At 3 a.m., the American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald observed in “The Crack-Up,” even the smallest problem troubling the mind can take on “the same tragic importance as a death sentence.”
Anytime you see a story about me or my campaign saying "sources said," DO NOT believe it. There are no sources, they are just made up lies!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016
Fitzgerald’s 1936 essay for Esquire magazine on the toll American celebrity took on him seems like good background reading for anyone trying to parse Donald Trump’s bizarre decision to get up early, or stay up late, to lash out at Alicia Machado, the former Miss Universe he repeatedly mocked for gaining weight after she won his beauty pageant.
After ranting at 3:20 a.m. about media reports that quoted unnamed advisers to his campaign admitting that he performed poorly in Monday’s debate — in which Hillary Clinton cited his public humiliation of Machado as part of a pattern of abusive behavior toward women — Trump at 5:14 a.m. sent a series of tweets casting aspersions on the former beauty queen’s sex life and citizenship.
Wow, Crooked Hillary was duped and used by my worst Miss U. Hillary floated her as an "angel" without checking her past, which is terrible!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016
Using Alicia M in the debate as a paragon of virtue just shows that Crooked Hillary suffers from BAD JUDGEMENT! Hillary was set up by a con.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016
Did Crooked Hillary help disgusting (check out sex tape and past) Alicia M become a U.S. citizen so she could use her in the debate?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2016
Since Trump cannot plausibly deny the charge Clinton leveled against him in the debate — that he tried to shame Machado into losing weight by inviting dozens of photographers to watch her work out — his Twitter assault focused instead on attempting to sully the former beauty queen’s character. Voters, the would-be president advised, should “check out” Machado’s “sex tape and past.”
Trump angrily tweeting about a former Miss Universe at 5 am. Madness. https://t.co/tr2nmiTF39
— Mathieu von Rohr (@mathieuvonrohr) September 30, 2016
Machado, however, has not appeared in a sex tape, if the definition of that term is a private recording of explicit sex leaked to the public. What voters who take the Republican nominee’s advice will find on YouTube instead is an R-rated scene from a Spanish reality television show, “La Granja,” that Machado took part in in 2005.
That scene, in which Machado appeared to have sex with another contestant under a blanket, was not secret — it was broadcast on television 11 years ago — but it has been passed around on social networks by Trump supporters since the debate as if it were proof of something. While it certainly might prove that Machado is, as she admitted to Anderson Cooper this week, “no saint,” it is hard to see how her sex life might somehow justify Trump insulting her for being overweight years earlier when she worked for him.
A man who could plausibly become President was up in the middle of the night hate-tweeting about non-existent sex tape to defend fat shaming
— Tom Tomorrow (@tomtomorrow) September 30, 2016
It is unclear what led the candidate, a reality TV star himself, to confuse a scene from a television broadcast with a sex tape, but the episode was filmed in the green-hued, nightscope video familiar to people, like Trump, who have viewed Paris Hilton’s sex tape. (In a 2003 radio interview, the Daily Beast reported, Trump told Howard Stern that he had watched the Hilton sex tape in the company of his future wife, Melania.)
Trump’s dig at Machado’s “past” appears to reference a rumor that she might have helped a former boyfriend flee his sister’s funeral in Venezuela in 1997 after shooting his brother-in-law. As PolitiFact explains, Machado’s then-boyfriend, Juan Rodriguez, claimed that his sister had been driven to suicide by her husband, Francisco Sbert — the man he shot at her funeral. Machado, however, was not charged, for lack of evidence.
Another aspect of Trump’s attack on Machado, his evidence-free suggestion that she might only have gotten U.S. citizenship with Clinton’s help, was characterized by the rival campaign as an “unhinged” conspiracy theory and revealed a temperament unworthy of a potential president.
What kind of man stays up all night to smear a woman with lies and conspiracy theories?
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 30, 2016
When something gets under Donald's thin skin, he lashes out and can't let go. This is dangerous for a president.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 30, 2016
“The Republican candidate and his campaign,” Machado responded on Instagram, “are attempting to revive slanders and false accusations about my life, in order to humiliate, intimidate, and unbalance me.”
“I became a United States citizen,” she added, “because my daughter was born here and because I wanted to exercise my rights, among them, I wanted to vote.”
Trump’s suggestion that voters should not listen to celebrities with tabloid-worthy sex lives is particularly bizarre given that his own fame was built on exactly that sort of coverage of his own life, which he fueled by cultivating gossip columnists and making regular appearances on Howard Stern’s radio show.
His hypocritical attempt to distract from his past fat-shaming of Machado by now slut-shaming her, however, is a familiar tactic. Last year, when Trump was enraged at Megyn Kelly — for suggesting, presciently, that Hillary Clinton would make his history of insulting women an issue — he turned to the same page in his playbook.
Four days after the Republican primary debate in which Kelly had asked Trump how he would deal with the charge that he is part of a war on women, the candidate posted an angry tweet with a link to a bawdy chat the Fox News anchor took part in — with Howard Stern.
Oh really, check out innocent @megynkelly discussion on @HowardStern show 5 years ago--I am the innocent (pure) one!http://t.co/8Hg7f5Q2jE
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2015
Nearly six months later, on the day he skipped a Fox News debate in Iowa because Kelly was a moderator, Trump retweeted a supporter’s meme attempting to slut-shame her too.
"@gene70: @FireFlyFury @megynkelly @realDonaldTrump And this is the bimbo that's asking presidential questions? pic.twitter.com/oU1uUGnuWb"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2016
Nice bit of non-investigative journalism. Things that were left out:
1. Machado gained 60 pounds after the contest and the entire board of the Universe organization considered her in breach of the weight clause in her contract.
2. Machado became a citizen just 6 week ago, in time to join the Hillary Clinton campaign and be used as a talking point in the debate.
3. Machado was engaged to another man at the time she had sex in the video. She cheated on her fiancé.
Love it. This discussion wasn’t dumb enough so you had to show up to help.
(we’re not voting on Miss Universe, genius)
Did you have a point?
Or is this exercise in tweet lobbing what passes these days for “investigative” journalism?
Maybe your calling is TMZ?
“While it certainly might prove that Machado is…’no saint'”.
Pray tell, how might it prove that? The Intercept was one of the last places I expected to perpetuate the sexist notion that having sex somehow reflects poorly on a woman’s character.
The part this article leaves out is that she was engaged to another man at the time she was having sex on the reality TV show. Some might consider cheating on someone you pledged to marry as a blemish on sainthood.
I admit I didn’t know that (b/c I didn’t care enough to look it up). However, it’s not necessarily cheating, because some couples have sexually open relationships. Therefore, one shouldn’t assume she was cheating. Rarely is it justifiable to judge someone for their sex life, especially someone you know approximately nothing about.
We have a man in our corner, willing to clean up all the dirt in D.C. and you try like crazy to find dirt on him. You Sir, appear to be of my era, but somehow seem blemished by some solipsistic ideal. The only thing I can deduce: you were homeschooled by lesbian parents; never to visit the local playground with deplorables such as I. I have been made fun of; chased home; and beaten. It made me much stronger and wiser. Fat shaming turned me into an athlete with the drive of a fat kid that wanted better. Sometimes a little unsheltered criticism on a playground can bring positive change. The younger generation, not facing any “negative” criticism , will carry their discomfiture in a rucksack to the grave; only achieving mediocrity. For greatness only comes from a burning desire not to get you ass kicked (in life).
If you hate Trump, at least try to find something substantial. Like: perjury; dereliction of duty; obstruction of justice; destroying evidence; witness intimidation or at very least, compulsive prevarication.
Donald Trump’s fortune was derived from the brothels his grandfather Freidrich Drumpf’s established for gold prospectors in Alaska and British Columbia. Donald too thinks women should be be submissive and allow themselves to be exploited for his own personal gain, rather than defend their rights or speak their minds.
Right, that’s why his daughters wear hijabs and let the men in the family speak for them. Oh, wait a minute. No, they don’t.
I actually went to read some of the article after reading some of the comments.
Mackey writes trash; simplistic and unimaginative tabloid stenography.
That’s NYT Bob Mackey’s groove.
Does he even have friends who could tell him his writing is worthless?
No, apparently. Or maybe Bob is just not listening; he’s just cashing those checks from Hil and Billy.
“for anyone trying to parse Donald Trump’s bizarre decision to get up early, or stay up late, to lash out at Alicia Machado, the former Miss Universe he repeatedly mocked for gaining weight after she won his beauty pageant.”
Good one, Bob. You nailed it. Trump either stayed up late or got up early!
Enquiring Minds Want Know!
So which is it?
Trump has displaced the current Republican Oligarchy, and wants to displace the Progressive Oligarchy completely, which the Rep. Olig, is a wholly owned subset. Slutshaming, fats having, etc., are terms used by Sophomore Pol. Sci. Majors.
It’s time to cancel this farce of an election. Both candidates have disqualified themselves. It’s time the CIA involves themselves in a coo that is truly meaningful for US citizens. Do it for the country you love.
I’m wondering if The Intercept could possibly do a few pieces on policy positions of the four candidates. This could be done by examining their records, campaign position papers, speeches, and press conferences. From this material consistencies and inconsistencies could be teased out and summarized. I know it takes a lot more work than simply selecting interesting bites from the Twittersphere, but it might provide the readership something substantial upon which to base our final voting decisions.
Notice I said FOUR candidates.
Oops! I forgot to stipulate that by “policy positions” I was thinking of things like international trade agreements, balancing the budget, education, Social Security and Medicare, health care in general, minimum wage, global warming, surveillance and spying; stuff like that. Not personal relationships, sizes of personal appendages, or other material which, though it speaks to character, is better left to the MSM.
Get the idea, Robert?
Robert is nothing but Omidyar’s sock puppet; the Intercept has converted itself into his private PR platform for the election season and beyond. The editors of this crap ought to be ashamed of themselves and what they’ve turned into. Bought, sold, branded and packaged into the neoliberal empire program. So very disappointing.
Great idea. See if you can get the Donald to lay out a few specifics. Character matters.
Policy positions of the 4 candidates ? That’s a joke right. The race is not about policy and never has been. Where are you from ?
Oh, I’m from here. But am something of a contrarian. I realize the absurdity of my post, need to get a Twitter account so I can randomly search for posts that validate my opinions.
“Whether Reality TV Scenes Count as Sex Tapes”
You have to realize this statement/attitude comes from a man who considers home movies of peoples’ 12-year old daughters to be “sex tapes”.
On the one hand, this is one reason to oppose Trump. OTOH, this could be heard from almost any other outfit- even Fox News. Bring back the stories you can only find here.
While I see the point you’re making, I think this article serves the important purpose of counteracting tribalistic thought. If the Intercept doesn’t spend at least some time and manpower picking on Trump (and there’s plenty to pick on), certain parties will dismiss at as an anti-Democrat or anti-Hillary rag.
I mean, some people will do that anyway because it criticizes Obama and Hillary at all, but there’s no convincing some people.
This way they can fairly claim to be telling the truth about politicians regardless of party affiliation. And that’s what I read the Intercept for: I want to keep informed of what the party I support by virtue of hating them slightly less is up to and encourage my friends and family to do the same.
A lot of us see the US elections in different terms depending on how we view politics. Religious fundamentalists need a strong morality tales. Liberals see social injustice and need a victim. Others view things through the lens of identity politics.
Some are Law and Order. Some are strict Constitutionalists. Others are more Marxist in their views and see class struggle as the main political paradigm. Some people want politics to be about impersonal policies. Others revel in the politics of the petty, the personal and the mean.
I’m unhappy with Trump’s punching down at little people, but maybe that is how some people see the election. Without the name calling and personal attacks, it has no relation to their lives.
If it weren’t for prurient interests, they’d have no interest at all.
Prurient interests? I don’t understand.
Trump cut his teeth in the dense NYC tabloid media environment as he grew in fame saying outrageous shock jock like things to gain attention and develop his brand. It is a game with him building up his identity with positive or negative publicity – neither matters – all that is important to him is that the Trump name gets repeated.
When Hillary rolls in the mud with him or gloats over her winning she plays right into his hands as he comments upon her character from his in his own mini tabloid perch as national gossip columnist in chief. Thus his reputation as a strong counterpuncher. He of course diminishes the office of the Presidency and by inference the entire country with his directing the focus of our collective national attention on minutiae of the moment which is of course all the fault of Hillary as she did it first.
Hillary of course is a felon for destroying documents and obstructing justice and corrupting the FBI and Department of Justice at present. This is not new. The Cheryl Mills situation is telling and one would hope the Intercept could chase this one down and tell us how it really works. We need an Investigative Journalist and the backing of The Intercept like the Washington Post stood behind Woodward and Bernstein of yore.
The fact that Trump is such a crumb does not relieve Hillary of her felonies. Both candidates are deeply flawed in the crisis of our two party system rolling along like a slow motion car accident.
The only choice is to write in a name of a candidate who has integrity as protest vote.
There are more than two candidates on the ballot in every state- correct me if I am wrong.
Let me get this straight. The news outlet, known for publishing the NSA leaks to inform the American public about infringements on their privacy rights, is asking the reader to ponder the “crucial” issue of whether or not to count reality tv scenes as sex tapes. Why not talk about the fact that neither of the major party candidates addresses citizens’ privacy rights in their national security platform? Sus.
I’ve been critical of Mackey on Trump, but it is fair to report how thin-skinned the man is (at age 70, with more money than he can ever spend). One would think that before hitting the enter button Trump would have the sense to ask someone in his entourage “Am I being stupid?”
Trump’s money, like his and Hillary’s characters
is largely based on puffed up, pompous delusions.
The value of their money and their personalities
is largely composed of vacuous bullshitting.
What is of real value will not be found within their
and their party’s
faking.
They are peas in in a toxic pod.
Thus the crisis of our two party system bringing us to this choice. The parties don’t know their irrelevance yet & the Fourth Estate does not understand covering it all up and taking sides is precisely the problem as these candidates are like mushrooms feeding off dead things while a panting pack of “journalists” dutifully bays in chasing the prey.
Mushrooms play a more positive role in the environment.
I already voted for Jill Stein, but, if I couldn’t,
A mushroom would be a better write-in candidate than either
Clinton or Trump.
small typo: “posted an angry tweet eith a link to a bawdy chat”
https://twitter.com/mtracey/status/781160740883488768
Hear, hear!
Let me second that. here here..
Third: hear hear.
It’s telling they’re in it for themselves… No it screaming it
Indeed. We know Clinton’s policy. (Like her last two wars, it would lead to disaster.) We don’t know Trump’s. Will he follow the credible policy uttered out of one side of one of his advisor’s mouth (The rebels are tied with IS and Al-Quaida, and aiding them would be aiding terrorists) or the one he says out of the other side of his mouth (Russia is leading a worldwide conspiracy against the United States)?
Wondering what Melania thinks of all this. She’s got nudes out there, too, far more explicit than that “sex tape.” Trump doesn’t even care that he is shaming her by extension.
Don’t gain weight, Melania, and don’t age! Once the clock runs out, you can expect him to force you to sue him to get what’s promised to you in the prenup.
Methinks the Mackey doth protest too much.
Maybe he, Hillary, and the Donald should get a room because
they all really seem like they love to suck.
Hey Bob,
Where is the follow-up on your stories concerning the Charlotte police dept.’s unjustified lethal attack on a Koran carrying, child loving, god fearing, brain damaged, unarmed black man? There has to be some play left in this story. How about an “uncle tom” angle wherein the Black shooter is described as an “oreo” and the police chief a “cracker.” Or maybe you could do an interview of the victim’s brother whose description of all white people is “fucking devils” provides a unique perspective on the concept of racial justice….
Speak up Bob, inquiring minds want to know.
It’s comical how lacking in self-awareness you are, and utterly lacking in shame.
Its comical that in attempting to rationalize Bob Mackey’s chronic disregard for the truth, you are making an appeal to a universal moral standard that only an evolved innate capacity for truth can appreciate. Thus, the very act of appealing to that standard in the attempt to shame me would have to be defined as comically absurd on its face as it is akin to yelling at a deaf person. Either that, or it is an open acknowledgement that you do not actually believe that that which you suggest is true (eh Mona?). But hey, thanks for acknowledging the existence of a universal moral standard by which all of our actions can be held to account.
Oh, you have very different moral standards for people, depending on skin pigmentation
Oh Mona, accusing others of that which you are guilty of in spades is nothing but a tell. By repeatedly holding police officers to a standard that preemptively assumes guilt in service to your own race-centrist bias speaks volumes. Defending those who use false claims of police abuse to burn and loot their own neighborhoods and to violently attack all “white devils” on sight is an extremely heinous form of reverse racism. And lastly, race baiting itself is equally revealing – so keep it up because there are still one or two regulars who do not yet understand that you are all about creating division and promoting violence.
Behold, the classic, tired, lazy projections of the racist, the blaming of the victims, the apologias for the institutional biases.
Why do you keep calling me Mona? She doesn’t skewer you as well as I do. No one does.
I blame the US media. Due to their current enthusiasm for fact checking politicians, it’s no longer possible for candidates to bullshit their audience about foreign policy or economics. This forces them to stick to the subjects they know; in the case of Mr. Trump: sex tapes, reality TV and beauty pageants. On one hand, it’s enlightening to listen to subject matter experts educating us about their fields of expertise. On the other hand, I miss politicians talking about the rate of inflation, unemployment, industrial policy and other things they only vaguely understood.
It’s a better, more advanced world. But at times I feel nostalgic for the primitive politics of yesteryear, when all you had to do was promise a chicken in every pot, and people would vote for you.
Um… Trump sucks!
Okay, that’s out of the way. Now that I have your attention, here’s some actual news:
Military-Style Raid Ends Native Prayer Against Dakota Pipeline
Troops and armor, yes; bandages and medicine, no.
Damned Injuns, always gettin’ in the way of progress.
Hey, what happened to the hard hitting story about a Trump supporter in Albania?
Here is the TRUMP proof video of so called fat shaming Alicia. https://youtu.be/rwVxJFF6afA
Here is much better analysis of Alicia’s past and the actual video footage of TRUMP talking about her weight gain . https://youtu.be/rwVxJFF6afA
The bottom line:
If you’re Hispanic, you’d have to be an idiot to vote for Donald Trump.
If you’re black, you’d have to be an idiot to vote for Donald Trump.
If you’re female, you’d have to be an idiot to vote for Donald Trump.
If you’re FAT, you’d have to be an idiot to vote for Donald Trump.
And if you’re white? Yeah. You’d have to be an idiot to vote for Donald Trump. At least, not unless you’re super skinny, you’re a guy, you’re white, you don’t have a foreign girlfriend, and you expect to get more than $2 million in free inherited money so you worry about having to pay taxes on some of it.
He’s not too far wrong on the ‘sources said’ bit. Especially when they’re ‘sources close to the prosecution’ or ‘sources in the intelligence community’. I mean, that’s where vaporware plots like the Aum Shinri Kyo attack on Disneyland come from.
Baghdad Bob Mackey Hallucinating on the keyboard again. Grasping at non-existent straws about Trump while totally ignoring the genuine modern criminal brain zapped Hellary and her sexual predator husband.
I’d like to raise the crucial question, “Why the hell does The Intercept continue to publish this salacious tabloid nonsense?”
Doug, if Mackey doesn’t revert to worthwhile material after this election is over– if he spends it defending Hillary — they will simply have to do something. At that point I’ll make my displeasure known to TPTB. (I’ve already grumbled about the last, inane Mackey column to You Know Who.)
LOL. Mona dials up the childish petulance to 11! You actually had the nerve to dial up “Daddy,” er…Glenn and threatened to contact “The Powers That Be” to tattle on Mackey!? I’d pay money to see the outcome of that e-mail exchange. My guess is that after Glenn’s eyes boggled and blurred, he shakes his head, purses his lips and hit the delete button. But if he did respond, I think it would look kinda like this:
People always claim to be in favor of journalistic freedom and editorial independence – until a writer at a publication they read writes something they disagree with.
Mona, you are a hack. Perhaps you should read the TI’s “About” page:
The Intercept is dedicated to producing fearless, adversarial journalism. We believe journalism should bring transparency and accountability to powerful governmental and corporate institutions, and our journalists have the editorial freedom and legal support to pursue this mission.
I didn’t see anything there about “journalism that appeases Comment Section windbags” or “journalists have editorial freedom within the dictates of Mona’s standards.”
The cognitive dissonance caused by Mackey’s pieces has warped some of your minds and demonstrated just how embarrassingly intolerant of others’ views you are.
Let us hope to god that Mona has zero influence over TI authors’ content. I have a strong feeling that is the case. :)
Thank gods you’ve stopped complimenting me. That was intolerable.
Balance in the force has been restored.
Hack!
And deeply narcissistic to boot…
“journalism that appeases Comment Section windbags””
You have recognized that a problem exists regarding Bob’s work. (That is a great first step!) You seem to be focused on the adversarial nature of the election which demonstrates your knowledge of what an election is. (Solid ground so far.)
Let me offer some guidance. When you state, “I didn’t see anything there about “journalism “”, you are done seeing. There was, and is, no journalism present in Steno Bob’s work.
You set yourself up for failure in every aspect of your daily life if you see otherwise.
See? Plain old cognition is not your friend. The only dissonance here involves a purported journalist publishing on a website dedicated to adversarial journalism.
He does a great job on other issues. His coverage of the recent Charlotte police shooting was excellent.
There’s a current case in El Cajon (San Diego County), where an apparently-disturbed black man was shot and killed for allegedly pointing a “vape pen” at an officer. That would be much more worthy of Mackey’s attention than this partisan bottom-feeding.
If one believes in the governing principles that:
1. Police officers are guilty until proven innocent
2. Black accusations of police abuse should be taken a face value
3. Black rioters should be given carte blanche to loot, riot, and attack responding police officers (of all races) with rocks and bricks
Then, yes, Mackey’s cover-up of facts relating to the Charlotte police Dept.s justified shooting of a violent, armed felon was excellent.
You’re a wingnut, racist cretin. One who can’t explain why the largest protestant denomination in the United States began apologizing to African-Americans in 1995. One who denies white Christians upheld slavery, segregation, lynchings and all manner of racist evil. And they still do uphold racism, as you do, with your contempt for BLM.
Ka-ching! Another body slam from the ropes and another surrender.
Non sequitur.
http://www.allenbwest.com/allen/my-greatest-fear-about-the-baltimore-riots
Shorter: “If we couldn’t beat them and shoot them with impunity, it wouldn’t be any fun.”
The notion that the police are either protecting the people of the referenced urban communities, or even interested in doing so, is so preposterous that it would be laughable if it were not utterly shameful.
Actually, courts have ruled that there is no duty for police to protect the public. See Warren v. District of Columbia and Castle Rock v. Gonzales. And, given how the Chicago PD has been documented in using torture on suspects, which has not caused an improvement in violence, I’d say the opposite might be true.
And I fail to see why people establishing new guards for their future security if the established government fails is somehow a bad thing.
I never said there was…
I was excited about his arrival, and his knowledgeable attention to Israel-Palestine issues. But this Trump garbage is unworthy of the rest of the site. It’s embarrassing.
I hope like hell he’s in favor of Hillary because Trump, and not a Queen worshipper. That would totally, totally suck.
I very much hope that, in the event of an HRC coronation, she will promptly award Robert Mackey a presidential medal, and he will unashamedly accept it. And then, that he will promptly accept an offer of re-employment proffered by the NYTimes.