# Republicans, help me understand the thinking (of Trump) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 14, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421 "2015-12-14T15:01:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/61 "2015-12-15T18:44:29Z")
I believe it was 20% of Republicans. But more importantly, it’s not an either/or, with two prescribed choices being “trolls/confused” or “wants nothing less than the entire destruction of the entire human race, for all eternity”. It’s also likely that there are a lot of people who are just expressing their opposition in a hyperbolic way, to one degree or another. In addition, even in trolling there’s no reason to assume the same percentage of Republican trolls as Democratic ones think it’s amusing to select the option that Obama is the antichrist. It would make sense if more Republicans than Democrats do. Bottom line remains that you guys are eager to accept the most extreme interpretation about Republican respondents and are just as eager to wave away Democrats saying the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/62 "2015-12-15T18:47:36Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Just out of curiosity, why not? He’s one of the better people running for the office in any party, so I’m curious. From your perspective perhaps. Not from a moderate perspective. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/63 "2015-12-15T19:08:02Z")
> [@Fotheringay-Phipps](#): > > I believe it was 20% of Republicans. > > But more importantly, it’s not an either/or, with two prescribed choices being “trolls/confused” or “wants nothing less than the entire destruction of the entire human race, for all eternity”. It’s also likely that there are a lot of people who are just expressing their opposition in a hyperbolic way, to one degree or another. > > In addition, even in trolling there’s no reason to assume the same percentage of Republican trolls as Democratic ones think it’s amusing to select the option that Obama is the antichrist. It would make sense if more Republicans than Democrats do. > > Bottom line remains that you guys are eager to accept the most extreme interpretation about Republican respondents and are just as eager to wave away Democrats saying the same thing. OK, so, 20%. That’s still four times as many people. It is, indeed, possible that one in five Republican respondents are trolling the interviewer. However, there is absolutely a burning, furious hatred that a segment of the Republic base has demonstrated against Obama over the past 7 years (a hatred that you simply _do not see_ among Democrats), and that has been expressed in any number of crazed beliefs about Obama (the birthers, and those who are convinced he’s actually a Muslim, wind up being among the tamer beliefs). Given all of what, why is it hard to believe that there truly is a group of Republicans who truly do believe that Obama is the Antichrist? ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/64 "2015-12-15T19:31:08Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > As far as the primary, in both 2008 and 2012 I think the GOP picked the most ‘electable’ republican they could in the primary, and they lost both times. McCain and Romney were supposed to be the moderates who could pull moderate votes, and they both lost. So I would assume after 8 years of Obama, the GOP base might want a true conservative instead of a more moderate one (at least according to their beliefs). “Well we lost the last two games when we had our linebackers on the field and the cheerleaders on the sidelines, so this time we’ll try putting our cheerleaders on the front line and have our linebackers leading the cheers.” Not that I disagree with your assessment. ---
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/65 "2015-12-15T19:49:53Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > However, there is absolutely a burning, furious hatred that a segment of the Republic base has demonstrated against Obama over the past 7 years (a hatred that you simply _do not see_ among Democrats), and that has been expressed in any number of crazed beliefs about Obama (the birthers, and those who are convinced he’s actually a Muslim, wind up being among the tamer beliefs). Given all of what, why is it hard to believe that there truly is a group of Republicans who truly do believe that Obama is the Antichrist? Obviously there’s going to be more hatred against Obama coming from Republicans than from Democrats. (Unless you mean there’s more hatred against Obama from Republicans than against GWB from Democrats - I would beg to differ on that, if indeed that’s your claim.) But that’s not really the point. I agree that there’s some amount of polarization in play at this time, but not nearly to the degree that a literal reading of the antichrist responses would suggest. As noted, the fact that relatively high percentages of his supporters say the same (besides the people who voted for him, there’s 8% of very liberal people and 9% of African Americans), combined with the fact that who the antichrist might be is in general is not much a part of political or social discourse these days, suggests that it’s far more likely that the term was not being understood in the literal theological sense. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/66 "2015-12-15T20:10:33Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > However, there is absolutely a burning, furious hatred that a segment of the Republic base has demonstrated against Obama over the past 7 years (a hatred that you simply _do not see_ among Democrats),… Right … [You](http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=612) [Never](http://www.ringospictures.com/index.php?page=20090816) [See](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3506/3797552703_9dbdd22d38_b.jpg) [That](http://michellemalkin.com/2009/02/17/nutroots-suddenly-hypersensitive-about-nazipresident-comparisons/) [Burning](http://vocalminority.typepad.com/blog/2009/08/stop-the-presses-ive-found-nancy-pelosis-swastika-pictures.html) [Furious](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tipKDULCQfw) [Hatred](http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=031_1184599788&p=1) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/67 "2015-12-15T20:21:15Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Right … > > [You](http://www.zombietime.com/zomblog/?p=612) > [Never](http://www.ringospictures.com/index.php?page=20090816) > [See](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3506/3797552703_9dbdd22d38_b.jpg) > [That](http://michellemalkin.com/2009/02/17/nutroots-suddenly-hypersensitive-about-nazipresident-comparisons/) > [Burning](http://vocalminority.typepad.com/blog/2009/08/stop-the-presses-ive-found-nancy-pelosis-swastika-pictures.html) > [Furious](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tipKDULCQfw) > [Hatred](http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=031_1184599788&p=1) To clarify: you don’t see much, if any, of that sort of burning hatred **directed towards Obama** by **Democrats** , which was the relevant point in that conversation. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/68 "2015-12-15T21:46:21Z")
Both sides do it and liberal hypocrisy! OK, had enough, say “Uncle”? No? Well, then, you asked for it… \*\*Both sides do it and liberal hypocrisy! \*\* How about now? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/69 "2015-12-15T22:30:22Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Just out of curiosity, why not? He’s one of the better people running for the office in any party, so I’m curious. Because I feel he’s nutty and that’s dangerous. He’s called climate change a hoax, do you agree with him? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/70 "2015-12-16T00:41:13Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > “Well we lost the last two games when we had our linebackers on the field and the cheerleaders on the sidelines, so this time we’ll try putting our cheerleaders on the front line and have our linebackers leading the cheers.” Nitpick: the linebackers go _behind_ the line. That’s why they are line_backers_. They back the line. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/71 "2015-12-16T01:52:44Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Naw, I’d say it’s more likely that 5% of people were trolling the pollsters for whatever reason. You could get 5% of people to agree to anything on a poll. This. What kind of a whackadoodle question is _“Do you believe \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ is the antichrist?”_ to put in a political poll in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/72 "2015-12-16T16:13:28Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > This. What kind of a whackadoodle question is _“Do you believe \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ is the antichrist?”_ to put in a political poll in the first place? It’s a biased gotcha questions is what it is! ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/73 "2015-12-16T16:24:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally Posted by Clothahump View Post > Just out of curiosity, why not? He’s one of the better people running for the office in any party, so I’m curious. Now that Walker is out, I’d say Cruz is the most offensive person in the race, and that’s saying something. I don’t want any of the republicans to win, but I could accept any of the others as men and somenfollow of good intentions and some level of competence. I would actually fear for my county if Cruz won, and would start a movement to take our country back. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/74 "2015-12-17T14:48:12Z")
Bumping in hopes Clothahump will come back explain why he thinks so highly of Cruz, just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/75 "2015-12-17T18:51:42Z")
Yeah, I’d like to hear it, too. Cruz = [shudder] ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/76 "2015-12-17T19:35:49Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Yeah, I’d like to hear it, too. Cruz = [shudder] ’ Cruz \> Trump Cruz \> Carson Cruz \> Guys like Mike Huckabee I mean, seriously, it’s a comparative thing. If Dwight Eisenhower was running, things would be different, but Eisenhower is Constitutionally ineligible to be President again and also is a bit dead. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/77 "2015-12-17T19:54:36Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Nitpick: the linebackers go _behind_ the line. That’s why they are line_backers_. They back the line. Well maybe that’s why our team lost the last two games.😃 ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/78 "2015-12-17T21:09:41Z")
Put me straight on this, Trump has a strategy team and private polling, right? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/79 "2015-12-17T22:01:02Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > ’ > Cruz \> Trump > Cruz \> Carson > Cruz \> Guys like Mike Huckabee > > I mean, seriously, it’s a comparative thing. If Dwight Eisenhower was running, things would be different, but Eisenhower is Constitutionally ineligible to be President again and also is a bit dead. Erhm no. TRUMP is vastly preferable to virtually any other Republican on the issues. And unlike Carson or Huckabee, Cruz is smart and ruthless enough to win an election and actually do stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421/80 "2015-12-18T14:17:43Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Erhm no. TRUMP is vastly preferable to virtually any other Republican on the issues. And unlike Carson or Huckabee, Cruz is smart and ruthless enough to win an election and actually do stuff. I assume you’ll look back one day on your support for Trump with same sort of embarrassment you feel when reviewing your Curtis LeMay period [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-help-me-understand-the-thinking-of-trump/740421.md?page=5)