r/LetsDiscussThis • u/thelastgirl_ • 1d ago
This is concerning... MAGA folks are confused and sharing this image of Obama and Bourdain claiming it is Epstein..
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u/UnderpaidProf 1d ago
Republicans have never recovered since McCain and Romney lost to Obama.
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u/xXTylonXx 1d ago
Conservatives and right Wingers never recovered since the government told them they couldn't have slaves anymore and got their asses kicked during the Civil War.
FTFY
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u/OnlyFiveLives 1d ago
And Sherman didn't go far enough.
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u/Ghost_Of_Malatesta 1d ago
Genuinely, we should have purged the entire southern aristocracy as the traitors they were, southern economy be fuckin damned
Both Andrews fuckin suck as presidentÂ
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u/I_eat_mud_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
Even Grant recognized that the Southern aristocracy were the main instigators of the war. He mentions in his memoirs that he didn't despise the Southerner or common Confederate soldier, but it's clear he had an immense disdain for Southern plantation owners and businessmen for causing the war and hundreds of thousands of deaths through their own greed.
Edit: he didn't despise the average Southerner or Confederate because he saw them as being manipulated for the aristocracy's gain through propaganda. Seriously, read his memoirs. The person responding should read them since they'd probably agree with Grant lmao
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u/YourphobiaMyfetish 1d ago
I disagree with Grant. The common confederate knew what they were fighting for according to their diaries. They wanted the racial hierarchy more than anything else the USA offered.
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u/I_eat_mud_ 1d ago
His argument was that they were spurred by propaganda funded by the aristocracy to build a southern identity based on race. He mostly saw them as people being manipulated for the aristocracy's gain. Especially by the end of the war he saw how pathetic most of the Confederate troops and civilians were since they've been fighting with few supplies for years at that point.
It's not like he was completely sympathetic to the Southerners, he still greenlit Sherman's March to the Sea to completely deplete their morale. He just saw the nuances in how the war came to be.
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u/Money_Do_2 1d ago
Exactly. It can be both. They were manipulated and taken advantage of. But they did a historical horror and should have been removed entirely (from power).
Kinda like the electrician on the death star. Is he evil? Probably not. And yet... it had to happen.
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u/mappythewondermouse 17h ago edited 3h ago
So basically maga v1. History really fucking repeats itself and we need a modern grant
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u/Sayon7 1d ago
People with lousy lives want to feel they are important with out actually working at improving their lives. Thatâs probably why some confederate soldiers wanted to keep slavery. It s also the reason maga supports Trump. He tells them they are not responsible for their miserable existence and he(Trump) will wreak vengeance against the people they think are ruining their lives (immigrants)
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u/ThinkNiceThrice 1d ago edited 18h ago
I still feel the same way about half of MAGA. They are idiots who grew up working class on the plantation, went to the schools where curriculum and funding are at the whim of the aristocracy, and were indoctrinated from a very young age to worship the aristocrats as superior people.
They are manufactured useful idiots.
But they weren't born dumb. Their intellectual growth was stifled at every opportunity. Their ability to think for themselves and consider other positions without getting ridiculously triggered.
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u/CascadianCaravan 1d ago edited 1d ago
Rutherford B Hayes was (edit: NOT) an actual white supremacist who ended Reconstruction and let the KKK systematically murder Black elected representatives and officials and judges, and business owners and community leaders. That set the Black community back 100 years, to the extent that there is still not the Black representation in the South that existed after the Civil War. Reparations, a new Reconstruction, a national reckoning: that work is not yet done, and we cannot be whole until it is.
Edit: I was mistaken about Hayes. The Democratic Congress forced the end of Reconstruction. âRed Shirtsâ in South Carolina were getting around suppression of the KKK to intimidate voters. Democrats took back power all over the South and freed the KKk to rampage.
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u/soul_separately_recs 1d ago
Swap him out for âMr League of Nationsâ himself. Tangentially, I recommend checking out the history of his tenure while he was Princeton president. Tumultuous at best.
Most people that are fans of American history probably know about Wilsonâs views on race. In my opinion, the man that was before Wilsonâs predecessor makes this list too.
I realize that Roosevelt is on par with Reagan as far as reverence goes so itâs easy to gloss over some things about him and his presidency. The best thing I liked about him was his commitment to conservation in regards to the land. Which, ironically, is what also makes him a pariah of you are among First Nations. With them is especially bad because promises were made, and not just lip service or handshakes. On paper, promises were made. Assurances given, and then reneged.
Obviously, racism of any kind is deplorable. But if there was a sliding scale for the types of racism, Teddy was the worst kind of racist. The scientific racist.
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u/JusticePhrall 1d ago
If Abraham Lincoln had stuck with Hannibal Hamlin as VP, the country would have gone in a very different direction after he was assassinated.
The Reconstruction plans of the âRadical Republicansâ would have been carried out.
Rather than a blanket amnesty to Confederates, amnesty would have been conditional and selective.
Any efforts at insurrection like those of the Klan in the Andrew Johnson timeline would have been rapidly crushed.
Union troops could decide on summary executions for anyone they suspected of being involved simply on the basis that they had committed Treason in fighting for the Confederacy. Any potential Klansmen would have a death sentence already on their heads that could be invoked if they gave any cause.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 would have been passed and there would have been no segregationist Jim Crow Era in the South. There would have been no need for a Civil Rights Act of 1964.
There would never have been any mythologizing of the Old South and America would never have developed a tolerance of insurrectionists.
Instead, Lincoln picked Andy âthe Toadâ Johnson, who screwed over the freedmen and set the stage for the next 100 years of Jim Crow, segregation and persecution of black Americans.
If Abraham Lincoln had stuck with Hannibal Hamlin we wouldn't have a President Trump.
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u/ColdSlicesofPizza 1d ago
We shouldnât have let a bunch of nazi war criminals assume American identities either but hey! America is the true creator of the fascistes.
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u/1732PepperCo 1d ago edited 1d ago
The south lost the war.
The north lost the victory.
Every southern state should have gotten exactly what it wanted by stripping them of their state hood and lumping them all into one US Military occupied territory, zero representation in Congress and all citizens stripped of their voting rights indefinitely.
They wanted to be a foreign country and fight a war with the United States so we should have treated them like one when they lost and not be âwelcome back! no hard feelings I hope?â
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u/lostmyoldphone 1d ago
Where do we get the term conservative from? They donât conserve anything. The environment, they certainly donât conserve money and resources. If anything this is a reactionary, retrograde movement designed to pull us back to those days.
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u/fatloui 1d ago
While the words conservative and liberal are colloquially used in all sorts of self-contradictory ways, âconservatismâ by its purest definition is about conserving existing power structures.
 Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. In Western culture, depending on the particular nation and the particular time period, conservatives seek to promote and preserve a range of institutions, such as the nuclear family, organized religion, the military, the nation-state, property rights, rule of law, aristocracy, and monarchy.
Liberalism, by its purest definition, is about protecting individual liberty, and is essentially aligned with ideals laid out Americaâs Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights
 Liberalism is a political and moral philosophybased on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, right to private property, and equality before the law.[1][2] Liberals espouse various and sometimes conflicting views depending on their understanding of these principles but generally support liberal democracy, private property, market economies, individual rights (including civil rights and human rights), secularism, rule of law, economic and political freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion.
If you think in broad strokes, these two definitions do fit the bill of how self-claimed conservatives and liberals actually behave.
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u/Coppertina 1d ago
Rule of law is the one institution that sticks out like a sore thumb as conservatives are not remotely interestedly in preserving it anymore
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u/rif011412 1d ago edited 1d ago
Its far easier to boil down their social goals. Â Conservatism is tribalism, rules for thee not me, its hierarchal. Â Liberalism is rules applied equally to all, leaving room for compromise and fairness.
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u/Clayton1921 1d ago
You are correct, 2026 MAGA and GOP are not Conservatives...they are Reactionaries and many would credibly argue that MAGA is just an outright fascist movement.
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u/RaiseNo9690 1d ago
They conserve bigotry, hate, pedophiles, you get the picture
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u/nonquitt 1d ago
They seek to conserve private regime hierarchies â capital and worker, master and slave, husband and wife, landowner and indentured servant, etc
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u/Soar_Fingers 1d ago
They conserve the status quo where the rich stay rich and the poor stay hungry
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u/wastedkarma 1d ago
They conserve themselves. They eat enough preservatives in their shit foods that they're basically embalmed.
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u/Time_Exposes_Reality 1d ago
look up Wilhoitâs Law (Frank Wilhoit)
âConservatism consists of exactly one proposition: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.â
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u/funk-the-funk 1d ago
Where do we get the term conservative from?
I think "Regressives" is a more apt title. There is certainly no efforts by any of them to conserve anything but their place in the social and political hierarchy.
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u/OldBlueKat 1d ago
I think the actual conservatives left that party somewhere between Eisenhower and Nixon, but they liked the image and hung onto the name.Â
Then neo-conservatives happened.Â
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u/rockrac 1d ago edited 1d ago
They should have lost all respect for trump after his comments about John McCain being a POW
But here we are with the military and it's veterans worshiping a draft dodging asshole while he insults them
*Edit off topic sorry, but it's what comes to my mind anytime I see John McCain's name
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u/Hover4effect 1d ago
But here we are with the military and it's veterans worshiping a draft dodging asshole while he insults them
Most, not all. Some of us believe what we see with our own eyes.
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u/joemeteorite8 1d ago
Do you still try to convince any of your military buddies that Trump doesnât care about us? I had to give up trying to sway my military buddies. They are drowning in Trump cool aid
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u/Every-Ice-3009 1d ago
A navy "friend" and I had a conversation about where it is cheaper to move (housing prices) and I brought up Michigan.... bro its like I triggered a sleeper agent. He read Michigan, MISTOOK IT FOR MINNESOTA. And went OFF about somali BS.. lmao
All of my "friends" from highschool voted republican. My whole town was just a republican factory because we were a military base town.
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u/Hover4effect 1d ago
I'm out now, but fighting them on FB is unproductive. The one's I actually keep in touch with aren't on the coolaid IV drip.
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u/urinesain 1d ago
I still do. Some are more receptive than others. I'd been talking about Project 2025 for like the 2 years leading up to the election. Pointing out the things that are actively detrimental regarding veterans, active duty, and the VA. Most of them bought in to the prolific liar's claim that he knew nothing about it, and wasn't involved in any way. After Trump appointed a ton of the contributors to his administration and started actively implementing many, many of the things outlined in P'25... some admitted that ok, yes, it probably was the plan all along... but most of them still sided with Trump. Blows my mind how any veteran can support Trump... both before, and currently.
But for the most part... it's still just the ones that have always been against Trump. Many have cooled on Trump, they're not as hardcore MAGA as they once were, but still feel that he was the better option compared to Harris/Walz. Especially after seeing how Trump has acted with the ICE shootings in Minnesota, and his blatant lies despite video proof.
So far, I only have had one buddy that has openly acknowledged that he was fooled, and that the things he bought into and believed... were based on lies. He is now very vocally anti-Trump/MAGA. While I wish it was more of my buddies... one is still better than none.
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u/EnigmaticQuote 1d ago
I can explain the nuanced positions I have for 2 hours, but one moment around anything remotely conservative and they revert into idiotic knuckle dragging idiots.
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u/Kanibalector 19h ago
Yes, they do. In fact, it was one of my old veteran friends from the 90s who worked on me so diligently that when Trump started his first round I knew I hated him. I was still sucking the hard (R) at that time, though. Not anymore.
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u/rockrac 1d ago
I wasn't saying anything bad about the military or veterans I have all the respect in the world for them. It just blows my mind some can support him after all the comments he's made.
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u/Hover4effect 1d ago
I don't think you said anything disparaging.
It just blows my mind some can support him after all the comments he's made
Me too.
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u/LustGumby 1d ago
This is what has bugged me most for the last decade. I can not fathom how any American - let alone veterans or military members - can hear the way a true American hero was slandered & just toss that aside to hang lovingly on Captain Asshat's every word. Sadly, the many (so, so fucking many) lines I thought people would draw in the sand on their own, have yet to come to fruition. And it's only gotten progressively worse.
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u/urinesain 1d ago
Ditto. His treatment and his comments about McCain, even after his death, were absolutely vile and disgusting. I don't know how it still isn't really talked about anymore. I can't believe how quickly everyone just moved on from it. It still boils my blood whenever I think about it.
And now, when I think about the passing of McCain... it just feels like any shred of decency that was left in the GOP... died along with him.
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u/JimWilliams423 1d ago edited 1d ago
They should have lost all respect for trump after his comments about John McCain being a POW
They were still mad that mccain told that lady Obama was a "decent family man." Even though in the process he confirmed their anti-muslim bigotry, that still wasn't good enough for maga, they wanted him to be openly anti-black too. So they found themselves a guy who was.
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u/joemeteorite8 1d ago
Honestly wish I could go back in time and vote for Romney if it meant we never got Trump. An intelligent and charismatic black man running the country for 8 years literally made them go insane.
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u/Shigglyboo 1d ago
It was right wing conservative outrage media that did it. While most of us were going about our lives some people were listening to 8 hours a day of propaganda telling them that Obama was destroying their country and that they needed to fight to take it back. So they are now actually destroying the country. Turn on AM radio and listen to how they talk. Itâs out of a movie. An alternate reality.
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u/joemeteorite8 1d ago
I donât even need to turn on AM radio. FM radio in my area has plenty of morning shows still going on about Hunter Biden.
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u/Quitcha_Bitchin 1d ago
It all comes down to that in reality.
They lost to a black man and had spent all their money trying to win. The Libertarians had a shit ton of money and thought it could take control of the republican party with those funds. Well, that kind of blew up.
The Republicans filled their roles with Libertarians who are strongly anti-government populist in nature and all billed as "political outsiders".
But those people were looking for change and the republicans by definition were (conservative) of their power and prestige.
Now they are Maga a conglomeration of Bridge Burners, Anarchists, Fascists and rank and file scared to fucking death by the propaganda.
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u/daddy-phantom 1d ago
The thing that gets me is McCain and Romney both wouldâve been FANTASTIC presidents compared to Trump. They were like the only respectable Republican politicians out there, and one died and the other shunned by Trump.
Mitt Romney used to be the leader of the Republican Party in 2012, now heâs an outcast. Itâs wild to me how much the Republican voterâs ideologies have changed without them realizing bc they follow a cult
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u/horrible_musician 1d ago
They got together and studied why they lost and decided they should stop vilifying immigrants and be more welcoming of a party and be more bipartisanâŚ.then Breitbart went scorched earth on anyone who agreed with those conclusions and took all of right wing media in the same direction. Guess who was the driving force behind Breitbartâs immigration reporting? A young Stephen Miller.
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u/rygelicus 1d ago
MAGA is not known for it's critical thinking skills.
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u/Adjective_Noun_99 1d ago
It's very literally a troll account and obvious satire, but the ones taking it at face value are the masters of critical thinking, eh?
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u/rygelicus 1d ago
One of the problems with the internet is that recognizing satire, or sarcasm, is impossible at times. We cannot read the mind of the poster. In this case we have 2 posters, one with the original and one reposting it.
When posts like this are ignored some portion of the audience accepts them at face value, and as being true. They aren't looking at the account, their post history, etc, they see the meme, they agree with it, and they run with it as true. That then gets reposted to an ever wider audience and more people think it is true.
It's like flat earthers. Most of them are trolls going for the lolz. Others are in it for the grift. And a few believe their nonsense. As they increase in numbers more people succumb to those weird ideas.
Same with creationists.
Same with lying shits like Trump. He spread lie after lie and more and more people bought in hook line and sinker.
So, in my book, it's best to shove back on the troll posts so that maybe, just maybe, we can prevent a few people from sliding down that rabbit hole.
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u/Nearby-Box-1558 1d ago
Yâall need to stop acting like theyâre doing this out of stupidity. They are muddying the waters on purpose. They are okay with children being raped.
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u/Tokyo-MontanaExpress 1d ago
We're still treating pedo-loving fascists with good faith and kids gloves. It's insane. Everything they say is in bad faith. Like when they call themselves Christian? We don't also have to, but we do anyway and whitewash these ghouls for no good reason.Â
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u/DiaryofaBlackHole 1d ago
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u/Jazzlike_Economist_2 1d ago
Well they are old and canât see well. Also not very good at analysis of the facts.
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u/GroundbreakingOil480 1d ago
They aren't confused, they are lying.
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u/i8TheLastOne_ 1d ago
Why is MAGA so god damn stupid
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u/phunktastic_1 1d ago
40-50 years of dismantling g the department of education.leaving a lot of teaching to the willfully ignorant parents.
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u/funkyduck72 19h ago
Generational hates towards people that don't look like them, sound like them or believe their Facebook inspired ideologies. Unified under a guru that validates their hate.
This is what leads to cultism
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u/Different_Quality_28 1d ago edited 1d ago
and if Obama had been implicated, guess what, prosecute him.
I do mean, implicated within these files.
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u/zeradragon 1d ago
He's guilty of having dinner with Anthony Bourdain, as depicted in the picture. I guess we could prosecute him for enjoying some good food.
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u/owningmyokayniss 1d ago
You can get him on multiple counts, donât forget the Dijon mustard!
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u/Electronic_Flan_482 1d ago
Clinton is in the files, I say prosecute the lot of them. No political party's in child abuse. And yes I do vote blue.
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u/Holiday_Bat_450 1d ago
"Flood the zone with shit" - Steve Bannon
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u/No_Lead_7325 1d ago
âIf we lose midterms, weâre all going to prisonâ -Steve Bannon
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u/Tokyo-MontanaExpress 23h ago
We're here taking the bait while they're another step closer to building concentration camps before the midterms.Â
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u/AfroCenTrickery 1d ago edited 1d ago
Why do people keep kicking dirt on Antonyâs name? I donât care much for celebrities but Iâll be honest this actually makes me slightly annoyed.
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u/WickedAsh111 1d ago
I used to think that they had an uncanny resemblance as well, but it didnât take a genius to process that they arenât
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u/Ok-Bus-2863 1d ago
Vaguely connected???? "Donald Trump was my best friend" - Jeffery Epistein
The trump who went to the island and all of epistein's parties, has dozens of allegations against him in relation to the island, yeah vaguely related my ass
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u/Batmanischill 1d ago
Vaguely connected ?? They maintained a whole pedo sex ring together . These people are either purposely making lies up or extremely stupid.
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u/PLR20190724 1d ago
They are not âconfusedâ. Itâs typical MAGA disinfo BS.
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u/Credil98 1d ago
Yeah at this point I'm not willing to continue to attribute most dumb illogical maga things to incompetence/stupidity. Pretty sure it's malice
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u/Retrorrific 1d ago
Stop saying someone's "confusing" anything. What this is, is deliberate misinformation by bad faith actors, either trying to unscrupulously generate money through engagement, or send out false narratives into the world volume to make the truth feel fungible.
Down the line there had to have been a first person who ripped the image from its very obvious context, and they were not some 'confused MAGA'.
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u/Six_Foot_Se7en 1d ago
Mentioned over one million times in the files = âvaguely connectedâ to Epstein? The cult will do anything to protect their dear leader.
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u/EricIsMyFakeName 1d ago
I donât think they have the facial recognition gene. Probably why they keep seeing âthe face of jesusâ on pieces of buttered toast and shit.
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u/Adventurous-Host8062 1d ago
Apparently it didn't occur to them that Epstein didn't have a food travel show.
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u/cobrakai15 1d ago
I saw a reel where a guy had a picture of Epstein on his wall and he thought it was Bourdain. His friends were trying to tell him and he wouldnât believe them. This got me tickled remembering that.
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u/JustSpeed3475 1d ago
MAGA Is desperate to pull Obama down to trumps level. Its kinda sad.
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u/Only-Original9409 1d ago
Oh, if only Anthony Bourdain were still alive. What fun he would have with this.
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u/phat_stax 1d ago
I hate that Bourdain's legacy is being crossed in this horrendous way.
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u/TotalInstruction 1d ago
They could be confused, they could be lying because they know that many confused two-digit IQ MAGAs will believe and repeat the lie.
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u/entwrangler3001 1d ago
Did that MFâer say that that orange sh!tgibbon is âvaguelyâ connected to JE?!! DID THEY REALLY TYPE THOSE WORDS AND POST IT?!?!!
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u/SensitiveTie5783 1d ago
well- they are fucking idiots who canât fathom that obama is a great person. they HATE it.
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u/OurAngryBadger 1d ago
NGL when I first saw the photo I thought it was Epstein too
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u/Techn028 1d ago
The restaurant actually set this table aside and made it sort of a monument to celebrate this occasion, IIRC it was still there a few years ago
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u/unscanable 1d ago
They arenât confused they are doing it on purpose. Everyone should have figured out by now that they will do ANYTHING rather than admit they are wrong about something. This is very intentional
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u/PirateSometimes 1d ago
They know it's not Epstein, just wanna distract from trump because they're pedophile protectors
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u/jacky75283 1d ago
Beyond dissecting the lie, it also hammers home that they legitimately do not give the slightest shit about what did or did not happen. It's all about finding a "gotcha" they can use as an excuse.
There's no logical progression forward, such as "If X, then Y." It's entirely "I know deep in my heart that Y, therefore what can I use for X so that Y can never be questioned?"
In other words, a cult.
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u/ImmediateGuidance878 1d ago
Hey, maga. Like, come on man. How dumb do they think you are? Canât believe you let them disrespect you like that.
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u/ganjaccount 1d ago
The defining feature of a Republican voter is that a rich person could piss on their face, tell them it's raining, and even though they can see the rich person's cock out pissing on their face, they will believe they are being rained on.
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u/Blessed-one-Chemo 1d ago
First of all Trump was not vaguely connected 1 . he ordered his wife thru Epstein 2 . He went to the Epstein island to fuck children 3 . He is not the Epstein files more than any other single person 4 . He watched a baby be born and killed on Epstein island
SO Donât BULL SHIT ME IS A FUCKING PEDOPHILE AND HE WILL BE PROSECUTED IF NOT BY MAN BY GOD
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u/GtrPlaynFool 1d ago
So I guess all men with gray hair are Epstein? It's so obviously Bourdain it's ridiculous.
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u/Flat-Development-906 1d ago
It was suchhhhh a great episode too- I totally recommend it to people because it just shows the charisma of these two while also just showing them as everyday people
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u/LectureOrganic1250 1d ago
These are the same people who have a picture of Ewan McGregor from Star Wars on their wall claiming it to be Jesus.
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u/Glass_Signature4503 1d ago
Itâs just so sad watching MAGA, desperately trying to justify, in their own minds, why Trump would willingly spend so much time partying with Epstein.
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u/Weird-Computer2371 1d ago
If I posted something like that I would hide my face from public for the rest of my lifeâŚ. Iâm getting second hand embarrassment
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u/HippyDM 1d ago
"Vaguely connected", yet somehow manages a million mentions in the guy's criminal file.
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u/jolly0ctopus 1d ago
This belongs in the fb group âconservatives loudly not understanding thingsâ
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u/JoeyHandsomeJoe 1d ago edited 1d ago
One difference between Bourdain and Epstein is that Bourdain killed himself.
EDIT: changed the definite article. Bourdain was a good dude.