What kind of context do you think would excuse that sentiment? Given his extensive public record, would you argue that this is somehow out of character for him? It seems rather consistent based on the rest of his career:

https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/01/03/russ-voug...

Why? Because I've seen Propublica cherry pick quotes before and taken them entirely out of context?

The media has been lying to us for decades and no, I don't take them at their word, especially when they share a clip that removes all context.

> I've seen Propublica cherry pick quotes

Wait until you see Twitter Files or whatever Elon is going to drop from DOGE.

Are you expecting a creationist style trimmed quote where he said something like “Only a sociopath would say something like…” before the portion in that clip? It’s clear from the length and his cadence that this wasn’t a slip of the tongue or a tight clip.

https://youtu.be/oBH9TmeJN_M

If so, I would note that it’s curious that he’s declined to comment rather than clearing his record and the Trump campaign similarly reacted by pretending they wouldn’t have him setting policy again rather than by saying that’s not what he meant.

I like to make my own decision on how to interpret what someone says, not "trust" someone else to do that.

> https://youtu.be/oBH9TmeJN_M

This clip starts at the same point.

Yes, I’m sorry if I gave the impression that I thought it was a different clip. I am just having trouble coming up with an interpretation which would meaningfully change its impact short of, say, it turning out to be an acting class reading lines for the villain’s role, and in any scenario like that he wouldn’t have hesitated to respond and provide that context.

in some extents you may have to. because unlike the Zelensky talk, these kinds of people operate the best in the shadows. They don't want the public to see "the full clip". That's where you have to trust some kind of journalist and check their report.

There's not a full clip, probably because it was taken from private speeches. But the article does a good job of putting it into context, and discussing how his private rhetoric is just a scarier, more insulting version of stuff he says in public all the time: https://www.propublica.org/article/video-donald-trump-russ-v...

California here - completely agree that one-sided media clips are a universal occurrence in the modern US media; secondly, completely agree that full speeches, primary sources and thinking for yourself are first-order ingredients in forming real insights and opinions.

It's an unfortunate attempt to appeal to a generational shift. The youth are consuming more shortform content, and even older social media loves to dismiss proper longform content with TL;DR. Especially videos that set their own pace.

It may, again sadly, be the best of both worlds. The motivated ones will see a link in the description and start their research, the non-motivated ones (the majority) will accept or reject it right here.