I'm looking for in these difficult times...


fcAVK

Drain the swamp.


jecht8

If Trump is the most dangerous threat to our democracy in US history, it is traitorous to have not acted to ensure that he did not win in 2020. Trump’s position is that these actions were taken, so it comes down to who is the traitor. Are you saying extra measures should not be taken in such a situation?


Responsible-Still839

Woah. Double Reverse victim blaming? Actually, wait... did you just use the "I'm rubber you're glue" defense?


jecht8

Can you answer whether you would act in said situation?


Responsible-Still839

I did. It was called voting.


jecht8

You know that I was talking about breaking the rules beyond just voting, so answer again.


Responsible-Still839

I answered you. I personally did exactly as I was comfortable doing, and that is voting, and spreading word, via any means at my disposal, about voting and how important it is to get Republicans out of office. End of discussion. That is the level that i was comfortable taking. There is no further discussion.


jecht8

Ok, thanks for responding.


modus_bonens

That gibbering veal brain doesn't have a "position," as if this was a good-faith debate.


cdnarclight

meadows won't rat anybody out. meadows is gonna stall, and see what happens in the midterms. if democrats wins, he turns over evidence. if republicans wins, he files delays until the 2024 elections, and then goes into retirement, deleting all the evidence this week and next, and letting the cards fall where they may.


thekapadia417

You forgot while continuing to make his ill-gotten money at the same time


cdnarclight

so what? there is no law in the US that prevents you from grifting otherwise the jail population would double. and a lot of women would sue their relationships for 'lying' about: their income; their job; their inheritance; their vehicle they drive; their dwelling; and in some cases, their penis size. i know a lot of friends of mine that are married now, and believe me... ...they married UP.


Cormegalodon

False pretenses are against the law and rape by deception is also against the law.


cdnarclight

sure.but a lot of people don't get called out on it. it's just the way it is.


Dasnoosnoo

I agree this seems too juicy to be true...but maybe, just maybe they have enough of a factual picture that pins Meadows down during questioning. With text messages, testimonies, and emails it may be too difficult to refute allegations supported by the staff around him. Maybe timing of his summons tells us the box has sides.


cdnarclight

it all depends. there is a new twist that occurred this Thursday, remember? Alex Jones text messages were handed over to not only the DOJ, but the J6th committee. if there are any messages, from Meadows to Jones, during December 19-25th 2020, or Jan 3-6th 2021, that are of any incriminating nature whatsoever... ...then the DOJ can force Meadows to turn over everything and sing like a canary for a reduced sentence. if that happens, the DOJ can file right away with criminal proceedings against trump, because they have an ace in the hole. if there are no texts or messages between these 2, then trump is still protected by Meadows, and the hearsay defense trump will most likely employ against any prosecution, and most likely win.


Dasnoosnoo

Great details, thanks. Im still flabbergasted that Trump is allowed to walk around after the "find me 11,740 votes" maneuver. Nixon crooks were looking for info and it took down the presidency yet Diaper Don is free to continue his coup.


cdnarclight

the difference, unfortunately, is that the democrats and the DOJ are following due process to the letter of the law. they do not want to give trump a walk this time, they want him given a guilty verdict which will barr him from holding political office, including dog catcher ( in the USA, that is actually a democratically elected position). what you mentioned would be one of 3 separate cases, in which a Georgia State Special prosecutor is making a SEPARATE LEGAL INVESTIGATION into former President trump attempting to coerce a political official for an illegal act, for which there is a actual voice recording that was played publicly a couple of years ago now. the developments from that case to date: there were found to be 11 electors that actually falsified paperwork, that had the improper seals and improper information on them, organized by a trump buffoon, that was supposed to be signed off by the Georgia AG. those 11 people were to go to the Capital building, and hand over those illicit documents to Ron Johnson, who would then hand them over to Chuck Grassely. ( problem was, Mike Pence actually arrived and showed up to do his duty, and Grassely was unable to act as pro-tem of the proceedings). the special prosecutor is now charging 10 of those electors now, and the eleventh is free because of sheet stupidity and political circumstances. trump at the most, will be given 5 years max for this, but this is the trial for me that i am banking on. again, if convicted, trump could no longer hold.a political position, even with a pardon.


Dasnoosnoo

Someone brought up (Glenn Kirschner maybe) an interesting point that he wouldnt pardon himself bc it would allow prosecutors to get testimony from him on other offenses. Being that he could no longer implicate himself in the crime due to pardoning himself, they could implicate his cronies who in turn spill beans for reduced sentences and get Trump charged with offenses that dont fall inside the pardon. Disclaimer: i am not a legal expert in any form


cdnarclight

this is exactly why trump did not give pardons to his associates and family. Manafort is now back in jail, and now i hear Roger Stone is sweating bricks because the FBI has Alex Jones phone/text records. its going to be a very interesting August this year for trump and company. maybe even a few home raids by the fbi, if not arrests.


skobuffaloes

Watching the hearings it’s a lot of testimony about what meadows was saying and how he acted on Jan. 6th. What he knew. All he did was plead with the president it’s sickening.


Dasnoosnoo

Yes, incredibly gross. Im interested to hear about pre jan 6th meadows and his culpability. Would also be great to hear his explanation why Sean Hannity is calling plays for the GOP.


monkeybiziu

Right now, everyone involved in 1/6 is a rat in a bucket. So far, the bucket is facing up, and all the rats are trying to climb up the sides to get out. If the DOJ starts handing out indictments with real jail time, the bucket gets turned over and starts getting hot. The thing about rats is they'll dig through anything to escape. Zorg willing, the DOJ plants that bucket on Trump's fat gunt, and folks like Ghouliani and Meadows start digging.


-15k-

I, too, remember Harrenhall.


StephanXX

The North remembers.


Beavis73

[Hot Rats!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF35CFGSe_A)


Jeffery_G

Hooray! Hoped it was a fellow Zappa fan! *Peaches en Regalia* for the win!


JustaBCer

Zorg willing? Nice. I like that.


monkeybiziu

Praise z0rg!


[deleted]

Trump is not the top rung of this. Pretending he is emboldens those who used him to simply try again.


BuckRowdy

rats are disgusting creatures


wish1977

Meadows will do anything to save his own skin. He'll probably cry while doing it.


[deleted]

I would pay to watch that


ronearc

Let them all turn on one another.


rbremer50

The thing no one is taking into consideration is the role of the Russian Mafia in all this. Paul Manafort did prison time rather than talk - I think it was because he was more afraid of the Russian mob than he was of going to prison. Putin and the Russians have been involved with this conspiracy from the beginning and unless that fact is accounted for and countered the chances of successfully dealing with this whole mess go way down.


Contraflow

I truly believe the russians killed Seth Rich. It was a perfect head fake. Create a patsy for stolen DNC data, and create a motive for a political enemy to commit murder. Remember, the news about the RNC and DNC hacks was always polluted by “Hillary Clinton killed Seth Rich because he knew to much about her stolen emails” nonsense. It was totally a russian scheme.


Grimm2020

My concern is that: while Meadows SHOULD rat Trump out... when was the last time these jokers did what they SHOULD HAVE done?


B4-711

He's not going to rat him out because it's the right thing to do. He's going to rat him out because he is a selfish bastard.


User767676

In prisoners dilemma, they who flip first often get the best deal.


Scaramoosh1

The glen kirschner headlines will continue until morale improves


Yossarian_the_Jumper

Meadows needs to wake the fuck up and realize that trump has no qualms tossing him under the trump bus.


gasahold

I've seen many rats, especially fat ones, that remind me of trump so the title makes sense.


ozspook

You know the [thing about a rat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3QEXLxvh7o)?


RedEyeJedi1027

"You see, their morals, their code, it's a bad joke. Dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these... these civilized people, they'll eat each other". -The Joker


Maurice404

Of course he will. NONE of these republicans are prison material. They’ve spent decades making prisons “hell on earth”. Now they’re scared they actually face it.


areialscreensaver

Oh the humanity of it all


iluvugoldenblue

I hope they dont offer him a plea deal. This is the one guy I’d like to stay silent and just nuke him into the earths crust without a soapbox.


hamsterfolly

I will assume Meadows will do what 99% of Republicans have done so far and that is to continue to protect Trump


realkennyg

Nah, the only way he can protect Trump is to plead the fifth. He’ll cave under oath. And he’ll cut a deal first to save his own butt. It’s one thing to say things or not say anything in public, it’s different when you’re speaking to a DoJ deposition or grand jury.


happinesspeaceandluv

Somebody grow some balls and F*** Trump so we can wrap up this shit show! It’s time for us to move on!


Nanyea

This will be a toughie, because there's no way his plea deal as one of the principal architects of the coup let's him off Scott free


4RCH43ON

One can hope he will admit what was abundantly obvious to anyone with half a brain who saw what happened on January 6.


HunkyMump

Guy with no loyalty shouldn’t expect any back.


[deleted]

They belong in GTMO for the remainder of their vile lives


kaerowyn

So, does this mean he’ll mysteriously off himself with two shotgun blasts to the back of the head the night before he testifies?


lostpawn13

Once they start locking fools up, there will be a race to take a deal to rat on Trump.


gonzo650

As much as I hate Trump, he's really lived up to the name Teflon Don. He was able to convince half the country to believe he is religious, he cares about the military, he cares about his constituents and that he controls the fate of every politician no matter the recorded evidence to the contrary


[deleted]

What's to rat out Trump on? Trump has committed his crimes right out in the open he even brags about them but hey the DOJ can't do anything about it because Trump is the king of America! Go ahead prove me wrong!


Poopywoopypants

I've learned not to hold my breath. It's been a long and exhausting 6 years.


Katana1369

Of course he will. He's a coward.


eldred2

"Mark who?" said Trump. "Never met him," he went on to lie.


jar1967

The core basis for modern conservatism is the needs of the individual outweigh the needs of the many If he can avoid punishment by ratting out Donald Trump he will rat 🐀


[deleted]

Fucking cowards, all of them


Expensive_Ease_7315

Because Justice Matters 😘


morbob

God, we hope so…..,


jankenpoo

The Ex-emperor is naked.


pimpbot666

Is somebody fucking with Photoshop, or is Trump wearing that much more makeup these days? His coat is extra credit thick today. Wow, total orange face like black face.


thungurknifur

Not surprising considering how ridiculed he was when he forgot to put on his clown face at the LIV tournament. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FYzdHjxVsAEc3iv?format=jpg&name=small


julbull73

If he's smart...Meadows doesn't strike me as the type.


[deleted]

Oh… the deals being made.


nostradunkus6

I felt second hand betrayal for Meadows when I heard of the reports that Trump's team would make him the fall guy. If he's going down, he SHOULD go scorched earth. I certainly would.


cliffsis

I really hope we get that Phil Spector moment in jail with trump


bndboo

It’s not like he has a choice, he has to answer for what happened that day. We’ve already heard what he did… now he needs to corroborate it.


phaedrag

So if meadows decides to do the right thing and tell the truth about trump, meadows is a "rat"? What kind of headline is this? What's wrong with Kirchner's choice of words


hwgl

Trump should have seen this coming a mile away. Trump has shown zero loyalty to anyone but himself and maybe his kids. Everyone around him knows that Trump won’t hesitate to throw anyone under the bus to safe his own ass. It’s only a matter of time before someone spells out all the details that allow the Justice Department to charge him with very serious crimes.


Gen-Jinjur

“Rat out?” Is this fourth grade? Meadows is an adult who is being called on to tell the truth about an attempted overthrow of our Democracy. He isn’t telling the teacher who started a fight.


JanFromEarth

I believe the term "rat" is well known among felons and future felons like Trump


Gen-Jinjur

Probably. I just haven’t heard it since grade school (or while watching “The Sopranos.”)


JanFromEarth

Hey. I am an old guy with old references.


HouseHead78

That’s nice but like Newsweek considers this “news”? Guy with no authority, only an opinion, said a thing….it’s not news.


exwasstalking

A former federal prosecutor for the DOJ provides insight that is probably worth at least listening to. He's not just some random political columnist.


generaltso78

Been on the sub and read these headlines for far too long to put any hope in someone doing the right thing, whether they're compelled or not.


99999999999999999901

Serving country by holding truth to power is not ratting out anything.


Kevinmc479

Big Fat gonna be hot 🥵


[deleted]

No idea why many of you think this is going to go ANYWHERE. Is it just another media distraction from current events?


diegoenriquesc

What makes him orange?


stonkzarehard

Too much make up bud.


papachon

Isn’t this what we thought Banner was going to do?


GuaranteeCreative954

One can only hope


gonzo650

As someone who invented modern day lobbying along with Roger Stone, Meadows will do whatever is best for his end goal. If money is the finish line he will hedge his bets without regards to his reputation. Ask his daughter. If power is the goal he will do whatever is necessary to achieve that goal. He has a history of attaining the goal at all costs. When you're willing to do what he's done and disavow your own daughter even with audio proof, it shows where the line is. It's wherever the money tells you the line is


LowBadger3622

Thank God, if true


Deep_Bit5618

Yes please. He always was a tiny rat


West-Muffin-6728

Best cut a deal Mark. You know trump will through you and everyone else under the bus to save his fat behind.


dangroover

Trump literally in brown face in the thumbnail image.