The GOP’s worst enemy: non-senior citizens

Highlights: Quinn Mitchell wanted to know if Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida believed that former President Donald J. Trump had violated the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021.

But the teenager said he was not prepared for what happened on Friday, when he was briefly ejected by police officers from the First in the Nation Leadership Summit, a candidate showcase organized by the New Hampshire Republican Party. The two-day event in Nashua, N.H., featured Mr. DeSantis and most of the G.O.P. field, but not Mr. Trump.

“They said, ‘We know who you are,’” Quinn, who has his own political blog and podcast, said in a phone interview on Saturday from his home in Walpole, N.H., referring to the organizers of the summit.

“Are you in high school? said Mr. DeSantis, who has faced criticism as a candidate for not being fluid when interacting with voters and journalists, a dynamic that has made for some awkward exchanges on the campaign trail.

  • worldwidewave@lemmy.world
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    “Are you in high school? said Mr. DeSantis, who has faced criticism as a candidate for not being fluid when interacting with voters and journalists, a dynamic that has made for some awkward exchanges on the campaign trail.

    The Florida governor pivoted, arguing that if the 2024 election focused on “relitigating things that happened two, three years ago, we’re going to lose.”

    That’s not why you’re going to lose, Ron. You’re going to lose because we can all see what a weak and uncharismatic loser you are. This man is the governor of a state, and he’s too weak to answer a 15 year old kid’s questions. What a coward.

    • WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      He’s used to vetted and sanitized interactions. At every event, every speech, photo, journalist, and question is heavily curated.

      Of course he’s afraid of anything outside the carefully manufactured safe space.

    • Letstakealook@lemm.ee
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      That was a pretty simple question, too. The reason he won’t answer, though, is because if he says yes, he pushes away the Maga morons (though they aren’t voting for anyone but trump) and if he says no, he pushes away the establishment assholes.

      • Rhaedas@kbin.social
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        Which shows he’s a terrible politician, since a good one can response to a question without giving a yes or no. Isn’t that a first year class, Ambiguity 101?

        • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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          Which shows he’s a terrible politician, since a good one can response to a question without giving a yes or no.

          To be fair though, we’ve all pretty much picked up on that technique by this point, it’s obvious when they do it, and usually they get dismissed out of hand for doing it.

      • CoderKat@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, the headline made me expect some super loaded question or something. But it’s a very reasonable question that is obviously of great importance. DeSantis is just that big of a coward.

    • Squirrel
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      Trump isn’t exactly the strongest, most charismatic person, either. His speeches are rambling messes, and he has notoriously thin skin.

      I’m honestly not sure how that compares to DeSantis, but still.

      • angstylittlecatboy@reddthat.com
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        Trump was a much better speaker in 2016 than he is now. Maybe his speeches didn’t make much sense, but to get people excited you don’t have to.

        DeSantis was never a good speaker.

        • spider@lemmy.nz
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          DeSantis was never a good speaker.

          And that voice is annoying as f**k, too.

  • pitninja@lemmy.pit.ninja
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    The event staff fucked up thinking they were ejecting some no-name punk. This young man has a platform and the ability to do damage to campaigns that are afraid to answer tough questions and who instead toss out the people asking them. He’s built up a following online and has made a bit of a name for himself in New England.

    • ChlorineAddict@lemmy.world
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      Does he have a sister? Or a brother who was shipped off to military school at age 6?

      Edit: This is an Ender’s Game reference to Peter Wiggin people… The response comments get it. Not sure why I’m downvoted so harshly and they’re upvoted.

      • Cosmic Cleric@lemmy.world
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        Edit: This is an Ender’s Game reference to Peter Wiggin people… The response comments get it. Not sure why I’m downvoted so harshly and they’re upvoted.

        Could you explain the relevance then, in relation to what’s being discussed?

        • Inductor@feddit.de
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          Peter Wiggin (Locke) as well as his sister Valentine Wiggin (Demosthenes) are Ender Wiggin’s siblings. After Ender was

          shipped off to military school at age 6

          , Peter convinced his sister to write on “the Nets” about the war, posing as adults using the Pseudonyms Locke and Demosthenes. They managed to get a significant amount of influence, especially considering they were like 10 years old.

          Also, relevant xkcd.

          • ChlorineAddict@lemmy.world
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            This is the correct response. They gained so much influence through their posting to the nets, that they were able to sway the global politics of their time which is exactly what OP of this thread was claiming Quinn could do.

            • Inductor@feddit.de
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              If I remember correctly, Peter later also became ruler of Earth just through his political influence.

              • ChlorineAddict@lemmy.world
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                You would be correct! Through his influence his name was floated as Hegemon (Figure head ruler of earth) after he had negotiated a ceasefire between world powers. At that point he revealed himself as Peter instead of Locke and that he had to decline the position because he was not yet of age. The rules were changed and the world voted him in anyway. He then spent the next couple books of the Ender’s Shadow series changing that from a figure head position to an actual position of power and unifying the world under one peaceful, people led government, the Free People’s of Earth.

      • pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe
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        Not sure why I’m downvoted so harshly and they’re upvoted.

        Because votes on this platform are largely done by bots and alts and in no way reflect the true opinions of the majority of Lemmy.

        Stop caring what the numbers say

  • Th4tGuyII@kbin.social
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    The Florida governor pivoted, arguing that if the 2024 election focused on “relitigating things that happened two, three years ago, we’re going to lose.”

    Oh, you mean the shit you guys last did when in power?
    I wonder why you might not want to talk about that?
    Do you not want to admit that you’re going to do exactly the same shit all over again?

    • BarqsHasBite@lemmy.ca
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      ‘Can we please stop talking about all the illegal and unethical things we did? Uhhh Hillary’s emails!’

  • TheJims@lemmy.world
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    What a bunch of delicate fragile snowflake princesses. Reminder that these candidates are running for the toughest job in government and feel threatened by interacting with a child.

  • spider@lemmy.nz
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    But the teenager said he was not prepared for what happened on Friday, when he was briefly ejected by police officers

    Once again, government employees suppressing free speech.

    Oh, almost forgot – only the Second Amendment matters.

    • Jyek@sh.itjust.works
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      Don’t let them fool you into thinking they’re pro 2A. Some of the largest gun control bills have been from the GOP and the only presidents to pass specific gun restrictions have been republican. Reagan is the reason CA has such strict gun laws from bills he passed as the governor. Trump enacted the current ban on bump stocks. The GOP is pro “guns for me and not for thee.”

    • Seasoned_Greetings@lemm.ee
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      What do you mean? The republican party has a long history of ousting the people who ask questions they can’t answer. This is par for the course.

      Their base has been brainwashed to the point that they don’t even understand why it’s appalling.

      • FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world
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        I think they mean how the fuck is this a real headline that we have allowed to become reality, when a bunch of grown ass adults are afraid of a teenager talking.

        Oh right, it’s the loud snowflakes. Again.

    • nephs@lemmy.world
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      Maybe it’s about stopping the people from talking about Palestinian deaths, support 15yo pointy question asker, and shit on desantis?

      • drislands@lemmy.world
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        Rightfully shitting on D. Sand-ass, but wrongfully drawing attention away from the current crisis in the Middle East.

        • FordBeeblebrox@lemmy.world
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          Rhonda Sand Tits absolutely deserves every bit of vitriol the internet can muster, as does the Zionist theocracy. Authoritarian bullshit is happening all over

    • Socsa@sh.itjust.works
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      Nah, they’ve been following this the whole time. I have read at least three NYT articles about this kid over the summer.

      • frezik@midwest.social
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        Nah, probably just being dismissive.

        Incidentally, when I was in High School, Russ Feingold was having a town meeting the the schools’ theater and my civics class went down to watch. I had a prepped question regarding online regulation (I seem to remember that COPPA had passed around that time). While I don’t remember his exact answer, he treated it with respect and gave me a kudos for a good question.

        In short, Russ Feingold is ten times the public servant compared to any of the clowns in the GOP today. And most Democrats for that matter, as well.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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      This kid has been doing this for years. He’s a rockstar, and he has been detained before. This is the first time he’s been ejected by police from an event, but DeSantis security surrounded him at another event and protected the candidate from his dreaded questions.

  • LillyPip@lemmy.ca
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    Oh these young GOP idealists are in for a rude lesson.

    Then again, the Log Cabin Republicans, LGBT for Trump, and similarly ludicrous groups are still attracting members, so…

    • rob64@startrek.website
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      I read the article and watched the NBC interview with the kid and I couldn’t get any sense of his ideological leanings. He seems to be legitimately a politics geek and aspiring journalist. I can’t confidently categorize him as a “young GOP idealist.”

      But to your second point, I always have a hard time understanding how anyone who isn’t an old white guy could get behind the GOP.

  • FReddit@lemmy.world
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    I’m glad to see a young person taking these pieces of shit on.

    I’m 62 and I’ve never voted for one of these RepubliKKKlan motherfuckers in my life.

    It’s not hard to see why young people could be disaffected. Wages have been low and housing costs are through the roof.

    It’s great to see a young guy taking them on And the repuplicnlown reaction: clutch pearls in terror.