# 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:** 33
**Author:** ![Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pearl_Clutching_Provocateur)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/641 "2016-05-30T15:16:26Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Well, that was a dig at Warren’s claims of her Native American ancestry, or some such nonsense. Maybe still not acceptable in a presidential candidate, but it was not random. No, Elizabeth Warren claimed to be Native American for financial gain. She was given a position at Harvard because she claimed to be Native American and that is one notch above stealing from an orphanage. Stealing from Native Americans is as low as you can go except for being a pedophile. Wait, maybe rapist like Bill Clinton? ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/642 "2016-05-30T15:28:34Z")
According to [OpenSecrets.org](http://OpenSecrets.org), the amount of cash on hand for the three candidates are: Trump: $2.4 million Sanders: $5.8 million Clinton: $30.1 million Amount of debt each campaign has: Trump: $43.4 million\* Sanders: $0 Clinton: $612 thousand \*This is money Trump loaned to the campaign, and this is why he wants control of the RNC coffers - he wants his $43 million back. The Republicans are sitting on about $103 million in cash (compared to the Dems $91 million). Of that $103m, it is broken down this way: $53m, Republican Congressional Committee $21m, Republican Senatorial Committee $17.5m, Republican National Committee Remember, if Trump gets control of the spending arm of the party, _$43 million of their $101 million has already been spent_. 45% of the Republicans funds, gone, vanished like that to pay Donald Trump back the loan he made to himself to take over their party. tldr: Donald Trump is using debt to finance a hostile takeover of the Republican party, ala Michael Milken, and once he gets control he is going to use their cash flow to fund his debt payments\*\*, shutting down divisions and firing people and casting off entire branches of the Republican org chart. The Art of the Deal! \*\*Don’t forget the interest. I can guaran-damn-tee you that if Donald pays himself out of the Repub coffers he will charge the Repubs interest on that $43 million loan. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/643 "2016-05-30T16:09:23Z")
How the hell is Trump going to “get control of the spending arm of the party”? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/644 "2016-05-30T16:11:54Z")
> [@Pearl\_Clutching\_Provocateur](#): > > No, Elizabeth Warren claimed to be Native American for financial gain. She was given a position at Harvard because she claimed to be Native American and that is one notch above stealing from an orphanage. Stealing from Native Americans is as low as you can go except for being a pedophile. Wait, maybe rapist like Bill Clinton? Go to your sources and bring the proof. Here’s the thing: having some Cherokee ancestry is as common as dirt amongst the Texas-Oklahoma peckerwood demographic. The chance that you can actually prove it by documentation is vanishingly small. What I have read inclines me to believe that she already had her position at Harvard, but some over-eager persons latched on to something she said about her ancestry, and tried to present her as an example of Harvard’s openness to diversity. Wasn’t her idea to begin with, and she already had her solid _boney fidos_. And I’m not just saying that because she’s so hot! ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/645 "2016-05-30T16:13:10Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Oddly enough, there were no reports of political protest or riots in the nation’s capital, so they must have been the politest 600k mob in the history of mankind. Was this a Canadian biker rally? 😉 I heard there were 4 million people who were kept away from Trump’s speech by Obama’s World Police Stormtroopers. The thing is, most of Trumps supporters will believe anything that emanates from his pie-hole. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/646 "2016-05-30T16:18:29Z")
Who the hell knows? Regardless, getting that $44 million paid back to him will be front and center in the Donald’s mind. You can bet he is looking to get every single dollar he can out of the Republicans and, since the man has no party loyalty, he doesn’t care if he damages their other candidates to do so. It likely won’t work. It probably can’t happen. But Trump will face a dilemma come August: spend more on the campaign or make myself whole again? And if the Repubs and their donors just write checks thinking that they are going to be 100% used for campaign needs going-forward, they are going to be in for a nasty surprise as they start seeing that debt number decrease. > **[Home - FEC.gov](https://www.fec.gov/data/candidates/president/presidential-map/)** > > Find what you need to know about the federal campaign finance process. Explore legal resources, campaign finance data, help for candidates and committees, and more. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/647 "2016-05-30T16:28:10Z")
I just wanted to note that the “Mexican” judge in the Trump University case was born in…Indiana. ---
**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 30, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/648 "2016-05-30T16:44:08Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > I just wanted to note that the “Mexican” judge in the Trump University case was born in…Indiana. [Donald Trump rails against Hispanic judge in Trump University case](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-judge-trump-university-case-election-2016/) > [@](#): > > “We’re in front of a very hostile judge,” Trump went on. “The judge was appointed by Barack Obama, federal judge. Frankly, he should recuse himself because he’s given us ruling after ruling after ruling, negative, negative, negative.” I want a judge that favors me! Unfair, unfair, unfair! > [@](#): > > Later, Trump called for an investigation into Curiel, who the presumptive presidential nominee said should “be ashamed of himself.” He should ask his good friend Arpaio how that went. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/649 "2016-05-30T16:59:05Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > tldr: Donald Trump is using debt to finance a hostile takeover of the Republican party, ala Michael Milken, and once he gets control he is going to use their cash flow to fund his debt payments\*\*, shutting down divisions and firing people and casting off entire branches of the Republican org chart. > > The Art of the Deal! If he could pull it off, I would almost respect him for it. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/650 "2016-05-30T17:17:27Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > If he could pull it off, I would almost respect him for it. Me too because the idea that the RNC would or legally could simply cut Trump a cheque for $43 million to pay off his primary debt seems beyond belief. > [@](#): > > Legally, Trump has until August to pay himself back with any funds raised, right after the party’s convention. > > “He can’t use general election money to repay his primary debt,” said former FEC lawyer Ken Gross. “If he is going to repay it, he’ll have to pay it back with contributions raised before the convention.” > > That deadline is set by the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. The law requires candidate loans be reimbursed within 20 days of an election, and the convention’s nomination of a candidate is treated as the end of the primary election. > **[Trump Campaign Could Use Donations to Pay Back Mogul's $36M Loan](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/trump-campaign-may-use-new-donations-pay-donald-trump-36-n573291)** > > Donald Trump says he will raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the general election — and his campaign isn't ruling out putting that money towards paying Trump back for the millions he spent in the primaries. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/651 "2016-05-30T17:21:31Z")
You’ve heard of the non-denial denial? Trump should patent the non-statement statement: “I’m not going to bring up X.” In the latest case, X was Gary Johnson’s drinking. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/652 "2016-05-30T17:23:21Z")
Good link. It ties back to why Trump wont have any money to fight HRC before the convention - he is leaving the option open to use donations over the next two months to pay himself back. Yes, I know he said differently. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/653 "2016-05-30T17:33:00Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > You’ve heard of the non-denial denial? Trump should patent the non-statement statement: “I’m not going to bring up X.” In the latest case, X was Gary Johnson’s drinking. That is not even remotely original to him. “Some folks want to focus on my opponent’s history of adultery and drinking but I say let’s talk about the issues” is as old as democracy. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/654 "2016-05-30T17:36:51Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [Donald Trump rails against Hispanic judge in Trump University case](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-judge-trump-university-case-election-2016/) > > I want a judge that favors me! Unfair, unfair, unfair! > > He should ask his good friend Arpaio how that went. IMHO this shows that Trump not only listens to Arpaio but wants also to have the same contempt of the law that authoritarians like Arpaio have in Arizona, but now they want to apply it to the whole of the USA. What Trump is doing should be shameful for all Republicans, but it is clear that many are putting the party before the country. His behaviour is indeed something that should not be accepted or allowed to be made “normal”. > **[Trump Time Capsule](https://www.theatlantic.com/category/the-daily-trump/)** > [@](#): > > It’s increasingly evident that something is seriously wrong with Donald Trump. That would be his own business, and his own problem, except for the chance that he could become the next president and thus be in position to command major regulatory, investigative, and military powers. As a reminder, during this period when Trump could still become president, and when more and more of the Republican party is deciding to deem him acceptable, the items in this series are for-the-record notes of things he does and says that no real-world president would or should. > [@](#): > > Reid Epstein of the WSJ has a riveting account of Trump’s speech yesterday in San Diego. Epstein’s account is the more powerful because he is so obviously trying to keep it deadpan, and let the facts and words of Trump’s statements speak for themselves. > > The three crucial facts the story conveys are: 1) that Trump spent a full 12 minutes of his speech, an eternity in rally-time, in a personalized complaint about an ongoing fraud lawsuit against his Trump University; 2) that he did not argue the merits so much as dismiss the legitimacy of the suit and the judge hearing it, and in fact threatened retaliation against the judge; and 3) that among his complaints was that the federal judge was “Mexican.” That judge, Gonzalo Curiel, was born in Indiana, received his undergraduate and JD degrees from Indiana University, and has spent his entire life and career in the United States. > [@](#): > > **- “Mexican.”** Trump was careful to say that there’s nothing “wrong” with being Mexican (when, again, he was referring to a person of completely American background). **But in a rally where people are chanting “build the wall!” this was not a mere by-the-way comment.** > > Imagine a comparison: suppose this case went to the Supreme Court, and Trump got a ruling against him written by Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And suppose he then said, “she happens to be, we believe, a Jew, which is great, I think that’s fine. Actually, though people don’t like to talk about it, three of the Democrat appointees on the Court who voted against me are Jews. Nothing wrong with it, I’m just saying.” > > Aspirants to lead a big, diverse nation cannot talk this way. Richard Nixon did in private, but that was considered a scandal when it came out on his White House tapes. Political campaigns have long used various degrees of racial coding and shading. But we have seen nothing comparable to Trump’s public crudeness from a presidential nominee since at least the time of George Wallace, who in 1968 carried the deep South and won a total of 46 electoral votes. > [@](#): > > **- Contempt for the system**. Individual Americans can feel, and say, that “the system is rigged” — judicially, electorally, economically. Complaints about unfairness are very frequently the basis of political campaigns, as in different ways we see in the Sanders, Trump, and other movements this year. > > But when the results of an established process turn against them, presidents and presidential aspirants must defend the process. That’s the difference between rule-of-law and rule-of-men. Richard Nixon disagreed with the Supreme Court’s rulings against him but did not question their legitimacy or say he would try to get back at the Justices. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/655 "2016-05-30T17:42:43Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > What Trump is doing should be shameful for all Republicans, but it is clear that many are putting the party before the country. Hey, maybe they just think he’s the lesser of two evils. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2016, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/656 "2016-05-30T17:53:52Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Hey, maybe they just think he’s the lesser of two evils. Coincidentally, they’re the same ones who still think the Confederacy won the war. ---
**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 30, 2016, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/657 "2016-05-30T17:55:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Coincidentally, they’re the same ones who still think the Confederacy won the war. I don’t know if there’s more than a lunatic few who think they _won_ but there’s a large portion who think they were _right_. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/658 "2016-05-30T18:07:56Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Hey, maybe they just think he’s the lesser of two evils. If they lie down with dogs, they should not complain when they wake up with fleas. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/659 "2016-05-30T18:14:46Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > If they lie down with dogs, they should not complain when they wake up with fleas. That’s what a few Bernie supporters are thinking. ---
**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:** [May 30, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/660 "2016-05-30T18:16:00Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > That’s what a few Bernie supporters are thinking. That is nice, we are talking about Trump, do you agree with him on the Judge issue? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=32) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=34)