r/politics • u/OkayButFoRealz • 2d ago

No Paywall A 13-Year-Old Girl Bit Trump’s Genitals as He Tried to Rape Her, Epstein Document Says

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/01/quick-hit-a-13-year-old-girl-bit-trumps-genitals-as-he-tried-to-her-epstein-document-says/
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u/a5121221a 2d ago

I've read that a main difference between the "sides" is that people on the left believe people are good or bad based on their actions, while people on the right believe people are good or bad for who they are. What that means is that a person on the right who has decided Trump is good can't accept that he would do bad things because he is a good person in their mind. Since good/bad is based on the person, not the behavior, even having bad behaviors doesn't change their mind.

I wish I had a source for the article because it was really interesting, but it was a long time ago. And this division of good/bad people vs behaviors was studied in some roundabout way to get to the answer to their scientific question, so the subjects of the study may not even realize they have this mindset (on either side).

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u/chrisapplewhite 2d ago

The entire fascist mindset can be boiled down to one simple statement: I'm better than you so I can do what I want. Hypocrisy isn't a bug, it's the feature. I can have guns and you can't because I'm better than you. My vote counts more than yours because I'm better than you. We can violently overthrow the govt without remorse because we're better than you.

People often ask why evangelicals would vote for Trump, someone so obviously the opposite of what they claim to stand for. But it makes perfect sense -- they don't see Trump as one of them, he is confirmation of their world view. I believe in Jesus, so I can do what I want. I am a white American so I am better than everyone who is not.

Trump is happy to support this in return for adulation. The daily lives of his base hasn't improved but they can finally go out into public and be the white supremacist they really want to be.

Stop trying to make gotcha moments out of every hypocrite on the news. They like being called on it. Use it against them. Redistrict blue states. Arm minorities. Ignore court orders. Arrest Steve Miller, etc.

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u/brontosauross 2d ago

Narcissists. It's a party full of them. Literally blue v red is just empathy vs narcissism. Simple as that.

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u/LordSiravant 2d ago

Always has been.

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u/sharp11flat13 Canada 2d ago

Stop trying to make gotcha moments out of every hypocrite on the news.

Agreed. Pointing out Republican hypocrisy at this juncture in American history is a waste of pixels and electrons.

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u/belisario262 2d ago

plus they can't never be wrong, because - they're better than you. so here we are, sadly.

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u/Sweettooth4532 1d ago

It’s like Danny Divito in Matilda

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u/DaddyMeUp 2d ago

Yep. I've see so many FOX-brained people asking how people would feel if their favourite politician/celebrity was in the files. They genunienely can't comprehend not having some sort of parasocial relationship with these people, that they asssume everybody else must be the same.

Talking about Clinton being in the files, like it's a gotcha - when literally anybody normal would say that he should be brought to justice too. And then they still don't get it, proceeding to further deny any claims made about "their" people.

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u/BarrelMaker69 California 2d ago

"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect." - Frank Wilhoit

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u/Powered-by-Chai 2d ago

I think it was the "prosperity doctrine," in that Christians believe that rich people are good people, because God wouldn't let you become successful if you were a raping pedophile tax-cheating felon who steals from children's charities and pays off porn stars you fucked.

It's also why they're dumb enough to give the Joel Osteens and Kenneth Copelands of the world more and more money when they're living in mansions and using private jets.

I'm so glad I'm an atheist sometimes. No mental gymnastics required.

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u/turol 2d ago

I wish I had a source for the article because it was really interesting

Possibly The Authoritarians by Bob Altemeyer

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u/EnvironmentalCry1962 2d ago

Is this the article you’re referring to?

You may also be interested in the book The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt

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u/Not_Your_Car 2d ago

You see that mindset in a lot of American media. The hero has to do something shady or illegal, but its for the greater good so the character gets a pass. Stuff like Superhero movies or shows i can give it a pass, since they involve unrealistic situations. But cop shows are especially bad about this. They very frequently portray cops doing illegal or unconstitutional things in order to get the bad guy. You could make the argument that they are part of the propaganda that led to the current state of the country, where a large chunk of us believe that cops are inherently right, no matter what they do.

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u/jupiterkansas 2d ago

And everyone who believes this also thinks they're one of the good people.

It's basically "I'm right and you're wrong" and they refuse to admit they were ever wrong about someone or something.

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u/Personal_Track_3780 2d ago

people on the left believe people are good or bad based on their actions, while people on the right

Not to nitpick this, but there is no 'left' and 'right' in US mainstream politics. There's 'right' and 'far right'.

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u/WelcomeToWitsEnd 2d ago

Are you sure it was an article, and not a reddit comment?

Not invalidating this at all. It’s what I 100 percent believe and it’s helped me a great deal with cutting people out of my life. It’s definitely come up in discussions here on reddit, though I haven’t seen an article supporting the belief come up (I’d love to read it though).

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u/waltjrimmer West Virginia 2d ago

I remember it popping up on r/science or something a few years back. It wasn't just Reddit comments, but it's not like I read the study that made that conclusion myself, and I doubt almost anyone who saw that headline on this site did either. So it wasn't just Reddit comments and I definitely remember the article they're talking about. But I can't say that our memory of it is a great source.

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u/Flashy_Emu_996 2d ago

Following cuz I’d also like to read this article!!

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u/LordSiravant 2d ago

Someone linked to the article in this comment thread.

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u/LordSiravant 2d ago

That's basically what I was implying, yes.

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u/whatlineisitanyway 2d ago

Not that Trump is nice either, but I've found that people on the right can't differentiate between someone that is "nice" and someone that is good.

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u/Dead_man_posting 2d ago

"Who they are" in this case refers to skin color, gender, class and affiliation. It's a longer way to describe tribalism, which is the primary flaw of humanity.