Althouse: "In addition to being a re-gifter, the president is also reported to be a double-dipper, low talker, and master of his domain."

December 16, 2018

"In addition to being a re-gifter, the president is also reported to be a double-dipper, low talker, and master of his domain."

My son John blogs his reaction to the Bloomberg News story "Donald Trump Jr. Says His Father Is a Regifter."

(Links to all the relevant "Seinfeld" clips at the first link, which — helpfully — does not go to Facebook.)

65 comments:

Temujin said...: Is there nothing that Trump can do that's acceptable?

I used to ask: Is there nothing that Obama can do that's unacceptable?

Parties change. Times change.; 12/16/18, 10:51 AM
rehajm said...: You people disappoint me!

Happy Festivus.; 12/16/18, 11:00 AM
Yancey Ward said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/16/18, 11:02 AM
Yancey Ward said...: Time for the Feats of Strength!; 12/16/18, 11:03 AM
Wince said...: Nah, the odds have to favor Mike Pence in the Competition.; 12/16/18, 11:03 AM
Lucid-Ideas said...: Ya know i always suspected he was a double-dipper...the whole "two scoops of ice cream" thing should've been a dead give away.; 12/16/18, 11:07 AM
David Begley said...: Add that to the Articles of Impeachment! Certainly a High Crime as defined by the common law of the 1700’s. Right Professor Althouse?; 12/16/18, 11:09 AM
n.n said...: Framed another way, for a man who has everything he's not a packrat, and shares his good fortune with others.; 12/16/18, 11:13 AM
Birkel said...: Close talker would be problematic.
Big talker worries the LLR crowd, they pretend to claim.; 12/16/18, 11:14 AM
LYNNDH said...: I blame Climate Change!; 12/16/18, 11:30 AM
Matthew Hart said...: This little snippet made me laugh so hard! It makes it sound like President Trump didn't like the gift his son gave him and re-gifted it. lol and now his son is full of angst and doesn't like his dad! "You re-gifted the slippers?...you double-dipping low-talker!" Trump: "Go to your room! If you don't like it, move out."; 12/16/18, 11:30 AM
John henry said...: My brother in law and I would exchange fruitcakes every Christmas.

The same ones, back and forth.

The oy thing they're good for, being inedible; 12/16/18, 11:33 AM
Big Mike said...: Well, sheeeee-it! Time to impeach the bastard!!!; 12/16/18, 11:39 AM
walter said...: Snoop Dogg Mueller needs to "investi-gate"!
Gift-gate!; 12/16/18, 11:46 AM
J. Farmer said...: Who hasn’t regifted? That’s preferable to letting an unwanted gift sit in a drawer and collect dust.; 12/16/18, 11:47 AM
alanc709 said...: Maybe Obama can regift his Nobel Peace Prize, to somebody worthy; 12/16/18, 11:48 AM
Skeptical Voter said...: Orange Man Bad.; 12/16/18, 12:03 PM
BUMBLE BEE said...: My grandfather received a 3 lb. wheel of Roquefort cheese every Christmas. He always gave it to us. Imagine... all the Roquefort you could eat! I would guess Donald's regifting is similarly appreciated by the recipients.; 12/16/18, 12:07 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Raised by a Scottish mother who started out her life in extremely poor circumstances, Trump probably still carries the mind set of thrift and waste not.

Children of the Great Depression and the children of those who remembered the deprivation, still have the thriftiness ingrained in their souls.

This is actually a good thing in a steward of the public's trust.

Nothing wrong with re-gifting. Just try not to give it back to the original giver :-D; 12/16/18, 12:07 PM
Darrell said...: Somebody is butthurt that Trump canceled the WH Press Christmas Party.; 12/16/18, 12:17 PM
Leland said...: Trump is so in their heads. They couldn't quit him if they tried, and they aren't close to trying.; 12/16/18, 12:23 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I've never regifted. If I don't like something, I don't want it to represent me. I have received things that I've donated to Goodwill or even thrown right in the trash or stored for years and then thrown in the trash, but I would not put my name on such things as if I had chosen them.; 12/16/18, 12:26 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: This totally dwarfs the wrongdoing he's been implicated in by the dozens of close associates who are on their way to jail for or because of him. But let's ignore all that. What sensible ethical priorities you have!; 12/16/18, 12:34 PM
stevew said...: "Just try not to give it back to the original giver."

My mother-in-law did that with a Christmas gift my daughter had given her. It was a couple of years later and I'm not certain if she thought my daughter would forget or she simply forgot who gave it to her.

We had a good laugh about it. I suggested that my daughter give it back a couple of years down the road.; 12/16/18, 12:34 PM
Humperdink said...: My aunt (mother's side) would get my two brothers and I English Leather soap-on-a-rope every year for Christmas. Every year! It became a standing joke.

One year, I drilled used bars of Ivory soap and attached the appropriate dirty rope and gave them to my brothers at the Christmas gift exchange. Not re-gifting, but it was a real hit none-the-less.; 12/16/18, 12:41 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I suggested that my daughter give it back a couple of years down the road

We did that for a while in my family....give the gift back and forth to each other...with some stuffed frogs playing in a mariachi band. The original frogs were joke gifts to a couple of us when we were in Mexico for Christmas some years back.

The biggest joke was that three of us had, independently, bought the ridiculous things. So when the gifts were opened and it was YET another frog, it became hilarious. The tradition became to hide the frog inside another gift and ...surprise! New Cuisinart...frog inside. Boots....frog. Bathrobe...frog in pocket.

Then to retaliate next year with another family member. Bwahahahah.

You never knew when a frog was going to pop up!

Not quite the same thing as re-gifting, but really fun.; 12/16/18, 12:41 PM
Darrell said...: I've never regifted. If I don't like something, I don't want it to represent me. I have received things that I've donated to Goodwill or even thrown right in the trash or stored for years and then thrown in the trash, but I would not put my name on such things as if I had chosen them.

Once a gift is received, it is yours--you own it by every definition. Giving it to another, especially if it is right for them or something they have expressed an interest in, is an act of love. Trump probably receives very expensive gifts. There is probably a DSM listing for people that throw such gifts away or think so little of them.; 12/16/18, 12:44 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Once a gift is received, it is yours--you own it by every definition. Giving it to another, especially if it is right for them or something they have expressed an interest in, is an act of love."

You're missing my point. I don't want something I don't like to represent me, to say something I don't want to say, that I picked this out. Quite aside from the dishonesty — that I didn't pick it out, I anti-picked-it-out — I wouldn't want to be thought of as the person who picked that out.

I'm not questioning whether I own the thing once it's given to me, and I'm not talking about giving it to someone who somehow lets me know they like it. I'm talking about presenting it as my gift when it is a gift-giving occasion like Christmas or a birthday. I could see saying to a guest about some food I don't like, Would you eat this? And, if yes, It's yours, pleas take it, you'll be doing me a favor, because I hate to throw it out. But that's not saying, here, this is my gift to you to a person who is taking the trouble to pick out something for me.; 12/16/18, 12:53 PM
Birkel said...: Person receives gift. The gift is not well liked by the receiver.

Second person sees the gift and comments how they like the item.

By Althouse's lights, it would seem, giving the unwanted gift to the person who wants it is a worse option than giving it to Goodwill.

That cannot be right.; 12/16/18, 1:03 PM
Fernandinande said...: Who hasn’t regifted? That’s preferable to letting an unwanted gift sit in a drawer and collect dust.

Google suggests gifts which are mostly incorporeal, so they don't gather dust.

Give the gift of ... prime, health, travel, life, experiences.

The gift of ... the magi, fear, the magi theme, gab, imperfection, nothing.; 12/16/18, 1:04 PM
Birkel said...: Here is a nice bottle of white wine.
(I only drink red.)

Should I give the wine to a third party, who likes white wine, or throw it in the trash?; 12/16/18, 1:05 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Birkel: Person receives gift. The gift is not well liked by the receiver.

Second person sees the gift and comments how they like the item.

By Althouse's lights, it would seem, giving the unwanted gift to the person who wants it is a worse option than giving it to Goodwill.

Giving something to someone who has said they wanted something like it (a pasta machine when I already have two: here have one) or when they saw it in your house (ugly vase that Aunt Phoebe gave you..please take it!) is a bit different than pretending that you spent time searching for a gift especially for that person.

The first is a good way to re-gift or disburse the item. The second one is like you went through your sock drawer or the junk box in the garage because you were too lazy or didn't care enough to find a personalized gift....so here have this piece of crap that I don't like.; 12/16/18, 1:13 PM
Wince said...: Outside of matching revealed preference or anticipating latent need, economists probably view gifts of anything but cash as inefficient.

That said, given that endowment points, regifting should eventually should lead to a Pareto-superior position.; 12/16/18, 1:14 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Here is a nice bottle of white wine.
(I only drink red.)

Should I give the wine to a third party, who likes white wine, or throw it in the trash?

Yes. Give it away ...or.....

Open it up and give the majority of wine to the giver (they must like white wine otherwise they wouldn't have picked it) and others in the party. Kill the bottle.

Take a sip of the wine. Conveniently forget your glass in the kitchen or somewhere....and profusely thank them for the gift.

Downside....they will probably give you TWO bottles next year. Maybe suggest you are branching out into 'Reds' or Scotch to avoid that possibility. /wink; 12/16/18, 1:17 PM
Chuck said...: If Trump World is suggesting that the regifting story is a nothingburger, I wouldn’t argue the point.

But is Trump World acknowledging the truly hilarious old video where Trump obviously forgot to get Melania a birthday present and got caught live on the Fox News Channel?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n5cCI5__EME; 12/16/18, 1:19 PM
Darrell said...: You're missing my point.

If you know your loved one's needs, wants, and desires, you might have picked out that exact present for them. That's why you thought of them when you received it. I see your POV, too. I still would not criticize Trump for acting like a thoughtful human being--especially when he receives gifts that aren't easily available, like rare items.; 12/16/18, 1:19 PM
Fernandinande said...: I gave my Care Bears gag gift to a little kid.

I hope she didn't think the Care Bears represented me or said something I wanted to say, or that I anti-picked them out or that she thought of me as the person who picked them out, because the most important thing in gift giving is that the recipient have a high opinion of the giver.

So now that she has those Care Bears, I'm afraid she might think that I'm not better than someone who likes Care Bears or that I'm not better than someone who doesn't like Care Bears. It's pretty complexicated.; 12/16/18, 1:22 PM
Fernandinande said...: Take that wine down the homeless shelter, they won't argue about it.; 12/16/18, 1:23 PM
Fernandinande said...: I wasn't sure what "the gift of the Magi" was, but it turns out to be either $1.87 or gold, Frankenstein and mirth, maybe $1.87 worth of gold (about 0.046 gram).; 12/16/18, 1:29 PM
Jim at said...: Regifting? Who does that?

Resell it at half price on craigslist.

Seriously.; 12/16/18, 1:34 PM
Narayanan said...: How many screwges does it take to post a comment?; 12/16/18, 1:40 PM
Drago said...: Noted Racist Commenter Chuck: "If Trump World is suggesting that the regifting story is a nothingburger, I wouldn’t argue the point."

It's always amusing what talking points Dem/left/OpenBorders World thinks will be effective in advancing the lefty narrative of the day.; 12/16/18, 1:45 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: "Trump is a regifter"

Clinton is a regrifter. Evergreen*, the grifter that keeps on grifting; 12/16/18, 1:48 PM
walter said...: Japanese business culture supposedly takes this to extremes..to the point wrapping is damaged.

"Quite aside from the dishonesty — that I didn't pick it out, I anti-picked-it-out — I wouldn't want to be thought of as the person who picked that out. "

A bit overthought here, methinks.
Do you select gifts from gift registries?; 12/16/18, 1:48 PM
Not Sure said...: Trump recycles!; 12/16/18, 1:54 PM
JaimeRoberto said...: As someone of Scottish heritage I object to the mockery of my sacred family traditions by these bigots.; 12/16/18, 2:05 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Second person sees the gift and comments how they like the item. By Althouse's lights, it would seem, giving the unwanted gift to the person who wants it is a worse option than giving it to Goodwill."

False. As I explained rather explicitly, above.

You can give things you have and don't like to others who see the things and comment favorably. That is not what re-gifting means. Re-gifting is when there is a gift-giving occasion and instead of taking the trouble to select something for someone, you pass along something you have that you don't like — not an antique or an heirloom of some kind that just not to your taste, but just some damned gift you got that you never liked.. Give away your stuff, fine. We give old furniture and kitchenware to our children, for example. But let's say your adult children are coming over for Christmas and bringing you presents. You don't just go around your house finding items you don't like and wrapping them up for the occasion! You might, however, send them home with things they've said they need that you have extras of.; 12/16/18, 2:27 PM
Not Sure said...: I re-gift a lot of stuff at this time of year. People love to give mediocre homemade cookies and fudge and chocolate-covered pretzels--or those disgusting baskets of unripe fruit--and I take them to the office, where some people actually like such things.; 12/16/18, 2:33 PM
Darrell said...: Trump receive a gift and he regifted it to all of us.

A country where Hillary Clinton will never be President.

God Bless this man. And all of us.; 12/16/18, 2:41 PM
Birkel said...: Yeah, Althouse, I posted my comment (1:03PM) without refreshing the page so I saw the last few sentences of your previous entry late.

If you want to argue re-gifting means a thing and only that thing and cannot mean any other thing, then you should run with that. I'm not buying what you're selling.

If it was a gift once, and it becomes a gift again, it must necessarily be re-gifted. And I assume you aren't buying what I'm selling.; 12/16/18, 2:42 PM
J. Farmer said...: @Birkel:

If you want to argue re-gifting means a thing and only that thing and cannot mean any other thing, then you should run with that. I'm not buying what you're selling.

In a spirit of holiday collegiality, let me say that I agree 100%. I depends on why you did not want the gift in the first place and why you were giving it away in the second. There is a difference between receiving something that you think is a total piece of junk and give away to someone you don't much care about, and receiving something that perhaps is simply not to your personal taste or is similar to something you already own and then giving it to someone that you believe would appreciate or get use out of it.; 12/16/18, 2:48 PM
Lem the artificially intelligent said...: That's a sponge worthy comment.; 12/16/18, 3:04 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: "giftiness" is in the eye of the receiver.

That said, maybe Our Most Gracious Host can periodically post items she has received
and give her blogees dibs on those items.
How many zillion-volume sets of the OED can one person have?; 12/16/18, 3:14 PM
Birkel said...: Good tidings to you and yours, J. Farmer.; 12/16/18, 3:27 PM
Darrell said...: How many zillion-volume sets of the OED can one person have?

Someone keeps cutting out "garner" with an X-Acto knife.; 12/16/18, 3:46 PM
Michael McNeil said...: So, if someone gives you cash, and you later give cash to someone else, are you giving away something “you don't want”?; 12/16/18, 3:47 PM
Michael McNeil said...: “… zillion-volume sets of the OED…”

I like the condensed version of the OED: at 4 pages per page, the whole OED fits in only 3 volumes, plus a supplement, total 4! All you need to do is keep a hefty magnifying glass nearby….; 12/16/18, 3:52 PM
chillblaine said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/16/18, 4:22 PM
Sam L. said...: I think Junior is just pimping the media.; 12/16/18, 4:53 PM
JML said...: I prefer the re-gifter to the grifter, thank you very much.; 12/16/18, 5:45 PM
rehajm said...: It’s called recycling. Very green.; 12/16/18, 5:52 PM
iowan2 said...: This is on par with the TP over under debate.; 12/16/18, 6:02 PM
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...: "it is better to regive than to rereceive"; 12/16/18, 7:56 PM
Sprezzatura said...: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=118&v=S8W9pP8p8Qo; 12/16/18, 9:02 PM
stutefish said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/17/18, 10:23 AM