# If Trump gets the GOP nomination, Hillary should drop out and give it to Bernie **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 25, 2016, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065 "2016-02-25T03:38:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [February 25, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/21 "2016-02-25T16:09:22Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I certainly agree. But are you a Hillary or Bernie supporter? I am interested in knowing if any Bernheads want to take ownership of this argument. I’m a Sanders supporter, but not a millennial, which might make a difference. (F’r instance, I find it weird and disrespectful to call a presidential candidate by his or her first name.) I support Sanders because of his policies, not his persona, and have said that I won’t vote for Clinton, though that’s safe in the knowledge that lacking one Californian vote for president won’t sell the country down the river. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/22 "2016-02-25T17:48:24Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > The country’s mood is strongly against political insiders right now. Trump has completely defied conventional wisdom on the right and is crushing establishment candidates who are much better funded than he is. Hillary, with the backing of the entire Democratic establishment, is having to fight hard against a socialist who, in a normal political climate, wouldn’t be polling above 10%. > > At this point, with this electorate, running against Trump, Sanders is more electable than Clinton. [Polls back this up.](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/2016_presidential_race.html) People rationalize away the polls by saying “oh, once the attacks against Sanders begin in earnest, his numbers will drop”. That just whistling past the graveyard. > > I don’t think Hillary should drop out. But the political calculus of voting for Clinton because she’s more electable in the general election than Sanders does not hold up to scrutiny. I disagree. Every candidate has seen his public image drop as the opposition focuses on him. I’ve also said that Hillary Clinton may be the exception. She’s been a target of conservative opposition for over two decades. So her opponents have already used all their good attacks against her. So while Clinton is starting out with a lower reputation, she’s the only candidate who probably won’t face any significant decline. Sanders, on the other hand, is a first-timer in presidential campaigning. The Republicans have surely already mapped out a strategy for destroying his image. But right now, they’re holding it because there’s no point in taking Sanders down now. It’s better for Republicans if they trash him after he gets nominated. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/23 "2016-02-25T18:17:31Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I disagree. Every candidate has seen his public image drop as the opposition focuses on him. > > I’ve also said that Hillary Clinton may be the exception. She’s been a target of conservative opposition for over two decades. So her opponents have already used all their good attacks against her. So while Clinton is starting out with a lower reputation, she’s the only candidate who probably won’t face any significant decline. The right wing still fixates on the Clinton scandals of the 90s, but to most of the country, that stuff is ancient history; they’ve investigated Banghazi ad nauseum to no effect; and does anyone really think an email server is going to topple her candidacy? I think Clinton will hold up to GOP attacks in the general better than people think. Bernie, I fear, would represent a fresh, fat target, as **glee** pointed out. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/24 "2016-02-25T19:17:04Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Sanders, on the other hand, is a first-timer in presidential campaigning. The Republicans have surely already mapped out a strategy for destroying his image. But right now, they’re holding it because there’s no point in taking Sanders down now. It’s better for Republicans if they trash him after he gets nominated. Right. In the same way, the Dems are not spending a lot of time attacking Trump. Plenty of time for that, though the non-Trump GOP crowd seems to spend their time attacking each other while running for second place. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/25 "2016-02-26T01:53:23Z")
I’m a Sanders supporter, and I think the notion is absurd. Clinton should drop out if an only if Sanders gets over 50% of the delegates. I would really like Sanders to get that, and I’ll urge my party-mates to vote accordingly, but we live in a democracy, and if the majority of the primary voters support Clinton over Sanders, then too bad, I don’t get what I want. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/26 "2016-02-26T05:55:05Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > “Trump will turn his patented fury on Hillary, she will wilt under the pressure, and everyone will see it Trump’s way. Whereas big tough Bernie would be immune to the bullying.” When you distill it into that essence, it looks rather sexist. He may not have consciously thought of it as such, but I really don’t think I’ve just invented something out of thin air there. I think, if this is what he thinks will happen, he is seriously underestimating Clinton. She’s always projected (to me, anyway) this image of being a ball-buster. I think that’s part of the reason that she was so reviled by Republicans during Bill’s time in office. She seemed to get more attention, derision, and hate sent her way than any other First Lady in my memory (you could make an argument for Michelle Obama, but a lot of the criticism at her comes from sites like Chimpout and Stormfront). I don’t see her wilting under Trump, because she’s not afraid of him. I think, in a fair fight (which I know will not happen…this IS politics, after all), Hillary wipes the floor with him. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/27 "2016-02-26T08:47:28Z")
Trump and Bernie are both “anti-establishment” characters (albeit in different ways). Hillary is very establishment, in addition to (or even… despite?) being a woman. So I can see at least some Bernie supporters either abstaining or outright switching sides if it ends up being Hillary vs. Trump. But regardless, if it _is_ Hillary vs. Trump, I think Hillary has very little chance of winning the general. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/28 "2016-02-26T09:24:44Z")
I can’t think of a single reason a Sanders supporter (or at least, the ones I know anything at all about) would vote for Trump. Abstain, sure. Vote third party, absolutely. But vote for Trump? Absolutely not. As someone said in another thread, he doesn’t represent the establishment to them — he represents the people who created and pay for the establishment. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/29 "2016-02-26T09:38:44Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > I think, if this is what he thinks will happen, he is seriously underestimating Clinton. She’s always projected (to me, anyway) this image of being a ball-buster. I think that’s part of the reason that she was so reviled by Republicans during Bill’s time in office. She seemed to get more attention, derision, and hate sent her way than any other First Lady in my memory (you could make an argument for Michelle Obama, but a lot of the criticism at her comes from sites like Chimpout and Stormfront). > > I don’t see her wilting under Trump, because she’s not afraid of him. I think, in a fair fight (which I know will not happen…this IS politics, after all), Hillary wipes the floor with him. I agree, although I think she has to handle him with a kind of withering contempt, always making it clear she is not accepting the legitimacy of his clown act. > [@Rigamarole](#): > > Trump and Bernie are both “anti-establishment” characters (albeit in different ways). Hillary is very establishment, in addition to (or even… despite?) being a woman. So I can see at least some Bernie supporters either abstaining or outright switching sides if it ends up being Hillary vs. Trump. But regardless, if it _is_ Hillary vs. Trump, I think Hillary has very little chance of winning the general. This is so silly, and unlike a lot of the other claims being made, it is likely to be tested. If I were not so lazy and were more organized, I’d save this for November, to have a chuckle about when Hillary wins by double digits. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/30 "2016-02-26T09:46:53Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > This is so silly, and unlike a lot of the other claims being made, it is likely to be tested. If I were not so lazy and were more organized, I’d save this for November, to have a chuckle about when Hillary wins by double digits. Eh, we’ll see, but Hillary wasn’t electable in '08 and she won’t be in '16 either. Personally I’d like to see Bernie win but I concede that’s probably even less likely. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/31 "2016-02-26T13:08:38Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > At this point, with this electorate, running against Trump, Sanders is more electable than Clinton. [Polls back this up.](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/2016_presidential_race.html) People rationalize away the polls by saying “oh, once the attacks against Sanders begin in earnest, his numbers will drop”. I have a better reason; that 2/15 - 2/17 Fox News polls that has Sanders up by 15%. Any idea what the margin of error is in those polls? > [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I’m a Sanders supporter, but not a millennial, which might make a difference. (F’r instance, I find it weird and disrespectful to call a presidential candidate by his or her first name.) It became common with Hilary, and then with Jeb, and I think it’s carried over to Bernie because only two candidates are getting any press, and use one’s first name and the other’s last name would sound off. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/32 "2016-02-26T13:24:39Z")
I was torn over whether to post [this](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-is-the-gops-frankenstein-monster-now-hes-strong-enough-to-destroy-the-party/2016/02/25/3e443f28-dbc1-11e5-925f-1d10062cc82d_story.html). It’s a data point for Hillary’s electability against Trump (he doesn’t say, but I have trouble picturing Kagan voting for Bernie under any circumstances), but it could also spur Bernheads to shout “see? she’s a right winger!”. Oh well: > [@](#): > > So what to do now? The Republicans’ creation will soon be let loose on the land, leaving to others the job the party failed to carry out. For this former Republican, and perhaps for others, the only choice will be to vote for Hillary Clinton. The party cannot be saved, but the country still can be. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/33 "2016-11-09T07:00:24Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > But regardless, if it _is_ Hillary vs. Trump, I think Hillary has very little chance of winning the general. > [@SlackerInc](#): > > This is so silly, and unlike a lot of the other claims being made, it is likely to be tested. If I were not so lazy and were more organized, I’d save this for November, to have a chuckle about when Hillary wins by double digits. > [@Rigamarole](#): > > Eh, we’ll see, but Hillary wasn’t electable in '08 and she won’t be in '16 either. Personally I’d like to see Bernie win but I concede that’s probably even less likely. Well I did save the thread for November. I am as grief-stricken by the news about our new President Trump as everyone, but since you mocked me I still have to bring it up and point out that yeah, I called it in February before the nominations were even set. Not having a chuckle now, are we, **SlackerInc**? But I suppose we could have a drink together. RIP America. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/34 "2016-11-09T21:53:40Z")
Eh, I don’t know that I would call the results a validation of “Hillary has very little chance of winning the general”. But for a thin margin in a few states, she would be the winner and she “won” the popular vote, though that’s meaningless. If the election had been held two weeks ago, the result could easily have been different. So she lost a close one, but there was definitely a good chance she would win. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/35 "2016-11-09T21:57:56Z")
Well I did say outright that Trump would win in other threads (after he got the nom). 😛 Mainly I wanted **SlackerInc** to acknowledge his folly. It wasn’t _that_ close though. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2016, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/36 "2016-11-09T23:26:53Z")
The votes are still being counted, but Trump leads by ~70k in Pennsylvania, ~12k in Michigan, and ~27k in Wisconsin. And consider that Hillary will probably win the popular vote by 500k+ votes when all the counting is done. Out of an election with 120 million votes cast, if just 60,000 votes had gone the other way in those states, she would be president-elect now. I’d call that close. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2016, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065/37 "2016-11-10T05:52:57Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > The votes are still being counted, but Trump leads by ~70k in Pennsylvania, ~12k in Michigan, and ~27k in Wisconsin. And consider that Hillary will probably win the popular vote by 500k+ votes when all the counting is done. Out of an election with 120 million votes cast, if just 60,000 votes had gone the other way in those states, she would be president-elect now. I’d call that close. One-twentieth of one percent? Yeah, you could say that. :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-trump-gets-the-gop-nomination-hillary-should-drop-out-and-give-it-to-bernie/747065.md?page=1)