# Donald Trump announces presidential run **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 16, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679 "2015-06-16T16:35:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/141 "2015-06-24T15:03:14Z")
And the hair, dear Lord, don’t forget the hair! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/142 "2015-06-24T15:10:32Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > OMFG, Trump trails only Jeb! in a New Hampshire GOP poll: Obviously many respondents are just playing with the pollers. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/143 "2015-06-24T15:19:48Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > My best guess is that Trump isn’t going to be out there past August because he won’t Have to be. Mission Accomplished. Good Job, Donny. You think that Trump is volunteering himself as a stalking horse for the GOP? Have you met his ego? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/144 "2015-06-24T15:30:30Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > OMFG, Trump trails only Jeb! in a New Hampshire GOP poll: [http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/23/politics/donald-trump-second-place-new-hampshire-poll/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/23/politics/donald-trump-second-place-new-hampshire-poll/index.html) From that very article: > [@](#): > > Pollsters tend to caution that surveys more than six months before any votes are cast may simply be registering each contender’s name recognition – of which Trump has plenty. Trump also joins a crowded GOP field in which none of the candidates — including Bush — have been able to break out of the pack. > > In the 2012 cycle, several candidates with a penchant for making headlines with their controversial claims – such as businessman Herman Cain and former Rep. Michele Bachmann and even Trump himself (though not an official candidate) – also garnered top spots in early polls only to crash to Earth as the campaign dragged on. It’s not terribly uncommon for a candidate to announce, their poll numbers start fairly high, and then go down as their stands on the issues is made more specific. I would guess that his poll numbers will go down as he starts to do more “campaigning”. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/145 "2015-06-24T16:35:55Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > You think that Trump is volunteering himself as a stalking horse for the GOP? Have you met his ego? Is his ego that thing on his head? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/146 "2015-06-24T20:46:35Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Is his ego that thing on his head? No. His ego would be the size a circus tent. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/147 "2015-06-24T22:42:49Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > OMFG, Trump trails only Jeb! in a New Hampshire GOP poll: [http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/23/politics/donald-trump-second-place-new-hampshire-poll/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/23/politics/donald-trump-second-place-new-hampshire-poll/index.html) Clicking through to the [poll information](https://www.suffolk.edu/news/60149.php) behind the story > [@](#): > > The margin of error is +/-4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. So Trump’s support is somewhere between 15.4 and 6.6. His error bars would overlap with candidates who the report showed at 3% or higher. His numbers are not significantly different than those for Bush, Walker, Rubio, Carson, Christie, Paul, Cruz, or Fiorina. “No statistical difference between the top nine Republican candidates” isn’t much of a headline for CNN though. An interesting piece not covered in the article is that the poll also asked about who should get to participate in a debate from the gigantic field. Trump is #11 for people wanting him in the debate The poll link also includes this (with my emphasis added): > [@](#): > > Overall, 4 **9 percent of likely voters had an unfavorable opinion of Trump** , while 37 percent viewed him positively. Among those favorable to Trump, 89 percent want him in the debates, but among those unfavorable to him, 32 percent want him in. > > “This is where Trump’s unfavorability is limiting people’s tolerance to hear what he has to say, and voters would rather see other candidates in the debate,” said Paleologos. \*\*“Trump’s controversial candidacy is being constructed in a way that gives him visibility and exposure in the short term but may also limit his growth in the long run, like a glass ceiling.” \*\* His campaign manager has their work cut out to break through that ceiling. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/148 "2015-06-25T13:22:08Z")
> [@Folacin](#): > > You think that Trump is volunteering himself as a stalking horse for the GOP? Have you met his ego? I’ve never met his ego; I’ve heard some of his statements and yes if any man on earth could inflate two Goodyear Blimps with hot air from both ends at the same time, its probably him. That said (and those 4 bankruptcies aside) I can’t remember a time when he has ever thrown away money; to be in the race, even just this far, must have cost him personally million$. Trump tends to think through things in an “investment \> shock advertisement \> fleece the crowd \> get out early” format. We’ve seen so far the investment & the shock advertisement to draw the crowd… but make no mistake, there IS a hook that’s coming. That we can’t see it or flesh out its profit function should worry us. (…unless it is just to be a stalking horse with the payoff being that he feels that some of his riskier investments will yield enough more under Jeb than Hillary to be worth all this.) Keep in mind that Republicans still do pick running mates from former candidates and announce at their convention. He could very easily play the “I’m Bat-Shit Crazy, so nothing better ever happen to the President” Veep card. He’d be playing one-on-one against Christie to be Jeb-Veep, and so far he makes Christie look low-key. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/149 "2015-06-25T13:50:54Z")
No candidate would ever, ever, _ever_ pick Trump as his running mate, and his ego is not at all suited to taking the #2 spot. That’s crazy talk. Trump’s now picking a fight with Neil Young: [http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/24/politics/trump-responds-to-neil-young-on-twitter/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/24/politics/trump-responds-to-neil-young-on-twitter/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/150 "2015-06-25T14:12:18Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > No candidate would ever, ever, _ever_ pick Trump as his running mate, and his ego is not at all suited to taking the #2 spot. That’s crazy talk. I understand… and maybe you are correct. Still, I’d rather see him as somebody’s #2 rather than Christie, whose governing style hasn’t been seen in leadership role in a Western country since twentieth century [Southern Europe](http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/310/3/a/cities_of_southern_europe_by_nederbird-d329wdm.png). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/151 "2015-06-25T14:22:58Z")
Much as I disagree with Christie on the issues and suspect him in the bridge closure and other abuses of power, I would take him in a heartbeart over Trump for either President or Vice President. He at least has governing experience and some measure of self-discipline. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/152 "2015-06-25T14:29:38Z")
It’s a cheap shot, I know, but given Gov. Christie’s waistline, how can you say he has “some measure of self-discipline”? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/153 "2015-06-25T15:01:31Z")
Let me emphasize that I am no admirer of Christie. But compared to Trump, he is not an egomaniac narcissist who instantly says whatever pops into his head. He has political if not, er, culinary self-discipline, which is more important in a public official. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/154 "2015-06-25T15:24:50Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Let me emphasize that I am no admirer of Christie. But compared to Trump, he is not an egomaniac narcissist who instantly says whatever pops into his head. I was going to agree with you, then I reread what you wrote and thought “But that describes Christie really really well.” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/155 "2015-06-25T19:22:11Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > I’ve never met his ego; I’ve heard some of his statements and yes if any man on earth could inflate two Goodyear Blimps with hot air from both ends at the same time, its probably him. > That said (and those 4 bankruptcies aside) I can’t remember a time when he has ever thrown away money; to be in the race, even just this far, must have cost him personally million$. His campaign announcement has already lost him money: [Univision Ends Miss Universe Business Deal Over Trump Mexico Comments](http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/univision-no-miss-universe-due-trump-mexico-comments-n381696?cid=sm_fb) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/156 "2015-06-25T19:49:16Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I was going to agree with you, then I reread what you wrote and thought “But that describes Christie really really well.” Heh. Well, I would put Christie a good bit farther down the spectrum of outspoken egomaniacal narcissism. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/157 "2015-06-25T19:52:30Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Heh. Well, I would put Christie a good bit farther down the spectrum of outspoken egomaniacal narcissism. I dunno, Christie is a guy who shouts at and insults people who ask him uncomfortable questions at press conferences. So his ego is quite fragile, if not quite as large as Trump’s. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/158 "2015-06-29T19:09:03Z")
[NBC/Universal severs ties with Donald Trump](http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/06/29/donald-trump-nbc/) > [@](#): > > The company said in a statement Monday that it is cutting off its business relationship with Donald Trump, who is now seeking the Republican presidential nomination. The decision comes as a result of inflammatory comments Trump made during his June 16 announcement event. > > During that speech, the billionaire real estate magnate said, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. …. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” > > In its statement, NBC cited “derogatory comments” made by Trump “regarding immigrants,” in announcing its decision. The network says that as a result of the end of its business relationship with Trump, NBC will no longer air the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, which were joint projects of Trump and NBC. > > Trump will also not participate in Celebrity Apprentice, which the statement notes he’d previously made clear. However, because the show is operated by United Artists Media Group, “that relationship will continue.” I’m dying laughing. I can’t wait to hear Trump’s response. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/159 "2015-06-29T19:52:55Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > [NBC/Universal severs ties with Donald Trump](http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/06/29/donald-trump-nbc/) > > I’m dying laughing. I can’t wait to hear Trump’s response. That clears the way for the Fox News Channel to air Miss Universe. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679/160 "2015-06-29T19:53:07Z")
“What the hell do you mean, _I’M_ fired?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-announces-presidential-run/722679.md?page=9)