# Coronavirus will finish Trump's presidency **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 16, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597 "2020-03-16T17:46:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/147 "2020-03-20T16:58:16Z")
> [@Kearsen1](#): > > To be frank with you and anyone else going “wtf”, this was told to you decades ago. > > The disease is the political corruption, the money in politics and the divisive nature of the past couple decades does nothing to treat it other than to jockey, even more for that political power which magically creates money , FOR THEM. > > Want to fix the problem? Get the money out of politics and the powers that grant that money. Yeah, I am one of those people saying that. It was kind of my point, that people shouldn’t be complacent that just because Trump is bad at his job, that Americans will understand that. ---
**Author:** ![ricksummon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ricksummon/32/3333_2.png) [@ricksummon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricksummon)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/148 "2020-03-20T20:28:25Z")
Might the stress of actually having to govern finally become too much for Trump? He can’t go golfing at Mal-De-Mar anymore; he doesn’t have any rallies of adoring fans to praise him. He’s forced to actually do _work_ day-in and day-out. How long can he endure? Is “endure” a word that Trump even knows? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/149 "2020-03-20T20:41:18Z")
Yeah, I think the 55% approval can only persist during this pre-exponential stage. When the tens of thousands of deaths kick in, it will be a different story. However, if things are still severe in November, Trump could also pull an FDR and use the “Don’t change horses in the middle of the stream” argument. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/150 "2020-03-20T20:47:02Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Yeah, I think the 55% approval can only persist during this pre-exponential stage. When the tens of thousands of deaths kick in, it will be a different story. > \*\* > However, if things are still severe in November, Trump could also pull an FDR and use the “Don’t change horses in the middle of the stream” argument.\*\* I believe this will be the first election where the exception proves the rule. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/151 "2020-03-20T20:55:50Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > :smack: > > Maybe the thread title should be, “Coronavirus ensures certain path to second term for The Donald!” Most likely, Trump will get a temporary boost in the polls when the trillion-dollar virus-relief stimulus package passes Congress and kicks in, but then sink back down again when deaths keep climbing with no end in sight. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/152 "2020-03-20T20:55:56Z")
Shit, we changed horses in 1932. And 1992. And 1976. The idea that the incumbent _party_ is a good bet to win in a recession is a suckers bet, even more so the asshole which got us there. Bush had record Gulf War popularity and was still looking for a job come January, 1993. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/153 "2020-03-20T21:18:29Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Shit, we changed horses in 1932. And 1992. And 1976. The idea that the incumbent _party_ is a good bet to win in a recession is a suckers bet, even more so the asshole which got us there. Bush had record Gulf War popularity and was still looking for a job come January, 1993. You’re right. In light of your more complete historical knowledge, I’ll modify my own post: > [@Aspenglow](#): > > I believe this will be [DEL]the first[/DEL] an election where the exception proves the rule. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/154 "2020-03-20T22:14:15Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Tell people in Europe or the Americas suspected of being Asian, and physically and verbally assaulted, that they’re not victims of racism. Go ahead, tell them. I’ll wait. People who are attacked are victims. People who hear “Chinese virus” and get their noses bent out of shape are not. > [@msmith537](#): > > The problem is that calling the “Chinese Virus” or “Chinese Flu” isn’t specific enough. Are you talking about the Asian Flu from 1956? SARS in 2002? H7N9 “Bird Flu”? Or COVID-19? :rolleyes: My wife, a teacher, will sometimes pose the question to our daughter: “What are some context clues you could use here?” > [@madmonk28](#): > > That’s true if your concerned about the election, which I get that this is the subject of the thread, but the fact that the majority of Americans approve of Trump’s performance is pretty troubling. It points to the underlying truth that Trump is a symptom, not the disease. This. Also the thing about Americans being morons. Although even on the Triple Nine Society Facebook group, there are STILL a few people who defend the guy. :smack: > [@Kearsen1](#): > > To be frank with you and anyone else going “wtf”, this was told to you decades ago. > > The disease is the political corruption, the money in politics and the divisive nature of the past couple decades does nothing to treat it other than to jockey, even more for that political power which magically creates money , FOR THEM. > > Want to fix the problem? Get the money out of politics and the powers that grant that money. No. This is not the reason. Voters being morons or just fundamentally bad people has nothing to do with money in politics. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/155 "2020-03-20T22:42:26Z")
Voters being manipulated has to do wtih money in politics. Otherwise why are they spending all that money? ---
**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 20, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/156 "2020-03-20T23:06:33Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Bloomberg needs to start spending his millions on ads showing, on a fucking loop, Trump saying things like “It’s going to be just fine. We have it totally under control,” as well as a photo of [this Tweet.](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1236975196642390022) > > On a loop. On prime time TV. On social media. Don’t let this fucker gaslight this shit away. One-minute video that fits your criteria: > [@](#): > > Why did President Trump Lie about the COVID-19 Crisis? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JxG241bExqY/maxresdefault.jpg "Why Did President Trump Lie About the COVID-19 Crisis?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxG241bExqY) ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/157 "2020-03-20T23:56:02Z")
On the Hacks on Tap podcast, they said David Plouffe is heading a super-PAC that is running such ads. David Axelrod actually is a bit at odds with his old partner, opining that he thinks it could come across poorly to run partisan ads at this time. I respect both of them a lot, and working together they ran an amazing presidential campaign, so I’m unsure who’s right. ---
**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 21, 2020, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/158 "2020-03-21T00:05:48Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > On the Hacks on Tap podcast, they said David Plouffe is heading a super-PAC that is running such ads. David Axelrod actually is a bit at odds with his old partner, opining that he thinks it could come across poorly to run partisan ads at this time. I respect both of them a lot, and working together they ran an amazing presidential campaign, so I’m unsure who’s right. That’s a fair question. My sense is that Trump’s fans would protest at any time; and non-fans would see a critique of his handling of the pandemic as 100% fair and even useful. So far, so obvious. With regard to fence-sitters-who-vote, a lot would depend on the tone of the ads. I thought the one-minute Rule-of-Law one came down on the right side of not-snarky and purely factual—which would have the best chance of striking fence sitters as “fair.” There’s no commentary—no slant or spin. It’s just Trump’s own words + accurate statistics. That type of thing would be the best direction for Plouffe’s efforts, I think. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/159 "2020-03-21T00:53:44Z")
You’d think “Trump’s own words” would make the best ads. Incl. all of his purely factual gaffes, such as the numerous errors in geography. You’d think. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2020, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/160 "2020-03-21T11:34:50Z")
You’d think. But you’d also think he never would have had a chance to become president to begin with. The fact that we even have to think about how to defeat him for reelection is a very sad commentary on a large swath of the American population. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/161 "2020-03-22T02:37:48Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > This is more effective than ipecac for inducing vomiting. Then you’ve never had ipecac. Nothing will make you puke faster. You have time enough to think it tastes pretty gooBWAAAAA, your innards turn inside out. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/162 "2020-03-22T10:38:06Z")
I’m reposting this from another thread, hoping to give it a bit more traction. > [@Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2020 Breaking News](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1223): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by I Love Me, Vol. I > > … > > Saw Pence speaking the other day, away from Trump and in charge of the room. That guy is repulsive in his many of his anti-human views but damned if he didn’t sound competent addressing whatever he was talking about. Sure, he was spinning it this way and that to paint the best picture possible for the administration and himself but that’s politics as usual. He didn’t say anything earth-shaking or even especially important, but he sounded competent. > > Okay, I’m way overthinking this, but humor me, or preferably, slap me upside the head and tell me this could never happen. > > What if trump starts foaming at the mouth, collapses at the podium, and has to be carried away, permanently incapacitated? Pence takes over. He’s no intellectual giant, no Churchill, no star, but he looks, acts, and talks like a normal person. Let’s say he listens to experts, puts some things in place, and tries to get a handle on this crisis like a normal person of average intelligence would. He becomes not wildly popular, but MILDLY popular. > > Here’s the question: would that normalcy be enough to get him elected president in November? > > Assuming the Pubbies nominated him, which they might if the answer to my question is even remotely _yes_. Tell me this can’t happen. A couple of people said yes, they thought this could happen, that Pence’s inoffensively bland appearance makes him a welcome contrast to DJT, to which I replied: > [@Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2020 Breaking News](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2020-breaking-news/847758/1228): > > Damn. > > It occurs to me that Mitch may figure this out very soon and take behind-the-scenes steps to remove trump so that everyone can get used to President Pence in time to elect him for real in November. They don’t have time to groom a new candidate, and I don’t see how trump can physically last for eight more months. > > Damn. Could it happen? Four-eight more years of a Republican administration? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/163 "2020-03-22T17:19:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > A couple of people said yes, they thought this could happen, that Pence’s inoffensively bland appearance makes him a welcome contrast to DJT, to which I replied: Could it happen? Four-eight more years of a Republican administration? Yes, it could happen. I’ve said already that part of Biden’s appeal over Bernie is that people are tired of being yelled at. They are tired of all the drama and hysterical behavior. So remove Trump from the equation and let two relatively calm, grandpa-like figures run against each other and yes, Pence could get elected. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/164 "2020-03-22T18:35:18Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Yes, it could happen. I’ve said already that part of Biden’s appeal over Bernie is that people are tired of being yelled at. They are tired of all the drama and hysterical behavior. > > So remove Trump from the equation and let two relatively calm, grandpa-like figures run against each other and yes, Pence could get elected. I think the drama and hysteria are a significant part of Trump’s “appeal”, for lack of a better word. From a policy standpoint Pence would be similar (probably less overtly racist and xenophobic) but would totally lack the ability to rally the base. I think he’d get crushed by Biden. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/165 "2020-03-22T18:43:10Z")
TV says Rand Paul has coronavirus. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2020, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597/166 "2020-03-22T18:51:33Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > TV says Rand Paul has coronavirus. He will certainly uphold his libertarian principles and refuse any help funded in any way by the government. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-will-finish-trumps-presidency/849597.md?page=9)