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“A Felon Running For President”: 30 Things People Never Expected Would Be The New Normal
I’m going to hold your hand when I say this: 2014 was ten years ago. Shocking, I know—it feels like it was just yesterday. But in the decade since, so much has changed, both in the world around us and in our own lives.
Recently, Redditor u/Ok-Squash8044 sparked an interesting conversation, asking others to share things that would have been unimaginable back then but are completely normal now. Many users chimed in, and the thread quickly filled with thought-provoking insights.
Read on for some of the best answers—and don’t forget to upvote your favorites!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
A felon running for president.
Corwin 02 2 weeks ago
Correction a felon, insurrectionist and rapist is now the new president of the US
Bernd Herbert 2 weeks ago
Mind-boggling, isn't it? In normal countries politicians stepped down for much, much less!
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Gozer LeGozerian 2 weeks ago
Nice knowing you, USA. Please keep out of everyone else's business from now on, until you're ready to be adults again. To everyone who didn't vote for him, I'm so sorry.
featherytoad 2 weeks ago (edited)
Thanks for the condolences. People who voted for him had the economy/immigration on their minds. He want's to impose tariffs. Guess what that's going to do. Mass deportation is going to cost a pretty penny too. Oh, yeah, tax cuts for the wealthy as usual.
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Smeghead Tribble Down Under 2 weeks ago
Can't believe so many people voted for that misogynistic tangerine.
Petra Peitsch 2 weeks ago
Yeah, winning it was a more WTF! But considering that the opponent was a woman, I'm not surprised, knowing how USA is living in the Middle Ages, when comes to women.
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Mason Kronol 2 weeks ago (edited)
A felon ran and won yet there are many states that still don’t allow felons to vote. And don’t forget this gem from 2022 when they arrested a 69 yr old woman for voter fraud for voting while on felony probation. She thought she was eligible because of recently passed law (which coincidentally allowed trump to vote) https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2023/11/08/florida-woman-registers-to-vote-after-voter-fraud-charges-dropped/71502022007/ edited for autocorrect
Geoffrey Scott 2 weeks ago
As Freya says, no. What is more alarming to me is a compliant House and Senate. Please, PLEASE my fellow citizens, be sure your Congressman and Senator know when you are not pleased. If we flood their inboxes and phone lines when they do stupid s***, it WILL let them know we are paying attention.
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JoNo 2 weeks ago
Manny, in Australia it's against the law for a convicted criminal (or anyone on charges) to run for parliament. Pity USA doesn't have the same law.
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keyboardtek 2 weeks ago
You ain't seen nothing yet! America elected Trump because they thought he could reduce inflation of food prices. We sold Democracy to the Devil to get cheaper eggs. I got news for you! The price of eggs will not be going down either.
Evagating Beewolf (she/they) 1 week ago
we sold democracy and basic rights to the devil for more expensive eggs.
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Human #1,232,867 2 weeks ago
He is president because majority of people voted for him. This is where the problem is.
Janelle Collard 2 weeks ago
Can't wait until he pardons himself. (And be a dictator "for one day only." Riiiight, that'll work.) 😒
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ROSESARERED 1 week ago
He is president. Wouldn't happen in Australia, not because we ate better, but because you cannot be a politician with a criminal record. Should not be able to if they have declared bankruptcy...if they cannot manage their own finances, why trust them with a whole country's
Cooking Panda 2 weeks ago
My city: a former mayor who went to jail for corruption is running for mayor again. And some dumbaaa will still vote for him. Smh
brandyy17 2 weeks ago
the fact ppl think other presidents arent guilty of crimes is hilarious to me. also just cuz the news on tv said it doesnt make it true. ppl dont research s**t for themselves anymore just believe wat they r told by the media blindly. the chances of a presidential canidate being corrupt in some way is high as hell. none r completely innocent
ChickyChicky 2 weeks ago
What kind of research do you do for yourself? Did you read all the documents from the trial? I read some of them. He is guilty.
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Forrest McCanless 1 week ago
read about the "felony conviction" and the pre-deliberation instructions to the jury and the appropriate statute of limitations, as well as the timeline of the purported offense - just educate yourself a bit about what you hear.
#3
Reading headlines about more women dying bc they were denied lifesaving healthcare when their pregnancies went wrong, because that procedure they needed is also a type of abortion.
#4
A politician with free reign to say or do anything they want, with absolute impunity, and still have a legitimate number of votes to make it close or f*****g *win*.
In Clintons presidency, even ONE of these transgressions would endanger everything. The man fought tooth and nail to hide a blowie, and the nation reeled in the controversy.
Today, every day, an indictment worthy statement is shot across the news, and no harm no foul. Just keep rolling towards consignment to oblivion. All conditions normal at two minutes to midnight.
#9
Computers making art, and people still doing mindless repetitive tasks. .
#10
I think almost everything about current US politics was unimaginable 10 years ago. 10 years ago we thought our country and our constitution was strong. Now we know better.
#12
How much spying our electronics do on us and we're totally cool with it.
#16
Two very uk based ones:
1. Brexit - I was a final year politics student in 2014 and no one thought we would vote for Brexit, let alone a hard Brexit as that would be economic madness.
2. The normalisation of the far right - UKIP were on the rise but very much a fringe minority. The Conservatives were dogmatic in austerity but socially they had legalised gay marriage, promoted the big society, and were at least performatively tolerant. Worlds away from the culture war nonsense now. .
#18
The cost of living. 10 years ago it was possible to have disposable income, and save up for nice things. Now the entire pay cheque goes towards bills and other living costs, then the credit line has to cover the rest.
#19
Kids having constant access to an AI that will effortlessly do all their homework for them.
#20
There’s been massive student-led protests in Thailand against the military junta throughout 2021 with the leaders being jailed yet barely a peep from western newspapers.
#21
People plastering presidential candidate flags and stickers all over their cars and houses like it was their favorite sports team. Even in a sports lens that would be seen as a mental illness.
#23
It being 95 degrees in f****n October.
Edit: not unimaginable as in "didn't know it could happen." But unimaginable as in ***surely those at the levers of power will be reasonable and take decisive action to prevent it***
Despite the decades long screams of "do something" [emissions have only fallen a little](https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions).
There are success stories like the [banning of CFCs](https://gml.noaa.gov/hats/publictn/elkins/cfcs.html) and the reduction of acid rain by lowering sulfur and NOx emissions. 2014 me thought that green house gas driven climate change would be another success like that that if not abated, would at least stabilize. There have been multiple international agreements since the 90s that haven't been ambitious enough or that were not signed by the US/pulled out of by the US. *Any progress is good* but its not enough. .
#24
Maybe not 10 years ago (more like 20), but according to my grandma, everyone having tattoos. She said not a lot of people had them and even less would show them proudly, but now if you go to a waterpark or any place where lots of skin is exposed, you’ll see so many people with tattoos.
My grandma is very against tattoos, it’s so funny to hear her rant about them. I have a small one that I’ve been hiding from her for 2 years now lol.
#27
Just a reminder that 10 years ago was 2014. A lot of stuff on here was already well underway by then: Political division in the US really jumped into high gear after 9/11, your smart phone has been spying on you since at least 2010, etc.
#28
Girls suddenly being not just 'okay with' but 'active facilitators in' distributing their own nudes and amateur p*** for a quick buck.
#29
Fear Factor guy interviews the game show dude and it's one of the post important political events ever.
#30
The government no longer denying the existence of UFOs.
What do you think ?
Janelle Collard 1 week ago (edited)
Yeah, in the 2020 election campaigns, t-rump said he loves the poorly educated. I wonder why? 😁
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WonderWoman 2 weeks ago
Russia, China, North Korea have already joined forces, now that trump was installed, the world as we know it has ceased to exist.
Mason Kronol 2 weeks ago
The fact that Elon Musk was giving away a million dollars a day to voters was concerning. Him communicating with Putin while offering starlink access to Ukraine while trump complained about the money Biden was sending is weird. Trump influencing the GOP while Biden was president didn’t seem to concern enough republicans. Elon sitting in on trumps recent call with Zelenskyy scares the c**p out me! We handed NASA and the ISS over to Elon and Russia. And don’t forget how much money trump owes the Saudis.
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Guess Undheit 2 weeks ago
Wait a year. In yankland, the number of babies born and marriages will drop dramatically as women adopt the South Korean feminist 4B policy: NO dating men, NO sex, NO babies, NO marriage. This is REALLY going to drive cis hetero males up the wall - if incels think they have no luck now, wait until the "chads" can't get dates either. Nightclubs will close, romantic restaurants, and plenty of other "date places" will see a serious loss of business.
Traveling Lady Railfan 2 weeks ago
An interesting proposal. Women adopting the strategy of celibacy (while these laws are in place) is one way not to have a medical complication regarding pregnancy, but what would this "off the market" strategy do to the national ®ape rate? I think it's gonna be bad times all around. Not a good time to be in possession of a uterus.
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michael reid 2 weeks ago
What about people walking around the street waving their arms and shouting and not looking where they're going?
apinecone 2 weeks ago
As a leftist American (in the sense that I live here, not a nationalist) a lot of you folks seem to have some misapprehensions. Kamala Harris was not a good candidate. She walked back every single progressive promise she ever made, including her support for immigrants, healthcare reform, and environmental protections. She ran a platform more conservative than most Republicans 10 years ago, and with Trump running the same far-right platform as always, she lost credibility. A Harris Administration would have been ecologically destructive, economically conservative, and geopolitically unstable. She would have been a better president than Trump, but that's about the lowest bar there is. My fellow citizens were given the choice between two liars, and chose the one who was better at it. Our governmental system is so fantastically flawed that this result was all but inevitable. The "American Experiment" has proven that liberal democracy is doomed. Now our job is to try something new.
Abe Hartman 2 weeks ago
Exactly what I've been trying to say (albeit less elegantly) and getting downvoted for
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Guess Undheit 2 weeks ago
The only social engineering in hollywood was making movies and TV with only white faces, i.e. the way incels like you pathetically wish it still was.
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Janelle Collard 1 week ago (edited)
Yeah, in the 2020 election campaigns, t-rump said he loves the poorly educated. I wonder why? 😁
Load More Replies... WonderWoman 2 weeks ago
Russia, China, North Korea have already joined forces, now that trump was installed, the world as we know it has ceased to exist.
Mason Kronol 2 weeks ago
The fact that Elon Musk was giving away a million dollars a day to voters was concerning. Him communicating with Putin while offering starlink access to Ukraine while trump complained about the money Biden was sending is weird. Trump influencing the GOP while Biden was president didn’t seem to concern enough republicans. Elon sitting in on trumps recent call with Zelenskyy scares the c**p out me! We handed NASA and the ISS over to Elon and Russia. And don’t forget how much money trump owes the Saudis.
Load More Replies... Guess Undheit 2 weeks ago
Wait a year. In yankland, the number of babies born and marriages will drop dramatically as women adopt the South Korean feminist 4B policy: NO dating men, NO sex, NO babies, NO marriage. This is REALLY going to drive cis hetero males up the wall - if incels think they have no luck now, wait until the "chads" can't get dates either. Nightclubs will close, romantic restaurants, and plenty of other "date places" will see a serious loss of business.
Traveling Lady Railfan 2 weeks ago
An interesting proposal. Women adopting the strategy of celibacy (while these laws are in place) is one way not to have a medical complication regarding pregnancy, but what would this "off the market" strategy do to the national ®ape rate? I think it's gonna be bad times all around. Not a good time to be in possession of a uterus.
Load More Replies... michael reid 2 weeks ago
What about people walking around the street waving their arms and shouting and not looking where they're going?
apinecone 2 weeks ago
As a leftist American (in the sense that I live here, not a nationalist) a lot of you folks seem to have some misapprehensions. Kamala Harris was not a good candidate. She walked back every single progressive promise she ever made, including her support for immigrants, healthcare reform, and environmental protections. She ran a platform more conservative than most Republicans 10 years ago, and with Trump running the same far-right platform as always, she lost credibility. A Harris Administration would have been ecologically destructive, economically conservative, and geopolitically unstable. She would have been a better president than Trump, but that's about the lowest bar there is. My fellow citizens were given the choice between two liars, and chose the one who was better at it. Our governmental system is so fantastically flawed that this result was all but inevitable. The "American Experiment" has proven that liberal democracy is doomed. Now our job is to try something new.
Abe Hartman 2 weeks ago
Exactly what I've been trying to say (albeit less elegantly) and getting downvoted for
Load More Replies... Guess Undheit 2 weeks ago
The only social engineering in hollywood was making movies and TV with only white faces, i.e. the way incels like you pathetically wish it still was.
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