# 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:** 70
**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:** [June 15, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1381 "2016-06-15T22:47:39Z")
[Trump Claims DNC ‘Hacked its own files’](http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/trackers/2016-06-15/trump-says-dnc-did-the-hacking-of-its-own-files-abc-news) You know, to distract people from how bad a candidate Hillary is. > [@The Donald](#): > > “We believe it was the DNC that did the ‘hacking’ as a way to distract from the many issues facing their deeply flawed candidate and failed party leader,” ---
**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:** [June 15, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1382 "2016-06-15T22:53:48Z")
Ah yes, the old “make yourself look stupid so you don’t look like losers” trick. The oldest one in the book. Nothing gets past TRUMP. ---
**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:** [June 15, 2016, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1383 "2016-06-15T22:56:48Z")
[Trump attacks Republican Leadership as ‘weak’, tells them to ‘be quiet’, then enhances remarks by contemplating about how he might be better off ‘do(ing) it by myself’.](http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/politics/donald-trump-republican-leaders-by-myself/index.html) > [@CNN Quoting The Donald](#): > > “We have to have our Republicans either stick together or let me just do it by myself. I’ll do very well. I’m going to do very well. OK? I’m going to do very well. A lot of people thought I should do that anyway, but I’ll just do it very nicely by myself,” Trump said, though he did not elaborate on what doing it “by myself” would mean. > > The presumptive Republican presidential nominee also accused his party’s leaders of being weak and told them to “please be quiet.” > > “You know the Republicans, honestly folks, our leaders, our leaders have to get tougher,” Trump said during a rally in Atlanta. “Our leaders have to get a lot tougher. And be quiet. Just please be quiet. Don’t talk. Please be quiet. Just be quiet to the leaders because they have to get tougher, they have to get sharper, they have to get smarter.” ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1384 "2016-06-15T23:00:24Z")
Dear Donald, Do it! Do it! Go off and found the Don’t Tread on Me Tinfoil Hat Loony Xenophobe CT Party and be its first nominee for president. Then the Republicans will breathe a sigh of relief and nominate Mitt. And it will be the first electoral clean sweep since the “era of good feelings”. ---
**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:** [June 15, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1385 "2016-06-15T23:08:48Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > I t won’t do the GOP any good at this point – a large chunk of the GOP voting base will start circulating conspiracy theories about the dirty deeds of the eeevil Republican Establishment (up to and including accusing them of an assassination attempt if il Doofus’ departure is explained with a medical excuse). … Maybe an attempt has already taken place. A blow to the head _would_ explain his bizarre ranting in the last few days; he never made sense, of course, but recently he seems to have deteriorated noticeably. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1386 "2016-06-15T23:11:47Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I just tweeted Paul Ryan (@PRyan, @SpeakerRyan) and asked him if “(America) will not survive this” is the official position of the Republican Party. I eagerly await his response. > > [x.com](https://twitter.com/JohnT15/status/743185207923113984) LOL - cheap thrills are always the best thrills. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1387 "2016-06-16T01:45:03Z")
It’s time to stop bickering and unite behind our paranoid, buffoonish leader with fake yellow hair. Our country cannot surive unless we enact two new laws right now: 1. Anyone who is Mexican, Muslim, or kinda foreign looking must be incarcerated or deported immediately. These people are up to no good and you know it. (Special exceptions may be made for really hot Miss Universe contestants.) 2. Any politician, newspaper, blogger, or internet user who disagrees with our dear leader is a threat to national security and will forfeit their right to free speech and face criminal charges. We must eliminate these threats to national security in order to protect America. Thank you for your cooperation in Making America Great Again! ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1388 "2016-06-16T02:44:58Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Ah yes, the old “make yourself look stupid so you don’t look like losers” trick. The oldest one in the book. Nothing gets past TRUMP. Now I have this line stuck in my head, playing over and over in the voice of Don Adams as Maxwell Smart. Thanks a lot. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2016, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1389 "2016-06-16T02:48:23Z")
“Belgium… it’s a beautiful city.” > ---
**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:** [June 16, 2016, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1390 "2016-06-16T03:00:14Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > “Belgium… it’s a beautiful city.” > > [x.com](https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/743273251036553217?s=09) And Trump wins the Rory. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2016, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1391 "2016-06-16T03:30:32Z")
I’m convinced he’s working for the Clintons. Nothing else explains it. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1392 "2016-06-16T03:43:50Z")
Maryland’s Republican governor Larry Hogan will not be voting for Trump. I don’t know anything about Hogan. Has he been a loyal GOP soldier up to this point? > **[Gov. Larry Hogan says he doesn’t plan to vote for Donald Trump](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/gov-larry-hogan-i-will-not-vote-for-donald-trump/2016/06/15/5d27b28c-3326-11e6-8758-d58e76e11b12_story.html)** > > Maryland’s Republican governor has made it clear for months that he does not like the presumptive GOP nominee. Aside: in the WaPo article, there is a link to a story headlined “Some Md. Republicans are choosing crabs over Donald Trump”. A lot of us would. A lot of us would. > **[Some Md. Republicans are choosing crabs over Donald Trump](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/some-md-republicans-are-choosing-crabs-over-donald-trump/2016/05/26/3ea875de-2283-11e6-8690-f14ca9de2972_story.html?tid=a_inl)** > > This year’s GOP national convention conflicts with the renowned Tawes crab feast on the Eastern Shore. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1393 "2016-06-16T04:37:31Z")
Even if you napalm your naughty bits, it wouldn’t get rid of Trump. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2016, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1394 "2016-06-16T05:58:25Z")
> **[Trump’s Polling Is Catastrophic. What Does the GOP Do Now?](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/06/trumps-polling-is-catastrophic-what-does-the-gop-do-now.html)** > > For roughly seven days in May, Donald Trump was on the upswing. Ted Cruz had left the race for president and Republican leaders were coming around to... > [@](#): > > Earlier today, the Washington Post and ABC News released their latest national poll of the presidential race, conducted last week, from the peak of the Curiel affair to the immediate aftermath of the massacre in Orlando. The numbers for Hillary Clinton aren’t great. The numbers for Donald Trump are unprecedented and catastrophic. [Seventy percent](https://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2016/06/15/National-Politics/Polling/question_16417.xml?uuid=Lf3zdDLoEearnR2isPJPkw) of registered voters have an unfavorable view of Trump (including [88 percent](https://www.washingtonpost.com/page/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2016/06/15/National-Politics/Polling/question_16417.xml?uuid=Lf3zdDLoEearnR2isPJPkw) of nonwhites), divided between 14 percent who are “somewhat unfavorable” and a whopping 56 percent who are “strongly unfavorable.” For comparison’s sake, Clinton’s [total unfavorable](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/polling/washington-postabc-news-poll-june-812/2016/06/15/2fc5acce-32e8-11e6-ab9d-1da2b0f24f93_page.html) rating is 55 percent. New polls from [Bloomberg](http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/polls/bloomberg-selzer-24677) and [NBC News](http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/polls/nbc-surveymonkey-24667) show Clinton with a 12-point and a 7-point lead, respectively. > > A presidential nominee with this standing doesn’t just lose in the general election; he brings his party down with him, wiping out an entire generation of leaders in one fell swoop. If Trump remains this unpopular through the fall—and if third-party candidates like Gary Johnson and Jill Stein don’t make substantial traction—he could cost Republicans control of the Senate and perhaps even the House. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1395 "2016-06-16T06:14:49Z")
Yes! ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1396 "2016-06-16T06:33:51Z")
> **[Let’s Play “What the Hell Did \*That\* Mean” With Today’s Guest, Donald Trump](https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/06/lets-play-what-hell-did-mean-todays-guest-donald-trump/)** > > I remember we used to play this game with Sarah Palin, and now we can play it with Donald Trump. The game is “What the Hell Did That Mean?” Today’s edition comes from a speech in Atlanta. Donald is in the middle of his usual whine about how other... Trump seems to be getting more incoherent by the week. Check out this clip of Trump talking about defending Saudi Arabia and watch his tone and body language as Drum suggests. As the campaign pressure builds up and Trump likely remains behind in the polls you have to wonder about the possibility of a major nervous breakdown. ---
**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:** [June 16, 2016, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1397 "2016-06-16T07:09:06Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I’m convinced he’s working for the Clintons. Nothing else explains it. I said it months ago. It’s the only thing that makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1398 "2016-06-16T07:17:22Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > It won’t do the GOP any good at this point – a large chunk of the GOP voting base will start circulating conspiracy theories about the dirty deeds of the eeevil Republican Establishment (up to and including accusing them of an assassination attempt if il Doofus’ departure is explained with a medical excuse). Keep Trump or Dump Trump, the party is big-red-capital-Superman-“S” screwed. I don’t know, if Trump somehow withdraws like some in this and other threads are suggesting/hoping, AND someone reasonably sane or sane appearing is nominated in his place, the reasonably sane non-Trump Republicans could be relieved enough to be extra motivated to turn out in the polls, enough to overcome the disadvantage caused by disenchanted Trump supporters. Seems like a bunch of big ifs to hang hopes on, of course. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1399 "2016-06-16T07:31:33Z")
> [@](#): > > Earlier today, the Washington Post and ABC News released their latest national poll of the presidential race, conducted last week, from the peak of the Curiel affair to the immediate aftermath of the massacre in Orlando. The numbers for Hillary Clinton aren’t great. The numbers for Donald Trump are unprecedented and catastrophic. Seventy percent of registered voters have an unfavorable view of Trump (including 88 percent of nonwhites), divided between 14 percent who are “somewhat unfavorable” and a whopping 56 percent who are “strongly unfavorable.” For comparison’s sake, Clinton’s total unfavorable rating is 55 percent. New polls from Bloomberg and NBC News show Clinton with a 12-point and a 7-point lead, respectively. > > A presidential nominee with this standing doesn’t just lose in the general election; he brings his party down with him, wiping out an entire generation of leaders in one fell swoop. If Trump remains this unpopular through the fall—and if third-party candidates like Gary Johnson and Jill Stein don’t make substantial traction—he could cost Republicans control of the Senate and perhaps even the House. He couldn’t do any better if he were really a democrat at heart … ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2016, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1400 "2016-06-16T11:37:47Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > So yeah, as a matter of fact, I _do_ agree with Sonia Sotomayor. Ha. You want to have it both ways, not that I can blame you for that. But as she states in the quote you provided: > [@](#): > > Although judges are “not robots” **and are affected by their backgrounds,** these personal experiences do not decide cases, she added. (emphasis mine) So we’re forced to decide which Sonia to believe, the one who was just speaking her mind, or the one who knew she shouldn’t have said what she did because it would be unfitting for a Supreme Court Justice to hold that view. But as I point out, even her modified remark indicates she believes that ethnicity effects what people feel and think. And that in turn, can affect decision making. Hard to disagree with that really. After all, we are not robots. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=69) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=71)