On seeing the bloodbath forest for the bloodbath trees

[EarlG]

Last edited Sun Mar 17, 2024, 01:46 PM - Edit history (1)

I just watched the "bloodbath" video. I was originally led to believe that Trump said that he would cause a bloodbath if he wasn't re-elected, but after watching the video it's clear he's talking about the auto industry. He's quite incoherent as usual, but that's the context.

Or at least, that's ONE context. If you're stuck in an argument as to whether Trump's recent use of "bloodbath" was actually violent rhetoric, or just flowery language used to describe the auto industry, bear in mind that it can be both at the same time.

And in fact, that's how Trump typically operates -- he constantly uses violent imagery and then claims that he meant something else. You know, like on January 6 when he told his crowd of supporters, "You'll never take back our country with weakness," and, "If you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore." Gosh, he was just being metaphorical!

With each statement taken individually, you could make the context argument every time. But when you look at the bigger picture, there's an obvious pattern:

September 2022: Trump Continues to Escalate His Dangerous Incitement

March 2023: Squeezed by investigations, Trump escalates violent rhetoric

March 2023: Trump warns of 'potential death and destruction' if he's charged in hush money probe

June 2023: 'Vermin:' Donald Trump is escalating his rhetoric into extreme territory

October 2023: Trump’s escalating violent rhetoric is straight out of the autocrat’s playbook

March 2024: Trump escalates his immigration rhetoric with baseless claim about Biden trying to overthrow the US

That's the OTHER context -- Trump's ongoing and consistent escalation of violent language and imagery. Those stories are all post-January 6 by the way.

I think it's completely fair to point out that yesterday's "bloodbath" remarks were made in the context of the auto industry. But it's also fair to point out that his remarks are part of a much larger context -- an ongoing and increasing use of violent rhetoric and the deliberate choice to use "bloody" language, creating a disturbing whole that is much bigger than the sum of its parts.

His supporters aren't listening to individual context, they're listening to a man who is slowly but steadily grooming them to believe that the only way to save America will be through mass acts of violence and bloodshed against other Americans.

[RussBLib]

1. Agreed

...I think he does this shit intentionally, giving a double meaning to a lot of what he says, so he can ridicule those who take it one way, while his supporters probably give a wink and a nod to the other way. If you just see the short clip, it sounds like he is threatening the whole country. With the broader context, he is referring to the auto industry.

But you know, either way, he is lying, and I think that is the takeaway. He is incapable of telling the truth.

I just hope we never see another malignant character like this, which is probably a pipe dream.

[Marcuse]

58. He started with predicting a bloodbath about auto imports then expanded his bloodbath to the whole country generally.

[dalton99a]

2. Trump has a long history of calling for death and violence - and denying he meant it

etc. etc.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trumps-ramped-up-rhetoric-raises-new-concerns-about-violence-and-authoritarianism
Trump’s ramped-up rhetoric raises new concerns about violence and authoritarianism
Nov 13, 2023 6:35 PM EDT

[Cha]

45. Donald Trump Suggests 'Second Amendment People' Could Act Against Hillary Clinton

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/10/us/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton.html

Yes, the Bloody Treasonous Putin's Puppet Asshole Does.

[dalton99a]

46. Yep.

[Cha]

47. GD Red Flags All Over the Bloody place.

[cachukis]

3. Well put.

[ms liberty]

4. So true. K&R n/t

[Think. Again.]

5. With so much at stake...

...with actual lives at stake, I believe we should be ignoring whatever justifications and excuses he is trying to set up and listen very closly to the dangerous parts of his speech.

I doubt "bloodbath" is a common phrase used in the auto industry, but I strongly suspect it's a common phrase used when speaking about violence on a large scale.

Edit to add:

He began that speech with a scripted announcer asking the crowd to stand up for the Jan 6 convicts, he saluted them, and glorified them by playing their theme song.

[StarryNite]

6. That's how dog whistles are used.

Dog whistle (politics)

"In politics, a dog whistle is the use of coded or suggestive language in political messaging to garner support from a particular group without provoking opposition. The concept is named after ultrasonic dog whistles, which are audible to dogs but not humans. Dog whistles use language that appears normal to the majority but communicates specific things to intended audiences. They are generally used to convey messages on issues likely to provoke controversy without attracting negative attention."

[link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_whistle_(politics)#:~:text=In%20politics%2C%20a%20dog%20whistle,to%20dogs%20but%20not%20humans.|

[RainCaster]

7. Well stated EarlG

Just the right mix of Insurrection and Insanity.

[Pluvious]

8. Ron Filipkowski said it well...

Ron Filipkowski
@RonFilipkowski

If they asked MAGA cultists leaving the Trump rally yesterday what they thought he meant when he said “if I lose there will be a bloodbath in this country,” how many of them would say he was talking about the auto industry? He knows exactly what he’s doing and how they hear him.

(From HighPlainsDem post)

[dalton99a]

10. +1

[flashman13]

14. The MAGAts know exactly what Trump meant. They couldn't care less about context or

the auto industry. I also know what he meant. If you even consider giving Trump the benefit of the doubt on this, you have to know that you are gambling with your life and safety and the future of everyone you know and love.

[birdographer]

80. Plus, he added

"That's going to be the least of it"--strayed a bit from the car talk.

[niyad]

9. KNR, and thank you.

[Emile]

11. I wonder what his MAGATS heard.

[malaise]

12. Nailed it

Rec

[TheRickles]

13. Thanks for putting this collection together.

[Wild blueberry]

15. Very well stated, excellent clarification

We know his rube army hears, "Clean your guns. Stock up on ammo." And they're salivating.

Your last line, "His supporters aren't listening to individual context, they're listening to a man who is slowly but steadily grooming them to believe that the only way to save America will be through mass acts of violence and bloodshed against other Americans." is what our media should be covering.

[DENVERPOPS]

25. Or his infamous statement:

"Stand Back, and Stand By"................not "Stand Down".........

[KS Toronado]

16. He wants a civil war (Rs vs Ds) hoping he can somehow jump back into the W. H.

Last edited Sun Mar 17, 2024, 01:16 PM - Edit history (1)

I'm gonna start asking repugs in my red town " Who are you going to kill to make tRump great again?" and
"You willing to go to prison for him, if his plan fails?" Going to be fun at the VFW.

Thought of another question to ask ......

" How will having the whole Country in a bloodbath Make America Great Again?"

[StarryNite]

22. He's even further dividing the Rs from the Ts.

As more Rs start waking up and growing a spine he is going after them now too. He wants it to be the party of trump.

[ShazzieB]

28. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for those conversations!

[Ping Tung]

17. Demagogue: one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.

H.L. Mencken

However, IMO, Trump is an idiot himself so he's also preaching to himself.

[Evolve Dammit]

18. ".. the only way to save America will be through mass acts of violence and bloodshed against other Americans."

That's how I would interpret that. He's fomenting violence again and again When does "some entity" intercede? I'm betting those that suffered under Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin had a similar question, until they no longer had a voice.
Ukrainian Intelligence. Are you listening?

[Grins]

19. A bloodbath for the UAW, then?

Take away the wage gains they fought for?

[Abolishinist]

20. On her show this morning, Jen Psaki did a

very good job of putting forth essentially what you've posted.

[Cheezoholic]

21. It kind of reminds me of people who would buy the whole album (or CD or whatever) by their favorite band

just to hear the one or 2 songs they wanted to hear whenever they wanted to hear it. They might have the whole thing playing in the background ignoring how bad the band really was and suddenly stop what they were doing for a moment to isolate on that tune or tell you how bad ass that tune AND the band are when they never really listened to the crap that was being fed to them on the other tracks.when their favorite song was up. They'd go out and spend 100 dollars on a ticket to see that band jumping around to all the other shitty songs on the album because everyone else is then go nuts with the other empty mindless spectres when the big hit was played.

Just a musical forest trees analogy on how a single common thread expertly mixed into a string of shit can give preconditioned subservient capitalists a rope.

[patphil]

23. There is definitely a pattern of escalation of violent/incendiary rhetoric.

Trump's reference to immigrants "poisoning the blood of the country", and referring to his political enemies as "vermin" were just 2 recent ways of dehumanizing his perceived enemies.
The bloodbath remark again insert violent imagery into the content of his speech.
It's a slow, relentless programing of his base to accept violent action as a reasonable way of doing business if he's elected, or if he pushes the idea that the election was stolen.
Remember his first day as dictator speech, and his calls for rounding up a million immigrants. Also concentration camps for his enemies, and for taking control of the National Guard to quell riots in cities.
His rhetoric has been laced with "dog whistle" statements that are designed to inflame his base, and desensitize them to the idea of creating a police state.

It's the sum total of all he has, and is saying, that puts the "bloodbath" remark into context. Yes, he was referring to the auto industry, but in the greater context it's just another desensitizing comment invoked by use of that word to make it easier for his base to "see red" if the need presents itself, or allow violence against Trump's enemies if he is in a position to do so.

Any way you put it, it's another warning straight from this Hitler wannabe to be prepared for an end of our Constitutional Democratic Republic if he's elected.

[summer_in_TX]

73. Grooming is exactly right. They do so by manipulating feelings of disgust.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/03/manipulators-disgust-hijack-brains/677719/

Don’t Let Your Disgust Be Manipulated

Disgust is an incredibly powerful negative emotion, capable of inducing vomiting, panic, and rage. The sound evolutionary reason for our experience of disgust is that it helped keep us alive—by making repellent the tastes, sights, smells, and other sensations associated with death, rottenness, or toxicity. So when your refrigerator smells wrong and, upon inspection, you find that the culprit is a piece of chicken that has gone south, you feel nauseated by something that just a week ago made your stomach growl with anticipation. And instead of eating the bad meat, you throw it out.

Over time, disgust stimuli extended beyond pathogens to include not just physical phenomena but also behavioral actions, such as seeing someone do something you find objectionable. Indeed, certain immoral actions or opinions that you perceive as dangerous can elicit disgust. So if you feel strongly about, say, the environment, a person expressing what you consider a terrible viewpoint about pollution or climate change can make you feel a visceral disgust for that person—almost like something you’ve tracked in on your shoe.

…Scholars have shown that political communication can activate the public’s sensitivity for disgust. You may have noticed that demagogic leaders tend to use disgust-based language for out-groups: The Nazis often referred to Jews as rats, and Hutu leaders in Rwanda called Tutsis cockroaches in the run-up to the genocide there. These were clearly efforts to associate people with creatures that spread disease and to inflame public revulsion.

That has been used on talk radio and FOX News long before Trump came along. I was so puzzled by why Fox invented the so-called "War on Christmas," but reading this made me see how it was used to create a degree of disgust for liberals. Then there was all the talk about immigrants, invasion, and diseases like leprosy. FOX's and other RW media's role in creating this sense of disgust cannot be ignored. Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump have amped the rhetoric designed to elicit that disgust to an increasingly dangerous degree.

[IronLionZion]

24. He wants his idiot supporters to take it literally

since they always claim he means what he says and says what he means.

Stochastic terrorism. Some idiots somewhere will be willing to do violence on his behalf without needing explicit instructions for any specific individuals to do so.

[ShazzieB]

34. Some of them blow off the violent talk.

I've seen videos of Trumpers saying the crazy talk is "just bluster," "he doesn't really mean it," or (my favorite) "you have to take him with a grain of salt."

I have absolutely no doubt that a certain segment of his base hears the dog whistles loud and clear (January 6 is proof of that), but I think a good chunk of his base are in denial. That latter group will be shocked (shocked, I tell you) by any violence that breaks out when he loses the election.

(Yes, I said "when he loses." I refuse to even entertain the notion of him winning, because I'd like to, you know, not lose my mind between now and November. I know that it's not impossible that the worst could happen, but I prefer not to let myself dwell on that.)

Anyway, some of his followers will no doubt do violent things in response to a loss, but the country will be ready for them this time, and Trumpty Dumpty won't be squatting in the White House like an evil troll, stacking the deck in his followers' favor. For that reason, I'm not losing much sleep over what the MAGA crowd will do when he loses, but I would lose a TON of sleep if I let myself really think about what his winning would mean.

[dlk]

26. However Trump meant bloodbath, he's clearly fomenting violence

As the court cases against him ramp up, Trump is becoming more and more unhinged, and is danger to us all.

[Traildogbob]

27. Sure

And the endless days of rapid fire guns ringing all around the mountain sides here in Meadows and Cawthorn District 11 in NC, are good conservative Christian’s recreating with Weapon's of War shooting at pictures of foreign Auto Industry CEO’s to make a statement about supporting Made in America gas powered vehicles.
Got it. Sissy ass libs just wadding up their panties to attack trump.
Whew!! I feel safe now, and the daily gun fire is just fun Christian past time.
And the many hundreds of rounds I hear practically daily, are cheaper than a dozen eggs, thanks Joe.

[RussBLib]

48. Seriously?

Frequent barrages of gunfire? I reckon you are outside of a city limit? Surely even North Carolina would not allow repeated gunfire in metropolitan areas? Surely?

[Traildogbob]

55. Outside limits.

And it is a daily event. Weekends I think one side of a mountain competes with others in who can shoot fastest, loudest and longer.
I know the cost of ammo. I am well armed myself, especially since 2016. There is no Moving overseas for me if he gets reinstalled, so I need to be able to stand my ground to protect a lifetime of hard word for my tiny home. I can’t afford to just burn powder every day for “Fun”. Those bullets are expensive.
Not just ignorant mouth breathers. There are very wealthy Florida expensive homes that fly trump flags and they join in blasting every time they come to stay at their “getaway”, second, maybe even third home worth hundreds of thousands.
I am not promoting of hoping for violence. But I will defend what I’ve worked a life time for. My military oath applies to protecting myself from enemies. These fools brag about taking over expensive mountain homes “when” shit hits the fan.
We need to read the room. Just consider a bigger state by state J6 with tons of Weapons in the cult hands being pushed and angered by the Bannon’s, Jones’, Stephen Millers, MTG’s, Congress, senate, and even their God Father hand selected God Prophet, to go shed blood or lose your country.
We can not passively sit and think anyone will protect us. This cult is tasting the blood. Forget about libs drinking baby blood for adrenaline, these fools will savor all blood from libs. Alex Jones’s is ranting about filleting liberal neighbors and feasting on lefty asses. Look it up. Don’t underestimate mental illness controlling this cult.
Trump will not allow prison for himself. He will “demand” his cult attack to protect him, claiming it is to protect themselves from becoming prison hostages.

[SunSeeker]

72. Exactly. He explicitly said "it would be a bloodbath for the whole country," not just the auto industry.

He explicitly said the auto industry issues "would be the least of it." So he is definitely talking about much more than the auto industry.

Video clip of the relevant portion of Trump's speech here:

https://x.com/krassenstein/status/1769182503107985645?s=20

[Hope22]

29. I'm beyond trying to decipher what he means by bloodbath....

If his lips are moving he’s lying. In my neighborhood our yard signs have been lit on fire and others ended with bullet holes. Our voter registrations are public on the BOE website. If someone calls for the locals to start a bloodbath every Democrat is on record. I think this serial liar should be held accountable before a bunch of us are bloodied at his direction!

[wiggs]

36. Can't believe anyone wants to give him and complicit GOP the 'benefit of the doubt.' None

have earned it in fact we should assume the worst when trying to interpret.

Nation has clearly not learned this lesson, and is on verge of failing another -- more important -- test.

[Hope22]

39. Yes, maybe we should let the Capital Police decide!

I’m pretty sure they got the message.

[Goddessartist]

30. Exactly.

Rec

[KarenS]

31. I agree,,,,

He was talking about the auto industry right before that statement and right after that statement,,,, that particular statement was muddled.

I don't think the left needs to exaggerate what he says or take things 'out of context'. He deliberately uses violent rhetoric to make his point,,,, but in this case we don't need to try to imply something that simply wasn't there.

[SWBTATTReg]

32. And I interpret his remarks in one way (besides the obvious 'pathetic whining of an old man'), that he knows that he's

on his way to losing again and is going to whine about it every step of the way.

Cooler heads prevail as usual on our side of the fence, but we're prepared for this scumbag and his foul bag of tricks at all times. He's pulled this crap on us/Americans once before, and he's not going to do it again. For some reason, he thinks that we've all forgotten what's he done before, and threw his followers under the bus, while still remaining free as a loony bird.

[Uncle Joe]

33. I agree with your analysis.

Thanks for the thread EarlG

[LearnedHand]

35. Plus the media cemented the contextless statement in everyone's minds via the headline

It doesn’t matter what he meant. It’s now out there free of the auto industry context. Thanks, MSM, for doing TSF’s job for him. As always.

HEAVY

[madamesilverspurs]

37. It only takes one or two

of his supporters to hear his words as marching orders and act accordingly. January 6th was no accident.


.

[2naSalit]

38. He speaks in code...

Last edited Sun Mar 17, 2024, 05:00 PM - Edit history (1)

As Michael Cohen testified.

He's prepping the base for a violent reaction to whatever he thinks is the ultimate offense. Reminds me of the pigs in Animal Farm.

[malaise]

40. THIS

[ChazInAz]

41. I remember an historical precedent.

"Will no one rid us of this turbulent priest?"

[JudyM]

42. Well put. He likely decided in advance to use that graphic word, placed ambiguously, to juice up his minions.

[ismnotwasm]

43. Exactly.

And I’m not quite sure why the party of “fuck your feelings” and 2A insanity, is trying to soft-pedal this crap. They LOVE violence and violent imagery. They LOVE to posture, to threaten. What was that piece of shit country song? “Don’t try it in a small town” or some cringey shit like that?

Or what? Whatcha gonna do in a small town —have a bloodbath?

Man fuck trumpies. They make no sense, they also LOVE benefits and rights brought to them from the left, and cry about every fucking thing. It’s like they couldn’t make that last maturation growth and are stuck in stupid landno matter what their actual intelligence, they are unable to use it.

I was on TikTok watching a live, with a couple of lawyers. They were talking about the New York case. The pro-trump lawyer, literally could not argue in good faith, could not abandon overt logical fallacies, was trying for a gotcha where not one existed. I’m assuming reasonable intelligence from this person..it’s like they can’t access it.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

44. The Trump campaign has urged people to consider the full context of his "bloodbath" comments...

Looking at the context of TFG's comments does not help. TFG is advocating for violence 

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Wounded Bear]

49. Dog whistles and double entendres are republican stock in trade...

and few are better at it than mango mussolini.

[hlthe2b]

50. I agree with Mehdi Hasan on this which echos some of what you say)

Link to tweet

[Hope22]

53. This!

Times 1000!

[malaise]

57. Not when you start the rally with an ode and a salute to the insurrectionists

That is all

[hlthe2b]

60. Yup... Honestly, some of the seemingly genuflective threads today have me wondering what

amnesic drug has been put in the drinking water? Eight years of hearing Trump send his pathetic MAGATs out to do his bidding with coded language--how can anyone on the Left seek to "context" that away?

[malaise]

61. I don't get it

PHEW!

[dalton99a]

65. +1. When Trump says "I'll kill you," let's not jump to conclusions

One must analyze the words carefully and parse them through the most Trump-favorable filters to show that I doesn't really mean I, KILL doesn't really mean KILL, and YOU doesn't really mean YOU.

[malaise]

67. ABC got it

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218786744

[hlthe2b]

68. Well, about time, but Excellent...

[ChazInAz]

78. Might as well play "The Horst Wessel Song".

There's bound to be a Bloody Banner out there, somewhere, that they can use.

[malaise]

79. This is madness

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100218787509

[marble falls]

51. I think he engineers his statement to be taken any number of ways. "Plausible deniability" is no defense.

[IbogaProject]

52. I really hope we can get any kind of criminal conviction

And have a judge sentence him to the maximum based on the totality of his conduct. I won't bet money on it. The wealthy have it set up so that with money one can avoid consequences for most any crime beyond "shooting some one in Fifth Avenue". Even then I'm inclined to believe TSF, that he could get away with it.

[Cartoonist]

54. He means "ketchup bath" if he loses.

He just thinks it's blood.

[SoFlaBro]

56. His stupid fucking shitbird MAGA followers will carry out his fucking call to kill people. Violent piece of shit.

[TBF]

59. I believe he wants to be Putin -

He wants to get elected one way or another, via violent means if necessary, and then use the violence as an excuse to clamp down. I was surprised that we actually got him out of Washington the first time (although I'm sure our generals can be pretty persuasive). I'm not sure how sane he still is or if some of this is old age, but it's clear what he's saying and insinuating. Like you I don't think it is any kind of joke or metaphor - he is serious and the words are deliberate.

[Bluethroughu]

62. Perfectly said.

[greatauntoftriplets]

63. Sound opinion, EarlG.

The "If I lose the election" part is critical. If he loses the election, he doesn't have any real sway over the auto industry.

[Bozvotros]

64. I was preparing a response to the "we are all being silly about Trump's bloodbath comment.

when that thread was self deleted. It just stunned me to hear someone believe it was just Trump being stupid or talking about the auto industry. There are literally hundreds of examples of him exhorting violence.

The most obvious is his involvement in and response to the January 6 insurrection. He called in the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and others to spear head the attack on the capital and knew they would come armed. When their arms were discovered by metal detectors, he told security to let them in anyway. "They were his people" he said. He let them vandalize and brutalize capital police for 3 hours while they terrorized Congress and threatened to hang the Speaker and the VP. Now he praises them as patriots and hostages. There have been countless other examples of his inner brutality and willingness to invoke violence.

Now this giant deranged, soulless asshole is facing complete disgrace and an excruciating narcissistic wound from losing again and going to jail for life. If you think he wasn't deliberately messaging his thugs and thralls and trying to terrify those who impose him, you are being impossibly silly, slow or worse.

[Emile]

77. +1

[TheKentuckian]

66. He said what he said. It is not our job to ferret out context

or connect any dots.

"He meant....", no, he meant what he said and it is past time for him to be held to that standard instead of making allowances for incoherence or being taken seriously but not literally and all the other non sensical excuses for the shitheel that no one else gets.

Dean scream my ass, Devil take his "incoherence", he is making threats as per the fucking always.

[90-percent]

69. i want to post about this on facebook

but i'm afraid that it would put me in the penalty box for a few days. wait, in context he was only talking about the auto industry? . well then, that's perfectly acceptable.

-90% jimmy

[SunSeeker]

71. He explicitly said "it would be a bloodbath for the whole country," not just the auto industry.

He explicitly said the auto industry issues "would be the least of it." So he is definitely talking about much more than the auto industry.

Video clip of the relevant portion of Trump's speech here:

https://x.com/krassenstein/status/1769182503107985645?s=20

[SunSeeker]

70. No, EarlG. He explicitly said "it would be a bloodbath for the whole country," not just the auto industry.

He explicitly said the auto industry issues "would be the least of it." So he is definitely talking about much more than the auto industry.

Video clip of the relevant portion of Trump's speech here:

https://x.com/krassenstein/status/1769182503107985645?s=20

[Aussie105]

74. Trump is an anarchist.

Just an insane, old-fashioned anarchist.

Burn the whole system down, destroy and kill, and better things will develop from the ashes.

Trump just wants to start a civil war, rile up his faithful to do the bloodletting, destruction and looting, and he will just saunter in to the White House and claim victory.

Be honest now. He has encouraged so much rebellion, distrust and resentment in the population of the country on so many occasions, and he has never had to face the consequences at an appropriate level.
He probably counts that as multiple successes, so he just has to level up the rhetoric to get what he wants.

Don't know what he wants?

What he wants is the destruction of America's political and legal systems, and the establishment of a Trump dictatorship style dynasty. And he is wondering who not more people want that.

[DallasNE]

75. Impression Is the Hallmark of a Trump Speech

And the speech in Ohio was just another example. Part of Trump owning the "Libs".

While I see your point, Earl, I am more aligned with a CBSNEWS report that framed it differently. They reported Trump as saying "If I don't get elected, it's going to be a bloodbath...It's going to be a bloodbath for the country,". They went on to say it was a windy day and Trump complained about not being able to read his teleprompter at times. The "..." from the article eliminated a word salad where he was apparently having a problem reading his teleprompter where he did mention the auto industry but he seemed to try and clarify that statement by closing with "It's going to be a bloodbath for the country". In his word salad, he said that China was building a car plant in Mexico if I understood him correctly, and he would slap on a 100% tariff - now apparently starting a trade war with Mexico. The way Trump jumbles words, who knows what he means, especially since he did not indicate what would cause a "bloodbath", apparently meaning a period of disastrous loss or reversal.

Definition: Bloodbath means a great or ruthless slaughter of a large number of people, often by violence or cruelty. It can also refer to a fierce or destructive contest or struggle, or a period of disastrous loss or reversal. I presume Trump meant "a period of disastrous loss or reversal". Regardless, it was a very poor choice of words given the primary meaning of the word. But I believe we are well beyond writing things off as a poor choice of words when the intent is so clear.

[Nasruddin]

76. The mystery explained

This tempest is helping to explain something that has baffled me for quite a while. At least it explains it to me.

EarlG tells us

bear in mind that it can be both at the same time.

That could be ... but that seems to imply a level of spontaneous cleverness and psychological depth that I just don't otherwise pick up from Trump. How could that be? He seems to ramble and shamble all over the place when he talks. He has a shtick and a kind of script (internalized anyway) that he follows, but this moment's ambiguity seems pretty spontaneous. Maybe he has great writers. Wait, no I don't think we've been hearing that either.

What I have been seeing is that everyone projects whatever they want onto Trump. For instance, his cult projects all kinds of crazy things onto him, including "he's speaking right to us!"" ""He thinks like I do!" and other things this rich guy from Queens is not doing and isn't capable of doing. Confronted with his nonsense and unable to escape it, people say "He's jess funnin''" or ""He didn't really say that."" Logical thinkers like Ian Bremmer or other pundits think he is obviously only saying things that make sense politically or economically, so they rearrange the nonsense into the pattern that works for them. Us Trump haters project his bloodbath comments as some end of the world as we know it threat.

Well it's possible that some of the above is true, or all of it, and likewise many other times Trump says something outrageous, the same machinations take place.

What I think is happening is Trump is just emitting sounds that more or less match words appropriate to a subject in question. We often, more often all the time, catch him out in complete gibberish. That's what I think his speech is almost all the time. His listeners including us can't help but project our own patterns and expectations back onto the stream we've just heard. I think this is the secret to his success. It's how his charisma works. It isn't going to work for someone who talks in intelligent, articulated sentences - you have to think about what is being said, agree or disagree, and respond. With Trump, it's a different kind of emotional thinking that is going on, something that gets at our tribal feelings (bonding or hating). And it isn't going to work for just any random jabberer - he has a persona that includes wealth and power, and that gets him the attention - that's the bait.

[Mr.Bee]

81. Violent Rhetoric

Let's not forget in talking about Trump's violent rhetoric is written by his speechwriter Stephen Miller.
His supporters don't latch onto the context. They latch onto the WORD or PHRASE.
Stephen Miller is very effective in writing words they will REMEMBER and parrot over and over.
And you are not so much listening to Trump's rotting mind as you are Stephen Miller.

[spanone]

82. K&R

[prodigitalson]

83. I long for a day when when we don't have to think about anything he says

[Mr.Bee]

84. I would warn:

Darn Old Trumpf will die.
He will be dead and buried and turned to dust.
But Stephen Miller will live on to carry his message.
He is young, found and married a mate who believes as he does.
Together they can raise many 'not-see' children to carry on the MAGA legacy.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

85. The Biden campaign just released this devastating ad putting into perspective Donald Trump's "bloodbath" comment.

Link to tweet