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Notes -
Normalizing Donald Trump.
I just watched this video in which golfer Bryson DeChambeau plays best ball with Donald Trump to see if they can shoot under 50 on the short tees in an 18 hole golf course.
First of all, for those people who think Donald Trump sucks at golf, you're wrong and you have TDS. He's an extremely good golfer. Actually, ridiculously good. Multiple times, the duo used his shot over Bryson's. Combined, they shot 22 under par. Even if you think he's literally Hitler, he's extremely good at golf. If you don't think so, it might be worthwhile to examine why you think that. Watch the video and update your priors.
But the bigger CW angle is how a mainstream celebrity (Bryson is maybe the biggest golf player today) played a round with Donald, gave him a lot of respect, and just treated him as a normal, chill dude. And Donald reciprocated in kind. Bryson isn't overtly political and he said he'd be happy to play with Biden (lol) too.
https://x.com/b_dechambeau/status/1815447305467970034
There has been a massive effort to delegitimize Trump as a candidate, to make voting for him beyond the pale even if you mostly agree with his platform. But videos like this completely obliterate those efforts. He becomes human. Maybe if you have 12 piercings and purple hair Trump would seem unappealing in this video. But to a normal person, he just seems like a decent hang who is remarkably, extraordinarily good at golf.
The stigma is no longer there. People are coming out of the closet. And I think when it comes down to it, Trump is just way cooler than Kamala, even if he's old. It's said that the more charismatic candidate always wins. In 2020, there were some unique circumstances that made this not true. But if the Democrats cannot maintain the cordon sanitaire around Trump, it's over. He's just too likeable.
I feel like Donald Trump being good at golf is like Hitler being an animal lover. "See! He wasn't all bad..."
As for that, I don't think it matters a whole lot. The general blue-ish public is likely not going to stumble upon political content about Trump that's not negative. Media polarization and algorithmic bubbles do a powerful job. If you like Trump you can like him more. If you dislike Trump you can dislike him more.
I mean, it runs counter to the narrative that Trump is a Charlatan/Fraud at every level, not JUST in that it makes him relatable.
Dems like to tout his numerous failed businesses (I would counter by simply pointing out that that only correlates with the many times he's tried new business ideas, where most don't try at all) or imply that he wouldn't be a billionaire but for luck and family connections.
This here demonstrates that no, he actually has a demonstrable set of skills in at least one area, he's not all talk. And if he's got skills in golf, it makes it ever so slightly more likely that he's actually skilled at other tasks that require finesse, strategy, and endurance.
For me, I'd say that I realized that Trump wasn't just buying and/or lending his name to Golf Courses to try and pretend at sophistication, he actually has a passion for that sport.
I mean, it doesn't really. Rich people playing golf is a meme. He has all that time to get good at golf because he's not doing real work. He just passed a wealth threshold where his money works for him now.
It's not hard for a lefty to spin this as just another manifestation of Trump being a bad guy.
Sure... except golf isn't REALLY a 'rich mans game' anymore. Happy Gilmore is a bit outdated in that respect.
I happen to have already commented on this at length.
I am by no means rich and I grew up practicing golf along with a bunch of other sports. My solidly blue collar dad golfs all the time.
It's not like, say, Polo or high end motorsports where the barriers to entry are insurmountable.
Yes, rich people REALLY like golf. But to pretend that being good at golf makes someone less relatable to regular dudes is definitely not aware of actual golf culture.
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