The marketplace has spoken. WordPress statistics clearly show that Donald Trump is a Proven Clickbait Solution. So in lieu of my usual (cough) trenchant analysis of the issues that matter, we bring you Random Notes On Donald Day.
Because if Vermont’s largest newspaper can succumb to clickbait mania, why not theVPO?
Ah, journalism in action. And speaking of food, the Kountry Kart Deli is offering a today-only special: The Donald, a stacked-high bologna sandwich with B.S. (bacon slices) on white bread. Perfect. Meanwhile, North End stalwart Nunyuns Bakery was stymied in its effort to cash in:
Wanted to make a special fish sandwich for lunch today to welcome Donald Trump to #btv today, but our supplier was out of large mouth ass.
— Nunyuns Bakery Cafe (@Nunyuns) January 7, 2016
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More @Trumpnado madness after the break.
Moving on, we have a fresh example of The Perp Shall Be The Victim and The Victim Shall Be The Perp:
Massive crowd in VT tonight. Venue not big enough. Officials say NO to outside event and sound system. Arrive early!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2016
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Hmm. So the Trump campaign issues more than 20,000 tickets for a 1400-seat venue and the resulting mess is not their fault. Also, as far as we know, the Trump camp never asked for an outside event OR a sound system. In fact, Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo says the Trump camp “stopped returning the department’s calls” after word came out regarding its massive ticket dump.
In short, like I said yesterday, Donald Trump doesn’t give a damn about you. Or your city.
Outside the Flynn, people from lining up since pre-dawn this morning, and reporters have been lining up to take pictures of the ilne.
Line for @realDonaldTrump in #btv is already nearly all the way down the block on St. Paul St. #vprnews pic.twitter.com/vom8A1yLex
— Taylor Dobbs (@taylordobbs) January 7, 2016
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsI’ve got one message for Trump fans spending the day on line: GET A JOB, HIPPIES! Also, this note to frustrated Trump ticket holders denied access: blame the media for hogging the space.
Don’t worry. We’ve got our spot. @vprnet @FlynnCenter #vt #vtpoli pic.twitter.com/uaTzVZlqWV
— Angela Evancie (@AJEvancie) January 7, 2016
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Not just media — government-funded media. Those damn liberals probably won’t even show up.
Also on the media front, the normally reliable Morgan True applied an unfortunate turn of phrase to Our Benevolent Overlord: he called Trump a “bombastic populist.” I have no problem with “bombastic,” but populist? The guy’s an oligarch. Populism used to be a noble strain in American politics; has the term really fallen so far that it’s an accurate characterization of Donald Trump? I hope not.
As for Trump supporters waiting in line, they give their hero a lot of undeserved praise for the Burlington rally. Seven Days:
They said they admired Trump for campaigning in a liberal hotbed. “He’s coming into the hornets’ nest,” said Michael Hart, of Ausable, N.Y. “You’ve got to have some cajones (sic) to do that.”
Yeah, courage: speaking before a carefully curated crowd (only Trump backers were allowed entry) in a secure building.
Another Trumpster displayed a faulty grasp of the First Amendment.
Many said they were upset by Vermont activists who planned protests and initially called for the Flynn to ban Trump from appearing. “That’s so un-American,” Plattsburgh resident Martin Deslauriers said… “They say they want free speech, but if it’s not what they think, it’s not free speech.”
You got it backwards, Martin. They’re exercising their free speech rights by protesting Donald Trump’s exercise of his. Unless they flood the theater and prevent Trump from speaking, their activities are absolutely pure examples of the First Amendment in action.
Oh, and in case the pro-Trump crowd hasn’t gotten the message that Donald Trump Doesn’t Give A Damn About You…
Money talks at @realDonaldTrump rally? #vtpoli pic.twitter.com/w1uSxGZTzF
— Neal P. Goswami (@nealgoswami) January 7, 2016
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Yeah, that just about sums it up.
Thanks for this posting. It saved us a trip to Burlington!
Oh, yes, I forgot about the divine Lenore. 😉 Did anyone tell the Donald that her support is the kiss of death to any candidate in Vermont?