# The Assassination of Donald Trump **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 9, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934 "2015-12-09T12:28:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/1 "2015-12-09T12:28:18Z")
So I’ve been looking at the news today about The Donald (nobody calls him that anymore), and I notice that he’s being roundly criticized by damned near everyone on account of his recent outbursts about Muslims. The Republican establishment doesn’t like what he’s saying, and would certainly like him out of the way so that canonization of an acceptable candidate can take place. His opponents among the other candidates have stopped imitating him and trying to out-do him, and are taking him to task. The folks on the Left have never liked him, except as a possible front-runner they;'re sure that Hillary could beat (but I suspect many are terrified that he might actually win). Aside from his rabid followers with “Trump – Make America Great Again” posters on their front lawn, no one seems to like the guy. He’s like the victim in the opening chapters of an Agatha Christie novel – if he were killed, you couldn’t point the finger at any one suspect, because so many people have motives. There’s precedent for assassination attempts on presidential candidates. They tried to kill Teddy Roosevelt when he ran as a candidate in his Progressive (Bull Moose) party. There was an aborted attempt on John F. Kennedy when he was still running. Trump is getting Secret Service protection, but that just makes it harder, not impossible. Some people would view it as a challenge. I could see some worried Democrat or some fed-up Republican official wanting to Rid Us of this Troublesome Blowhard. It would be like Howard Beale\* in reverse – he wouldn’t be the first man shot because he got Low Ratings, but because they were high. Whaddaya think? - from Paddy Chayevsky’s film _Network_ ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/2 "2015-12-09T12:36:35Z")
I was thinking that I wouldn’t be surprised if someone took a shot at him for any number of reasons. But I wouldn’t expect it from within either party - more likely, it would be someone from one of the many groups he’s gone out of his way to offend. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/3 "2015-12-09T13:14:06Z")
He’s offended a lot of people, but I think the ones with the most to lost are the GOP themselves. If anyone would take aim, it would be one of those open carry guys who love Trump, but love their healthcare more. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/4 "2015-12-09T13:51:18Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I was thinking that I wouldn’t be surprised if someone took a shot at him for any number of reasons. But I wouldn’t expect it from within either party - more likely, it would be someone from one of the many groups he’s gone out of his way to offend. If a Muslim killed Trump, or attempted to kill him, that would “prove” his point. I think we’d have horrible repercussions. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/5 "2015-12-09T14:00:59Z")
It would just make him a martyr to his fans. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/6 "2015-12-09T14:02:48Z")
Given the title and comments, it wouldn’t surprise me if this thread popped up on SS/Homeland Security systems…think about that, all y’all. :eek: That said, any political figure is subject to threats, but given that President Obama is completing nearly seven years in office and not a single shot being taken at him, I think that either security has vastly improved over time or people just don’t bother shooting politicians all than much anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/7 "2015-12-09T14:07:21Z")
I think by posting this thread that you almost certainly gained the attention of some government software, if not an actual government employee. I think, by participating in the thread, I have too. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/8 "2015-12-09T14:18:13Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > If a Muslim killed Trump, or attempted to kill him, that would “prove” his point. I think we’d have horrible repercussions. Yeah, but it could also be one of those Mexican rapists… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/9 "2015-12-09T14:32:34Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > I think by posting this thread that you almost certainly gained the attention of some government software, if not an actual government employee. I think, by participating in the thread, I have too. Whattsamatta, you don’t like attention? We’re certainly not advocating any action, by statement or implication. I just couldn’t help noticing how Trump seems to be beset on all sides now. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/10 "2015-12-09T14:39:31Z")
After the software gets done scanning our respective posting histories, I’m sure we’ll be on nothing worse than a “people of possible interest” list and won’t receive further attention unless something actually happens to Trump. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/11 "2015-12-09T15:39:18Z")
Everyone seems to hate him… except for thirtysomething percent of the Republican primary electorate. Something weird is certainly going on here, but I can’t pretend I have any idea what. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/12 "2015-12-09T16:48:44Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Everyone seems to hate him… except for thirtysomething percent of the Republican primary electorate. Something weird is certainly going on here, but I can’t pretend I have any idea what. You all are too sophisticated to understand that not everyone is so sophisticated. There is a reason why appeals to populism and nationalism work. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/13 "2015-12-09T16:52:17Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > If a Muslim killed Trump, or attempted to kill him, that would “prove” his point. I think we’d have horrible repercussions. We might finally get that race war the white supremacists have wanted for so long. A bunch of previously quiet, law abiding citizens turning violently on their neighbors, with the encouragement of political leaders and media figures. That sounds familiar. In Rwanda, the military had to gear up for the genocide over the course of a few months by providing the populace with machetes and training. We can skip that step. We all have guns already. When Rush Limbaugh starts barking out “do your work” and “cut the tall trees”, our well-regulated militias will be ready to answer the call. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/14 "2015-12-09T17:20:16Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The Assassination of Donald Trump > > So I’ve been looking at the news today about The Donald (nobody calls him that anymore), and I notice that he’s being roundly criticized by damned near everyone on account of his recent outbursts about Muslims. The Republican establishment doesn’t like what he’s saying, and would certainly like him out of the way so that canonization of an acceptable candidate can take place. His opponents among the other candidates have stopped imitating him and trying to out-do him, and are taking him to task. The folks on the Left have never liked him, except as a possible front-runner they;'re sure that Hillary could beat (but I suspect many are terrified that he might actually win). Aside from his rabid followers with “Trump – Make America Great Again” posters on their front lawn, no one seems to like the guy. He’s like the victim in the opening chapters of an Agatha Christie novel – if he were killed, you couldn’t point the finger at any one suspect, because so many people have motives. > > There’s precedent for assassination attempts on presidential candidates. They tried to kill Teddy Roosevelt when he ran as a candidate in his Progressive (Bull Moose) party. There was an aborted attempt on John F. Kennedy when he was still running. Trump is getting Secret Service protection, but that just makes it harder, not impossible. Some people would view it as a challenge. > > I could see some worried Democrat or some fed-up Republican official wanting to Rid Us of this Troublesome Blowhard. It would be like Howard Beale\* in reverse – he wouldn’t be the first man shot because he got Low Ratings, but because they were high. > > Whaddaya think? > > - from Paddy Chayevsky’s film _Network_ > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Whattsamatta, you don’t like attention? > > We’re certainly not advocating any action, by statement or implication. I just couldn’t help noticing how Trump seems to be beset on all sides now. (underline added) “The Assassination of Donald Trump” :eek: Nah, you’re not implying anything. :rolleyes: I believe your error is assuming that Trump is actually being roundly criticized by damned near everyone. Who told you that? The media outlets? The media outlets seem to be pretty busy trying to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections. The polls still indicate that Trump has plenty of supporters. I guess “everyone” doesn’t include Trump supporters??? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/15 "2015-12-09T18:06:23Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > It would just make him a martyr to his fans. This. If some nutball did shoot him, the conspiracy theories would fly thick and fast. The political effects would be similar to the use of blatant dirty tricks to sabotage his campaign, only worse. ---
**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 9, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/16 "2015-12-09T18:12:30Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > The polls still indicate that Trump has plenty of supporters. His supporters appear to be (depending on the poll) something like 1/3 of “likely Republican voters”, or the like. I’ll note that those are in polls taken before the past 72 hours, though, frankly, the folks who have stayed on the Trump bandwagon until now aren’t likely to jump off based on this news. It doesn’t appear that he’s gaining many supporters over the past months, but each new outrageous pronouncement fires up his current base even more. He may have “plenty of supporters” in the absolute (i.e., in the millions), but they are almost undoubtedly in the serious minority as a proportion of the total U.S. population. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/17 "2015-12-09T18:19:53Z")
Only the good die young- Trump is immortal. We haven’t assassinated people for saying outrageous things, we just haven’t nominated them. If somehow he wins the nomination, he’ll be fine. The Secret Service does a good job despite some noted incidents. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/18 "2015-12-09T18:20:47Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > (underline added) > > “The Assassination of Donald Trump” :eek: > > Nah, you’re not implying anything. :rolleyes: I believe your error is assuming that Trump is actually being roundly criticized by damned near everyone. > > Who told you that? The media outlets? The media outlets seem to be pretty busy trying to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections. The polls still indicate that Trump has plenty of supporters. I guess “everyone” doesn’t include Trump supporters??? If you’re not seei8ng the newspaper headlines over the past two days, then go out and look. He’s being criticized heavily by the other candidates, GOP leaders, and Democratic leaders. The New York daily News isn’t exactly a bastion of liberals: > **[Daily News cover cartoon shows Trump beheading Statue of Liberty](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/daily-news-front-cover-depicts-donald-trump-beheading-statue-of-liberty/)** > > As criticism of Trump's proposed ban on Muslims grows, the New York Daily News is publishing a cover that shows the GOP frontrunner beheading Lady Liberty New York’s de Blasio has come out against his pronouncements: > **[De Blasio: Trump doing ‘bidding of our enemies’ | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/07/politics/de-blasio-donald-trump-isis-game-plan/index.html?eref=rss_politics)** > > Donald Trump’s virulent comments are playing right into the “game plan” of ISIS and other terrorist groups, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday. Jeb Bush called him “unhinged”, Kasich called him “unsuited for the presidency” and “divisive”. Ted Cruz won’t criticize him outright (although he claims “everybody is tellin g him to” but disagrees with his plan [http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/12/08/ted-cruz-disagrees-with-trump-muslim-ban-but-wont-criticize-him-for-it/?mod=WSJ\_Politics\_Blog](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/12/08/ted-cruz-disagrees-with-trump-muslim-ban-but-wont-criticize-him-for-it/?mod=WSJ_Politics_Blog) Priebus, Ryan,. and O’Connell publicly spoke out together against his suggestion: > **[Priebus, Ryan and McConnell rip Trump anti-Muslim proposal | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/08/politics/paul-ryan-trump-comments-not-who-we-are-as-a-party/index.html?eref=rss_politics)** > > The chairman of the Republican Party, the Republican House speaker and the top Senate Republican on Tuesday condemned GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s call to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. Where did I get that everyone is being criticized by everyone? From the news. And, yeah, I’m not suggesting anything. This is observation. ---
**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:** [December 9, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/19 "2015-12-09T18:44:46Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > …There was an aborted attempt on John F. Kennedy when he was still running… Actually, he was President-elect by that time: [Richard Paul Pavlick - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Paul_Pavlick) His brother Bobby was killed while campaigning in 1968, of course, and George Wallace was wounded and crippled but not killed while campaigning four years later. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934/20 "2015-12-09T19:17:19Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > If a Muslim killed Trump, or attempted to kill him, that would “prove” his point. I think we’d have horrible repercussions. Which is why a Trump-led conspiracy would make the most sense. Donald gets a trusted ally to assassinate him, leaving a trail of contrived evidence in order to arrive at some crazy endpoint. Years later it is discovered that the dead Trump was a body double/clone and the real Trump is living in a castle high in the mountains working on a hair restoration serum. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-assassination-of-donald-trump/739934.md?page=2)