Here’s the latest Bill Maher comedy shtick from his “Real Time Show.” It’s a good one, too. This time he argues “there’s nothing, not even an assassination attempt, that can’t be made at least at little worse by adding religion. Since the bullet that was meant for Donald Trump missed him last Saturday, Republicans have been indulging in an orgy of magical thinking.”
And there’s a lot of this sacralization of Trump, which is sickening. According to Maher, people have said that Trump “wears the armor of God” (Steve Bannon) and is even one of “God’s angels” (Jake Paul). Oy! God’s angels apparently love KFC.
Maher notes that all this amounts to treating Trump like a “demigod,” and “that never turns out well”. Maher shows some scenes from his movie “Religulous,” just to show that he’s still antireligious. And he adds, re the assassination attempt, “It’s the twenty-first century. Enough is enough—interpreting every random event as a DM from Heaven.”
The rest of the piece is a hilarious tirade against religion and about people’s tendency to read religious significance into everything, including dog butts that resemble Jesus. Finally, Maher gets in a few more licks at Trump (and one about Biden).
h/t: Mary
If Trump was wearing the armour of god that day, what were those three poor souls behind him wearing who also got shot and ended up dead or in critical condition?
I just now asked Microsoft Bing AI Copilot:
“During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, did Donald Trump mention by name the three rally attendees who were shot, especially the man killed?”
Copilot:
“Looks like I can’t respond to this topic.
It might be time to move onto a new topic.
Let’s start over.”
I wonder what flesh-and-blood human primate(s) decides what questions are not to be answered and on what basis.
An attempt on his life suggests to me that he’s being targeted, not protected.
I figure Trump is going to go full Gott mit uns. Yes I went Godwin but I think it’s justified.
You’re probably right, I dread watching it unfold.
Trumps remarks on the subject were:
“I’m not supposed to be here tonight. Not supposed to be here.
[Audience chants “Yes you are’’]
Thank you. But I’m not. And I’ll tell you, I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God.”
Which seems to me to not be an unreasonable statement. Whether he used “by the grace of…” as a figure of speech or as a religious testimony is something only he knows.
I am not personally going to criticize someone who has come very close to death for using such language.
The very religious folks are always going to see these things a a battle between Jesus and Satan, the same way the woke see oppression and victimhood.
At least oppression and victimhood are real – they exist.
LOL!… LOL!… and WOAH oh gross!…
Yeah, good one – glad to see Larry Wilmore out there!…
“preterhuman”
… wow, better than the word of the days at the gas station!
Bill Maher is great, thanks.
I’m often surprised when I hear someone is religious, the concept is so alien to me. But I can’t imagine Trump believing in an entity bigger and more powerful than himself. Does he actually go to church and sing hymns? I can only think of him going if there’s a camera and he’s getting publicity. I can’t imagine him ever being humble.
What nonsense. Where was God when a bullet did not miss that fireman.
Good point!
I hope that hotheads of the world will take note: attempts to solve political problems by murder usually backfire.
Agreed, as much as I’d like to see Donald Trump take the big dirt nap, I’d never want to act on that thought.
Actually what God was really meaning was “okay buddy this one was a warning, the next one’s for real”.
The situation in the Middle East makes me appreciate the wisdom of Obama. He worked to repair relationships with the Muslim world, made an agreement with Iran instead of attacking the country or suggesting an invasion, and did not endorse everything Israel did. After all, he understands the need for allies and he is not a psychopath who thinks brown Arabs are less than human.
Trump foolishly ended the Iran treaty, even while every Western country begged him not to. He also murdered one of its leaders. He appointed hawkish neocons to guide his foreign policy. Who could blame Iran for its behaviour? Then there was the support for Saudi Arabia. But nothing will trump endorsing Israeli settlements, something no other president had ever done before. By making it clear that the US would tolerate full-blown ethnic cleansing under his watch, Trump shares responsibility for the Hamas attacks and the inability to resolve the current crisis. There was no strategy apart from “support Israel unconditionally, at any price”. Now at war with six countries. Remarkable to say there needs to be more war, more escalation.
Belongs in Sunday thread.