# The Alt-Right is Abandonign Trump, and the Left Will Soon Give Him "Strange New Respect" **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 7, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010 "2017-04-07T21:20:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/41 "2017-04-08T12:50:01Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > What a rational, reasonable post. Thanks for sharing. You’re ever so welcome. 🙂 Here’s the difference between you and me, **D’Anconia** : If Trump had run as a Democrat, and recently according to some who seem to be suffering some buyer’s remorse, he should have; and if by some alternate-universe misadventure he had gained the nomination of the Democratic Party; and if his Republican opponent had been _any_ of the clown car participants they offered, I’d have held my nose and voted for the Republican – or at the least, voted third party or abstained from voting for President altogether. There is no way in hell I would have had anything to do with putting this cretinous, heartless, clinically deranged dipshit in power and all that that implies. The birther garbage that long preceded his candidacy was all it took for me to reject him out of hand as a qualified candidate. I’ve no idea why that wasn’t true for so many of his supporters, but it appalls me to this day that it wasn’t. I am an independent who generally votes left, but there’s a time to put country over ideology – and this past election was it. Anyone who blindly supported Trump merely due to his “Republican” status ought to wonder what that says about them. Whatever his label, Trump is unfit. Period. To **MEBuckner** : Perfectly said, with thanks. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/42 "2017-04-08T13:30:42Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Just because conservatives are finally starting to figure out how much of an idiot is, there’s no reason why liberals would adopt him. Liberals figured out he was an idiot over a year ago. > > What Trump’s going to become is an orphan with no friends in power. And an anchor to the conservatives. It doesn’t matter how much they try to distance themselves from Trump, liberals will be there to remind people who put Trump in office. > > And the OP’s comments about Jews are a little creepy. MY comments about Jews? Not at all. I’m observing reality. Donald Trump has always been an asshole, but he’s never been an antisemite. His enemies have always (dishonestly) claimed he is, and the Alt-Right has always (stupidly) hoped he was, but he’s not. Bannon is a hero to the alt-Right, and he has been pretty much kicked out of the inner circle by Kushner and Cohn. You don’t think the alt-right is going to start screaming now that Trump, their former idol, is a traitor and a stooge of the Joooz? Of COURSE they are! ---
**Author:** ![jshore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@jshore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jshore)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/43 "2017-04-08T14:16:18Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Donald Trump has always been an asshole, but he’s never been an antisemite. His enemies have always (dishonestly) claimed he is, and the Alt-Right has always (stupidly) hoped he was, but he’s not. I don’t think that many people have claimed that he is an anti-semite. I think the observation has more been that he seems willing to appeal to (even send dog whistles to) anti-semites. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2017, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/44 "2017-04-08T14:26:40Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > There’s policy right and wrong, and then there’s basic human decency right and wrong. And there is only one ‘‘reasonable’’ side to be on in the latter case. I think conservative P.J. O’Rourke expressed it best when he endorsed Clinton last year: _“She’s wrong about absolutely everything, but she’s wrong within normal parameters.”_ The way I would put it is that if Trump had somehow won the Democratic nomination and Ted Cruz had won the Republican nomination, I would have voted for Cruz. And I can’t think of any other circumstance under which I would vote for Cruz. But Trump is that bad. It’s genuinely frightening to think we’re still only in the first hundred days of his Presidency. I dread what lies ahead. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2017, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/45 "2017-04-08T14:37:35Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > MY comments about Jews? Not at all. I’m observing reality. The fact that you think you’re seeing reality is what’s creepy. Saying that the Alt-Right will abandon Trump when they see he’s not as anti-semitic as they are isn’t creepy. That might be an accurate observation. But saying that the Left will embrace Trump as soon as it realizes he’s got Jewish advisers is essentially saying two things: that Trump’s advisers are part of some larger Jewish movement and that the Left is controlled by this Jewish movement. Kushner and Cohn are not agents for ZOG. The Democratic Party doesn’t take orders from ZOG. Because ZOG doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/46 "2017-04-08T14:41:55Z")
Drumpf is an idiot at the wheel. I honestly don’t care where the people who advise him pray because ANYONE in the front seat next to him must be either praying like crazy or screaming for help at the top of their lungs. > [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > I’ll respect Trump the day he puts his head between his legs and kisses his own arse. I’m sure he’d succeed if he didn’t keep stopping for “pee breaks”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/47 "2017-04-08T14:50:31Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > There is no way in hell I would have had anything to do with putting this cretinous, heartless, **clinically deranged** dipshit in power and all that that implies. Are you a doctor qualified to make that (bolded) assessment? Of course not, because then you’d also know it’s unethical for medical professionals to diagnose people they’ve never met. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/48 "2017-04-08T14:55:53Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Are you a doctor qualified to make that (bolded) assessment? > > Of course not, because then you’d also know it’s unethical for medical professionals to diagnose people they’ve never met. Ahh, I see a common misconception here – sometimes people use figures of speech, exaggerations, and other rhetorical flourishes to emphasize a point. It’s not always meant literally. Human language can be fascinating, and it can take some skill and experience to decipher some of these figures of speech and flourishes, but I’m sure Dopers would be happy to help you when you get confused, so please feel free to ask! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/49 "2017-04-08T15:01:34Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Are you a doctor qualified to make that (bolded) assessment? > > Of course not, because then you’d also know it’s unethical for medical professionals to diagnose people they’ve never met. You don’t have to be a cop to recognize an armed robbery. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/50 "2017-04-08T15:17:19Z")
It is possible that Trump might take some actions, or implement some policies, that I would respect. I very much hope he does so, though it hasn’t happened yet. But even if he were to do so, I would still have no respect whatsoever for him, because he’s not doing any of it because he believes it’ll do any good for the nation or the world. Everything he does, he’s either doing because he thinks it’ll benefit him personally, or because he isn’t thinking about it at all, and neither is worthy of respect. I’ll contrast this with George W. Bush, who also did very few things I agree with (though he did do a few): I genuinely believe, and said so even back when he was President, that Bush was a decent human being, who did what he did (mostly) because he believed it was what was best. He was woefully incompetent and misled to the point that he was usually wrong about what was best, but he was at least trying. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/51 "2017-04-08T15:17:40Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > You don’t have to be a cop to recognize an armed robbery. No, but you do have to be a medical professional to make a clinical diagnosis. Do you not agree? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/52 "2017-04-08T15:27:43Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > No, but you do have to be a medical professional to make a clinical diagnosis. Do you not agree? This might take longer than I thought… Here are some cites I recommend for learning about figures of speech in human language: > **[Figure of speech](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_of_speech)** > > A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from straightforward language use or literal meaning to produce a rhetorical or intensified effect (emotionally, aesthetically, intellectually, etc.). In the distinction between literal and figurative language, figures of speech constitute the latter. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into schemes, which vary the ordinary sequence of words, and tropes, where words carry a meaning other than An ex... > **[Hyperbole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbole)** > > Hyperbole (/haɪˈpɜːrbəli/ ⓘ; adj. hyperbolic /ˌhaɪpərˈbɒlɪk/ ⓘ) is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. In rhetoric, it is also sometimes known as auxesis (literally 'growth'). In poetry and oratory, it emphasizes, evokes strong feelings, and creates strong impressions. As a figure of speech, it is usually not meant to be taken literally. > 'Hyperbole' is derived from the Ancient Greek: ὑπερβολή huperbolḗ by way of Latin. The word is composed from ὑπέρ hupér 'above, ... > **[Rhetoric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhetoric)** > > Rhetoric (/ˈrɛtərɪk/) is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse (trivium) along with grammar and logic/dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or writers use to inform, persuade, and motivate their audiences. Rhetoric also provides heuristics for understanding, discovering, and developing arguments for particular situations. > Aristotle defined rhetoric as "the faculty of observing in any giv... ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/53 "2017-04-08T15:29:55Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > No, but you do have to be a medical professional to make a clinical diagnosis. Do you not agree? I’m not a medical professional, just trained in first aid. Yet I can diagnose and make initial treatment on such things as a broken leg, arterial bleeding, a sucking chest wound or a even a stopped heart. Or should I leave those to a medical professional? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/54 "2017-04-08T15:56:13Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Ahh, I see a common misconception here – sometimes people use figures of speech, exaggerations, and other rhetorical flourishes to emphasize a point. It’s not always meant literally. . . . I think it was meant literally…and that it is literally true. And, per **running coach** , you don’t have to be a medical professional to observe medical conditions. There are behavioral checklists for sociopathy, just as there are for depression or autism…and the imbecile in question fills in the boxes on this checklist, right down the line from top to bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/55 "2017-04-08T16:52:18Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > If Trump were to turn against the Republicans, he’d be impeached in a heartbeat. Remember that the Republicans have a majority in the Senate. 1/2 Cabinet + the VP voting to eject Trump would be 100x easier. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/56 "2017-04-08T16:52:55Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > You’re ever so welcome. 🙂 > > Here’s the difference between you and me, **D’Anconia** : > > If Trump had run as a Democrat, and recently according to some who seem to be suffering some buyer’s remorse, he should have; and if by some alternate-universe misadventure he had gained the nomination of the Democratic Party; and if his Republican opponent had been _any_ of the clown car participants they offered, I’d have held my nose and voted for the Republican – or at the least, voted third party or abstained from voting for President altogether. There is no way in hell I would have had anything to do with putting this cretinous, heartless, [del]clinically[/del] obviously deranged dipshit in power and all that that implies. > > The birther garbage that long preceded his candidacy was all it took for me to reject him out of hand as a qualified candidate. I’ve no idea why that wasn’t true for so many of his supporters, but it appalls me to this day that it wasn’t. > > I am an independent who generally votes left, but there’s a time to put country over ideology – and this past election was it. Anyone who blindly supported Trump merely due to his “Republican” status ought to wonder what that says about them. Whatever his label, Trump is unfit. Period. > > To **MEBuckner** : Perfectly said, with thanks. Easy fix. Better? Now, about the rest of my post… no response, I see. You have nothing to say on the substantive points? Just a bit of petty nitpicking about a choice of a word you didn’t like? Impressive. ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/57 "2017-04-08T17:35:17Z")
It would be interesting to see what happens if Bannon exits. He’s the engine for Trump’s populist rhetoric and probably the only thing keeping Trump on that track. Without him, I think Trump would either be completely rudderless or glom onto whatever Jared and his cronies want because he has no ideas of his own. If he totally fell sway under Jared and his friends, his policies might moderate some, though it depends on what Jared really feels about things. Trump would be a complete jerk either way because he is a bad, nutbag, lying piece of crap all on his own. So his policies might change, but he himself wouldn’t ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/58 "2017-04-08T17:44:53Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Easy fix. Better? Not really. Why did you say it in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/59 "2017-04-08T17:46:31Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Are you a doctor qualified to make that (bolded) assessment? > > Of course not, because then you’d also know it’s unethical for medical professionals to diagnose people they’ve never met. There’s a difference between making an official diagnostic assessment and using your common sense to call a spade a spade. My husband is a clinical psychologist and he views Trump as one of the most textbook narcissists he’s ever seen. But ultimately, it doesn’t matter. Trump’s behavior and his words point to a clearly dangerous and unstable man, no matter what label you want to slap on there, and whether his therapist could bill for insurance or not. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2017, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010/60 "2017-04-08T18:22:54Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > My husband is a clinical psychologist and he views Trump as one of the most textbook narcissists he’s ever seen. If he does so publically, he’s likely in violation of ethic rules. > **[Psychiatrists Reminded To Refrain From Armchair Analysis Of Public Figures](https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/08/13/489807468/psychiatrists-reminded-to-refrain-from-armchair-analysis-of-public-figures)** > > After a 1964 poll of psychiatrists found almost half considered Barry Goldwater psychologically unfit to be president, the doctors' professional society said they should stay mum on mental fitness. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-alt-right-is-abandonign-trump-and-the-left-will-soon-give-him-strange-new-respect/784010.md?page=4)