# 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:** 219
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4363 "2016-08-16T18:08:26Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Allegedly Trump has hired FOX’s fomer head Roger Ailes as an advisor. An interesting choice, if true. [Donald Trump campaign hires disgraced ex-Fox News boss Roger Ailes as adviser: report – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-campaign-hires-ex-fox-news-boss-ailes-adviser-report-article-1.2753548) How many rings can a circus have? ---
**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:** [August 16, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4364 "2016-08-16T18:23:00Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I posted this in another thread: > But the more I think about it, I’ve seen these movies already. > > I’m pretty sure there’s a Sith lord behind the Trump candidacy, and everything that’s happening is all part of his master plan. Nothing else can explain it. > > But the question is: Who is the master? Mitt Romney? Paul Manafort? Paul Ryan? Sheldon Adelson? > > Let me ask you this: Which Republican politico could you most clearly picture shooting Cory Booker with force lightning while screaming “Unlimited power!” There is only one possible answer, and that’s Ted Cruz. Search your feelings. You know it to be true. > > For the past three years, since his election to the Senate, Cruz has been setting the stage for the 2016 presidential election-- including his own eventual defeat in the primary. He has used his force powers to catapult Trump-- the only only possible candidate more loathsome and repulsive than Cruz himself-- into the GOP nomination, tearing the party to shreds in the process. > > To the public, Cruz is just an annoying senator from Texas, but secretly he’s controlling the strings of the Trump campaign-- and the very fate of our Republic-- as the dark lord, Darth Repugnus. > > Repugnus’ first apprentice Carly Fiorina, also known as Darth Face, was sacrificed early, but like her Star Wars counterpart Darth Maul, will rise again, soon stepping into the role of RNC Chair. And like Maul, Face will harbor deep resentment for Repugnus’ early abandonment of her. > > Repugnus’ second apprentice Donald Trump, also known as Darth Orangeuos, will take the fall on November 8, but is already plotting with his dark master to lead the GOP separatists against Cruz’s Clone Army for the next four years for control of the Republican Party. > > By 2020, Repugnus will have recruited his final and most powerful apprentice yet, luring him from the light to the dark side of the Force, where he will unveil him as his running mate, and the two of them will rule the galaxy. > > Who will this final apprentice be? The Dark Side clouds everything. Impossible to see, the future is. Luckily for us, this apprentice will have a son… So, George P., eh? (The scion of Jeb! has endorsed Trump, which seems rather unlikely given the way his father feels about the Volatile Vulgarian–unless one posits a Plot. Could be.) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4365 "2016-08-16T18:29:04Z")
The Trump camp is denying that Ailes has been brought on. ---
**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 16, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4366 "2016-08-16T18:32:34Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > The Trump camp is denying that Ailes has been brought on. Which probably means that Trump has brought him on, but has not told anyone on his team yet. Or maybe he IS being brought on, and they’re just being sarcastic. Biased media, reporting what the campaign team says, instead of the hidden meaning! Sad! ---
**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 16, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4367 "2016-08-16T18:33:50Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Allegedly Trump has hired FOX’s fomer head Roger Ailes as an advisor. An interesting choice, if true. [Donald Trump campaign hires disgraced ex-Fox News boss Roger Ailes as adviser: report – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-campaign-hires-ex-fox-news-boss-ailes-adviser-report-article-1.2753548) > [@Czarcasm](#): > > New York Times is giving the same report. Trump really, really, really wants to sadistically endure a 19th amendment solution to make his presidential race to fail. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4368 "2016-08-16T18:36:59Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It’s like the letter from his doctor that says how GREAT! Trump’s health is. Letter looks very much like it was written by Trump himself - it uses the classic Trump language; Trump is not just healthy, he’s in THE BEST HEALTH EVER! Classic Trump over-exaggeration. His doctor likely just signed it in exchange for a large cash payment. That letter raises a lot of questions. It was made public back in December but is getting some press now due to the Trump campaign’s attempts to spread conspiracy theories about Clinton’s health. The Trump letter not only contains the unprofessional language you mention (“test results were astonishingly excellent;” “the healthiest individual ever elected to the Presidency,” etc.)–but the physician isn’t even an internist or general practitioner. He’s a digestion-issues doctor! And an apparently ignorant one, at that: he writes “Mr. Trump has had a recent complete medical examination that showed only positive results,” seemingly not knowing that “positive” has a particular meaning when discussing test results. You really do not want to have “positive” results for any tests administered. So the questions naturally arise: Why is the letter from a digestion specialist? Why not a letter, written in language that won’t lead readers to wonder about the qualifications of the physician, offering specifics instead of bizarre superlatives? What is Trump hiding? > **[Doctor: Trump Would Be 'Healthiest Individual Ever Elected' President](https://www.npr.org/2015/12/14/459700154/doctor-trump-would-be-healthiest-individual-ever-elected-president)** > > A statement from the GOP presidential candidate's personal physician is full of hyperbole, calling Trump's blood pressure "astonishingly excellent." ---
**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 16, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4369 "2016-08-16T18:40:00Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > So, George P., eh? > > (The scion of Jeb! has endorsed Trump, which seems rather unlikely given the way his father feels about the Volatile Vulgarian–unless one posits a Plot. Could be.) George P. is a Texas Republican politician. He can’t expect to move up into the exalted ranks above his current job, Texas Land Commissioner, unless he brown noses the party elders. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4370 "2016-08-16T18:43:07Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > George P. is a Texas Republican politician. He can’t expect to move up into the exalted ranks above his current job, Texas Land Commissioner, unless he brown noses the party elders. That is a reasonable explanation (of the endorsement). However, I can’t help liking the Happy Lendevedder theory better. (Not that HL has signed off on George P. as son-of-the-third-apprentice, of course.) ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4371 "2016-08-16T18:48:22Z")
Michael Moore says the Trump is sabotaging his own campaign because he never really wanted the job to begin with. Now, this is Michael Moore, so take it with a grain of salt, but it is an interesting read and, while he’s been known to put a spin on things, I don’t know that he’s ever outright lied. He claims to have inside information. [http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/trump-self-sabotage-campaign?src=newsletter1061977](http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/trump-self-sabotage-campaign?src=newsletter1061977) > [@](#): > > Donald Trump never actually wanted to be president of the United States. I know this for a fact. I’m not going to say how I know it. I’m not saying that Trump and I shared the same agent or lawyer or stylist, or if we did, that would have anything to do with anything. And I’m certainly not saying I ever overheard anything at those agencies or in the hallways of NBC or anywhere else. But there are certain people reading this right now, they know who they are, and they know that every word in the following paragraphs actually happened. > > Trump was unhappy with his deal as host and star of his hit NBC show, “The Apprentice” (and “The Celebrity Apprentice”). Simply put, he wanted more money. He had floated the idea before of possibly running for president in the hopes that the attention from that would make his negotiating position stronger. But he knew, as the self-proclaimed king of the dealmakers, that saying you’re going to do something is bupkis—DOING it is what makes the bastards sit up and pay attention. Much more at the link above. ---
**Author:** ![theR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@theR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/theR)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4372 "2016-08-16T19:07:01Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’m not sure what Ailes brings to the table. Seems like he knows how to reach the voters that are already in Trump’s pocket, does he know how to sway the moderates? Maybe for fundraising purposes, in which case he only needs to appeal to pro-Trump voters. ---
**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 16, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4373 "2016-08-16T19:10:50Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > And an apparently ignorant one, at that: he writes “Mr. Trump has had a recent complete medical examination that showed only positive results,” seemingly not knowing that “positive” has a particular meaning when discussing test results. You really do not want to have “positive” results for any tests administered. > > So the questions naturally arise: Why is the letter from a digestion specialist? Why not a letter, written in language that won’t lead readers to wonder about the qualifications of the physician, offering specifics instead of bizarre superlatives? What is Trump hiding? The language leads me to believe that the letter was written by Trump himself, and the doctor merely signed it without even looking at it carefully. Other doctors who have seen the letter have actually laughed out loud at the language. This doctor needs some investigating ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4374 "2016-08-16T19:22:28Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Allegedly Trump has hired FOX’s fomer head Roger Ailes as an advisor. An interesting choice, if true. [Donald Trump campaign hires disgraced ex-Fox News boss Roger Ailes as adviser: report – New York Daily News](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-campaign-hires-ex-fox-news-boss-ailes-adviser-report-article-1.2753548) > [@BobLibDem](#): > > I’m not sure what Ailes brings to the table. Seems like he knows how to reach the voters that are already in Trump’s pocket, does he know how to sway the moderates? I suspect he wants to keep Ailes around to help him start the World According to Trump News Network. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4375 "2016-08-16T19:22:36Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > The language leads me to believe that the letter was written by Trump himself, and the doctor merely signed it without even looking at it carefully. Other doctors who have seen the letter have actually laughed out loud at the language. This doctor needs some investigating The letter includes this gem: _“His physical strength and stamina are extraordinary.”_ Is Trump supposed to be Bruce Wayne or something? The good doctor stops just short of regaling us with anecdotes of Trump’s incredible strength. I’ll wager the man can juggle motorcycles, pull train cars with his teeth, and win marathons with a backpack full of rocks. Simply incredible! ---
**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 16, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4376 "2016-08-16T19:22:54Z")
An interesting CNN historical perspective on presidential landslides, and why Trump just might find himself on the wrong end of one this year: [http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/16/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-landslide-loss/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/16/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-landslide-loss/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4377 "2016-08-16T19:27:50Z")
Also, the statement that Trump has “no history of ever using alcohol or tobacco products.” Honestly? So he sells vodka but never touches booze? Ever? Nary a beer with the guys? Not that I’d want to drink with him, but c’mon. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4378 "2016-08-16T19:31:22Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > The language leads me to believe that the letter was written by Trump himself, and the doctor merely signed it without even looking at it carefully. Other doctors who have seen the letter have actually laughed out loud at the language. This doctor needs some investigating Yes, I’m looking forward to what may be disclosed. As you say, the likelihood is that Trump penned the letter and persuaded his gastro-guy to sign it. As for what Trump may be hiding, there are reasons to wonder if the Alzheimer’s that runs in his family may be manifesting itself in Trump himself: > [@](#): > > In October, Death and Taxes, an online magazine, asked if Trump has actual dementia: > "Trump’s father, Fred Trump, suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease before his death in 1999. Recent studies have shown that Alzheimer’s affects its victims much earlier than previously thought, and, considering The Donald’s behavior on the campaign trail, it might not be too far off the mark to consider that Fred Trump gave more to his son than millions of dollars and a particularly virulent form of racism.” > > Writer Steve King pointed to Trump’s “aggressive, late-night tweets, his childish behavior, his name-calling and mood swings” as other behaviors that might actually be symptoms of Alzheimer’s. [Does Donald Trump Have Alzheimer’s? Questions About GOP Frontrunner’s Mental Fitness Arise - Inquisitr](http://www.inquisitr.com/3048296/does-donald-trump-have-alzheimers-questions-about-gop-frontrunners-mental-fitness-arise/) A complete medical workup for Trump, executed by respected professionals, seems a reasonable precaution. (And one for Hillary, too; why not?) ---
**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:** [August 16, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4379 "2016-08-16T19:35:37Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Michael Moore says the Trump is sabotaging his own campaign because he never really wanted the job to begin with. Now, this is Michael Moore, so take it with a grain of salt, but it is an interesting read and, while he’s been known to put a spin on things, I don’t know that he’s ever outright lied. He claims to have inside information. > [http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/trump-self-sabotage-campaign?src=newsletter1061977](http://www.alternet.org/election-2016/trump-self-sabotage-campaign?src=newsletter1061977) > Much more at the link above. An interesting follow up is what are the ramifications if Trump just quits (complaining everything is rigged and just declaring victory or something), say in September, perhaps after a really bad debate performance? Maybe Republicans scramble to put Pence at the top of the ticket, and get him in place for a handful of states, but I think (perhaps wishfully!) that this would have a hugely negative impact on Republican turnout, and could turn a near landslide into a 60-40 election, with almost every state going D, and every downballot race that normally would be within 15 points going D as well, since a bunch of Trumpers just sit out the election in protest. But probably wishful thinking. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4380 "2016-08-16T19:37:28Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > That letter raises a lot of questions. > > It was made public back in December but is getting some press now due to the Trump campaign’s attempts to spread conspiracy theories about Clinton’s health. > > The Trump letter not only contains the unprofessional language you mention (“test results were astonishingly excellent;” “the healthiest individual ever elected to the Presidency,” etc.)–but the physician isn’t even an internist or general practitioner. He’s a digestion-issues doctor! > > And an apparently ignorant one, at that: he writes “Mr. Trump has had a recent complete medical examination that showed only positive results,” seemingly not knowing that “positive” has a particular meaning when discussing test results. You really do not want to have “positive” results for any tests administered. > > So the questions naturally arise: Why is the letter from a digestion specialist? Why not a letter, written in language that won’t lead readers to wonder about the qualifications of the physician, offering specifics instead of bizarre superlatives? What is Trump hiding? > > [Doctor: Trump Would Be 'Healthiest Individual Ever Elected' President : NPR](http://www.npr.org/2015/12/14/459700154/doctor-trump-would-be-healthiest-individual-ever-elected-president) In all fairness, a [Gastroenterologist](http://patients.gi.org/what-is-a-gastroenterologist/) is not just a digestion-issues doctor. They are a specialist in the GI track and liver diseases. You wouldn’t see one unless you had health issues with those organs. A GP will usually refer a patient to a GI specialist for problems that aren’t treatable with just some anti-acid. So one has to ask the question if Trump has a chronic health problem with his gut. Or perhaps he simply ate someone that disagreed with him. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4381 "2016-08-16T19:39:27Z")
Two cannibals eating a clown and one says “Does this taste funny to you?”. ---
**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:** [August 16, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4382 "2016-08-16T19:41:18Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > In all fairness, a [Gastroenterologist](http://patients.gi.org/what-is-a-gastroenterologist/) is not just a digestion-issues doctor. They are a specialist in the GI track and liver diseases. You wouldn’t see one unless you had health issues with those organs. A GP will usually refer a patient to a GI specialist for problems that aren’t treatable with just some anti-acid. So one has to ask the question if Trump has a chronic health problem with his gut. **Or perhaps he simply ate someone that disagreed with him**. 😃 But, yeah. When I learned about this I wondered, “chronic ulcers, or what?” It wouldn’t be surprising. When little Donny doesn’t get his way immediately, he probably churns up a lot of acid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=218) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=220)