# Obama: Do not underestimate Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 16, 2017, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312 "2017-01-16T13:36:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/41 "2017-01-16T17:51:15Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Still, mock on, guys. It serves all of us on the right well. šŸ™‚ > [@aldiboronti](#): > > But you know what? I can live with them all if it means that the policies I believe best for America and the West are enacted. Thereā€™s little point in having a suave and personable President if you believe heā€™s taking the nation in the wrong direction. > [@aldiboronti](#): > > The right and the wrong directions are a matter of opinion, true? It will take years to undo the havoc the suave and personable Obama wreaked. In my opinion, of course. šŸ™‚ > [@aldiboronti](#): > > And Iā€™m very pleased it did. But that does not make it the right thing for the whole nation. We could save many more lives if we were prepared to spend endless amounts of public money on healthcare but there has to be a balance. The Democrats got the balance wrong. The Republicans deserve a chance to get it right, and thanks to the election they have been given that chance. Wait a sec, whoā€™s ā€œweā€? Donā€™t you live in the UK? Are you an American citizen? ---
**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:** [January 16, 2017, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/42 "2017-01-16T17:51:19Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Wow. Threatening your political opponents with eternal damnation. Even Jerry Falwell never stopped so low. Not Jerry Fallwell, but many Evangelicals knew what they were getting when voting for Trump: > **[For This Christian N.C. Man, Candidates' 'Morality Issues' Give Pause](https://www.npr.org/2016/10/13/497531552/for-this-christian-n-c-man-candidates-morality-issues-give-pause)** > > Dan Meyer has a strong faith and believes the country must return to biblical principles. For him, the 2016 election presents "a tough, tough choice." > [@](#): > > In his Bible-study group, Meyer stops short of discussing presidential politics, but he drops hints. ā€œYou know,ā€ he told his students in his recent class, \*\*ā€œthe Old Testament is full of situations where God used even evil men to accomplish his will.ā€ \*\* ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/43 "2017-01-16T17:57:16Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Well, I did call him [Pendejo](http://mexicanspanish.com/pendejo/) in the pit onceā€¦ Had some guys working for me once, they told me it meant ā€œTexanā€. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/44 "2017-01-16T18:10:46Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > I concede that Trump isnā€™t the sharpest knife in the drawer (no choice really!) But neither was Reagan and he proved to be one of the most popular and effective Presidents in US history. Reagan sought the Presidency because he wanted to serve his country and improve the lives of Americans. > [@](#): > > But you know what? I can live with them all if it means that the policies I believe best for America and the West are enacted. If you do not understand why Trump is a threat to the Western world, youā€™re deliberately not looking at the plain facts. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/45 "2017-01-16T18:13:46Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Wait a sec, whoā€™s ā€œweā€? Donā€™t you live in the UK? Are you an American citizen? No, Iā€™m not, as Iā€™ve explained before. But the US is so influential that when it sneezes my country catches a cold. And by ā€˜weā€™ I meant America and the West, as I specified in one of the posts upthread. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/46 "2017-01-16T18:54:40Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > No, Iā€™m not, as Iā€™ve explained before. But the US is so influential that when it sneezes my country catches a cold. Strange. In your position Iā€™d expect you _not_ to want a corrupt, volatile man-baby whoā€™s profoundly ignorant of history, civics, foreign policy and pretty much every other subject to become the President of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/47 "2017-01-16T18:55:14Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Under estimating Trump was not the problem in the last election. Over estimating the voters is where the mistakes were made. Trump said many times that he could do almost anything and his voters wouldnā€™t sway. They are convinced that his billionaire status will rub off on them. Trump ran a good campaign by putting his energy where he needed it and by not overestimating the voters intelligence. See, thatā€™s where the founders, classical liberals, were wiser than modern liberals. They understood humanity. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/48 "2017-01-16T19:33:08Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Wow. Threatening your political opponents with eternal damnation. Even Jerry Falwell never stopped so low. No one is threatening anyone. Itā€™s just where their beliefs lead. I am unaware of any religion with a ā€œfinal accountingā€ that would not regard voting for an evil man like Trump as a sin. This is why that 80% figure of white evangelicals depressed me so much. I still have to fight the urge every day not to post a scathing post on Facebook. Iā€™m still not sure Iā€™m not being a selfish ass for not doing it. I still wonder if I should have not been hiding from politics on Facebook during the election, and actually tried, even though Arkansas was going to go Trump anyways. I donā€™t underestimate Trump. I had days where I couldnā€™t function because I was worried heā€™d win. [This is what I think of him.](http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/blog/antichrist/) Sure got a lot of the ā€œfaithfulā€ to vote for him. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/49 "2017-01-17T01:13:24Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Actually, yes it would. If for example we ran the defense budget down to next to nothing to save even more lives and left the country with nothing to protect itself. Or slashed other parts of the federal budget to pump more and more into health. > > As I said there has to be a balance. And the balance needs adjustment. Why would we have to do that? We are already spending far more of our GDP than other countries ([cite)](http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/health-costs-how-the-us-compares-with-other-countries/). > [@](#): > > The U.S. is a very rich country, but even so, it devotes far more of its economy ā€” 17.6 percent of GDP in 2010 ā€” to health than any other country. The Netherlands is the next highest, at 12 percent of GDP, and the average among OECD countries was almost half that of the U.S., at 9.5 percent of GDP. Granted (as the above cite says), some of our health outcomes are better than those of most other countries, but we are doing worse in a lot of other areas. And we are paying one hell of a lot of money. So maybe the thing to do is to reapportion that money ā€“ raise taxes as needed in amounts to offset what citizens are paying in insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses. Use that money to extend Medicare to everyone. But Iā€™m damn sure THAT wonā€™t be the Republicansā€™ plan for replacing the ACA. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/50 "2017-01-17T01:43:32Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > I really donā€™t get the liberals. If they want to fight against Trump then, as Obama implied, they need to take him seriously. They laugh at him at their peril. They were so doubled up with laughter during the election that they didnā€™t realize he was screwing them until they felt the sharp pain in their ass. Wait, I thought liberals were supposed to stop the butthurt whining, now youā€™re saying theyā€™re supposed to stop laughing? Could you guys all huddle up and decide which response youā€™re OK with? ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/51 "2017-01-17T01:49:21Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Wait, I thought liberals were supposed to stop the butthurt whining, now youā€™re saying theyā€™re supposed to stop laughing? Could you guys all huddle up and decide which response youā€™re OK with? ā€œdoubled up with laughter during the electionā€ The [hilarity](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahkMA6JPOHU) was before Nov 8th. The butthurt whining - after. ---
**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:** [January 17, 2017, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/52 "2017-01-17T04:25:07Z")
Nah, it is still hilarious and we will have 4 years of this. > **[Politics](https://people.com/politics/)** > > Get the latest political news from PEOPLE.com, including stories about the White House, the first family and more. > **[D.C. dress boutique owner: 'Thereā€™s never been less demand for inaugural...](https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/01/10/1618898/-D-C-dress-boutique-owner-There-s-never-been-less-demand-for-inaugural-ballgowns-in-my-38-years)** > > The hugest. The best. The bigliest inauguration ever. Donald Trump took to Twitter in December to plead with his followers to attend the swearing-in ceremony toĀ "setĀ the all-time record!"Ā Fat chance, lilā€™ hands.Ā President Obamaā€™s... > [@](#): > > Team Trump appears to still be struggling to add artists to the line-up. Sure, they booked national anthem singer Jackie Evancho, the teenage soprano who came in second during the 2010 season of Americaā€™s Got Talent. And they have an 80ā€™s cover band and a number of D.C.-area wedding DJs. But several artists are reporting they are still being approached and the responses are likely to crush the fragile ego headed toward the White House: > [@](#): > > Team Trump appears to still be struggling to add artists to the line-up. Sure, they booked national anthem singer Jackie Evancho, the teenage soprano who came in second during the 2010 season of Americaā€™s Got Talent. And they have an 80ā€™s cover band and a number of D.C.-area wedding DJs. But several artists are reporting they are still being approached and the responses are likely to crush the fragile ego headed toward the White House: > > ā€¦ > > And Moby (via Instagram): > > > [@](#): > > > > ``` > > Hahahahaha, I was just asked by a booking agent if I would consider djing at one of the inaugural balls for #trump... Hahahahaha, wait, Hahahaha, really? > > > > ``` > > > > I guess Iā€™d DJ at an inaugural ball if as payment #trump released his tax returns. Also I would probably play public enemy and stockhausen remixes to entertain the republicans. Iā€™m still laughing. Hahahaha. So #trump what do you think, I DJ for you and you release your tax returns? Of course, even Republicans should not be laughing, but I get the feeling that they are **willfully** not wanting to notice that they are tacitly approving of and not wanting to confirm or take a look at what is Trump doing behind the curtain. Meaning that they are not minding going to bed with and getting the fleas from Trump. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/53 "2017-01-17T04:51:54Z")
Itā€™s kind of likeā€¦[giving a monkey a machinegun is pretty hilarious.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOfek1-L6Lc) Until you realize that you can get just as dead if it accidently shoots you. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/54 "2017-01-17T05:02:23Z")
> [@](#): > > ā€¦ Could you guys all huddle up and decide which response youā€™re OK with? Rum, sodomy and the lash. Pick two. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/55 "2017-01-17T05:34:28Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Itā€™s kind of likeā€¦[giving a monkey a machinegun is pretty hilarious.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOfek1-L6Lc) Until you realize that you can get just as dead if it accidently shoots you. Fake. but (no fingers pointed) thatā€™s par for this election cycle. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/56 "2017-01-17T05:41:53Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Quote: > Team Trump appears to still be struggling to add artists to the line-up. Sure, they booked national anthem singer Jackie Evancho, the teenage soprano who came in second during the 2010 season of Americaā€™s Got Talent. And they have an 80ā€™s cover band and a number of D.C.-area wedding DJs. But several artists are reporting they are still being approached and the responses are likely to crush the fragile ego headed toward the White House: Is the underlined the B-Street Band? [Rolling Stone](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bruce-springsteen-cover-band-drops-out-of-donald-trump-party-w461203) has posted an article saying theyā€™re dropping out. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/57 "2017-01-17T06:11:34Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Is the underlined the B-Street Band? [Rolling Stone](http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/bruce-springsteen-cover-band-drops-out-of-donald-trump-party-w461203) has posted an article saying theyā€™re dropping out. Springsteen wonā€™t support him, and neither will the B Street Cover Band (in a true show of support). Fortunately, a Russian cover band, the Pee Street Band, may be available. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![CatandMouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@CatandMouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatandMouse)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/58 "2017-01-17T06:18:26Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > [Barack Obama warns Americans not to ā€˜underestimateā€™ Donald Trump in final interview](http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-16/obama-says-dont-underestimate-donald-trump-in-final-interview/8185104) > > And yes, I know he didnā€™t mean it as a compliment but a warning. Yet underestimating Trump is just what liberals here on this board and across the nation have been doing throughout his campaign and since his victory. > > I was guilty of it myself before he got elected. I really believed that he would cost the Republicans a decent shot at the Presidency. I certainly wonā€™t underestimate him again. > > I really donā€™t get the liberals. If they want to fight against Trump then, as Obama implied, they need to take him seriously. They laugh at him at their peril. They were so doubled up with laughter during the election that they didnā€™t realize he was screwing them until they felt the sharp pain in their ass. > > Still, mock on, guys. It serves all of us on the right well. šŸ™‚ I have never underestimated how badly he and his billionaire swamp can screw up this country. What I underestimated was the amount of white nationalists and hate groups in this countryā€¦all supporting Trump. I underestimated the lack of integrity in this country. And I underestimated the fear & anger causing Americanā€™s to vote for a fascist regime. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/59 "2017-01-17T06:31:44Z")
Toby Keith gonna perform his ā€œKick Muslim Buttā€ song, isnā€™t he? Fuck. Chuck Norris with a guitar. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2017, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312/60 "2017-01-17T06:36:09Z")
I didnā€™t know it was ā€œwhiningā€ to be afraid for oneā€™s life and rights. But then, I assume Trump voters either donā€™t care or donā€™t think anything will happen to those concerned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-do-not-underestimate-trump/777312.md?page=4)