Patterico's Pontifications

8/16/2019

Politics Today: The Subject Is Fat-Shaming (UPDATE: Interview With “Protester”)

Filed under: General — Dana @ 10:43 am



[guest post by Dana]

Because things just keep getting dumber…

As we already know, fat-shaming others is nothing new for President Trump. It happened again last night when he fat-shamed a “protester” at his campaign rally:

President Trump ridiculed the physical appearance of a man in the crowd of his Keep America Great rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Thursday night, telling the guy and everyone watching at home that he had a “serious weight problem” and should get some exercise.

Midway through a rally that had already featured him claiming that the stock market would crash if he weren’t re-elected, Trump’s typically off-the-rails speech was interrupted by demonstrators, and an apparent Trump supporter got up and grabbed a banner from their hands.

Trump, appearing only to spot the general commotion, saw the apparent supporter in the melee and the president took some potshots at the man after it seems he wrongly identified him as a protester.

“That guy has got a serious weight problem,” Trump yelled. “Go home, get some exercise!”

After demanding security escort the man out of the arena, the president appeared briefly self-conscious before returning to his taunts: “Got a bigger problem than I do. Got a bigger problem than all of us. Now he goes home and his mom says ‘What the hell have you just done?’”

Oops! It turns out that the “protester,” Frank Dawson, is actually a Trump-supporter:

Frank Dawson…reported that he had no ill will toward Trump. “Everything’s good!” Dawson told Fox News. “I love the guy! He’s the best thing that ever happened to this country.” Trump has reportedly called and spoken with Dawson.

This comes right after Democratic contender, Andrew Yang ridiculed Trump’s physical appearance while candidate was making the rounds at the Iowa State Fair last weekend:

On Saturday, Yang, an entrepreneur and first-time presidential candidate, went on an extended riff on Trump’s health after a forum on gun-violence prevention.

“I can’t be eating crap on the trail too often, because I need to stay in presidential form,” Yang said, adding that no one wants “a president who doesn’t seem like they can run a mile.”

“I don’t think Donald Trump could run a mile,” he said. “Would you guys enjoy trying to watch Donald Trump run a mile? That’d be hysterical. What does that guy weigh, like, 280 or something?”

“I say he, like, passes out at, like, the quarter-mile mark,” Yang said.

In a profile of the president, it was said that he believes that “Other than golf, he considers exercise misguided, arguing that a person, like a battery, is born with a finite amount of energy.” At his annual physical exam in February, Trump weighed in at 243 pounds. That means that technically, he’s obese.

UPDATE: Fox News interviewed the fat-shamed-not-a-protester Frank Dawson today, and he is indeed, an ardent supporter of Trump:

(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)

-Dana

56 Responses to “Politics Today: The Subject Is Fat-Shaming (UPDATE: Interview With “Protester”)”

  1. I’ll hate myself for asking because I know the answer is “yes,” but, can things get any dumber??

    Dana (fdf131) — 8/16/2019 @ 10:45 am

  2. Of course things will get dumber, the next sentence out of the mouth of a democrat will prove it.

    mg (8cbc69) — 8/16/2019 @ 10:51 am

  3. He’s technically “obese” – who cares? He doesn’t look Fat to me. Or most Americans. That’s because Trump is a big guy who can carry an extra 20-30 lbs without it looking bad. OTOH, someone like Hillary looks fat when she’s 30 lbs. heavier. Biden looks overweight to me. Nadler used to be a blimp but lost some weight. Clinton has kept his weight down, but looks like a weird skeleton from the neck up.

    rcocean (1a839e) — 8/16/2019 @ 10:58 am

  4. The guy Trump called out must have been really fat. Like 75-100 lbs. Overweight.

    rcocean (1a839e) — 8/16/2019 @ 10:59 am

  5. Rcocean,

    That absolutely was not the point of me mentioning the president’s weight and that he’s technically obese…

    Dana (fdf131) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:00 am

  6. “Other than golf, he considers exercise misguided, arguing that a person, like a battery, is born with a finite amount of energy.”

    As accurate as all his other beliefs…

    Dave (1bb933) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:00 am

  7. So, technically, you’ve just fat shamed the guy, Dana.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:07 am

  8. 20-30 lbs

    Haaahhaahhhaaahhhaha…gulp…hahaaahahahhhahhahahahh

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (6e7a1c) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:09 am

  9. So, what was your point?

    rcocean (1a839e) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:10 am

  10. You have to pity the cultist whose response to being viciously attacked and cruelly humiliated by his false prophet on national television is “Thank you sir, may I have another!”

    Dave (1bb933) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:10 am

  11. According to the BMI calculatior Trump would be “Overweight” if he weighted 220. So, he’s about 22 lbs. over the lime.

    rcocean (1a839e) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:13 am

  12. Fat, bald and pissed off at the world is no way to go through life, son.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:13 am

  13. Lay off teh Big Gulps, Klink!

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:14 am

  14. ah the basilisk, most recently covering the google whistleblower, with a white sheet,

    narciso (d1f714) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:15 am

  15. Fat, bald and pissed off at the world is no way to go through life, son.

    You know, you’re right.

    Insulting people for their appearance is really a much better way to go.

    Dave (1bb933) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:19 am

  16. the high road is observed by all:

    https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/latino/kathleen-krumhansl/2019/08/16/latino-nets-warn-́terrifying-́-trump-triggered-economic

    narciso (d1f714) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:20 am

  17. Trump has got a serious weight problem. He should go home and get some exercise. When he got back to Air Force One after the rally, his staff undoubtedly said, “What the hell have you just done? He’s a supporter. Call him immediately.” So he did. Trump left a voicemail.

    DRJ (15874d) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:23 am

  18. 15… Cheer up, it’s not a binary choice

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:26 am

  19. 18 … Bless your heart.

    Dave (1bb933) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:27 am

  20. Projection is what Trump does best. He projects his faults and weaknesses on others. And anybody who thinks he only weighs 240 lbs is a Rear Admiral looking to be appointed Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He’s 280 lbs if he’s an ounce.

    nk (dbc370) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:29 am

  21. McDonald’s gift certificates were made for situations like this.

    August.

    DCSCA (797bc0) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:33 am

  22. “This comes right after Democratic contender, Andrew Yang ridiculed Trump’s physical appearance while candidate was making the rounds at the Iowa State Fair last weekend”

    Perhaps Yang should worry more about the large number of competing candidates well in front of him?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:33 am

  23. Way back when, MAD Magazine did a parody of “True Grit” as “True Fat”:

    Kim Darby: I’m looking for a man with true fat. Fat men are jolly, and I trust jolly people.
    Glenn Campbell: How about me? Folks say I’m getting a little bit jowly.
    Kim Darby: Sorry. True chub is not the same as true fat.
    John Wayne: Forget it, sister! I may be fat but I’m not jolly.
    Kim Darby: The job pays $50 cold cash.
    John Wayne: Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas!

    nk (dbc370) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:35 am

  24. Trump is obese. He is 75″ tall, 243 lbs., therefore his BMI is 30 and that makes him definitionally obese and oh, my freaking heck, I am actually taking time out of my life to demonstrate to someone that, yes, the President of the United States is obese!

    Dana (fdf131) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:39 am

  25. ultimately even this will be considered too extreme:

    https://dailycaller.com/2019/08/16/trump-state-department-spending-foreign-aid-rescissions/

    narciso (d1f714) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:44 am

  26. I’ve updated the post with a Fox News interview with Frank Dawson, the fat-shamed-not-a-protester.

    Dana (fdf131) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:47 am

  27. My whole problem with using BMI charts is that according to them, guys like Von Miller are obese. And 18-year-old me, at the peak of my athletic prowess with a 28-inch waist, was officially overweight. I’m pretty sure these charts were created by vegan doctors with zero upper-body definition who wear size 36L sports jackets.

    JVW (54fd0b) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:50 am

  28. yes, its a ridiculous measure:

    https://www.minds.com/perpetualmaniac/blog/open-letter-dear-attorney-representing-tulsi-gabbard-1008629625756160000

    narciso (d1f714) — 8/16/2019 @ 11:56 am

  29. I don’t disagree with you, JVW, regarding the BMI tables. Especially for women, one is literally volunteering for a horrifying moment of cruel and unusual punishment when plugging in the info and seeing the accusatory number indicating that you might as well dig into that gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream because you’re already doomed…

    Dana (fdf131) — 8/16/2019 @ 12:05 pm

  30. So its a fake guiltrip like 80% of everything:

    https://thepoliticalinsider.com/trump-backs-bid-against-new-york-city-gun-rules-at-supreme-court/

    Narciso (50a424) — 8/16/2019 @ 12:06 pm

  31. some people live their whole lives as “Obese” according to the BMI charts. And still live a good long time. Plus, weight gain as you get older is natural. Very few people over 50 are the right weight. Most are “overweight”. Your metabolism slows down, and your willingness to have that one extra piece of pie increases.

    rcocean (1a839e) — 8/16/2019 @ 12:54 pm

  32. According to the BMI calculatior Trump would be “Overweight” if he weighted 220. So, he’s about 22 lbs. over the lime.

    Trump is obese. He is 75″ tall, 243 lbs., therefore his BMI is 30

    Good to see we agree.

    rcocean (1a839e) — 8/16/2019 @ 12:57 pm

  33. You have to pity the cultist whose response to being viciously attacked and cruelly humiliated by his false prophet on national television is “Thank you sir, may I have another!”

    I don’t pity him at all. He and his ilk chose to take the position that Trump can do no wrong; that absolutely anything he does must be vigorously defended.

    Trump could have called him a low-IQ loser, and he would still say he loves Trump.

    But if anyone else suggested that such unconditional devotion to Trump reveals a deficit of wisdom, he would no doubt consider it an outrageous display of elitist contempt.

    Radegunda (efd02a) — 8/16/2019 @ 12:58 pm

  34. Obesity is a national problem. All you need to do is look around at the number of young women (20-30 years of age) who have fat rolls and who wear clothing that accentuates it. I think back and don’t remember it being that way in the 70s or 80s.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:00 pm

  35. Thanks for updating with video. Love the Fat man! Not only takes down 3 protester signs, he graciously forgives Trump for his “fat shaming”. He looked a little chunky, but from what i saw, he’s seems like one of those big guys that have plenty of muscle under the flab.

    rcocean (1a839e) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:01 pm

  36. BTW, Trump was constantly suggesting Christie have the stomach surgery and Gov Christie finally did and lost, I forgot, 50-100 lbs.

    rcocean (1a839e) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:02 pm

  37. I think back and don’t remember it being that way in the 70s or 80s.

    It was that way back then too. You just were just focused on the 36-24-36 chicks.

    rcocean (1a839e) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:04 pm

  38. 33… this post drips with a sneering contempt. Do you develop headaches or eye strain looking down your nose as often as you do?

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:04 pm

  39. 37… lol… no, in the 70s, our friends had to make an effort to keep weight on.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:06 pm

  40. People like Mr. Dawson are likely to chortle with glee when Trump insults other people over their appearance or whatever. So at least Dawson didn’t take a hypocritical “how dare you” stance when he got hit by friendly fire. And he probably has more self-awareness on the issue of weight than Trump does on anything.

    OTOH, his sanguine response reflects nothing so much as the refusal to hold Trump to the standards by which others are judged, or any standards at all.

    Radegunda (efd02a) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:08 pm

  41. Do agree that as one ages, weight is easy to gain. I’m 66 and have to make a concerted effort… daily routine is coffee, 2 1/2 mile walk and a breakfast of fruit, yogurt and a little granola and one other meal in mid-afternoon to help lose and keep the weight off.

    Doesn’t sound like much fun, but it has been ideal for me.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:14 pm

  42. shirts or skins

    https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/15/us/bloods-gang-doj-employee-snitch-trnd-scn/index.html

    narciso (d1f714) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:14 pm

  43. 38 — Haiku, your post (and other of your responses to me) are more personally insulting than anything I have posted. And the charge that I am always “looking down my nose” at others is a slander, and absurd. (I could say a few things about my life story, but that’s beside the point … though I will say that I’m far more average than many ardent Trump apologists.)

    I have to wonder why you don’t object to Donald Trump’s well-documented habit of looking down his nose at others, constantly ridiculing their supposed deficiencies while holding himself to be superior and faultless in every way. It’s hard to think of anyone who looks down his nose at others more than Trump does — though he revels in being hero-worshipped by people he looks down on.

    Why doesn’t it offend you when he calls people “stupid losers”?

    I don’t go around calling people “stupid losers.” I am not “looking down my nose” at any Trump supporters because of their IQ or their circumstances in life.

    What I criicize is the moral failure that insists on turning Trump’s narcissism and cruelty and routine dishonesty into virtues. I object to the double standards that give Trump an exemption on anything and everything.

    And I’ve wondered why some people are so extremely touchy about that subject — why it offends them so much when Trump is criticized, or when anyone notices the hypocrisy inherent in the Trump Exception.

    Radegunda (efd02a) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:27 pm

  44. First, Trump is not 6’3″, he’s never been 6’3″. I’m 6’3″ and used to be 6’4″. I stood next to Trump in the 90’s and he’s 6’1″ at best, but I’d bet less than 6′ at this point. There’s also no possibility that he’s only 240lbs. Probably 6′ 270lbs, and can’t walk up a flight of stairs because he believes exorcise is a scam.

    But sure, why believe your eyes, he’s an athlete, he’s not obese, so the BMI calculators are the problem, he’s just like Von Miller, an adonis. That Trumpalo is the fat guy and needs to work out, not the Donald, he’s hot.

    Colonel Klink (Ret) (6e7a1c) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:28 pm

  45. 2016
    “Trump eats poorly and Hillary is as healthy as a horse!”
    But Hillary fell on 9-11, wore thick glasses, and recuperated for weeks in the Hamptons.
    Meanwhile, Mr. “eats poorly,” campaigned relentlessly, day after day, in state after state.
    Even the ones the “Pros” laughed about. Like Wisconsin.

    LATER…
    The Surgeon general gave Trump a clean bill of health.
    WH media went on suicide watch.

    But Mr. “How can he be healthy when we want him to die?” blew past the headline writers and pundits picking out outfits for the WHCD. He dumped TPP, and the Paris Agrt., restricted immigration and refugees, redid the tax law to pressure Blue State deficits, skipped the “nerd prom,” and has a judicial appointment assembly line.

    Here we are in 2019.
    People that have never so much as plastered their name on even one building, much less picked a justice–who could not keep with this older man for a week–are carping again on his weight.

    To paraphrase Lincoln, find out what Trump eats, and sent some to our other faint-hearted politicians.

    Harcourt Fenton Mudd (0c349e) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:37 pm

  46. 41: No alcohol?

    Harcourt Fenton Mudd (0c349e) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:38 pm

  47. 38- I’m not going to be engaging in any more discussion on this; I have work to do.

    But I don’t like arrogance – including the colossal arrogance of Donald Trump.
    I don’t like cruelty toward others because they weren’t born beautiful or brilliant — and that’s another reason to dislike Trump.
    I don’t think people’s moral worth is measured in wealth — another reason to dislike Trump.
    I don’t approve of an ethic that measures everything in terms or “How does it benefit me?”

    And I don’t have much respect for people who claim to hold the same values — but get sorely offended when anyone criticizes Donald Trump.

    Radegunda (efd02a) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:41 pm

  48. “Trump could have called him a low-IQ loser, and he would still say he loves Trump.

    But if anyone else suggested that such unconditional devotion to Trump reveals a deficit of wisdom, he would no doubt consider it an outrageous display of elitist contempt.”

    Look in your crystal ball and tell us what he would say if Trump said the Dodgers’ bullpen was good enough for the post-season.

    harkin (58d012) — 8/16/2019 @ 1:51 pm

  49. https://legalinsurrection.com/2019/08/grassley-to-probe-biden-linked-sale-of-uranium-one/

    narciso (d1f714) — 8/16/2019 @ 2:06 pm

  50. Rcocean, you gotta consider the Colonel grew up in Peak California, the chicks were probably that skinny, if you go by my mom’s ad-hoc index of how many problem pregnancies/NICU stories you saw on the news (1980s) – she used to say all those stories came from CA because the girls were trying to stay skinny for the beach and started malnourished for the pregnancy. In terms of the NICU, I would think Florida (but even they got hit with the double whammy of snowbirds and nalgona cubana) and probably the southeast states for the skinny chicks.

    urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 8/16/2019 @ 2:24 pm

  51. If you really want to experience the world’s biggest authority on fat-shaming, you need to read Lindy West.

    https://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/author-lindy-west-fat-people-are-not-the-cause-of-our-broken-healthcare-system/?utm_content=buffer4c46d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=owned_buffer
    _

    harkin (58d012) — 8/16/2019 @ 3:23 pm

  52. When Trump thought he was a protester, he was looking for a argument – any argument – that people shold look down on him.

    Sammy Finkelman (6a3404) — 8/16/2019 @ 3:30 pm

  53. ulb… peak SoCal… Lord, I’m getting misty-eyed just thinking about it.

    Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 8/16/2019 @ 3:33 pm

  54. When I was young, I wanted to bulk up, build muscle mass. I totally bought into the whole body building craze in the seventies and became fanatical about lifting weights. Went to the gym five days a week, worked out like a mad man, alternated nautilus circuit sets and free weights, at five meals a day, drank protein drinks, took amino acids, vitamins, supplements, the whole nine yards. In five years, I gained five pounds. Oh, I got ripped and really strong. Some of the much bigger and muscle bound body builders at the gym would come up to me and say, “You’re pretty strong for a small guy.”

    I asked myself, “Why am I doing this?” I mean, five meals a day, five workouts a day, for five years, and I never got above 145 pounds. So I quit and became a chain-smoking alcoholic. Kidding, I switched to calisthenics, mountain bike riding, and kung fu, particularly praying mantis and tai chi. It was a better workout.

    Then one day my sister came over. I hadn’t seen her in years, since she was a junior in high school, and she weighed 180 pounds! Wow, in high school she was the typical American girl, about 5’5″, weighed 115, maybe 120. The next time I saw her she weighed 200. She said she was going on a vegetarian diet to lose weight. Good plan.

    Then she weighed 220. This was an oddity to me, and I didn’t understand until I went to visit her at her apartment. She was making fudge. I said, “I thought you were a vegetarian.” She said, “I am a vegetarian.” “Then why are you eating fudge?” “Fudge is not meat.”

    Okay, of course fudge is not meat–it’s sugar! Her diet consisted of fudge, salads, and junk food. 240, 260, 280, 300, 320–she had to have micro-fracture surgery on her knees. The doctor told her, “You’re skeletal frame is not designed to carry this much weight.”

    A few years ago she came down to visit for Labor Day with her son, who obviously drove. We all got in the car and went to HEB to pick up groceries for the weekend. Now at 340, she could barely walk. She got into one of those electric carts and drove over the vegetable section. On the way she stopped by the bakery and picked up some doughnuts. So she’s eating sugar-filled doughnuts while shopping for vegetables to make a salad.

    The next morning my mother came downstairs and sat in my living room. It was 5:00 AM, so I made a pot of coffee and gave her a cup. She was distraught. She said that my sister would end up like one of those morbidly obese people who can’t get out of bed that you see on television. Yeah, eventually. “I’ve never seen anybody eat like that.”

    Long story short, she had to have knee replacement surgery. Her doctor refused to perform the operation, until she lost at least 30 pounds. If anyone had asked me, I would have said, multiply that by 3, Doc.

    So, she went on this starvation diet and lost enough weight to have the operation. Knee replacement surgery, are you kidding me? She comes down again, all gleeful, showing her scars, and says, “I’ve lost over 100 pounds.”

    Yeah, but you’re still morbidly obese. I can’t wrap my mind around this.

    After my sister’s Labor Day visit, I heard a shriek from upstairs, so I ran up there expecting an emergency. It was my mother; she thought she weighed 247 pounds, according to the scale. Mother, you’re smaller than me; I weigh 145 at most; and those jeans you’re wearing are the same size I wore when I was sixteen; you do not weigh 247 pounds. Look at you. Has it ever occurred to you that your morbidly obese daughter broke the scale?

    As far as Trump goes, he’s clearly overweight and out of shape, which is why he can’t walk a golf course, has to take a cart to every round. Big Macs are about as much a fudge and junk food, to vegetarian.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1) — 8/16/2019 @ 3:45 pm

  55. Gawain’s Ghost,

    That’s a really sad story about your sister. I think people don’t realize that even an extra 15lbs can stress the joints. A friend who is a doctor said he has a number of obese patients, and they frequently complain of pained knees and ankles, and other ailments occurring because of their excessive weight. Unfortunately, docs are very limited on what terms they can use to basically tell a patient that they’re just carrying too much dang weight and that situation is very serious. He and his colleagues worry that they may not be being as forceful and direst as they should be because they are prohibited from doing that, and must couch the reality in gentle words that don’t upset the patients. They are not allowed to use the term “morbidly obese“.

    Dana (fdf131) — 8/16/2019 @ 4:50 pm

  56. I’m a sensitive person physically and know my best weight is 155-165lbs

    steveg (354706) — 8/16/2019 @ 10:48 pm


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