Trump goes on confused, bizarre rant, fully detaches from reality - Brian Tyler Cohen

[TexasTowelie]

Transcript:

how did you decide to reopen Alcatraz
can you walk us through that decision
did I say what to reopen Alcatraz how
will you use it how did you come up with
the idea well I guess I was supposed to
be a movie maker we're talking we
started with the movie making and we'll
end i mean it it represents something
very strong very powerful in terms of
law and order our country needs law and
order alcatraz is I would say the
ultimate right alcatraz sing and Alcatra
the movies but uh it's right now a
museum believe it or not a lot of people
go there it housed the uh most violent
criminals in the world and nobody ever
escaped one person almost got there but
they as you know the story they found
his clothing rather badly ripped up and
uh it was a lot of shark bites a lot of
lot of problems nobody's ever escaped
from Alcatraz and just represented
something uh strong having to do with
law and order we need law and order in
this country and so we're going to uh
look at it some of the people up here
are going to be working very hard on
that and uh we had a little conversation
i think it's going to be very
interesting we'll see if we can uh bring
it back in large form add a lot but I
think it represents something right now
it's a a big hulk that's sitting there
rusting and rotting uh very uh you look
at it it's sort of an you saw that
picture that was put out it's sort of
amazing but it it sort of represents
something that's both horrible and
beautiful and strong and miserable weak
it's got a lot of it's got a lot of
qualities that are interesting and I
think they they make a point just when
you think Trump's mental decline
couldn't be more obvious he delivers yet
another incoherent word salad that
leaves everybody scratching their heads
in this latest public appearance Trump
goes on a bewildering tangent about
Alcatraz and it wasn't just strange it
revealed his complete detachment from
both reality and basic economic
understanding now it started by Trump
saying he was supposed to be a movie
maker then rambles about Alcatraz being
the ultimate in law and order before
describing it as a big hunk that's just
sitting there rusting and rotting and so
somehow in the span of just 90 seconds
he managed to describe it as
simultaneously horrible and beautiful
and strong and miserable and weak that's
our president with the best words
describing this prison as both strong
and weak at the exact same time but in
terms of the actual reopening of the
prison itself this isn't just bizarre it
is economically illiterate alcatraz was
closed in 1963 for good reason it was
absurdly expensive to operate the
prison's isolated island location meant
that fresh water food and supplies all
had to be shipped in regularly the
saltwater environment caused rapid
deterioration of the buildings requiring
constant maintenance the cost per
prisoner at Alcatraz was three times
higher than at other federal
penitentiaries of the time it was shut
down precisely because it was an
inefficient use of taxpayer dollars but
Trump in his endless quest to appear
tough on crime doesn't care about fiscal
responsibility he doesn't care that
reopening Alcatraz would be a massive
waste of taxpayer money he doesn't care
that modern prison facilities are
designed to be more cost-effective and
secure all he cares about is the
symbolic value the movie version of what
Alcatres represents and speaking of
movies that is another level that's
particularly revealing trump started
this rant by saying "I guess I was
supposed to be a movie maker." This
obsession with spectacle over substance
is the perfect encapsulation of Donald
Trump's entire approach to governance he
doesn't want to implement effective
policy he wants to create dramatic
scenes that look good to his base he
doesn't care if something works he only
cares if it makes for a good story but
let's talk about the real world impacts
that this would have alcatraz Island
welcomes about 1.5 million visitors
annually generating tens of millions of
dollars for the Bay Area economy it's
one of San Francisco's top tourist
attractions converting it back to a
prison would decimate local tourism
costing thousands of jobs and depriving
the city of crucial revenue and speaking
of tourism Trump's already doing enough
damage to that sector with his reckless
trade war with Canada tourism from
Canada to the US has plummeted since
Trump imposed his tariffs with Canadian
visitors cancelling trips and choosing
other destinations to go to the US
Travel Association estimates that for
every 1% decrease in international
visitors our economy loses $3.3 billion
and 23,000 jobs trump's policies are
already hurting the tourism industry
nationwide and this Alcatraz scheme
would only add to the damage but perhaps
the most bizarre aspect of this whole
rant is Trump's fixation on the idea
that nobody ever escaped from Alcatraz
and this graphic description of shark
bites on the clothing of somebody who
tried this obsession with punishment
reveals the cruelty at the heart of
Donald Trump's worldview he's not
interested in rehabilitation or justice
he is interested in suffering in his
mind the value of Alcatres isn't that it
reformed criminals or protected society
it's that it was a a place of misery
that nobody could escape from let's be
clear this isn't leadership it is sadism
masquerading as law and order and it's
particularly rich coming from somebody
who spent the last several years doing
everything in his power to escape
accountability for his own actions from
refusing to comply with congressional
subpoenas to claiming presidential
immunity for his role in the January 6
insurrection this cognitive dissonance
required to be Donald Trump must be
truly staggering in one breath he wants
to reopen Alcatraz because nobody ever
escaped and we need law and order and
yet in the next breath he's arguing that
president should be immune from
prosecution and pardoning his political
allies the message is clear harsh
punishments for thee complete impunity
for me but beyond the hypocrisy beyond
the economic illiteracy beyond the
damage to tourism what this rant really
exposes is Trump's deteriorating mental
state the rambling incoherent nature of
his speech the contradictory
descriptions the bizarre tangents this
isn't normal and it's not just a matter
of style or personality it is a serious
question about his fitness for office i
know that it's just baked into the cake
that Donald Trump is a lunatic but let's
not try to allow ourselves to accept
this insane notion that any of this is
normal but with all of that said let's
talk about what this Alcatres nonsense
is really about it is a distraction
donald Trump knows that every minute we
spend talking about his bizarre prison
fantasies is another minute that we're
not talking about the economic
catastrophe that he's ushering in and
make no mistake it is a catastrophe so
while I have you here let's talk about
the real issue that he's trying to
distract you from because as far as the
economy is concerned the numbers don't
lie the economy contracted in the first
quarter shrinking at an annual rate
of.3% the first contraction since the
pandemic the stock market has plummeted
with the S&P 500 down more than 7% since
inauguration day and the NASDAQ down a
staggering 11% and all of this while
Donald Trump promised an economic golden
age just 4 months ago and who's paying
the price not Trump and his billionaire
friends it is workingclass Americans his
tariffs amount to a tax increase of
nearly $1,300 per household this year
alone consumer confidence has fallen for
five straight months now small
businesses are struggling with supply
chain chaos and unpredictable costs
donald Trump's trade war has le left us
isolated on the world stage this is
economic malpractice on a massive scale
so when Trump goes on these bizarre
tangents about reopening Alcatraz or
complaining about showerhead water
pressure or rambling about Sharpies or
movie making it's not just evidence of
his cognitive decline it is a deliberate
strategy to change the subject he wants
us talking about anything other than the
fact that he has broken every single
economic promise he made during the
campaign remember when he said he would
lower costs on day one well it's been
over a 100 days and costs have only gone
up remember when he said he would create
manufacturing jobs manufacturing
activity has been contracting remember
when he said he would make America rich
again ask yourself do you feel richer
today than you did 4 months ago the
truly insidious part is that even as
Trump distracts us with nonsensical
rants his administration is quietly
implementing policies that transfer even
more wealth to the already wealthy his
budget proposal slashes funding for
programs that help workingclass
Americans while preserving tax cuts for
the ultra rich it is class warfare
disguised as economic policy and these
Alcatraz theatrics are designed to keep
us from noticing so the next time Donald
Trump goes off on some incomprehensible
tangent remember what he's trying to
distract you from remember the economic
pain his policies are causing real
Americans remember that while he's
fantasizing about reopening a prison
museum millions of Americans are worried
about how they'll afford their next
grocery bill or rent payment this isn't
leadership it is a magic trick designed
to make you look at his right hand while
his left hand picks your
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[58Sunliner]

1. Kick and rec. Thank you for providing the transcript!

[TearsOfDaClowned]

2. Lotta shark bites, A LOTTA Problems...