It will go down in history as the “Bah! Humbug!” address.

But this was not an address by a self-confident man dishing out Christmas presents to the nation. It smacked of desperation from one who can feel the December windchill of opinion polls – a Reuters/ Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed just 33% of US adults approve of how Trump has handled the economy – dissent in his own Republican ranks and the Jeffrey Epstein files looming on Friday.

The speech also revealed Trump’s need for a reliable foil. Over the years Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been useful nemeses for a man and movement defined less by what they are for than what they are against.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 36 points 10 months ago (12 children)

apparently this was a sugar high: just before the remarks started, according to a White House pool report, an usher brought in three Diet Cokes and ice.

But… that’s the sugar free one… he must have been on something else.

  • source
  • hideshow 12 child comments
  • [–] 15 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (4 children)

    I mean, 3 diet cokes is a lot of caffeine.

    Edit: I've been corrected that 3 diet cokes is, in fact, not a lot of caffeine. Guess he's micro-dosing amphetamines. My bad, y'all.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
  • [–] 18 points 10 months ago

    From someone who has been on the caffeine pony - caffeine withdrawal is no joke. If he's been deprived of his diet cokes for medical reasons, it makes total sense that they'd give him some right before a televised address read from a teleprompter that he wasn't supposed to deviate from.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago

    As a regular consumer of caffeine, let me assure you it is not. As someone else said, he had the equivalent of a cup of coffee. I personally don't start suffering any significant withdrawal symptoms until I have more than 100 mg per day, and fairly significant withdrawal symptoms if I regularly have over 400 mg per day. But even as a single dose of caffeine, 150 mg is pretty typical. That said, caffeine can give a temporary boost to cognitive function, even for dementia patients.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 5 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    There's no such thing as a "sugar high". This is just Trump being Trump. He's been an idiot for ever.

    Remember his speech to the boy scouts in his first term?

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    I don't remember the speech, but I'm guessing he was complimenting how hot their younger sisters were.

  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments