I was watching the Republican debate on CNN that happened earlier this week. I’ve never before really made it a point to watch these early debates but this year I’m watching it because of Trump. I love watching Trump in these debates. Because he’s acing the polls and is the most popular candidate, everyone there somehow finds a way to whack him and the way he responds is hilarious.
For a good example of that watch this video. Trump was hilarious.
Anyway if you watched the whole debate you’d see a lot of different type of candidates there. Some had lots to speak, and some sadly hardly had a chance to speak. In fact almost every time someone got a chance to speak, he or she would speak all the way until the moderator would have to cut in to tell him/her that the time is up.
You also see candidates with little substance but really just try to fill up the gaps with popularist statements that go something like “It’s not about me or you but it’s about the people”.
One candidate that really caught my attention though was Carly Fiorina. She stood out to me not because she was the only female candidate there but because her answers were sharp, to the point and very very intelligent.
For example when Trump was asked what he would do to get the Russians out of Syria he said.
I would talk to [Putin]. I would get along with him. I believe — and I may be wrong, in which case I’d probably have to take a different path, but I would get along with a lot of the world leaders that this country is not getting along with.
We don’t get along with China. We don’t get along with the heads of Mexico. We don’t get along with anybody, and yet, at the same time, they rip us left and right. They take advantage of us economically and every other way. We get along with nobody. I will get along — I think — with Putin, and I will get along with others, and we will have a much more stable — stable world.
Carly instead answered this:
What I would do, immediately, is begin rebuilding the Sixth Fleet, I would begin rebuilding the missile defense program in Poland, I would conduct regular, aggressive military exercises in the Baltic states. I’d probably send a few thousand more troops into Germany. Vladimir Putin would get the message. By the way, the reason it is so critically important that every one of us know General Suleimani’s name is because Russia is in Syria right now, because the head of the Quds force traveled to Russia and talked Vladimir Putin into aligning themselves with Iran and Syria to prop up Bashar al- Assad.
I WAS LIKE THIS.
So precise. So specific and how does she even know all this!!
Then I read this article on Vox about Carly Fiorina. They fact checked some of the things she said and basically almost everything she said was bullshit.
The Sixth Fleet is already huge, and it’s hard to say why adding to its capabilities would intimidate Putin — after all, America has enough nuclear weapons pointed at Russia to level the country thousands of times over. Her proposal for more military exercises in the Baltics seemed odd in light of the fact that President Obama is already conducting military exercises in the Baltics. And the US already has around 40,000 troops stationed in Germany, so it’s hard to say what good “a few thousand” more would do. And pushing on a missile defense system in Poland is a very long-term solution to a very current problem. In total, Fiorina’s laundry list of proposals sure sounded like a plan, but on inspection, it’s hard to see why any of them would convince Putin to change course.
Reading up more about her I realize this is not the first time she’s done this. She bullshits all the time and it tricks a lot of people (like me) who don’t bother to fact check or just don’t know better that she’s a bullshitter.
Somehow if someone is able to be specific or quote stats or data we don’t bother verifying the data (unless we happen to know otherwise) and immediately assume that that person is really really smart.
Thinking back into my past I have come across people like that. People who lie but are so specific in their lies that you don’t think they’re lying. So if you want to lie, do the opposite as human nature would tell you to. Instead of being vague. Be very very very specific. And perhaps nobody will ever doubt you.
It’s shocking how presidential candidates can so brazenly go on LIVE television and make up shit and have everyone believe and applaud them, what does this mean for the world. What does this mean for us when these people aren’t afraid to lie and we’re not educated enough to tell when they’re lying.
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space