# 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:** 92
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1821 "2016-06-24T00:00:34Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > But I heard a pundit’s observation the other day that I think is fitting in this election: a narrative about how Drumpf is causing the GOP to immolate, and maybe even put its House majority in jeopardy, is a pretty juicy story–and more plausible than spinning it into a neck-and-neck race. That’s why I said earlier that a need to tack to the center and be reasonable is sort of a catch-22 for Trump, because that’s simply NOT the Donald Trump who got the free publicity he needs politically and personally. It’s the unfiltered, outrageous Trump that did that; moderate, reasonable Trump is kinda boring in comparison, and it’s not who his supporters are voting for to begin with. Will enough moderates, independents, and undecideds both pay attention to that Trump AND reasonably think that this is his real, usual mode, compared to the guy they’ve already heard about? I find that doubtful. Will Republicans who don’t like him seize onto sane Trump as an excuse to salve their conscience enough to vote for him? Much more likely, but the fact that the possibility is even a requirement in the first place should be kind of troubling for Republicans. ---
**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 24, 2016, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1822 "2016-06-24T00:01:09Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > The Trump scampaign [joins the ranks of penis enhancers and Nigerian princelings](https://www.the-newshub.com/us-politics/did-donald-trump-raise-2-million-from-spam): “Greetings! My name is Donald J. Trump, and I am running for US president. If you can give me your bank-account details, absolutely YUGE returns await you upon my election.” ---
**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:** [June 24, 2016, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1823 "2016-06-24T02:14:16Z")
Mark Kirk is running for re-election against Donald Trump. > **[Embattled GOP Senator Throws Trump Under The Bus In New Ad](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mark-kirk-trump-ad_n_576c1235e4b0795798cb5f0d?section=politics)** > > Hmm, maybe Sen. Mark Kirk wants to be re-elected. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1824 "2016-06-24T03:53:51Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Trump Hotels will now charge the campaign 10,000 per night. > Beds extra. > > The plane is 100,000 per hour. Permission to land fees extra. > > Trump Water-100/bottle. Chlorine extra. It could be done that way. But there’s a simpler method. Here’s the quote from Politico: [INDENT][INDENT]“I have absolutely no intention of paying myself back for the nearly $50 million dollars I have loaned to the campaign," Trump said in a statement. “This money is a contribution made in order to 'Make America Great Again.” Read more:[http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/trump-forgives-campaign-loan-224732](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/trump-forgives-campaign-loan-224732) [/INDENT][/INDENT] Well that’s settled then. Trump’s claim is as good as Trump’s word. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1825 "2016-06-24T10:59:50Z")
It is shocking to me. how partisan the media are. If I look at the facts presented on media linked here, and media I generally find trustworthy, the emerging image of Trump is… well, as it is pictured here. When I look at [FOX](http://insider.foxnews.com/tag/donald-trump), there’s a totally different set of facts, a totally different way to present it. I guess, what I want to say is a thank you to the Dopers voting for Trump that still present their viewpoints here. Otherwise we would be singing one song here and anywhere between 10 and 40 percent of voters sing a totally different song. And a question: is there, besides politifact, still one news outlet in the US that is, by all parties, considered to actually be factual, fair and balanced? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1826 "2016-06-24T11:10:28Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > And a question: is there, besides politifact, still one news outlet in the US that is, by all parties, considered to actually be factual, fair and balanced? In this climate of hyper-partisanship, I don’t think that is possible. Each side considers any news outlet that doesn’t slant in their favor to be suspect. Perhaps the Christian Science Monitor? ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1827 "2016-06-24T11:20:13Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > And a question: is there, besides politifact, still one news outlet in the US that is, by all parties, considered to actually be factual, fair and balanced? Actually, there are people who do not consider PolitiFact to be especially factual, fair, or balanced. (At least not so much so that it deserves the sanctimonious ultimate-arbiter-of-truth image that it cultivates.) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1828 "2016-06-24T11:28:32Z")
They are not always right, but they are always fair. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1829 "2016-06-24T13:12:02Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > It is shocking to me. how partisan the media are. If I look at the facts presented on media linked here, and media I generally find trustworthy, the emerging image of Trump is… well, as it is pictured here. > > When I look at [FOX](http://insider.foxnews.com/tag/donald-trump), there’s a totally different set of facts, a totally different way to present it. … Eh. As far as the facts presented, that Fox headline list is not far off. Commentary and opinion pieces, punditry and prognostications? Well of course Fox has their flavor. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1830 "2016-06-24T14:05:44Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Actually, there are people who do not consider PolitiFact to be especially factual, fair, or balanced. (At least not so much so that it deserves the sanctimonious ultimate-arbiter-of-truth image that it cultivates.) There are some who don’t, [but not because PolitiFact gets things wrong.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PolitiFact.com#Reception) > [@](#): > > A Wall Street Journal editorial in December 2010 called PolitiFact “part of a larger journalistic trend that seeks to recast all political debates as matters of lies, misinformation and ‘facts,’ rather than differences of world view or principles”.[24] > > Mark Hemingway of The Weekly Standard criticized all fact-checking projects by news organizations, including PolitiFact, the Associated Press and the Washington Post, writing that they “aren’t about checking facts so much as they are about a rearguard action to keep inconvenient truths out of the conversation”.[25] > > In December 2011, Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy wrote in the Huffington Post that the problem with fact-checking projects was “there are only a finite number of statements that can be subjected to thumbs-up/thumbs-down fact-checking”.[26] > > Matt Welch, in the February 2013 issue of Reason magazine, criticized PolitiFact and other media fact-checkers for focusing much more on statements by politicians about their opponents, rather than statements by politicians and government officials about their own policies, thus serving as “a check on the exercise of rhetoric” but not “a check on the exercise of power”.[27] The others might have fair points, but I hope nobody here thinks Mark Hemingway does. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1831 "2016-06-24T15:48:55Z")
[Trump simultaneously praises Brexit and blames Obama for making it happen.](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-blames-obama-brexit-takes-credit) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1832 "2016-06-24T17:51:08Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > There are some who don’t, [but not because PolitiFact gets things wrong.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PolitiFact.com#Reception) > > The others might have fair points, but I hope nobody here thinks Mark Hemingway does. :rolleyes: Nah, that professor is an idiot too: “the problem with fact-checking projects was ‘there are only a finite number of statements that can be subjected to thumbs-up/thumbs-down fact-checking’” strikes me as a statement that only an idiot could make with a straight face, as if it was an insight of some kind. ---
**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 24, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1833 "2016-06-24T18:31:16Z")
Some of the quotes from the press conference this morning are Classic Trump: > [@](#): > > QUESTION: Are you traveling with any of your foreign policy advisers? You knew that this was going to happen today, there was going to be some sort of decision. > > Are you huddling with them to find out what the best way… > > TRUMP: Well, I’ve been in touch with them, **but there’s nothing to talk about** … And I’ve actually been in touch. And some, by the way, don’t like it, and some do like it. **You know, they’re advisers, they’re like everybody else. They probably know less, every one of these advisers.** > > Somebody said, “Gee, you should use advisers that have been really hot the last five years.” I said, “Really? I think I want to use ones that haven’t been involved.” Take a look at what has happened in the world. > [@](#): > > impact of what is taking operation here in Britain? The markets are… > > TRUMP: Right. Well, nobody knows. Look, if the pound goes down, they’re going to do more business. **You know, when the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry, frankly.** And the pound has gone down, and let’s see what the impact of that has, but I think places like Scotland and England and different places, in Great Britain, I think you’re going to see a lot of — a lot of activity. > [@](#): > > And I felt it wouldn’t stay together, and again, I think that’s what’s happening in the United States. It’s not staying together. It’s a really positive force taking place. They want to take their country back. The people want their country back. We don’t want to lose our jobs, we don’t want to lose our borders. > > They want to have wage increases. They haven’t in the United States, folks. For members — **and all of my members at Turnberry, I mean, we’ve had hard-working, great people that haven’t were a real wage increase in 18 years. So they’re working harder now and they’re making less money.** Well, Donald… give them raises! I think the next two are the most jaw-dropping… > [@](#): > > TRUMP: And by the way, **I’m forced — you know, legally, I have to pay myself back.** If I use — this has nothing to do with the campaign. You won’t see this, I’m to support my children. But if I use one of my resorts in the United states and we have a press conference or something, by law, I have to pay myself back. > [@](#): > > QUESTION: I think this is the ninth Trump property we visited during your presidential campaign. Why do you continue having events here? > > TRUMP: My properties — number one, **I have the best properties**. Okay? You can say that. > > I will say, a lot the of the press has said, “whether you like them or not, there’s no properties like that.” I have the best properties and you don’t get to see that otherwise, but I have the best properties. > > TRUMP: And the other thing is, why should I use somebody else’s properties? Number one, they’re not as good and number two, it’s one of those things. **I wish, frankly, I wasn’t forced by law to pay myself back.** We’re forced to pay. You do understand that, sir? A couple of people said, “He’s paying to his campaign.” I’m not paying to my campaign. But enough about how the law is forcing my campaign to use my facilities at above-market rates, let’s get back to my racial nationalism… > [@](#): > > QUESTION: (Inaudible). How much of the Brexit vote do you think is about economic issues that you’ve been hammering home on the campaign? Low wages, lack of growth in the economy? > > TRUMP: Well, I think a lot of it is, but I think a lot of it’s borders, I think a lot of it is immigration. I think I speak — spoken. I mean, I have so many members here, hundreds and hundreds of members sitting in the back, and I’ve spoken to them and they’re not happy with the people flowing into the country. They don’t want that to happen. And I think that has a lot to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1834 "2016-06-24T19:17:11Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > It is shocking to me. how partisan the media are. If I look at the facts presented on media linked here, and media I generally find trustworthy, the emerging image of Trump is… well, as it is pictured here. > > When I look at [FOX](http://insider.foxnews.com/tag/donald-trump), there’s a totally different set of facts, a totally different way to present it. > > I guess, what I want to say is a thank you to the Dopers voting for Trump that still present their viewpoints here. Otherwise we would be singing one song here and anywhere between 10 and 40 percent of voters sing a totally different song. > > And a question: is there, besides politifact, still one news outlet in the US that is, by all parties, considered to actually be factual, fair and balanced? This guy’s clearly pro-Trump, though he claims otherwise. His analysis of the Trump phenomenon has been brilliant and prescient. Take what you get from the majority of posters here, and balance against Scott Adam’s analysis of Trump. [http://blog.dilbert.com/](http://blog.dilbert.com/) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1835 "2016-06-24T19:28:12Z")
> [@Belowjob2.0](#): > > This guy’s clearly pro-Trump, though he claims otherwise. His analysis of the Trump phenomenon has been brilliant and prescient. Take what you get from the majority of posters here, and balance against Scott Adam’s analysis of Trump. > > [http://blog.dilbert.com/](http://blog.dilbert.com/) He has some interesting ideas – he seems to believe that the one with the best persuading skills will always win. But I think he misses something – great big chunks of the population can’t be persuaded on certain issues. To take it to an extreme, the best persuader in the world won’t be able to persuade most Jews that they deserved to be killed in the Holocaust. There’s a plateau with certain ideas that even a great persuader will never exceed, and I think Adams is missing this consistently. But we’ll find out in November. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1836 "2016-06-24T19:32:38Z")
As a political historian and analyst, he is an excellent cartoonist. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1837 "2016-06-24T19:36:25Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > He has some interesting ideas – he seems to believe that the one with the best persuading skills will always win. But I think he misses something – great big chunks of the population can’t be persuaded on certain issues. In that respect, it is a circularity. If they can’t be persuaded, then the candidate is not the best persuader. The winner is always the best persuader, because he gets the most votes. Voters are more easily persuaded by someone they agree with. If his opponent has policies the voters irrevocably disagree with, then he is not a good persuader. ---
**Author:** ![GreyColson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/edb3f5/32.png) [@GreyColson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreyColson)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1838 "2016-06-24T19:36:54Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > [Trump simultaneously praises Brexit and blames Obama for making it happen.](http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-blames-obama-brexit-takes-credit) Unlike Obama, he is able to multitask. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1839 "2016-06-24T19:51:55Z")
> [@GreyColson](#): > > Unlike Obama, he is able to multitask. It’s true. Why just today, while running for POTUS, he was in Turnberry planning to have a [garage sale](http://www.ibtimes.com/donald-trump-selling-used-televisions-beds-doors-turnberry-golf-course-2120618). ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901/1840 "2016-06-24T19:57:09Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > He has some interesting ideas – he seems to believe that the one with the best persuading skills will always win. But I think he misses something – great big chunks of the population can’t be persuaded on certain issues. To take it to an extreme, the best persuader in the world won’t be able to persuade most Jews that they deserved to be killed in the Holocaust. > > There’s a plateau with certain ideas that even a great persuader will never exceed, and I think Adams is missing this consistently. > > But we’ll find out in November. Interesting is one way to see it. I see it as a clumsy attempt to hide his rabid Trumpism. Which, incidentally, makes blog posts like this one [where he says he’s trying to “un-hypnotize” a rabid anti-trumper](http://blog.dilbert.com/post/146157026376/how-to-un-hypnotize-a-rabid-anti-trumper) are especially … [del]dumb[/del] interesting [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=91) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trumps-2016-general-election-campaign/753901.md?page=93)