Speaking of Howard Dean-like Campaign Ending Behavior....

[Joe Guy]

As wondered in the Random Thoughts thread, why do all of Trump's idiotic statements appear to have little or no effect on the amount people who support him?

Anyone who can watch the following video (from 3 yrs ago) and not question Trump's ability to lead the most powerful country on earth, should consider taking the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test.

Either that or kill yourself.

Or if you're an otherwise nice person, at least promise not to vote...

[ex-khobar Andy]

I did the Montreal Cognitive Test about 16 years ago because I had a few symptoms of having had a stroke. (I hadn't.) The point of the test is to identify certain type of mental impairment which can help a neurologist diagnose various conditions. There are sections of the test such as naming pictured animals e.g., lion and camel; drawing a clock face representing a specific time; counting backwards by 7 from a specified starting point; and a few others. At some point the tester gives the testee five random words - mine were face, daisy, velvet, red and church - which you would be asked to repeat few minutes later. (I just looked them up: I remembered velvet and church and that there was a flower and a color (I remembered it as green) 16 years later but I don't think I would have remembered 'face' after all this time.). If a doctor administers the test a second time s/he might choose different words but similarly unrelated and random. So if a doctor did indeed choose person, man, woman, camera, and TV - this are clearly not unrelated and probably an indication that this was at least the second time the test had been administered. If a doctor did choose these very related words then he was totally incompetent. Probably Ronnie Jackson or Johnson - depending on whom you ask and when.

[BoSoxGal]

Did y’all catch him whining at Mar a Lago today about his crowd sizes?

[Sue U]

Did y’all catch him whining at Mar a Lago today about his crowd sizes?

That "surprise press conference" ought to be the end of the Trump campaign, showing him to be in steep cognitive decline, hallucinatory in recounting his personal experiences and astonishingly ignorant of government functions and current public policy issues.

And at the very least it should be the end of mass media rushing to give Trump a camera and mic, just so he can rehash all the same lies he tells at his poorly attended rallies. "Earned media" should actually be earned. This was a transparent and desperate effort to get back into the news cycle.

Shorter Trump: "Pay attention to me!"

What a narcissistic buffoon.

ETA:

Oh, did you see the Harris/Walz campaign's reaction?

Donald Trump’s Very Good, Very Normal Press Conference

Split Screen: Joy and Freedom vs. Whatever the Hell That Was

Donald Trump took a break from taking a break to put on some pants and host a p̶r̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ public meltdown.

We have a lot to say about it. Here are some initial thoughts – with more to come.

He hasn’t campaigned all week. He isn’t going to a single swing state this week. But he sure is mad Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are getting big crowds across the battlegrounds.

The facts were hard to track and harder to find in Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago meltdown this afternoon.

He lied. He attacked the media. He made excuses for why he’s off the campaign trail.

We’re here to help because his staff clearly isn’t.

But first, an important reminder on the question Donald didn’t answer: how he will vote on the Florida abortion referendum. (He has been ducking this question since April.)

We worked to pin down reality so Donald Trump, bless his heart, doesn’t have to. Here are the facts:

We had 12,000 and 15,000 people in Wisconsin and Michigan yesterday, respectively (Not 2,000.)

The ABC debate is September 10th. Not the 25th.

People have spoken to bigger crowds than Donald Trump. (Obama, Clinton, literally anyone at Lollapalooza, Coachella, the World Cup…)

January 6th was decidedly nothing like MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech. And Trump did not get a bigger crowd than Martin Luther King Jr. on that historic day.

There was famously not a “peaceful transfer” of power after the 2020 election, which Donald Trump fought to overturn. (Famously.)

Five police officers died because of January 6th.

Donald Trump said he was off the trail this week because of the Democratic convention. (That convention is not happening this week.)

Trump said they have commercials at a level no one else does. (He is being drastically outspent on the airwaves.)

Governor Josh Shapiro is actually a great guy.

Project 2025 author Tom Homan, the “father” of Trump’s cruel child separation policy, is not a person to praise.

Jewish people should not “have their head examined” for not supporting him. (That’s actually antisemitic.)

Trump said he was not complaining. He in fact very much was.

Trump does not know the difference between asylum seekers and an insane asylum.

Donald Trump does not “cherish” the Constitution.

Abortion is not “less of an issue” for voters. It is not “subdued.” It is not a “small issue” for voters, despite how much Donald Trump wants it to be.

Donald Trump did not answer the abortion question “very well in the debate.”

Everybody did not want Roe v. Wade overturned. The American people do not support states banning abortion.

After-birth abortion does not exist.

Minnesota and Virginia are not the same.

Donald Trump doesn’t know what progressive means.

Kamala Harris does not want to take away everyone’s guns. Tim Walz is a gun owner.

Vice President Harris does not support an arms embargo on Israel.

Donald Trump could not remember Tim Walz’s name.

Donald Trump’s tax cuts are not the biggest in history.

We don’t know what “the transgender became such a big thing” is supposed to mean.

Donald Trump will cut Social Security – just like he proposed every year he was in office.

Government was not weaponized against Trump and Steve Bannon.

Mail ballots are secure.

We agree – Elon IS a different kind of guy.

There are no polls that say Donald Trump is going to win in a landslide.

The MAGA base is not 75% of the country.

###

Source: Insider NJ, with internal links to primary sources that I'm too lazy to reproduce in this quoted text.

[Burning Petard]

I took that test about a week ago as part of a study on brain/muscle signals at the 'Motor Neuroscience and Neuroimaging Laboratory' at University of Delaware. I was tempted to say 'dromedary' for the camel, but decided this not the place to get cute. The researcher said (in writing!) this is not for clinical use and if I have questions, see my doctor. I scored 27.67 out of 30, where anything over 26 is considered healthy. A different researcher said after different set of tests 'suggest my cognitive performance is normal for a person my age.' WOW! I am older than Biden or Trump. What is normal for my age? That is scary. I am afraid to ask.

snailgate.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Apparently at one of his rallies he played 'My Heart Must Go On' which prompted some cynics to speculate about the iceberg the campaign was heading for or had maybe already hit:

[Scooter]

You know they didn't get permission from either James Horner's estate or Céline Dion to use that video. Cease and desist letter coming in 3... 2... 1...

[Scooter]

And right on cue:

Not today, Cheeto!

On Saturday, August 10, Céline Dion issued an official statement disavowing Donald Trump and JD Vance from using her hit song "My Heart Will Go On," best known as the theme song of 1997's Titanic.

Dion's official statement reads:

"Today, Céline Dion's management team and her record label Sony Music Entertainment Canada inc., became aware of the unauthorized usage of the video, recording, musical performance, and likeness of Céline Dion singing 'My Heart Will Go On' at a Donald Trump / JD Vance campaign rally in Montana. In no way is this use authorized and Céline Dion does not endorse this or any similar use."

"…and really, that song?" the statement concluded.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Someone please tell me what are the legalities. I doubt that Trump and his campaign are so foolish that they would open themselves up to lawsuits. (And I have a very low opinion of both monkey and organ grinder.). I assume that like any pub which has live bands, they pay some sort of fee to a common royalties pool so that if the singer breaks into "Yesterday" they - the pub owners - will not be sued and Paul gets a few pennies down the road.

Poor taste and foolish and against Mlle Dion's wishes - yes: but is it actually illegal?

[Scooter]

If they are claiming it was "unauthorized usage", I have to assume they meant in a legal sense, because if the campaign had paid royalties in any way, then it clearly would be authorized. And note that it was the record label and not just Dion personally who joined in this statement.

And this is nowhere near the first time a Trump campaign has been called out for doing this. It's as if the Republican Party no longer had any respect for private property rights.

[Sue U]

Well, I don't do IP law, but if you can show me where Celine Dion slipped and fell because she was gagging after hearing her song used at a Trump rally I might be able to help.

[BoSoxGal]

She’s an eggshell plaintiff too! Cha Ching!

[Big RR]

My guess there is she is implying that the use of the video somehow suggested she was endorsing Trump. Generally, music (including videos) are subject to licensing which is provided by the venue where it is played (either in recorded or performed by third parties); the licenses can be negotiated individually, or be provided by a licensing group like BMI or ACSAP. However, even when licensed, playing of a video that implies endorsement of a person or an idea is still actionable, and I imagne that is the concern there although, sue, could she claim that the implied endorsement was intentional infliction of emotional harm?

[Sue U]

My guess there is she is implying that the use of the video somehow suggested she was endorsing Trump. Generally, music (including videos) are subject to licensing which is provided by the venue where it is played (either in recorded or performed by third parties); the licenses can be negotiated individually, or be provided by a licensing group like BMI or ACSAP. However, even when licensed, playing of a video that implies endorsement of a person or an idea is still actionable, and I imagne that is the concern there although, sue, could she claim that the implied endorsement was intentional infliction of emotional harm?

I don't think you could get intentional infliction (requires extreme and outrageous conduct directed toward the plaintiff, a high probability of severe and unreasonable emotional distress, and an intent to cause that distress), but maybe negligent infliction (although that's usually rolled into pain & suffering without a separate cause of action)? Anyway, I see the Estate of Isaac Hayes has joined the club and announced it is suing Trump et al for use of "Hold On, I'm Coming" at has rallies:

The Hayes family lawsuit is just the latest legal battle between musicians and the Trump campaign. The likes of The Beatles, Adele, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Earth, Wind & Fire have slammed Trump and his team for using their music at political events. Indeed, the number of musicians who have publicly requested that the Trump campaign stop using their work is so lengthy that it has its own Wikipedia entry.

I haven't seen the complaint yet, but the cease & desist letter has been making the rounds of the interwebz including its demand for $3 million in unpaid licensing fees.

[Big RR]

Interesting Sue; I didn't know for certain, but I thought infliction of emotional harm worked on sliding scale, with the seriousness of the harm could offset the "outrageous conduct" required--and what could be more extensive harm than being labeled a Trump supporter? But, actully I meant it more as a joke. I haven't been following the Isaac HAyes estate action, but it does sound similar.

If I recall, Springstein objected to Regan using Born in the USA, but I don't recall where it went. It was a while before the US recognized any moral rights in IP, but here it clearly changed the message and underlying meaning of the song from a protest song to a right wing patriotic one.