# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/41 "2016-05-04T18:19:13Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I’d like to know who the following plan to vote for: > > Mitt Romney > John McCain > Bob Dole > > Despite not being a huge fan of all of those guys, I could have lived with them as President. I wonder if any of them will admit they are voting for Hilary Clinton this time. Or reveal they are voting third part. Or abstaining. McCain’s bud Mark Salter has already said he’s “with her.” I can’t realistically think any of these guys’ views are going to be very different. The only question is whether they’ll have the fortitude to say so. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/42 "2016-05-04T18:23:47Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I will submit this idea for Hillary’s consideration: Don’t even debate him. Just say something like: Hey, we’re gonna shut this down for now, and pick it back up near November. Hang loose. You know, I was thinking that she should certainly debate him, just show up and let him beat on her for an hour. But if she refused to dignify him with a response, he’d come unhinged. I think you’re right. If the Republican debates proved anything, it’s that trying to engage with Donald just drags you down. But I think if she doesn’t show up at all, they’ll play the “she’s a weak woman, afraid of conflict” card. Maybe show up once, and then cancel the rest of the debates? ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/43 "2016-05-04T18:58:32Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > This is absolutely correct. Donald would fall flat on his hairpiece in a debate with anyone with a brain. He looked like an idiot in the Republican candidate debates so I don’t see how it will be any different. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/44 "2016-05-04T19:14:25Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > He looked like an idiot in the Republican candidate debates so I don’t see how it will be any different. In the Republican debates, he didn’t stand out from the crowd. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2016, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/45 "2016-05-04T19:59:35Z")
Ben Carson is claiming that Trump is going to run all VP considerations through him. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/46 "2016-05-04T20:20:06Z")
The Most Interesting Candidate in the World: [https://c.o0bg.com/rf/image\_371w/Boston/2011-2020/2015/10/08/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/Trump-1428.jpg](https://c.o0bg.com/rf/image_371w/Boston/2011-2020/2015/10/08/BostonGlobe.com/EditorialOpinion/Images/Trump-1428.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/47 "2016-05-04T20:24:51Z")
Trump says he’s open to vetting Kasich for his VP pick. If Kasich would accept, it’s probably the best Trump can do. I do think he needs a politician, so there’s no way he picks Carson. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/48 "2016-05-04T20:27:44Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > His plan is “make this country great again” > That’s all. Trump fans do not need any stinkin’ plans. Plans are for those sissy policy wonks. Yes. I’ve listened to a lot of polling-place exit interviews with Indiana voters; it was striking how many of them mentioned a factory or industry that had moved overseas, and then confidently stated that Trump would be bringing that factory or industry back to Indiana. It does not seem to occur to many Trump supporters that this might be something that can_not_ happen by Presidential decree. They simply trust that if he says he’ll bring back their old jobs, then it will happen. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > ETA: Beneath it all, I think Trump plans to run the country like his businesses; Use them to promote his name, make some personal money off the notoriety, destroy the business, declare bankruptcy, blame others. This is the devil’s deal that GOP kingmakers will make with Trump: he’ll be allowed to do all the fun stuff (lord it over the heads of weaker nations in state visits, address large cheering crowds, etc.), and he will leave the office much wealthier than he entered it: zoning laws will be changed to accommodate more casinos, and that sort of thing. In return, he will appoint ultra-repressive judges to fill the upcoming Supreme Court vacancies; he will instruct all the Executive departments to cease regulating or otherwise impeding large corporations in their efforts to consolidate wealth and power; and he will find us a nice juicy war (or three or six) so as to guarantee lovely profits to the defense industry, remove (through conscription) pesky members of the underclass who might otherwise engage in protest/opposition activities, and generally keep the rubes in line. By the way, in re Trump’s pick for VP: If the GOP kingmaking machine gets going good on Hillary, many voters in the middle of the political spectrum will uneasily start looking for reasons to excuse Trump’s record on making racist/sexist remarks…many will start wanting to believe _‘hey, maybe he’s not so bad, after all’_—and to that end, he needs a running mate who makes him look like a reasonable guy. Here she is: > **[Mia Love](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mia_Love)** > > Ludmya "Mia" Love (née Bourdeau; December 6, 1975) is an American political commentator and former politician who served as the U.S. representative for Utah's 4th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. A Haitian American, she was the first black person elected to Congress from Utah, the first Haitian-American elected to Congress, and the first black woman elected to Congress as a Republican. > Love was born to Haitian parents in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. She was elected mayor of ... ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/49 "2016-05-04T20:55:54Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Ben Carson is claiming that Trump is going to run all VP considerations through him. Trump actually is the one that [put that out there first today](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-carson-committee-vp). He said he’d be forming a VP search committee and that Dr. Carson would be on that committee. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/50 "2016-05-04T21:33:21Z")
Whoever Trump picks as VP will be unexpected. Trump rarely if ever does anything mundane or predictable. Chris Christie is an obvious choice. He’s cut from the same angry cloth as the Donald. I can’t see them as a team for 4 years. John Kasich might be an interesting choice for VP. Counterbalancing some of Trumps more extreme views. Kasich could attract more moderate voters who can’t stand Hillary. If The Donald can make this deal it will shock many. I don’t know if Kasich would get on board but weirder things have happened since Trump shook up the GOP establishment. > **[John Kasich drops out of presidential race | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2016/05/04/politics/john-kasich-drops-out/)** > > John Kasich ended his run for the GOP presidential nomination Wednesday > [@](#): > > Kasich was always a somewhat offbeat Republican contender, who laughed at himself on the trail, occasionally took positions more in line with Democrats (like expanding Medicaid in Ohio) and touted his ability to work across the aisle. He sometimes even joked that he would have done better in the Democratic primaries than in the crowded Republican field. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/51 "2016-05-04T21:35:23Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > By the way, in re Trump’s pick for VP: If the GOP kingmaking machine gets going good on Hillary, many voters in the middle of the political spectrum will uneasily start looking for reasons to excuse Trump’s record on making racist/sexist remarks…many will start wanting to believe _‘hey, maybe he’s not so bad, after all’_—and to that end, he needs a running mate who makes him look like a reasonable guy. Here she is: > > [Mia Love - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mia_Love) Sadly, rather than being the best person regardless of race or sex, Trump’s VP will have to be minority, female, or both. How about Jay Rodne? His anti-Islamic remarks fit in well with Trump, but he doesn’t look to me very Chippewa. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/52 "2016-05-04T21:41:32Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Who’s going to buy that ticket on the Titanic and be Trump’s running mate? I say get about 20 guys in a room and draw straws. Short straw has to do it, no fair committing suicide to avoid the job. And if you do commit suicide, your name goes on the ballot anyway and the Trump campaign has custody of your carcass until November. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/53 "2016-05-04T21:42:55Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Sadly, rather than being the best person regardless of race or sex, Trump’s VP will have to be minority, female, or both. How about Jay Rodne? His anti-Islamic remarks fit in well with Trump, but he doesn’t look to me very Chippewa. The latter quality would probably be considered an asset for Trump (so that the white-supremacist contingent of his fandom wouldn’t get ornery, given that they might not be aware of Rodne’s ancestry). But Rodne wouldn’t help Trump get black, Latino or female votes. Still, nice pick on the ‘appeal to Islamophobes’ front… ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/54 "2016-05-04T21:47:38Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > That’s her best strategy: stay tight, keep mum, head below the parapet, run scared, and don’t give him the chance to destroy her in a debate. Please. The only way Trump destroys Hillary in a debate is if he powerbombs her through a table. ---
**Author:** ![Uqbar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a587f6/32.png) [@Uqbar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uqbar)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/55 "2016-05-04T21:48:42Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I will submit this idea for Hillary’s consideration: Don’t even debate him. Just say something like: Hey, we’re gonna shut this down for now, and pick it back up near November. Hang loose. Nah, not necessary. You point out his antics for what they are, the behavior of a [primate](http://evonomics.com/anthropologist-says-donald-trump-and-alpha-male-chimpanzees-play-the-same-political-game/). Hillary’s best bet is to present herself as the more dignified, being a woman I think people less expect her to scrap at the chimp level with Trump. Her remark that “she could[sic] care less” about some crack of his would be in that vein… There’s a way to flip all that. Somewhere there’s a little pointsman in the brain deciding between the cortex and the lower centers when presented with behavior like his. Trump hopes, prays, everyone shunts to the lower. There, you’re not going to do much better than parity with him. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/56 "2016-05-04T22:24:23Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > How does “jobs” work as an issue for Trump? Besides him saying “I will be the best jobs President”, what plan does he have? If it is to “return jobs to the U.S.”, isn’t he really inviting some sort of global economic catastrophe if he starts trade wars with other countries by pushing for tariffs, in contravention of existing trade agreements, to prevent offshore manufacturing? I entirely agree. Commentary Magazine is running [a series of articles](https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/taking-trump-seriously-infrastructure/) called “Taking Trump Seriously”; the [article on trade](https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/taking-trump-seriously-trade/) makes two points. First, even if President Trump did exist, he would not have the legal authority to cancel trade deals, impose tariffs, and so forth. Second, if he somehow managed to do so, it would cause an economic disaster. But for the purposes of the general election, the important question is whether voters believe he can brings jobs back from China and other countries. There’s economic malaise, a lack of high-paying jobs for some demographics, and frustration with politicians who have failed to care for decades. Trump assures them he’ll make globalization stop happening and that will create jobs in the USA. Bernie Sanders argues along similar lines in slightly more polite language. Plainly the position appeals to some people. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/57 "2016-05-04T22:51:59Z")
Maybe The Donald should get the Governor of Oklahoma as running mate. She’s as bat shit crazy as he is. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/58 "2016-05-04T22:53:16Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Maybe The Donald should get the Governor of Oklahoma as running mate. She’s as bat shit crazy as he is. Better still, Kansas. Brownback is the new Santorum. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/59 "2016-05-04T23:15:31Z")
> [@GrandWino](#): > > He said he’d be forming a VP search committee and that Dr. Carson would be on that committee. “Mr. Trump? We’ve decided on your VP candidate. Do you know somebody named Ben Carson?” > [@aceplace57](#): > > Chris Christie is an obvious choice. He’s cut from the same angry cloth as the Donald. I can’t see them as a team for 4 years. Two angry assholes from New York and New Jersey. Is that “New York values” or what? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2016, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/60 "2016-05-04T23:25:26Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Bernie’s plan would make Lenin so proud. One need look no further than Soviet Canuckistan for a workable UHC model. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=4)