As an Indian with some extended family over in the States, I find this completely unsurprising. This is how Modi got reelected as well. And this is how ardent Brexiteers still have unquestioning faith in Farage. Savage's words will continue to fall on deaf ears. The only hope for USA, vis a vis India, is Trump won a few Midwest states narrowly and an opportunity remains to contain him but don't be too sure he will be defeated. It brings to my mind the textile mill strike of 1984 in Mumbai where a radical union leader, Datta Samant, goaded workers into a do or die strike which ended with the permanent closure of these mills and never ending penury for the workers. But these workers STILL refused to blame him or doubt his integrity after losing all they had. I see this same compulsive gambling trait in pro right voters today who are investing less in right wing ideology and more in a cult of personality. If we do not understand what exactly is driving this phenomenon and continue to approach elections as a game of building a winning coalition of arithmetic, democracy in these three nations will meet the same fate as those Mumbai textile mills.
98
Canada is more welcoming to immigrants than US, let us compare notes in 5 years to see who made the right call. The only thing is that if Trudeau gets replaced by Sheer who is Trump light than both countries will be on the same boat.
4
I wonder how many of these people every thought in their wildest dreams that they would become unquestioning apologists for a politician.
5
Savage and Trump are a fine pair. Trump is a con artist who is also an entertainer. Savage is an entertainer who is also a con artist. They share a constituency of people whose hate and fear transcend rationality and self-interest. About half of the heavy duty Trumpers.
13
I would give Trump an "F " for his performance as president.
His only "accomplishment" has been the tax reform legislation (which continues the crushing of the middle class).
However, I consider Trump the MESSIAH, because he is the only one trying to stop illegal immigration.
3
Ignorance is bliss.
2
Every once and a while, I hear Savage on the radio. I have no doubt he is a smart man but he sure does beat his own drum to the point of overkill. Whatever his opinion is of Trump supporters, he misses the mark. We support Trump because he is not a professional politician. He has for the most part, kept his word on his campaign promises. He has exposed the Democratic Party as an Anti American, anti White, Anti Christian, and Anti male party. Oh, I forgot anti straight. Liberals loved him when he would write checks to their campaign but once he entered the political arena, all the nice things they said about him was quickly forgotten.
Our government is 20+ trillion in debt. They have stolen from our social security fund to pay for their infamous studies on worthless things that are thinly veiled kickback to their supporters. If our government was a car and the professional politicians were mechanics, we would have fired them decades ago.
Now Trump comes in a correctly identifies with core belief issues most citizens think of. No matter how he earned his money, he did earn it. He was a billionaire first and then went into politics to correct some of the obvious problems that politicians always promise to fix, but someone never do.
He has correctly turned the economy around, brought jobs back to the US, and is working to correct the illegal alien crisis that the career politicians have not only ignored, but encouraged.
3
Hi Jeremy,
Im sure you get to pick your writing subjects. How could you stomach this one. Being a gay man, interviewing the “get AIDS and die” guy. This is like using the N word. I am gay and when I moved to San Francisco , it blew me away he was on the air.
Im not passing judgement. Im a huge fan. Just surprised you wrote this. Good writing as usual.
1
As the New York Times has so correctly stated, “Mr. Savage isn’t as well known or as widely listened to as heavyweight conservative talk show host.” But everyone is listening to Michael Savage now, as well as such other highly important people like Alyssa Milano [sarcasm]. Today if you want a headline from your place in obscurity, just get on board against Trump.
3
Don't tell me with a straight face that Mr. Savage is voicing these concerns because of his love for country.
He is doing this to hedge his ratings for November 2020 , when this Trump will most likely be out of office--Trump will be out of a job, but poor Micheal Savage will still be a slave to his self inflated master -an ingenious id stroking gimmick that makes big money. And what better way to make more money than to position yourself as the unheeded prophet ?
5
I think he may be very much over-estimating his audience.
5
As a nephew of mine at West Point put it: Trump is not the President I want but he's the president this country needs." Not bad insight for a plebe. The alternative to Trump was four more years of the same failed economic and immigration policies under Hillary Clinton. Personally, I would have preferred Rubio but at least Trump takes a clear stand on foreign policy matters, has done much to revive the economy and some to hold multinational corporations accountable. Yes, he's a loudmouth like a lot of New Yorkers, and has an out-sized ego (but what President doesn't?). Yes, he's a womanizer but he hasn't used the Oval Office and he hasn't enabled a serial sexual predator as Hillary has for decades. He's also done something no previous president since Nixon has done: forced the Chinese leadership to negotiate in some semblance of good faith. Above all, he values our sovereignty--something his opponents play partisan games with.
6
Even old dogs can learn from their errors in judgment.
2
The trouble with Savage is...he only starts "doubting" Trump when he perceives the president has been ignoring him for too long. One call from Trump to his show will elevate him back to "Churchill" status once again. Savage is a slave to his ego.
7
Dr. Savage is one of the few highly learned intellectuals I listen on podcast. He reminds me of Dr. Bill Bennett.
Both are wonderful radio talk show hosts and are very thoughtful. I enjoy their intelligent callers, and neither tolerate vapid conversations.
It appears to me that Dr. Savage criticizes Trump, more to seek his attention than to denounce him or reject his policies.
2
I used to listen to Savage quite a lot. I thought he was a phony pretending to be hard right conservative because that's where the money is on radio these days. As Nathan Lane would say, "Do the math..."; a botanist who graduated from Berkeley and worked with poor, south sea islanders, just reeks of liberalism. Any day, I was expecting him to come on the radio and confess it was all a put on. When that day never arrived, I had to make a cringeworthy admission to myself - he is the real deal.
Still, his manic, stream-of-consciousness monologues are some of the funniest bits on radio.
3
I recall another "demigod" nationalist who ballooned his nation's deficit, boosted the economy and hated certain ethnic groups. His followers supported him until the German Sixth Army was destroyed in 1943 at Stalingrad. By then, it was no going back. Maybe Mr. Savage has heard of him?
14
Excuse me but that's precisely how authoritarian regimes want their citizens to be like. Sad!
11
Michael Savage is just another carnival barker who knows that hate and fear sell really well among about 30% of the populace. Historically true going back to the Klan of the 1920s, Father Coughlin, and Joe McCarthy's supporters. This irrational fear of immigrants, that he and Trump feed, is a formula used in the past to give the demagogues power and money. Even Europeans were scorned back in the 1700s and 1800s. America is a great country because of our immigrant past, not in spite of. Con men leading fools, nothing new.
14
The biggest misconception is that people vote their “pocketbooks.” They don’t. It’s a perpetuated myth. I don’t know if it’s the work of media or politicians or both. People vote for a candidate because he / she represents their aspirations and hopes. And then on exit polls they tell pollsters it was the “economy.”
7
It’s Hate Radio: a land for racist, sexist, nationalist, warmongers, xenophobes, right-wingers, conspiracy theorist, liars and propagandist to broadcast their rage at the “them”before a whole nation. We can thank ( or blame) Reagan for doing away with the Fairness Doctrine that put a limit on this damaging propaganda. Yet libertarians and Republicans alike deeply oppose reinstating the Fairness Doctrine under the lie that it violates the right to free speech. In fact the Doctrine says that if a broadcaster wants to have a broadcast license and the privilege to broadcast it must uphold community standards one of which it the standard that there must be competing views offered to counter propaganda.
Savage like all propagandist wont debate to better the understanding within the community because its not just opinions they are broadcasting: it’s hate and lies. Limbaugh today just said that Biden told an audience to harm Republicans with violence. Not true. Now, the Nationalist, Savage and Trump, together with the rest of Hate Radio will repeat this lie until the community is infected with this dross and many believe it to be true.
Savage is a professional liar. He, like Trump, a Hawk, ran from serving in or protesting over Vietnam. Savage was too busy. He says ike Trump he was once a “Liberal” before US was overran with immigrants, pro-choicers, Blacks and left-wingers. Savage like Trump even says LiberalsDemocrats are mentally deranged! Savage is a danger to our community.
11
"It's us or them" Who is US and who is THEM? What are the characteristics of "them"? Is it an income level? An education level? Urban or rural? Employed or unemployed? I too hear that rationale, but never an explanation other than the "elites"... you mean like a "billionaire" living in a gilded high rise in NYC?
6
"It didn’t matter to Savage if Trump was going to win or lose. It was good copy.” If this is the case, then how genuine are Mr. Savage's recent criticisms? Moreover, how authentic was his support of the President in 2016? On both sides of the political divide, time and time again, we see how the Presidency is little more than a ratings football that pundits and political personalities will kick around, irrespective of their own ideologies.
4
So after Trump tweets that his supporters, a minority who are the only first class citizens in the authoritarian state, will not allow him to serve only two terms, he tweets that he plans to deport somewhere around 11 million people in the next 18 months. Look for him to make this the center of his rally tonight. Trump will do all he can to provoke a race war if that helps his re-election. This is the kind of country we are.
10
A fine example of malevolent ignorance. Do at least 60 million of us suffer the same malady?
5
I for one look forward to the demise of our baby boomer overlords that have extracted our country's resources for their own benefit and have salted the fields of our institutions on their way out the door.
5
So I have to confess I'm baffled by this guy (well, and all of Trump's supporters, really.) He acknowledges Trump is on many levels a failure, and doesn't understand why his listeners can't recognize that fact. And then we have:
"He insists 'I’m no Benedict Arnold,' and will still vote for Mr. Trump in 2020 despite his misgivings because there is no Democratic candidate he could imagine supporting."
How is this guy any smarter than the listeners he's disappointed in? I suspect he didn't get that teaching career he envisioned for other reasons than the color of his skin.
14
I used to listen to Savage until Trump became president and Trump has surprised me with what an outstanding job he is doing with almost no co-operation from others. Michael Savage has been in decline for a number of years and now seems to be on the anti-Trump bandwagon to keep his numbers up. It's sad to see a once great show go down the tubes , but it is what it is. Trump has a LOT of support and will probably easily win re-election. I wish Savage well, he is a great entertainer, but he is WRONG!
5
The most shocking thing I've heard recently was a Republican woman who attended a town hall and was herself shocked to learn that Trump was NOT "exonerated." By limiting themselves to a dubious news source -- specifically Fox, with lead man Hannity, whose credentials include being a carpenter and having only a high school diploma -- they are setting themselves up for anger and hate. They won't understand a single thing the Democrats are doing. They'll keep applauding Trump, the most unfit, corrupt and lyingest president in history.
128
@ATN Trump made his money before he ran for office. Please explain to me how all the rich dems who made their money after being elected accomplished it.
If you like your health plan you can keep it. I did not have sex with that woman...
10
Really?? A carpenter? I will take a talented carpenters thoughts and approach any day over some mouth with a degree. As long as your heads up in there so far check for polyps.
10
@ATN funny how you don't trust Fox News but you will carry water for CNN and MSNBC who have been lying to their audience for the last 2 years....ratings are tanking as a result. brilliant logic.
8
“Without him, we have nothing.”
There it is. The Great White Hope!
7
I continue to be amazed at the lack of critical thinking displayed by Trump supporters, a sign of his deification, I guess. Here is a self-professed dealmaker, who has concluded no deals in 2 years, a supposed swamp-drainer with more corrupt administrators than any previous President, and a leader with one piece of legislation, the tax cut, that hasn’t worked. He has pushed farmers that supported him to the brink of insolvency with what look like endless tariff wars, watched the border situation worsen under his leadership, and failed to realize that his actions against Iran are a sure pathway to war. His incompetence and corruption were no secret prior to the 2016 election, and a forewarning that he was not the conservative to lead the right to the promised land. It’s only going to get worse in the next year as investigations reveal more corruption and lawless behavior and our economy takes a nosedive due to his misunderstanding of the mechanics of international trade. Michael Savage should know better than to ever have or continue to support a man clearly unfit for the office of President.
33
@David Hurwitz: Beautifully put. Thank you, you are spot on.
3
Surprise, surprise. We the people elected a TV personality. Any person 65 years or older who grew up in the New York metropolitan area knows that Trump is a con man. He’ll say anything to his advantage and renege faster than A New York Minute ! The country is slowly waking from this our worst political nightmare. I have confidence that young informed Americans will show Mr. Trump the door to the unemployment office.
As for talk show experts, you get what you listen to.
20
No surprises here . . . it is precisely the absence of critical thinking that make Mr. Trump (and his ilk elsewhere in this world) possible.
9
Trump's base of support is more cult like than anything else. They'll stick with him even if he sells them up the river, which is precisely what he's doing.
14
I agree somewhat with Mr. Savage. Trump has certainly helped the economy but why are criminals still flooding across our border and why isn't Hillary Clinton, Comey,Page and Strzok in prison? Does he think these people are going to start loving him?
Immigrants are still legally coming into the U.S. at the rate of around one million per year.
Meanwhile people fight their way through massive traffic jams and agricultural land is bulldozed every day to put up more houses.
Trump has done absolutely nothing about this.
5
How amusing that have second thoughts about the "terrific job" Trump is doing might be construed as "controversial."
O the thinks I could think without my college degree!
5
Those that are die hard Trumpites will vote for Trump no matter what happens.
The key to beating Trump is for the Democrats to win independent/undecided voters. Those that hate Trump but are upset/frightened/ disagree with the far left on illegal immigration and bending over backwards to help “law breakers” while ignoring strapped taxpayers...painting everyone who is not poor as being rich and therefore are crooks, etc. etc....raising taxes on taxpayers who see no benefits to them and see money wasted.
The Democrats must nominate someone who appeals to independents as well as most Democrats.
An example here...a recent poll showed that amongst New Yorkers (a blue state) Trump was more popular than di Blasio. Now, if di Blasio somehow becomes the Democratic nominee, Trump wins (easily!)
Dems...put up someone who may not be perfect but we all can vote for. To do other than that is suicide come next election.
4
Conservatives are not rioting at the border because they probably don't know what is happening. Outlets like FOX are caught between reporting news and reporting about the most successful and accomplished president in the history of the country. If FOX points out his failures, they aren't being part of the team. If they don't point out his failures, you end up with deluded people. The latter seems to be the norm in conserva-land.
3
Savage twists facts and words to deceive his listeners. While I applaud him for calling our trump for his deficiencies. he remains a danger to reasonable political dialogue. I've listened to him. He is outrageous and transparently vile.
7
Staying loyal to President Trump requires what psychologists call "cognitive dissonance."
OK, you have conflicting messages in your brain. One set tells you how wonderful President Trump is. But the conflicting set is sending contrary messages, such as how he tells easily disprovable lies on a daily basis. You must do something. The obvious thing is to admit to yourself that you were wrong in supporting him all this time. Yet that's painful, because you must then admit how badly you were duped.
Cognitive dissonance provides the way out! This is to tell yourself, "No, I have been right all along, our fuhrer is wonderful, and any messages that indicate otherwise are fake news, or unfair criticism, or just signs of his tiny rough edges." But when Mr. Savage says let’s open up the phone lines and talk about how our president might be less than 100% great this is very threatening. So your natural reaction is to reject any notion there is anything whatsoever negative about our president.
We need to thank Mr. Savage for his courage in addressing this issue. But the behavior he’s reporting isn’t new to those of us who have had to deal with it among our family and friends. In most settings we cope with this problem by adopting a usually-unspoken rule to simply not talk about Trump.
And this is where we have arrived. Hopefully next year if not sooner we can send our president off to his none-too-soon retirement and then begin work on repairing these wounds.
4
So the Times thinks that questioning the president's greatness can end careers? Seriously? It seems to me that supporting the president can end careers.
5
Donald Trump..... You either get him or not. Its that simple. Mr Savage the millions of supporters like me do not need you and your media cheerleaders to guide us. Our instincts and discernment are not inferior to you or anybody else.
please do not put words in our mouths in such an arrogant manor.
2
@Joe, your instincts. And Trump's genius gut feelings. No thought. No wisdom. No humility. No learning. No kindness. Your instincts and Trump's guts. Well, God save America.
13
@jb He is saving America and doing it with TRUMP!
"Mr. Savage turned to radio, he said, after being denied repeatedly for jobs as a professor. “White males need not apply,” he said. “And I remember to this day the humiliation.”
It couldn't be because he is abrasive? or some other such reason? It's very hard for anyone to get a job in academia but take a look- academia is filled with white males. And if a white man does experience prejudice on occasion (as I'm sure happens), do we really think it is more than the prejudice that runs the other way? (I'm guessing that those who say "yes" - have been listening to years of radio talk which plays that " race card" with embarrassing frequency.)
9
@Diane Helle, yes, you can't swing a dead cat in academia without hitting an abrasive white male professor or two. Open bigotry, however, is not welcome.
3
People wouldn't stand for it if thousands entered the U.S. on the southern border while Hillary was president?
Oh, there are so many things that Republicans would not stand for if Hillary were president! But Donald is their boy, their defense against those elites and those Others! They'll stand for anything he does!
Meanwhile, Trump himself stands for nothing but opposition to the Democrats. He didn't replace Obamacare, he didn't build a wall and get Mexico to pay for it, he didn't denuclearize North Korea or Iran, and he sure isn't getting us out of war in the Middle East.
And still they support him.
So "Go ahead and hate your neighbor, go ahead and cheat a friend . . . ," as the song says. "Do it in the name of heaven, You can justify it in the end." Make America hate again.
12
Interesting how the NYT ignores the undeniable truth that Trump and the border hawk Republicans are getting blocked on immigration reform. No amount of walls or barriers are going to matter much without reform, and the entire issue is DOA to any Democrat in the Senate or any Democrat in their controlled House. When Trump tries to attack the problem by executive order, the party of obstruction finds an activist federal judge to tie up the order in court. It is obvious the DNC views illegal immigration as the eventual savior of the party that is spiraling out of control towards radical socialism/communism. On top of that, there are still plenty of RINO deep state Republicans drunk on money from the cheap labor lobby that are in no huge hurry to stem the tide. Trump has been clear that he would sign any bill to fix the immigration mess, directly building the fence/wall, etc. if he could only get any legislative support. I find it astonishing that a learned man like Savage cannot ascertain it is not Trump's fault Congress will not act or that activist judges block his executive orders.
2
You lost me at “party of obstruction”
7
@ Tim funny didn't get any of the immigration policies done when the Republicans had the house the presidency and the Senate and now you blame Democrats for obstructing who would think immigration could be so complicated
8
I find it interesting that I have yet to hear an answer on how Savage or Coulter think Trump should get this accomplished. Any executive action he has tried has been stepped on by Obama judges. The Democrats have not helped at all and at least 40% of Republicans are no better.
Savage has pink feelings with Trump because Trump dumped him for more loyal talking heads with much larger audiences. Savage was all I listened to for 2 years... then he went crazy. Savage should retire... I find him impossible to listen to.
2
Dysfunctional democrats are the problem here, voters! The president has the plans, but the democrats are the spoilers...That simple.
4
@Moe: How do you figure that? Until January of this year, Republicans controlled the House, Senate and White House. We have the House now and Mitch McConnell controls the Senate refusing to do anything but block the Democrats. The White House simply refuses to do anything like comply with subpoenas or follow any laws. In what way, shape or form are Democrats the problem?
6
Why do we call people like this “conservative?” What, precisely do they aim to conserve? Perhaps a rebranding is in order....
9
Like many voters I had high hopes for Mr Trump. I really thought that maybe he could bridge the gap between the political parties and actually get things done. I am now horrified by Mr Trump and his racist, bigoted attitude. As the author states, Mr Trump has become a superstar who can do no wrong according to his most rabid fans. The irony is that this is because so many Americans are unfortunately as racist and bigoted as he is. It’s a damming verdict of the American people but it’s true. We need a President that can get people together again to work towards making a better country.
10
@ Michael L you live in New York and you actually voted for Donald Trump thinking that he would become a different man than he was
2
Cannot understand, cannot fathom why anyone would support Donald Trump.
16
I have always found Savage just as uncouth as our president.
Starts with his denial of his heritage and that his parents were immigrants.
I'am sure that the fact that he could not land a job in his field leaves a lot to be desired.
He never admits to the fact that he attended Queens College,Queens New York
I believe all of the above has made him a roaring animal.
How do normal people stoop to engage in a conversation with this man other to make money as when WOR carried years ago.
6
The problem with creating a mythological "super Trump", is that when the facade starts to droop, the fantasy has such a hold that truth is not allowed into the subconscious of the "entitlement" Trump voter. Mr. Savage may be dismayed abut the budget deficit, When I question my relatives about exactly what Trump has accomplished they are hard pressed to name anything other than judges. So what if the deficit is astronomical. So what if Trump is a racist. So what if Trump lies. So what if he hires nefarious domestic abusers. So what if he cheats on his wife. So what if he hands over secrets to the Russians. Trump has made his voters the "chosen white people" of the land. He can be as cruel as he wants. He can steal what he wants. He is their leader. Mr. Savage, you helped create the myth. Now we all suffer.
18
So a man who studied how indigenous cultures use plants is a xenophobe, not surprised, the hypocrisy of the right is astounding, but common. He's so certain that he didn't get a job as a professor because he's a white male, more likely is that he's jusr lackluster and also kind of insane.
10
I love it when the right eat their own.
9
Well, it didn't take long for the author to establish that either she could not be truthful or was just sloppy. Trump never said that he could shoot someone in broad daylight, etc. Trump said some REPORTER had said that. Another "big lie" the Malignant Media members rewrite over, and over, and over, and now have once again. Thank you.
2
He said on tv during an interview. Check YouTube 😉
8
I mean seriously...a 5-second Google search and you could have found this https://youtu.be/iTACH1eVIaA
But Trump supporters prefer the myth, not the truth.
11
Not true. Here's the full clip of his statement. He said he was so popular in the polls he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose a single voter. He said nothing about a reporter saying he could do that: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/01/23/trump_i_could_stand_in_the_middle_of_fifth_avenue_and_shoot_somebody_and_i_wouldnt_lose_any_voters.html
7
“To know Trump is to hate Trump,” said Tony Schwartz on MSNBC. “Meaning everybody who knows him, deep down, hates him completely.” That includes even his children. At this point, The Thing in the White House is completely isolated. He's alienated everyone. There is *no one* to talk him down, to stabilize him, no one to in any way keep him anchored to some kind of reality. Not even Ivanka, apparently. In short, he's totally off his tether and becoming genuinely psychotic.
Even worse, there's really nothing anyone can do to in any way help the situation. The Republicans, who could clear the way, are paralyzed by their own fear because they're all in and they've no one else to replace the Disaster-in-Chief and no one else with whom to go into 2020. He goes down, they go down with him. This is dire.
For the details of what's happening to the Madman-in-Chief, look into "narcissistic collapse." It's what's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=narcissistic+collapse
6
Way to go New York Times! A truly unbiased look at Dr. Savage's mindset. I thought I was all alone with my thoughts about voting for President Trump and now feeling ripped off for all the topics mentioned in the article. Bravo.
5
Well I certainly didn't know that Savage has a PhD from my beloved alma mater! In ethnomedicine!? A field you would expect to promote ethnic humility and understanding of other cultures.
All because he felt humiliated by being rejected for jobs as a professor. Highly sought after jobs that many have failed to obtain.
Maybe he was never the best candidate but I guess his ego couldn't bear to entertain that possibility. Or maybe he was victimized to a degree. Yes, some white males have paid a price for affirmative action. Yes, it's not "fair" to them since they didn't cause the original problems.
But compare their suffering to the suffering that affirmative action is trying to alleviate. A fair look would show that there's no comparison.
But this man isn't fair, he's savage.
9
Most of us fail at something; the idea is to keep trying. Savage apparently has taken on the idea that abandoning rational thought is a good way to get ahead in life. Nice to see him punished by his non-thinking flock for trying to reclaim some rationality.
2
Allusion to almost famous / partly infamous president G.H.W. Bush saying that cost him his second term. Are Our’an is NOT a book of hate? You be the judge. I remember entering Britain in London Heathrow airport in 2010 and I was ready to say the same as Mr. Savage. Mama Mia. British government major politics were immediately revealed to me as stable geniuses they were and still are.
“While public polling has consistently shown that the majority of Americans disapprove of how he handles his job, the percentage of Americans who think he is doing a good job has been relatively stable — though still a minority.”
Do you really believe in that? One of the rules in any battle is to never underestimate your opponent.
“They keep pushing me away because they don’t like what in their mind is not 100 percent sycophantic behavior,” he said.
Sycophantic behavior. This was golden, Mr. Savage. I would take it as a badge of honor that several major station in New York and Washington have taken Mr. Savage off the air if I were him.
This is critical time to save this country from marxism and socialism.
Here are quotes from “The Road to Serfdom with The Intellectuals and Socialism” by Friedrich A. HAYEK, a Nobel prize in economics winner.
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/217623-the-road-to-serfdom
Marxism -> collectivism (“working together”) -> socialism -> degradation -> slavery.
Wrong hope, my dear Comrades. There is none for you.
A good example of the mindset which is created by years of listening to right wing talk radio.
9
Yep, it uncertain times alright, and Savage is as befuddled as the rest of us.
Not being able to handle criticism is a sign of deep mental insecurity.
8
I used to listen to Michael Savage but stopped because he spends most of his airtime boasting about himself. Meanwhile, he changes his mind about issues every two weeks. He is a waste of time.
Liberal listeners don't want Maddow to criticize Warren, Bernie....real any of liberals.
2
The irony is that Savage exemplifies the American dream that draws so many to America: Dress like a homeless person and sit around spouting nonsense into a microphone, and one day you too can have a posh house with a view in San Francisco ... Maybe if he really cares about immigration he should turn off his microphone.
9
Savage is an angry man. His radio show is an abomination of facts. Do yourself a favor and avoid this toxic offender.
6
The phrase you’re looking for is “white nationalism.”
8
An article about nothing. He still supports this President. He wants the President to secure the border and deport illegals. The President is fighting Congress to do that. The media is great at making headlines to grab attention. Please read the article. Not even the NYT can show that Savage does not support the President.
2
I listen to Michael Savage in San Francisco and his show is quite popular here. There are many liberals like me, and I can only speak for myself but I know of many, who agree with many of Trump's policies (not all of them) but not necessarily his personality. His tax law has personally hit me hard living in CA, but I still do well overall. Anyhow, Trump isn't going to win California. But Savage is entertaining and many of his listeners can be critical of him and of Trump and still support them.
21
If you agree with many of Trump's policies then it's time to stop calling yourself a "liberal."
56
@hmlty, Benjo doesn't understand what the term "liberal" means.
8
Which "policies" (if that word can apply to anything Trump does since he lacks the cognitive capacity to articulate anything resembling an actual policy) do you agree with?
28
You have to think the President will enter the opposition (likely in 2021) as an over-the airwaves pontificator of his world view, and will be paid handsomely to do so. If the man knows anything, he knows how valueable the voices of Hanity, Coulter, Limbaugh, Savage and a host of others were in his elevation to the nation’s highest office, and he will be in a position to have much more influence, unbridled, to push his agenda as a right-wing talk show host. Though this leaves me with the dreaded thought that such a thing may elevate Sean Hanity to the high office in 2024 or 2028.
1
Mr. Savage, as of today I agree with you. But we can't finally judge DJT'S performance for this term until voting day 2020. The world is full of very serious risks for the USA, and he still has it in front of him to affect outcomes.
If voting were today, DJT'S opponent would be the factor I'd use to make my decision: Is the opponent a worse risk than DJT?
1
Think just the contrary. Believe many Trump supporters are questioning his performance. I for one am still frustrated about the healthcare and ginormous expense to only one huge segment of the population, the workers and corporation, that is not professionally being dealt with, eg, task force committees, etc. And then his constant petty childlike banter. I will vote for anyone new on either side that seems logical, level headed, and smart. Too far either direction is a no, no.
26
So the tone of words that come out of presidents mouth is more important to you than how much your taxes are, the health of the economy, andwhether the president starts wars?
5
Right now this talk makes a story.
On election day..... behind that curtain, just think of the alternatives and where they would take us. Just imagine how bad it would be today if she won.
You really think those that voted for Trump will go the other way?
Not.
6
I think we all know deep down that things would be a lot better.
2
@Joe Paper, yes we would still be allies with Canada, Europe, and Mexico, would not be bowing down to Putin and Kim. Would not threaten people every day with tarriffs and wars, or change courses erratically. Would have two trillion plus still in our treasury instead of the Walton and Koch bank accounts. And much more. Instead of a decompensating narcissist whose ability to appear even sane is eroding daily. That you can't see this is alarming, and many are like you in it. The time is coming when it will be undeniable to nearly all. But he, like other bizarre demagogues, will indeed have some fans who will never see.
1
the groupthink on the Left is no better.
polarized. both sides not listening.
not seeing negatives on their own team. won't hear it. won't see it. won't say it.
6
@Joe Yoh, an easy out for you.
2
And in one sentence, Savage sums up Trump's base: “I don’t think they care very much about issues. They’ll vote for him no matter what because he’s not ‘them.’ I think it’s come down to ‘them’ or ‘us.’”
756
Savage as been selling ‘them vs us’ for as long as I can remember.
52
@JP Savage* is one of the original "us vs. them" guys. It's the foundation for his on-air personae.
40
@Scott
I saw a bumper sticker that said something like “we put up with your president for 8 years, now it’s your turn”. Ironically, he was flying a US flag from the bed of his pickup truck.
17
Much of the resistance of criticism is about 'saving face.' People can't bear to admit when they've made a mistake, and they begin to panic as the illusion shows cracks. They protect their pride by become more and more strident instead of more and more thoughtful. It's not just a right-wing thing; the recent verdict against Oberlin is simply a liberal manifestation of the same psychology.
2
Mr. Savage has spent years feeding his listeners a diet of hateful fantasy, and is now shocked and dismayed when they refuse to swallow an occasional small truth? How shocking.
914
@Dan
Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 4 million votes in California. But under our divided limited different power constitutional republic of united united states those votes don't count nor matter in any other state in allocating meaningful Electoral College votes.
32
@Dan
Trump isn't a normal politician, he's like a cult leader who trains his supporters not to question him. A shame, for many of them are good people down on their luck who think he's actually going to help them.
It's also a good question where Trump will land in the history of the GOP among conservatives. Reagan just 2 years ago was considered the Big Daddy and even under Bushes Jr and Sr he was still the spiritual leader. But Trump has turned it into a personalist party. It wouldn't be surprising to see Trump run again in 2024 if he loses in 2020.
14
@Dan
"I didn't think the leopard would eat my face", wailed the woman that voted for the Leopard Eating Peoples Faces Party.
27
Why is the GOP message of hate and fear so appealing to some? The irony of it all is that most citizens want the same thing. The Democrats have actionable ideas about how to deliver those things and the GOP puts all of its energy into discrediting any solution offered by that party, the party itself and all the people who prefer that party. The Democrats are about preserving norms and following the law, the GOP is wantonly destroying norms and publicity flaunting the law, challenging anyone to hold them accountable. Savage appears to have finally figured that out. His listeners seem more interested In continuing the escalating hate and fear and cheering on the law breakers and norm destroyers. Do they not understand that the current GOP only needs them as voters and has no intention of ever representing their economic interests? Why do they have an emotional need to be part of a ruthless, ideologically driven group whose only goal is securing the monied interests of the few? Is the emotional satisfaction worth allowing the corruption of our democracy?
6
To all Trump supporters complaining that Congress and other political and civil forces are preventing the president from fulfilling his promises:
Maybe, just maybe, said promises are illegal and/or crazy and/or empty?
6
Ironic how Michael claims not to be a political opportunist yet is willing to sit down for an interview with the “Old York Times” ,as he calls it, and wonder why Trumper’s are so brain washed. if his market share wasn’t in the gutter, he never would have done it.
1
The moral of this story is that very few Trump supporters and Republicans are will to say "the emperor has no clothes".
21
“So loads of Trumpsters are beside themselves — but almost none of them will say so publicly. I think the issue is: How many voters, who voted for Obama, or didn’t vote, and then came out to vote for Trump, are done with him?”
Never thought I'd agree with Ann Coulter, but that is the $64,000 question. Unlike Ms. Coulter, for me this is something to be hoped for, not feared.
8
If Trump wins the next election will he try to amend the Constitution so he can stand for a third time ?
5
@TonyC now that's just silly. everyone knows if trump wins he will try to amend the constitution so he can be president for life. he has to keep up with xi of china.
1
And if he loses he declare an illegitimate election. We lose no matter what happens.
1
That would require a referendum, and since your risibly undemocratic Electoral College doesn't function in that instance, the attempt would fail abysmally.
Should have bailed on Trump the moment he started lying about the "investigators" he sent to Hawaii.
No serious person should have stood with Trump following the Access Hollywood tape.
30
How can Trump fix the deficit when Congress makes the budget? How can Trump stop illegals when Congress writes immigration law and the courts stop him at every turn? How can he build a wall when Congress refuses to appropriate money for it? Perhaps Savage would prefer form of government where the head of state can do whatever he wants? Trump is doing everything he legally can do.
6
How can Trump do all the things he promised when Congress holds so much of the power? Presidents are expected to be savvy political operators who can build consensus to achieve their goals, and find compromises where consensus isn't possible. This is how a republic works. If Trump is unable to make good on his promises it's because he either failed to understand the Constitution or isn't as politically capable as he thought he was. Or both. In any case, his failure is his own. Blaming Congress is a cop out, especially since he really hasn't even tried to build consensus or find compromise.
30
He and congress passed massive tax cuts and increased spending. He , nor the republican congress cared about the budget deficit they created.
1
Both houses of Congress were controlled by the Republicans for the first two years of Trump's presidency. He could have passed anything he wanted. But he and his fellow Republicans were unable to craft any legislation which could hold up to even a little bit of legal scrutiny. Hence the courts striking it down. Bottom line: the buck stops with Trump and he has done nothing.
6
Savage chronicles the President's alleged failures to deliver. Democrats relish in listing even more alleged failures. And it's true, there are many failures to deliver.
What they all hope we don't notice is that making the President fail has been the energizing principle of his enemies, some in his own Party and nearly all Democrats. They block him in every way they can, and tell us the resulting failure is his fault.
Democrats told us daily for two years that our President is a traitor and criminal. They subjected him to investigations that no prior president, even Nixon, even Clinton, had to endure. All this is partly to blame, Democrats would say to their success, in keeping the list of failures to deliver as long as possible.
With all that our President has had to endure and oppose, the wonder is that he has a solid list of positive accomplishments to point to. Image what could have been had his enemies instead put the country before their pleasure.
4
@geezer117
No, it is Trump who has NEVER “put the country before” his “pleasure.” If he had even the smallest grain of true patriotism, even the slightest respect for the Constitution and for the traditional values of his office, the situation today would be entirely different.
4
Are you referring to the Obama years?
1
@geezer117
The GOP had no problem doing that to Obama So now you want to complain? What goes around comes around to a birther
6
Martha,
What "great things" has Trump accomplished? He's brought down the integrity of the presidency to an embarrassing low level with his compulsive lying, his immense lack of knowledge concerning foreign affairs as well as policy in general. He makes racist and misogynistic comments regularly, and he is so obviously on the side of the rich with his attitude that I wonder that any working class person could vote for him. He is amazingly uneducated, speaking in the language of an elementary school student. He has no command of facts, as the media points out on a daily basis. He makes up a crisis, like the supposed immigration one because he is unable to tackle the real problems of our country, like racism, income equality, health care, and the overall good of all people.
37
People like Savage and Coulter are absolutely essential to hold Trump's feet to the fire. They deter him from following the path of least resistance.
2
"Without him we have nothing"
They say.
How utterly ridiculous that anyone, let alone thousands of people, would allow themselves to believe that a man like Trump offers them anything at all. I mean, he offers lies, illusion, and builds these people up to believe they are the only Americans worth listening to. Other than that, perhaps they had nothing to begin with and they'll have nothing, or less than nothing, when Trump is out of the picture.
26
@JLC - He was hand-picked by God to save our nation. Seems that God could have at least found someone like Jimmy Carter who might have dressed appropriately for church on national-pray-for-the -president-day. Instead, The Almighty's chosen chose to show up in sweaty golf clothes for a few minutes of photo op. But just touch the screen and send in some seed money and all will be okay!
2
Although I disagree with him, at least he thinks rather than blindly following tribalism.
4
I’m with you. I can’t stand the guy but at least he’s able to think critically.
He’s still voting for him, so...
1
“To too many people he’s not a human being, he’s a demigod ....” This is so true, and yet so inexplicable. Trump has abandoned most of his policy pledges and he has be caught again and again lying, exaggerating, and displaying despicable behavior. And yet, he has supporters who speak about him like he's some kind of savior. Despite listening to numerous Trumplicans, I have no idea of the source for their adulation.
17
H. L. Mencken, writing almost a century ago, is still right!
14
He's not the first person whip up mob, only to find that mob can't be controlled. I have no sympathy for him or his listeners.
15
Trump ran on a "Vote for me. I hate the same people you hate" ticket. But hate only goes so far. The economy is in shambles for anyone other than the rich and foreign policy and immigration is a mess. The "what do we have to lose" crowd now see what they have to lose. Other than those in the Trump cult he's being exposed as Coulter's shallow, narcissistic con man.
14
The statement conservatives vote blindly made me fall out of my chair. The opposition voted for scoundrels like Weiner and others who at face value denigrate the office and themselves. They elect convicted cocaine dealers. Nobody projects like the left. We were calling each other before the 2016 election asking if we were really going to pull the lever for Trump. We decided we had no other option. Looking at the dems and their 2020 candidates, we still have no other option.
3
The GOP could find another option.
Perhaps Obama’s low illegal immigration numbers and Trump’s exploding numbers have something to do with the economy. We had around 100 million citizens that were capable of work not working under Obama and we now have more unfilled jobs than workers.
Trump’s biggest error so far was not tackling immigration in the first two years while listening to Paul Ryan and McConnell when they promised to address the issue in the next fiscal year, then the next, then it was too late.
10
@veejay
Wow, Obama had "100 million" citizens eligible to work who weren't working and, all of the sudden, upon the Oath of Office, Donald Trump changed that?
Clearly you want to believe, in what isn't true. Hey, I love the X-Files, but wanting to believe doesn't make it so, dude.
2
I just about fell off my chair when the article mentioned he was an ethnobotanist by another name who wrote health books. Ethnobotanical medicine and herbalism has long been an interest of mine but I was most active in the movement in the late 80s through 2000 when the founder of an ongoing women’s herbal conference in New England who was my best friend died. I still work on staff at that conference annually but that’s about it. I did attend several herbal conferences in Northern California back in the day and most of the participants were left-leaning. Imagine my surprise to learn that the Trumpy likes of him may have been lurking among them.
So I looked through my library of books and there it was on my shelf:
“Earth medicine--earth foods;
plant remedies, drugs, and natural foods of the North American Indians”
by Michael A. Weiner and published in 1972.
I also own his “The People's Herbal: A Family Guide to Herbal Home Remedies” published in 1984
I liked the first book when I found it in a used bookstore in Harvard Square in 1989 but haven’t cracked it open in years. Not sure where I got the second book, but the handwritten price written inside in pencil that is half of the printed cover price tells me it was bought used as well, probably during my time living in New England. I’m now glad, for reasons other than thrift, I bought them both used.
Yet another privileged white male Boomer who sold out his ideals and our collective future to maintain his status. Ugh...
15
@left coast finch guy worked to get what he has now, not privileged at all
He was a leftist. Then he didn't get hired as a professor, according to this article, because he was a "white man," causing humiliation and bitter resentment. And another white nationalist was born.
4
@ShockTheVote
You’ve omitted the incredibly well-financed, taxpayer-supported pubic education, kindergarten to the graduate level, every white person in his generation enjoyed until they didn’t want to pay for the next generation to have the same advantages they had, mainly due to the push to expand those advantages to blacks and Latinos.
Care to debate the demographics of suburban public schools and the UC system during the 1950s and 60s? Overwhelmingly white male and during the period of the highest personal income tax and public investment in history. And that’s only one of many systemic advantages white Boomer men had.
I’m a leading edge Gen-Xer and California native who witnessed during the first two decades of my life the decimation of the school system, the draining of investment in public infrastructure...even simple things like publicly-financed children’s activities at local parks which I enjoyed as a white child in a white neighborhood disappeared once the community began to diversify during my high school years.
White Boomer men were born at the top into the wealthiest, most privileged generation in American history and America spent lavishly to give them the best, publicly-financed start in life ever seen. That Weiner or Savage or better yet, Savage Weiner, couldn’t abide sharing that advantage with others, and that you won’t acknowledge that documented historic fact, is yet another example of the myopic, stingy narcissism that’s destroying America.
2
Savage was denied a position as a professor, so the poor widdle snowflake’s humiliation led him to help turn us into the savagely partisan nation we have become. Thanks for nothing, and enjoy your well-deserved time in the wilderness. Your former listeners have no interest in hearing the truth that they’ve been conned by a cult leader, something so many of us recognized in Aged Orange from the beginning.
20
Trump supporters see Trump as a “demigod.” This insight alone should shake his evangelical supporters to the very core of their faith. Wake up!
15
@Garry Didn’t work when they warned the left about idol worshipping Bill or Barack
I don't know anyone who worshiped either Bill or Obama. Rather, everyone I knew often voiced their disagreement when either enacted policy or otherwise acted in a way they didn't agree with. For years right-wing media has cast a hologram of alternate reality over the country and their reactionary, willfully ignorant audience seems to have bought it completely.
2
The cult of trump doesn't like to hear that they are, in fact, members of a cult.
24
How refreshing is it when another high command cult45 member such as Savage begins to crumble and admits maybe, just maybe Trump is a conman after all? Refreshing indeed! May Trumps "humiliation tour" continue! #Blue Tsunami 2020!
14
Here in Alaska Savage Nation parallels Sean Hannity, Joe Paq, and Rush Limbaugh. Michael Savage provides great insight into our national politics. Our talk radio is totally conservative.
6
@Gerald Newton
Turn it off and listen to NPR
2
The fear that America is "Browning" at a rapid speed is scary and alarming to some the ardent Trump and GOP supporters.
8
“How many voters, who voted for Obama, or didn’t vote, and then came out to vote for Trump, are done with him?”
what
2
Michael Savage? He doesn't deserve his opinion to be heard on the front page of the New York Times just because he says some derogatory statements against Trump. Maybe the decision makers need a time out?
3
Yes, Mike Savage is angry that academia would not give him a full-time position as a professor. But he fails to say him and his son and daughter own RockStar energy drink -- making them Billionaires. I guess he ended up a wealthy white male after all.
17
Yes, on the dollar of the fools that believe in energy drinks. Certainly not something that paints him in a better light in my opinion.
1
Savage is correct. Trump is not on side of freedom. He works for the New World Odor, you can smell it. Use google images, search for... Trump two headed eagle... Masons two headed eagle... Rothschild's two headed eagle 1867. Trump doesn't hide it. He's with the New World Odor, smells a mile away.
We love you Michael hey it’s a healthy dose of City Cynicism which keeps everyone wondering but he Knows its Real and he should get way more respect and Credit from the President and Rush and Levin and especially Hannity as we love you Guys Mike no more comments like that or you’ll be another old Henta on the View so play nice .
NJ1
1
Seems like a loathsome human being.
9
Hey Mr Savage, you were responsible for spawning this. So go home, stop complaining and live with it. We don’t care about problems that were self created. I’ll give you a quarter. Call someone who cares.
15
Dave in North Carolina asked how anyone could blame Mr. Trump when he is fighting so many enemies at once. “He’s not just fighting Democrats. He’s fighting the deep state. He’s fighting the cabals,” he said. “Without him, we have nothing.”
*** Dave's comments above are the paradigm of tRUMPism / fascism: paranoia, blame, victimhood: "the deep state," "cabals." In addition, their great leader is in lonely battle against great numbers of hidden yet extremely powerful "enemies" working behind the scenes to bring him down precisely because of his greatness and vision.
What I find most terrifying is the last sentence, which defines the tRUMPistas' fears: "without him, we have nothing." That could justify any manner of terrible reactions when tRUMP loses the next election.
15
Savage, Shapiro, Miller.....and many more would be perfectly happy with a fascist rule over the US. These people actually believe they would be part of that ruling class.
13
It's very telling that as soon as Savage has something critical to say about Trump, the NYT is suddenly interested in his opinion. You guys don't even *pretend* any more.
3
@John after two years they became interested
It's the only thing that's remarkable in any sense about his ideas. His one break with nationalist orthodoxy.
1
@John
You are right. The Times doesn't pretend; they tell the truth with insightful reporting, and they don't spread baseless conspiracy theories.
1
“They’ll vote for him no matter what because he’s not ‘them.’ I think it’s come down to ‘them’ or ‘us.’”
**Some of those voters voted for him because he was not Hillary. Some voted for him because he wasn't one of those elite intellectuals (on that one, they were dead right as he is neither), some voted for him because he promised to rid America of people they don't know but definitely don't like.
Having family members who voted for Trump, one or all of those are the reasons they did.
7
Savage goes from the lefty's Public Enemy #1 to Darling in 3.5 seconds.....
..... just in time for his latest book debut.
1
Savage is a very insecure guy who is jealous of the praise heaped on Rush Limbaugh by Pres. Trump. He should know better than to speak to the NYT - whose missiom in life is to destroy the Trump presidency. Like CNN and others, the Times is a 24/7 hatefest of our great president. Shame on Savage!
1
@Ed Murphy
LOL, y'all are funny, but I don't think you're trying to be, are you?
Yes, the NYT started publishing in 1853 just waiting for Donald Trump to be elected, then their waiting was over and their "life's mission" began.
Hey Ed, listed to what your leader has said over the past few years and get back to me about the "hatefest of our great President". I think you're projecting, just a little bit.
2
Re: “To too many people he’s not a human being, he’s a demigod; ...It’s embarrassing to listen to some of these people.” {M. Savage}
The title, ('Demi_Deity'), is a special honor, similar to the Xian concept, 'O, 'sainthood', granted to humans in recognition of outstanding behaviors / actions...
As a Pagan, I have Deities, (actual M/F - Gods, aka, supernatural beings), and Demi-Deities;
An example of a personal Demi_Deity is the late Iceni queen, Boadicea, who almost removed the Romans from her native lands...
{URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boadicea_and_Her_Daughters}
I just laugh, cynically, at the idea that ANY U.S. politician, (let, alone the current 'Fraudster, In Chief'!), would be thought of / honored, by such a title...in the same thought-process!!
BTW: It's an almost, frightening development when I can quote-/-agree, with M. Savage!
1
So Michael Savage's main criticism of Trump is that Trump is racist enough.
3
@Al
So Michael Savage's main criticism of Trump is that Trump isn't racist enough. (Sorry for the typo)
9
Don’t give Mr.Savage too much credit - this sudden change of mind is nothing but a business decision. He lost his evening spot at talk-radio early this year and simply needs to attract a new audience as his “nation” is slowly vanishing towards Hannity and Limbaugh. But - it is of course of upmost importance to be open to reintegrate everyone leaving the Trump cult. Mr.Savage is not one of those - he simply needs his audience to sell his books and advertised products. That’s it.
9
It comes down to a simple fact: Lots of Trumpers liked him because they believed him. Too bad they're suddenly learning what the rest of us grasped earlier in the game: the man's a stone cold liar. If you choose to believe anything he says, you may be in for a shock, and that shock may come only a few minutes later. In a national leader, this is a ridiculously dangerous trait. I don't believe a word he says, and neither do many citizens like me. How can we expect any world leaders - allies or foes - to believe Trump, when his own countrymen regularly do not?
14
I have long felt that Michael Savage, more than Rush Limbaugh or any other right wing personality, played an instrumental (and largely unsung) role in laying the groundwork for today's nationalist/Trumpian movement.
I listened to him occasionally back around 2000, and the rhetoric he used then—whether on immigration, terrorism, Islam, the government, or other topics—still bounce through the echo chamber of right-wing media. Frankly, Savage is smarter, more original, and more fun to listen to than Rush. But I also believe his aggressive and incendiary tone pushed Rush et al. further right than they already were.
I also always found it ironic that Savage was basically a hippie Berkeley liberal who flipped when he failed to get a job in academia. And it is hilarious that he lives in Tiburon, an island community that is about as left coast elitist as it gets.
I hope future historians will consider the role of talk radio in general in leading to our current political moment. I've wondered: is it because people living in rural communities can only pick up AM radio in their cars that these characters continue to have such a widespread audience?
13
"He insists 'I’m no Benedict Arnold,' and will still vote for Mr. Trump in 2020 despite his misgivings because there is no Democratic candidate he could imagine supporting."
And there is the "out." If he is so willing to criticize now, and he can't vote for a Democrat, he could simply sit out the election. But hope. Contrary to his words, Mr. Savage is just as brainwashed and beholden to the "demigod" he criticizes as are most of his listeners.
2
We all have read and seen how Trump has tried from the very beginning to close borders, fix healthcare, the budget and called for national emergency.
How swiftly the Liberals used everything in there power to stop him and continue to do so. Blame congress and blame the Rhinos that have constantly back stabbed Trump at every turn and from the very beginning. We lost the house because so many Republicans retired or decided not to run.
We seen and read Trump's grumblings on twitter. Without Twitter we would not know what is the truth and what really is happening.
With all the investigations, fake news, continuous insults to his family, friends, colleagues and so many other oppositions nipping at his heels I think our president has done a superb job and I frankly don't know how he and his family endures it. I couldn't. I'd throw in the towel no matter how much I love our country.
Trump is not a dictator; the man has to follow the laws of the land. Trump tries to do what he legally can and he can not take the law and bend it like Obama got away with.
As for Savage? This man has a huge ego and that ego has to be constantly nurtured or he goes off. I would not want a man like Savage to be my friend. If Savage is not contacted by the White House and invited to events or not called by the president he begins to turns. I've seen and heard him do this over and over again.
I stopped listening because Savage has become his own fool.
3
@Tamara Carr, OMG there is so much misinformation and irony in your comment I don't know where to begin except to say that trump's infantile tweets are not where you will find any truth or reason.
1
Him is the best radio talk show host in history.
1
The "Trump supporters no matter what" are scary and a the real threat to democracy. To support someone who you know lies all the time, and not take responsibility for at minimum doing some objective research on the facts, is the real deep state of ignorance, alt-right politics and obsessed fundamental Christians.
7
His own lack of critical thinking is clearly displayed when he mentions his attempts at professorship. It is easier to blame "white men need not apply", than to question his own abilities; especially given that at all but the traditionally black colleges professorship is still predominantly white men. He was, and is a conspiracy theorist (aluminum as the cause of Autism), and far from an empiricist. He is as disingenuous as Trump.
7
I used to listen to him on occasion in the 2000's because I thought it was important to listen to "other voices". What I found was that his rhetoric opened a deep, dark hole from which ugly creatures emerged. I stopped listening to this bitter, old man who blamed his failings on everyone else.
7
Liberals are no better. I lost so many liberal friends because I was critical of Obama and Kerry. I call them fake liberals. They used progressive causes the same way Trump uses conservative causes ti rally the base. History will prove that Obama ruled right of the center; he just pandered to the left. The examples are too many to count: 1st he gave us Obama Care that is benefited Big Pharma and insurance companies, the situation of blacks went backwards, deported more than any other president, aided Sisi's coup in Egypt, Aided Iran in Syria (remind us about the red line), saved wallstreet banksters, the middle class shrunk, life expectence on the decline, opiod crisis, inequalities rose under his watch, stimulus was mostly tax cuts, he saw the Russian hacking and did little about it, Obama saw the rise of fascism and was sleep on the wheel, plus he doubled down on Afghanistan war and now Trump is right to called it a failure.
Liberals, inclusive of this paper. Gave Obama a free pass on many things
5
@Salah Mansour Strange, most of my liberal friends were very critical of Obama - on a number of issues you mention and others, no-one I know lost any friendships over criticism of Obama. It is a myth of the right that there was a "cult" of Obama that equates to the Trump cult. It is just more false equivalence as far as I have observed.
3
@Salah Mansour
Yeah, no side has a monopoly on bad actors. However, Trump really is uniquely loathsome as American presidents go. One cannot avoid concluding that there is something fundamentally wrong with those that still support him.
4
@Lizmill
Sorry if I came across that liberal and conservatives are the same; of course not... that is not true. However Liz I am describing my experience.
1
Trumps supporters aren't critical ENOUGH?? My friend, they aren't critical at all.
8
Trump made promises, that without the support of Congress, can't happen. The deep state can outlast any elected official including the Presidency, so he can only make limited changes. I understand why his more conservative supporters want more of what was promised but the reality is both parties don't want him to make the large changes, they like the status quo just fine. I agree that that the President has not moved quickly and on more fronts to press his agenda so that his supporters could see his commitment to his core values. For example, tax the remittances, deport the DACA folks, clean up the inner cities from its lawlessness press for charter and vocational education and start to fix the airports, roads and bridges. We also need to cut spending, big time. Also charge Boeing for the man hours needed to review the Max 737.
2
They don't want to hear doubts, because they know that what he is saying is true.
1
I have a film for Mr. Savage to see: Walt Disney's 1940 "Fantasia," the first one, with Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. I don't know when the Sorcerer is coming home to fix everything, but let's hope it's next year.
Mr. Savage/Weiner resides in a bastion of privilege, lashing out at those struggling to simply survive. Like Trump's immigration henchman Miller, this person isn't critical of Trump for his basic indecency. He critical that Trump hasn't succeeded in being more draconian, blocked by the lawsuits of truly compassionate people and institutions. Trump and the GOP are an insult to the men and women who have given their lives over these hundreds of years, protecting and selflessly serving what used to be the finest nation on Earth. What are we allowing ourselves to become?
9
So to summarize he thinks Trump is not awful enough. His opinions are highly depressing to reflect the state of American voters
9
Goodness, looking at data from the National Center for Education Statistics I see that in 2018 white males hold 54% of full professor positions. One would assume that a number of years ago, when Savage would likely have been searching for an academic position, that number would have been higher. But, in 2018, whiteness (male and female) accounts for 70-80% of all academic positions. "White males need not apply" - what a joke!
9
It pains me to hear Trump and his blind supporters called "conservatives," for they have little in common with conservatism. Jingoistic maybe, but not conservative.
5
"I think it’s come down to ‘them’ or ‘us.’”
Says the guy who is all about "borders, language, culture."
I can't imagine why his listeners would be so ethnocentric?
2
The drivel, misinformation, frightful nationalist agenda and Trump worship that people like Mr. Savage peddle everyday is one of the main reasons we have such a morally compromised, inept president in the first place.
Zero progress has been made on any agenda that would improve the lives of average Americans. Zero. We are moving backwards, on the environment, immigration, healthcare access, the national debt, infrastructure improvement, wage growth for the vast majority of Americans, our international standing, trade, and on and on.
The only thing “conservative” about the Trump base is their parsimonious ability to take in truthful information about Trump and Republicans in general.
5
Very unpleasant human being, and that’s when he’s mild. Based on my own observation over a decade ago.
2
So, Savage, Coulter, and others dislike Trump because he is not conservative enough and has not entirely shut the border and built a wall that no one can scale. This kind of anti-Trumpism is far more repulsive than the kind that fuels questioning about, say the morality of tearing four-month-olds from mothers. No equivalency whatsoever.
7
When our belief system finds its roots in negative-tribalism, our rejection of anything anti-tribe will be swift and without contemplation. This gentleman's tribalist and compassionless tendencies resulted in supporting a candidate that appears to be equally tribal and compassionless. Now that his tribalistic idealism is not coming to fruition, he feels compelled to vent his frustrations, albeit to an audience which embraces his own views and subsequently will show equally absent mercy to him that his words show to others. It is at this point that everyone outside his tribe should show him mercy and compassion in order to lessen his pain and fear. This is how minds and hearts are opened to the world.
I am unapologetically going for the Democratic Socialist. BERNIE 2020. And I am not looking for a handout. I have done well, partly because when I went to a state university in 1974 it was just about free by today's standards and left with no debt, got a good job, bought my first home in 1978, and things just kept on getting better from there. No, I do not need a handout. Soon I will be eligible for Medicare, and with my Social Security and income from my investments, I do not have a worry in the world. And that is what I want to see for future generations, even if I have to pay higher taxes. which I know is inevitable.
7
Savage is right - Trump has acquiesced to the illegal and unconstitutional decisions / actions of the courts. The Constitution does not grant the courts power to "make laws" - article I and III and Federalist 78-82 makes that quite clear. Both Congress and the Executive have the power and obligation to nullify any and all illegal or unconstitutional actions by the courts, which neither have done.
If Trump were truly serious about stopping illegal immigration and building the wall, he would not allow the courts to stop him, they have no power to do so. He either wants to maintain the issue to oppose the Dems in the next election, or he's afraid Congress might use his nullification of such actions by the courts to stop him as an excuse to impeach him.
Whatever the reason - Trump has failed to use his legal power and authority to stop illegal immigration on the border.
1
@Roberto Alvarez Thanks for showing us the constitutional illiteracy of the Trump supporter.
2
Why did Savage not address the possibility that Trump may very well be , because he scuttled the Iran deal , a wartime President in 2020 ? Nothing specific about Foreign Policy, Putin and Trump's trade deal messes either. Immigration is not the only issue and since I have listened to Savage in the past I know he has gone on the record on Trump and Putin and also his support for Trump's isolationism and public statements about avoiding war. Wondering why he was not questioned about the issues I mentioned ? Also wondering why Savage did not bring them up himself , especially the current situation with Iran ?
1
Amazing that no one understands that Congress has to pass a law first and will not do it; and that judges should be removed by Congress, that keep ruling against constitutional powers of the Presidency and Congress will not do that either. Also, it is Democrats AND Republican Swamp Creatures that are standing in the way in addition to the Deep State Employees and officials of the former Obama Administration. So just HOW is a President going to do this Alone? 'It Ain't Going To Happen' Until they are All Voted Out..
1
It's high time to stop calling these people 'conservatives'.
They are not. Rather they are right wing radicals, eager to bring about an authoritarian theocracy and jettison the Constitution. They are are clear and present danger to the future of this Republic, a threat to be reckoned with, not indulged as some kind of guardians of stability and tradition.
9
“White males need not apply,” he said.
I live near UVA. I have friends, acquaintances, and neighbors who are professors who work there, some for decades. Both male and female professors are a mix of races but the majority are white.
So, I disagree with his hypothesis that because he was white, he couldn't find employment or shouldn't apply for employment as a professor. That's an excuse he's telling himself in order to justify that he didn't succeed in obtaining a professorship.
Wow...sounds just like Trump. Trump will always blame someone else when he's in a corner or when he fails. He will never accept that the flaw is within him and him alone.
That's the difference imo between Left and Right voters. The Right is so angry all the time, that they must find someone to blame for their disappointments in life. The Right doesn't like other races, they don't like the poor, they don't like foreigners moving here, they don't like Mexicans, they don't like Medicare, they don't like Social Security, on and on they complain constantly about, "those Other people" who are just trying to live their lives in a free country but it's so upsetting to the Right. The Left is tired of the hateful rhetoric.
Maybe Mr. Savage could use his show and his professorial talents to help the Right evolve. Teach them to stop blaming and hating other human beings who aren't like them or agree with them.
More importantly, teach them the serious differences between a Free country and Fascism.
5
As a bona ride , 100% Trump supporter who will most certainly vote for him again in 2020, I will say that I totally agree with Savage. I fully understand that Trump is up against a historical amount of opposition from every corner but he, Trump, needs to understand that not everyone is or will continue to be so sympathetic.
I have a person working for me...cleaning houses....whose taxes inexplicably have gone up. Her husband is a truck driver who has been thrown out of work by the China tariffs. They are LEGAL immigrants from Eastern Europe who like Trump and his stand on immigration and voted for him. Now they don’t know what to think.
My main objection is that illegal immigration has worsened under him. The wall be damned....build it, yes, to fulfill a campaign promise but that will not be enough.
Of course I am aware of and appreciate all the great thingsTrump has accomplished but if he wants to be re-elected he needs to wake up.
30
@martha, perhaps if Trump is so concerned about illegal immigration he can start by deporting his spouse (worked under tourist visa), his golf course workers (no E-Verify used, properties knowingly hire illegals), and construction workers (Trump has been repeatedly cited by NY State for hiring illegals on his properties)?
158
@martha The thing people miss is that immigration control starts with eliminating the magnets that attract illegal immigrants in the first place: job placement without scrutiny, anchor babies, sanctuary cities, free social services like healthcare and education. Stop these magnet attractions and you needn't build a wall. But these attractions have to start in Congress and the Democratic controlled House has not incentive to do so.
12
@martha "Bora ride"? I suppose that you mean, "bona fide".
Aside from pressuring China regarding IP theft, Trump has accomplished nothing IMO.
Unless you count making the U.S. a laughingstock, appointing and presiding over a thoroughly corrupt administration, lying daily, doing everything in his power to help Russia interfere in the election again, damaging science and the environment, misusing his office for financial gain, making an absolute mockery of the office, racism, and so many other offenses that I could go on for many pages.
He is profoundly ignorant, and willfully so.
He is barely qualified to preside over a hotdog stand - I don't mean that as an exaggeration.
He is the biggest national embarrassment of my lifetime.
His unfitness is so extreme, and so obvious, that it's embarrassing that his support is over 1%.
155
Dems need to find a non-idealogically bound candidate(like Trump) that can be a Trump doppleganger...Biden? Overall, the dems might have lost the battle in 2016 but I feel the Rs lost the battle with Trump.
What a surprise an old person supporting Trump. Apparently the message from
our elders is “F the future what about me now?”
1
Mr Savage I remember him, mean spirited pretty much uncompromising. Years ago I tried listening to his show hoping to find a gem or two but could not continue he was too bitter and coarse. Quite frankly this man helped put a horrible human in the White House.
36
Uhh.... So Savage is supposedly a relatively sane one because he is disappointed that Trump hasn't kept all his promises such as building a wall??
26
Suddenly Savage, of all people, wants his listeners to think for themselves!? This guy is and always has been a blowhard. He and his corporate enabler make a lot of money providing lip service to any and all that will pay. He sits in a chair and speaks to an addled segment of the American public that can only nod its head.
I wouldn’t be too quick to take anything this guy says seriously much less view his comments as evidence of a pending Trump-land collapse.
22
@Len He has ALWAYS since 1994! He didn’t spend the Clinton yeas bashing Bill except for Bombing of WWII ally
Is he still on the air? In my hometown, he was thrown off of the flagship station. The replacement (Ben Stein), is fine but..... Let's be real, Savage is a self centered type, it's about him. His change of heart and Coulters antics are sad. Trump has done what he can, but the democrats are fighting him and so is the dark state. When you have the entire media machine, democratic control on 1/3 rd of the govt and many in his own party hating him, its a miracle anything gets done. As for re-election, what are you going to do? Vote for a socialist? I hope NOT
3
@JGNY
Bernie’s brand is making sure everyone has health care, that Social Security and Medicare are preserved, that we have a $15 minimum wage. He rejects the Socialism you prefer: tax cuts (handouts) to the super wealthy and corporations, payouts to farmers in red states, and subsidies for polluting industries. We’d be better off with the Sanders’ kind.
5
My Democrat brother and friends, please come in off the ledge. The split in your party is ruining the balance needed for the future. Learn from your mistakes. The Great Society failed. Obamacare failed. Increasing government generally hurts our economy and our prosperity; decreasing government generally helps our economy and our prosperity. Look around you; the proof is clear. Please change and come in from the cold. You’re hurting yourself and thereby hurting the nation. No, on second thought, go ahead and jump. Nominate any of your candidates, it won’t matter. It will be far better for the nation that you are once and forever gone. Bye, bye, my Democrat brother and friends.
4
@Richard John Stacy. The Democratic Party continues to grow with the changing demographics. The Republican Party is very limited and exclusive to one race. Democratic presidents have had the best economies. Clinton fixed Sr’s mess and Obama’s fixed Jr’s mess. A Democrat will fix Trump’s mess.
10
For those who are quite comfortable, steadfast denial in the face of serious crises we face as a people is a luxury we can no longer afford. Republicans preach that good healthcare is a privilege not a right. That global climate change is “fake news from China.” Daily headlines report the extreme weather the world’s scientists predict to accompany such world wide climate change.
8
@Richard John Stacy@Richard John Stacy. The Democratic Party continues to grow with the changing demographics. The Republican Party is very limited and exclusive to one race. Democratic presidents have had the best economies. Clinton fixed Sr’s mess and Obama’s fixed Jr’s mess. A Democrat will fix Trump’s mess.
2
“It’s embarrassing to listen to some of these people.”
It has been embarrassing since Jan. 21st, 2017.
26
@Carlton
Embarrassing, yes. But also a bit shameful to have a president whose behavior often is that of a angry "I'll pay you back for that" teenager with his often ugly tweets.
Explaining his behavior to a foreigner is like trying to explain how to nail jello to a wall.
4
@Carlton
I can see how you could say it's been 'embarrassing"..
It certainly has been...for the Dems
the Dems are still soooo embarrassed and scarred from their humiliating defeat from when our President took office...they still have not gotten over it as demonstrated by their desire to do nothing other than re-investigate Mueller's findings because, again, they simply cannot accept anything which supports our President
1
@DB try actually reading the Mueller report and then tell us what you think.
2
Mama mea culpa.
It’s astounding that Savage and others could be so naive at the 800-lb pigeon that comes homes to roost and crushes the roost. How on earth do you pretend that there’s no connection between incendiary right wing media and Trump? And the nature of the unthinking, blind faith required to get to Trumpism?
You don’t get to stoke this fire for years and then complain when you get burned.
394
@Mark HolmesIt’s astounding that Savage and others could be so naive at the 800-lb pigeon that comes homes to roost and crushes the roost. ....what is astounding Mark is to be blind and deaf to what the left/ media/ and deep state have tried to do to POTUS...whether you like him or not those are the facts. no POTUS is perfect.
@countryboy Using the term "Deep State" unironically automatically prevents anything else you have to say from being taken seriously.
56
@countryboy: An understatement where 45 is concerned.
11
Savage helped create this monster. He is handmaid to the faux populism that shields the iron fist of untramelled wealth.
22
Mr. Savage might consider that the reason he never got a professorship is that he is rude, obnoxious, and not an open-minded and effective critical thinker, much less a teacher. His whiteness and manliness just might not have had anything to do with it.
35
Thank you for keeping your integrity intact Mr. Savage! Trump is breaking many of his most important campaign promises on immigration and it is shameful to see many Trump voters acting like a blind trapped herd by making excuses for his lies.
Stick to the Truth about Trump and one day they may realize they chose to be blind when they could have taken steps to mitigate Trump's betrayals.
39
@William Gheen
Michael Savage has integrity to--keep intact?! I don't think so.
27
@William Gheen - That having been said; there is absolutely NO Democratic candidate for President that is even marginally acceptable. Not even close...
1
People of integrity wouldn't support Trump's campaign promises in the first place. I'm glad that some are aware enough to notice his ineptitude, but they're only angry because their misguided and harmful desires haven't been realized. Their problems and worries are valid at their core; I just wish that someone could open their eyes to real solutions, not grounded in racism, rather than falling prey to Trump's quest for power at all costs.
10
The reason you're able to make money from these people, Michael, is that they are willfully ignorant. You support Trump, but you've just discovered that in some people, the depths of ignorance and depravity seem endless? That's been obvious to many of us for years now. Some part of you has been fooling yourself all along (to keep the dollars coming in, I suspect).
14
A leader of the cult, his "criticism" not withstanding.. Nothing more. HRC was right about at least one thing- her description of the Trumpies.
18
Is there something ironic in someone residing in Tiburon, California (Tiburon mean shark in Spanish - it located next to El Campo and across the bay from San Francisco) issuing edicts like, "No more immigrants!".
Savage is English/Scottish. It's not Hispanic and definitely not Native American. That would mean that any Savages living in Tiburon, California would have to be among the more recent "immigrants".
I find this confusing. Is Mr. Savage proposing a ban on any more of his direct relatives moving into the area or what?
13
Savage is in the hate business and business is good.
God forbid we should come together as a nation; the hate mongers will have to get real jobs.
26
Boo hoo, Michael Savage. You felt humiliated by not getting a job you applied for. It is also humiliating being unable to provide for your family and being stuck in poverty because the economy created by Republican policy concentrates the vast majority of wealth in the hands of a few while leaving legions of others working multiple, insecure, low wage jobs.
17
You helped create this mess Mr Savage and you profited handsomely from it too
Now get to work and at least try to clean it up!
13
If the borders language and culture of the USA do fall, it wont be because our best guy didn't put forth the best effort.
Trump has had to go it alone while people like Anne Coulter take pot shots at him.
He is going to win back Savage.
2
I read this because I thought it was an interview for Michael Savage. And I came to the interview because Michael Savage announced it on his radio program. But it's not an interview for Michael Savage. It's hit piece on the President.
From this article, I find two things to be true. Democrats hate Trump. And secondly, more importantly, Democrats would do anything to get rid of the President.
2
@drugbunny
No different than the two things I found to be true of Republicans: They hated Obama, a man far more overwhelmingly elected president by numbers than Trump. And secondly, more importantly, Republicans did everything to stop Obama’s carrying out the will of the majority, especially when its for a national health care plan.
Now you understand how Democrats felt under Mitch McConnel during the Obama administration.
7
@drugbunny
Sounds just like Republicans attitudes over the years toward Presidents Carter, Clinton, and Obama. Why should the reverse be any different?
6
There is nothing wrong with being fiscally conservative, with supporting immigration policies, with a president thinking America first. Republicans stopped being that decades ago. Our fiscal debt skyrockets, illegal immigration soars, another war in the Middle East is threatened and our countries moral standing declines. Obama was more conservative than Trump in every metric. Scared old white people should all sell their homes to Trump with reverse mortgages to fund his campaign. Walk the walk dumpsters.
11
Lyin' Donald's constituents don't care if he actually closes the boarder or not- most of them live miles away from the nearest immigrant. Nor do they care if he North Korea has a few more nukes- North Korea is not going to nuke a small town in Nebraska. They don't care about the deficit either.
Lyin' Don's constituents care that he says he wants to do these things. He is their idea of what an American President should like" White, male, tough talking, xenophobic. It doesn't matter what he actually accomplishes. They only care about what he says.
12
Tiburon is a beautiful and amazing place, high end luxury living over looking the bay. The Golden Gate, Angel Island, daily ferries to San Francisco, sailboats at the yacht club docks. Built on the backs of Central American laborers, high end for a region where low end comes in at half-a-million plus.
A man would sell out his country to live there, never mind his soul.
9
As a former listener of Michael Savage, I believe he is jealous of Donald Trump. Michael has also become too distastefully narcissistic. Also, he lost a large amount of black listeners when he continued to support Dr. James Watson despite all evidence showing that the formerly celebrated geneticist was at bottom a racist. I like Michael have a complicated relationship with white conservative right-wing Trumpism. I do not see myself as a Republican but I agree with President Trump when it comes to illegal immigration; Trump's stance on abortion, and guns. However, the culture in the country is heading towards a death spiral due to the so called left and right. Michael Savage represents everything right and wrong about the country. His voice can be heard but sometimes he says and advocates the wrong things.
Here’s how to be a first-hand witness of the reaction of those who don't want to hear what they don't want to hear: Post a comment on the NYT website that cites some fact that puts left-wing thinking in an unflattering light. E.g. “If you like public housing, you’ll love Medicare for all.”
Especially if the underlying article is a contentious issue, you'll get lots of furious replies.
It turns out that, much like right-wingers, enlightened "progressives" just can't stand hearing facts that don’t confirm what they already believe.
3
@Johnny Stark
I don’t get it.
I like public housing, there’s not nearly enough of it anymore, and we need it now more than ever. When properly funded and maintained, it’s worked well in other European countries. A close friend in the UK grew up poor in a lovely little neighborhood of “council housing” south of London and is today an engineer employed in one of Britain’s top firms.
I also love the idea of Medicare for all, similarly to what they have in Europe. I’m also someone who is left wing and believes in democratic socialism which I’ve witnessed first hand as fact in Europe.
Where’s the problem thinking? What furious reaction are you trying to induce in me?
5
@Johnny Stark - The example you've given doesn't actually cite a fact, it just offers a poor analogy.
A "furious reply" can still be factual and logically sound, unlike what you've written here.
And "don't want to hear what they don't want to hear" doesn't do much work as an explanation.
6
@Johnny Stark
So where's the fact?
5
I don't feel sorry for Savage...after all, he's been spewing hatred on the airwaves for years. The other sycophants in right-wing media are the Trump enablers. These are the people who generate big income for themselves by sowing the seeds of racial and ethnic divisions in America's "melting pot". They hide behind their microphones, cultivating followers in their sound chambers, encouraging millions of people to act in support of a narcissistic and egocentric president whose only goal is the accumulation of personal power and wealth.
9
Savage apparently forgot that among fascists, especially of the personality cult variety, questioning the Leader is a cardinal sin. But it's always a good day for democracy when the howling wolves of the right have a falling out. The fissures may be mild but it's a beginning.
12
I find it hilarious (and deeply troubling) that hardline conservatives and “deep state” kooks rail against the “elites” who are trying to bring the Trump administration down. The current blue collar administration, the administration of the working man, includes:
Donald Trump: Multi-Millionaire
Mitch McConnell:Multi-Millionaire
Steve Mnuchin: Hollywood Producer/Millionaire
Wilbur Ross: Multi-Millionaire
So, if I understand correctly, these people aren’t limousine elites?
9
The partisanship that Savage has mined to create a career is a cancer that is eating away at our social structure. The country was founded upon the principles of democracy, but the right wing has turned away from those beliefs in frustration from not being able to dominate as the minority it is. However the only way this country can advance is for both sides to compromise and accept a "live and let live" approach. Neither side can "win" and if they were to somehow completely dominate it would just create a new resistance that would stagnate the country. The states are right to establish their own environments to a point, but some things have to be controlled at the federal level. And that would include gun control (guns can travel), environmental protection (pollution can travel), global warming (it impacts the whole country and the world), and basic human rights like health care and a woman's right to control her own body, etc.
Savage and other right wing radio hosts have created over decades generations of people for whom the truth is irrelevant. They have convinced their followers that they are in a "war" to win back the culture. But there can be no war, and the culture cannot be legislated. The people will always strive to live their lives as they see fit. And for our government to remain legitimate it has to create an environment in which people are free to live their lives as long as they don't impose their views or behaviors upon others.
6
For his supporters, Trump is very high-maintenance. He is so controversial, his methods and statements so unpresidential, and his ego so fragile that his presidency is doomed to failure unless his supporters are fully behind him every inch of the way to counter the massive criticism and opposition he faces from all other quarters.
6
“They’ll vote for him no matter what because he’s not ‘them.’ I think it’s come down to ‘them’ or ‘us.’”
This is as true an assessment of the political landscape as there is. We are as divided and irreconcilable as a nation as in the run up to the Civil War. In fact, many of the elements of the right who are sworn Trumpists are products of the old Confederacy which never fully went away.
This upcoming election may represent a "last stand" of the Republic. If we do not get rid of Trump and his ability to influence so much hate, dishonesty, ad mistrust, our democratic institutions, along with their legal foundations, will be effectively neutered. At that point, violence will erupt.
As for Mr. Savage's lament that his listeners aren't very critical of Trump and his vast shortcomings, well when you cultivate ignorant thinking, don't expect anything different.
We are in very dark times.
6
Public figures like the Don and Savage fall fast and hard when their sycophants realize racism, misogyny and obvious lies do not a sturdy platform make. Bullies, in general, are only popular so long as weaker people get results from the bullying. Few can sustain the necessary hate and bile for very long. I'm hearing disappointed supporters openly express deep regrets for having voted for the Don, in strongholds including Ohio, Michigan, Maine, PA, FL, NC, and Virginia. I can only listen, in my role before groups I am allowed no political opinion. Slamming Senator McCain, ruining their farm income, raising the prices of their pickup trucks and Mitch McConnell's failure as a leader infuriate the loose, sandy Base. Alienate young, minority, and female voters and you slice much of the electorate. Those groups insist they will remember to vote in 2020.
4
He stoked the flames, and now he's surprised that they are consuming him.
Classic.
9
I guess that a PhD from Berkeley still signifies something good. In this case, a functioning brain, respect for facts, and honesty. Good for Michael Savage. He and I have lots of differences but he's the kind of guy America (and the rest of the world) needs!
1
“To too many people he’s not a human being, he’s a demigod,”
And therein lies the problem. As long as Trump has this image among his base he will be able to shoot people anywhere, never mind 5th Avenue, and get away with it. Let’s just hope there is a surge in apostasy come November 2020.
5
It’s mind-boggling to know there are people who consider Donald Trump their savior and demigod. Do their eyes and ears work normally? Their minds don’t seem to. Or maybe they simply process lies, cons, cheats, and illegal behavior as being acceptable when committed by a savior/demigod? They can’t stray from their singleminded obsession that Trump Will Save Them because straying into honesty and truth would force them to reach deep for the logical part of their mind that hasn’t been working.
9
of course the maga crowd doesn't want to hear it... their fantasy world is built on comforting lies, rather than hard truths.
7
There is quite a lot to unpack here. Perhaps the most depressing revelation in this article is that Ann Coulter was shocked...SHOCKED...to discover that Trump is “a shallow, narcissistic con man.”
11
I don’t think Savage is a bad person. Obviously, he is intelligent. One of my best friends is like Savage: educated, professional, overtly moral, and a Trump supporter. The one thing that my friend lacks in my opinion is a highly developed conscience. It doesn’t matter to my friend that Trump lies. That Trump’s behavior is amoral. He is all in, regardless of criminal and unethical investigations into what we have plainly seen publicly. Why? What is it that keeps smart people from seeing the correct perception? I don’t know, but I do know that following a path of the higher moral ground is the correct choice for most of us. For my friend and Savage, well there’s always hope!
143
@Peter Z As you must know, your friend is probably focusing on Trump as a "conduit" to secure certain objectives he would to see attained. This is the same rationale used by religious and social conservatives. They cannot identify with Trump personally, and may not condone his behavior, but as long as he achieves what they desire..."That's all that matters." This is the insidiously clever tactic of Trump to secure their vote. "Give them what they want, and they'll give ME what I want....power!
24
@Peter Z
Did it matter to you that obama, clinton(either one), pelosi, feinstein lied?
Trump was hardly the beginiing of such a polarized nation - perhaps more of a condition.
7
@Peter
“highly developed conscience”? “higher moral ground”? Seriously?
I would vote for Trump for one simple reason - he is opposed to abortion. That ONE factor alone makes him morally more acceptable than all Democrats.
9
The anger and divisiveness that Trump has fostered is threatening our emotional well being. Just throwing insults at Savage doesn't get us anywhere. Hate is crippling. We need to look for some common ground then organize, register voters and vote. It's the only way we stand a chance.
1
I trustn Trump more than I have will will trust guys like Savage.
Not surprised.
People who make emotional decisions are apt to react emotionally when you want to being facts to the discussion.
3
Savage is a mean, hateful guy, but he's an authentic one. I respect his stance, even if I disagree with it. There are two primary types of Trump supporters: The true-believers, who swallow him hook, line and sinker. And those that buy in because of a specific trait that he has, which the Democrats lack. Thus, I know conservatives who loathe him, yet will still support him because of his stance on taxes, immigration, guns, or abortion. Of Trumps supporters, I have no idea what percentage fall into the first category, and which fall into the second. But it's the true-believers who clearly bug Savage the most.
If he holds a bona fide Ph.D. shouldn't you be addressing him as Dr. Savage?
1
Only if you want to be an elitist.
3
@Curious
If his real name were indeed Savage, then yes.
But it's actually Weiner. So he's Dr. Weiner.
4
As opposed to Mr. Savage? In common usage, we drop titles in articles like this (disregarding the fact that his last name isn’t even the one he uses on his talk show).
1
What is it about failure that turns some people, like Michael Savage, into sour, scornful scolds, seemingly devoid of empathy? Or into something worse, such as the failure of Adolf as a young Austrian to become a successful artist. Certainly failure at any endeavor can generate lots of hate, whether directed inward and/or against others. And if there is a large enough audience for the latter kind of hatred, failure can even be transformed into electoral success!
Perhaps the simplest answer to the question posed at the outset is that failure is what one makes of it, One can use it to better one's self, including by becoming more sensitive to and caring about the sufferings and vulnerabilities of the poor and oppressed. Or one use it to justify denigrating and scapegoating others, as Savage does. However, Savage was just lucky that his failure in academia and his resultant hate flowered in a nation with millions of fellow faileds receptive to his bigotry.
Savage early on perceptively saw Trump as a fellow-traveling failure, despite his boasting to the contrary, and a hater and scapegoater of the weak and outsiders--i.e., immigrants and minorities. Trump was the perfect candidate for white Americans caught in the economic doldrums. But Trump has failed spectacularly as president as well, and like the rest of us, Savage probably worries or even fears what this failure will produce: more unprecedented incompetence, or worse, an unwanted, bloody, bankrupting and devastating war.
4
Big deal.
People made money off of pet rocks, too.
And then the fad ended.
1
Savage is a loser. He is a fair weather friend. He is as false, phony, and opportunistic as Alex Jones and Ann Coulter.
3
This is interesting. Is it common to tell people to "get AIDS and die? " I ask this because, about 20 years ago, I testified in Congress about pharmaceutical prices and was on C-SPAN , ponytail and all. I received anonymous hate mail, one of which used that exact phrase . Unless it is a very common phrase, perhaps it was this fellow Savage .
5
“The day they think I’ve been turned and I’m willing to sell myself out for a pat on the head or another piece of Hanukkah candy,”
Hanukkah candy? If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that Michael Savage is already a sellout.
The point of Hanukkah is not to memorialize gelt. It’s to memorialize resistance.
4
When have Americans ever been so obsequious to a politician? Even Oprah's embarrassing swooning over Barack Obama's entrance to the national political stage doesn't hold a candle to this. Just goes to show: Trump's base is a far cry from "traditional America." They are in fact a brand new phenomenon in the U.S., equivalent to the British royalty groupies who spend every waking minute with their eyes glued to Buckingham Palace. Sad!
“Once it’s all blue, who cares about this great economy?”
If that doesn’t sum up the power-mad hysteria of today’s Republican Party, I don’t know what does.
6
Yep. That's right: I am a Trump supporter and I am a Never Not Trump Supporter. I love Michael Savage- but we will differ here.
1
The needle people like Savage thread is pointed and sharp. He's right on the edge of confronting a real problem, and that is the horde mentality of his listeners. I'm sure the same issue is on the left.
However, Savage, despite his declarations to the contrary, obviously relishes his part in being a kingmaker. Again, ratings, money, access.
This greek tragedy is technologically updated, but old as the hills.
3
One paragraph proved interesting to me:
"How many voters, who voted for Obama, or didn’t vote, and then came out to vote for Trump, are done with him?”
I have a friend who is a democrat and voted for Trump because he disliked Hillary. A recent conversation that I had with him revealed that he will not be voting for Trump the next time around.
3
What a dismal and pathetic portrait of human weakness and stupidity on a mass scale. I always knew it existed in this country. When I was in my teens racial jokes, preceded of followed by "Look I'm not racist.", and guy being called a gay slur for wearing the wrong color shirt or crossing his legs the wrong way were the norm. But I had hoped we were changing and starting to put all this ignorance behind us. I'm still hoping but when you read the mindset of these losers it doesn't make it easy.
4
@O My, I feel your pain. One bright spot is that the worst among us are old and the poison they spew will slowly die with them.
Between 1984-1991, Trump's tax losses reported to the IRS were equal to 1% of the total tax losses reported by the entire United States population.
The US population between 1984-1991 averaged 243 million people.
5
I'm astounded at the ignorance of Trump supporters about immigrants' potential access to voting. They seem to think that the instant these non-citizens cross the border they will be able to march to the ballot box and vote for Democrats.
Can't someone educate them about the long, long path to citizenship and voting rights even for the most squeaky clean legal immigrants? I would estimate with all the delays in bureaucratic processing and the five-year waiting period after legal residency is established, it would take at best 10 years for the most unencumbered new immigrants to gain the right to vote. For most it would be far, far longer. For many, never.
These basic facts seem to completely elude the Trump supporters. Current immigrants will not impact any US elections for three or four presidential election cycles--long after Trump is gone. Somebody please educate these "poorly educated voters" that Trump purports to love.
14
@William O. Beeman
I hear you.... But can they be educated on anything? Trickle down, TPP, Iran deal, campaign finance, patriotism, social democracy.
They simply refuse to even try.
4
Truth is hard when you're wrong. Ignoring it for a while is a salve. Ignoring for longer is disastrous.
4
Everyone stays with their tribe with regard to political discourse, and when we do interact with each other, we do not talk politics. Therefore I have no idea what the political leanings are of the people I associate with at the gym, at work, and generally in the community.
Trump supporters, knowing they are in the minority, have learned to keep their opinions to themselves (or face unending ridicule). But we all know who they are; primarily white males and females over the age of 45, who are angry at a racially diversifying society and their own failings as human beings.
1
Years ago I heard Michael Savage on a San Francisco radio station because a student in the lab where I worked was a rabid right-winger who listened to him and to Limbaugh constantly (or so it seemed to me). Whatever minimal credibility he may have had evaporated when he proclaimed that if Willie Brown were elected mayor of San Francisco, property values would drop immediately. This statement was made with absolute pretend confidence. Anyone who listens to someone like this and does not recognize a demagogue who says things without any foundation has little critical thinking ability. Yet he still maintains an audience. Says something significant about the American public.
4
Donald Trump has somehow risen to the front of the line in the closed society characterized by white, males who are rich and powerful. They constantly whine about being persecuted while enjoying the privileges they’ve been able to acquire through their mutual support. That he is their standard bearer makes clear the shallow nature of that particular gene pool.
The most incredible part of it is how his voters who fall into the average or below wealth range can convince themselves that they are represented and cared about by them. It’s all about race for some of them and bottom line for the others.
2
It’s all becoming political fan fiction. Why bother with the source when in my imagination I can tweak it a bit, zing it up, and attract an easy audience? There is no deep state, no cabal, no imminent brown border tsunami, just a world filled with needless suffering, rampant greed, pointless violence and on the verge of literal collapse—but that’s all such a bore. Thanks mr. savage for keeping everyone so entertained.
1
* Correction Eric Bogasian as 'Barry Champlain' Talk Radio-1988
Wow. How ironic that Michael Savage has a Ph.D. in "nutritional ethnomedicine" while Alex Jones, a community college drop out, has made millions peddling nutritional supplements.
3
" I should hang-up, I'm a hypocrite. I ask for sincerity and I lie. I denounce the system as I embrace it. I want money, power and prestige. I want ratings and success. I don't give a (darn) about you or the world. I could say I'm sorry, but I won't. You're on me every night like a pack of wolves..Yes, War is coming yes the world is shot to (heck) and yes're all goners. Everything is screwed up and you like it that way, don't you!"
Berry Champlain (Eric Champlain). Oliver Stone's 'Talk Radio'-1988
2
Oh wow! Narcissistic con-man gets disillusioned with narcissistic con-man...
6
the real name is Michael Weiner - this is the clown that started the "aluminum causes alzheimers" rumor in the 90's
13
What did Jon Lovitz used to scream on SNL? "ACT-ING!!!" And since the audience is desensitized to the act, update the script. His listener demographic is his adoring reflection in the mirror —sad, hateful, vacuous, and nearly extinct as the dodo.
5
The problem i have with guys like Savage is that their opinion is the only and right one and all others are discarded as garbage. I know the guy is smart yet his constant stream of one sided shill act gets very tired. His refusal to be a negotiator instead of a carnival barker for the Republicans and just be oppostional to other opinions reflects the dysfunctional government we are now mired in. I can not imagine anyone that makes their living being a constant drone for the thick headed one way thought. I am not a Democrat but I crossed the party line and voted for the first Dem since 1980 my very first election I was eligible because I knew that T man was a bad hombre.
23
@Robert Savage helped create this monster; he is responsible. Trump supporters see Trump as a "GOD". Vote out GOP. Ray Sipe
8
@Robert how did you know he was a bad hombre? Personel experience or news reports?
@drugbunny
Personal experience. Watched his horrible track record as a steward of capital in the public markets.. His common stock DJT went to zero. One of his casiino bond deals never even made their first interest payment before they went bankrupt. He has been a liar for as long as he has beenin the public eye
3
If he had a talk show based on his plant medicine knowledge-- something I have a strong interest in, I would probably listen to him. I'd find it far more interesting.
5
I still haven't come to grips with the idea that anyone could take DT seriously as a president, business man, human being. People like Michael Savage will be called upon some day to answer for their part in fomenting this catastrophic mass delusion under which so much is being lost: civility, democracy, the natural world - the list is too long. That he is being praised for reconsidering his support in little, tentative ways make me feel ill.
36
@printer Civility and public discourse has degenerated to the lowest levels in my lifetime because of the disgraceful, childish behavior of the left. They cannot seem to accept they lost an election. Don't blame the loss of civility on the right; it all comes from the left. I don't think you understand how you look to sane people.
1
@printer Donald Trump has done such a great job as President. He is addressing problems so long ignored by the previous 3 administrations. What is seriously despicable is the hit job and unmasking done by Obama in the months after the election. He will be remembered as the most paranoid, dishonest and spiteful man to ever hold our top office.
1
@Lisanne
Thank you. I rest my case.
5
As a Canadian, the Trump administration has been an eye-opening experience. That rock solid 42% support base for Trump is almost completely inexplicable to me. That a popular radio host could survey the Trump administration and find fault for it not being draconian enough - that is just bizzaroland crazy.
What amazes me most is how transparently awful Trump is while maintaining that 42% support. The people who back Trump make up more than two out of every five Americans. With our long border with the U.S. and the constant immersion in American culture through TV and movies, most Canadians feel that we have much in common with your people. The truth is, we do not. America's constant string of mass shootings, its unique obsession with guns, its viciousness towards immigrants, its religious extremism, its outlier status among developed countries on access to healthcare, and yes, its willingness to be led by an incompetent, transparently unfit grifter, all seem very strange to us.
Canada has as much political strife as the next place, but the Trump presidency transcends politics. I honestly don't know how a person could even tolerate being in the presence of a fellow American who supported Trump.
90
@Rob the crazy thing is I and many Americans strongly agree with you. Out of many of my friends (many Republicans) few are open Trump supporters. I think the electoral collage allows a minority to hold the majority hostage. Or maybe Americans have regressed so much that noisy entertainment now trumps intelligence and constitutional values.
9
@Rob Many of us have been struggling with this for the past three years--being in the presence of family and friends who voted for him and being absolutely disgusted by it.
8
@Rob Severe TDS.
Its a safe bet that these uncritical Trump supporters -- the "5th Avenue" crowd -- are all in favor of Trump's holding unlimited terms as president; approve of Trump's blanket executive privileges; and are OK with Trump's use of all the institutions of the government working for him, among others.
If so, these people have no regard or need for a democratic republic, or our constitution or even our most precious freedoms. They're happy to have a dictator, autocrat or king. The idea of even one person in the United States feeling this way is bad enough, but there are millions of them!
Who are these people, anyway?
26
@Tom
Its not that people want a tyrant, that's not it at all, but Trump at least is one politician or non politician who holds power, who isn't hell bent on destroying those who do not fall in lock step with progressivism. Trump is just a stop gap.
@Tom As evidenced by the people that are strategically positioned behind him at his rallies, Trump supporters are primarily white males and females over the age of 45. They remind me of the NASCAR crowd that flourished prior to the Great Recession of 2008. Even though they had little money and were of modest means, they had no reservations charging up their credit cards at the "haulers" where their favorite drivers sold their cheap, garbage "merchandise" (made in China, of course), and then after the race was over, standing at the local executive airport with their faces pushed up against the chain link fences, watching their "heroes" fly off in their private jets.
4
Many years ago, there were people who believed that Elvis Presley’s death had been faked, and that the King was still alive, and in some cases working on a secret government mission. Papers like the National Enquirer would run articles claiming that Elvis had been spotted in this or that supermarket, or at an Air Force base, boarding a UFO, or suchlike.
One might say that a certain segment of American society needs to believe these things, but I don’t think that’s quite correct. For many, their real but unacknowledged need is to pretend to believe these things. They want to push back against the suffocating moralism that pervades American society (“it’s for your own good, dear”), and this is the least painful way of doing so.
And now they’re pushing back on Mr. Savage. Imagine! After years of pushing back on reason for fun and profit, he seems surprised that his audience wants to keep pushing.
7
Michael Savage,
It is not too late to challenge your audience to open their ears, and to think critically.
Ask them, "What is your dream for your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren?"
Ask every day. And pursue the dialog.
10
I know I am lacking a full historical perspective, but was there a time in 20th century American history where the media demagogues had such an influence on shaping opinions? Due to the spawn of Rush Limbaugh, nothing but incendiary narratives have dominated and proven to be effective for riling up the right,ever since Barack Obama ran for President. Savage is just another one of them, even if he is criticizing Saint Donald of Queens. I have searched and cannot find real critical reasoning presented by anyone on the right.
19
This is called "Cult of Personality." Mr. Savage's listeners are in the cult. Those of us who aren't are horrified by what we see. For the Trump supporter, we cannot appeal to their reason or compassion. That's not there anymore. We can only organize and outvote them in 2020. Let's do this please.
24
Like Alex Jones, "Savage" is an entertainer, whose meat unfortunately happens to be the body politic. And like Alex Jones, "Savage" wants to be taken seriously, but only on a selective and arbitrary basis. He decides, often after the fact.
Ultimately, it's corporate America who has to answer for this poison.
And answer it has -- we don't care, it makes us money. And besides, we like the message.
13
Allegiance has always been part of the equation in any White House, but in this White House if you don’t pledge allegiance to trump you don’t get the job. His followers have no problem with that because they feel he’s being unjustly victimized from the left, so boot licking becomes the order of the day. To wit; on Russian interference the line has gone from “never happened” to “he was joking when he asked for Putins help” to “yes, I would accept that help, there’s nothing wrong with it”. And of course he did and none of the patriotic faithful bat an eye. Not a thought to the question of what the cost of that help is or will be. I find it ironic that Mr. Savage is dismayed at a product that he helped create, and unthinking public. All of this makes me miss William F Buckley Jr. so very much.
68
Someone should ask Trump what he's willing to pay for the help from Russia. Surely a great businessman knows there's no free lunch. Ask the supporters. Make them think.
4
Trumpy embodies the vileness that's perpetuated by Savage and the Republicans. They tell the gullible and the deplorables what to believe. Then they appear shocked when the gullible and deplorables turn on them for not being pure enough.
74
A nut is slightly less nutty than the rest of the nuts.
Ummm, OK.
38
Probably the ONLY human being more vile than Donald Trump - Michael Savage...
These 2 "people", make me utterly embarrassed to be an American...
47
Now, more than ever, I would add Mitch McConnell to the list. Talk about The Unholy Three...
4
'It's the Democrats, the deep state, cabals...'
No, it's called kakistocracy. Look it up, caller.
38
@mikekev56
thanks for the new word:
government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state.
"the danger is that this will reduce us to kakistocracy"
a state or society governed by its least suitable or competent citizens.
plural noun: kakistocracies
"the modern regime is at once a plutocracy and a kakistocracy"
3
Who's Michael Savage?
24
@Doremus Jessup
Right wing conspiracy theorist that spreads disinformation through his opinion.
3
Remember when you were a kid and played pretend? You and other kids could imagine a scenario and each act out a part as you saw it. You played pretend. When you play pretend anything is possible because it’s your imagination. Trump plays pretend with his supporters that he is the great leader and they suspend their disbeliefs and join in.
In reality, Trump gives McConnell a right wing judiciary that he wants, he gives business lowered taxes and carte blanche to run rough shod over society, and helps evangelical politicos undo the separation of church and state. He undoes the world order dreamt up by FDR and makes the U.S. isolationist as the Republicans of the first half of the twentieth century wanted. He does not staff the Government to fully function which pleases his anti-government supporters. These are real reactionary policies and practices that he has brought about without a thought of his own. For the right he’s the great man, he’s given everything that they’ve crowed would fix the damned country for a hundred years. So while he plays pretend with his supporters he actually gives them what they say that they want.
In Trump’s America there are no government hand outs, government lets the better people decide for all, the wealthy make all the money and they should decide how they use it, the laws follow what is in the Bible, not what some bunch of legislators decide on their own, and immigrants must leave because this country is only for Americans.
81
When trump won 2 years 7.5 months ago, I knew we were in for at least 4 years of handwringing over pretty much nothing. Hillary was a lousy candidate. That’s why these clowns are being considered as mattering at all. I wish there were a Command Z button for life. Or Control Z. Or Alt Backspace or whatever. Whatever happened to the Vaudeville Hook?
7
Hillary lacks the political ability of Bill but she was not a bad candidate. People tend to make important political decisions without consideration, they just grab the first candidate that looks attractive and they buy into the worst tales about people and reject them without bothering to know what is true. Trump is a confidence artist, he projects confidence and sincerity when he’s anything but, and he leaves people in trouble in his wake.
21
Savage shows, as with Trump, xenophobia sells. Those who buy into it are loyal to a tee. As savage goes off message, this is more than apparent.
18
So, without Savage, Trump wouldn't be "president"? But now, Trump's people have turned their backs on him because he's no longer a sycophant and has begun to criticize the "president"? And yet, Savage is still planning to vote for Trump? Huh. And they say we're deranged...
63
Curious how Mr Savage’s ancestors entered the country. Wonder if—like mine—they came before we had any restrictions on immigration here.
37
@J R No restrictions? You are joking, yes? People who came to this country, as mine did in the 1700s, generally had to find their way to a coast by foot and find passage, for which they had to pay, on a ship to cross the ocean. They came by the dozens, not the thousands in caravans. Ships sank, people got dysentery and other diseases on rat-infested ships and died not infrequently. Once here, there was no public safety net, only family (if any) and hard work awaited any who came here. It was still a colony of England, under harsh rule.
In other words, at best it wasn't much better than where they came from and might be much worse. At worst, they would fail to find a way to support themselves and starve to death thousands of miles from home. Taxpayers were not compelled to encourage people to come - you got to keep what you earned. Only large businesses and landowners were taxed, except perhaps on some particular imported items having tariffs.
When you talk about "how things were" and selectively ignore all other differences but one, you are effectively lying more profoundly than most politician.
Americans are a welcoming people - we welcome those who come here legally. ETHICAL Americans don't take kindly to people promoting anarchy and lawlessness, because we see that the result is places like where you are from - with authoritarian rulers, crippling taxes, stifling regulations, filth on the streets, and the highest rates of poverty and suffering in the land.
1
@J R Seems like hardly anyone on the right knows the true history of immigration laws (which have been wildly racist) or the truth about the current unworkable system that has evolved. And - sadly, they don't care to learn.
8
@JR
There were 90 million people at the time.
Also, your ancestors were Europeans whose children could and did assimilate. Words like “diversity “ were not used.
5
I don't listen to Savage and sit politically opposite of him, but he's quite right in his us vs. them assessment. Obama (them) hated America. Hillary (them) would have been more of the same + she's a crook. The Deep State (them). The press (them). Libs (them). Immigrants (them). Only Donald Trump (us) is looking out for our interests.
12
@Brian
How exactly, did Obama hate America? Can you give some examples of his behavior and policies that exhibit his hatred? For example, does the desire to help people access health care indicate hatred for America? Does the saving of GM and jobs show hatred for America?
3
@Brian
So a republican coup of democracy that is going off the rails because now the listeners are driving the narrative. Meaning the listeners are saying tell me what I want to hear or else.
Expect the right wing to go all the way right this election. It would be wise in blue states to have a plan and be prepared for random violence from people who own firearms and hate liberals. Their hate radio constantly spouts they have the guns and are itching to use them.
5
Obama did not hate America. He hated anything that made it less just, less respected, less than what it promises to be for everyone. In your view, to find a fault and to attempt to correct that fault is to hate. It is actually love.
3
Savage is certainly more thoughtful than the right wing corporate mouthpieces like Hannity and Rush. But he's also an angry iconoclast and now that Trump's crime wave is in full bloom, Savage's innate tendencies have forced him to attack the mothership.
15
Hilarious to hear this guy complain about the "demigod" he helped put on a pedestal.
22
After reading this article I'm still not sure of its central point. Yes, Trump supporters are cult members who are prodded by racial resentment and an almost incalculable fear of change and the other. And their band of brazen bigoted leaders like Savage are just as mentally unstable. For him to suggest Trump's cult members are not critical enough of him is laughable coming from an obvious fool.
28
From the very first day of Trump's presidency, it has been a media pile on. Russian collusion, for example. Trump supporters knew it was fake news, but we had to waste 2 1/2 years proving it was fake news.
Every other day, there's some new unsubstantiated accusation.
If supporters aren't critical enough of President Trump, it's the fake news media's fault. We've been forced on the defensive by hack journalism since the very first minute.
4
@SCPro Of course this will go in one ear and out the other but...Mueller looked for conspiracy which is a crime. He found none of that but DID NOT say there was no collusion because that is not a criminal offense which is what he was tasked with. He did, however, find obstruction but, because he was advised that a sitting president can't be charged with a crime, he left that hanging out there for Congress to pursue in the political process called impeachment. This is the way its supposed to work according to the constitution. Now it is up to the House to pick up the ball and run with it.
13
@SCPro
Please let us know what you want to hear so we can print it.
Funny that was part of this article.
Read the Mueller report written by a republican and his team who instead of indicting a sitting president gave him a pass.
Feel free to do the actual research and prove it’s all fake.
14
@SCPro
I'm not sure what that means; Mueller didn't say, "no collusion," Trump did. Mueller specifically says he made no judgment on "collusion." What Mueller DOES says is that the evidence was insufficient to reach the legal threshold necessary to sustain a conviction of "criminal conspiracy." So be it but if soliciting the Russians for help, if taking meetings with them to get oppo, if turning over campaign data to them, etc., is all "OK" with you, you should just say so.
6
Savage needs to be honest about his current predicament. For the benefit of his ratings, he helped Ailes, Limbaugh, Hannity and the rest to stoke conservative America into the rabid horde we see at Trump's rallies today. The likes of Savage convinced them that if only someone would come along willing to "tell it like it is" and eschew political correctness (read: push easy answers and insult others), their lives would improve; things would go back to the way they were. And now that con artist has finally arrived and he's giving Savage's listeners that emotional payoff they've wanted for years. Trump gets up every morning and tells his supporters exactly what they want to hear without any real intention of following through for them.
So now Savage wants us to feel sorry for him because he's telling his listeners, "hey, maybe we should all be concerned with actual results instead of rhetoric," and it's costing him listeners and money. Well, too bad. When you make a deal with the devil, you lose every time.
21
By any reasonable standard Trump has been a failure. One has to be a really smart person to understand why his base does not want more wins. They seem to be willing to settle for talk without success and that is close enough in their minds.
One of their augments is that anyone else would be worst and if that is what they believe then Trump is really off the hook for his failures. He is a success just because someone else is not the president.
12
Justin Amash a principled constitutionalist; tea party founder; right to life; NRA A+; American Conservative Union rated 88%; spoke out against Trump and got blasted by his party as being a RINO or liberal. IT BOGGLES THE MIND!!
28
I don't think the press is taking note of the silent majority.
Sure you have the MAGA hat wearing uncritical Trump supporters "in the flyover states" and then you have the silent majority.
How about all those Hillary supporters who expected absolute mayhem and disaster when Trump entered the White House, who are now going to vote for the man in 2020? You think they are telling their friends they are supporting Trump?
No wars (yes there is Yemen)
A strong economy
Record unemployment numbers
New highs for the stock market
A new relationship with Mexico
Hopefully, China is getting into line
6
@P&L Wow. Trump's blowing up the world around us, our allies no longer trust us, trillion dollar deficits, unemployment is still on the Obama trend line, the stock markets are falling below it, Mexico hates us, China is running away with the world economy, yet you put this in a positive light. Even if what you say were true, it is not because of any Trump policy.
11
@P&L
And yet with the strong economics deeply unpopular he will lose.
Critical of this president’s failed promises, not liking any Democrats in the next election, what are his thoughts on ....Weld...the other Republican candidate? Perhaps have him on the show- he ‘made’ one president, perhaps it’s time to do the same again? With all the Dems running, Weld gets little coverage. Too bad. Past time for Trump alternatives to get media time.
6
"When Mr. Trump saw Mr. Savage, he threw his arm around him and said loudly enough for anyone within earshot to hear, 'I wouldn’t be president without this man.'”
Well, at least now we know who's to blame.
15
While the employment picture is apparently a non-issue for our witer, it defines the amazing impact this presient has had on the country.
Our economy is perhaps the best the counry has ever had, and as one ancient philosopher once said, ''It's the economy, stupid.''
Had Pres. Trump had the support from his party that EVERY president since WWII has enjoyed, the wall might very well have looked dramatically different today and the one hundred thousand uninviteds who have entered the country this year would still be back in their homelands.
I've never head Savage even though he has been on 300 stations.
What makes radio work is a sense of humor, and that is what made Rush Limbaugh a household name; but only conservatives can make humor work. The Left immediately turns attempts at humor into angry tirades.
5
70 years ago, America had the greatest economy in the history of the world. Now somehow it all moved over to China.
The above comment is worthy of lining the floor of a digital birdcage, and should be treated accordingly.
3
@The Observer So-called conservative humor fails because it attacks from a position of power and privilege. It's basic humor theory that someone must be the brunt of the joke -- the person who slips on the banana peel, the third person who walks into the bar. Invariably conservatives, in their attempts to be funny, go after some marginalized group or protect some sacred cow rather tearing down the sacred cow. I mean, those Obama meme emails were just so darn funny, right? And Limbaugh. Case in point: his comparing a young Chelsea Clinton to a dog. Not humorous, just mean-spirited.
4
It was a strong and growing economy when Trump took office. Obama led us out of a deep economic hole, ran 25.99 miles of this marathon. Trump has stumbled through the last .09 miles and wants all the credit.
6
Not for nothing, but haven't we seen this episode before with Lush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter (just to name a couple)? Wakey, Wakey folks! You've been had by Don the Con! America's debt is thru the roof, our Allies no longer trust us, our infrastructure is crumbling under our feet, quality healthcare is only for those who can afford it, and a Senate that refuses to do their jobs by bringing bills to the floor for vote!
19
win over that 10% in the middle in 2020 in the swing states...or this country is doomed...organize, talk to them , write your local papers, vote...
6
“I don’t think they care very much about issues,” he said of his listeners, with a hint of disappointment. “They’ll vote for him no matter what because he’s not ‘them.’ I think it’s come down to ‘them’ or ‘us.’”
Talk about a head-slapping epiphany!
19
That 7.5 million figure from Talkers magazine is a pre-emptive claim, not a statistic. Did anyone bother to check it?
3
Let's dig a bit more into the irrefutable truth that the Republicans, in a time of economic expansion have grown the budget deficit.
13
@breddi
That’s actually a good attack point on conservatives. Any fiscally responsible conservative will hate it.
2
@Mathias Actually, I'd say I'm conservative when it involves finance and I think the only "attacking" is coming from the GOP, especially this administration. Conservative used to not equal stupidity.
What we’re dealing with are people who have essentially forfeited their role as citizens, which would obligate them to be ever-skeptical of power, to challenge orthodoxies and conspiracies, and to consume as much information as possible in order to make informed decisions. The inability of Trump acolytes to think critically has put them in a position to deny reality and their own experience. There’s no debate to be had. There’s no convincing them. There can be no bipartisanship when a movement is hostile to the very idea of government, the rule of law, and democratic norms and traditions. There’s only one solution and that is crushing them at the polls.
18
@AlNewman I think your appraisal is spot on for a wide selection of Trump supporters. But he did get nearly 63 million votes -- and not every one of those are low information, conspiracy-minded voters. Plenty of people support Trump (not me) because they think the left's economic positions are inimical to growth, to cite one reason. Not every Trump supporter is an intellectual oaf, even as I think they are horribly misguided.
When Trump loses in 2020 he will call on his cult followers to overturn the election by whatever means necessary. It will get ugly. The outcome will depend on how many of his followers remain loyal in the face of a military enforcement of the election results. Also will depend on what percentage of the military and law enforcement remain loyal to The Constitution vs loyal to Trump. I’m predicting a win for Democracy, The Constitution and the rule of law. Then we will need to figure out which few States we will herd all the defeated Trumpets into and, finally, build that Big Beautiful Wall around them ... and leave them to rot.
1
If Mr. Savage is going to vote for Trump in 2020, then his complaints don't matter, and he might as well not do it.
14
Politics have been transformed into team sports, with zero sum winners and losers and no compromise possible. We can thank the 88-year old Australian who poisoned not only American politics, but those of the UK and Australia as well, in a noble quest to sell more ad space.
640
Can’t agree more. More governance. Less sport.
37
@Jack
Your absolutely right Jack except for one small detail. He's an ex Australian. When Certain People were made aware that he wanted to buy a broadcasting station, for which citizenship is required, it took three whole days for him to become an American citizen, thus proving that some animals are more equal than others.
113
@Jack Agree 100%. It's not about issues. It's about red vs. blue.
11
You're right. People need to wake up. There is a price to be paid for blind allegiance. I wonder what that will be in this example. I think our kids may well pay the price. It's one thing to have an abberational president for 4 years; it's another to give him the keys for 8. Damage done in 4 can be rectified, but harm done in 8 may be much more permanent. What about our allies? What about the sharing of Intelligence between nations in order to protect our Democratic Republic? We are being isolated on the world stage and that is not going to bode well. We used to be an example for good. What kind of example are we now? Whether democratic or republican, we must hold our leaders accountable. Otherwise, we risk something much worse--perhaps a denial or reality; choosing 'spin' over reality. There is a wall that we will come to and it will crush 'spin' in a way that is irrefutable, but at what price? Our children will be left to fix the mistakes of their parents. Our voices and our votes are monumental to the future of our country. Yes, we have problems that need to be fixed, but the path is not laid in extremes. The Path is in bipartisan legislation and compromise for the whole of the Country and the future of this Nation.
174
Trump is full of blather and poorly considered opinions, and his grasp of reality is limited to his amusements, but he can sell himself to the unwary. But in reality, he gives the people in the Republican Party exactly what they say that they want. He does not care what it is or whether the consequences are right, he gives it to them.
16
"the percentage of Americans who think he is doing a good job has been stable - though still a minority"
A 41% minority is not one to ignore. Has any President ever held 41% for 3 years?
3
@WJL
Not sure where you got the 41% number, but if you're talking approval ratings, Obama's approval rating was above 40% his entire Presidency, all 8 years. He had an average of 48% approval.
11
@WJL Trump has quite often enjoyed higher poll numbers than his predecessor at the same point in their respective administrations.
@The Observer Not sure what poll you are referencing but per Gallup that is factually inaccurate. Trump has been above Obama on only a couple of occasions, hardly "quite often." Here is the link: https://news.gallup.com/interactives/185273/presidential-job-approval-center.aspx
5
Before Trump most of us saw the national morality glass as at least half-full. Now we see it has been half empty all along.
10
So there's no harm in hurling it into the fireplace?
1
@Geno I'd say the glass has a big hole in the bottom.
2
He attacks trump from the right because trump isn't quite vile enough for him.
That says enough about both of them; it didn't need a whole article.
10:15 EDT, 6/18
43
“He’s not just fighting Democrats. He’s fighting the deep state. He’s fighting the cabals,” he said. “Without him, we have nothing.”
That says it all. The Republicans can't play in the sand box with the Democrats, work and lead in a bipartisan manner because the Democrats have cooties and are the enemy.
37
@Outspoken It also shows how detached from reality some people are.
10
@Outspoken They lap up the right-wing talk about conspiracies and deep state and other tin-foil approaches to politics, then Savage is surprised that they won't think critically. SMH.
4
I used to listen to Savage, but he is definitely losing his mental faculties, and apparently wants to live in the past. His views are getting pretty horrible and I cannot listen to his spiel any more. And constant self promotion. Constantly saying his listeners cannot possibly understand what is really going on.
4
As long as an "R" comes before the name - so called conservatives will always vote for that person. Regardless if that person if qualified for the position or is morally bankrupt! These folks are patriots to their political party first, and our always been a great country is dead last...
15
People still listen to (commercial) talk radio?
10
@caljn In most of the country just the right-wing loons who need their unAmerican views enforced listen to talk radio.
6
@caljn I'd recommend a long road trip. Its truly horrible how much conservative talk and how vile the content is. Get out to the central valley and scan both FM and hold your breath on AM but its 24/7 screaming and blaming. Thinking about the local population and how much of this kind of talk they can hear and the consistency reveals how entrenched these ideas get.
7
Does everyone realize that in the next 20 or so years, we are going to see a President Hernandez or Rodriguez, and that will be the end of the "Immigrants!" outcry? Does anyone think the USA isn't going to turn into Great Britain or France, where the people who ran the country and made policy are now vastly outnumbered by those from other countries? Immigrants are here, they are having children, and it's a matter of sheer numbers. Anyone think in 20 years we're going to have more old white dudes in the White House?
9
@Zellickson. You may be right, but do you think that will be a good thing ? I certainly don’t.
4
@Zellickson Does everyone realize that people with surnames like Hernandez or Rodriguez do not hold uniform views? Many oppose unchecked illegal immigration, and many more vehemently oppose abortion. Latinx people can be of any race, including white, and many political persuasions. They may not change things as much as you think.
5
@Zellickson
Agreed. It's also true that the grandchildren of immigrants are in no way guaranteed to vote "blue" as the man in the article feared.
1
That's the problem with a lot of Trump supporters: They have lost their ability to question authority because they unquestioningly believe everything he says. They have lost the American principle of dissent and have become mindless sheep ignoring everything with a simple comment "well Hillary was worse or Hillary did the same thing or would you rather have had Hillary" THEY have become lemmings that are following their esteemed leader over the cliff.
29
@Dave
Hillary would have been ten thousand times a better President and brought esteem and integrity to the office.
4
I could have used some more examples of Savage’s broadcasted opposition to Trump. In any event, I’ve heard this guy for years and he’s an utter disgrace to humanity.
50
'...after being denied repeatedly for jobs as a professor. “White males need not apply,” he said. “And I remember to this day the humiliation.”...'
Reminds me of a recent interview with the right wing conservative and white nationalist Jason Kressler who organized the 'Unite-the-Right' rally. He was motivated after interviewing for a job but losing it to a woman. He blamed the system, not his own shortcomings.
Savage reacts by spewing his venom on radio; Kessler used social media and rallies. This has become a theme within Trump's entire base- their absence of success in life (jobs they want) is due to the system, not their life decisions to skip college, eat junk food, drink heavily, and forgo self discipline. Trump would make them all rich if not for the deep state, the cabal, democrats- the 'other'.
92
@austxrr
Actually, I would argue that money Trump supporters voted for Trump precisely because of a corrupt capitalist system that has systematically gutted wages and inflated the wealth of the top . 1 percent. Trump was supposed to be different. They were sorely mistaken, but they were angry at an unjust system
4
@Bret
And they have misplaced that anger by standing by racists to attack immigrants, foreigners and liberals as the cause of all their suffering.
I guess they believe we should have an America economy with nothing outside our walls. Though it’s hard to know what they want because Trump just attacks things they want attacked without a plan or method. But it scores him points to keep his base loyal. As long as he hurts the other they are happy.
Republicans have never faced a true left wing that is hostile and returned the favor. If they keep it up they might.
8
Thank you! This is exactly what I thought when I read this article.
These people (supporters, politicians and the right wing pundits) want to think that the their disappointments or failures in life have been due to the great number of (fill in the blanks) that influence (another fill in the blank), rather than realizing that they are lacking something themselves or haven’t worked as hard as their “opponents”!
It appears that many of us need a group of fall guys to blame for our own shortcomings!
7
A Trump tout now finds the Trump cult has turned on him. I've got no dog in that fight.
27
He's upset because Trump hasn't followed through on promises that white supremacists are pushing for. He's upset because Trump isn't meaner and more callous. As for his past, ask him if any of the papers on medicine he wrote were peer reviewed. They weren't. He peddles his past as if he contributed to science. He should hook up with Goop. He's a hateful man who spews vile thoughts for money.
57
@JB
I think you nailed it. Coulter and Savage are upset because Trump isn't more cruel. Conspiracies and hate don't translate into policy very well. When they get into power, it turns out they have been selling fantasy nonsense.
13
@JB Thank you for noting his papers weren't peer reviewed, yet he blames his white maleness for his failure to get hired as a professor. I know plenty of white male professors. They did the work necessary to earn their positions; Savage represents a faction of men who seem to think they should simply be handed their jobs.
6
So Mr. Savage is now experiencing "buyer's remorse" when it comes to Donald Trump? Cry me a river, Mr. Savage.
33
I've listened to Savage. He's disgusting. He hates LGBT people. He was horrendous to the democrats. I wish we could get people like him off the air-waves, they feed the hate.
30
Really, who cares?
8
“If Hillary were president,” he said to his audience last month, “there’d be riots on the border. Nobody would tolerate this on the right. So why are they sitting this out?”
Hmmm... this is what I have been wondering. Illegal immigration declined during Obama's term to the lowest point in over 50 years. Trump comes in and, Bang!, a huge increase. No one seems to blame him for anything.
(Of course, from the point of view of someone on the border, the illegal immigration is still way down from what we had in the past and there were no riots then. However it is still a good question.)
256
@Tony Mendoza
Yep. It’s a political stunt.
Stop foreign aid, zero visa reform because they don’t want any immigrants, round up existing people who have lived here for decades, declare a wall...
If these people were Jews fleeing violence and we treated them this way? Over 20 people have died in ice custody. Children are separated into cells from parents in the same facility but considered together because it’s the same piece of property. Cages full to standing only room beyond capacity. Women raped. Children dead. People beaten. Citizens falsely arrested because of their color. People giving water to immigrants charged with felonies and prison time.
If this were the Jews, what is this?
24
@Mathias If you read history, you will note that Jews were turned away from the US before and during WWII. The allies did not bomb Auschwitz concentration camp during the war.
9
@Tony Mendoza
Trump cut off aid to the countries where the immigrants are fleeing from; perhaps that wasn't such a good idea.
Imagine the impact we could have if we spent $$$ in assistance instead of Only enforcement....It may go to kleptocrats, like in Afghanistan and Iraq, but if the right policies, could be formed, we could end up with strong trading partners with a population wanting to stay home.
I haven't seen any denial that they are fleeing violence.
10
So he is rethinking Trump because he, Trump, is not hideous enough?
10
Savage must send out for groceries to live in Northern California while peddling his pro-Trump wares (the picture alone suggests it). A daring man indeed.
3
“The day they think I’ve been turned and I’m willing to sell myself out for a pat on the head or another piece of Hanukkah candy,” he said, “they’re going to say he’s just like the rest of them. ‘He’ll do anything for access to the king.’”...and they'd be correct.
5
You get in bed with the devil and his minions and its hard to get out. The adherents to the modern social media world do not understand how to take criticism and how to form an educated and controlled argument. These days, many people either yell at you or turn you off if they don't agree with you.
6
Does he not realize that it’s conservative media like him that has put him & Trump in this position? It’s only because the hard right media lionized him as they have that Trump’s fans are as hypnotized & delusional as they are. If he’d been as skeptical of Trump from the beginning and not treated like the second coming then perhaps more of his listeners would be actually seeing Trump for what he is: a crazy lying pandering narcissistic oaf. This is not to say that he and his listeners aren’t the worst. They deserve whatever comes to them. And ultimately they will be the authors of their own demise.
Also has it ever occurred to them that if they want migrants to stay in their own countries maybe we should assist in making those countries worth staying in? Just telling traumatized desperate people to stay out is clearly not working.
17
Savage is surprised that Trump supported by and large are cultists? Most of America is not.
21
Love the comment from one his clown listeners:
“Once it’s all blue, who cares about this great economy?”
What great economy? The one in Red Mississippi? Or Red West Virginia? Or the now Red Rust Belt? Laughable. The “greatness” of the economy and welfare payments to Red States comes from Big Blue States like New York and California.
150
Trump's base supporters are willful ignoramuses who are willing to stick their heads in the sand and ignore any wrongdoing or shortcomings of their chosen leader. This is not me or Mr. Savage talking. This is Trump talking. He's the one who said he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and his supporters would still love him. So, if you're a Trump supporter, don't get mad because liberals/Democrats think you're blindly loyal sycophants. Trump said it first, folks.
28
"He says he does not understand the apathy he is seeing from the right when it comes to holding the president accountable on immigration."
Tribalism. It's why most Democrats didn't criticize Obama when he was in office.
4
@MikeG Obama, while perhaps too naive and idealistic on certain issues, never plunged to the stygian depths of corruption and incessant, self-serving lies of this president. His supporters sided with him because he was at heart a good man and not merely taking a life-long grifting habit to the White House.
49
@MikeG
Speaking only for myself, a two-time Obama voter, I criticized him on a number of fronts. But I always knew he (and GWBush before him) had the best interests of the US at heart. And I know that trump doesn't. For you to present such a false comparison tells me all I need to know about you and your values.
48
@MikeG strawman. What the democrats did with Obama, he's not president, and besides I don't agree with that statement.
9
Why are humans so broken? This is all great study material for those who study cult followers. There really is a need to try to overcome the very slow process of evolution that is ruining us.
13
@Tricia
Belief is easier than empirical evidence. Evidence based review requires time, effort and honest peer review. Belief is the lazy path and protects the ego.
It’s obvious in dealing with most republican posters that they don’t actually care about evidence. Let me explain. It’s much easier to have your agenda or bias and constantly twist things to attack if you don’t actually care about evidence. They never sit and take a moment to reflect and it’s obvious.
Liberals are constantly attacked for over thinking. They laugh at us as they tie us in knots over lies they don’t care about and we attempt to refute them wasting time slowing us down.
Let’s say you’re a white supremest and your only concern is attacking the other. These people don’t care if there is economic benefit, legality or anything for immigrant labor. But they have no problem to use legality, false information etc as leverage because they have had to do it for generations to attack the other. What sticks and keeps liberals busy is where they focus their attack.
They don’t have the wasted energy on attempting to verify or find evidence. They already made up their mind and simply find what sticks to give them leverage. It’s extremely obvious in right wing propaganda.
Just know their goal and realize they don’t care about evidence. It makes life so much easier. They also create a self reinforcing narrative based on a lie and repeat it to give it weight.
2
Savage strikes me as someone who spouts whatever earns him a paycheck, then goes home at night, opens a good bottle of California wine, and admires his art collection. At least the old late night TV weird talk shows like Joe Pyne and Alan Burke always had people on they disagreed with so they could have shouting matches.....now we have only echo chambers for the Cult of Trump.
36
@Honora
If that were true your comment and those by many other (more articulate) conservative supporters would not appear here. It's called debate. "Nyah nyah nyah I know you are but what am I" is not a discussion.
Democrats are not good sheep, we squabble amongst ourselves in a contest of ideas, good and bad. If NYTimes and other "liberal" (=real, responsible, fact checked journalism) news organizations were an echo chamber Hillary would've been elected, and by even more than 3,000,000 votes.
7
I would have said Michael Savage was right wing, not conservative. George Will is a good example of a Reagan conservative.
25
The trump audience wants soothesayers only. They are quite unequivocal about that.
9
In his 1994 book The Doubter's Companion (A book of Aggressive Common Sense) Canadian philosopher, historian John Ralston Saul calls the US conservative movement Bolshevism of the Right.
Disraeli was a conservative, here in Canada Clark, Campbell and Diefenbaker were conservatives.
Buckley, Goldwater and Reagan were Fascists. At 71 I saw the opposite of conservatism destroy a country I loved. Conservatism saw a slow but steady evolution of a society based on lifting up more and more people into a society that had as its core an ever more perfect union where the goal was a more perfect union and someday all men would be seen as equal.
It was 1964 at the Cow Palace in San Francisco after the passage of the Civil Rights Act that Reagan Nixon , Goldwater and Buckley stood conservatism on its head and conservatism became revolutionary and devolution became the order of the day.
I watched as a country dedicated to science and human betterment divide into two incompatible philosophies with the philosophy of Kings, Queens, Oligarchs, and Plutocrats label itself conservative.
I am progressive , I would like to believe I can see a better world tomorrow and see the problems evolving and their possible solutions.
Limbaugh, Savage, FOX , Meadows, McCarthy, and the religious crazies with their hate, greed and lust for power will not make tomorrow better. Putin is their spiritual, political, and sociological leader and like Putin they regard freedom as slavery and choose hate over love.
27
@Montreal Moe Ratings. Ratings. Money. These are the things that give us Maddow and Savage and the rest. MONEY.
@KT B
Thank You,
I have lived all over Canada and the USA. I have lived in both Red and Blue America and even as I recognize what you are saying about money I think even most of those who say it is all about money, I refuse to believe it is all about money.
For most of us I believe it is about security and enough is a feast.
I live in a liberal democracy called Canada. We have resisted neoliberalism because we believe food, shelter, education are human rights.
I have never been comfortable talking about, money and privilege because very few of us possess the vocabulary or the courage to talk about our internal turmoil. How difficult it is to live in a world where the most important things cannot be measured and exposing our vulnerabilities is taboo. We need to stop the prose and hear the poetry.
Mr Trump uses the word loser a great deal. Why would someone who always had all the money he needed be so preoccupied with winning?
If it were all about money would Mr Trump need to be Mr Trump? Trump has no poetry.
America is the richest most powerful nation that ever existed if it was all about money why would your leadership be so keen on felo de se?
Money cannot fill that empty spot in our souls.Even as our leaders tell us it all about the economy that empty spot inside grows larger by the day. Filling that space inside with money just makes the hole inside that much bigger.
Maddow and Savage are doing what they want to do and they would do it without monetary compensation.
2
Savage is a poster boy for the lunatic fringe, which explains in turn why Trump was drawn to him in 2011. The Brits have him pegged correctly as a hate monger.
It appears that those who subscribe to Savage are upset with Trump not because his policies are an anathema to them, but because they are not oppressive enough.
What readers of this column should take away is to give up on the myth of Trump base voters “seeing the light” and then voting for the Democratic candidate or by staying home on election day.
24
Savage and Trump are both shock jocks, it sells. It's no deeper than that, there's no substance to either of them.
46
Most informed citizens understand that pundits like Savage, Limbaugh, etc. are simply racist, misogynist people with a gift for gab who found a way to make a great living by pandering to limited-information people who think like they do. That they have a role in undermining democracy is merely a secondary benefit. It is all about the money.
47
@Mister Ed
As a Ph.D. educated neuroscientist (Stanford University, 1985) I beg to differ with your claim that Trump voters & Savage listeners are limited-information indivdiuals. Not me, nor my friend the Quantum Physicist. Quite a few smart people came to the views of Savage & Trump without their help. In my case, before I had any idea who either of them was.
Here is what I CAME TO using MY OWN BRAIN. 1) My daughter's high school cohorts (especially males) were being pushed out of careers in the Trades by foreign companies who only use illegals. 2) At age 14 my daughter told me "only Asians & Indians" do science & math." There goes STEM. 3) I and my cohorts were pushed out of jobs in high tech by the H1-B flood, bringing family members ("nepotism" what's that?) and a 1960s sensibility (smoking & wife jokes). Yes woman jokes in the hallways & conference rooms. 5) Liberal Californians enjoy cheap nannies, gardners, restaurant food, because of an illegal UNDERCLASS who live rough lives *precisely because" they are illegal. Once they graduate to decent living, where will my wannabe rich liberal friends get cheap help? Well, a whole new flood! God forbid we cut own grass or pay someone a decent wage to do so. So, a perpetual underclass. 6) Cheap stuff from China on container ships daily into SF Bay. Taking jobs from Americans and giving us hammers whose heads fly off after a few uses. 7) ISIS & Terrorism. Obama had no interest in curbing them.
The American argument over immigration is nearsighted: one side argues against any new immigrants; the other side argues for no limits on new immigrants; yet hardly anyone raises the root issue, which is how to address the socioeconomic problems in the countries driving immigration in the first place. Add to this the complicating effects of climate change, which instead of being acknowledged on both sides as making the issue of immigration grow exponentially worse over time, is instead itself treated as a separate, unrelated issue to be argued over politically.
This will not end well.
8
@Observer
"The American argument over immigration is nearsighted: one side argues against any new immigrants; the other side argues for no limits on new immigrants;"
I have heard no serious argument for "no immigrants" and I have never heard ANY argument, serious or not, for no limits on immigrantion. That is a myth that some conservatives are peddling about the left.
11
@Observer
No one anywhere near power argues for no limits on new immigration.
12
@Observer. No side is arguing for “no” limits on immigration.
12
I am 17 years younger than Michael (Savage) Weiner, so I was at university when he would have been applying to and teaching in college. To the best of my recollection, most of my teachers were white males. The exceptions were notable or superstars like Helen Vendler, the important poetry critic. I also note when he became a rabid right-wing radio host, he ditched his distinctly Jewish last name to something more palatable to bigots. I think this man has a lot of pathologies, prior support of Trump being just one.
95
In America, you look around and see what you can make money from. It doesn't matter what you do. Because that's what America was designed for. If it's illegal, just don't get caught.
If it's the legal destruction of culture in the form of a radio host and what follows from that, so be it.
And if that culture changes its mind a little, you follow on. Just do what you need to continue vampirism.
16
Why does the Times continue with the polite moniker “conservative,” to describe his fanatical, zealous followers?
They’re not “conservative” in the strictly political sense, as in a person who is distrustful of an expanded government; or is eternally anxious about a runaway deficit; or is in favor of a strong military presence around the world to act as a deterrent to radical political movements that present a danger to capitalism; a moral order grounded in a religious dynamic that stresses authority and strict family structures that is, at bottom, white and male-centric, demanding that others follow?
The dwindling audience for Michael Savage is not “conservative;” it’s nationalistic and xenophobic. These people were always out there. Rush Limbaugh roped them in with his racism and cornered the radio market in the late 1980’s. His millions of listeners swelled. But what they didn’t have was a man who embodied themselves who actually *was* the president. All that changed with Donald Trump’s election. That he has captivated them should come as no surprise; he has achieved what these folks always wanted: a clear, unmistakable chasm between “us” and “them.”
With Trump in office, these “conservatives” realize they now have something they thought they would never have: validation of their racism; their self-righteousness; their cultural ideologies that are unwelcoming and punitive and restrictive for women and non-whites and non-straights.
The savage adoration of hate.
55
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18 - Before Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin, there was Bob Grant. And it appears that the latest spawn of Hate Radio is Ben Shapiro. Before Trump, Steve Bannon, and Stephen Miller, there was support for his ilk generated by the Lee Atwater political machine. Trump is the only the most overtly and unapologetically divisive of the resulting Presidents.
6
Mr. Savage is just another White man who blames his inability to find a teaching job on minorities, which is typical. He turned his resentment into a career as a full-fledged radio hate promoter. That he is a Trump supporter makes perfect sense. The ranks of supporters are full of resentful White men. I would think in Trump's great economy where everyone has a job and things are so rosy that some of the resentment would fade. But, nope, it's in full flower. Make America White Again is still the name of the game.
604
@Ms. Pea
Agree. This piece is what is particularly sad! about the portrait, that he cannot accept responsibility, given his privileges, for failure. There are lots of reasons to fail in academia, among them non-conformity, but to blame affirmative action is to avoid looking at the stats. A huge number of white men of Savage's cohort got jobs, especially in science. His reasoning, however, at least here, shows serious blindness.
For example, another piece of pathos here is how he attacks trump supporters for being "us vs. them" when that is what he has always encouraged with his racism and xenophobia.
82
@Ms. Pea
I knew it was about his skin color. My, we have come so far as to be flipped.
7
@Ms. Pea
It is sadly ironic that people with a strong sense of entitlement feel oppressed when the minorities they felt so smugly superior to gain the same levels of employment and benefits that they, the entitled ones, have always been accustomed to.
47
Why do Trump supporters refuse to listen to rational & factual criticism of Trump? We need to divide this group into 3 sections:
1. The wealthy who seek only to increase their wealth
2. Racists, a minority amongst Trump fans, who seek a racially pure USA
3. The majority remaining are persons who are willingly ignorant to the point of disregarding factual reality. Examine closely this cohort and one finds individuals who are quick to follow and slow to think for themselves. They are lead by religious leaders and other formidable orators who promise 'all will be well if you believe and follow my directions'
All 3 of these sections have been present in our nation since the Jamestown Colony of 1607.
16
A university denied savage a professorship not unlike that fellow from Austria that couldn’t get into university.
15
Savage complains about white men not being hired in academia. A quick look at the faculty marching up the aisle in graduation photos across the country will reveal how ridiculous that claim is. But it does depend on what field a person studies... a white guy choosing to study ethnobotany and how traditional, non-white cultures use plants is not choosing the most logical path to a tenure track job. Why would a university that has dozens of applications for each job choose a person who studies a cultural phenomenon as an outsider and who probably got interested only as an adult, when there would be multiple applicants who were immersed in those traditions from childhood before pursuing graduate study? This is not hiring bias; social scientists revealed decades ago that people and groups are more likely to respond fully to an investigator who is perceived as “ one of us.” So white applicants would be less likely to have long term career success. What a paradox that Savage promotes and celebrates rabid bias against immigrants on his shows but is bitter about what he perceives as bias in academic hiring.
29
@Barbara I disagree: academics should be selected based upon talent for research and teaching and thought, not cultural affiliation.
2
@Barbara I disagree: academics should be selected based upon talent for research and teaching and thought, not cultural affiliation. Your argument could be flipped to suggest that white males are best suited to be business professors, because they would relate more to the business culture as it exists.
1
Furthermore, any person of any background would be an outsider when studying any people of a different background. Any any American-born person would be an outsider to any foreign culture. And sometimes being an outsider is useful.
1
I can only hope that radio goes the way of printed newspapers. Then there'll be hope that our airwaves will purge themselves of MAGA, right-wing rants and America First.
12
People like Mr. Savage as well as those who blindly support Donald Trump will forever be a mystery to me.
Fortunately, I hang out with very literate people who want a better world for everyone on the planet, people who certainly do not want to be members of a mob of sniveling, vindictive, resentful people. Unfortunately, there are far more of the vindictive, resentful types than I used to think. I once pegged it at about 10%; now I see it's closer to 30-40%.
Good luck, people, this country is going to need it.
125
@CF
It is definitely more than 10%, but you also can't assume that everyone that voted for Trump is motivated primarily, or even secondarily by resentfulness. I know a few people who voted for him simply because their pastor told them to.
Now, you can argue with me about the character of someone who does whatever their religious leader tells them to do, but, it doesn't indicate anything about their core morality other than that they seem to outsource it.
19
@CF
When I read “sniveling, vindictive, resentful” I assumed you were discussing our newest Supreme Court Justice, but I hope your desire for “a better world for everyone on the planet” does not preclude a preference for the welfare of your fellow Americans.
3
“A lot of wingers are desperately hanging on to Trump as flotsam in a tsunami,” Ms. Coulter said in an interview. “So loads of Trumpsters are beside themselves — but almost none of them will say so publicly. I think the issue is: How many voters, who voted for Obama, or didn’t vote, and then came out to vote for Trump, are done with him?”
Now, this is the million dollar question, isn't it?
21
Savage and Coulter are seeing Trump for his true nature...Trump has no clue on governing or obeying laws
37
@global Hoosier--That Trump has no clue on governing or obeying laws is not the problem for Savage and Coulter. They don't care about laws or governing. It's that he hasn't given permission for migrants to be shot at the border that they're upset with. It's that he hasn't muscled his border wall funding through Congress. It's that he hasn't nuked North Korea or Iran yet. It's that he hasn't shut down media outlets and jailed journalists. What they don't like is that Trump hasn't gone far enough.
30
@global Hoosier Did you read this article? Coulter and Savage are not critical of Trump because he is incompetent. Their criticism is based entirely on his inability to deport every undocumented immigrant and stop every new immigrant from entering the country. In other words, they are accusing him of not being sufficiently punitive to immigrants.
28
Whatever, Donald Trump is popular among a segment of the population because he shares their worldview, xenophobic. He has used bigotry and hate to appeal to the worst section of the population and has been the great divider.
It will be interesting how many will vote for him in 2020. That will tell us what percentage of the population is a bigoted group, their main source of pride being their origins, among other things. They forget that their ancestors who came to America were all illegal. The Native Americans never approved of their coming here.
This should make us do a rethink on whether being born in the USA gives one the irrevocable right to stay. Would not America be a better place if we somehow managed to get the diehard supporters of The Donald to move to some island far away from America? They could take their man with them.
Only the best have the right to call themselves American and that includes millions of immigrants and would be immigrants.
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@Indian Diner
Do not be deceived. This comment is an obvious attempt to push voters away from the Democrats and, once again, into the arms of Trump.
And, oh, honest people do not conflate legal and illegal immigration as “immigration.”
1
@Charlierf Except Trump and his supporters make clear all the time that THEY don't distinguish between legal and legal immigration - just see how the Trump administration is trying to change the criteria for legal immigration. its where the immigrants are from that they care about, not whether or not they are illegal.
2
I used to listen Savage on my home from work in the late 2000s and was both fascinated and horrified by his extreme views. He may have been far out, but he was no mindless apparatchik mindlessly spewing the party line like like so many in the right wing media ecosystem. And he would occasionally say things that even the most hardcore leftie would agree with, like the afternoon I heard him proclaim the white northern European male "the greatest killing machine the world has ever seen" or when he would sneeringly refer to Sean Hannity as "Sean Vanity."
So it does not surprise me that he is raising questions about Trump. While I find most of what Savage says repugnant, I give him credit for intellectual honesty and independent thinking, things sorely lacking in today's politics, especially on the right.
25
I have noticed that most Trump supporters are basically emotional and irrational. They often sneer at information as fake, are disinterested in any substantive examination of issues or facts. They have a reflexive instinct- they identify with Trump personally - which is why they worship him. Even among the few Trump supporters in New York, I find a genuine disinterest in facts. Of course, politician who understand the power of emotion generally win. Obama sold hope. Trump sells self adoration, defensiveness and fear.
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Well , when Trump, Bolton, and Pompeo drag the country into the war they and Israel and Saudi Arabia so badly want, please please let them be the first in line to send their sons and daughters off to fight yet another Middle East war.
Shame on them if they don’t (want to) follow Trump over that cliff. It’s what they voted for, after all.
19
@Kathy. Well, Trump himself wouldn’t be going over that cliff. After all, bone spurs.
11
My dad used to listen to The Savage Nation a long time ago, and I quickly picked up that he was Right Wing Shock Jock who loved to bait people into getting all riled up, then when a caller would disagree with him, would smear them into oblivion right after he cut them off. More theater than anything, so I can see why Trump would love him.
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@Rob S We have our local version in Ohio -- Mike Trivisonno -- and I'm sure there are others out there in AM Hate Radio. Fire up the audience with some outrageous claim -- engage with a critic briefly -- hang up said critic -- and then keep ranting as if that individual were still listening in stunned silence and awe. To a segment of the population, this works every freaking day, every week, every month.
8
"They’ll vote for him no matter what because he’s not ‘them.’ I think it’s come down to ‘them’ or ‘us."
The Republicans sold out Trump and Trump sold out the nation.
22
This was worth an article? I can sum it up in a single sentence: A dime-a-dozen right-wing radio kook who makes Sean Hannity look like Benjamin Disraeli helped build Donald Trump into a demigod, and now he’s frustrated that his listeners are treating Trump as such. OK, it was a long sentence, but the fact remains that Savage and the rest of the movement conservatives are primarily responsible for having constructed Trump’s personality cult, and now they’re reaping what they’ve sown. There’s no reason to see Savage as a sympathetic figure in any of this, or to normalize him period.
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@Doug Gillett
Indeed! And Savage says---after all his "critical" rethinking of Trump, who is, apparently, not hateful enough---he will still vote for Trump. Reels the mind. But it's good to see the Times giving the much-maligned and oh-so-silenced older white male a sounding board.
20
@Doug Gillett
Sorry, wrong.
Borders, Language & Culture are what define a nation. It's a doctrine, not a cult.
I wish the article had information about whether Savage's hilltop residence in Tiburon was a result from his earnings as a shock jock, or whether he had this money beforehand. I also wonder how many of his listeners know that he's in the top 1% of income.
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@W
Ha. He "earned" it. There is often no real way to convince the masses when the bosses have the bigger boom stick (or box).
4
@W I doubt they'd care - it's the same cognitive dissonance that makes them believe that the ultimate 1%-er, Donald Trump, is one of them.
21
My late father was a foaming at the mouth, anti -democrat neo-con who couldn’t imagine anyone voting for anyone but Trump and if they did, they were anti-American snd didn’t pass the sniff test. Good riddance to him and soon good riddance to the bully in chief when he loses his place in history to someone with humility and kindness.
I for one am not impressed by bullies.
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@Warren Bobrow This is the only conversion Trump supporters undergo that seems to have an effect on their voting.
11
To fully appreciate Michael Savage you have to realize that, unlike other right wing radio talkers, he doesn’t even pretend to be rational.
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Is it too much to ask for one "dual-hosted" episode combining Michael Savage and Dan Savage?
I'd actually PAY to enjoy that hour of listening.
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“They keep pushing me away because they don’t like what in their mind is not 100 percent sycophantic behavior,” he said.
I'm shocked! Shocked, I tell you!
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@Lou Torres You'd think they'd be satisfied with 95% sycophantic behavior, but I guess not.
4
“All they care about is ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ - nobody cares about the issues anymore!” says pundit who has made a living off of stoking anti-democratic xenophobia and antagonistic politics for his entire career.
231
To those who think we Trump supporters will love him no matter, you are entirely correct. To us, he is a gift from God, not just to America, but the entire world. Do we love to hear him speak, yes, he is extremely entertaining and very funny. Do we think he stands alone and bravely holds off all the anti-American forces arrayed against him, yes we do. I could go on for hours..and did I vote for him in 2016, no, but I hope to be first in line in 2020. I love the guy!
9
@fly
Fanatical focus on identity politics made the Dems so repellant that voters preferred a psychopath. Nowadays, it’s even worse.
Can open borders, sanctuary cities Dems be properly labeled anti-American? Is putting the welfare of alien lawbreakers above that of fellow Americans anti-American? Not two minutes after extolling sanctuary cities my fellow Dems will be lecturing us over psychopath Trump’s failure to adhere to the rule of law.
6
@fly
I think you demonstrated the point the article was making. If you cannot distinguish between a raging sense of inchoate dissatisfaction and alienation from the whether or not your elected officials are actually delivering on their promises, you will always go for the candidate who talks the best game.
If it is any conciliation, this is a really old story that we have seen throughout history. People like that have been taken advantage of throughout history. including a particularly nasty example in the middle of the last century. An argument of Us vs. Them and reliance on a man that promoted magical thinking got otherwise reasonable people to do unimaginable things. They weren't stupid people; they just allowed themselves to turn off their critical faculties to surrender to the same kind of grievance nurturing and hero worship that you appear to celebrate.
45
@fly I guess, to be able to hate with impunity is something to aspire to. I'll stick to fighting the good fight, thanks.
22
If it weren't for those who never question the received wisdom Mr. Savage wouldn't have had an audience in the first place. Now he wants his audience to ask rational questions but they entirely reject rationality. I remember as a child hearing my father do the same. "They're all crooks." It was a philosophy based on cynicism. A true cynic never has to learn anything.
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@Bunbury You make a profound point. The cynics among us give themselves a free pass to be 100% lazy: lazy about learning new things, lazy about drawing distinctions and making hard decisions, lazy about the responsibilities of citizenship. And by refusing "on principle" to reward good behavior and punish bad behavior, they guarantee that things will get worse.
31
@Bill Camarda
Thanks Bill
You have reminded me that laziness is often a symptom of depression.(inability to find interest in things).
5
"He picked Savage as his radio name after Charles Savage, a sailor who is believed to be the first to introduce firearms to Fiji but was eventually murdered by the islanders." Savage helped to bring hate to a nativist population and now they're turning on him. Poetry, that.
310
So, let me get this straight. If an elite institution somewhere would have just hired this white man for a professor position, he wouldn't have felt, as he said, "humiliated". He then wouldn't have turned his angst into spewing vitriol towards immigrants on radio. He wouldn't have built his legions of listeners. And in the words of Donald Trump himself, Trump would *not* have become president.
So that's all it took? One lost job by one disgruntled white guy somewhere, to end up with Trump? :-( Can I please be the person shot on 5th Avenue?
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@James
I’m a white male professor at a major research university. I suspect there’s more behind Savage not getting that job than he’s willing to reveal.
521
@Stretch Ledford, not to him, there isn't. I suspect he's cherishing the resentment and has enjoyed having it nurture what he felt in the first place.
58
Since top university professor positions are still primarily being filled with white men, I'm pretty sure he just wasn't good enough (I'm a top university professor, btw).
79
Michael Savage is just as bad as Limbaugh and Hannity. AM radio has given him a singular forum during the wee hours of the night when many of Trump supporters are sleep walking through life. The other problem is that he is so entertaining in a way that the others are not. This makes his messages dangerous because they can be camouflage by his wit and charm.
44
“Without him, we have nothing,” one listener is quoted as saying. And this says it all. Belief in Trump is an existential imperative, and nothing can be allowed to disturb that belief. It also follows from this that his supporters would also want Trump to serve for more than two terms—forever, if possible. That’s why I think running after these voters is a fool’s errand. But they cannot be ignored, either. Fanatics—of any kind—can be manipulated to take almost any action.
286
@PK There's a distinction between Trump's utterly immovable core supporters and the 5-10% of his 2016 voters who weren't sure what to do but decided at the last minute to take a chance on him.
Get (and keep) half of that small subset of voters, and you can transform the country. Who knows? You might even win Texas.
52
Fascinating to consider how these Trump supporters square their hostility in this country to anybody who is not white, not “Christian,” and not “like us” with Trump’s best friends the Saudis, Israel, and all forms of dictators in South America, Africa, and other places all around the world.
Cognitive dissonance is surely a useful trait in their world, assuming they are paying attention to anything except their own grievances, and expecting anybody and everybody else, but never themselves, to solve them.
26
@PK
People who feel that they have nothing or are irrelevant usually will cling to monsters.
11
Conservatives who can't help but notice the Emperor's nakedness become outcasts, and then they become irrelevant. (See Charlie Sykes.) Because Trump's core supporters really are a cult, with a nearly Jonestown-level horror of outsiders, doubt, and the infinite number of enemies (imagined and real) they see besieging them.
And no, if anyone's preparing to say it was that way for Democrats under Obama: it wasn't. He took *plenty* of vigorous criticism from Democrats and liberals.
The Trump/conservative movement's characteristics are precisely what attracts so many grifters and scam artists -- just as it has for decades, just as multiple conservative commentators have lamented without ever wondering why:
https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/the-real-problem-conservatism-faces-today/
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/08/tea-party-pacs-ideas-death-214164
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/right-wing-scam-machine-jonah-goldberg/
We have our opportunists on the left, but nothing like this. Because, whether we're right or wrong, there are enough of us who don't want to be part of a cult. If one of us serves up some lunatic conspiracy theory, someone else will promptly debunk it with credible sources -- and they won't be written out of the movement for doing so, as happens so often on the right.
318
@Bill Camarda
The issue with the right is the ever present one-upmanship as to who can be more reactionary, more severe, more extreme etc. There is no upper limit to these people. There will always be another person willing to show they are more than the others. As far as I can tell, infinity is still a long ways off. There's more to come.
16
@Bill Camarda
Even outcasts need a home.
1
@Bill Camarda
The irony is that these outcasts like David Brooks, Bret Stephens, and George Will, now write selfless columns advising the Democrats on how not to lose in 2020: by being more like them! No wonder Biden is their man.
11
He IS correct about one thing. It's always been about Race. Specifically, about White Male Power. Nothing else really matters, the rest is just
" reasons ".
Seriously.
396
@Phyliss Dalmatian
Just read an article that pretty much sums it up in that fashion. It was always that, and nothing else for the 'true believers'. This is all they are, and all they want to be, with this guy as their champion. He acts like the person they want to be. Seriously.
22
@Phyliss Dalmatian: 40 more years, and most of these guys will be in the ground. Perhaps then we will have Eden on Earth.
4
@Phyliss Dalmatian
My 67-yr-old female white colleague has remarked, several times, that affirmative action kept her out of the first round of acceptances to Harvard Law School in the early 1970s.
She has stated that Trump's election made it all right to be white again.
And just last week she declared that diversity is terrible for the unification of a country.
My lips are awfully tired of being pressed together.
8
Mr. Savage is slowly coming to the conclusion that Trump is unfit and an abject failure as POTUS. Once he reaches that conclusion, I hope he is intellectually honest enough to tell his listeners that Trump is a clear and present danger to our democracy. I encourage Mr. Savage to remain in his “ no sycophancy” zone...we all need a breath of clear logic and truth.
98
Savage's show is entertaining, and he can be very funny and politically incorrect, but you can't take his pronouncements too seriously. Although I wish the article had mentioned Savage's strong support for animal rights and his opposition to animal cruelty, which he regularly voices. You can't really pin him into a category.
16
Yes you can pin him in a category, he is in the DISGUSTING pin category. And he loves it!
106
@R.P.
'Don't take him seriously' is the wall all of the troll side behind. Savage and Trump and their ilk spew venomous rhetorical into the political discourse non-stop without a hint of irony, shaping people's perceptions and advocating for policy changes designed to do nothing more than hurt people.
But as soon as someone confronts them, everything is just 'jokes' and politically incorrect free speech that these people immediately abscond from any responsibility for their statements.
No one is being ironic. We should take the 'non-PC' crowd seriously and literally because their audience is. Political incorrectness on shows like these is nothing more than public figures seriously and purposively making statements which are cruel and designed to cause people real, actual pain, and then giving a stage wink at the end so the speaker can protest that no one should hold them responsible for their words.
19
@R.P. So he's into animal rights, but not human rights.
19