# "President of the United States Donald Trump" still seems vaguely unreal. Anyone else feel this way? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 24, 2016, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928 "2016-11-24T22:51:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/81 "2016-11-28T21:44:59Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Falling for someone acting presidential is embarrassing, but falling for someone who acts like a loud-mouthed self-serving jackass is downright idiotic. He was quoting from _Back To The Future_, the sequel to which, oddly enough, had the Trump avatar Biff Tannen cheating his way to wealth and self-aggrandizing fame. Trump may be found laughable by other nations, but they should not be so quick to be dismissive. Trump-like demagogues are popping up all over the place, from [Rodrigo Duterte](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/21/when-a-populist-demagogue-takes-power) in the Philippines and [various nationalist movements popping up all over Europe](http://www.martenscentre.eu/publications/exposing-demagogues-right-wing-and-national-populist-parties-europe) to [nationalist sentiment all over Asia](http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2016/10/01/commentary/asia-threat-untethered-nationalism/#.WDyikXQ76hA) by nations previously driven by economic prosperity and commercial expansion. This is not just an issue for the United States; a sort of collective international response to globalization is at the root of this, as formerly prosperous and economically driving nations have ceded responsibility for manufacturing and production to developing nations to achieve greater short-term prosperity but lacking opportunities for future growth, while developing nations who now have the capacity to be first rate producers of goods (and in discovering their own problems with maintaining pools of cheap labor tacitly or explicitly import emigrants from less developed nations to do the heavy lifting) desire a seat at the big nations table. Economic experts looking at constraints to growth in developing nations and the dependence of the developed nations on globalization to maintain growth have been warning of exactly this scenario for at least fifteen years. The election of Trump is not a cause of anything–he’s certainly anything but original in his thinking–but rather a symptom of the uncertainty and fear that comes with the economic turmoil that was exacerbated by the 2007-08 global financial crisis. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2016, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/82 "2016-11-28T22:09:25Z")
I had several friends who, especially after 2012, said: Not my President! Now I know how they feel. This country, as divided as it is, is better than him. He will never be my president. I hope that there are no crises in the next four years. The Donald can do pretty well cutting deals at his pace, so if things are peaceful, he might do some good things. Still won’t be my President though. If the shit hits the fan, Donald is going to lose it and I really fear for our country and the world. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/83 "2016-11-29T01:28:53Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > I had several friends who, especially after 2012, said: Not my President! > Now I know how they feel. > This country, as divided as it is, is better than him. He will never be my president. Nope, not going there. Like it or not, Trump is _our_ President, just as much as Obama and GWB were our Presidents. He’s entitled to the basic minimum respect that every U.S. President deserves, just for sitting his fat ass in the Oval Office chair. Which fucking sucks. But to be a good citizen, you have to accept that as given. No one says you have to like it or even be proud of it. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/84 "2016-11-29T02:28:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And what is the general opinion of Mr. Trump in other countries? My Panamanian friends are both aghast and bemused. They are used to demagogues and buffoons coming to power in Latin America, but they expect more from the USA. We’re now just another Third World country led by a Banana Republican. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/85 "2016-11-29T05:35:29Z")
And I hope it remains unreal, although I don’t think that will happen. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/86 "2016-11-29T14:59:35Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Falling for someone acting presidential is embarrassing, but falling for someone who acts like a loud-mouthed self-serving jackass is downright idiotic. Agreed. > [@buddha\_david](#): > > Nope, not going there. Like it or not, Trump is _our_ President, just as much as Obama and GWB were our Presidents. He’s entitled to the basic minimum respect that every U.S. President deserves, just for sitting his fat ass in the Oval Office chair. > > Which fucking sucks. But to be a good citizen, you have to accept that as given. No one says you have to like it or even be proud of it. Also agreed, although I loathe him. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/87 "2016-11-29T16:00:52Z")
Aaaagghh! When I looked at your thread title, I went blind! I’m suing you! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/88 "2016-11-30T14:08:01Z")
> [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](#): > > Well that’s a shame. I was hoping there would be a Uss Garfield sailing the oceans. The ship’s motto could have been "Grrr, Mondays :(. " A quick-and-dirty check on Wikipedia shows 16 Presidents, including Garfield, have never had commissioned U.S. Navy vessels named after them (19, if you count the incumbent and his two immediate predecessors). ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2016, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/89 "2016-12-01T23:52:35Z")
I feel like I’m living in a bad movie. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/90 "2016-12-02T00:10:00Z")
My heart is sinking. My beloved America! We went from JFK leading us to the Moon, to this guy. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/91 "2016-12-02T01:48:44Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > A quick-and-dirty check on Wikipedia shows 16 Presidents, including Garfield, have never had commissioned U.S. Navy vessels named after them There was a _USS William Henry Harrison_, but it broke down a month after it was left out in the rain. ---
**Author:** ![kim\_okla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kim\_okla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kim_okla)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2016, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928/92 "2016-12-02T04:12:52Z")
I go the to VA hospital everyday because I work across the street. They have a professional, distinguished portrait of President Obama displayed. Soon there will be a horrendous picture of Frump and his hair. Unbelievable. Living blue in a red state. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-of-the-united-states-donald-trump-still-seems-vaguely-unreal-anyone-else-feel-this-way/772928.md?page=4)