this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2025
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politics

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top 50 comments
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[–] Triumph@fedia.io 170 points 3 days ago (7 children)

“You know, the new thing is magnets. So instead of using hydraulic that can be hit by lightning and it’s fine. You take a little glass of water, you drop it on magnets, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Trump said.

He thinks that magnets can be foiled by water.

[–] FenderStratocaster@lemmy.world 71 points 3 days ago

The race to the bottom of intelligence is neck and neck between Donald Trump himself and the slack jawed bozos that vote for him. There is no winner to the "Lights Are On, But They Are Motion Sensor" Award.

[–] fahfahfahfah@lemmy.billiam.net 40 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

I think what’s he’s getting confused about is that they’re using electromagnets, which the circuitry of could certainly be damaged by water.

I suspect someone at some point communicated some kind of potential problem the navy could be having, and he just went “magnets + water = bad, got it”. Which is what I think the real point should be here. It’s not so much that the president is confused about how magnets work, its more that someone at some point mentioned some kind of existing or potential situation and he is just spewing it back out without really understanding it.

Like basically the president of the fucking United States is not capable of understanding someone telling him that electromagnets can be damaged by water and/or is unable to communicate that basic concept.

[–] Triumph@fedia.io 48 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Never mind every other fucking electronic thing on a modern aircraft carrier.

Nobody tell him that fighter jets sink in the water, he'll have all the carriers decommissioned because "Planes don't go on water. Why are we sending airplanes into the ocean, they'll just sink!"

[–] fahfahfahfah@lemmy.billiam.net 28 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Well, to be fair, we do seem to be doing that a lot

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 22 points 3 days ago

One of those was a helicopter, which in fairness, also does not go on water.

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[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 18 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Hey - ask him about windmills

Or the big faucet in the mountains.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago

or batteries and sharks and boats.

[–] AbidanYre@lemmy.world 27 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Going for the juggalo vote?

[–] WindyRebel@lemmy.world 14 points 3 days ago (2 children)

With the economy as it is, we may all need to switch to Faygo.

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[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 16 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (4 children)

The article has a translation

The elderly president was talking about the magnetic catapults used to launch planes from the latest Navy super carriers, the USS Gerald R. Ford class, and the electromagnetic elevators used to move weaponry to the flight deck. Both systems double the speed with which planes can be armed and launched but slowed the delivery and commissioning

If you remember the news a few years back there were all sorts of delays and problems caused by switching from hydraulics to magnetic/electrical. It’s probably a vague memory of more complexity than he can handle. A sane president would have had someone with expertise go over his speech

It was the first time so as long as all the issues have been worked out and the next one is smoother, we’re good

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[–] blattrules@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago (2 children)

He STILL thinks this somehow after saying it like 18 months ago too. I don’t know how no one told him he sounds like a fucking moron after the first time he said it publicly.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 2 days ago

Because he surrounds himself with sycophants. Anyone who would have pushed back is gone.

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[–] pennomi@lemmy.world 19 points 3 days ago

He’s right though, he doesn’t know what’s going to happen…

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[–] Plum@lemmy.world 92 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] BleatingZombie@lemmy.world 17 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Why... why would he think that?

[–] ultranaut@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago

He once owned an iron magnet which got wet and then rusted? That is probably still too logical for him but it's the only kind of plausible chain of thought I can come up with.

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[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 83 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (7 children)

“You know, the new thing is magnets. So instead of using hydraulic that can be hit by lightning and it’s fine. You take a little glass of water, you drop it on magnets, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Trump said.

“So, you know, the elevators come up in the new carriers—I think I’m going to change it, by the way—they have magnets. Every tractor has hydraulic, every excavator, every excavating machine of any kind has hydraulic. But somebody decided to use magnets.”

The 79-year-old president then stumbled over his words and failed to complete a coherent sentence before moving on and asking the watching troops whether they preferred hydraulics or magnets.

Trump then called out to a “top-ranking general” in the crowd for his opinion before continuing his tirade against the 2,000-year-old technology.

b/w

[–] danekrae@lemmy.world 44 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The 79-year-old president then stumbled over his words and failed to complete a coherent sentence

Has he ever been able to complete a coherent sentence?

[–] fonix232@fedia.io 17 points 3 days ago (1 children)

About 15 years ago, yes. There were a few videos of him talking borderline eloquently about political issues, but then again back then he was supporting the Democrats.

I'm more and more suspecting that like Fetterman, he had a stroke too that put him down this path.

[–] foodandart@lemmy.zip 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Oh, he's definitely been having mini strokes, for years. That or the adderal induced lack of sleep is creating psychosis in him.

Or, and this is most likely, he's just following his own father into the maw of dementia - and that is his personal terror, if the history about his family that I've read, is correct.

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[–] LillyPip@lemmy.ca 29 points 3 days ago (1 children)

He’s said some incredibly stupid things, but this is next level.

The hamster powering his brain is clearly just a rotting pile of sludge now. How can anyone look at this masterclass in utter ignorance and see anything other than a senile old fool who should be in a nursing home for his own protection?

Nearly 80% of republicans think this is okay? What wouldn’t they think is okay from him? It seems they’d be fine with his actual corpse being wheeled round on a trolley by Vance & co. Astounding.

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[–] Rekorse@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago (2 children)

You should note at least that this poll is of 2000 people in Geprgia.

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[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 45 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Every mainstream media outlet talking about Biden at 79: "He's so incredibly OLD!!!!!!"

Talking about Trump: (anything but his age)

[–] Boppel@feddit.org 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)
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[–] ieatpwns@lemmy.world 50 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Seems like I’m gonna whip out the champagne soon

[–] EmpireInDecay@lemmy.ml 22 points 3 days ago (4 children)

They'll just keep propping him up, telling everyone he's fine, and they will believe it

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[–] Chais@sh.itjust.works 41 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (8 children)

Since 2014 or whenever he started campaigning I've been wondering why any sane person would offer that dimwit a microphone.
Apparently there are far fewer sane people than I had hoped.
Or the insane ones somehow ended up in influential positions more often.

[–] Madison420@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago (1 children)

They don't listen to the speech, they listen to sound bites out of context while some pseudo intellectual tells them how it made the libs cry while trying to get them to purchase unregulated supplements and boner pills to "support the cause" ie. Pay them.

[–] SailorFuzz@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago

exactly. And they've made up a term for it to make him sound smarter than he really is.

They call "the weave".

As if Trump is masterfully moving from subject to subject, connecting dots, seeing the patterns.... and not, ya know, fucking rambling like a senile old person.

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[–] fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 27 points 3 days ago (4 children)

He let slip he had an MRI recently, which explains why magnets are on the brain. Very interesting

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[–] umbraroze@slrpnk.net 25 points 3 days ago

This is starting to get dangerously close to some SCP-1981 shit.

(I know, I know, real life already vastly surpassed all potential of art in the realm of presidential incomprehensibility in Trump's first term.)

[–] IndridCold@lemmy.ca 17 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Trump, 79, Gets Confused ~~Explaining Water to the Navy~~

You can save letters if you just stop there. It will work for the next 400 articles until the orange mayonnaise golem is called back by the witch that created him out of blob of smegma and tanning spray.

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[–] winkly@lemmy.world 25 points 3 days ago

Magnets. How do they even work? Nobody knows.

[–] dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 17 points 3 days ago (1 children)

/me looks around.

...

Ctrl+F O N I O N

...

Huh. Satire writers really are having a tough time right now.

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[–] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 20 points 3 days ago
[–] Redditsux@lemmy.world 21 points 3 days ago (2 children)
[–] devolution@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago

Sarah Palin looks like a genius compared to this jackass.

[–] JohnnyCanuck@lemmy.ca 13 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Someone please edit the Wikipedia page for magnets to add the fact that water cancels them out.

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[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 11 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Wait until he finds out that brake fluid is hygroscopic.

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[–] aseriesoftubes@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Believe it or not, this has something to do with China trade policy. He’s rambled before about China controlling rare earth magnets. I believe magnets were specifically called out in the first China trade ”deal.”

Someone has clearly told this doddering old fool that China produces most of the world’s rare earth magnets, and being stupid, he drew the conclusion that magnets = China = bad.

Stop this ride, I want to get off.

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[–] Tattorack@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

This is supposed to be a world leader?

This?

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