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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
No idea if this will go somewhere, but Democrats ask Cruz to investigate Trump
.
That actually sounds like the plot of a movie. A bad, conservative, self-serving movie, but a movie nonetheless.
Seriously though, this might be a bit too early to say, but it seems like karma is finally biting Trump in the arse. His own 'strategies' (which might actually be giving Trump too much credit to be honest,) of saying both whatever he thinks will get him the Republican vote and whatever he darn well feels like that got him to where he is could, at long last, prove his undoing, which over the next few months might just result in one of the most spectacular defeats that a Presidential Candidate has suffered in the history of our great nation. Sort of like watching an overly long train wreck filled with explosives when you think about it.
edited 3rd Aug '16 9:50:42 AM by kkhohoho
Donald Trump denies asking foreign policy advisor three times 'why can't we use nuclear weapons?'
Electoral landslide is also pretty hard. 538 doubts that Clinton will take Indiana or Missouri, which iirc Obama did in 2008. Georgia's still on the lean R side too when that state's been tilting towards purple.
There are rumors of an "intervention" brewing among top Trump allies to try to get together and make him see reason and pivot his campaign away from from the post-convention (a time span not yet two weeks long yet!) madness. Gingrich, Priebus, and Giuliani want to meet with Trump and get him turned around.
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The question is, will that be enough to save Trump? Even if he starts backpedaling now and attempts to present himself as someone worthy of the Oval Office, (the key word being 'attempt',) there's no guarantee that doing so would wipe away the stains from his past year+ of campaigning, especially the last couple of weeks. And with the advent of the internet, nothing really goes away. Now, normally I wouldn't promote letting someone unconsciously hurl himself towards his own fiery demise, but in this case, I think I'm willing to make an exception.
Even if they do manage to convince him to tone it down, it won't last. Remember, numerous times throughout the campaign, Trump promised to act "respectable", only to go right back to his usual shtick of name-calling, gaffes, and fear-mongering.
The idea that Trump can be tamed or will "change" if he is, God forbid, elected is laughable.
Former Republican candidate for Governor of California Meg Whitman
declares she will support Hillary Clinton for president.
“I will vote for Hillary, I will talk to my Republican friends about helping her, and I will donate to her campaign and try to raise money for her,” Ms. Whitman said in a telephone interview.
...
Using remarkably blunt language, she argued that the election of Mr. Trump, whom she called “a dishonest demagogue,” could lead the country “on a very dangerous journey.” She noted that democracies had seldom lasted longer than a few hundred years and warned that those who say that “it can’t happen here” are being naïve.
Ms. Whitman also said she “absolutely” stood by her comments at a private gathering of Republican donors this year comparing Mr. Trump to Hitler and Mussolini, explaining that dictators often come to office through democratic means.
“Time and again history has shown that when demagogues have gotten power or come close to getting power, it usually does not end well,” Ms. Whitman said. She asserted that Mr. Trump had already “undermined the character of the nation.”
A billionaire who spent $140 million of her own money in a failed bid for governor of California in 2010, Ms. Whitman, the former chief executive of eBay, is a prized defector for Mrs. Clinton. She is close to Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican nominee; has deep ties to the country’s business elite; and is a rare female Republican executive in Silicon Valley.
...
While Democrats openly appealed at their convention last week to Republicans uneasy with Mr. Trump, Mrs. Clinton and her top supporters have been making a similar cross-party pitch in private since before the Democratic nomination fight even came to its conclusion.
Ms. Whitman said that she did not commit to supporting Mrs. Clinton when they talked on the phone last month, and that Mrs. Clinton had offered no assurances on how she would govern. But Ms. Whitman called it “a lovely chat” that included a discussion of economic issues.
...
“I don’t agree with her on very many issues,” she added, “but she would be a much better president than Donald Trump.”
edited 3rd Aug '16 10:17:49 AM by Parable
At this point, if Trump really is sabotaging himself like that, it reminds me of those theories that Hillary had him as a plant to bring down the Republican competition, and once he made it as the nominee he'll either self-destruct or quit
.
I don't think they're actually true, I believe he's genuinely enough of an Attention Whore nature to do it unprompted, especially since he already tried in 2012 when there was no Hillary, plus that quote from him about running for the GOP because they're all stupid is a hoax. But it's probably true he doesn't intend to actually have president as a job.
edited 3rd Aug '16 11:19:04 AM by AlleyOop
and:
TRUMP: No but they’re very close, ever notice? They’re very close elections. He even said they were very close. But his first move as governor of Virginia was to raise taxes by 4 billion dollars. He was not popular in Virginia. He wasn’t popular. [Trump looks up at the television] Do you believe that Debbie Schultz, Wasserman Schultz, there she is. She’s very happy — look how happy she looks. She looks very happy.
and:
RUCKER: Do you want to work with him? Do you think you can work with him if elected? TRUMP: Oh, I think so. RUCKER: Even though on a couple of these instances he’s shone some daylight with you, like over the Khan — [crosstalk] TRUMP: [Trump watches himself on TV] Lot of energy. We got a lot of energy. She certainly doesn’t look presidential to me, Hillary. I don’t think you get to look less presidential actually than Hillary. RUCKER: Let’s go back just a little bit to Pence.
and:
RUCKER: Well, half the people in your rallies are veterans. TRUMP: [Looks at the television again] Look at this. It’s all Trump all day long. That’s why their ratings are through the roof. I’d hate to say, Philip, if I wasn’t running, the television networks would be doing less than half the business.
and finally:
TRUMP: Everybody wants my support. You know why? Cause I had more than 14 million people that voted for me. And nobody gives us credit. There were 17 people in the race. I got more votes than anybody in the history of Republican politics. By millions. Don’t forget. How about if I had two people in the race? The number would’ve been twice as good. In other words, people with 2 million people. Because the Republican party increased. [Trump looks at the TV.] That statement’s gotten a lot of play. I love that statement we wrote. So I’m just not quite there yet.
So apparently Trump has ADD.
Ooh, this is interesting: The GOP is allegedly planning ahead on who to replace Trump with on the GOP ticket should he drop out before November.
I doubt he'll drop out, of course, but it shows how much the party is in disarray right now.
edited 3rd Aug '16 11:05:09 AM by speedyboris
I'm looking at CNN on TV right now. No sound, but it's says "Pence Breaks With Trump Endorses Paul Ryan."
Trouble in paradise already for those two?
A CNBC article on it
edited 3rd Aug '16 11:07:38 AM by sgamer82
For those who wonder, Paul Ryan is in a district that is considered a swing district in presidential elections (Obama won it twice, if memory serves). This isn't reciprocated in Congressional election results though where Ryan has always won in landslides.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard FeynmanI used to sort of joke about that theory. I seriously doubt Trump was literally asked to run, though I could see him running with the intentions of handing it over to Clinton. Having said that, he probably isn't. Trump knows the power of No Such Thing as Bad Publicity and a lot of his behavior can be explained as someone using it to his advantage. This is a key factor in his success so far.
Leviticus 19:34I do imagine that Trump mostly entered the race for fun without intending to get this far. Having said that, I do think he now believes that he has a chance of winning and may very well intend to do so.
On the other hand, declaring that you aren't going to pay for advertising anymore is not a winning strategy.
edited 3rd Aug '16 11:22:36 AM by Protagonist506
Leviticus 19:34In reference to comparing Trump to domestic examples, I usually use Huey Long because he came into his power from the opposite end of the political spectrum. He's useful for highlighting the autocratic prcoblem with the man for those swayed by the rhetoric but not necessarily the strongman pretensions, and he also demonstrates just how quickly the separation of powers can be corroded by such men and their followers.
edited 3rd Aug '16 11:29:56 AM by Artificius
"I have no fear, for fear is the little death that kills me over and over. Without fear, I die but once."He has no idea what the Purple Heart is for. It's just like when he swore to defend Article XII of the Constitution. He's just running his mouth to try and sound smart without having any idea what he's talking about.
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.To be specific, Trump's statement that he's always wanted to win a Purple Heart is asinine because as anyone with even a cursory experience in military knows, the Purple Heart is the medal awarded to a soldier for being wounded in combat. It’s a consolation award for the grievous harm you’ve suffered in the service. That is literally all it means: “I got shot or had my legs blown off for my country.” It's a great honor and the people who've gotten Purple Hearts are deserving of the highest respect, but it is not something you aspire to achieve.
Especially not when you're someone who once said of John Mc Cain, "He's a war hero because he got captured. I like people who WEREN'T captured."
My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.

What about electoral landslides, given how traditionally red states are shifting in the wake of Trump's Trumpishness?