Democratic vice-presidential candidate calls opponent a ‘slick talker’ in first comments on Tuesday’s televised clash

Democratic vice-presidential candidate calls opponent a ‘slick talker’ in first comments on Tuesday’s televised clash

The day after the only vice-presidential debate this year, Democrat Tim Walz called his Republican challenger, JD Vance, a “slick talker” who was trying to rewrite history and gaslight people about Donald Trump’s record.

During a rally in York, Pennsylvania, Walz made his first public comments on the debate, which polls show was essentially a tie between the two vice-presidential candidates. The Minnesota governor was on a tour through the swing state on Wednesday.

Walz said the two men “had a civil but spirited debate” and that he didn’t underestimate Vance’s debate skills.

But, he added: “You can’t rewrite history and trying to mislead us about Donald Trump’s record. That’s gaslighting. That’s gaslighting, on the economy, reproductive freedom, housing, gun violence.”

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  • queermunist she/her
    -6•3 months ago

    So what? It still creates confusion for no reason, gaslighting should mean something and not be muddied by popculture. That’s always bad every time clinical terms get trashed and used this way.

      • queermunist she/her
        -3•3 months ago

        It’s a common problem in mental health; popculture misunderstandings of afflictions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and depression and addiction all lead people into making mistakes with their own mental health. This is just more of the same.

        • Flying Squid
          4•3 months ago

          Is ‘gaslighting’ even a clinical term? Can you demonstrate this, please?

          • queermunist she/her
            -6•3 months ago

            I do no care enough to do that for you, all I know is it started as a colloquialism that was adopted as a clinical term because of how useful it is and then re-entered popculture again in 2022. We lost a useful term.

            I can tell you’re just arguing for the sake of arguing by the way. You don’t give a shit about any of this. Very Reddity

            • Flying Squid
              2•3 months ago

              None of my searching shows it to be a clinical term. I think you just made that up.

              • queermunist she/her
                -1•3 months ago

                Here’s what the Cleveland Clinic says:

                Gaslighting is a very specific form of emotional abuse and mental manipulation that disrupts your ability to trust others and yourself. While the term has gained popularity online, in reality TV and other pop culture avenues, it’s also a term that’s often over-used to describe other kinds of bad behavior like lying, guilt-tripping or shaming.

                In truth, people use these tactics and more to gaslight their targets over long periods of time in an effort to gain power and control over their victims. But it’s specifically the pattern of repetitive behavior that’s used to deteriorate a victim’s morality, sanity and sense-of-self that fundamentally defines gaslighting abuse.

                A “very specific” form of emotional abuse that’s “over-used” to describe lying, but in truth, people uses these tactics to “deteriorate a victim’s morality, sanity and sense-of-self”

                Applying this to a debate performance is troubling. He’s just a lying asshole.

                • Flying Squid
                  2•3 months ago

                  That doesn’t make it a clinical term.

                  In fact:

                  It’s become a popular — and overused — term over the last few years (much like “narcissism” and “toxic relationships”), but it’s important to note that it’s not a clinical or mental health diagnosis. You won’t see this term used in the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V), and no one can be diagnosed as “a gaslighter.”

                  https://www.sondermind.com/resources/articles-and-content/how-to-deal-with-gaslighting/

                  If it isn’t in the DSM V, it is not a clinical term in psychology. It is a term for laypeople.

                  • queermunist she/her
                    -6•3 months ago

                    Seems fair.

                    I will note that both of our sources point out that the term has become overused, which was my fucking point.

                    We lost a valuable term and now it’s worthless, even as a colloquialism.