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Culture War Roundup for the week of June 24, 2024

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Isn't it public knowledge that the dude crushes like 8 diet cokes daily?

I don't drink soda, but I've heard that a regular stream of that kind of rocket fuel makes you durably "peppy" but destroys mental focus - which is exactly how Trump has acted since he came down the escalator.

Trump definitely falls into word salad constantly, but I've never believed that it's because of mental decline or impairment. I think it's a habituated verbal pattern developed over years and years of constant hyper-marketing. I've never heard of the business world thinking Donald Trump is a master of financial engineering, or that he really has an eye for underdeveloped or undervalued properties, or that he has the autistic wizard gifts to get permitting done quickly (although I think he kind of did this once on accident in the 1980s. Don't remember details). He, is, however, a marketing natural and his particular marketing style has always been hyperbole, bluster, repetition, and volume.

When he says something like "Everyone said we had the best Presidency of all time," it's exactly the same as him opening the Taj Mahal (that had non-functioning slot machines) and saying "Everyone is saying this is the best Casino they've ever been to." This is just how he talks.

You can see the same ingrained verbal patterns in academics or podcast Bros. Elon definitely has his own eccentricities. None of this excuses Trump from constantly lying but, after round 100 of this, people can't continue to be shocked, SHOCKED!, that he's spewing falsehoods.

Isn't it public knowledge that the dude crushes like 8 diet cokes daily?

That's like 4 8-oz cups of coffee, assuming we're talking 12-oz cans and not 2-liter bottles. It's pretty moderate.

Moderate? I don't think 4 cups of coffee a day is moderate, at least personally. And for a 77 year old?

I might be caffeine sensitive, but it's not a small thing.

4 cups of coffee a day is usually considered moderate. I know of no reason this would be different for the elderly. Note Biden is a coffee drinker.