# 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:** 61
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1204 "2024-03-28T02:34:55Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/999506/29): > > If minority communities want to police themselves or have no police, good for them. > > The rest of the country shouldn’t be dragged with the thing. Nobody’s dragging anybody anywhere. Do you see the Democratic Party proposing some massive reduction in policing as part of its platform? Can you offer some example of this epidemic where communities are eliminating police? Where do you live that the existence of the police force is in peril? Until you mentioned it, I hadn’t heard that slogan in years, I think. ---
**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:** [March 28, 2024, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1205 "2024-03-28T02:48:31Z")
I suggest you work on hating “woke”. Defunding the police is not the trending thing to hate these days. ---
**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:** [March 28, 2024, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1208 "2024-03-28T03:04:44Z")
I want police to have the resources they need. But I object to the militarisation of police. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1209 "2024-03-28T03:21:27Z")
Has a comic done a bit yet where trump sells his sperm? Easy to write- the asshole stands there bragging about his track record and the camera scans his kids, cutting off Barron’s head because he’s too tall for the frame. ---
**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:** [March 28, 2024, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1211 "2024-03-28T09:43:55Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/999506/32): > > another police incident What would qualify as such? Genuinely curious. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1212 "2024-03-28T10:11:56Z")
While we’re on this hijack - this is how “Defund the Police” is supposed to work: [![](https://images.dailykos.com/images/889682/story_image/defund.jpg?1606996661) ](https://images.dailykos.com/images/889682/story_image/defund.jpg?1606996661) > [@Bulls99](#): > > Dems need to focus on the economy and abortion and crime They are. The problem is that the right-wing lies about them drown out the reality that the economy is actually doing quite well and violent crime has come dramatically down. Abortion seems to be getting traction though, especially after the IVF-related fiasco. > [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/999506/29): > > If minority communities want to police themselves or have no police, good for them. What minority communities want are police who actually “protect and serve” them rather than actively persecuting them. To them, the police are just another gang of thugs. Which (to bring this back on topic) is exactly what Trump wants them to be. And what those who support him want too. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1213 "2024-03-28T12:31:02Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/999506/30): > > Cori Bush, AOC types have advocated for it [defunding the police] AOC’s statement about the idea is from **2020**. This is not what democrats are campaigning on in this election. > [@](#): > > ## What does an America with defunded police look like to you?" below: > > _The good news is that it actually doesn’t take a ton of imagination._ > > _It looks like a suburb. Affluent white communities already live in a world where the choose to fund youth, health, housing etc more than they fund police. These communities have lower crime rates not because they have more police, but bc they have more resources to support healthy society in a way that reduces crime._ > > _When a teenager or preteen does something harmful in a suburb (I say teen bc this is often where lifelong carceral cycles begin for Black and Brown communities), White communities bend over backwards to find alternatives to incarceration for their loved ones to “protect their future,” like community service or rehab or restorative measures. Why don’t we treat Black and Brown people the same way? Why doesn’t the criminal system care about Black teens’ futures the way they care for White teens’ futures? Why doesn’t the news use Black people’s graduation or family photos in stories the way they do when they cover White people (eg Brock Turner) who commit harmful crimes? Affluent White suburbs also design their own lives so that they walk through the world without having much interruption or interaction with police at all aside from community events and speeding tickets (and many of these communities try to reduce those, too!)_ > > _Just starting THERE would be a dramatically and radically different world than what we are experiencing now._ > **[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Was Asked About Defunding the Police and Her Answer...](https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/media/in-the-news/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-was-asked-about-defunding-police-and-her-answer-went)** > >   > [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/999506/30): > > Policing is a local issue. Precisely. So it’s not a national campaign issue. Democrats aren’t running on “defund the police”. If people are going for Trump because they think they are, then that is just a consequence of uninformed voters and the misinformation from the right wing. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1215 "2024-03-28T17:06:15Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/999506/32): > > My solution to end this is white cops probably shouldn’t be in minority areas patrolling, they just cant understand minorities… Racial preferences are generally a mistake, but this proposal is far worse than any I am aware of. > [@Gyrate](#): > > What minority communities want are police who actually “protect and serve” them rather than actively persecuting them. To them, the police are just another gang of thugs. Gang of thugs. This sounds to me like far left ideology, not minority communities. Also, communities are not monolithic in the opinions of their residents. Consider this non-partisan [September 2022 poll of Black American voters](https://files.kff.org/attachment/TOPLINE-KFF-theGrio-Black-Voters-September-2022.pdf): > [@](#): > > Thinking about police departments in your area, do you think spending on policing should be: > > Increased 34 percent > Kept about the same 48 percent > Decreased 17 percent While this is not the same as asking if the police are a gang of thugs, I’m pretty sure that people do not want to fund gangs of thugs. Does this have anything to do with Trump being viable? Actually, yes. The great majority of White people who think Black people look on the police as a gang of thugs are going to be frightened into voting for Trump. The false idea that the Democrats want less police funding also feeds Trump’s narrative when he often calls the Democrats “far left”. And it is not true, except for small numbers. ---
**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:** [March 28, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1217 "2024-03-28T20:59:17Z")
I was unaware that white people are unable to learn other languages or appreciate other cultures. It’s almost like there should be better training or something, rather than hiring based on color of their skin. I know, that’s just crazy talk from me. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1218 "2024-03-28T21:29:23Z")
I think it is true that privileged people, in general, have less incentive to put the labour into outreach toward the less privileged. So more of a “won’t” than a “can’t.” But it’s pretty easy to _train_ people in the basics. Basic Spanish, basic issues when approaching people from minorities, and /or people from marginalized / disadvantaged groups, from a position of authority while carrying a firearm, etc. ¿Necessita ayuda en español? + a phone number to a translation service would cover a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1220 "2024-03-28T21:58:14Z")
America is, by and large, an English-speaking nation. It has always had a substantial minority speaking other languages. Spanish, in particular, was the national language of the Southwest before the American takeover. It’s pretty profoundly offensive to insist that people speaking English “when dealing in public.” Why should someone speaking an Indigenous language, or Spanish, switch to English just because they’re in public? Why should anyone else have to be able to understand my dealings beyond the people I’m talking with? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1221 "2024-03-28T22:04:26Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Democrats aren’t running on “defund the police”. If people are going for Trump because they think they are, then that is just a consequence of uninformed voters and the misinformation from the right wing. I’m reminded of a quip by Reagan: “If you have to explain (what your slogan means,) you’ve already lost (the PR battle.)” Sure, Democrats can explain that “Defund the Police” does not, in fact, mean “Defund the Police.” But by doing so, the truth is still tying its shoelaces when a misunderstanding has already gone halfway around the globe. Better to _begin_ with a clear slogan, than to give a misleading one and have to constantly play catch-up. I could say, “Lock Up the Poor!” and then explain later, “What I mean by ‘lock up’ is give universal basic income to the poor, and give them scholarships.” ---
**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:** [March 28, 2024, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1222 "2024-03-28T22:18:19Z")
Which Democrats, exactly, are running on “defund the police”? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1224 "2024-03-28T22:38:33Z")
Well, as a white person who grew up speaking English only, but who is now happy to chat with fellow Americans in Spanish or a few other languages… I disagree. Also, as a mostly-assimilated Italian-American, I find that some aspects of my culture, I have much more in common with Latinos than with WASPs; in others, the opposite. I also don’t think much of the tyranny of the majority. ---
**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:** [March 28, 2024, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1225 "2024-03-28T22:39:22Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/999506/35): > > America is an English-speaking nation. One thing I agree with the right is that you should speak English in America. Factually incorrect. New Mexico’s constitution as originally ratified required all laws to be published in both English and Spanish. While this requirement has not been extended since the 50s (it was originally only required for the first 20 years) there is no “official” language for the state, and in fact, many requirements that preserve the role of Spanish. Quick chunk from Wikipedia: > However, the state legislature remains constitutionally empowered to publish laws in English and Spanish and to appropriate funds for translation. Whenever a [referendum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendum) to approve an amendment to the New Mexican constitution is held, the ballots must be printed in both English and Spanish.[[179]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico#cite_note-184) Certain legal notices must be published in both English and Spanish as well, and the state maintains a list of newspapers for Spanish publication.[[180]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico#cite_note-185) > > With regard to the judiciary, witnesses and defendants have the right to testify in either of the two languages, and monolingual speakers of Spanish have the same right to be considered for jury duty as do speakers of English.[[178]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico#cite_note-const-183)[[181]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico#cite_note-186) In public education, the state has the constitutional obligation to provide bilingual education and Spanish-speaking instructors in school districts where the majority of students are [Hispanophone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanophone).[[178]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico#cite_note-const-183) The constitution also provides that all state citizens who speak neither English nor Spanish have a right to vote, hold public office, and serve on juries.[[182]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico#cite_note-187) Now, yes, as @Dr.Drake and others mention, America is by and large and English speaking nation. But your assertation is incorrect - and speaking as someone who grew up in Las Cruces NM, and played soccer with his Latino classmates and teammates (the majority of them) through Junior high this assertation is embarrassing and infuriatingly wrong: > [@Bulls99](#): > > Most people speak English in America. There’s a reason why most whites don’t like interacting with others, because they don’t understand each other. > > You think the white baseball players like interacting with their Latino teammates? Not really, because they speak Spanish and have to have a translator… ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1227 "2024-03-28T22:57:04Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/999506/37): > > It’s not only White people, but Black Americans don’t speak Spanish either, they don’t care to or want to learn the language. Most of the black people I know in Arizona are involved in Education or civil service, they are interested and want to learn Spanish. ---
**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:** [March 28, 2024, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1228 "2024-03-28T23:07:37Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/999506/37): > > It’s not only White people, but Black Americans don’t speak Spanish either, they don’t care to or want to learn the language. You seem kind of obsessed with the color of people’s skin when referencing what language they speak. It’s … Odd. ---
**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:** [March 28, 2024, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1229 "2024-03-28T23:09:42Z")
I’m a White guy. I used to speak Japanese when I was little. (Sadly, I’ve forgotten it.) I took four semesters of German in high school and college. I would _love_ to learn Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1230 "2024-03-28T23:19:46Z")
…though it may be illustrative of the answer to the thread title question. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2024, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1231 "2024-03-28T23:26:07Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Gang of thugs. This sounds to me like far left ideology, not minority communities. Oh, so minorities no longer feel disproportionately targeted by police? They’re no longer being treated more harshly and killed by police at a higher rate than white people? That’s good to know we’ve solved that problem. Guess BLM can disband now. > [@](#): > > Also, communities are not monolithic in the opinions of their residents. It was a broad generalization, true. But it’s also true that minority neighborhoods want actual responsible policing. They want to know that if they call 911 for help, [the police](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/21/los-angeles-domestic-violence-victim-fatally-shot-police) [aren’t going](https://www.npr.org/2023/05/26/1178398395/mississippi-11-year-old-boy-called-police-shot) [to shoot](https://theintercept.com/2019/09/29/police-shootings-mental-health/) [**them** instead](https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/virginia-man-isiah-brown-shot-by-sheriffs-deputy-after-calling-911-for-help/2649178/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949.md?page=60) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949.md?page=62)