# 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:** 205
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4083 "2016-08-11T22:23:10Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Basically, it’s prosperity gospel. It’s more superstitious than they are really admitting: “His yuuge wealth is going to rub off on me if I vote for him.” I read something (here on SDMB I think) about someone whose friend was going to vote Trump, because they were convinced that Trump was going to give them money to start a business. Not make conditions better for business. Not improve loans to small business. Not even loan him the money directly. He thought Trump would GIVE him money. This is the thought process we’re dealing with here. So yes… Showing that Trump is not really that wealthy would completely sink him. We will not see those tax returns - ever. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4084 "2016-08-11T22:49:46Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I wish the “I’m going to laugh about all this before I start crying” folks would start their own thread… > > …not saying i wouldn’t check it twice a day, but it is annoying to fill actual discussions with it. I keep thinking “Oh, good, a dozen new posts on what Trump’s campaign is up to now!” and am disappointed to just find NAMBY-pamby stuff. You are not the first and won’t be the last to be disappointed in Donald and blame it on something else. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4085 "2016-08-12T03:24:59Z")
It is now being reported that the RNC and Donald will have a major come to Jesus meeting on Friday. Probably doomed to failure before it starts, because of course, Donald will assume he plays the role of Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4086 "2016-08-12T03:45:43Z")
He’ll be calling in a stunt double for some of the, ah, _crucial_ scenes. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4087 "2016-08-12T03:52:33Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > He’ll be calling in a stunt double for some of the, ah, _crucial_ scenes. Always look on the bright side of life! ---
**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:** [August 12, 2016, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4088 "2016-08-12T05:19:08Z")
[Trump wants American citizens accused of terrorism to be tried by military tribunals at Guantanamo.](http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/donald-trump/article95144337.html) ---
**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:** [August 12, 2016, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4089 "2016-08-12T05:47:56Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > It is now being reported that the RNC and Donald will have a major come to Jesus meeting on Friday. Probably doomed to failure before it starts, because of course, Donald will assume he plays the role of Jesus. Everybody laughing, Paul Ryan stands up, continuing to lead the raucous crowd with his patter. Turning around, he unlocks his valise, pulling out a Louisville Slugger, this one signed by Paul Molitor. With the group still cackling from the good humor in the room, Ryan turns back around, faces Trump, and asks him: “Do you like baseball?” ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4090 "2016-08-12T06:05:42Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > It is now being reported that the RNC and Donald will have a major come to Jesus meeting on Friday. Probably doomed to failure before it starts, because of course, Donald will assume he plays the role of Jesus. Didn’t they already do the “intervention” about 2 weeks ago? Trump tweeted nothing but “thanks to blah town” for 3 days then started back on his rants again. As they say the definition of stupidity is repeating the same action again and again and expecting a different outcome. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4091 "2016-08-12T06:09:25Z")
Maybe they’re hoping that the polls will finally get Trump to listen, and if not, at least they know where they stand and can finally give up. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4092 "2016-08-12T06:48:08Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > It is now being reported that the RNC and Donald will have a major come to Jesus meeting on Friday. From what they’re saying on MSNBC, the meeting will be with Trump’s senior campaign staff, but not Trump himself (we shall see, in a few hours, if that is indeed the case). If true, it makes it seem even less likely that it’ll make any difference. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2016, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4093 "2016-08-12T07:00:46Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > From what they’re saying on MSNBC, the meeting will be with Trump’s senior campaign staff, but not Trump himself (we shall see, in a few hours, if that is indeed the case). If true, it makes it seem even less likely that it’ll make any difference. Perhaps the same staff who meet with the students at Trump University. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4094 "2016-08-12T07:13:06Z")
Assange says Wikileaks is " working on hacking and releasing" Trumps tax returns. Assange does not want to be seem solely attacking Clinton. > **[Julian Assange to Bill Maher: WikiLeaks ‘Working On’ Hacking Trump’s Tax Returns](https://www.thedailybeast.com/julian-assange-to-bill-maher-wikileaks-working-on-hacking-trumps-tax-returns)** > > The head of WikiLeaks opened up to comedian Bill Maher about how he hacked the DNC and why the organization hasn’t targeted Trump yet. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4095 "2016-08-12T07:46:56Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I think I remember some analysis on this a year or so ago saying it always happens to candidates. I’d guess when someone is just a person, partisanship isn’t as big an issue. I think candidates are expected to be likable. Candidate’s spouses are expected to be likable, supportive and mostly silent. Officeholders are expected to be good at their jobs. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2016, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4096 "2016-08-12T07:51:47Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Assange says Wikileaks is " working on hacking and releasing" Trumps tax returns. Assange does not want to be seem solely attacking Clinton. > > [Julian Assange to Bill Maher: WikiLeaks ‘Working On’ Hacking Trump’s Tax Returns](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/06/julian-assange-to-bill-maher-we-re-working-on-hacking-trump-s-tax-returns.html) That would be great. I’m amazed how few here are talking about how Trump keeps saying over and over that Obama and Clinton are the “founders” of ISIS. And then on NPR, when I heard an expert on ISIS interviewed to “rebut” this ridiculous charge, his counterargument amounted to “it’s unfair to lay sole blame on Obama and especially on Clinton for the rise of ISIS”. Which made me want to tear my hair out. We’re not talking about Trump saying “the rise of ISIS is their fault”. That would at least be an arguable claim. Do these people not know what the word “founder”(n.) means? It does not mean “person who is at fault for a group of bad guys forming an organization”. Presumably even that #whinylittlebitch Trump doesn’t think Obama and Clinton gathered together a bunch of Middle Eastern Sunnis and pitched the idea, the name, etc.? (Does he?) I may be a pointy-headed pedant, but this misuse of the word “founder” bothers me more than anything. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4097 "2016-08-12T08:04:54Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > He’ll be calling in a stunt double for some of the, ah, _crucial_ scenes. [Apparently, he’s calling in the stunt double for all the scenes.](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/donald-trump-rnc-meeting-226938) > [@](#): > > Another person familiar with the meeting, a Republican operative who works with the campaign, said the planned gathering was “a come-to-Jesus meeting.” That source said that many Trump campaign staffers share the party officials’ frustrations with Trump’s penchant for self-sabotaging rhetoric. “What’s bothering people on the campaign is that they feel like they’re doing all the right things, but they’re losing every news cycle to Hillary and there’s nothing they can do about it.” > The campaign official said Trump, who is scheduled to travel to Pennsylvania on Friday, was not slated to attend the meeting, but that Karen Giorno, a senior adviser to the campaign, was. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4098 "2016-08-12T08:16:30Z")
If he’s “not slated to attend the meeting,” why do the establishment figures there think it’ll make any difference? Maybe they hope to find common cause with the equally frustrated Trump campaign staffers to steer or force change? But what are the odds that Trump will let that happen if he doesn’t want it to? Is there any chance that he actually does want to? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4099 "2016-08-12T08:43:29Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Trump made two major mistakes in an CNBC interview. During the interview, Trump stated _“I’m supposed to be the smart one”_ and _“I’m supposed to have a lot of good ideas”_. > > Neutral third parties have reviewed these statements and verified that neither of them is factually accurate. No, they’re both factually accurate - he _is_ supposed to be the smart one and he _is_ supposed to have a lot of good ideas. He falls woefully short in both regards, but presidential candidates are indeed supposed to be smart and have robust, detailed platforms. > [@davidm](#): > > Betsy McCaughey? I haven’t seen that name for a few years. She’s a paid shill who, at one time, was paid to mischaracterize the ACA. She pretty much disappeared from the public eye after the epic smackdown given to her by Jon Stewart when he had her on his show. If I recall correctly, she was fired from that job after his interview. If you haven’t seen it you should definitely check it out. > [http://www.cc.com/video-clips/b52wbd/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-betsy-mccaughey-pt--1](http://www.cc.com/video-clips/b52wbd/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-betsy-mccaughey-pt--1) > [http://www.cc.com/video-clips/x0m2cd/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-betsy-mccaughey-pt--2](http://www.cc.com/video-clips/x0m2cd/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-betsy-mccaughey-pt--2) Oh god, I remember that. Betsy and her binder. That was the most painful thing I’ve seen on television. Stewart didn’t even smack her down; he just gave her miles of rope and watched her hang herself repeatedly. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4100 "2016-08-12T09:21:35Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > But what are the odds that Trump will let that happen if he doesn’t want it to? Is there any chance that he actually does want to? My opinion is that Trump is just not capable of changing even if he sincerely wants to. The outrageous statements usually get him instant applause and mean that the media is talking about him for the next few days. That instant gratification “wow look at all the people talking about me” is worth more to him than the future abstract possibility of being President. So yeah, this meeting will be futile, Trump’s narcissistic personality disorder is out there! It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until the RNC is dead. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4101 "2016-08-12T10:19:32Z")
[If it’s bleeding obvious, it leads](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/donald-trump-electoral-votes-gop-insiders-226932): > [@Politico](#): > > **GOP insiders: Trump can’t win** > > ‘Trump is underperforming so comprehensively…it would take video evidence of a smiling Hillary drowning a litter of puppies while terrorists surrounded her with chants of ‘Death to America,’’ said an Iowa Republican. > > Republican insiders are more convinced than Democrats that Donald Trump is so far behind Hillary Clinton that he can’t win in November. > > Roughly half of Republican members of The POLITICO Caucus — activists, strategists and operatives in 11 swing states — believe that Trump’s path to 270 electoral votes is basically shut off after another week in which the GOP nominee appears to have ceded ground in national and most battleground state polls. Democrats, of course, aren’t resting on their laurels; the article makes good points about Clinton’s weakness as a candidate and the possibility of future surprises, but I think an active campaign is more important for downticket races because it can keep issues in the public eye. About the debates: > [@](#): > > “The old adage is you cannot win an election through debates, but you can lose them. Donald Trump, as with anything, is the exception to this rule,” said an Iowa Republican. “He has GOT to win the debates or he will lose. Forfeiture is not an option. Last time he skipped a debate, he lost the Iowa caucuses.” As an unabashed Democrat and schadenfreude addict, I welcome the debates and hope Trump makes every last one of them. More: > [@](#): > > Other Republicans agreed with the overwhelming majority of Democrats, 85 percent, who said threatening to hold out of the debates was a mistake. One Michigan Republican said Trump “looks petty and scared.” Two Florida insiders — one from each party — called the GOP nominee “chickens—t.” The Chickenshit Candidate, original flavor and extra crispy! ---
**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:** [August 12, 2016, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4102 "2016-08-12T11:27:19Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Assange says Wikileaks is " working on hacking and releasing" Trumps tax returns. Assange does not want to be seem solely attacking Clinton. > > [Julian Assange to Bill Maher: WikiLeaks ‘Working On’ Hacking Trump’s Tax Returns](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/08/06/julian-assange-to-bill-maher-we-re-working-on-hacking-trump-s-tax-returns.html) In other words, Assange is beginning to feel the heat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=204) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=206)