Notorious Frauds Who Somehow Still Have A Following Despite Being Exposed
Reddit user Ninac4116 asked: 'Who are some exposed frauds that still have a following despite being debunked?'
Cognitive dissonance is when one learns new information that challenges a deeply held belief that seems to undercut a favorable self-image, that person may feel motivated to somehow resolve the negative feeling that results—to restore cognitive consonance—by ignoring the challenging source.
This isn't the only response to cognitive dissonance, but it's the one most people are familiar with.
This behavior explains people believing something—or following a leader—despite all the contradictory facts. Outsiders look at the situation and are amazed that their adherents can't see the absurdity of the fraud.
But it's a common occurrence.
Just spend some time watching documentaries about cults and you'll see all the proof you need.
Reddit user Ninac4116 asked:
"Who are some exposed frauds that still have a following despite being debunked?"
Playing With Fyre
"That dude that went to prison for fraud for Fyre Festival, Billy McFarland. He is out now and wants to try again."
~ Can_Not_Double_Dutch
"Grifters gonna grift. His sleaziness was already well documented with that credit card/access card BS before the Fyre."
~ mcburloak
"The justice system certainly failed on this one. A long running pattern of documented fraud even before he committed the massive Fyre Festival wire fraud in the amount of millions of dollars and guy is out within a few years."
"What a f*cking joke. There are thousands of people serving more time for drug offenses and stealing 1/100th as much."
~ perfektstranger
* Billy McFarland is an American con artist and convicted felon who co-founded the ill-fated Fyre Festival as well as several other fraudulent businesses.
The New MLM
"All of those YouTube 'financial freedom' classes/courses/programs."
~ TiaMaeLove
"I consider those to be Gen-Z pyramid schemes."
"'Learn how to get passive income by teaching people how to get passive income by teaching people how to get passive income!'."
"'Something, something grind mindset...'."
~ Kurt0690
Totally Not A Cult
"Keith Raniere who started NXIVM too."
"There's still a bunch of women that hang out outside of the prison he's in singing his praises every day."
"It's weird man."
~ HotGarbage
* Keith Raniere is an American cult leader who was convicted of a pattern of racketeering activity, including human trafficking, sex offenses and fraud."
Also Totally Not A Cult
"Warren Jeffs and Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS)."
"Dude is literally in prison and still has a significant amount of devout followers."
~ alienwitchkitty
"To be fair, the FLDS is very isolated from the outside world (think no internet). It's possible that they genuinely don't understand the severity and overwhelming evidence of his crimes."
"Though you'd still think that watching your prophet marry children as his brides would set off some red flags."
~ lo_profundo
* Warren Jeffs is an American polygamous cult religious leader who was convicted of several sex crimes and two assisted sex crimes involving children.
"I’m a long time postal worker and I once did an intake at the plant of a pallet of letters from Warren Jeffs. They have to provide us a sample for this kind of mass mailing for billing purposes so I read the letter."
"He was sending it to every church of every denomination within our province (Canada). I imagine other plants got similar pallets."
"The letter was a demand that they give all properties and tithing money over to Warren Jeffs and the board of the FLDS. He wanted every priest/pastor to tell their congregation that they were wrong and would now be following Heavenly Father’s wishes to completely turn over everything to the FLDS and every member was to write letters and make calls demanding Warren’s immediate release."
"This mailing cost was in the thousands of dollars and I suspect every church in Canada received one, potentially tens of thousands in cost. That’s all money from his followers, terrible waste."
"For months afterwards we saw so many of these letters come back through the plant labeled return to sender. I would be completely shocked if they got even one positive reply. Massive waste."
~ janesfilms
Absolutely, Totally Not A Cult
"L Ron Hubbard. My uncle is Scientology level OT8."
"I'll never understand why he buys into it (literally and figuratively)."
~ thatoneguy889
"L. Ron pulled a ‘hold my beer’ before it was even a thing with saying the Ringling brothers (circus guys) were about to be upstaged by the biggest scam in history, then proceeded to write the Scientology books."
"Even knowing Hubbard was a failed sci-fi author, and that he had a history of failed scam attempts, people still believed the Scientology books were educational/historic documents and a guide to a wonderful life/afterlife. Mind blowing."
"Equally if not more of a scam than Joseph Smith reading the gold tablets from a hat, that only he could see and decipher because that is what God wanted. The level of gullibility of mankind throughout history is impressive in all the worst ways."
~ _calmer_than_you_r_
* Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was an American pulp science fiction author and the founder of Scientology.
GiphySleight Of Hand
"Uri Geller."
"He still to this day claims he has mystical powers and won't admit he's just doing magic tricks, despite being exposed by James Randi."
~ agent_x_75228
"The crazy part to me is that he is actually quite talented as a magician."
"He could make a good living just doing magic tricks and billing himself as such."
"He didn't even have to lie to be successful."
~ starmartyr
"His exposure on The Tonight Show with Carson is so fun to watch."
"You almost feel bad for him. Almost."
~ BulljiveBots
* Uri Geller is an Israeli-British television personality and self-proclaimed psychic known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other illusions to simulate the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy.
Oh, Oprah... 😞
"Dr Phil and Dr Oz."
~ 335i_lyfe
"Oprah has pushed so many terrible people and I feel like it really should be discussed more.
"My mom's been in a cult for years because of her pushing Gwen Shamblin and the Weigh Down diet on her show."
~ _angesaurus
"She propelled so many charlatans and their mumbo jumbo into the mainstream."
~ Dangerpuffins
* Phillip "Dr. Phil" McGraw is an unlicensed clinical psychologist and TV personality who appeared as a relationship and life strategy expert on The Oprah Winfrey Show whose methods have been called "exploitative" and "appallingly cruel."
* Dr. Mehmet Oz is a television presenter and physician who appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and his own program which drew criticism from the medical community for false medical claims and pseudoscience including faith healing and various paranormal beliefs.
GiphyBody By...
"The Liver King guy, Brian Johnson, not sure if he still claims to be natural though."
~ RegularEmbarrassed36
"Dudes got a physique that is pretty much impossible to achieve natural."
"Like it's still hard work even if you're not natty. But don't give other kids the idea it's achievable."
~ herroebauss
"It's not just him giving kids the idea, he's quite literally RIPPING THEM OFF, selling all these products, selling his lifestyle, taking their money pretending that he's helping them."
~ battleduck84
"He admitted he was using steroids, went clean for a bit, and unless there's been developments in the last few months he's back on steroids and claiming he's not."
~ blames_irrationally
* Brian "Liver King" Johnson is an American fitness social media influencer.
Who Profits From The "Prosperity Gospel"?
"Joel Osteen"
~ Blue_Period_89
"The guy just sells toxic positivity, begs for more money, and claims it under the Christian God. I'm a Christian and I can say with full confidence that what he teaches is NOT what Jesus is about."
~ cutiegirl88
"Pretty much all of the mega church leaders are frauds."
~ usedmotoroil
"I'd say 100% of them. It is anti-Christian. Any excess should be given back to the communities they are in."
"That's why they don't get taxed. But now it's just a grift."
"They don't give a f*ck about anything other than the size of their bank accounts."
~ theshane0314
"Absolutely 100% they are frauds and lying weasels."
"Osteen or Copeland or any of the others who unabashedly pound the pulpit, so to speak, on the 'prosperity gospel'—they have incorporated their sin as their strength in the eyes of their followers and those imbeciles eat it up."
~ Thunderhorse74
* Joel Osteen is an American televangelist, businessman based in Houston, Texas and one of the more prominent figures associated with "prosperity theology" and a focus of its critics.
GiphyFilipino Fraudsters
"Bongbong Marcos and his family."
"Their family literally stole billions from the Filipino people yet they are still out of prison. Their family matriarch, Imelda, was even sentenced to prison for graft, but no one dared to arrest her."
"Bongbong is now even president of the Philippines and has a huge cult following because of how they tried to distort history."
~ holyguacamole-
* Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is the second child and only son of former president, kleptocrat and dictator Ferdinand Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Marcos.
The Power Of Motorola Compels You!
"Faith healer and psychic Peter Popoff. The divine voices he heard were actually his wife using a radio."
"He’s still selling his 'Miracle Water'."
~ SnooChipmunks126
"Popoff was exposed in an investigation on a news show.
"He 'retired to a quiet life of contemplation' when it aired which everyone knew was horsesh*t."
"A couple years later he’s back grifting."
~ Renaissance_Slacker
* Peter George Popoff is a German-born American televangelist, charlatan, debunked clairvoyant and faith healer.
GiphyNo, Vaccines Don't Cause Autism
"Andrew Wakefield, who was trying to get his own vaccine approved, so he tried to make it look like another vaccine was a problem."
"He did research without getting proper consent, falsified results, and so on."
"He's become the darling of the vaccines-cause-autism crowd, even though his behavior was so egregious that he lost his medical license."
~ DrHugh
"Oh it's so much worse. Wakefield's alternative vaccine (cofounded by a quack who didn't have a medical license, believed he could cure autism with his bone marrow, and had his name spelled wrong on the patent) was a cash-grab, to capitalise further on the greater scheme."
"He was paid to discredit the MMR vaccine by a lawyer who recognised the amount of money there was in suing the manufacturer on behalf of concerned parents, in collaboration with a then-small group of parents who believed it made their children autistic (called "JABS") who have since rocketed in popularity as a direct result of the whole debacle."
"Wakefield lost his license primarily because he did not receive informed consent for procedures. Not only did the handouts he gave to the parents not even mention all the procedures performed, but they did not mention risks. The handouts literally do not contain the word 'risk'."
"He also lied. A lot. Like, the results of his study were shaky at best, and half of them were just completely made up."
"Oh, and giving colonoscopies to children ended up being a horrible idea, because one of them got a perforated bowel. He f*cked up that kid's life forever. It's... disgusting."
"Autism isn't actually that bad. And it's kinda disgusting that it was being treated as something worth risking actual death to avoid.
"Also, the head of Andrew Wakefield's hospital at the time of his departure (when he got fired because his colleagues got sick of his sh*t) went on to describe him as, quote, 'a Wanker and a Fraud'."
~ Otherversian-Elite
How Is He—either one—Still A Thing?
"Logan Paul. This really annoys me. The dude has been called out for multiple crypto scams and yet I still see his sh*tty energy drink all over grocery stores and gas stations.
"I really hope he goes down for real."
~ Zelgon
"It's crazy that he even still has a following after everything he's said and done."
"People were actually cheering and rooting for him in his recent scammer vs scammer joke of a boxing match."
~ labwongames
"The world isn't running out of unattended 5-10 year olds with iPads anytime soon. That's why he still has a following."
"Or am I thinking of Jake Paul? Eh, two sh*ts, same a**hole."
~ The-Mighty-Caz
"When I taught middle school several of my students were huge fans of Logan or Jake Paul. They’d come to school in their merch and listen to their sh*tty music while they did class work."
~ SadandBougie
* Logan Paul—once called "the face of douchebag entitlement" and Jake Paul—known for prank videos—are brothers and American YouTubers who started out posting sketches on Vine.
Giphy"Multi-Level Marketing (MLMs). The vast majority of people who sign up for them make very little and a significant number lose money."
"And yet, they're everywhere."
~ LadyMageCOH
"99% of MLM sellers lose money. It’s only those at the very top that actually make anything at all."
"It’s such a scam and a fraud!"
~ greens_beans_queen
"That's why they used to be called pyramid schemes. They came up with the term MLM to make it sound better."
~ Bijorak
45
"Donald Trump/MAGA… the guy has over 50 felony charges and civil cases for fraud and rape and still has followers?"
"It’s cuckoo bananas."
"He is a con artist… and it’s so glaringly obvious!"
~ Acceptable-Bullfrog1
"I try not to be Trump this Trump that, but this is what immediately came to mind."
"He’s not good at business. He’s not good at being president. He’s oblivious to rules he doesn’t want to observe. They think he’s Christian and like, when have you seen him going to church even to fake it?
Everything he does is as obvious as his fake tan that makes him look like Magda (MAGAda? 😃) from Something About Mary.
"His MAGA minions claim they’re these shrewd people that show up on the car lot and get exactly what they want for less than it’s worth when really they’re the type to show up on the lot and leave with a Hummer they don’t need and can’t afford."
~ Orgasmic_interlude
GiphyIn the words of Carl Sagan:
"One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle."
"We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth."
"The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken."
"Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
~ Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
What proven frauds, scammers and grifters would you add to the list?
When Donald Trump was elected President of the United States in 2016, many felt that it was the beginning of the end of the Republican party.
As Trump's fear-mongering and rhetoric were a far cry from the policies of what the Republican party stood for in the days of Abraham Lincoln.
For many long-standing Republicans and conservatives, it marked the end of their time registered in the party, swiftly shifting to becoming a democrat or independent.
There were also many who remained loyal to their party but their support for the 45th president gradually vanished by the time he left office, in relative disgrace, in January of 2021.
"Ex Rrump supporters, what point did you stop supporting Trump and why?
A Slow And Steady Decline
"My dad started out from voting for and supporting him and always being annoyed when people talked sh*t about Trump."
"Then the pandemic happened and he spent a lot of time at home watching TV and seeing Trump give speeches, then he says, 'This guy is a f*cking moron' and he became more anti-Trump as time went by, especially after Jan 6."- forgottenmyth
Finding Their Own Voice
"I was like 19-20 years old when he became president so it was my first time voting."
"My parents are both republican so naturally I kinda just followed suit and voted for him."
"Then I watched everything that happened throughout his presidency, watched the Republicans and their thoughts and actions based on everything that had happened and was happening, and here we are."
"Voted blue last election, as a registered republican, which I find joy in, and likely to do so again."
"I hate politics with a passion but some of this stuff is just too f*cked for me to justify staying out of."- BIessthefaII
The Writing Was On The Wall
"I can't explain when, I can just explain the very slow gradient from all but wearing the red MAGA hat to going 'Hold the F*CK on'."
"My initial decision to vote for him wasn't really as a Conservative."
"Though I would align my ideals more with Conservatism of the 1950's."
"I'm from Vermont, and I remember watching the DNC's response to the threat that was Trump, become 'force Hillary Clinton down the nations throats' and the absolute rigged BS that was 'Super Delegates'."
"I liked things Bernie said, and while he's very left, the nature of politics would force him to the center."
"But to watch him Win Wyoming, and he got something like 3 Delegates and the lose, Hillary, got 11 because of Super Delegates was so frustrating as a voter."
"So I voted for Trump and I got sucked into the just asinine hype."
"I made excuses for the 'Grab her by the P*ssy' nightmare, the escorts, the accusations."
"I was starting to make 'valid' connections to how President Obama was NOT an American."
"Turns out, I'm an idiot, and at 30+ years old found out I too, had a Certificate of Live Birth, and I'm also an American."
"And how we're all going to be good because 'Haha, Trump and Putin are buddies so the world wont end'."
"I think the first crack started when my friend Mariah, who has sunk into a very dark depression since Trump was voted out, he meant THAT much to her, started to act out towards people who even questioned the President of the United States."
"And even openly stated, as a Veteran, that the constitution should be re-written so he could be President forever."
"I started to see how I was acting in her, and even more infuriating, is she's very good at acting like you, and then when you call her out on the BS, justifying why you're wrong to do it, and she's right."
"And then I started to get annoyed by the CONSTANT. TWEETING."
"The supposed 'Leader of the Free World' has no time for 60 tweets a day."
"The cracks became a fissure during COVID."
"I worked for a hospital, and I served in my states National Guard and was actively part of the response, out there, with the Nurses and Doctors."
"And I watched him do as much as he could to facilitate as little as possible, and dare I say stop hospitals from responding to the disaster, hold back supplies, 'bargain' with states and at one point, my state had to use State Police to guard resources so Federal Personnel wouldn't come and take them at the Governments direction."
"I was an American Citizen, serving to support my fellow Citizens, and the Commander in Chief, my boss, was actively making it all but impossible to help."
"Finally when I started to see who Republicans were who supported this man, I couldn't do it."
"Ted Cruze, Gym Jordan, MTG, Boebert, Desantis, and so on."
"I decided I could no longer look myself in the mirror if I supported such people as them, people who were religious extremists, sexual predators, and just the worst people that could possibly exist."
"I'm not proud that it took that much, or that it took an entire year, but in the end I'm just happy I escaped it."- the_walternate
The People He Was Associated With
"When he refused to condemn David Duke, ex-head of the KKK, and said that some veterans suffering from combat PTSD were 'not strong enough'."- BigTuna0890
Free From Influence
"I grew up in a very conservative fundamentalist Christian household that raised the American flag and right-winged politics higher than the Bible."
"I was taught in church that you can’t be a Christian and a democrat."
"I voted for Trump in 2016 not because I really liked him, but because I really didn’t like Hillary Clinton, or so I was told to before I began to think about what I believed for myself."
"After that year, I was groomed by my brother, who at the time was an infamous figurehead in the alt-right/white supremacist community, damn near the right hand of Richard Spencer."
"I would listen to his Skype calls with Spencer from the other room because we had fairly thin walls where we lived."
"At one point, I was actually involved with the white supremacist hate organization that my brother founded, albeit tangentially, I helped cut out flyers and posters that he would post throughout my town and the neighboring ones."
"In my defense, I knew little to nothing about his organization when I did this, not that that excuses the fact."
"I can’t really tell you when I began thinking differently."
"I know at some point I realized that there was a lot of what I believed that I only believed because it’s what I was always told growing up."
"Slowly, over the course of the last 6 years, I’ve gone from being a borderline Trump supporter to someone deeply ashamed of many things my family has taught me growing up."
"I’m closer of a centrist in the context of global politics, which to my family now means I’m what they could call a 'raging flaming liberal communist'.”
"I still hold my Christian beliefs quite closely, but I’d like to think that they come from a place of love for other people, rather than making sure 'everything I do is correct and everyone else knows they’re wrong'.”- Myrshall
Ignoring Puerto Rico
"I don’t know how a single person could support him after Puerto Rico."
"He said their natural disaster broke their budget, begrudgingly visited and tossed paper towels like basketballs, and mocked the pronunciation of the name."
"Oh yeah, and didn’t give a sh*t that an entire territory was destroyed with thousands of dead Americans."- gcaledonian
One can only be grateful that people's eyes were opened enough in 2020 to get him out of office.
How anyone's eyes weren't opened during his long, vulgar, misogynistic and racist campaign, however, is baffling to the point of disturbing.
Not nearly as disturbing, though, as the fact that countless people are still supporting him.
The 2016 election left many families divided. For many people, the election, which saw business tycoon Donald Trump ascend to the nation's highest office, signaled a further decline of democratic ideals.
By 2020, as Trump embraced conspiracy theories about the integrity of the 2020 election—a development many analysts had predicted would happen years prior—those concerns metastisized.
And by January 6, 2021, the day a mob of Trump's supporters stormed the United States Capitol on the false premise the election had been stolen, many had reached their breaking point, including supporters of the ex-President. Oh, and we haven't even touched the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic or the Trump administration's response (or lack thereof).
Trump is more than just a leader for a particular faction within the Republican Party. He is dogma. And after some Trump supporters decided to walk back their support, things got interesting.
People shared their stories with us after Redditor rickandtwocrows asked the online community,
"Former Trump supporters, what were your experiences when you stopped being a Trump supporter?"
"My entire family..."
"My entire family on both sides of my parents are unwavering Republicans. I’ve grown up under their influence and would repeat the things they told me to people at school and curse them for thinking anything different. In fact, if I dig deep enough into my closet I’ll be able to find my Trump socks and bright red hat to match."
"Since I moved out I started to experience the world firsthand instead of secondhand and realized that my previous views were a huge slap in the face to myself. It’s difficult to be around my family for long periods of time because no matter where we are, they make everything political and poke at me for thinking otherwise."
"Feel free to believe anything you want, but I hope more people open their eyes and see that our current situation benefits very few people."
TemporaryContest201
I think it speaks a lot to your character that you were willing to reevaluate your views.
"My 17-year-old son..."
"I used to be a very conservative guy. My 17 year old son passed away in early 2020. The parents of my best friend who passed away 10 years prior showed up to our house to offer comfort. When I answered the door, she was wearing a button that said “Trump Chick” and he was wearing a camouflage hat with the word “Trump” across the front."
"Rather than a simple I’m sorry for your loss, they spent the next 30 minutes complaining about illegal immigration, abortion and homosexuals. Our friends, largely conservative Christians but generally good people spent more time preaching the gospel of Trump during that time than offering any comfort, not that should have felt obligated to."
"It was my very liberal cousins who showed up out of nowhere to help set up his service. I received more love from my gay boss, a few of my lesbian friends, and one of my co workers who may or may not be an undocumented immigrant than I did from my right wing friends and family."
"It was the teen trans couple who my son made friends with who offered me a hug and shared about the wonderful time they had with him. It was the experiences that moved me more to the middle and realize that the far right people in this country are bananas."
"My son was a Christian who truely loved everyone. He would’ve been repulsed by Trumps actions. I try to follow his example."
Hillbilly415
You have our condolences.
What has always astounded me about the Christian conservative right is how much time they spend focusing negatively on others.
"It all started in 2020."
"It all started in 2020. Started wearing a mask because of Covid. I didn’t want to die and wanted to keep my family safe. I also work around the public and my mom had just been diagnosed with cancer."
"I live in a very red state. So red that our governor held a day of prayer to rid our state of Covid. So going to the store and wearing a mask was like walking into a trap. People would try to ram me with their shopping carts, give me dirty looks, treat me like I’m second class because I have a mask on. So that started my journey into changing the way I thought."
"Once my mom passed I connected with family that I hadn’t been in contact with since childhood. Huge Trump supporters. January 6th happened and my world crumbled. How could any American stand behind these traitors? I decided at this time that I was done with the Republicans and changed my political party the very next day."
"Family that I connected with since my moms funeral deleted me off Facebook, family stopped inviting my family to birthday parties, lost friends, my life changed. But I do not regret my choice one bit."
fatdad89
People tried to ram you with their shopping carts... this is a mentality I can never understand.
"My views changed..."
"My views changed during the pandemic. More so during the 2020 election. After Biden won, many people that I know went on rants about vaccines and how Biden is somehow the supreme commander of gas prices. It hurts me to see that those I know are convinced Trump is a hero when he is very much the opposite."
January 6th was the last straw, and I was completely done with the conservatives. They have lost my respect. I feel ashamed for having called myself a conservative for so long, but at least I’m done with them now."
FlotPlays
I still don’t understand why people believe one man is responsible for gas prices. Look at supply, demand and corporate. The economy needs more factors to work.
"I was an avid Trump supporter..."
"I was an avid Trump supporter all the way up until Jan 6th, it was like a switch in my head. Then after that I started to realize how bad of a person he is. I remember defending all the stupid/immoral/racist things he did because I thought he was going to save the U.S. God I felt so dumb after I came to my senses."
MillionPanda69
At least you came to your senses. That there are millions out there who back what happened on January 6 is terrifying.
"I realized..."
"I realized that “owning the libs” isn’t a valid political outlook. I really stopped supporting Trump, and later stopped being conservative once I started caring about actual issues like healthcare, and wages and stuff, not about crap like “forced diversity” or “cultural marxism” or “emasculation.""
savethebros
"When he made fun..."
"When he made fun of captured war vets, that’s when it crossed the line for me personally."
Jason163758
You and a lot of other people. Don't mess with the veterans.
"Trump was one of the worst offenders..."
"I became a Christian and began like, actually reading the Bible. The more I became in touch with faith, the easier I could see Republican politicians parading the Bible around and using God’s name for their own gain without actually living by the Word."
"Trump was one of the worst offenders, and I wondered why I ever put any faith in him that could have been used to help the poor, the needy and the sick exactly as Jesus would."
__Tdot__
What would Jesus do?
Answer: Not any of that.
"I expected Trump..."
"I expected Trump to lead the country in a productive manner in 2016. He led the country into chaos in 2020. Then when the Republican Party decided to back Trump after the January 6 Insurrection, I decided I'd never vote for another Republican cause again."
CleverlyCoathanger
For many who believed he could lead the country after 2016, COVID-19 was a total wake-up call.
"It was equally mind blowing..."
"I mainly supported Trump way back in 2016 because I liked McCain, and figured they would have similar values. But it was quickly lost when he started disrespecting his advisors, especially disrespecting Mattis."
"As someone who was in the military I remember people loved Mattis and for his 44 years in the military to be discounted by someone with no military experience showed me that Trump was more about power than actually caring about the welfare of others."
"It was equally mind blowing seeing people suddenly switch and then denouncing the general I saw them praising literally months prior. For me that was an eye opener, and everything else just was icing on the sh*t cake."
solitarytrees2
My, how quickly people turned! Unsettling, isn't it?
Although Trump has not officially declared that he will run in 2024, he is very much the favorite to win the GOP nomination. How many followers will he have gained or lost by then? Only time will tell.
Have a story of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
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People Break Down The Differences Between Biden's First Year In Office And Trump's
At the start of Donald Trump's presidency, protests raged in response to a ban he ordered via executive order to seven Muslim-majority countries. At the start of Joe Biden's presidency, the nation was still reeling from the Capitol riot, which had happened just two weeks prior.
The country is currently in a remarkably divided time and political bonds have frayed further, charged with anger.
But the real question here is how did these two men do?
Opinions varied, which made us more excited to read them after Redditor HannibalGoddamnIt asked the online community:
"Dear Americans of Reddit, how do you find this first year of Biden's presidency compared to Trump's?"
"Instead of taxing the rich..."
"Well, there is pretty much one thing that's continuing to make me mad. It's that Biden lowered the threshold from $20,000 to $600 to get a 1099-K form."
"Instead of taxing the rich, they want to go after the gig economy (like door dash, or Uber) or small time eBay sellers to nickel and dime them to death. Most people using these platforms are doing so as a side gig to make enough money to support their families. So let's go after those people and not the billionaires, right Biden?"
ColtsFanNY
To which this person replied:
"Guess it's good for my local card shop. Before the change I could sell for 80-90% of market value through various platforms. After fees I'd come out ahead of my local stores trade in value."
"Now, taxes plus fees means I barely make more, and dealing with shipping and customer problems just isn't worth the hassle. Now I just trade in for straight cash."
Weasel_Boy
"During the first year..."
"During the first year of Trump’s administration the majority of news headlines were about Trump."
"During the first year of Biden’s administration the majority of news headlines were about Trump."
st11es
To which this person replied:
"It’s actually kind of scary because Biden has done some things that need to be brought up but it’s like a radio silence around him. Unless it’s about his pets."
Legeto
"At least 90% of people..."
"At least 90% of people couldn't even tell you 5 things that the president has done since taking office, let alone give a good opinion on a president's performance. For some reason everyone cares a lot about the election process, and then completely ignores what the elected president does beyond that point."
HellizBlazer
To which this person replied:
"To be fair, that’s partly the point of a republic: vote some people in to deal with these problems since we don’t have the time and most aren’t qualified/educated enough on every world problem."
"Still, people should actually learn what a president does and pay attention to what they do, not just what happens to occur while they are president; although, it’s probably more important to focus on congress members that represent you."
selfproclaimedtot
"He expanded..."
"He expanded Bears Ears National Monument and so that’s a plus. Besides that, not much to say."
jebhebmeb
To which this person replied:
"He's also gotten a ton of judges confirmed. When it comes time to evaluate all the racial gerrymandering bills from red states, that's gonna matter."
gsfgh
"The minimum wage..."
"The minimum wage was supposed to go up. Still waiting."
The_Sad_Whore
To which this person replied:
"Plus he promised to eliminate $10K in student debt immediately and then just…. Didn’t. With no explanation."
OOOOOOO
"Meanwhile..."
"Trumps first year was breaking news nearly every day about how awful and evil the man was and how he was destroying our democracy. I bought into it all. Looking back, policy-wise, his first year was pretty basic and may have been good for our country. Optics wise, his presidency was a dumpster fire."
"Meanwhile, Biden’s first year has been the opposite. His policies are terrible. The country seems to actually be worse off than it was when trump left (this of course could be trumps fault to some extent, although Biden did campaign on how the buck stops with him). Meanwhile he gets handled with kid gloves by the media, for the most part."
IAmANobodyMA
To which this person replied:
"The Biden administration is quickly becoming a disaster. It's as if they are intentionally trying to make things worse. They are not held accountable by the majority of the news media - the same news media who knowingly lied about the Trump administration. A lot of folks are turning on the Democratic party, so the midterms should be interesting."
dee_berg
"He's managed..."
"He managed to make it a whole year without committing obstruction of justice, so that's a positive."
grombleduke
To which this person replied:
"The bar is so low."
sacrificialfck
"I feel like..."
"Is one year really long enough to see any true outcomes of changes though?"
"I feel like, if we think about it, a lot of changes that are put in place during a president’s time in office take years to make some kind of difference and then the current president gets blamed for consequences of some previous leader’s actions/decisions."
courtenax
To which this person replied:
"Is 4 years even enough either? How much can an administration even get done in that time? The other world leaders just laugh and wait it out for the next president."
BarrettBuilt
"The cost..."
"The cost of living part hit us all really hard. People who I knew were well off got slammed hard. Everyone is really struggling now. Meat prices are awful and so is gas. Groceries are looking the same as my truck payment now."
CuriousWrangler
To which this person replied:
"Where I live gas has gone from a 4 year low of $1.12/gal to a current $3.10/gal. Supply didn't shrink, so I can only assume lockdowns affected refining and distribution."
Wundei
"I just wanted..."
"I just wanted a return to the normal problems of government, not having to worry so much about itchy trigger fingers, massive grifting/corruption, gross incompetence, and boorish performances."
"So I guess I got what I wanted. Do I wish Biden were better? Yeah, of course. But given the state of politics in Congress, I didn't expect much."
thenextvinnie
To which this person replied:
"So good that I can go back to ignoring the White House."
Singlewomanspot
And there you have it. Many of the discussions were conducted in good spirits.
Sure, a few disagreed and some were perhaps harsher than others.
That said, there is no denying that much needs to change in the United States before it can be whole again.
Have some thoughts of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
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Tom Brady Makes Shady Dig At Trump's Election Lies During White House Super Bowl Event
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden invited the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win earlier this year. The tradition would normally have been relatively uneventful in a year like 2021, except for some comments made by Tom Brady.
Brady was an obsession for former President Donald Trump. Seeing the athlete visit Biden in the White House is speculated to be a personal nightmare for the former President.
However Trump felt about the visit, it's sure to be worse when Brady made this joke:
Brady: Not a lot of people think we could’ve won. In fact, I think about 40% of the people still don’t think we won… https://t.co/n8yBEFhbeY— Acyn (@Acyn) 1626796724.0
Brady also made fun of the bad nicknames Trump tends to come up with.
President Biden praised the team for their win and called the team an example that it's "never too late to come together and achieve extraordinary things." He also used the opportunity to recommend people get vaccinated.
The whole situation struck the internet funny.
Who's in charge of making sure Trump sees this? Can we get the clip on a show that he hate watches? Something on CN… https://t.co/6wK8Kfv3sP— Jon Favreau (@Jon Favreau) 1626815530.0
Gotta confess. Didn’t have Tom Brady trolling Donald Trump at the White House on my July bingo card.— Dan Rather (@Dan Rather) 1626810622.0
@SusanIsSicOfGOP @Buccaneers @POTUS I thought the same thing!— JangoFett (@JangoFett) 1626821095.0
Who knew Tom Brady had jokes?! https://t.co/N5dOEO8uaV— Doc King-Lewis (@Doc King-Lewis) 1626841117.0
The Buc's visit marks the first time a Super Bowl champion team has visited the White House since 2017. The Patriots won, with Brady's help at the time, though the athlete himself skipped the tradition.
This likely upset Trump, seeing as the former president used to use his Twitter account to defend Brady while he was caught in a scandal over using deflated footballs.
However, not all of Brady's history is so easily forgotten, including a "Make America Great Again" hat he had in his locker in 2016.
@Quicktake Too late to try and save face, a-hole, you stood by his side the entirety of his 4 years of terror— Meh (@Meh) 1626806728.0
@EliStokols Nice try, Brady. We can’t forget this https://t.co/xMvHgW4koz— Kristine Kenyon (@Kristine Kenyon) 1626797183.0
@Sharpe222 @EliStokols Almost. Almost— Jack Rios 🇺🇸 🏳️🌈 (@Jack Rios 🇺🇸 🏳️🌈) 1626796491.0
This is the first NFL visit by Super Bowl champions since 2017.
In 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles were uninvited by Trump due to protest during the National Anthem. In 2019, The Patriots won again, but chose not to go, though they confirmed it had nothing to do with politics.
And of course, the 2020 winners, The Kansas City Chiefs skipped due to the pandemic.
Head coach of the Bucs, Bruce Arians said it was an honor to be invited to the White House and hopes the political divide in Washington can be overcome for the American people.