# Could Trump have been stopped br the GOP in the early days? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 26, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-trump-have-been-stopped-br-the-gop-in-the-early-days/989154 "2023-08-26T21:33:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-trump-have-been-stopped-br-the-gop-in-the-early-days/989154/81 "2023-09-05T14:16:01Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Social media has completed what talk radio and comedy news programs started: the transformation of politics into entertainment. I would say that started here: > **[How the Kennedy-Nixon debate changed the world of politics | Constitution Center](https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-debate-that-changed-the-world-of-politics)** > > September 26, 1960 is the day that changed part of the modern political landscape, when a vice president and a senator took part in the first televised presidential debate. > The importance of the event can’t be underestimated. Before 1960, there were candidates who debated (Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas were 19th century examples) and there were candidates who appeared on television. And there were candidates who went out on the trail and “stumped” for votes, appearing in public at pre-arranged events or at whistle-stop tours on trains. > > But most voters never had a chance to see candidates in a close, personal way, giving them the opportunity to form an opinion about the next president based on their looks, their voice and their opinions. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-trump-have-been-stopped-br-the-gop-in-the-early-days/989154/82 "2023-09-05T16:05:02Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I liked Denis Leary’s take on this which was long the lines that since JFK got shot on live TV […] When did this happen? I would think that if the Kennedy assassination was covered on a live broadcast, the Zapruder film wouldn’t have been such a big thing. How did the networks of 60 years ago know to put their cameras in Dealey Plaza? They didn’t have portable handheld cameras beaming the signal up to satellites at the time. I don’t think there were news teams following the motorcade, and I don’t think they could have covered it if they had been. Or could Denis Leary be exaggerating for comic effect? ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-trump-have-been-stopped-br-the-gop-in-the-early-days/989154/83 "2023-09-05T16:09:38Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > since JFK got shot on live TV He didn’t. > [@SunUp](#): > > I would think that if the Kennedy assassination was covered on a live broadcast, the Zapruder film wouldn’t have been such a big thing. Exactly. The networks _weren’t_ covering the event, so the Zapruder film was the only video evidence. So Leary’s point is probably that, ever since the networks _missed_ JFK’s shooting, they’ve made sure to cover every public moment of every president, just in case something like that happens again. That’s no excuse for all the coverage of Trump’s motorcades, of course. Private citizen hires a bunch of LEOs to escort him to and from airports? Who gives a shit? ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-trump-have-been-stopped-br-the-gop-in-the-early-days/989154/84 "2023-09-06T02:28:56Z")
I recall some news story at the time of Reagan’s assassination attempt, caught by someone on the press pool covering Reagan’s every move. When asked why the constant press coverage evolved that way, the answer was to cover the “awful awful” if (and when) another assassination attempt occurs. Nobody wants to see that happen, but everyone would want to see how it happened. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-trump-have-been-stopped-br-the-gop-in-the-early-days/989154/86 "2024-03-26T04:35:23Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > I would think that if the Kennedy assassination was covered on a live broadcast, the Zapruder film wouldn’t have been such a big thing. The Kennedy assassination was not on live TV. However Ruby killing Oswald was. In fact I saw it live. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-trump-have-been-stopped-br-the-gop-in-the-early-days/989154.md?page=4)