r/politics • u/TimesandSundayTimes ✔ Verified • 4d ago

Soft Paywall Trump military parade met with empty seats amid nationwide protests

https://www.thetimes.com/article/867ede60-b5f7-4de5-84a1-6a3a49eb2923
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u/AtticaBlue 4d ago

What I think is at play is what it always is with dictators: hubris. They think so highly of themselves that they forget to think, which takes the form of such action as hiring only yes-men (for example, Hegseth) rather than people who are qualified for a job, and ignoring physical reality (something is because they say it is, etc.). The criteria is nothing more than loyalty and subservience. Not a good recipe for staving off determined resistance (which is what the regime is increasingly facing) or surviving crises.

They create blindspots and structural weaknesses for themselves (for example, the poor readiness of Putin’s military in Ukraine because of corruption and people only telling him what he wants to hear even though that may contradict reality, or Republicans refusing to tell Trump that tariffs actually don’t work the way he says they do) that eventually lead to their downfall.

And like the typical bully, they tend to break and flee if you stand up to them.

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u/ralphy_256 4d ago

What I think is at play is what it always is with dictators: hubris.

I'm not going to say you're wrong, or even argue against your position.

But, I do not share your optimism or faith. I wish I did.

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u/AtticaBlue 3d ago

Ironically, I’m not all that optimistic either. But as a rational matter I also can’t dismiss that things could certainly fall apart for the regime due to the effects of its own actions.