Because it has to look like socialism failed completely on its own, because of policy, or else it will create some sort of backlash. If socialism is seen to fail without public meddling from his admin then they can say, “well that’s socialism, it always fails,” the implication being on its own.
It also makes Mamdani look bad to certain crank liberals and certain crank radical leftists if Trump is seen approving of Mamdani. As a member of DSA I can’t overstate the effect of his win, we went from 80k to 85k members in one day.
Making socialism look bad to all those people in the middle to whose opinion of socialism and social democratic policies is starting to trend much more positive, has always been a top priority for the ruling capitalist class. If you’re seen fighting something that people think is good and practical, you look like a villain, which angers people into wanting to act.
Unfortunately a lot of those people in the middle are under the influence of illusions about capitalism. Maintaining those illusions is a multi-trillion dollar industry. Even when middle class people have positive opinions, they aren’t doing practical organizing. Basically they are more split on these issues than a lot of polling suggests. Keeping those people in a state where they will believe that the status quo is still better for them than the struggle for democratic socialism and liberation, is the ur-policy of the ruling class, and has been since FDR.
Maybe not. He doesnt have to, he has people doing it for him.
Also, theres no guarantee he will succeed. Lots of these social strategies deployed by his admin, like the reaction to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, have backfired bigly.
But if we think about Trump as an individual divorced from like all of the backing of all the billionaires who openly or secretly back his agenda, then we are participating in exactly the kind of myopia that Trump elicits as the avatar and firebrand of much bigger interests. Just the example of project 2025, an agenda his admin has stuck pretty closely too, was developed by the Heritage foundation, a think tank that receives funding from wealthy super donors, mega corporations, christian conservative foundations, and on and on.
He doesnt have to play 5d chess, he just has to react to circumstances and varied interests, listen to people who advise him, and stay true to the actual basis of his power. Its not that hard to believe that a confirmed liar and manipulator to be a lying manipulator. If it has a certain theatrical flair, it just does that much more to confuse and mislead people.
Regular people play 5d chess all the time. It leads to mistakes, but Trump is accustomed to being immune to consequences. Don’t underestimate an enemy that presents a historic, urgent and deadly threat to like billions of people all over the world. You can believe he is personally dumb. That doesnt contradict the fact that this is a stunt, and that the stunt has an objective that it is working toward.
I’m not giving him credit. I’m accounting for the fact that people backing his admin this time are educated, serious, strategic, and tactical. This tactic probably got cooked up long before he even won. Trump initiated this meeting, and he behaved a certain way. If anything he over sold his position.
Even if Trump is a colossal moron, which I won’t deny out of hand, he is a populist, so it makes sense for him to try and blur the line between himself, a right-populist, and Mamdani, a left-populist. Trump will destroy Zohran’s admin and keep dressing like him for the bit.
Because it has to look like socialism failed completely on its own, because of policy, or else it will create some sort of backlash. If socialism is seen to fail without public meddling from his admin then they can say, “well that’s socialism, it always fails,” the implication being on its own.
It also makes Mamdani look bad to certain crank liberals and certain crank radical leftists if Trump is seen approving of Mamdani. As a member of DSA I can’t overstate the effect of his win, we went from 80k to 85k members in one day.
Making socialism look bad to all those people in the middle to whose opinion of socialism and social democratic policies is starting to trend much more positive, has always been a top priority for the ruling capitalist class. If you’re seen fighting something that people think is good and practical, you look like a villain, which angers people into wanting to act.
Unfortunately a lot of those people in the middle are under the influence of illusions about capitalism. Maintaining those illusions is a multi-trillion dollar industry. Even when middle class people have positive opinions, they aren’t doing practical organizing. Basically they are more split on these issues than a lot of polling suggests. Keeping those people in a state where they will believe that the status quo is still better for them than the struggle for democratic socialism and liberation, is the ur-policy of the ruling class, and has been since FDR.
He’s not playing 5D chess.
Maybe not. He doesnt have to, he has people doing it for him.
Also, theres no guarantee he will succeed. Lots of these social strategies deployed by his admin, like the reaction to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, have backfired bigly.
But if we think about Trump as an individual divorced from like all of the backing of all the billionaires who openly or secretly back his agenda, then we are participating in exactly the kind of myopia that Trump elicits as the avatar and firebrand of much bigger interests. Just the example of project 2025, an agenda his admin has stuck pretty closely too, was developed by the Heritage foundation, a think tank that receives funding from wealthy super donors, mega corporations, christian conservative foundations, and on and on.
He doesnt have to play 5d chess, he just has to react to circumstances and varied interests, listen to people who advise him, and stay true to the actual basis of his power. Its not that hard to believe that a confirmed liar and manipulator to be a lying manipulator. If it has a certain theatrical flair, it just does that much more to confuse and mislead people.
Regular people play 5d chess all the time. It leads to mistakes, but Trump is accustomed to being immune to consequences. Don’t underestimate an enemy that presents a historic, urgent and deadly threat to like billions of people all over the world. You can believe he is personally dumb. That doesnt contradict the fact that this is a stunt, and that the stunt has an objective that it is working toward.
You are giving this slavering demented moron far too much credit.
Nothing has to look like anything. They just make up facts about whatever reality they want
I’m not giving him credit. I’m accounting for the fact that people backing his admin this time are educated, serious, strategic, and tactical. This tactic probably got cooked up long before he even won. Trump initiated this meeting, and he behaved a certain way. If anything he over sold his position.
Even if Trump is a colossal moron, which I won’t deny out of hand, he is a populist, so it makes sense for him to try and blur the line between himself, a right-populist, and Mamdani, a left-populist. Trump will destroy Zohran’s admin and keep dressing like him for the bit.
You think hes writing out all of their detailed plans, legislation or agendas?