# 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:** 68
**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:** [May 3, 2024, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1355 "2024-05-03T12:07:23Z")
Nah, all the trolls will just start slamming Livingston as an EINO (E for evangelical). Because that’s how degraded the movement has become. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2024, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1356 "2024-05-03T12:48:30Z")
After all, that Jesus guy was spouting woke talking points, according to some evangelicals. > **[Evangelicals are now rejecting 'liberal' teachings of Jesus](https://www.newsweek.com/evangelicals-rejecting-jesus-teachings-liberal-talking-points-pastor-1818706)** > > Christian devotees of former President Donald Trump are denouncing Bible verses attributed to Jesus as "weak," according to an evangelical leader. ---
**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:** [May 3, 2024, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1357 "2024-05-03T13:05:54Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > After all, that Jesus guy was spouting woke talking points, according to some evangelicals. > > > Christian devotees of former President Donald Trump are denouncing Bible verses attributed to Jesus as “weak,” **TOO WEAK:** “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well." – Matthew 5:39-40 **ON FLEEK:** “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” – Matthew 10:34 ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1358 "2024-05-04T01:22:16Z")
Yet another reason he’s viable: > **[President Trump to Address Libertarian Party Concerns at National Convention...](https://www.lp.org/president-trump-to-address-libertarian-party-concerns-at-national-convention-may-25th/)** > > Washington, D.C., May 1, 2024 — The Libertarian National Party, the Party of Principle, announced today that President Donald J. Trump has responded to an invitation, and challenge, from the Libertarian Party to speak at its National Convention, and... ---
**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:** [May 4, 2024, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1359 "2024-05-04T14:18:30Z")
Bah. Libertarians are insignificant. They call themselves the Party of Principle, but the only principle they live by is “I got mine, fuck you,” which makes them indistinguishable from Republicans. Let them endorse DJT, doesn’t make a dime’s worth of difference. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2024, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1360 "2024-05-04T14:26:41Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Bah. Libertarians are insignificant. They call themselves the Party of Principle, but the only principle they live by is “I got mine, fuck you,” which makes them indistinguishable from Republicans. During college I worked nights at a large hotel that also held conventions. There was a Libertarian convention in town, and one of my coworkers worked a speaker event. He said one line that stuck with him was the speaker saying “Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner”. Apropos of not much, just wanted to share my second-hand Libertarian anecdote. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1361 "2024-05-04T14:38:44Z")
> [@solost](#): > > > [@BobLibDem](#): > > > > Bah. Libertarians are insignificant. They call themselves the Party of Principle, but the only principle they live by is “I got mine, fuck you,” which makes them indistinguishable from Republicans. > > During college I worked nights at a large hotel that also held conventions. There was a Libertarian convention in town, and one of my coworkers worked a speaker event. He said one line that stuck with him was the speaker saying “Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner”. > > Apropos of not much, just wanted to share my second-hand Libertarian anecdote. This is the mindset of someone with no empathy for anyone outside of their own privileged group. I vote for and support universal healthcare, food stamps, public education, and other benefit programs not because any one of those things necessarily benefit or even affect me. But they help other people and society as a whole, and I have empathy for others. @BobLibDem has it right: “I got mine, fuck you.” What a perfect encapsulation of the Libertarian (and Republican) philosophy. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1362 "2024-05-04T14:42:42Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Let them endorse DJT, doesn’t make a dime’s worth of difference. He didn’t run in their primaries, and they won’t endorse him. Trump will calibrate his message to the audience, and it will signal something positive to a few fence-sitters. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1363 "2024-05-04T15:50:25Z")
> [@robby](#): > > “I got mine, fuck you.” What a perfect encapsulation of the Libertarian (and Republican) philosophy. Isn’t a big part of their platform “Rules don’t apply to me” Republicans anyway are a bit like SovCit’s, with a cup of “I want to boss others around as well as not have any rules for me” ---
**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:** [May 4, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1364 "2024-05-04T16:06:21Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > [@BobLibDem](#): > > > > Let them endorse DJT, doesn’t make a dime’s worth of difference. > > He didn’t run in their primaries, and they won’t endorse him. Trump will calibrate his message to the audience, and it will signal something positive to a few fence-sitters I would imagine that practically no Libertarian Party members did or would vote for Biden. Possible exception of a tiny number of one-issue Libertarians that badly want federally-legal marijuana. Maybe astride a fence, but not a Biden-Trump fence. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2024, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1365 "2024-05-04T16:17:52Z")
True enough. When you believe that every government dollar spent makes Baby Jesus cry, you certainly aren’t going to vote for a party that promotes responsible governance. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1366 "2024-05-04T17:59:37Z")
Please also see several concurrent thread where there is talk about the take-over of the Libertarian party by extreme (even by their standards!) reactionaries, specifically the Mises Caucus (brought to my attention by both @Atamasama and @DesertDog in different threads) > **[Mises Caucus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mises_Caucus)** > > The Libertarian Party Mises Caucus (LPMC) is a caucus within the Libertarian Party in the United States that promotes paleolibertarianism, as well as a more radical version of American libertarianism associated with the presidential campaigns of former U.S. congressman Ron Paul. It was founded in 2017 by Michael Heise, mainly in opposition to Nicholas Sarwark's position as party chairman and the pragmatic faction of the party associated with the presidential campaigns of former New Mexico Gove Th... The threads with mentions include: > [@This is parody, right? (Meme about extreme libertarianism)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-parody-right-meme-about-extreme-libertarianism/997554/231): > > I wasn’t aware of this either but it completely fits with what I’ve seen happened to libertarians over there last decade, who almost to a man (and they are all men) have gone from “free thinking independents who aren’t tied to any party doctrine” to card carrying MAGAts. > [@President Joe Biden and the runup to the 2024 election](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-joe-biden-and-the-runup-to-the-2024-election/954384/1154): > > Sure you do. Become a delegate to the Libertarian National Convention being held in DC May 24-26. Be aware though, apparently the anarcho-capitalist (Republican-lite) branch\* of the party has pretty well seized the reins from the anarcho-socialist (anarchist-lite) branch. \* The Mises Caucus has shifted the Libertarian Party further toward the right ever since their party’s national convention in May 2022.[[9]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mises_Caucus#cite_note-:13-9) As of 2022, the Mises Caucus is the largest caucus of the Libertarian Party, and… ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1367 "2024-05-04T20:14:02Z")
I like Ron Paul. I was introduced to Libertarianism by a man who was a Bircher. I feel hypocritical being one, as I go get food stamps, but no other party fits me. ---
**Author:** ![Hurrilon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@Hurrilon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hurrilon)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1368 "2024-05-04T20:32:23Z")
# So, what you think of my attempts to wrap my head around the [black swan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory) phenomenon that is trump? Is there more to it than what I can only guess at? The answer is simple. He is far and away a better candidate than anyone the Democrats can come up, especially Pedo Joe. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1369 "2024-05-04T20:38:20Z")
> [@Hurrilon](#): > > The answer is simple. He is far and away a better candidate than anyone the Democrats can come up, especially Pedo Joe. Mom? Is that you? (You sound just like my MAGA mother.) What makes Trump the better candidate? Is it the 88 criminal indictments? Is it the fact that he’s an adjudicated rapist? Is it the fact that he’s incapable of doing business without committing fraud? Is it Trump’s love and respect for autocrats like Xi, Putin, Orbán? Is it that Trump himself said he would be a dictator on day one? Please, tell us what makes Trump the better candidate. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1370 "2024-05-04T20:44:24Z")
I have despised Donald Trump since long before he ran for president. But seeing what is going on in this country has exposed the need for someone like him. Someone needs to clean house and he is the only one that can get the support needed to do that. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2024, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1371 "2024-05-04T20:46:56Z")
Jesus Christ. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1372 "2024-05-04T20:47:56Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Possible exception of a tiny number of one-issue Libertarians that badly want federally-legal marijuana. Which Biden just took a big step towards- pretty much as big as can be done by the President alone- not to mention giving marching orders to all the US Attorneys, DEA etc, that unless tied to violent gangs, etc- small time pot dealers- especially in legalized states- are not to be hassled. ---
**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:** [May 4, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1373 "2024-05-04T20:48:07Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I have despised Donald Trump since long before he ran for president. But seeing what is going on in this country has exposed the need for someone like him. Someone needs to clean house and he is the only one that can get the support needed to do that. You’ve still never, ever provided even a shred of evidence supporting the things you’ve said about Biden. Based on your posts, ISTM that your opinions on Biden and Trump are not at all based on facts. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2024, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1374 "2024-05-04T20:48:27Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Jesus Christ. Jesus wept. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949.md?page=67) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949.md?page=69)