# 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:** 145
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2883 "2016-07-23T00:56:30Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > 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. Which, if Conventional Wisdom, a goddess one doesn’t violate, had been followed, should’ve left Cruz twiddling his thumbs on his porch. > [@running\_coach](#): > > Roughly 160-280 for a Made In China suit. And, if the owner is the model, one that doesn’t even fit. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2884 "2016-07-23T01:07:54Z")
Why would the guy oppose energy conservation? I mean, even if climate change is a hoax (snort), you’re _saving_ energy. I defy anyone to differentiate between a gallon of gas dug out of the ground and one that wasn’t burned. ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2885 "2016-07-23T01:11:24Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > **TrumpOn**! Apply directly to the forehead! [Can you FEEL THE electricity in the air](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXmqiESZYp0&t=94m34s)? [spoiler]Just at the end of his acceptance speech. I don’t know who’s reaction is worse… the people on stage seem bored. The people watching? Not really excited… The balloons? Not enough. Couldn’t they at least get a few children to play with the balloons? I know my daughter would have been in heaven. [/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2886 "2016-07-23T01:42:08Z")
There were kids, but it was midnight. Last picture I saw was some black guy with a short balloon-popping spear balloon-popping. Balloon juice harvest. Something about his demeanor and stance cried out “Gotta have this fucking job…”. Pop! Pop pop! Pop! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2887 "2016-07-23T01:50:04Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > George W. Bush actually read books and wanted to be a good President even though he was a bad one. Comic books don’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2888 "2016-07-23T01:57:02Z")
Ted Cruz could be standing on a stage announcing free chocolate ice cream sodas for everyone and he would still get booed. It’s just something about that face. ---
**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 23, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2889 "2016-07-23T02:24:22Z")
[The Washington Post runs a full page editorial on the dangers of a Trump presidency.](http://bipartisanreport.com/2016/07/22/washington-post-runs-unprecedented-full-page-editorial-on-the-dangers-of-a-trump-presidency/) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2890 "2016-07-23T02:32:02Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [The Washington Post runs a full page editorial on the dangers of a Trump presidency.](http://bipartisanreport.com/2016/07/22/washington-post-runs-unprecedented-full-page-editorial-on-the-dangers-of-a-trump-presidency/) And a very good one. But I’ve always wondered how influential newspaper endorsements actually are. (The link above is not an endorsement of course, but it brings my old pondering back to me.) I’ve seen so many candidates get endorsed by a local paper, but then their opponents carry the area vote anyway. ---
**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 23, 2016, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2891 "2016-07-23T02:41:17Z")
The Republicans will just toss it off as more liberal media elitism. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2892 "2016-07-23T02:45:07Z")
Some of it is. The media is definitely part of the “wise” elite. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2893 "2016-07-23T02:46:43Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Some of it is. The media is definitely part of the “wise” elite. Uggh. In a few decades, a big chunk of these idiots who think this way will be dead, and the country will be better off for their absence. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2894 "2016-07-23T02:53:10Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > 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. Yes, Trump was in rare, unscripted form today and doubled down on the Cruz feud. He’s more fun without teleprompters. [ul] [li]Cruz may have ruined his political career.[/li][li]Trump wouldn’t accept Cruz’s endorsement even if he gave it.[/li][li]Cruz’s speech was dishonorable because he went off the script.[/li][li]Repeating the far fetched National Enquirer story about Cruz’s dad.[/li][li]Brought up the wives comparison again (although in a milder way).[/li][/ul] Here’s the video: [https://youtu.be/nAOVa-k0kt4?t=15m20s](https://youtu.be/nAOVa-k0kt4?t=15m20s) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2895 "2016-07-23T02:59:17Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Uggh. In a few decades, a big chunk of these idiots who think this way will be dead, and the country will be better off for their absence. There has always been tension between the desires of the common people and what the elites think is best for the common people. That’s never going to change. ---
**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 23, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2896 "2016-07-23T03:03:59Z")
Apparently Brian Williams of MSNBC was jut going with the Trump story that the Enquirer photo was of Lee Harvey Oswald and Rafael Cruz having breakfast together, without even questioning it. It was up to Hugh Hewitt to point out that that wasn’t true. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2897 "2016-07-23T03:09:25Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > There has always been tension between the desires of the common people and what the elites think is best for the common people. That’s never going to change. Plenty of the “common people” agree with the “elites”. I’m talking about the old racist assholes – and there are still a bunch, unfortunately. When they die off, the country will be better off. ---
**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 23, 2016, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2898 "2016-07-23T03:20:28Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > There were kids, but it was midnight. Last picture I saw was some black guy with a short balloon-popping spear balloon-popping. Balloon juice harvest. Something about his demeanor and stance cried out “Gotta have this fucking job…”. Pop! Pop pop! Pop! Balloon juice harvest. Bwahahahahahahaha! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2899 "2016-07-23T03:24:04Z")
> [@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 absolutely cosign this. And I will add (my apologies if I am repeating myself, as I keep trying to emphasize this point to everyone I know) that this is a special type of election. If that #whinylittlebitch Trump wins, we should not castigate Hillary for having failed to run a more effective campaign. This is not an election in which she should have to cleverly appeal to voters to get them over to her side instead of his. This is, as Bill Maher said, a “referendum on decency”. If a majority of voters elevate this absurd, buffoonish demagogue to the presidency, that is not on Hillary. **That is on the American people.** Frankly, if it’s even close, that will be an embarrassment. > [@jsc1953](#): > > We now have a clearer picture of Republican strategy in the general. > > 1. Attack Hillary on 2 fronts. Negate her experience by pinning all the chaos in the Middle East on her (unfairly, but never mind). Negate her judgment with email/Benghazi. This can be effective. > > 2. Our nation is a dark apocalyptic hellscape of ISIS-trained Mexican immigrants swarming over the border and taking our jobs and shooting cops, and only Donald can stop it. This is pure fantasy, but seems to resonate with some sizable portion of the electorate. Did anyone else hear the NPR interview with the Trump-loving, dumb-as-a-stump flight attendant? She recited a similar litany, and the host cleverly asked her “have you personally experienced violent crime or other problems with illegal immigrants?” and “have you experienced terrorism-related security problems at your job?” and so on. Every time, she had to admit that no, she had not. Basically she’s admitting she just buys into the narrative she is told, regardless of what her own experience has been. > [@jsgoddess](#): > > 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. That _is_ very interesting! Do you have a link? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2900 "2016-07-23T03:26:05Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > Brought up the wives comparison again (although in a milder way). He denied that he ever insulted Ms. Cruz’s looks. Because Trump apparently doesn’t know how [Twitter](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/712850174838771712) works. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2901 "2016-07-23T03:32:44Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Plenty of the “common people” agree with the “elites”. I’m talking about the old racist assholes – and there are still a bunch, unfortunately. When they die off, the country will be better off. Really? has the Democratic base become pro-free trade yet? Or are they still afraid of Asian competition? ---
**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 23, 2016, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/2902 "2016-07-23T03:42:37Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > That _is_ very interesting! Do you have a link? I finally [found it](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/21/the-critical-difference-between-republicans-and-democrats-that-explains-this-presidential-election/) again! > [@](#): > > In addition, because people often view the world as they would like it to be – the tendency toward “motivated reasoning” – conservatives are more likely to perceive commonality in their ranks, where liberals view greater diversity in theirs. These perceptions don’t simply reflect reality, they exceed it. In a separate series of studies, Stern and his colleagues recruited a sample of liberal, moderate and conservative Americans online. Participants reported their attitudes on a variety of different political issues (e.g., attitudes toward abortion) and non-political issues (e.g., attitudes toward coffee), and then estimated how widely their attitudes were shared with politically like-minded others (for example, conservatives estimated how widely their attitudes were shared by other conservatives). The researchers compared these estimates with the actual percentage of like-minded others who shared participants’ own attitudes. > > The figure below gives the results of these studies, showing how accurate liberals, moderates, and conservatives were in their perceptions of within-group similarity. For both the political and non-political issues, moderates and conservatives tended to overestimate how much they shared beliefs with other moderates and conservatives, whereas liberals underestimated how much they shared beliefs with other liberals. In other words, conservatives perceived greater commonality in their ranks than actually existed, while liberals tended to perceive greater diversity among themselves than was actually there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=144) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=146)