# 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:** 232
**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 18, 2016, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4623 "2016-08-18T14:12:27Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I think **john L** wasn’t talking about Hillary Clinton but about Kellyann Conway. Ahh, got it. Well in that case, yeah I’ve seen the esteemed Ms Conway on TV. And I wish the Trump campaign good luck with her and Mr Breitbart himself at the helm. Everyone loves a [dumpster fire](https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRtaMbTHI1-SQ0eFohGA6ENMnO6ituWHK9ME5CWWyE6gQjtbmkf). ---
**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 18, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4624 "2016-08-18T14:32:00Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > …Originally Posted by Will Ritter, a Republican political operative in Virginia who isn’t supporting Trump > > Another guy is going to ride the psychotic horse into a burning stable… I am so quoting this. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4625 "2016-08-18T15:20:30Z")
So, in his speech Monday, Trump criticized Clinton by saying, “Hillary Clinton wants to be America’s Angela Merkel.” Afterwards, he released two statements repeating the comparison and used #AmericasMerkel as a hashtag on Twitter. How many Americans do you figure know a lot about Merkel? Will that comparison resonate with much of the American middle class? The folks you hang out with, do they complain a lot about Merkel and her policies on immigration? Do your friends argue that Merkel wants "to turn Germany from a majority White country into a minority White country.” Do they call her “crazy childless bitch,” “Anti-White Traitor,” or “patron saint of terrorists”? If so, your friends may be white supremacists! Apparently, Merkel is a big deal on “alt-right” and white supremacist sites, where she’s roundly hated. Seems the Trump campaign has, totally, totally, totally coincidentally adopted the language of these sites to compare Clinton to a European politician most Americans don’t know or care much about. Read more here: [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/mapping-the-trump-hate-bubble](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/mapping-the-trump-hate-bubble) [https://thinkprogress.org/donald-trumps-new-attack-on-hillary-echoes-white-supremacist-websites-70579c9d7e50#.s43b0jmt3](https://thinkprogress.org/donald-trumps-new-attack-on-hillary-echoes-white-supremacist-websites-70579c9d7e50#.s43b0jmt3) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4626 "2016-08-18T15:27:39Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > So, in his speech Monday, Trump criticized Clinton by saying, “Hillary Clinton wants to be America’s Angela Merkel.” I don’t even _begin_ to comprehend how this will work. Angela Merkel is a complete non-entity to most Americans. Maybe she’s well know on hate group websites but that’s like one person in a thousand. That isn’t quite gonna make up that ten-point hole in Virginia. This is a weird move even for Trump. Trump’s messages may often be horrible or false, but they’re always simple, understandable, populist, and based on emotion, usually fear: - Immigrants want to rape you and kill you, Trump will stop it - You will lose your job, Trump will get you a job - America is weak, Trump will make it powerful - Hillary Clinton is a crook, she’ll cheat you Etc. etc. “Hillary Clinton is like Angela Merkel” doesn’t even make sense to me, and I actually know who Angela Merkel is. This message isn’t emotional, isn’t populist, and is difficult to grasp. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2016, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4627 "2016-08-18T15:31:43Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Etc. etc. “Hillary Clinton is like Angela Merkel” doesn’t even make sense to me, and I actually know who Angela Merkel is. This message isn’t emotional, isn’t populist, and is difficult to grasp. I thought about it and have finally realized what he’s suggesting: George Bush will touch her inappropriately during a meeting. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4628 "2016-08-18T15:40:21Z")
As a one liner maybe not so emotional but he immediately followed it with “and you know what a disaster this mass immigration has been for Germany”. Anyone worried about Syrian refugees knows about the Germany issue. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4629 "2016-08-18T15:49:22Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I thought about it and have finally realized what he’s suggesting: > > George Bush will touch her inappropriately during a meeting. That’s what I first think of whenever Merkel is mentioned. She really got creeped out by Bush’s touch. It’s really hard to imagine Trump winning the debates. The knowledge that Hillary has forgotten is 1000 times more than all the knowledge that Trump ever had. He knows almost nothing and has no interest in learning. He can mention Benghazi all he wants, but people who buy the phony Clinton scandals are already not voting for her. He can bring up Lewinsky but why? A man who cheated on at least two wives is going to gain something by ridiculing the victim spouse who stuck by her husband? With who? ---
**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:** [August 18, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4630 "2016-08-18T16:04:23Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I don’t even _begin_ to comprehend how this will work. Angela Merkel is a complete non-entity to most Americans. Maybe she’s well know on hate group websites but that’s like one person in a thousand. That isn’t quite gonna make up that ten-point hole in Virginia. It won’t work, and it doesn’t make sense. It’s just more evidence, as if we needed more, that Trump’s ideas come straight from the white supremacist fever swamps. As Josh Marshall at TPM said, > [@](#): > > A major party candidates, the nominee of the Republican party just in advance of the Fall campaign awash in the world of racist white nationalism, anti-American Russian propaganda and more. It’s quite a spectacle to behold. ---
**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 18, 2016, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4631 "2016-08-18T16:06:50Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Etc. etc. “Hillary Clinton is like Angela Merkel” doesn’t even make sense to me, and I actually know who Angela Merkel is. This message isn’t emotional, isn’t populist, and is difficult to grasp. The message isn’t for you. It’s for the White Nationalists that make up the majority of Trump’s (dwindling) base. He’s saying to them “I’m one of you, I speak your language”, while hoping that the rest of the country goes “huh? whatever”. His only plan now is to turn out as many white nationalists as possible, hoping that he can get these people out to vote in higher numbers than ever before, now that they have a white nationalist candidate to get behind. ---
**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 18, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4632 "2016-08-18T16:11:25Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > It won’t work, and it doesn’t make sense. It’s just more evidence, as if we needed more, that Trump’s ideas come straight from the white supremacist fever swamps. As Josh Marshall at TPM said, I suspect he’s now working to establish a loyal base he can later exploit. He’s not campaigning for president anymore, but rather creating and enraging followers who will tune into his eventual media enterprise and/or buy his pro-white garbage. When did right-wing radio have its heyday? During the Clinton 90s. Right-wing TV and websites have proven lucrative during Obama’s term, especially early on (Glenn Beck, anyone?) Trump’s just getting ready to get him some of that glorious right-wing anger money during the next Clinton presidency. He’s running an infomercial right now for white supremacy media. ---
**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 18, 2016, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4633 "2016-08-18T16:14:27Z")
[Two weeks of Trump campaign ads to start airing in FL, NC, OH, and PA](http://www.politico.com/blogs/swing-states-2016-election/2016/08/trump-tv-ads-florida-north-carolina-ohio-pennsylvania-227155) There aren’t complete numbers on his spending, but he’s supposedly dropping $270k in Orlando. No clue how the entire ad buy stacks up to Hillary’s spending. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4634 "2016-08-18T16:17:41Z")
Jeez you guys. You don’t have to be a white nationalist to be uneasy with Germany levels of Syrian refugees. ---
**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 18, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4635 "2016-08-18T16:24:04Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Jeez you guys. You don’t have to be a white nationalist to be uneasy with Germany levels of Syrian refugees. Indeed! And a lot more people are familiar with what happened in Cologne than these posters credit. ---
**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 18, 2016, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4636 "2016-08-18T16:31:31Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Jeez you guys. You don’t have to be a white nationalist to be uneasy with Germany levels of Syrian refugees. That’s not the point. The point is that although there are a few who would automatically tie in “Merckle = Clinton” with an unease abut Germany levels of refugees… really, this is not the main audience. There are not enough people who can make the connection. This “Merckle = Clinton” meme is HUGE though, among the White Nationalist community. This is the target audience, not the general public. And indeed, that’s where Trump’s comments come from. He seems to get a lot of his tropes from White Nationalist sites, or Russian propaganda. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4637 "2016-08-18T16:32:00Z")
Are they also familiar with the background of thousands of people born in Germany without the right to German nationality? Things are a little bit more complicated than “Syrian refugees assaulted women in Cologne” (most of the possible attackers identified aren’t even Syrian). ---
**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 18, 2016, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4638 "2016-08-18T16:36:14Z")
There are certain people who will associate the name Merkel with Syrian refugees quicker than others; those are the people he’s trying to appeal to. And it’s not like Trump’s heretofore been shying away from inflammatory talk about foreigners. The days of giving him the benefit of the doubt are gone, especially when his talking points are coming directly from white supremacists and conspiracy theorists. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4639 "2016-08-18T16:38:41Z")
> [@](#): > > 60% oppose accepting Syrian refugees; 37% in favor > Historically, Americans have rarely favored accepting refugees > Eight in 10 Republicans oppose taking in Syrian refugees > **[Americans Again Opposed to Taking In Refugees](https://news.gallup.com/poll/186866/americans-again-opposed-taking-refugees.aspx)** > > Americans largely oppose the U.S. accepting a large number of Syrian refugees, with 60% disapproving and 37% approving. This is largely consistent with public reaction to past emergency refugee resettlement proposals. Looks like a winning political position since America is apparently 60% white nationalists. And they don’t have to “associate” Merkel with Syrian refugees since as I mentioned above, he spelled it out in the very next sentence. ---
**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 18, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4640 "2016-08-18T16:57:44Z")
Most people who don’t want more Syrian refugees aren’t white nationalists, but most people who will appreciate the #AmericasMerkel hashtag are. White nationalists and Internet bottom feeders have been using it long before Trump did. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2016, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4641 "2016-08-18T17:13:02Z")
Most Americans will think that Angela Merkel is the mom of a black kid with suspenders who had a TV show. I don’t remember much about him except he was annoying as hell. And Hilary wants to be his _mother_?? ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2016, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/4642 "2016-08-18T17:18:18Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > To give a speech so directly targeting the A-A demographic, and give that speech in a 95% white county, to an audience that seemed to be 99% white seemed…odd. Not at all. Appearing to appeal to black voters without actually appealing to them is done for the benefit of wite voters. Voters who are racist, but want to be told they are not. “See? Our Don has Blacks working on his campaign, and he says he’s gonna help them Blacks too. So he ca’tn be racist and so I’m not a racist when I vote for our Don, no matter what my hoity-toity educated kids keep saying.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=231) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=233)