Nov 2023 Mod notice:
There may be other, more specific, threads about some aspects of US politics, but this one tends to act as a hub for all sorts of related news and information, so it's usually one of the busiest OTC threads.
If you're new to OTC, it's worth reading the Introduction to On-Topic Conversations
and the On-Topic Conversations debate guidelines
before posting here.
Rumor-based, fear-mongering and/or inflammatory statements that damage the quality of the thread will be thumped. Off-topic posts will also be thumped. Repeat offenders may be suspended.
If time spent moderating this thread remains a distraction from moderation of the wiki itself, the thread will need to be locked. We want to avoid that, so please follow the forum rules
when posting here.
In line with the general forum rules, 'gravedancing' is prohibited here. If you're celebrating someone's death or hoping that they die, your post will get thumped. This rule applies regardless of what the person you're discussing has said or done.
Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
This thread is not equipped to address that level of fear and anxiety, you should contact a relevant medical professional and seek their assistance.
I foresee a beautiful home for him in Trump Tower, Moscow.
How do you see him doing this? Trump is not allowed to drive and be cannot fly a plane, how do you expect him to leave the country to Russia? With the help of his secret service detail? By giving them the slip? By resigning and having Pence help him flee?
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ Cyran![]()
Can the Secret Service stop Trump from leaving the country after his term is over? Otherwise, it is going to be a race against the clock with law enforcement trying to go through the procedure to stop criminal suspects from fleeing ASAP, with Trump rushing to catch the first flight leaving IAD after noon of January 20, 2021
Except he wouldn't travel by himself for such a visit, he’d have a huge number of secret service agents following at all times. Agents who are perfectly capable of picking him up and carrying him first to a car and then onto a plane. Hell I wouldn’t put it past the State Department to just play bureaucratic games to keep him in country after the election just incase.
The president is under 24 hour guard by guards sworn to the constitution above him, to defect he has to either convince them to help him, give them the slip or find someone willing and able to commit violence against them to enable him to get away.
Secret Service protection is for life, as are things like the ban on him driving on public roads (the secret service will drive him). So physically there will be people around him capable of stopping him fleeing. What they’re legally allowed to do is debatable, as I believe they can do pretty much anything for a president’s safety, including dragging him somewhere he doesn’t want to be. If they’d be willing to argue that it’s unsafe for him to flee the country, I’d say that would have solid ground to it.
Edited by Silasw on Oct 17th 2020 at 10:08:42 AM
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranThey'd be justified in keeping him away from Russia for his own safety. If he tried to flee to Moscow, he'd probably end up getting polonium in his Diet Coke.
Okay, maybe not. Putin's probably not stupid enough to try to poison an ex-POTUS while he's in Russia. Though maybe an over-eager subordinate trying to suck up to Putin might be stupid enough.
Edited by M84 on Oct 17th 2020 at 6:11:49 PM
Disgusted, but not surprisedJust for the record: I'm well-aware of this. It's not a plausible option right now, but I get that that's not a reason to try and dictate conversational tones to this thread.
To reply to the post from a few pages back, I wouldn't worry about Poland at least not recognizing Biden as a new President. Pretty sure the whole country's been pro-American regardless of who's in charge ever since we cast aside the communist yoke.
We've had equally cordial relationships with Bush and Obama administrations just fine (from what I myself can remember), so I don't expect that trend to change - if only because the current gov still makes a token effort to appear reasonable, for what little it's worth.
![]()
Like I said, I'm not going to post anything else (that isn't a reply to a direct response) - I just wanted to make sure that I'm not coming across as totally dismissive or ignorant about therapists first, because while this is easily the worst, it's not remotely my first experience with anxiety problems, and they have been important.
Edited by nrjxll on Oct 17th 2020 at 6:15:59 AM
Question: Historically, what is the widest margin a running incumbent President has lost by? I know there's always a chance Biden will win this, and winning this by a landslide is a long shot, but it would also be really funny for Trump to set a new record of losing the hardest out of anyone, ever, in his re-election bid.
Margin in electoral votes or popular vote? Carter defeated Ford (the incumbent) by 2 points in the popular vote and by 57 votes in the electoral college, Reagan defeated Carter (the incumbent) by 9 points in the popular vote but by 440 votes in the electoral college. Similarly Bill Clinton defeated George H W Bush by 6 points in the popular vote but by 202 votes in the electoral college. Hoover lost to FDR by about 17 points in the popular vote and by 413 votes in the electoral college.
Edited by Silasw on Oct 17th 2020 at 12:48:13 PM
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranPretty sure that people are allowed to refuse Secret Service protection after they leave office. There are no charges pending against him serious enough to restrict his travel privileges, so if he wants to run to Russia, they're welcome to him. New York can just seize his assets, if the charges there stick. Trump can spend the rest of his life playing checkers with Snowden.
I'm done trying to sound smart. "Clear" is the new smart.The funny thing about secret service protection is, Bill Clinton changed the Former Presidents Act
to limit secret service protection to only 10 years for ex-presidents. But it was changed back to full life protection, by none other than Obama.
Now that's irony, Trump benefiting from Obama's policy change. He sure won't complain about that one.
As for Trump leaving the country, I'm not so sure the secret service would be able to stop him from travelling to other countries, since Trump would still be a free citizen. The only real way to stop him, I think, would be to either arrest him, or officially forbid him from leaving the country. Also, don't underestimate his connections to cronies who could facilitate such an escape.
Similarly, I don't know if they could force him to go back to the US once in another country.
They are protectors, not jailers. And presumably Trump could simply dismiss them if he wishes to.
Hope shines brightest in the darkest times
Of course that only applies if Russia - or any other country - actually wants him.
Putin might as well just not give a shit about him after he served his purpose and other countries could either refuse him entry entirely or extradite him back to the US if he's charged with anything.
We learn from history that we do not learn from historyThe Saudis wouldn’t welcome him, they want a continuous relationship with the US. Setting up Trump as a president in exile is a good way to get the US to cut off arms sales and withdraw all US troops from the country, possibly even start giving arms to Yemeni groups fighting the Saudis.
That could well be the biggest blocker, while Russia is strong enough to not fear a US retaliation for helping Trump flee, that doesn’t apply to most other countries. The EU could simply refuse to allow any plane with Trump onboard to cross European airspace.
That would limit Trump’s escape routes significantly, I’m not sure if he actually understands geography well enough to find the border between the US and Russia and cross there.
“And the Bunny nails it!” ~ Gabrael “If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we.” ~ CyranRemember: Trump is a coward. I think it's still more likely that he'll attempt to trade a resignation for a pardon, although if he loses the election, Pence being President for two months isn't exactly a juicy treat to dangle.
"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

My two cents about this.
Q: Treat it and all the other conspiracy nonsense like it was the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl. Identify it, isolate it, and bury it under tons of restrictive code so it can't spread its hazardous radiation all across the web.
If its cultists starts up a fuzz, ask them "And how exactly is anything on Q benefiting you at all?" and watch them self-destruct once they realize that "no, they don't, at all." from realizing the answer.
...
Polls: Who gives a nickle about the polls!?
All that matters is to actually vote, vote, vote, vote-vote-vote-and VOTE in such overwhelming numbers that the GOP and Trump can't decide it in the courtroom to begin with.
The GOP and Trump are at war with democracy and america, so the only real way to beat them, is by utilizing that system and vote to the point they'll drown in the blue wave if they try and fight it instead.
...
(Just getting so tired of the MAGA-death cult after having to put up with four years worth of their nonsense...)
Edited by TitanJump on Oct 17th 2020 at 9:57:46 PM