# 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:** 64
**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:** [April 14, 2024, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1275 "2024-04-14T13:25:43Z")
> [@](#): > > President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting… Wasn’t there an American translator in the room? I seem to recall there was, and that the translator was (of course) sworn to secrecy. Could not the translator be compelled to divulge what s/he heard? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1276 "2024-04-14T13:34:30Z")
nope, not at that episode in Washington, because the ambassador and the Russian foreign minister were both fluent in English. There was a translator present in his one-on-one meetings with Putin, and there were discussions whether the translator could be compelled to reveal what was said. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2024, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1277 "2024-04-14T15:29:11Z")
> [@](#): > > “This is code-word information,” said a U.S. official familiar with the matter, using terminology that refers to one of the highest classification levels used by American spy agencies. Trump “ **revealed more information to the Russian ambassador than we have shared with our own allies.** ” Wow. Speechless. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1278 "2024-04-14T15:54:01Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Wow. Speechless. Everything that Trump has seen or has in his possession should be considered compromised. I’m sure they are working on that. I imagine a LOT of USA operatives all over the world are not just cautious, but scared shitless. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2024, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1279 "2024-04-14T15:59:16Z")
I am certain that some are dead. ---
**Author:** ![Lickety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lickety/32/20399_2.png) [@Lickety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lickety)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1280 "2024-04-14T16:16:25Z")
**Wikipedia is not a trustworthy site.** The Wikimedia foundation and editors’ have garnished a reputation for obscuring sources, stretching the truth, and exercising extreme bias on topics which should be presented in a completely neutral state. **CNN and The Washington Post are not reliable sources of information.** The mainstream media is known to repeatedly lie, spread false information from questionable sources and routinely perform smear campaigns against political/thought rivals. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1281 "2024-04-14T16:25:31Z")
Thank you, first time poster for your opinions about sources. I will consider these opinions with all the respect they need to be given, and get back to you shortly. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1282 "2024-04-14T16:30:23Z")
I mean, there was the time donald just tweeted classified information to the world. > **[Trump Tweeted a Sensitive Photo. Internet Sleuths Decoded It](https://www.wired.com/story/trump-tweeted-a-sensitive-photo-internet-sleuths-decoded-it/)** > > Within hours of the president's post, amateur satellite trackers had hunted down the secret spy satellite that photographed a charred Iranian launchpad. > **[Trump tweeted an image from a spy satellite, declassified document shows](https://www.npr.org/2022/11/18/1137474748/trump-tweeted-an-image-from-a-spy-satellite-declassified-document-shows)** > > More than three years after his tweet, the U.S. government has formally declassified the image from one of its most powerful spy satellites. So it’s not exactly a huge leap of faith to believe sources that said that he was privately sharing information that should have been kept confidential. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1283 "2024-04-14T16:51:47Z")
Moderating: > [@Lickety](#): > > **Wikipedia is not a trustworthy site.** The Wikimedia foundation and editors’ have garnished a reputation for obscuring sources, stretching the truth, and exercising extreme bias on topics which should be presented in a completely neutral state. As a new poster, welcome. Without offering cites for your claims, do not expect to be taken seriously here. Repeatedly doing so becomes trolling. You might take a moment to peruse our rules in P&E: > [@New Rules for Great Debates and Elections – January 2020](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-rules-for-great-debates-and-elections-january-2020/845726/1): > > Moderation in Great Debates and Politics and Elections In general, Great Debates and Politics and Elections are the most contentious fora on the SDMB. Because of that, you’ll find that moderation is more active and prone to sanctioning posters. You can compare it to sitting at the holiday dinner next to the crazy uncle who can’t help being unpleasant. Please don’t be that guy. Be aware that most rules are not ‘bright line’. This is intentional on our part as we believe such encourages poor … ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2024, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1284 "2024-04-14T17:11:06Z")
> [@Lickety](#): > > **CNN and The Washington Post are not reliable sources of information.** Welcome. The worst thing about the Politics section here is that it risks becoming a United States left of center echo chamber, so I am glad to see you here. The hardest thing I find here is the requirement to keep to the thread topic. So I can’t discuss the accuracy of your boldface statement in this thread. However the fact that your boldface statement quoted above is commonly believed is highly relevant to why Donald Trump is a viable candidate for President. It used to be that most American families subscribed to a daily newspaper running mainstream stories, including important ones that originally appeared in the Washington Post. This created a body of commonly accepted news knowledge making it possible to discipline crooked politicians of either party. One reason that Teflon Don is Teflon, and Nixon was not, is the widespread distrust of all news media we now see. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2024, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1285 "2024-04-14T17:19:38Z")
What a useful and constructive response. Thank you. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1286 "2024-04-14T19:05:17Z")
Americans are a wonderful people whose sophisticated acumen is as deep as their collective memory. (Gift link.) > **[Four Years Out, Some Voters Look Back at Trump’s Presidency More Positively](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/14/us/politics/poll-trump-views.html?ugrp=u&unlocked_article_code=1.kU0.kNhC.SQmCLQ9naw6T&smid=url-share)** > > A new poll by The New York Times and Siena College finds that voters think highly of the former president’s record on the economy, but memories of his divisiveness largely remain intact. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2024, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1287 "2024-04-15T02:45:03Z")
Wikipedia is what the contributors type. It has review and if the editors see fit, they will delete false data. The example here is heavily edited. Hunte Biden Laptop. [Hunter Biden laptop controversy - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Biden_laptop_controversy) also see the Talk page. There: \* You may not make more than 1 revert within 24 hours on this article (except in [limited circumstances](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:NOT3RR)) - Changes challenged by reversion may not be reinstated without affirmative consensus on the talk page I hope that clears some of your confusion. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1288 "2024-04-15T02:49:54Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/14/us/politics/poll-trump-views.html?ugrp=u&unlocked\_article\_code=1.kU0.kNhC.SQmCLQ9naw6T&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/14/us/politics/poll-trump-views.html?ugrp=u&unlocked_article_code=1.kU0.kNhC.SQmCLQ9naw6T&smid=url-share) _“Are you better off now that 4 years ago?”_ they ask- well yes, under trump we were storing dead bodies in refrigerator truck they were piling up so fast. So, not only yes, but HELL YES! ---
**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:** [April 15, 2024, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1289 "2024-04-15T04:41:45Z")
Many voters have the memory of a goldfish. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2024, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1290 "2024-04-15T04:47:02Z")
Or they don’t believe what their own eyes told them. I’ve heard some MAGA supporters blame the Democrats for Roe v. Wade being repealed. ---
**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:** [April 15, 2024, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1291 "2024-04-15T08:37:46Z")
So, many people had jobs in the trucking industry that aren’t available now? /s ---
**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:** [April 15, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1292 "2024-04-15T16:09:28Z")
Sales of masks have plummeted. But swing voters are a vanishing breed - this _Economist_ gift article claims only 3% of white Biden 2020 voters are jumping on the Trump 2024 bandwagon. [https://econ.st/4aF1fwH](https://econ.st/4aF1fwH) ---
**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:** [April 16, 2024, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1293 "2024-04-16T12:57:51Z")
Despite sales of sneakers and photo ops at Chick-fil-A (shocking that this didn’t work), the GOP has not made as much headway in attracting African-American voters as they’d like. That’s not to say there hasn’t been any movement, just not a groundswell of support for Donald Trump. > **[Pew report pokes a hole in the narrative about Trump-loving Black voters](https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/trump-black-voters-republicans-pew-report-rcna147645)** > > The Pew Research Center has released a report that underscores how the claims that there has been a seismic shift toward Republicans among nonwhite voters have been wrong all along. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2024, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1294 "2024-04-18T12:15:52Z")
Trump supporters tend to see their guy as strong but I can’t understand how they can’t see how obviously weak he is. He incessantly whines about how unfair everything is. Have you ever been around someone who complains constantly? Did you think they were strong? Trump is happy to bully people publically, people who have supported him in the past, and he’s the best example of someone who can dish it out but can’t take it. Do his supporters even notice he changes his whining? When he was on trial in the Letitia James case, he complained that he’d be winning if he had a jury, but now that he is in jury selection he’s complaining he can’t get a fair trial. Why don’t Trump’s supporters see through him? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949.md?page=63) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949.md?page=65)