The Big Lie has been a topic of conversation since the Kaiser of Chaos lost in 2020 and refused to accept his defeat. It came up again in the Georgia runoff as election deniers faced off in the GOP races for governor and senator. The strongest candidate to stand against Jon Ossoff would have been Governor Brian Kemp. He didn’t run because he refused to go along with Trump’s specious claim of victory. Thanks, Governor.
Today, we move from the Big Lie to the Big Brag. The featured image is of the cartoon character Commander McBragg. He’s one of my favorite Trump stand-ins. I first deployed the Commander as a surrogate in 2017 followed by a repeat performance at the 2024 election. His time has come again, eh wot. I used that Wodehousian phrase because Commander McBragg is very British, eh wot.
The Big Brag is as essential to MAGA as the Big Lie. The Insult Comedian is the master of the form but his acolytes know how to bullshit and bluster with the best of them; make that worst. Here’s how it works: The lie comes first followed by the brag to amplify the lie.
The Big Brag involves hyperbole in hyperdrive. Cue musical interlude:
Everything in MAGA world is either the best or biggest. Their opponents are always the worst. The essence of the Big Brag is exaggerated projection: Trump, not Joe Biden, is the worst president in American history. That’s not how the exponents of the Big Brag see it.
MAGA spiel is straight out of the hard sell used car salesman’s handbook. I’ve always hated high pressure sales tactics and hype. It’s why I remain perturbed that so many have been taken in by Trump’s con artistry. Florid language makes me gag with or without a spoon.
I dig how Charlie Pierce characterizes MAGA speak:
I’m endlessly interested in how these people use a form of English with which I’m not remotely familiar. Call it the “superlative dialect.” Nothing is ever simply a win. It’s always the greatest victory that there absolutely ever was. Nobody is ever simply cleared. They’re absolutely exonerated of everything including Original Sin. John the Baptist had nothing on these folks. I know this is nothing except a ludicrously inflated example of political spin. But I wonder if English is one of those things that’s going to need years of rehab once these people blow town.
You say superlative dialect; I say Big Brag. Let’s call the whole thing off.
The latest example of Big Braggery is the Insult Comedian’s attempt to sell a 60-day ceasefire with Iran as a peace deal. It’s more of a piecemeal deal that kicks the toughest issues down the road. It’s a fig leaf that allows the Trump regime to falsely declare victory, then brag about it. The media fell for it again. When will they ever learn?
You say Big Lie; I say Big Brag. Let’s call the whole thing off.
For some reason, the man who many call Cadet Bone Spurs sees himself as a warrior and a tough guy. He instinctively sides with dictators, even the Persian theocrats he threatened to bomb back to the stone age:
We’re dealing with people that I think are very rational people. And they were nice to deal with. They were strong people, smart people. They’re not radicalized, and they’re, you know, looking to help their country.”
The malevolent mullahs were nice to deal with? I thought they were bloodthirsty tyrants; or was that just another Big Lie leading to a Big Brag followed by an empty threat. Self-delusion is an integral part of the Big Brag.
Trump on his Iran deal: "It's a very strong deal. Nobody knows what it is, but it's very strong."
Holy cognitively impaired bluster and bullshit, Batman.
Along the same lines, this is how our delusional wartime Kaiser sees himself:
Social media, especially the platform formerly known as Twitter, is the perfect venue for Big Bragging by Trump’s sycophantic subordinates. Kash Patel in particular has an itchy twitter finger. He has a habit of compromising investigations by premature tweet. So much for being the country’s top cop. Instead, his incessant bragging makes him law enforcement’s top liability.
I could go on and on about Trumpist braggadocio but you’ve heard it all before. Besides, I don’t feel like writing about JD Vance, Pete Hegseth, and Bobby Junior on an empty stomach without resort to liquor.
The Big Lie and the Big Brag are joined at the hip. They’re two sides of the same Trumpy coin:
Heads, you lose. Tails, you lose.
Repeat after me: You say Big Lie; I say Big Brag. Let’s call the whole thing off.
The last word goes to Tammy Wynette and George Jones: