# Donald Trump and the runup to the 2024 election **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 3, 2024, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196 "2024-08-03T16:49:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/161 "2024-08-23T01:28:46Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > Trump’s denial of a light crowd at his PA rally seems pretty unhinged: > > [Imgur: The magic of the Internet](https://i.imgur.com/eqPgDG5.png) If there is a debate Trump should be forced to define the words Marxist and Communist. I would be very curious what he would come up with. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/162 "2024-08-23T07:46:29Z")
Every time I see Trump speak recently he looks really low energy, like he doesn’t want to be there. It’s really a massive shift from his usual rallies. I wonder if the PTSD has finally hit him. [https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=trump%20rally%20video&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:319f2d77,vid:oIaZFTJOoAs,st:0](https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=trump%20rally%20video&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:319f2d77,vid:oIaZFTJOoAs,st:0) Meanwhile, compare his reaction to someone needing medical help to Walz. [https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=walz%20stops%20speech%20to%20help&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:f83b44ea,vid:ml72aisBHWw,st:0](https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=walz%20stops%20speech%20to%20help&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:f83b44ea,vid:ml72aisBHWw,st:0) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/163 "2024-08-23T08:29:09Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > If there is a debate Trump should be forced to define the words Marxist and Communist. I would be very curious what he would come up with. “Many people say that there’s been nothing like Marxism and Communism. They’ve caused so many troubles in the world; nobody’s ever seen anything like it. Imagine that, so many people suffering so horribly in the URSS [_sic_], China, Cuba, Yugoslavia [_sic_], and so on. All due to Marxism and Communism.” @Smapti is so much better at this than I am, but my point is that Trump never actually would answer a question regarding his definition of Marxism and Communism. He’d just spew word salad about the little he knows about both philosophies (which is _very_ little, except they’re bad somehow), before he deflects onto some tangent that has nothing to do with Marxism or Communism. In short, yes, I would love for him to be hit with a question requiring him to define Marxism and Communism. Hey, let’s ask him to define Socialism, just for S&G. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2024, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/164 "2024-08-23T15:49:46Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I wonder if the PTSD has finally hit him. It could also be that the success of the Harris/Walz ticket through polling and generating positive attention in the media is getting through to him, despite his usual firewalls. And the impending sentencing, and there may be some anxiety about the debate he agreed to. I mean, just for a moment put yourself in Donald’s shoes. Think of everything happening to him, everything that recently happened to him, and what is coming in the next few months. And consider that he’s only a couple of years away from 80, and doesn’t seem to eat well or exercise much, so is probably dealing with health issues he keeps secret. How much energy would you be able to muster up? I’m not saying this to garner sympathy. On the contrary, he has avoided what he deserves for far too long. He’s getting off too easy at this point. But there are so many reasons why he’d be struggling to muster up enthusiasm, I doubt that it’s due to any one specific thing. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/165 "2024-08-23T17:44:08Z")
I wonder if he really got a warning or did it for headlines/sympathy? Or both? I could see him blowing up something smaller into a big threat for publicity. Just another way to measure popularity. > **[Donald Trump abruptly ends interview: "We're in danger"](https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-abruptly-ends-interview-tells-reporter-were-danger-1943301)** > > Trump abruptly ended an interview, telling the reporter that his security didn't want him standing where he was standing. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/166 "2024-08-23T17:49:58Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > I wonder if he really got a warning or did it for headlines/sympathy? Considering this is a person who claimed two years after the event that the raid on Mar-A-Lago was an assassination attempt by the FBI, well… I know which way I’m leaning. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/167 "2024-08-23T18:55:26Z")
The best line of that article came from the comments section: “It’s hard to be a leader when you’re always playing the victim.” ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/168 "2024-08-24T09:45:13Z")
Trump is planning a “Jan. 6 Awards Gala” at his Bedminster resort on Sept. 5. [Trump’s Outrageous January 6 Gala Is a Giant Flashing Warning Sign | The New Republic](https://newrepublic.com/post/185199/trump-january-6-gala-fundraiser) > [@](#): > > It’s pretty clear that Trump is trying to whitewash an event where he tried to overturn the 2020 election, and maybe make some money in the process. The [rioters](https://newrepublic.com/article/160822/war-photographer-embeds-capitol-hill-mob) committed federal crimes and assaulted law enforcement, and yet this event honors them. It’s a warning that without any accountability, Trump will celebrate his crimes, and perhaps be emboldened to repeat them. This seems unwise since only his supporters will love it. But maybe that is the point. He’s not campaigning to win any more, he’s campaigning to contest the election. This event will show his fans that he will celebrate anyone who does violence for him. And he’s saying that he doesn’t need votes so he doesn’t seem to care about any outreach beyond his base. > [@](#): > > Former President [Donald Trump](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump) on Wednesday said his strategy for the fall is less geared toward turning out supporters to vote and more focused on ensuring Democrats “don’t cheat” in the general election. “We have all the votes we’ll need,” Trump said, indicating he’s not concerned about boosting voter turnout in his base. [Trump says focus is on ensuring Democrats ‘don’t cheat,’ not voter turnout (nbcnews.com)](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-says-focus-ensuring-democrats-dont-cheat-not-voter-turnout-rcna167630) Every accusation is a confession. He may be thinking that his only hope now is that he can steal this. ---
**Author:** ![2nd\_Law](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/f475e1/32.png) [@2nd\_Law](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2nd_Law)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/169 "2024-08-24T13:26:59Z")
After the September 5 event, no doubt there is going to be hours and hours of video on social media of people attending. And I imagine that should there be an attempt at repeating the events of January 6, 2021, facial recognition software will be used to show premeditation in the subsequent prosecutions. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/170 "2024-08-24T14:30:34Z")
I think the democrats have the numbers to elect Harris if we can keep the other side from finding a way to throw the decision to the court, which is my biggest fear. Create some chaos or a ton of doubt about the security of the vote and this rotten court will gladly gift trump the win. I hope smart people are thinking about every possible scenario and preparing for it. ---
**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:** [August 24, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/171 "2024-08-24T16:58:53Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > I think the democrats have the numbers to elect Harris if we can keep the other side from finding a way to throw the decision to the court, which is my biggest fear. I think it’ll be even harder for him to pull it off than it was last time, because the Democrats are more prepared. You’ll see him lose every court case again. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/172 "2024-08-24T20:13:30Z")
Yeah, it’s not just the MAGA folk who have been learning new tricks since the last time. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/173 "2024-08-25T00:23:33Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > it’s not just the MAGA folk who have been learning new tricks since the last time. Harris’ team is battle tested and ready to ride. > [@](#): > > Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign has assembled an expansive senior legal team that will oversee hundreds of lawyers and thousands of volunteers in a sprawling operation designed to be a bulwark against what Democrats expect to be an aggressive Republican effort to challenge voters, rules and, possibly, the results of the 2024 election. > > The legal apparatus within the Harris campaign will oversee multiple aspects of the election program, including voter protection, recounts and general election litigation, and it is adding Marc Elias, one of the party’s top election lawyers, to focus on potential recounts. > > The legal group is headed by Bob Bauer, who served as personal counsel to President Biden for years, and Dana Remus, the general counsel to the 2020 Biden campaign, and also includes Maury Riggan, the general counsel for the Harris campaign. Josh Hsu, formerly from the vice president’s office, will join the team, and Vanita Gupta, a former director of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and a top Biden Justice Department official, is an informal adviser. > > The campaign will also lean on the top lawyers at three prominent law firms — Seth Waxman, Donald Verrilli and John Devaney — to handle litigation, and deploy local counsel to eight battleground states and four other states of interest. > > Mr. Elias, who has had tensions with Mr. Bauer and other Democratic lawyers in the past, will also bring lawyers from his growing firm, Elias Law Group. He has also previously worked for Ms. Harris, serving as general counsel [for her primary campaign in 2020](https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/21/kamala-harris-2020-campaign-1116076). > > Ms. Remus said in a statement that the legal team had been working “uninterrupted over the last four years, building strategic plans in key states, adding more talent and capacity, and preparing for all possible scenarios.” [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/17/us/elections/democrats-election-legal-challenges.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/17/us/elections/democrats-election-legal-challenges.html) ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/174 "2024-08-25T00:40:49Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > _New York Times:_ The legal apparatus within **the Harris campaign** will oversee multiple aspects of the election program, including voter protection, recounts and general election litigation, and it **is adding Marc Elias, one of the party’s top election lawyers** , to focus on potential recounts. (my emphases) Marc Elias. A name to remember. > [@Trump Pressured Georgia Official to ‘Find’ Enough Votes to Overturn Election](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-pressured-georgia-official-to-find-enough-votes-to-overturn-election/929592/519): > > (my emphasis) The local-level rat-fuckery is not going unopposed. That’s the whole point of Democracy Docket and Marc Elias’s advance efforts. Most of the potential bad actors are already exposed ([Rolling Stone article](https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-swing-state-officials-election-deniers-1235069692/), [Rachel Maddow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQfI3awx-wo), etc.) and the remedial filings, lawsuits, and countersuits to overcome the bad-faith officials are already drafted. There’s an idea floating out there that a some number of local officials somewhere can summarily “refuse to certify” and suddenly that whole state… Carve it in stone: Election subversion efforts will NOT win Donald Trump a second term. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/175 "2024-08-25T11:02:54Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Carve it in stone: Election subversion efforts will NOT win Donald Trump a second term. Gold-plate it. That will really piss him off. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/176 "2024-08-25T13:15:46Z")
Marc Elias’s name appears frequently on conservative social media. They hate him because he wins. And he wins because he has the law behind him. The law is not helpful to Republican ratfuckery. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2024, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/177 "2024-08-25T14:16:13Z")
There’s that old adage among lawyers… When the facts are on your side, pound the facts. When the law is on your side, pound the law. When neither is on your side, pound the table. The Republicans and Trump in particular have been pounding the table since Trump lost in 2020, and they’ll continue pounding the table because that’s all they have. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/178 "2024-08-25T16:38:10Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > they’ll continue pounding the table Must……resist……easy Vance joke… ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2024, 9:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/179 "2024-08-26T09:31:17Z")
Trump’s making noises about the debate next month. Scared? Just trying to keep in the headlines or pressure a switch to Fox? Who can say? [https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4847185-trump-raises-questions-abc-debate-stay-tuned/](https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4847185-trump-raises-questions-abc-debate-stay-tuned/) ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2024, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196/180 "2024-08-28T13:06:25Z")
turns out that voters in az and nv who are mormon are turning away from trump. [Mormons Could Help Kamala Harris Win Arizona (msn.com)](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/mormons-could-help-kamala-harris-win-arizona/ar-AA1prc2m?ocid=BingNewsSerp) this morning on cnn there was an interview with gentleman from later day saints for harris-walz, he mentioned that mormons judge a person by their fruits, and trump’s fruits are not good. sad, weird, fruit. the slogans could get very crazy and kinky. the mormons do take the constitution very seriously. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/1005196.md?page=10)