# 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:** 213
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4243 "2016-08-15T03:34:06Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Well, I did warn you, but you are just happy to ignore items like that to continue your narrative of blaming just one side. Name one–just one–GOP candidate who wanted to shut down NP and supported GMO labeling laws. Just one. There were, what, 16 candidates so if conservatives really were as afraid of GMO+NP you should be able to find one. Then name one–just one–conservative group that fights GMO and NP as hard as Greenpeace, Sierra Club, and the Green Party. Just one. If this was really a bi-partisan issue as you suggest then there should be a couple of them. > [@coremelt](#): > > But the difference is, the mainstream Democrats don’t let those people set their policies or try and pander to them specifically How does Sanders fit in this? He is moderately anti-GMO and virulently anti-NP. I’ve pointed out in the past: the GAO stated that Yucca Mountain was shut down by Obama for [purely political reasons](http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/05/10/10greenwire-gao-death-of-yucca-mountain-caused-by-politica-36298.html?pagewanted=all). That sounds like pandering to anti-NP agendas. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4244 "2016-08-15T03:38:27Z")
Back to more on-target discussion: apparently [North Korea is endorsing Trump.](http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/31/politics/north-korea-donald-trump-wise-hillary-clinton-dull/) If that isn’t the kiss of death then I don’t know what is. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4245 "2016-08-15T03:44:31Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > How does Sanders fit in this? He is moderately anti-GMO and virulently anti-NP. It’s possible to be in favour of GMO labelling laws but not anti-GMO. That’s more or less my position, if people want to be idiots and pay more for food because they don’t want to eat GMO then that’s their decision. I don’t see that mandatory labelling would really hurt GMO technology development because in most less developed countries “anti-GMO” is not really a thing and those countries are where GMO foods can make the biggest difference. And I wouldn’t agree that Sanders is “virulently anti-NP”, his argument is that renewables, geothermal and biomass are now more cost effective than Nuclear. Certainly that’s a fair argument to make and something that should be studied, especially if you take into account the decommissioning costs of Nuclear power plants which are huge. There’s a big difference between rejecting nuclear power because you’ve done the maths and it’s not cost effective vs rejecting nuclear power just because of irrational fears of radiation. ---
**Author:** ![Junior\_Spaceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Junior\_Spaceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Junior_Spaceman)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4246 "2016-08-15T03:50:06Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Back to more on-target discussion: apparently [North Korea is endorsing Trump.](http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/31/politics/north-korea-donald-trump-wise-hillary-clinton-dull/) If that isn’t the kiss of death then I don’t know what is. Well that article’s a few months old, so apparently it wasn’t quite the big issue people might have thought it would be. It will make for a great scene in the screwball comedy that’s sure to be made about his campaign, though. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4247 "2016-08-15T03:53:44Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > It’s possible to be in favour of GMO labelling laws but not anti-GMO. That’s more or less my position, if people want to be idiots and pay more for food because they don’t want to eat GMO then that’s their decision. I don’t see that mandatory labelling would really hurt GMO technology development because in most less developed countries “anti-GMO” is not really a thing and those countries are where GMO foods can make the biggest difference. I will respectfully disagree re: GMO labeling. It panders to the anti-science crowd and it is impossible to construct a meaningful GMO labeling law. > [@coremelt](#): > > And I wouldn’t agree that Sanders is “virulently anti-NP”, Sanders wants to shut down all NP in the US. You can’t get any more anti-NP than that. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4248 "2016-08-15T03:55:10Z")
> [@Junior\_Spaceman](#): > > Well that article’s a few months old, so apparently it wasn’t quite the big issue people might have thought it would be. It will make for a great scene in the screwball comedy that’s sure to be made about his campaign, though. Perhaps _The Interview_ will have a sequel? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4249 "2016-08-15T03:59:25Z")
WTF do GMOs, Bernie Sanders and NP have to do with this thread? ---
**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:** [August 15, 2016, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4250 "2016-08-15T04:07:02Z")
Seriously. Start another thread(s) for that, please. > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Trump says he’s running against the “crooked media”](http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-sidesteps-hillary-clinton-says-hes-running-against-the-crooked-media-2016-8)… The “crooked media” won’t be on the ballot, so by all means, I encourage him to use the next 90-some days to run against them. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4251 "2016-08-15T04:20:17Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Name one–just one–GOP candidate who wanted to shut down NP and supported GMO labeling laws. Just one. There were, what, 16 candidates so if conservatives really were as afraid of GMO+NP you should be able to find one. You never get tired of showing all how much you are missing on this? > **[No Bun Please: Keto Recipes & Resources for Beginners](https://nobunplease.com/)** > > No Bun Please is dedicated to providing beginners with all of the knowledge needed to find success on a Keto diet. From tasty, low carb recipes to helpful resources and restaurant guides, we've got you Ben Carson: > [@](#): > > According to Rural Town Hall with Dr. Ben Carson, he is in favor of GMO labeling of foods. In the transcript, Ben says, “Well I’ll answer the second part first. I actually like for people to know what they’re buying. I like for people to know what they’re eating. And I think it’s only fair for them to be able to see that, because people have different impressions about what they want to eat. Donald Trump made the Tweet about Monsanto causing brain damage to Iowans and that is why he lost there. Of course Trump took it down but he never clarified if he backed down for insulting Iowans and not for being against GMOs. Knowing Trump it is clear that he will back down even from that back down. Marco Rubio just talked like a lukewarmer in a climate change debate. Still in the end in favor of labeling. > [@](#): > > “Over the past twenty years, advances in biotechnology have led to the increased use of genetic engineering to produce many of the food products consumed by Americans. Originally, genetic engineering was used to enhance the production yield and resiliency of field crops, like tomatoes and corn, but modern techniques have expanded the use of genetic engineering to a wide range of commercially available food products, like dairy, fish, and meat. Although genetically engineered food products have been approved and regulated by various federal agencies, their safety, as well as the environmental and economic impact of their use, continues to be debated among agricultural, environmental, and consumer groups. > [@Deeg](#): > > Then name one–just one–conservative group that fights GMO and NP as hard as Greenpeace, Sierra Club, and the Green Party. Just one. If this was really a bi-partisan issue as you suggest then there should be a couple of them. They do not need to as they already have many in congress that voted to pass the labeling bill. AFAIK the bill does look as if the Democrats and Republicans in congress did not follow much what Greenpeace and many of those groups wanted to anyhow. > **[For GMO Labeling Advocates, It Doesn't Get Much Darker Than This](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/for-gmo-labeling-advocate_b_10638672)** > > GMO labeling backers cursing -- a law that will continue to leave consumers largely in the dark about the GMO content of their groceries. On this issue most corporations are in favor of GMOs, but not so the rank and file Republicans. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4252 "2016-08-15T04:21:22Z")
The big orange cowbell. I laughed my ass off over this. > **[Doonesbury Comic Strips by Garry Trudeau - April 24, 2023](https://www.washingtonpost.com/doonesbury/)** > > Welcome to Doonesbury's web site, which features not only each day's strip (easily enlargeable for your easy-viewing pleasure), but also the daily SayWhat? quote, a constant flow of reader Blowback, a Mudline of negative soundbites by public figures,... ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4253 "2016-08-15T04:23:50Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > WTF do GMOs, Bernie Sanders and NP have to do with this thread? I believe that Deeg was trying to argue that the left is just as irrational about some issues (GMO and Nuclear Power) as the right is about certain issues. He’s failed miserably because the loony left has far less power than the loony right. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4254 "2016-08-15T04:29:38Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > I don’t disagree. However, anti-evolution nonsense is largely harmless; can you point to a policy based on anti-evolution that leads to preventable deaths? The left’s aversion to GMO and NP (and the TPP to a lesser degree) is much more dangerous. The right’s ignorance regarding AGW is also dangerous so from my view they’re roughly equal. Yeah, let’s start teaching that we have two equally equivalent theories to the origin of life as many Republicans would like to do. No one knows the truth anyway. Were you there at the creation of life? I know I wasn’t. It’s harmless. it doesn’t really matter in our day to day existence. Why not let the children decide what’s true? After all, they’re just ‘theories.’ In fact, how about we apply this to [all science education](http://controversy.amorphia-apparel.com/) and see where it gets us in twenty years? (All kidding aside, I don’t think it’s harmless. I think it demonstrates a fundamental disconnect with reality.) ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4255 "2016-08-15T05:11:47Z")
Okay, so recent polls have Hillary leading by 9-10 points in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. Even if Trump somehow were to right his ship and swing national polls back 5 points or so, what plausible winning map is available to him? [This is the most favourable map](http://www.270towin.com/maps/GOQ8Z) for Trump that I can come up with, and he still needs to flip one more state. If Trump had anything resembling a competent campaign, what would its strategy be? ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4256 "2016-08-15T05:20:32Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Seriously. Start another thread(s) for that, please. > > > [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > > > [Trump says he’s running against the “crooked media”](http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-sidesteps-hillary-clinton-says-hes-running-against-the-crooked-media-2016-8), so, yeah, he really would love to shut down the press. > > The “crooked media” won’t be on the ballot, so by all means, I encourage him to use the next 90-some days to run against them. I’ve seen comments here and there expressing surprise that Trump is attacking the media rather than Clinton. I can’t see why it should be surprising: Trump’s priority is and will always be himself, so it follows that his main opponent will be whoever he feels is casting aspersions on him (and the party be damned). At the moment it’s the media, for having the temerity to report what he’s saying rather than wait for his spokesbacilli to present the usual one-from-column-a-one-from-column-b menu of possible interpretations. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4257 "2016-08-15T05:22:42Z")
Not sure what strategy he could use, but it looks like Paul Manafort (Trump’s campaign manager) past will become a monkey wrench. Manafort appears to be an even bigger gremlin from the Kremlin than it was suspected… [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/us/politics/paul-manafort-ukraine-donald-trump.html?\_r=0](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/us/politics/paul-manafort-ukraine-donald-trump.html?_r=0) > [@](#): > > Secret Ledger in Ukraine Lists Cash for Donald Trump’s Campaign Chief > > And Mr. Manafort’s presence remains elsewhere here in the capital, where government investigators examining secret records have found his name, as well as companies he sought business with, as they try to untangle a corrupt network they say was used to loot Ukrainian assets and influence elections during the administration of Mr. Manafort’s main client, former President Viktor F. Yanukovych. > > Handwritten ledgers show $12.7 million in undisclosed cash payments designated for Mr. Manafort from Mr. Yanukovych’s pro-Russian political party from 2007 to 2012, according to Ukraine’s newly formed National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Investigators assert that the disbursements were part of an illegal off-the-books system whose recipients also included election officials. > > In addition, criminal prosecutors are investigating a group of offshore shell companies that helped members of Mr. Yanukovych’s inner circle finance their lavish lifestyles, including a palatial presidential residence with a private zoo, golf course and tennis court. Among the hundreds of murky transactions these companies engaged in was an $18 million deal to sell Ukrainian cable television assets to a partnership put together by Mr. Manafort and a Russian oligarch, Oleg Deripaska, a close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin. > > Mr. Manafort’s involvement with moneyed interests in Russia and Ukraine had previously come to light. But as American relationships there become a rising issue in the presidential campaign — from Mr. Trump’s favorable statements about Mr. Putin and his annexation of Crimea to the suspected Russian hacking of Democrats’ emails — an examination of Mr. Manafort’s activities offers new details of how he mixed politics and business out of public view and benefited from powerful interests now under scrutiny by the new government in Kiev. So, will Trump continue to push for a government of the Putin, by the Putin and for Putin? Or dump his “best” manager so far? ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4258 "2016-08-15T05:26:53Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Okay, so recent polls have Hillary leading by 9-10 points in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. Even if Trump somehow were to right his ship and swing national polls back 5 points or so, what plausible winning map is available to him? [This is the most favourable map](http://www.270towin.com/maps/GOQ8Z) for Trump that I can come up with, and he still needs to flip one more state. It’s not far from a lost cause, were the election this week, unless the polls are way wrong. Weird stuff can happen between now and November, but I don’t expect Trump to be as successful as his nominating campaign was, to say the least. There just aren’t enough angry and/or racist white men; women, non-white men, and increasingly white men with college degrees are not too keen on his message. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4259 "2016-08-15T05:38:22Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Not sure what strategy he could use, but it looks like Paul Manafort (Trump’s campaign manager) past will become a monkey wrench. Manafort appears to be an even bigger gremlin from the Kremlin than it was suspected… > > [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/us/politics/paul-manafort-ukraine-donald-trump.html?\_r=0](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/15/us/politics/paul-manafort-ukraine-donald-trump.html?_r=0) > So, will Trump continue to push for a government of the Putin, by the Putin and for Putin? Or dump his “best” manager so far? You know, I was almost afraid for people to start using this, because I was afraid it would start another “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy” laugh-fest. You know, like when Hillary Clinton coined the phrase “Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy” and everyone laughed at the woman being targeted by a vast conspiracy which was right-wing in nature? It became a laugh line, a “look at the crazy liberal who thinks the GOP is trying to take her down by fair means or foul” kind of deal, as the GOP funded investigation after investigation and in the end pretended that a lie resulting from a question over a blowjob was worth an impeachment proceeding. She was laughed out of the room for noticing reality and speaking it aloud, is what I’m saying. Well, I’m still kind of afraid of that, I’m still kind of afraid this will become a “look at the loony liberals afraid that someone who has ties to the Kremlin is tied to the Kremlin” scenario, but I think this time people might be more willing to believe that a guy who’s done batshit crazy dangerous shit from day one is tied to batshit crazy dangerous shit. Call me an optimist. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4260 "2016-08-15T05:45:29Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > Okay, so recent polls have Hillary leading by 9-10 points in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. Even if Trump somehow were to right his ship and swing national polls back 5 points or so, what plausible winning map is available to him? [This is the most favourable map](http://www.270towin.com/maps/GOQ8Z) for Trump that I can come up with, and he still needs to flip one more state. > > If Trump had anything resembling a competent campaign, what would its strategy be? Those plus a heavy focus on NH to get to 269 tie with him winning the tie. Yes it’s a big lift but it is a small state to focus on and if he was running a competent campaign (that _is_ the hypothetical) he would be/could be competitive there. It may be too late to become competitive there but IMHO it is his least poor path: low Black and Hispanic population and with a fair number of non-college educated Whites. If he was able to win the usual traditional slim majority of college educated Whites there while increasing rural White margin and turnout even a bit he could turn that state around. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4261 "2016-08-15T05:46:05Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > He has said he’s planning to close down “parts of the Internet” if given the chance. Just to _protect_ us, of course! > [Republican Debate: Donald Trump Talks Closing Internet | TIME](http://time.com/4150891/republican-debate-donald-trump-internet/) From the linked article: > [@](#): > > Somebody will say, ‘Oh freedom of speech, freedom of speech.’ These are foolish people. We have a lot of foolish people.” Yes, yes we do Donnie. And it seems like they want to elect you their King. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2016, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4262 "2016-08-15T06:08:43Z")
Trump’s new problem: His lead on economic issues is gone Per CNN: > **[Big shift: Voters now trust Clinton over Trump on economy](https://money.cnn.com/2016/08/14/news/economy/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-economy/index.html)** > > In polls, Hillary Clinton is now neck-and-neck with Trump when voters are asked who would be better to handle the economy. It's a big reversal from June when Trump led on the issue. > [@](#): > > No matter how far behind he was in the polls, Donald Trump always led in one key area: The economy. Now Hillary Clinton has closed that gap. > > As recently as mid-July, when voters were asked which candidate “would better handle the economy,” they picked Trump over Clinton by a wide margin (54% to 43%), according to CNN/ORC polling. > > Now Clinton has the edge. In the most recent CNN/ORC poll, conducted July 29 to 31, Clinton was ahead on the economy question, 50% to 48%. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=212) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=214)