# How is trump still a viable candidate for president? Really, how? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [May 12, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949 "2023-05-12T14:28:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 42
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/824 "2023-12-03T17:40:42Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > 64% of the public don’t understand statistics. And the other 50% have only a basic grasp. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/825 "2023-12-03T17:45:41Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I wish Biden the best (Trump will have to do without my well wishes), and I hope he has four great and healthy years as President. But I don’t think it’s ageist to consider an alternative the way it would be if he were ten years younger: it’s just factoring in what we know about humans. I don’t have a problem with that either. I consider those things too, even though I support Biden (in philosophy and by voting). Saying that a person who is 80 can’t be relied upon at all because of their age (which is the exact statement I was replying to) is basically the definition of ageist. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/826 "2023-12-03T17:57:32Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Saying that a person who is 80 can’t be relied upon at all because of their age (which is the exact statement I was replying to) is basically the definition of ageist My point is that we all get old and feeble. “Ageism” is not a thing. Racism is about properties someone has their whole life, sexism is discriminating against people who are women their whole life, etc. etc. I promise I won’t be ageist against anyone before they’re old enough to draw a pension, even then I’ll cut them some slack until they are ~70. After that they are just old. “Ageism” is a problem when employers are not hiring people who are older than their ideal 20 something candidate. This makes it unnecessarily hard to switch careers for 40/50/60 year olds. This is a real problem. If saying that octogenarians are too old to be in a demanding position of great responsibility is ageism then I am a proud ageist. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/827 "2023-12-03T17:59:01Z")
**‘We’ve been waging an all-out war on American democracy.’ - Donald J. Trump** > **[Trump's "war on democracy" fumble sparks backlash](https://www.yahoo.com/news/internet-having-lot-fun-trumps-155953429.html)** > > "We've been waging an all-out war on American democracy," Trump declared to an audience on Saturday ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/828 "2023-12-03T18:05:00Z")
> [@The\_Librarian](#): > > If saying that octogenarians are too old to be in a demanding position of great responsibility is ageism then I am a proud ageist. I give you credit for owning it. (Not snark, I’m being sincere.) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/829 "2023-12-03T18:08:30Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > We should want more and better and it’s good to want more and better. But moping about the hard fact that we’re _not_ getting “more” of what we like only weakens our morale in the struggle. Thus my earlier post comparing and contrasting the _enthusiasm_ of Biden supporters vs Trump supporters. Bringing us full circle. Ideally, everyone is capable of understanding that Biden isn’t a perfect candidate - but considering the Republican alternative, we should be getting down on our boney knees in praise and voting like there is no tomorrow - because there may NOT be at this rate. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/830 "2023-12-03T18:56:05Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > ‘We’ve been waging an all-out war on American democracy.’ - Donald J. Trump The linked article assumes that’s a ‘speech fumble’ but I’m not sure, if that’s true, what trump was supposed to have said there. Or was that just exactly what he actually meant to say? He did recently say this in an interview and seemed to actually mean it: > “if I happen to be president and I see somebody who’s doing well and beating me very badly, I say, 'Go down and indict them.” What I love about that trump quote is, not only is he openly saying he would weaponize the justice dept. to go after his political rivals, he’s saying he would use the justice dept as President against a political opponent who’s beating him badly, so he’s describing a running for a third term situation. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/831 "2023-12-03T19:02:28Z")
> [@solost](#): > > The linked article assumes that’s a ‘speech fumble’ but I’m not sure, if that’s true, what trump was supposed to have said there. Or was that just exactly what he actually meant to say? A Freudian slip. He said what he meant, but didn’t intend to say it. (Or he wanted to say they’ve been waging a war on Democrats.) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/832 "2023-12-03T19:03:40Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > (Or he wanted to say they’ve been waging a war on Democrats.) Or, perhaps, waging a war to _ **save** _ democracy (as he, and his proxies, have been claiming that Biden is trying to destroy democracy). In any case, it sure does come across as a Freudian slip. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/833 "2023-12-03T19:17:06Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > A Freudian slip > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > it sure does come across as a Freudian slip. Or a Fascism slip? ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/834 "2023-12-03T19:41:29Z")
> **[No, Trump Did Not Say 'We've Been Waging an All-Out War on American Democracy'](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-waging-all-out-war-american-democracy/)** > > Trump supposedly spoke of a war against American democracy during a Dec. 2, 2023, campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2023, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/835 "2023-12-03T20:32:23Z")
So, it’s **in** democracy… It’s rather like FDR saying, “Since June 6th we’ve been waging war **in** Europe.” Personally I think he meant to say “war on Democrats” and muffed it. Whether from Freud or stupid, I don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2023, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/836 "2023-12-04T04:15:24Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > 64% of the public don’t understand statistics. 87% of statistics are made up right there on the spot. ---
**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:** [December 4, 2023, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/837 "2023-12-04T14:29:40Z")
As Abraham Lincoln said, “82% of what you read on the internet is crap.” ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/838 "2023-12-05T01:27:30Z")
Are you sure it was Abe who said that? I thought it was Gandhi. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2023, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/839 "2023-12-05T01:54:01Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > I thought it was Gandhi. No, Gandhi’s quotes are all about his love for nuclear weapons. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/840 "2023-12-12T21:16:13Z")
Trump is gaining in popularity among Republicans. And why not? > **[Opinion | Why Trump is surging in Iowa](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/12/trump-iowa-caucuses-gop-primaries-2024/)** > > The former president’s ground game in the state is in full force. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/841 "2023-12-12T21:19:13Z")
**Excerpt** _This time [compared to a disorganized 2016 effort], Trump’s campaign has tapped captains — sometimes multiple — for every one of the roughly 1,700 caucus locations, and each will be outfitted with a gold-embroidered cap. It has also produced a slick 18-page how-to manual so that Trump caucus-goers, especially first-timers, will know what to do when they get there._ _But the real key, a source with access to the campaign’s internal information claims, is a list of 200,000 Iowans who over the past eight years have attended a Trump rally, donated to him, signed up online or caucused for him. Pounding these people with digital ads, mail, texts and social media is where the campaign is doing much of its work, particularly with supporters who might not otherwise be inclined to spend a frigid weeknight at a caucus._ _Trump is also benefiting from the fact that Haley and DeSantis have begun attacking each other. His own ads focus on [President Biden](https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/candidates/joe-biden-2024/?itid=lk_inline_manual_25) and feature a montage of Reynolds [saying nice things about him](https://www.thegazette.com/campaigns-elections/trump-slams-iowa-gov-kim-reynolds-releases-ad-of-her-past-praise/)(before she endorsed DeSantis)._ ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/842 "2023-12-12T21:47:16Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Trump is gaining in popularity among Republicans. And why not? He’s also been [gaining in popularity among Americans generally since September](https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/favorability/donald-trump/). I don’t say that to reinforce my earlier posts claiming that Trump is viable due to so many Americans planning to vote for him. They are planning to vote for him regardless of whether they approve or disapprove of DJT personally. Bad news of almost any kind bumps Trump’s popularity. Good news harms it, at least if strong enough to break through to low information voters. We need some good news. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/843 "2023-12-12T21:57:14Z")
Those voters don’t get good news. Unemployment is at an almost record low, interest rates are coming down, the CPI is down, gas prices are down, and Fox had a headline yesterday about the imminent depression. These voters could be Scrooge McDucking through gold coins and the economy would still suck. Not sure how to rectify this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949.md?page=41) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949.md?page=43)