# Donald Trump's 2016 General Election Campaign **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 4, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901 "2016-05-04T02:37:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 144
**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:** [July 22, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2863 "2016-07-22T15:53:30Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Well, then, lets have this fight. The Forces of Darkness appear to be convinced beyond all reason that _they_ are the Americans, the vast, silent majority. Lets draw the lines stark and clear, and then vote. If the truth is dark and terrible, at least we will know. I read an interesting article in the past couple of days that said that conservatives tend to think that people are more like them than reality demonstrates, while liberals tend to think that people are less like them than reality demonstrates. I think this could be an interesting explanation for why many conservatives are always convinced they are saying what everyone else is thinking, while many liberals are always convinced that they are lone voices in the wilderness. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2864 "2016-07-22T15:57:21Z")
History hangover. When I first started giving a shit, my views were way out there. Got used to my views being very unpopular. Now, not so much. A little disconcerting, actually. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2865 "2016-07-22T17:40:31Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > If I thought Trump would ACTUALLY stay out of the way, I’d vote for the Trump ticket to get Mike Pence as the acting President. But Trump’s ego doesn’t actually allow him to do that. First of all, if Pence were sitting in the Oval Office, he would be the most extreme right-wing nincompoop ever to hold that office. He’s a Tea Partier, doesn’t believe in climate change, and even opposes energy efficiency. As Congressperson, he voted against all aspects of the 2008 crisis management, opposed minimum wage, opposed labor unions, opposed education, etc. He’s a “flat tax” freak. I understand party loyalty, but responsible Republicans should be running from this asshole as fast as they run from Ted Cruz, etc. So, yes, a Pence Presidency would be horrid. But a Trump-Pence Presidency, even with Trump “hands off” would be far far worse than a Pence Presidency. For one thing, any minion displeased with Pence’s leadership could call the Trump and kiss his ass to develop an internal fight. At least when the nincompoop G.W. Bush was sitting in the Puppet’s chain he let Dick Cheney and Karl Rove run the country. But with Trump flying around the world with Melania while Pence is trying to act like a Leader, there’s a real risk that the two highest executives will be operating at cross-purposes. While Pence is in the middle of delicate negotiations involving the Syrian War, Trump will be calling up the ground commanders to tell them about his latest midnight conversation with Putin. The mind boggles at the potential for catastrophe. At this point, _anyone_ — left-wing, right-wing, Tea Party, Millenial, genius, moron — who thinks a Trump Presidency might be tolerable needs to report to an insane asylum. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ > [@Merneith](#): > > The obligations of NATO members is set forth in the North Atlantic Treaty (also called the Washington Treaty). You think contracts matter to the main with short fingers and funny hair? He’s based his business on reneging on contracts and has promised to default on China’s U.S. bond holdings if they displease him. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2866 "2016-07-22T17:53:01Z")
So Trump gave a [truly insane press conference](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/07/trump-goes-nuts-post-convention-press-conference) this morning harping back on Ted Cruz’s father’s involvement with JFK’s assassination and saying the National Enquirer deserves a Pulitzer Prize. I’m going to be really tired of saying “This would be funny if it weren’t so scary” by November. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2867 "2016-07-22T18:04:21Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > It’s just Poland, after all. Anyway, have you ever tried chopped liver? It sucks. No loss here. Poor Poland. They cannot into space. Always Anchluss! [https://www.reddit.com/r/polandball/](https://www.reddit.com/r/polandball/) ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2868 "2016-07-22T18:38:08Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > You think contracts matter to the main with short fingers and funny hair? He’s based his business on reneging on contracts and has promised to default on China’s U.S. bond holdings if they displease him. I’m sure Donald doesn’t know or care about the actual terms set out in the North Atlantic Treaty. That’s why he would be an apocalyptically bad president. But I was responding to a suggestion, since revoked, that perhaps it would be appropriate to review everyone’s obligations before sending in help. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2869 "2016-07-22T18:59:24Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > At least when the nincompoop G.W. Bush was sitting in the Puppet’s chain he let Dick Cheney and Karl Rove run the country. George W. Bush actually read books and wanted to be a good President even though he was a bad one. He wasn’t as dumb as he looked and wasn’t actually evil. Bush actually liked to be the person deciding things; it’s how he saw his role as President. He called himself “the decider,” seeing his role as being the person who had to make a call. It’s the reason his memoir is called “Decision Points.” Bush saw the role of President and the course of history as a succession of A or B decisions. Regrettably, Bush surrounded himself with people who all had the same worldview, a giant flock of chickenhawks, and he never wanted to change that, so he was doomed to making the wrong decisions. Worse still, Bush had spent most of his life insulated from the effects of bad decisions, so he did not have the correct personality and point of view to change course when faced with the stark reality of error. That said, if Trump becomes President, you’ll soon be thinking “boy, a third term of Dubya would be wayyyyy better than this.” The United States on January 19, 2009 was a functioning country with its apparatus of state and institutions of democracy fully intact. I am not wholly confident a Trump administration will be able to say that when it’s done. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2870 "2016-07-22T19:05:52Z")
> [@](#): > > George W. Bush actually read books Especially about pet goats. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2871 "2016-07-22T19:32:27Z")
The variable I find most confounding in evaluating this race is how competent Trump’s campaign is going to be. They have spells of competence like when they defeated the Never Trumpers before the convention. I think the Pence pick was on balance a decent one. But then the convention itself was poorly run and Trump is now needlessly dragging out the Cruz affair. If Trump could run a semi-competent race for the next few months he really could win this but that isn’t looking likely at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2872 "2016-07-22T20:58:46Z")
The RNC stopped the NeverTrumpers, not the Trump campaign. Any campaign who lets their candidate send out their own tweets is NOT a competent campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2873 "2016-07-22T22:35:34Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > The RNC stopped the NeverTrumpers, not the Trump campaign. Any campaign who lets their candidate send out their own tweets is NOT a competent campaign. It was Doug Ose and the rules committee. My ex-Congressman. Yay? I didn’t see it, but one of my friends says that the Pences were not on the podium with the Trumps after the speech. Is that true? ---
**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:** [July 22, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2874 "2016-07-22T22:46:37Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > It was Doug Ose and the rules committee. My ex-Congressman. Yay? > > I didn’t see it, but one of my friends says that the Pences were not on the podium with the Trumps after the speech. Is that true? Someone could do a great novel or movie from the POV of a Pence-like character running for VP of a Trump-like character. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2875 "2016-07-22T23:40:27Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I didn’t see it, but one of my friends says that the Pences were not on the podium with the Trumps after the speech. Is that true? Pence and what I assume was his family were definitely on stage for some of it. There was like 5 to 10 minutes of standing around/waving/posing/etc. and I didn’t watch all of it, but he was up there for some part of it. ---
**Author:** ![raventhief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raventhief/32/4_2.png) [@raventhief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raventhief)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2876 "2016-07-22T23:43:24Z")
Perhaps this is better placed in the HRC thread, but I was watching a bit of Clinton’s rally today and she made the point that things are not good when someone tells the American voters “Vote your conscience” and gets booed. Shouldn’t every voter vote their conscience, and isn’t that a good thing? Yet he was _booed_. Sad. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2877 "2016-07-22T23:56:56Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Perhaps this is better placed in the HRC thread, but I was watching a bit of Clinton’s rally today and she made the point that things are not good when someone tells the American voters “Vote your conscience” and gets booed. Shouldn’t every voter vote their conscience, and isn’t that a good thing? Yet he was _booed_. > > Sad. Yeah, it makes you wonder, doesn’t it? As though it would be preferred you be a non-thing drone and just do what the dictator needs you to do. He didn’t actually tell people not to vote for Trump. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2878 "2016-07-23T00:04:27Z")
> [@raventhief](#): > > Perhaps this is better placed in the HRC thread, but I was watching a bit of Clinton’s rally today and she made the point that things are not good when someone tells the American voters “Vote your conscience” and gets booed. Shouldn’t every voter vote their conscience, and isn’t that a good thing? Yet he was _booed_. > > Sad. Meh. It’s smart of her to make political hay out of it and maybe try to draw some Cruz supporters, but really those convention-goers were booing the context, i.e. Cruz deliberately not endorsing Trump. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2879 "2016-07-23T00:05:38Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > I didn’t see it, but one of my friends says that the Pences were not on the podium with the Trumps after the speech. Is that true? I wouldn’t blame him for wanting to keep his distance after that (failed) air kiss, but yes, he and the Missus were there. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2880 "2016-07-23T00:09:51Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I wouldn’t blame him for wanting to keep his distance after that (failed) air kiss, but yes, he and the Missus were there. You do know what it means when a man from New York City, wearing a cheap suit, tries to kiss you, right? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2881 "2016-07-23T00:13:15Z")
Why, Mr. Trump wears only the \*best \*suits … nah, I haven’t the heart this time, somebody want to take it? ---
**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:** [July 23, 2016, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2882 "2016-07-23T00:41:13Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Why, Mr. Trump wears only the \*best \*suits … nah, I haven’t the heart this time, somebody want to take it? The [Donald Trump Collection](https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_89_2?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A7141123011%2Ck%3ATrump%2Cp_89%3ADonald+Trump&bbn=7141123011&keywords=Trump&ie=UTF8&qid=1435776880&rnid=2528832011)-on Amazon. Roughly 160-280 for a Made In China suit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=143) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=145)