this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2025
417 points (99.1% liked)

News

31410 readers
2418 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Donald Trump’s frequently bizarre public appearances, which this month have seen the president claim, wrongly, that his uncle knew the Unabomber and rant unprompted about windmills on his recent trip to the UK, have once again raised questions about his mental acuity, experts say.

For more than a year Trump, 79, has exhibited odd behavior at campaign events, in interviews, in his spontaneous remarks and at press conferences. The president repeatedly drifts off topic, including during a cabinet meeting this month when he spent 15 minutes talking about decorating, and appears to misremember simple facts about his government and his life.

Over the weekend Trump, during a meeting with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, abruptly switched from discussing immigration to saying this: “The other thing I say to Europe: ​we’ve – we will not allow a windmill to be built in the United States​. They’re killing us. They’re killing the beauty of our scenery.”

Trump proceeded to speak, non-stop and unprompted, for two minutes about windmills, claiming without evidence that they drive whales “loco” and that wind energy “kills the birds” (the proportion of birds killed by turbines is tiny compared with the amount killed by domestic cats and from flying into power lines).

top 45 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] saltesc@lemmy.world 24 points 20 hours ago

bizarre public appearances, which this month have seen the president claim, wrongly, that his uncle knew the Unabomber and rant unprompted about windmills

He would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Sometimes he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy.

[–] PapaStevesy@lemmy.world 130 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This is literally how he's been for the past decade, it's his version of gish gallop. If he says something stupid that he knows is easily refutable, he just keeps talking and changing the subject and saying stupider and stupider things so it's impossible to even remember all the bullshit he said, much less what your response was going to be.

[–] Botzo@lemmy.world 37 points 1 day ago (1 children)

At least it's a recognized rhetorical technique. That way nobody falls victim to it repeatedly, right?

The Gish-Gallup.

[–] brown567@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Call out the strategy by name, saying: "This is a strategy called the 'Gish Gallop'—do not be fooled by the flood of nonsense you have just heard."

I personally like to paraphrase the following: https://youtu.be/LQCU36pkH7c

[–] Botzo@lemmy.world 3 points 17 hours ago

It has been so many years since I watched Billy Madison, and yet, that is one of the scenes that still comes to mind frequently.

It's a perfect retort. Or... Should be.

[–] yucandu@lemmy.world 32 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

I just watched comedian Mark Normand do a bit in Australia making multiple jokes about Joe Biden's mental status. I'm thinking who the hell is even still talking about Biden, let alone in Australia?

[–] SereneSadie@lemmy.myserv.one 4 points 18 hours ago

The Project getting axed was the single good thing that Channel 10 has done since selling out to America.

Fucking Zionist, MAGA kissing cucks, the lot of them.

[–] Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone 7 points 23 hours ago

Right, as an Australian in Australia the majority of us don't care about American and your presidential squabbles.

We only care when our government place little brother and tries to copy America

[–] Ileftreddit@lemmy.world 7 points 18 hours ago

It’s just like Stephen Colbert said back in the day: “facts have a well-known liberal bias”

Who exactly is still in doubt about his dementia?

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 7 points 18 hours ago

He's had the same issues since before 2016... Why is the media all of a sudden freaking out about it now? He has always been a delusional and forgetful person, the media's been ignoring it until now

[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 55 points 1 day ago (2 children)

He probably forgot he raped all those children too right

[–] gidostro@lemmy.cafe 16 points 1 day ago

Who is this Epstein guy? I hear he likes little girls almost as much as me…

[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 9 points 20 hours ago

“The Guardian is a left-wing mouthpiece that should be embarrassed to pass off deranged resistance leftists as ‘experts’. Anyone pathetic enough to defend Biden’s mental state – while being labeled as unethical by their peers – has zero credibility. President Trump’s mental sharpness is second to none and he is working around the clock to secure amazing deals for the American people,” said White House spokesperson Liz Huston.

Liz Huston is a right-wing mouthpiece that should be embarrassed to pass off deranged physicians (ie: Dr. Phil, et al.) as 'experts'. Anyone pathetic enough to defend Trump's mental state -- while being labelled as unethical by their peers -- has zero credibility.

[–] qarbone@lemmy.world 11 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

Yeah, feels like Trump's being set up for the fall. Never forget the rest of the politicians (and populace) complicit in this government. An insulting minority of politicians put up even the slightest resistance.

Edit: Let alone the overwhelming majority of Republicans that operated in slavish ~~goose~~lockstep, slavering at the thought of what they could finally do to minorites in the open.

[–] Gork@sopuli.xyz 29 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

"I got rid of – just one I got rid of the other night, you buy a house, they have a faucet in the house, Joe, and the faucet the water doesn’t come out. They have a restrictor. You can’t – in areas where you have so much water they don’t know what to do with it. Uh, you have a shower head the shower doesn’t uh, the shower doesn’t, you think it’s not working. It is working. The water’s dripping out and that’s no good for me. I like this hair lace and [sic] – I like that hair nice and wet. Takes you – you have to stand in the shower for 20 minutes before you get the soap out of your hair. And I put a, a thing – and it sounds funny but it’s really not. It’s horrible. And uh, when you wash your hands, you turn on the faucet, no water comes out. You’re washing whole – water barely comes out it’s ridi – this was done by crazy people. And I wor – wrote it all off and got it approved in Congress so that they can’t just change it.”

I think we have another strong contender to be the new Having Nuclear rant.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 day ago

Utter perplexity at the workings of flow restrictors (which wouldn't prevent water from coming out of taps). The man's a blithering nitwit.

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 3 points 17 hours ago

Read this earlier and loved it. Quality reading. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[–] yarr@feddit.nl 26 points 1 day ago

It's funny how if Biden forgot the middle name of a person he met in 1980, everyone called for impeachment.

It should be no surprise that Trump can fade out in the middle of a sentence and the same people keep their mouth shut.

Pretty soon Trump will be older than Biden was when Trump said he was too old to govern. Think he'll step down then?

[–] Plebcouncilman@sh.itjust.works 28 points 1 day ago (6 children)

For me the most bizarre thing with Trump is his obsession with windmills. It was fine if he brought it up once or twice but it feels like every time he opens his mouth he has to mention windmills. Maybe he was molested by a windmill or something?

[–] Ciderpunk@lemmy.world 48 points 1 day ago (2 children)

He’s been mad about windmills ever since Scotland built some within viewing distance of his golf course there. He tried to argue they’d lower his property values and whatnot but he has been ranting about windmills ever since.

[–] Carmakazi@lemmy.world 26 points 1 day ago (1 children)

This, a lot of his weird takes can be traced back to his days as a slimeball New York real estate developer.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 day ago

Also, if windmills generate a larger share of the world's energy, the market for Russian fossil fuels declines. And Russia is not a low-cost producer. They need a higher price to make a profit than, for example, the Saudis, who have to do little more than stick a straw in the ground.

[–] DancingBear@midwest.social 4 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

I believe he also stayed there while he was in Europe so he saw them again maybe

[–] BroChiMinh@gehirneimer.de 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Maybe he's tilting against windmills?

[–] bigfondue@lemmy.world 24 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] teft@piefed.social 8 points 1 day ago

The Qatari plane he was trying to get could be his Rocinante. A beat up old hand me down that he thinks is the most superlative conveyance ever made.

[–] boydster@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago

"I call this one Jeffrey and it's been particularly stubborn, but I swear I'm gonna knock it over one of these days"

[–] D_C@sh.itjust.works 5 points 21 hours ago

For me it's his obsession with the raping of all those children, and being on the Epstein list.

[–] griff@lemmings.world 3 points 19 hours ago

the windmills of his mind killed Big Bird

[–] meyotch@slrpnk.net 8 points 1 day ago

There is a cadre of rich fucks that hate wind for some reason. Idaho’s weird-toothpaste billionaire Frank VanDerSloot has a vendetta against them too and uses some of the same rhetoric. Frank is more coherent but nonetheless still uses vitriolic ridiculousness when talking about them.

[–] brown567@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago

He thinks they're giants

[–] rhvg@lemmy.world 27 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That explains the quietly brewing heir competition in maga world.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 day ago

Not all that quiet: Vance has been jockeying a lot recently.

[–] orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 day ago

As if reporting on it for the 60th time will surprise anyone or cause change.

[–] expatriado@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

wait, is any of this new? couldn't tell the difference

[–] SheeEttin@lemmy.zip 9 points 1 day ago

No, it's not.

[–] atzanteol@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

"The Lazy Geriatric Weave" is now happening. He knows he doesn't have to put much effort into it.

[–] RagingRobot@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

You say that like it was an actual skill he had before but it has always just sounded crazy lol

[–] salacious_coaster 5 points 1 day ago

My MAGAt former boss would unironically say this like it was an explanation.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Anyone that wants him out has no idea how fucked up Vance (Yarvin jr) is.

[–] MyOpinion@lemmy.today 3 points 1 day ago

Just like the MAGAts that follow him.

[–] AlexLost@lemmy.world -3 points 1 day ago

It's almost like those who are reporting the facts are making up all the talking points, but that can't be true. That's not NEWS, that's propaganda. Weird?! They all seem to support one side over the other too, weird how facts don't have an agenda, but people do?