# How can Donald Trump win at this point? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump, kamala-harris\ **Created:** [August 6, 2024, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351 "2024-08-06T21:13:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 73
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1441 "2024-08-29T00:03:34Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > There is no need to pretend it’s fake or photoshopped Now that it’s being seen in a negative light, there is every reason to say it’s fake or photoshopped. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1442 "2024-08-29T01:07:35Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Both sides agree on this. Read some kos diaries and comments–same thing. Excluding the now hated NYT the only people i hear excoriating the MSM are those who watch Faux only. Kos is hardly a major source that shows what most liberals think. > [@kos](#): > > Bothsidesism has been a problem for a long time Bothsidesism is what the Kremlin has been pushing hard. > **[Daily Kos Bias and Reliability | Ad Fontes Media](https://adfontesmedia.com/daily-kos-bias-and-reliability/)** > > Ad Fontes Media rates Daily Kos, a blog and internet forum for Democrats, as hyper-partisan left in terms of bias and as somewhat unreliable in terms of reliability. **Bias:** _Hyper-Partisan Left_ **Reliability:** _Mixed Reliability/Opinion OR Other Issues_ For example, your cite has them questioning Politifact. Politifact rates one Biden ad as “Misleading” Kos replies- _No, the ad isn’t misleading. Trump [literally said](https://www.msnbc.com/kate-snow/watch/trump-some-form-of-punishment-for-abortion-655208515561) at an MSNBC town hall that he supports punishing women who get abortions._ Which Politifact also says trump said- But PF goes on to say trump walked it back the next day, and never made the claim again.That is what PF rates as “misleading”- not they didnt rate it as “False”. Kos doesnt seem to understand PFs rating system. I trust Politifact- which is pretty unbiased over Kos- which is way biased. And then Kos says- _Semafor’s David Weigel, a fantastic journalist, is right about calling out this not-so-subtle threat from the media: “Talk to us, or we’ll attack you.” (In case it isn’t clear, he is not making the threat himself. Rather, he’s observing how the media operates.)_ _On Thursday, Harris and Walz [will hold a sit-down interview](https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/27/politics/kamala-harris-cnn-interview/index.html) with CNN. But that’s unlikely to stop the media’s demand for undue deference. And the sooner liberals surrender giving that power to the Beltway media, the better we’ll all be._ Where cut out “the media” and insert The NYT and they would be correct. Look, we cant trust the NYT now, and we have said that here over and over. But generally we can trust CNN, BBC, PBS, Reuters, the AP, etc. I use to trust the WSJ, but no more. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1443 "2024-08-29T01:09:42Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Now that it’s being seen in a negative light, there is every reason to say it’s fake or photoshopped. It is real, but has been cropped- > **[Real Photos of Trump Smiling and Giving Thumbs-Up Over Soldiers' Graves?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-smiling-thumbs-soldiers-graves/)** > > The former president visited Arlington National Cemetery to honor soldiers killed during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1444 "2024-08-29T01:20:35Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Is he going to get the SCOTUS to declare the Laws of Thermodynamics unconstitutional? Don’t give ideas to his brain worms. We all laugh at him but millions believe this shit. He’ll get Trump some votes. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1445 "2024-08-29T01:57:25Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > There is no need to pretend it’s fake or photoshopped > > Now that it’s being seen in a negative light, there is every reason to say it’s fake or photoshopped. Seen negative by who? ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1446 "2024-08-29T02:09:23Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > The “independent” voter is typically a former Republican who no longer wants to be _called_ a Republican but will vote for them anyway. I don’t think that’s right. The number of voters who identify as independent has been increasing for decades at the expense of both parties. It’s true that most “independents” do have a partisan preference but it’s not clear that it favors Republicans. Independents barely broke for Trump in 2016, and more decisively broke for Biden in 2020. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1447 "2024-08-29T02:41:40Z")
I just still don’t get it. How is he still winning? He is only campaigning to his base, he is clearly unhinged and getting crazier by the day. His base cannot be more than 30% of voters. I know that a lot of Republicans will vote the party line but. I can’t believe that there are that many people willing to put a crazy man in office over someone rational that they may have some disagreements with. All those Republicans supported Harris at the convention and she hasn’t gotten any bump. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1448 "2024-08-29T02:50:49Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I just still don’t get it. How is he still winning? Trump’s not winning. “The polls” are fun to follow, but they’re too commonly being taken as perfect oracles into the future. Additionally, there’s too much assuming the 2016 election is the 2020 election is the 2024 election (i.e. same things will keep happening, no surprises, nothing new). The best you can say is that with motivated reasoning, there’s enough out there that you can make a reasonable case that Harris is in good shape, and a reasonable case that Trump is right there as well. The numbers, such as they are, are not determinative enough to peer into the future, even hazily. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1449 "2024-08-29T02:54:03Z")
Okay, but psychobunny is right: one thing the polls _do_ tell us clearly is that millions upon millions of people are planning to vote for Trump. It is truly mind-boggling. Truly. ---
**Author:** ![TeroSunbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terosunbear/32/14748_2.png) [@TeroSunbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeroSunbear)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1450 "2024-08-29T03:01:05Z")
It’s not about policy. Never was. All the elections, 2016, 2020 and 2024 are strictly about Trump. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1451 "2024-08-29T03:09:15Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Yeah, I usually put “independent” in quotes, since that status is usually bullshit. When I was young, and very fucking stupid, I was an “independent”. I voted for third party candidates at times (dumbass me voting for Perot), and when I saw “no good candidate” in 2000, held my nose and voted for GW. What a fucknut I was. It took the Iraq War to wake me up and realize that the right and independents were stealing from the only party that made sense. I was roughly 30 when I came to my senses. I was raised a strict Republican and it took me 30 years to break free from the cult. Only took 20 years to break free from the cult of my religious upbringing. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1452 "2024-08-29T03:12:33Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I just still don’t get it. How is he still winning? He is only campaigning to his base, he is clearly unhinged and getting crazier by the day. His base cannot be more than 30% of voters. I know that a lot of Republicans will vote the party line but. I can’t believe that there are that many people willing to put a crazy man in office over someone rational that they may have some disagreements with. All those Republicans supported Harris at the convention and she hasn’t gotten any bump. Trump won 46.8% of the popular vote in 2020 when the memory of his Administration was fresh on voters’ minds and they had the option of “someone rational that they may have some disagreements with.” What has transpired in the intervening four years that would cause his support to go down? I know a big part of the conversation in this thread is that he’s falling apart, but apparently many voters don’t see that (at least not more so than he was in 2020). ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1453 "2024-08-29T03:30:02Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > polls _do_ tell us clearly is that millions upon millions of people are planning to vote for Trump. Tens of millions, barely conceivable millions, and most of them reside in blue states. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2024, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1454 "2024-08-29T03:43:48Z")
It will be a cinch to spot them at the polls because they will have tears in their eyes. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1455 "2024-08-29T06:06:43Z")
Methinks a better metric would DEMs be the ones teary eyed (of joy); GOPs with steely determination. Of course, us non-merkins remain in total confuddlement of how he could ever have got within 30 points. You (collective) progressive angels have really, really, really pissed off your opponents. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2024, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1456 "2024-08-29T06:08:31Z")
There are times we travel abroad…and there are times we travel abroad and call ourselves “Canadians”. ---
**Author:** ![Chad\_Sudan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chad_sudan/32/4509_2.png) [@Chad\_Sudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chad_Sudan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1457 "2024-08-29T11:16:51Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > Of course, us non-merkins remain in total confuddlement of how he could ever have got within 30 points. Living abroad, I meet a surprising number of non-American Trump supporters. They like his misogyny, opposition to immigration, demagoguery, and/or disruption of the status quo. A few days ago, a twentysomething woman from mainland China told me Trump was a “hero” for the way he responded to the attempt on his life. And she praised Trump’s masking policy during the pandemic as commonsensical. Stupidity knows no borders! ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1458 "2024-08-29T11:35:16Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I just still don’t get it. How is he still winning? A lot of Americans like fascism. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1459 "2024-08-29T11:52:30Z")
A lot of Americans like fascism, but only if it’s their side with the power. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2024, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351/1460 "2024-08-29T12:08:19Z")
He also has help from the media, which are perversely incentivized to normalize the narrative. > (Thread. Short and excellent.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351.md?page=72) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-donald-trump-win-at-this-point/1005351.md?page=74)