# Can you name a single "qualified" candidate that would be worse than Trump? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 7, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289 "2016-07-07T05:11:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 7, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/21 "2016-07-07T14:23:25Z")
Michele Bachmann would probably be worse. But it’s really hard to say. I think one of the problems we’re having with Trump is that we still have no real idea what he’d do if he was President. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/22 "2016-07-07T14:37:19Z")
I don’t think a single one of the Republican candidates in the race this year would be significantly better than Trump. If any of any of them were to become president and the GOP holds the House and Senate then Trump who is highly disliked within his own party is less likely to be a danger than any of the other candidates who would coordinate with the party establishment to lead us down a path of destruction in the way Bush the Dumber did. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/23 "2016-07-07T16:19:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Michele Bachmann would probably be worse. > > But it’s really hard to say. I think one of the problems we’re having with Trump is that we still have no real idea what he’d do if he was President. In cases like this, one should look at what his friends in power are doing:. > **[Judge: Arizona’s Joe Arpaio Racially Profiled Latinos](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/05/joe-arpaio-arizona-sheriff-is-guilty-of-racial-profiling-judge-rules.html)** > > Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio certainly knows how to get attention. He has required prisoners to wear pink underwear and sleep in tents. He has... Yes, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is already guilty of racial profiling and he can be convicted now of contempt of court and conspiracy to Influence, impede, or retaliating against a Federal official by threatening or injuring a family member. As Arpaio did when he investigated the wife of the judge in his current contempt of court case. I do think that Trump was listening to what Arpaio told him when he began to attack the Judge in his Trump University case. As pointed many times before, the media and all should demand that Trump repudiate guys like Arpaio, and seeing that Trump has no government experience this is more critical to get a more solid idea of what he will do with the power he can get. For less controversial friendships like that Obama was demanded to explain what his alleged fellows were doing. If Trump does not do that, it follows then that Trump loves bigoted authoritarians that flaunt the law and he will do the same to America or that he does not care what his bigoted minions do with the power they will get under his administration. By not explaining properly why is that he joined guys like Arpaio to the hip, I think that a vulgarian that loves and encourages bigoted and above the law guys and tweeter neo fascists has no place in the most powerful government in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/24 "2016-07-07T16:46:35Z")
Charles Manson? He has executive experience – he sent out death squads, which can be likened to drone strikes. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/25 "2016-07-07T16:59:42Z")
Sheriff Arpaio would definitely be worse. Sarah Palin would be close, and could be argued either way. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/26 "2016-07-07T20:45:04Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Attacking Iraq, which was in a stable box, and then following with extremely bad decisions in the aftermath, was one of the worst single mistakes any President ever made. It cost trillions of dollars, millions of lives, degraded America’s goodwill and directly provoked the ongoing bloodshot in the Middle East. > > The motives for this tragedy make it all the more despicable. While Bush himself may have been a dupe with little imagination, the war effort was run as a playground to profiteer, to run ideological experiments, and to practice warfare. And it was all started with treasonous perjuries. > > The [Siena College Research Institute survey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_Presidents_of_the_United_States#Siena_College_Research_Institute_survey) ranks GWB as follows > [ul] > [li]42 out of 43 — Cleveland is ranked only once — for communication ability[/li][li]42 out of 43 for handling of economy,[/li][li]42 out of 43 for ability to compromise,[/li][li]42 out of 43 for foreign policy accomplishments,[/li][li]42 out of 43 for intelligence[/li][li]41 out of 43 for court appointments,[/li][li]41 out of 43 for quality of executive appointments,[/li][li]40 out of 43 for overall ability,[/li][li]40 out of 43 for imagination,[/li][li]39 out of 43 in expert’s view[/li][li]39 out of 43 for integrity[/li][li]39 out of 43 for executive ability[/li][li]39 out of 43 for party leadership[/li][li]38 out of 43 for domestic accomplishments[/li][li]38 out of 43 for leadership ability[/li][li]38 out of 43 for avoiding crucial mistakes[/li][/ul] > > Yes, Pierce, Harding, Buchanan and A. Johnson manage to rank even lower than GWB, but GWB did far more damage. > > ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ > > On the question, “is Trump a successful practical man?” — I don’t claim he’s admirable, or competent to be President. But he is skilled at what he does, the charismatic demagogic diction, the flim-flam and frauds. His thuggish behavior is showmanship. I’d certainly be more fearful of Cruz — he’d probably not decide God wants him to bomb Mecca, but his fervor might paint him into a bad corner. I actually respect George W Bush the man, even if I don’t really respect his performance as a president, which was one of the worst performances ever in American history, as you correctly pointed out. As bad as Bush was, there is a very real likelihood – like better than 50 percent – that Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Huckabee, Carson, Walker, and most of the others would perform worse. The only serious candidates the GOP fielded this year were Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and Chris Christie…and I’m being rather generous with the last of those three. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/27 "2016-07-07T20:46:30Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t think a single one of the Republican candidates in the race this year would be significantly better than Trump. If any of any of them were to become president and the GOP holds the House and Senate then Trump who is highly disliked within his own party is less likely to be a danger than any of the other candidates who would coordinate with the party establishment to lead us down a path of destruction in the way Bush the Dumber did. Jeb Bush would at least have the intellect and the diplomatic skill set. Whether he would have the testicular fortitude to confront his own party is another matter. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/28 "2016-07-07T21:14:05Z")
Louis Gohmert of Texas. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/29 "2016-07-07T21:22:22Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Jeb Bush would at least have the intellect and the diplomatic skill set. Whether he would have the testicular fortitude to confront his own party is another matter. I didn’t see him demonstrate those skills during the primaries. He’s been called the smarter brother, but I haven’t seen any evidence of that. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/30 "2016-07-07T22:54:35Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > On the question, “is Trump a successful practical man?” — I don’t claim he’s admirable, or competent to be President. But he is skilled at what he does, the charismatic demagogic diction, the flim-flam and frauds. His thuggish behavior is showmanship. I’d certainly be more fearful of Cruz — he’d probably not decide God wants him to bomb Mecca, but his fervor might paint him into a bad corner. But what is Trump skilled at? Persuading people to invest in him, then screwing them over, pocketing the money himself, and letting his investors and creditors go broke. Now in the scenario of Trump winning the presidency, who plays the role of the investors and creditors? The American people. He has successfully fleeced his partners and customers over and over again, that’s certainly true. And if we elect him president, what should we expect to happen to us? Will Trump be using his con-man flim-flam skills on our behalf to bamboozle Putin and the Chinese and get the best deal for America? Or is the most likely scenario that the marks and the rubes that get swindled by Trump will be the American people? It reminds me of some of the people who rushed to invest their money with Bernie Madoff. When they saw the return his clients were getting on their money they knew there was no way he could be doing that legally. So they wanted in, because he was scamming people on behalf of his clients! Except his clients were the ones he was scamming. ---
**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:** [July 7, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/31 "2016-07-07T23:11:11Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Cruz and/or Walker would be worse. Got it in one. I was going to say Cruz, having forgotten about Walker. But yes, them. I think Rick Scott would also be scary if he ever ran, but the USA doesn’t seem to prefer skinny bald guys for President for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/32 "2016-07-07T23:17:17Z")
Cruz would be more destructive because Cruz is smart and a true believer. Same with Walker as others have said. Palin is a bigger moron. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/33 "2016-07-07T23:18:36Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Got it in one. > > I was going to say Cruz, having forgotten about Walker. But yes, them. I think Rick Scott would also be scary if he ever ran, but the USA doesn’t seem to prefer skinny bald guys for President for some reason. [http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/wjir77D3rUbyzCDS-CGsaGFWJ0s=/fit-in/1200x9600/http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F07%2FEisenhower.jpg](http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/wjir77D3rUbyzCDS-CGsaGFWJ0s=/fit-in/1200x9600/http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F07%2FEisenhower.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/34 "2016-07-07T23:42:07Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Cruz and/or Walker would be worse. Both are horrible from a policy perspective, and both are raging assholes, but Trump is still in a class by himself. Trump is a self-centered socipath. He cares about nothing but himself and he doesn’t know, nor give a damn about, his own limits or lack of knowledge. He’s not just bad, he’s dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/35 "2016-07-08T01:09:12Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Jeb Bush would at least have the intellect and the diplomatic skill set. Whether he would have the testicular fortitude to confront his own party is another matter. Someone call Neil Degrasse Tyson… I think that a law of theoretical physics exists where if a **freaking 3rd Bush** were elected President that this dimension would explode or implode or otherwise end us all. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/36 "2016-07-08T01:10:24Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I didn’t see him demonstrate those skills during the primaries. He’s been called the smarter brother Not a very high bar, huh? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/37 "2016-07-08T01:19:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I don’t think a single one of the Republican candidates in the race this year would be significantly better than Trump. If any of any of them were to become president and the GOP holds the House and Senate then Trump who is highly disliked within his own party is less likely to be a danger than any of the other candidates who would coordinate with the party establishment to lead us down a path of destruction in the way Bush the Dumber did. Kasich? I think you grossly underestimate the willingness of the GOP Congresscritters to facilitate Trump in doing whatever he wants to do. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/38 "2016-07-08T02:06:36Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Kasich? I think you grossly underestimate the willingness of the GOP Congresscritters to facilitate Trump in doing whatever he wants to do. I see it more like congress and Trump trying to stay out of each other’s way. Congress will be torn between their constituents who want to make Trump an emperor, and their masters who don’t want someone they can’t control. Kasich? Meh. He’ll do fine as long as inaction is the best course. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/39 "2016-07-09T13:19:49Z")
I think it depends on how one assesses risks. A Cruz, Walker, or the like would be far more likely to do serious harm to the country. However, the sort of harm they would be likely to inflict, while severe, would still be of a sort that could be reversed by the next President, or (in the case of the Supreme Court) by the next few. Trump is less likely than them to do serious harm, but if he does, the harm he’s likely to do would be far worse, of a sort that might well take a century to repair, and what eventually emerges from the ruins even then would in no way be recognizable as the same nation. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2016, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289/40 "2016-07-09T13:26:25Z")
Duke / Manson…? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-name-a-single-qualified-candidate-that-would-be-worse-than-trump/759289.md?page=3)