# 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:** 76
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1515 "2024-05-31T17:14:26Z")
Trump’s foreign policy is, generally, to pack up his bags and go home. Even now, despite being the greatest president that Israel ever had, he’s waffling on whether or not to support Israel against Hamas. If we define “evil” as the unwillingness to defend the innocent then, I suppose, you could term it that way but that seems like a strange descriptor versus say, “Anti-war”. In general, I’d put the two down as weak versus non-existent. Trump only has any strong foreign policy as regards worker protectionism and (likely) personal enrichment. Even his strong support for Israel, during his term, seems plausibly to have been a simple coincidence in shared interest between Jared Kushner and Mike Pompeo. Likely, we won’t have those two coming back so it will really come down to which group - Jewish interests, Muslim interests, Turkish interests, Chinese interests, etc. is willing to pay the most for Trump NFTs and how they want US policy to go. That could be anything. Despite his protestations about being a strong, militant, law and order type, in general I’d put Trump’s foreign policy down with the anti-war, anti-police ultra-lefties but only to the extent that it doesn’t cut into his bottom line. Biden is weak but he’s a centrist and pushes on things in, roughly, the right zone. He just doesn’t do it hard enough. ---
**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 31, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1516 "2024-05-31T17:49:05Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > and that’s why he’s still viable. None of those things are actually true, but far too many Americans have decided to believe them anyways. How can you convince someone to change their vote, when their choices are based entirely on lies that they choose to believe? I know I’ve posted this before but I’ll provide a brief version. When I was an undergraduate in Biology 101, I was part of a study group and we were all making A’s on every test. When we got to the chapter on evolution many of these A students completely shut down, refusing to engage and learn the material. I tried encouraging them, “You don’t have to believe it you just have to understand it” but that didn’t work. These A students suddenly made F’s on the test. They were only intellectually incapable of understanding the material because they chose to be incapable. I had never seen anything like it before in my life and it’s really stuck with me over the years. A lot of MAGA supporters are just like my classmates who buried their heads in the sand to their own detriment rather than make an effort to understand something that didn’t work with their world view. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1517 "2024-05-31T20:00:45Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > My thought was Trump is trying to give Tuco from _The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly_ a run for his money: _Lincoln Sternn, you stand here accused of 12 counts of murder in the first degree, 14 counts of armed theft of Federation property, 22 counts of piracy in high space, 18 counts of fraud, 37 counts of rape…_ [pauses to check the criminal record] [Prosecutor](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006893/?ref_=tt_ch): …_and one moving violation. How do you plead?_ And Captain Stern and trump might say the same things "_Relax, I got an angle"_ - Get elected, pardon himself, then use the powers of his office to arrest everyone who ever presided over or prosecuted any trial he didnt like ---
**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 31, 2024, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1518 "2024-05-31T20:05:03Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > And Captain Stern and trump might say the same things "_Relax, I got an angle"_ [**Interesting comparison**](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqsg1RE6Jag)—the American people, collectively, will have to fulfill the Hanover Fist role. ---
**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 31, 2024, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1519 "2024-05-31T20:51:27Z")
I’m not sure if I’m happy about that comparison, IIRC, at the end Stern gets harassed, chased, and at risk of life, but at the end, buys off Hanover, who he then dumps into space. IF it holds up, then once again, Trump dodges justice, by paying it off. Although, Hanover is more of a Cohen role in the original - a paid, corrupt little toady being used to insulate his “betters” from their actions. Anyway, if we can re-write it so Trump and Stern both find themselves on the wrong side of an airlock in deep space… ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2024, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1520 "2024-05-31T20:55:38Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Anyway, if we can re-write it so Trump and Stern both find themselves on the wrong side of an airlock in deep space… - [Stern](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0506405/?ref_=ttqu_qu): [_repeated line to his lawyer_] _It’s all right, Charlie. I’ve got an angle._ - [Lawyer]: _But the most we can hope for is to get you buried in secrecy so your grave don’t get violated!_ ---
**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 31, 2024, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1521 "2024-05-31T21:09:44Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > - [Lawyer]: _But the most we can hope for is to get you buried in secrecy so your grave don’t get violated!_ I strongly suspect that the last is going to be a concern for Trump and his family in the hopefully not-too-distant future, yes. 🙂 Still, it does illustrate that in some ways, Trump is his own worst enemy. He thinks he is smart than everyone else, that his “angle” will fix everything, and when people more skilled or smarter tell him otherwise, he replaces them. The fact that our system is built to give the rich and influential so many outs stretched nearly to the breaking point this time (and beyond it in Florida of course) but did rebound on him. Sadly, the lesson he and his ilk are taking from this is that they need to break the system so they can never be held accountable again. Thus all the MAGAsphere blaming the judge, Biden, the jurors, and anyone who isn’t THEM and demanding violence (legal or literal) against them. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2024, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1522 "2024-06-01T12:17:17Z")
I saw a snippet of Jr’s Triggered podcast, and he brought up the notion of someone taking out his father. Probably not a good road to go down. Such talk has thankfully been at a minimum, at least where I go. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2024, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1523 "2024-06-01T14:10:22Z")
I’d take him out-to a nice dinner, at a place he didn’t choose and he can’t pick the menu. Then leave and stick him with the check. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2024, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1524 "2024-06-01T14:21:00Z")
Yes, all across the MAGAverse they’ve been ginning up paranoia by claiming that the next step will be to assassinate Trump. It is kind of terrifying because it’s exactly the sort of rhetoric designed to incite violence in his cultists. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2024, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1525 "2024-06-01T14:45:54Z")
> [@dasmoocher](#): > > My thought was Trump is trying to give Tuco from _The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly_ a run for his money: Oh, please be fair. There isn’t any proof that Trump uses marked cards. ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2024, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1526 "2024-06-01T14:49:11Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > There isn’t any proof that Trump uses marked cards. But he cheats at golf. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2024, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1527 "2024-06-01T15:12:10Z")
From viability to liability… [https://www.axios.com/2024/06/01/poll-trump-conviction-election-independent-voters](https://www.axios.com/2024/06/01/poll-trump-conviction-election-independent-voters) In short, 49% of independents think Trump should withdraw from the race. In addition… > [@](#): > > 54% of registered voters “strongly” or “somewhat” approve of the guilty verdict compared to 34% who "strongly or “somewhat” disapprove. > > 49% of Independents and 15% of Republicans said Trump should end his campaign because of the conviction. > The polls found the race effectively tied nationally in a 1-on-1 with Biden at 45% and Trump at 44%. > Reality check: While they may agree with the guilty verdict, the poll found that more voters think Trump should get probation (49%) rather than go to prison (44%). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1528 "2024-06-01T15:25:33Z")
A recent disturbing trend in Trump’s rhetoric is him casting himself as a martyr who is allowing himself to be persecuted so that his followers won’t be. A Jesus complex, if you will, is emerging from this con man as his latest attempt to keep his minions in line. I’m wondering when the fake stigmata will suddenly appear. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2024, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1529 "2024-06-01T15:33:19Z")
When you lose the Sport Guys… > ---
**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:** [June 1, 2024, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1530 "2024-06-01T16:55:13Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > A recent disturbing trend in Trump’s rhetoric is him casting himself as a martyr who is allowing himself to be persecuted so that his followers won’t be. A Jesus complex, if you will, is emerging from this con man as his latest attempt to keep his minions in line. I’m wondering when the fake stigmata will suddenly appear. He’s been leaning into the whole martyr/avenging angel role for a while now. Since last year, he’s been telling his followers he’s suffering on their behalf and a significant portion of his campaign is about how he will get back at the communist/fascist/America haters as soon as he’s in office. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2024, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1531 "2024-06-01T16:59:26Z")
My convicted felon, ex-President Trump, cultist friend shared a meme on FB. I can’t find it, but the gist of it was that Trump was wrongly convicted just like Jesus, and she still believes in him. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2024, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1532 "2024-06-01T17:29:51Z")
Yeah, those are all over the place. It’s a sign of just how bad things are. ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1533 "2024-06-01T18:42:32Z")
Right. Trump has been setting himself up as a messiah figure for a very long time now. The signs have all been there going back to his actual administration. I know hypocrisy is like an inherent trait with these people, but so many of them are self-described Christians, who are presumably familiar with Christian theology and the idea of the Antichrist, that it baffles my mind that so many of these people are following for this BS. (And yes roughly 30% of the country is still a minority. But that’s still a hell of a lot of people.) ---
**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:** [June 1, 2024, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949/1534 "2024-06-01T18:56:38Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’m wondering when the fake stigmata will suddenly appear. Been there, done that already… > **[What Are the Mysterious Red Marks on Donald Trump's Hand?](https://www.yahoo.com/news/mysterious-red-marks-donald-trumps-231102661.html)** > > There’s some mystery surrounding what appears to look like injuries on Donald Trump's hand. The red marks were first spotted as he waved to supporters in New York. However, by nightfall, the marks on his hands appeared to have vanished. Dermatologist... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949.md?page=75) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-trump-still-a-viable-candidate-for-president-really-how/983949.md?page=77)