# 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:** 355
**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:** [September 22, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7083 "2016-09-22T19:05:36Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > What is worse are the failed staffers and fellow travelers Trump has as his personnel. > > Like women’s harasser Roger Allies, Pravda of the west Breitbart staffers, racial profiler **and still birther** Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Climate change denier energy adviser to Trump Rep. Kevin Cramer, etc, etc. Arpaio still a birther? True but: [Trump himself is still a birther.](http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/09/donald-trump-still-birther) He just changed his tune for political expediency. > [@](#): > > BG: This announcement earlier this week with you saying that you believe President Obama was in fact born in the United States, after all the years where you’ve expressed some doubt, what changed? > > Trump: Well I just wanted to get on with, I wanted to get on with the campaign. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7084 "2016-09-22T19:12:17Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > But you see, the facts do not matter to Trump supporters. They know what is happening, based on how they “feel”. Trump: Search your feelings; you know it to be true! Rational people: NOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOO!!! ---
**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:** [September 22, 2016, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7085 "2016-09-22T19:40:00Z")
[Drew Magary](http://www.gq.com/story/a-word-for-donald-trump-voters) on [GQ.com](http://GQ.com) has a message for Trump supporters. To be clear, I’m not directing this at any other poster. (He uses a fair amount of “fuck you” in his column, and I’d rather not get a warning) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7086 "2016-09-22T20:24:22Z")
[Sonofabitch-Do we actually know his real position on _anything??_](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/) Remember when he gave his “definitive” answer that Obama was born in the U.S.? Well, it turns out that he said that just to change the subject, and not because he has changed his mind. > [@](#): > > Donald Trump said Wednesday that he publicly acknowledged that President Barack Obama was born in the United States because he wants to “get on with the campaign.” and > [@](#): > > “Well, I just want to get on with, you know, we want to get on with the campaign,” Trump told ABC 6 of Columbus on Wednesday, when asked what had changed. “And a lot of people were asking me questions. And you know, we want to talk about jobs. We want to talk about the military. We want to talk about ISIS and how to get rid of ISIS. We want to really talk about bringing jobs back to this area because you’ve been decimated. So we really want to get just back on to the subject of jobs, military, taking care of our vets, et cetera.” ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7087 "2016-09-22T20:29:50Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [Sonofabitch-Do we actually know his real position on _anything??_](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/) Remember when he gave his “definitive” answer that Obama was born in the U.S.? Well, it turns out that he said that just to change the subject, and not because he has changed his mind. and Classic narcissism: “I’m never wrong about anything, but I’ll say what I need to please people and get whatever the hell I want.” Pretty frightening to think we’re this close to electing a bona fide sociopath. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2016, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7088 "2016-09-22T20:31:45Z")
Nice. So that’s how he gets off the hook for that $5M donation pledge. I must admit, I’m a little surprised he’s halfway sorta walking back his renunciation of the birtherism publicly. Less surprised that he sorta halfway renounced it in the first place though now that I think about it. ---
**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:** [September 22, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7089 "2016-09-22T20:35:56Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [Sonofabitch-Do we actually know his real position on _anything??_](http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/) Remember when he gave his “definitive” answer that Obama was born in the U.S.? Well, it turns out that he said that just to change the subject, and not because he has changed his mind. and You mean they let him ramble off that shit, and afterward didn’t even insist that he state definitively whether he believes Obama was born in the US or not? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7090 "2016-09-22T20:36:12Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > [Drew Magary](http://www.gq.com/story/a-word-for-donald-trump-voters) on [GQ.com](http://GQ.com) has a message for Trump supporters. To be clear, I’m not directing this at any other poster. (He uses a fair amount of “fuck you” in his column, and I’d rather not get a warning) That guy said everything I’ve been “feeling,” – and with an appropriate amount of passion and profanity. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7091 "2016-09-22T20:38:08Z")
I think he’s decided that he’s not getting “the blacks” anyway and that anyone who would vote for him doesn’t care, so why bother- better to energize his base. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7092 "2016-09-22T20:42:27Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > That guy said everything I’ve been “feeling,” – and with an appropriate amount of passion and profanity. I’ve shared the article with lo my three or four actual human Twitter followers. This is the money shot for me: “How are you gonna change the system if you elect some corrupt idiot who has no clue how to DO IT, huh? Can’t you see this? Haven’t you heard this asshole talk? THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?” ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7093 "2016-09-22T20:46:48Z")
True, he probably wasn’t going to get a lot of African American votes anyway, but the longer he continues this dithering on his birtherism, the noisier the outrage gets. My question is, is this really what he wants, and if so what does he expect to get out of it? Is he angling for white voters in Minnesota, Wisconsin, rural Michigan, and New Hampshire? Does he think that this could turn into a culture war and that he could gain voters in these states that might compensate for losing Florida? Or is this just Trump being Trump, thinking about the present and trying to lie his way out of an explanation ex post facto? I could be wrong – I’ve been wrong about Trump a lot over the past year. But I don’t see how this does him any good at all and he is inflaming the African American voting bloc. I suspect, too, that it might also inflame the Hispanic vote as well, and just make them so enraged that they forget that they’re voting for Hillary, even though some may not necessarily like that idea. The worst kinds of controversies are the ones that don’t die. Trump’s birtherism ain’t dying; it’s going to turn into a monster that devours his campaign if he’s not careful. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7094 "2016-09-22T21:15:03Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > True, he probably wasn’t going to get a lot of African American votes anyway, but the longer he continues this dithering on his birtherism, the noisier the outrage gets. My question is, is this really what he wants, and if so what does he expect to get out of it? Is he angling for white voters in Minnesota, Wisconsin, rural Michigan, and New Hampshire? Does he think that this could turn into a culture war and that he could gain voters in these states that might compensate for losing Florida? Or is this just Trump being Trump, thinking about the present and trying to lie his way out of an explanation ex post facto? > > I could be wrong – I’ve been wrong about Trump a lot over the past year. But I don’t see how this does him any good at all and he is inflaming the African American voting bloc. I suspect, too, that it might also inflame the Hispanic vote as well, and just make them so enraged that they forget that they’re voting for Hillary, even though some may not necessarily like that idea. The worst kinds of controversies are the ones that don’t die. Trump’s birtherism ain’t dying; it’s going to turn into a monster that devours his campaign if he’s not careful. You’re looking for logic and for Trump to make sense. Alas, that cupboard is bare. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7095 "2016-09-22T21:16:33Z")
The association of refugees and terrorism is sufficiently important that we should probably not continue hijacking the Trump elections thread with that discussion. Please take that discussion to its own new thread, probably in GD. Do not continue that discussion, here. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7096 "2016-09-22T22:45:41Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Or is this just Trump being Trump, thinking about the present and trying to lie his way out of an explanation ex post facto? It’s spelled ex post fiasco. You’re welcome. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7097 "2016-09-23T02:01:50Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > It’s spelled ex post fiasco. > > You’re welcome. I like it, and thanks, but we probably really ought to wait until Nov. 9 to use that phrase in this thread. Don’t want to jinx it, y’know. ---
**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:** [September 23, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7098 "2016-09-23T02:29:40Z")
Omarosa, who was on the first season of The Apprentice and is considered [one of the most hated people in the history of reality tv](http://www.tv.com/news/americas-most-hated-omarosa--534/), and a Trump spokesperson: “[every critic, every detractor will have to bow down to President Trump](http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/omarosa-critics-bow-president-trump-article-1.2754654).” ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7099 "2016-09-23T03:02:37Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Omarosa, who was on the first season of The Apprentice and is considered [one of the most hated people in the history of reality tv](http://www.tv.com/news/americas-most-hated-omarosa--534/), and a Trump spokesperson: > > “[every critic, every detractor will have to bow down to President Trump](http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/omarosa-critics-bow-president-trump-article-1.2754654).” Oh jeez, Bartholomew Cubbins is REALLY going to be hating this. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7100 "2016-09-23T03:07:11Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > What is worse are the failed staffers and fellow travelers Trump has as his personnel. > > Like women’s harasser Roger Allies, Pravda of the west Breitbart staffers, racial profiler **and still birther** Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Climate change denier energy adviser to Trump Rep. Kevin Cramer, etc, etc. Also worse than that stupid woman who said racism only started with Obama: Mike Pence, Republican Vice Presidential Nominee, who thinks that talking about racism is “the rhetoric of division”. > [@Republican VP nominee](#): > > “Police officers are human beings,” Pence said at a pastors’ roundtable at Radiant Church here. “And in difficult and life-threatening situations, mistakes are made and people have to be held to strict account, but we both believe that it’s important that we have a president who, as the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, stands behind the men and women who serve in law enforcement.” > > Pence said that police officers are “the best of us.” > > “We ought to set aside this talk, this talk about institutional racism and institutional bias,” he said, calling such assertions “rhetoric of division.” Because there wouldn’t be a problem if everyone would just sweep it all under the rug. Because, in Mike Pence’s world, there’s no such thing as racism, so the _actual_ problem is that cops are being unfairly accused of being racist. Which can’t be true, because there is no racism. Therefore, the baseless accusations just cause racial ill-feeling. Of course, racism is bad and if any actual racism occurs, Mike Pence would be the first to condemn it. But the cops all around the country shooting unarmed black guys? That can’t be racist because the cops are “the best of us”. Therefore, there is no racism except for the racism of the people accusing the cops of being racist. And Obama, of course. Obama is the racist in chief. Vote for me! And Donald! Yeah, ok, vote for Donald! (and me!) [http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/mike-pence-police-shootings-racism-228537](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/mike-pence-police-shootings-racism-228537) ---
**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:** [September 23, 2016, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7101 "2016-09-23T05:08:49Z")
[The painting has been found.](http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/22/politics/david-fahrenthold-univision-enrique-acevedo-donald-trump-portrait/index.html) > [@](#): > > (CNN)A trail of clues provided by a Washington Post reporter and his readers led Univision anchor Enrique Acevedo to Donald Trump’s shimmering golf resort outside Miami earlier this week. > There, Acevedo found something that has elicited both shock and mystery within the political world: a portrait of Trump that the Republican nominee reportedly paid for using money from his charitable foundation. > > “A lot of people have been looking for this painting,” Acevedo wrote Wednesday. > > Fahrenthold had already reported that Trump used the foundation’s money to buy another portrait of himself, one that was six-feet-tall and cost $20,000. Experts say each purchase was possibly illegal. > [@](#): > > The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. So what else is new? ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2016, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/7102 "2016-09-23T05:34:31Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > [Drew Magary](http://www.gq.com/story/a-word-for-donald-trump-voters) on [GQ.com](http://GQ.com) has a message for Trump supporters. To be clear, I’m not directing this at any other poster. (He uses a fair amount of “fuck you” in his column, and I’d rather not get a warning) Yeah, that pretty much describes every single person voting for Trump. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=354) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=356)