# Do we really "owe" Trump a chance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 13, 2016, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733 "2016-11-13T00:19:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/101 "2016-11-15T14:18:29Z")
Damn fool Obama thought that if he treated the right with dignity and respect, they would repay in the same coin. You sure showed him! ---
**Author:** ![ganthet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@ganthet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ganthet)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/102 "2016-11-15T14:30:10Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > THIS is how rabid the libs are about not giving Trump a chance. Nor only not give a chance. Even the contemplation of such is a mortal sin. When Oprah gets shit you know its bad. Giving him a chance is a pretty uncertain prescription since even some of his supporters didn’t believe he was going to do what he said he promised to do - build a wall, “open up” libel laws so he can punish the press for fact-checking him, deport 11 million illegal immigrants, etc. If he meant what he said, then “giving him a chance” means essentially supporting his terrible policy ideas. If he didn’t mean what he promised to do, then “giving him a chance” means somehow hoping he didn’t really mean anything that he said and that no one has any idea what he’ll actually do. But since he has made a few post-election interviews in which he reiterated some of his promises, it seems a fair bet that of those two possible outcomes, the former is somewhat more likely than the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Waymore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Waymore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waymore)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/103 "2016-11-15T14:33:28Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Damn fool Obama thought that if he treated the right with dignity and respect, they would repay in the same coin. You sure showed him! How, by referring to them as bitter people who cling to guns and religion? But that’s beside the point, we’re not speaking of Obama. We’re talking about giving a new president a chance. It’s inconsistent to fault the right for not giving Obama a chance if you won’t in turn give Trump a chance. That’s clear and indisputable, unless of course you use a double standard. ---
**Author:** ![TwiSpark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TwiSpark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwiSpark)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/104 "2016-11-15T14:50:12Z")
I was saying “give him a chance” the other day. So far with his chance he’s hired a white supremacist as a senior advisor, a move celebrated by the KKK. I’m still trying to keep up the optimism that he’s not going to be ‘that bad’ and is going to be a kinder, gentler fascist (or better, that he made it all up and this guy is to help him better understand and shut down racism) - unfortunately I’m starting to struggle with the level of denial it’s requiring… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/105 "2016-11-15T15:13:57Z")
> [@Waymore](#): > > How, by referring to them as bitter people who cling to guns and religion? > > But that’s beside the point, we’re not speaking of Obama. We’re talking about giving a new president a chance. How much of a chance? Until he appoints a racist in his Cabinet? Until he appoints a homophobic religionist as Domestic Policy Leader? What’s the plan here-to give him enough rope to hang _us_? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/106 "2016-11-15T15:23:24Z")
> [@Waymore](#): > > Trump is owed a chance to the same degree that Obama or any other president was owed a chance at the beginning of his administration. Talk about hypocrisy! The Republicans said they would shut Obama down _no matter_ what he did, not _because_ of what he had already done. You are comparing citizen’s protests of a President-elect’s words, deeds and stated goals with the deliberate attempt by Republican Congressmen to bring government to a halt because their candidate didn’t win. You’ve gone far beyond comparing apples to oranges-you are comparing cherries to watermelons. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/107 "2016-11-15T15:30:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Talk about hypocrisy! The Republicans said they would shut Obama down _no matter_ what he did, not _because_ of what he had already done. You are comparing citizen’s protests of a President-elect’s words, deeds and stated goals with the deliberate attempt by Republican Congressmen to bring government to a halt because their candidate didn’t win. You’ve gone far beyond comparing apples to oranges-you are comparing cherries to watermelons. I would say it’s closer to comparing apples to the planet Neptune. No similarity whatsoever. Apparently the normally smooth-as-glass transition process has turned into a [clusterfuck](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/politics/trump-transition.html?partner=rss&emc=rss). Pence hasn’t signed the paperwork–his side is quibbling over the language, which is determined by statute. My guess is the hangup would be this: > [@](#): > > Among other things, the paperwork serves as a mutual nondisclosure agreement for both sides, ensuring that members of the president-elect’s team do not divulge sensitive information about the inner workings of the government that they learn during the transition period, and that the president’s aides do not reveal anything they may discover about the incoming administration’s plans. “No one’s going to tell us what to disclose or what not to disclose! We’re in charge, and we’ll do things OUR way!” Another note from that same article: > [@](#): > > Eliot A. Cohen, a former State Department official, said on Twitter that after having spoken to Mr. Trump’s team, he had _“changed my recommendation: stay away. They’re angry, arrogant, screaming ‘you LOST!’ Will be ugly.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/108 "2016-11-15T15:43:51Z")
From the NYT link above, it seems that it’s not going sooth at all: > [@](#): > > The chaos caught the attention of some senior Republicans who criticized Mr. Trump during his campaign but said after he won that they would not necessarily rule out joining his administration or advising him. …then the above happened. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/109 "2016-11-18T17:43:11Z")
O.K.-We gave him his chance…and every fucking appointment so far has been a far right wing embarrassment. Time’s up chance-wise, as far as I’m concerned. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/110 "2016-11-18T18:20:04Z")
On election night and the days that followed, yes, I think we owed him a chance to allay our fears. I accept that sometimes candidates will run cynical campaigns that fire up certain constituencies only to be more moderate at governing. Did I hold out a lot of hope? No, but I thought that Trump at least had the flexibility to _possibly_ go in a different direction than the platform he ran on. In the time since, we’ve learned that his inner circle is more or less being managed by a handful of bitterly vindictive people who seem to have little regard for anything other than loyalty and a desire to settle old scores. So I’m still keeping an open mind but my optimism is fading. ---
**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:** [November 18, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/111 "2016-11-18T18:24:03Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Damn fool Obama thought that if he treated the right with dignity and respect, they would repay in the same coin. You sure showed him! What is he supposed to do exactly? Obama may have had contentious relations with republicans over the years but relative to what’s left among the democrats he probably has some political capital with moderates and being above the fray is probably the way to go, especially since he is still in office. Once he’s out of office he will have more to say, I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![SantaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@SantaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SantaMan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/112 "2016-11-18T18:36:00Z")
We owe it to _ourselves_ to pick our battles. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/113 "2016-11-18T19:04:22Z")
> [@SantaMan](#): > > We owe it to _ourselves_ to pick our battles. We owe it to ourselves and others to step up and not assume the battles will fight themselves, to not wait until it’s too late. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2016, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/114 "2016-11-18T19:52:27Z")
> [@SantaMan](#): > > We owe it to _ourselves_ to pick our battles. Which battles would \*you \*pick? And on what basis? ---
**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:** [November 19, 2016, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733/115 "2016-11-19T23:04:12Z")
> [@Waymore](#): > > Trump is owed a chance to the same degree that Obama or any other president was owed a chance at the beginning of his administration. If you bitched about the right wing not giving Obama a chance you’re a hypocrite if you do the same to Trump. > > Either give a new president a chance or shut up when a new president more to your liking is not given a chance by those who disagree with you. You mean like, say, Obama? Oh, the hypocrisy… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-really-owe-trump-a-chance/771733.md?page=5)