# 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:** 153
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3043 "2016-07-28T02:00:45Z")
gotta say, it’s such a shame Trump has to be a Putin troll; that alone is why I can’t vote for him. I was a swing voter but leaning Hillary early but not ruling out Trump earlier in the year. ---
**Author:** ![MacCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maccat/32/216_2.png) [@MacCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacCat)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3044 "2016-07-28T02:03:22Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > There’s inevitably a post-convention bounce in the polls. Trump got one and now I suppose Clinton will get one so it’s probably a wash. A wash you suppose. _How_ much was Trump’s bounce? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3045 "2016-07-28T02:03:40Z")
Shit, n/m ---
**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 28, 2016, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3046 "2016-07-28T03:33:59Z")
I feel remiss in earlier today having done my usual thing in terms of poking fun at Trump, without having very seriously addressed the invitation to Russia to commit espionage the moment I first heard about it. I’m distracted, I guess, by the DNC, and of course Trump has “defined deviance down”. But that’s no excuse, and I want to be very emphatic and serious about this right now. A list of “top ten most outrageous things a major party’s nominee has ever said or done” would almost certainly feature Trump at every position, especially if we are talking about modern political history (since women and racial minorities could participate). But what he said today is number one, AINEC. In any remotely sane world (and I thought, before this year, that I lived in one), his own party would figure out a way of negating his nomination. Or, if that were not legally possible, all elected Republicans (other than maybe a few in the lunatic fringe in the House or state legislatures) would declare the strongest possible condemnation for him and urge their constituents not to vote for him. In that sane universe, his polling numbers would drop like a stone into the single digits. Maybe Hillary’s wouldn’t rise so much as Johnson’s and “won’t vote that office”. But if this doesn’t happen, then maybe Trump and Bernie were right all along: this country has really gone off on the wrong track. But it can’t be blamed on “Mexicans”, nor on the “one percent”. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3047 "2016-07-28T03:44:42Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > From the random tweeter he linked, who apparently can’t read his own posting. From the actual article and screen cap on the twitter feed: Took me awhile, but the 1988 date is correct. I was confused. Gallup has asked the question fifteen times, so fourteen through 2012, over the course of seven presidential cycles, 28 years. That would take the first instance of the question back to 1988. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3048 "2016-07-28T03:49:17Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > But it can’t be blamed on “Mexicans”, nor on the “one percent”. In the end, the blame would have to be on all us. We are all complicit in some way, except for perhaps the most disadvantaged. But I retain hope that it will turn out o.k. This country has been through worse than a Trump presidency, really. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3049 "2016-07-28T03:54:59Z")
I am also deeply disturbed by Trump’s comments on Russia hacking Clinton’s email. And I agree that if his numbers don’t immediately crater, it will be really hard for me to think we haven’t gone completely off the rails as a country. I very rarely post political stuff on Facebook, but today I wrote a post saying that inviting another country to spy on us and interfere in our election was horrifying. I wrote that I could understand people not supporting Clinton, but I urged them not to vote Trump. One of my friends responded with a barely coherent post saying that Trump was wrong, but that Obama and “Killery” had done 10 times worse. She spat out some anger over the lack of American flags on the DNC stage and Obama’s alleged lack of respect for law enforcement officers. She said something about the DNC having an “illegal alien” and “the mother of a THUG” (caps in original) on the stage. And in my friend’s mind, this is 10 times worse than offering to trade American sovereignty for a little electoral advantage. What if a majority of us think like that? I put my name in to volunteer with the Clinton campaign a month or so ago. But I live in Missouri, which is probably not a high priority state for her. I haven’t been contacted yet. I gave her more money today. Tomorrow I’ll contact the local Democratic Party and see if I can volunteer for them. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3050 "2016-07-28T04:03:37Z")
You can do phone work, any time, via her website at [https://www.hillaryclinton.com/states/](https://www.hillaryclinton.com/states/) ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3051 "2016-07-28T04:14:43Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I am also deeply disturbed by Trump’s comments on Russia hacking Clinton’s email. And I agree that if his numbers don’t immediately crater, it will be really hard for me to think we haven’t gone completely off the rails as a country. I’ve already seen lots of spin about how Hillary has done worse, her emails that were lost have evidence of her crimes, blah, blah. His numbers won’t crater, I expect, because those who support Trump are already deep into wacko territory regarding Clinton, and there’s not a thing that will pull them back. They’re a lost cause. If they were going to be moved to drop him over this, this would have done so already over any number of example of the outrageous crap he’s pulled. What I hope will happen is that a large portion of the undecideds will decidedly move to Clinton. ---
**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 28, 2016, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3052 "2016-07-28T04:23:30Z")
It’s a good point: she could easily get to a double digit lead without his numbers going down at all. ---
**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:** [July 28, 2016, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3053 "2016-07-28T04:24:56Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > For yuks, figured some of you would get a kick out of this: > > [Calvin and Hobbes, Trump replaces Calvin](http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/donald-and-hobbes-is-genius/) (the dialogue is completely unchanged). > I like the one where he tries to explain the Constitution in his own words. Love it! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3054 "2016-07-28T07:52:48Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > In the end, the blame would have to be on all us. We are all complicit in some way, except for perhaps the most disadvantaged. > > But I retain hope that it will turn out o.k. This country has been through worse than a Trump presidency, really. Uh-uh, baby, not me. I’ll be voting for her, and working for her campaign in a state that is almost certain to go blue anyway, because I want this dog of a candidate to get handed his hat in the most emphatic way possible. If the shitheel somehow gets elected, it won’t be due to a lack in me. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3055 "2016-07-28T09:23:22Z")
A common complaint I see among Trump opponents is that he rarely seems to offer concrete ideas and steps for moving forward on his vision. It’s been working for him so far, obviously, but how long can he keep that up? Do you think he’ll try to do that until Election Day, figuring his core base won’t mind or notice? Or will he have to start offering up actual plans for those who aren’t already taken by him? If so, will THAT have any effect (not necessarily on said core base, but on those who aren’t quite convinced that he’d be a worse choice than Clinton or Johnson or whoever)? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3056 "2016-07-28T10:49:56Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I am also deeply disturbed by Trump’s comments on Russia hacking Clinton’s email. And I agree that if his numbers don’t immediately crater, it will be really hard for me to think we haven’t gone completely off the rails as a country. > > I very rarely post political stuff on Facebook, but today I wrote a post saying that inviting another country to spy on us and interfere in our election was horrifying. I wrote that I could understand people not supporting Clinton, but I urged them not to vote Trump. One of my friends responded with a barely coherent post saying that Trump was wrong, but that Obama and “Killery” had done 10 times worse. She spat out some anger over the lack of American flags on the DNC stage and Obama’s alleged lack of respect for law enforcement officers. She said something about the DNC having an “illegal alien” and “the mother of a THUG” (caps in original) on the stage. And in my friend’s mind, this is 10 times worse than offering to trade American sovereignty for a little electoral advantage. > > What if a majority of us think like that? > > I put my name in to volunteer with the Clinton campaign a month or so ago. But I live in Missouri, which is probably not a high priority state for her. I haven’t been contacted yet. I gave her more money today. Tomorrow I’ll contact the local Democratic Party and see if I can volunteer for them. I don’t know if a majority of us think like that, but the percentage of people who do is enough to have a profoundly negative impact on not only this election but all elections in the foreseeable future. I’m not just blaming the republicans, either: the Bernie or Bust types are the perfect representation of the worst impulses in a free and democratic society, exercising nothing except the freedom to be cynical, unthinking, and obnoxious. The Tea Party and the Republicans have been that way for a bit longer. I think we misunderstand the real essence of the freedoms to vote and participate in a democracy. We’re given the legal freedom to vote, but it’s not really a freedom; it’s a responsibility and a duty. We have a duty to be informed and a duty to vote not only in a way that is congruent with our ideology but also in a way that helps us avert harm. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3057 "2016-07-28T16:06:37Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > You can do phone work, any time, via her website at [https://www.hillaryclinton.com/states/](https://www.hillaryclinton.com/states/) I just see a place to enter my email and zip code, which is what I did previously. Are you seeing something that asks you to do phone work? (My preference would actually be to do some kind of office work, but I’ll do what I can). ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3058 "2016-07-28T16:09:41Z")
At that page there are two large sections: “Host a grassroots fundraising event” and “Make Calls for Hillary!” You don’t need to enter your state and email to see this… For office work, contact your local Democratic party office. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3059 "2016-07-28T16:14:26Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > At that page there are two large sections: “Host a grassroots fundraising event” and “Make Calls for Hillary!” You don’t need to enter your state and email to see this… Looks like it’s different per state. You’re in TX? I switched the state to TX and I see those sections. When I put it back to MO, they go away. Missouri is a swing state, dammit!! Right? Well, we used to be. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3060 "2016-07-28T16:31:15Z")
Odd… I was able to make calls into Philly from Texas last night. Well, tell them you’re from Texas. After all, deep down, you really want to be from Texas, right? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3061 "2016-07-28T18:35:33Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Odd… I was able to make calls into Philly from Texas last night. > > Well, tell them you’re from Texas. After all, deep down, you really want to be from Texas, right? 😉 No, I narrowly avoided relocating to TX earlier this year. Had to talk the missus into taking the job in St. Louis instead of San Antonio. Dodged a bullet! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/3062 "2016-07-28T18:50:54Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > For yuks, figured some of you would get a kick out of this: > [Calvin and Hobbes, Trump replaces Calvin](http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/donald-and-hobbes-is-genius/) (the dialogue is completely unchanged). > I like the one where he tries to explain the Constitution in his own words. It’s actually rather spooky that those fit so well. I’d have assumed they must have changed the word-bubbles to be more Trumpian, but, no. Bill Watterson did so convincing a job of creating the mind of a narcissistic child, that Trump just slides right in with no editing necessary. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=152) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=154)