# Are we at Trump’s tipping point? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 21, 2018, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944 "2018-03-21T03:29:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/141 "2018-03-24T12:09:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > So tell me again why the stock market has plunged the last couple of days? Belly punches ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/142 "2018-03-24T12:58:37Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > So tell me again why the stock market has plunged the last couple of days? Hint for you HD, it rhymes with “bump.” ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/143 "2018-03-24T14:07:44Z")
What is a bit frightening is that any President could be the biggest inside trader ever. He can control the stock market like a yo-yo. Recent activity has shown this. Luckily, trump is probably too stupid to realize this. > [@Hurricane](#): > > If this is the most likely scenario, I think Trump is pretty safe. I suspect most CEOs understand that the President has limited influence over the stock market, and that spending a bunch of money to replace him with someone else is hardly a guarantee of improved returns. Hurricane, seriously? You think it will ‘cost’ more to replace him than the cost of the damage he does EVERY. SINGLE. FUCKING. DAY? The cost of allowing him to remain in office costs the US on the world stage much more than can be calculated. We have elected a moron for the leader of our country. We have the ability to get rid of him, but don’t. What does that say about the USA? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/144 "2018-03-24T14:24:13Z")
Oh, I want to add that the ‘cost’ of getting rid of trump has the benefit of showing future candidates and their supporters that we will not support a criminal moron. So don’t even try. Of course since they are morons, we may have to do this a few times before they get it. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/145 "2018-03-24T15:01:26Z")
From what I understand, a lot of Trump’s base are really, really mad at him for signing the budget. They were expecting him to veto it, like he said he might. This is the first time I’ve seen die hard Trumpsters say they won’t support him. So maybe . . . ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/146 "2018-03-24T15:10:49Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > My fondest wish is that Stormy tells the world that Trump has a little dick, and to prove she is wrong, he tweets out a dick pic. I’d love to see Sara Sanders spin that one. Ummm, she’s not that kind of spinner. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/147 "2018-03-24T16:47:25Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > So tell me again why the stock market has plunged the last couple of days? I’m pretty sure it’s not because Trump wanted it to. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/148 "2018-03-24T16:48:57Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > … Presidents have tremendous ability to influence the stock market, as long as they’re not concerned about making that influence benevolent. They can’t make it go up on command, and it does not serve their interests to have it go down. Agreed? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/149 "2018-03-24T16:54:54Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Hurricane, seriously? You think it will ‘cost’ more to replace him than the cost of the damage he does EVERY. SINGLE. FUCKING. DAY? In the scenario posited, CEOs would fund anti-Trump primary challengers for Republicans that still supported Trump. Yeah, that sounds expensive for the CEOs. In the hypothetical, it sounds like they’d be doing this to make more money. I doubt they’d make enough additional money to make the investment in anti-Trump primary challengers a cash-positive transaction, and I suspect they already know this. It’s a dumb theory. > [@enipla](#): > > … What does that say about the USA? That we still respect the will of the people, at least somewhat. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/150 "2018-03-24T17:12:15Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m pretty sure it’s not because Trump wanted it to. I’m sure Trump didn’t want to be known as a terrible President either. But in both cases, it was decisions he made that led to the undesired result. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/151 "2018-03-24T17:54:11Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > They can’t make it go up on command, and it does not serve their interests to have it go down. Agreed? It doesn’t serve their interests to have it go down, but they can cause a crash by doing something incredibly boneheaded — like institute an enormous tariff. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/152 "2018-03-24T18:31:25Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > They can’t make it go up on command, and it does not serve their interests to have it go down. Agreed? Yes, so? They have competing interests sometimes, and sometimes they are too stupid to avoid undercutting their own interests. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/153 "2018-03-24T19:52:38Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I’m pretty sure it’s not because Trump wanted it to. Which has not a thing to do with the price of tea in China. (Hmm, that metaphor is gaining new meaning…) > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Yes, so? They have competing interests sometimes, and sometimes they are too stupid to avoid undercutting their own interests. Not just stupid, but willfully stupid in the face of warnings against it. It took China hours to announce that the trade war was beginning. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/154 "2018-03-24T20:01:50Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > In the scenario posited, CEOs would fund anti-Trump primary challengers for Republicans that still supported Trump. Yeah, that sounds expensive for the CEOs. In the hypothetical, it sounds like they’d be doing this to make more money. I doubt they’d make enough additional money to make the investment in anti-Trump primary challengers a cash-positive transaction, and I suspect they already know this. It’s a dumb theory. > That we still respect the will of the people, at least somewhat. This is literally how politics works in your country, and now you think it sounds too expensive? That there aren’t returns? Political action committees are cost-effective compared to the revenues of very large corporations, and the economy of the English-speaking world is largely consolidated into very large corporations. Seriously, this is on the level of speculating that an internal combustion engine couldn’t actually move a ton of steel, because that sounds unlikely to you. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/155 "2018-03-24T20:05:35Z")
Our system has failed. The purpose of political parties and primaries is to prevent a Trump from ever even entering the presidential race. But nobody cared. The political community is wallowing in the triumph of their corruption. Neither side has any interest in removing Trump - not now and not after the midterms. Trump is inept and disgusting. We knew that when we elected him. There is no reason to believe that any scandal will impact his presidency. He is an international embarrassment. He is openly corrupt. He consistently lies without regret or consequence. It’s no secret. Trump has told us he could commit murder and not be touched. He is correct. His approval numbers are very slowly improving. His base need only attract a few percent to maintain their electoral advantage. There is no political mechanism, or body of political will, to stop him. A second term will probably result in Presidential term limits being removed, followed by sham elections for years to follow. There is no conspiracy. It is simply the end result of a stochastic process that has evolved within our political system. Crane ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/156 "2018-03-24T20:25:17Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > **They can’t make it go up on command,** and it does not serve their interests to have it go down. Agreed? (emphasis mine) Sure they can. An announcement of a Grand Plan to Stimulate the Economy including the outlawing of trade unions, the outlawing of minimum wages, and the end of all safety regulations–both for workers and for products–would goose it up nicely. ---
**Author:** ![Crane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crane/32/3495_2.png) [@Crane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crane)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/157 "2018-03-24T20:36:16Z")
You could add elimination of the patent office and child labor laws. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/158 "2018-03-24T20:45:24Z")
> [@Crane](#): > > You could add elimination of the patent office and child labor laws. Oh, yes; the list of possible ways a President could create a rise in the S&P is lengthy. All it takes is utter shameless irresponsibility on the part of the President. (And I think we’ve got that covered!) ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/159 "2018-03-24T21:09:20Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > In the scenario posited, CEOs would fund anti-Trump primary challengers for Republicans that still supported Trump. Yeah, that sounds expensive for the CEOs. In the hypothetical, it sounds like they’d be doing this to make more money. I doubt they’d make enough additional money to make the investment in anti-Trump primary challengers a cash-positive transaction, and I suspect they already know this. It’s a dumb theory. I beg your pardon. I think it’s a perfectly plausible theory, and I suspect those on this board who think Big Business controls politics would argue it’s a logical theory. Mind you, I’m not predicting it WILL happen, but if some anti-Trump Republicans suddenly got sufficient funding in 2018 and defeated pro-Trump incumbents, the message might set in by 2020. Last year Doug Jones raised almost $9 million in “large” ($200+) and PAC contributions to run against Roy Moore. [Overall, Jones raised $21 million to Moore’s $6 million.](https://www.opensecrets.org/races/candidates?cycle=2018&id=ALS1&spec=Y) Jones needed every penny of it to defeat Moore. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944/160 "2018-03-24T23:54:07Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > They can’t make it go up on command Though in the case of Trump, to borrow a line from Blackadder, “news of his resignation and suicide would surely raise morale”. > [@Crane](#): > > Our system has failed. The purpose of political parties and primaries is to prevent a Trump from ever even entering the presidential race. But nobody cared. The political community is wallowing in the triumph of their corruption. Neither side has any interest in removing Trump - not now and not after the midterms. Right. That was supposed to be the entire point of the complicated year-long process. But parties \*qua \*parties long ago abdicated their organizing and vetting functions, surrendering to merely being a branding franchise for whatever individual campaigns can do the best fundraising. That in turn led the primaries to devolve into Reality TV since mass recognition became the determinant factor, and the press/media LOVED that because it brought eyeballs. How many times we had a shot of an empty podium waiting for candidate Trump interrupt serious programming, just because they could not risk missing some wacky expression? Hardly anyone in the GOP is going to risk do anything to rid us of orangeboy, because they are too worried that if HE goes down, THEY go down. And they have no idea what ever will they do with themselves if that happens. Meanwhile across the aisle he is just too convenient a foil, and the opposition dare not risk lawful-evil and moderately semicompetent President Pence actually taking the reins. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-at-trump-s-tipping-point/810944.md?page=9)