That may well be, but I would be stunned if that thought process ever occurred to him. Running for president, and winning the presidency, has all been about his ego, and proving to his detractors just how amazing he is.
Someone is already unhappy. That someone is Michael Savage–don’t know if he wrote this after hearing Trump’s choiceof Rence Priebus as Chief of Staff.
From NYT:
Trump has learned that when you “drain the swamp” you find a lot of hungry gators, snapping tutles & water moccasins. Why not hire them?
He has a big ego, that’s undeniable. But what Trump is doing - putting his life at risk, having his entire life examined and analyzed by the world, getting insulted daily, etc. - is not driven by ego, I just know it.
He talked about how he wanted someone else to turn this country around for decades. He only recently decided that since nobody else is stepping up to the plate, he might as well take one for the team and do it himself.
You’re shitting me, right?
Please explain why you think I’m shitting you.
Those secret service people aren’t following him so they can run and get him some KFC when the mood strikes him.
I don’t think this is really true, since his speeches have been part policy statements and part hyperbolic stand-up comedy - impossible to compare with traditional campaigns.
It’s like saying that Joan Rivers showed us who she was when she made jokes about digging up the graves of ex-spouses.
Personally, I’m absolutely convinced that the presidential run was initially just a publicity grab – that he had not initially intended to see it through, but that it would be good for his brand. Run for a few months, get a ton of free press, drop out after a few primaries, and continue to act as a loudmouthed, opinionated outsider.
But, once he started gaining momentum, and he had crowds of thousands of people cheering for him at his rallies, there was no way that his ego would let him back out.
Edit: also, the man has, AFAICT, never done a single act in his life that was purely motivated by the greater good, or altruism. His actions, for decades, have consistently been about maximizing his personal reputation and wealth.
Solid words from our cephalopod friend. As long as there do exist legitimate ways to check/balance from within the machinery, and to resist from outside it, let’s use them - that is not “not giving a chance”, it’s what’s supposed to happen. It’s the winner/majority’s job to get their agenda put in motion, not the opposition’s to just meekly roll over.
OTOH…
Getting to where the presidency of Mike Pence looks attractive as a “normal” Right Wing Hardliner is kind of fearing Trump a bit too much. As others pointed out, a President Mike Pence would have the political skillset to actually pass measures in the social sphere that would badly hurt many Americans and possibly stand court scrutiny once a couple more conservative justices are appointed. Getting people to the point of hoping Trump punts to Pence, because Donald scares them to death that he’ll do something right out of a horror comic, would be a brilliant gambit on the part of the Theocratic NeoCon faction.
Ah yes, the notion that a period of Trump (or, earlier in the cycle, Cruz) rule would help finally trigger a true move to the left by America when they finally have to face the fascism inherent in the system. That won’t happen. If enough people are pissed off so as to deny him a second term, they’ll say HE was the problem.(The GOP of course is facing the paradoxical situation that after a period of having every losing presidential election be excused by “if only we had run a REAL conservative!!!”, they finally get their win with someone who does not resemble a real conservative in nearly anything.)
That’s ridiculous. This is one example out of many. You can find the rest on your own.
Trump doesn’t scare me to death, but just as Dubya wasn’t able to fully accomplish all conservative policy and legislative goals with 5 years of a Republican-controlled Congress (well, House some of the time and full Congress the rest), Pence wouldn’t either. But Trump could do real, lasting damage to the U.S. both domestically and internationally in terms of the world order and U.S. alliances. Pence would likely keep things (and U.S. leadership) the same on the international scene. This is especially why Republicans who have been involved in foreign affairs were among the most vocal in standing against Trump.
[QUOTE=b4rbz]
He has a big ego, that’s undeniable. But what Trump is doing - putting his life at risk, having his entire life examined and analyzed by the world, getting insulted daily, etc. - is not driven by ego, I just know it.
[/QUOTE]
Gut feelings make a poor authority to cite to. Saying Trump has put his life at risk by running for president is a bit hyperbolic. And that’s saying something for a Trump thread! Trump hasn’t let his entire life be examined. He has led a life in the public eye for 30+ years of his own choosing, so he doesn’t get credit for that, since he parlayed that into PR for his businesses and to build a myth of unnatural success around himself. Plus, if he truly was going to let his entire life be examined, he would have released his tax returns as every other presidential nominee has done since the '70s (and his own VP did as well). His “I can’t, they’re under audit” excuse was pure BS, particularly since he could have released past tax returns that weren’t under audit. Trump is the kind of guy who loves a fight, even if it means getting insulted, but who has a glass jaw, since he is always complaining about being treated unfairly or in responding to criticism of his proposed policies or ideas with personal ad hominem attacks.
Don’t lionize Trump. He’s not a complete monster. He, like virtually any other human being, has done some good things in his life. The good doesn’t wash out the bad, however, nor the bad the good, to quote GoT.
OK, that was a bit of hyperbole on my part. My apologies.
That said: he hasn’t even contributed a dollar to his own charitable foundation in years (and, there are a number of cases in which he likely used that charity for personal gain). His business history is littered with examples of him taking advantage of others, using lawsuits (or the threat of them) to intimidate others, and breaking contracts he’s signed because he doesn’t like the terms (and stiffing those who did business with him in the process). He has admitted that he uses bankruptcy (which leaves creditors holding the bag) as just another weapon in his business arsenal.
I’m unaware of any particular charitable causes that he’s consistently championed. It’s possible that he donates extensively to charity, but (as ganthet notes) since he hasn’t released any of his tax returns, we have no idea if he actually does.
In short, IMO, he’s never shown any real desire to do anything that doesn’t personally benefit Donald J. Trump. I’ve watched his behavior for 30 years, and I simply find it incredibly hard to believe that his motivations for running for president are what you’ve described, b4rbz.
You don’t ‘owe’ any politician anything. However most of the posts just reiterate campaign rhetoric. But Trump has been elected now. ‘I oppose the person’ is a logical fit for an election campaign but not as much for somebody elected but who hasn’t actually done anything.
Trump will do some things even before taking office. For example today he name Steve Bannon his ‘chief strategist’. It’s reasonable to criticize that, or even his appointment of Priebus, I guess.
But by and large he hasn’t actually done anything, and this is why many people find it off putting when elements of the left won’t give their criticism of Trump even a brief rest till he actually does stuff they don’t agree with.
But everyone knows certain people will criticize virtually every single thing any GOP president does, or another group what any Democratic president does. And everyone else knows those kind of partisans are just pretending if they say they’ll give a president of the opposite party a chance.
(Bolding mine.)
Because we’re the grown-ups in the room? Because “when they go low, we go high?”
Look, I think Trump is an appalling creature and I am terrified and heartbroken that he is president. But maybe he won’t destroy our country and the world. It’s too early to say - his transition team/possible appointment are horrifying, but his rhetoric so far has been surprisingly conciliatory and sensible.
Of course we should fight every stupid policy he tries to implement, but maybe we should wait for those wheels to start turning before we light bonfires in the road.
To answer the OP - do we owe Trump a chance?" No, but we owe our COUNTRY a chance to show that we can make it through this with our principles, our sense of fair play, and our democratic ideals intact.
You just know it…you’re a conservative, aren’t you?
Heh when did Trump ever specify anything?
But here’s the text of it:
[QUOTE=President-Elect Donald J. Trump]
Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!
[/QUOTE]
Why, because she has breasts? From all I’ve heard, she’s the apple that fell closest to the tree.
Still…I would have thought the passengers would have preferred an actual pilot with 30 years of experience, rather than the loudest asshole in first class.
Currently, I’m less concerned about Trump Himself than about the Republicans who will use their “mandate” to push through all their pet projects. Paul Ryan wants a Giant Tax Cut first; then, he wants to “fix” Medicare.
Trump wants a tax cut, too, but he’s got pet projects that cost money. Bad ones–that “Wall”–and good ones–fixing the Infrastructure. Of course he also wants more spent on the Military–already the greatest in the world. Trump had previously promised to keep his hands off Medicare & Social Security. Will Congress work for him–or for themselves? He can’t “fire” them. Then there is the alt.right–quite a nasty group; will they get angry if Trump doesn’t satisfy their White Supremacist fantasies?
President Obama is giving him a chance. Trump led the Birther charge & has said nasty things about the President for years. All Obama said about him was the he was “unqualified.” But he knows that, instead of saying “fuck off, idiot”–it’s better if he, slowly & patiently, tries to explain some things about being President. For the good of the country.
I don’t have a thing to give Trump. He will be the President. Let’s see how he & the rest of the party govern.
At what point do we stop “watching”?
We’ve seen his list of Cabinet choices. We know he appointed a homophobic right-wing religionist with a detailed agenda(Ken Blackwell) as his Domestic Policy Leader. He has appointed racist Steve Bannon as chief strategist and senior counselor. More shudder to come.
How much of a chance would you have us give him?