# The Trump Card \[Trump Candidacy as Conspiracy\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 8, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325 "2015-08-08T17:11:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/1 "2015-08-08T17:11:10Z")
Who’s Donald Trump working for, anyway? He’s not seriously running for President. Is he working for the Republicans? Is he being paid to ham it up, so that when the nominee is announced, the nominee will look reasonable and sane? Or is he working for the Democrats? Is he being paid to splinter the Right, perhaps to introduce a third party for his alleged run, so that the Democratic nominee stands a stronger chance of winning the election? Or perhaps he’s working for Fox, boosting their ratings and increasing their profits. Or is he doing it to stroke his own ego? Or is he a troll? (Using the other definition of ‘troll’, he certainly has the hair for it!) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/2 "2015-08-08T17:15:44Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Or is he doing it to stroke his own ego? Really? Is this not clear already? I don’t mean for Trump, I mean for all presidential candidates. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/3 "2015-08-08T17:20:04Z")
Ego and troll. No one could possibly pay enough to interest him. There is the chance that he’s seriously running and is completely delusional about what he can and cannot do as President ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/4 "2015-08-08T17:44:38Z")
You couldn’t have just posted in [this thread?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=763758) ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/5 "2015-08-08T18:26:08Z")
He sure has fired up the Republican PC Police. > **[Donald Trump disinvited to speak at RedState event; Megyn Kelly invited](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/08/08/donald-trump-disinvited-to-speak-at-redstate-event-megyn-kelly-invited/)** > > Front-runner's comments about Fox News anchor simply went too far, host of event said. What do those intolerant bozos have against free speech, I sarcastically wonder? ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/6 "2015-08-08T19:13:14Z")
I nominate this as the conspiracy theory spin-off thread. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/7 "2015-08-08T20:09:37Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > You couldn’t have just posted in [this thread?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=763758) Didn’t see it. > [@foolsguinea](#): > > I nominate this as the conspiracy theory spin-off thread. Sounds good to me. . ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/8 "2015-08-09T03:01:48Z")
I made mention that George Will offered up this idea about a month ago in [this post](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18503147&postcount=22803). [The first response](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18503353&postcount=22807) made the very sensible point that it was unlikely he would be so obvious about it. With each passing day I have to say I agree. More and more. In fact, aside from his uncomprehendingly large ego being the cause, I’m starting to suspect it may be an incredibly enormous brain tumor. But I’m certain this is in no way a Democratic stunt. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/9 "2015-08-09T03:31:06Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Or is he doing it to stroke his own ego? > > Or is he a troll? (Using the other definition of ‘troll’, he certainly has the hair for it!) I’m assuming these two. He gets his ego stroked by thinking he is the voice of America. I don’t think his ego could stand an actual campaign, but I could be wrong. Also knowing he is wreaking havoc in the GOP means the GOP may have to offer him concessions to not run as a third party. Supposedly in 2004 the democratic party went to the green party and (behind the scenes) offered Nader a lot of things if he didn’t run. Help for his programs, funding for his programs, etc. They said if he did run he could forget all of it, he ran anyway. Trump may be doing something similar. If he gets enough support and threatens to run third party, he can extort a lot of things from the GOP to keep him out of the race. The hat screamed troll to me. A billionaire with a hat that looks like it came from KMart? That has to be intentional. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/10 "2015-08-09T04:11:15Z")
If you’re going to look at Trump as running for some reason other than stroking his ego then it might be that the Republican establishment hasn’t given him his due. He’s given money to both parties because that’s what smart businessmen do. He took the heat for the Birthers. Bill and Hill showed up at his wedding, what have any Republicans done for him? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/11 "2015-08-12T14:56:25Z")
I think this pretty much proves Trump is trolling. > [@Donald Trump](#): > > Iran is taking over Iraq a hundred percent, just like I predicted years ago. So I say this: I didn’t want to go there in the first place; but now, we take the oil. We should have kept the oil! Now we go in, we knock the hell out of them, we take the oil, we thereby take their wealth. We take all their wealth. They have so much money. They have better Internet connections than we do in the United States. They’re training our kids through the Internet. We have to knock out their wealth. The other thing, Saudi Arabia… Through Saudi Arabia and other places, tremendous money is flowing and we have to stop that flow of money. But take the oil; knock the hell out of them. Sounds like ‘Nuke their ass and take their gas.’ No serious candidate would suggest that. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/12 "2015-08-12T16:22:18Z")
Trump doesn’t work for anyone, people work for him(including many Presidential contenders). This is all about Trump’s ego. There’s no conspiracy. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/13 "2015-08-12T16:56:39Z")
Conspiracy it is! (from another thread–when will Trump bail on the election) > [@](#): > > On the eve of the election, we get a press conference. An atypically well-spoken and erudite D. J. Trump will address the nation, excoriating the hateful, rabid elements of the electorate who placed a figure so unfit to lead a nation in a position to do just that. To this self-identified group of people, he will explain that they should be fired from America and his only regret is that such action is constitutionally forbidden. He will, instead, inform the Republican party that IT is fired and recommend they dredge up one of the dead fish who were culled in the primary to see if they are sober enough to take up their flag by election day. > > Hillary & Bill Clinton will be hospitalized with multiple rib fractures caused by excessive and hysterical laughter, and they will enjoy the next eight years of their lives in the White House. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/14 "2015-08-12T17:16:46Z")
No, no, no, if you’re going to have a conspiracy, it’s got to involve either (1) The Illuminati, (2) The Bilderbergers or (3) The Reptile Overlords posing as humans. Without at least one of those groups, you can’t really call in a conspiracy (well, if you’re desperate, I guess the Freemasons or the Knights of Malta would work). And with that, have at it. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2015, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/15 "2015-08-12T17:53:43Z")
North Korea? Iran? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/16 "2015-08-12T19:30:05Z")
Okay, on election eve, Trump will fire the Knights of Malta. Serves 'em right! ---
**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:** [August 12, 2015, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/17 "2015-08-12T22:24:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **running coach** : > > Ego and troll. No one could possibly pay enough to interest him. That’s certainly what he’d like people to believe. But his ego needs lots and lots of money, and where else is he going to get it? It’s not like he’s good at being a businessman. His entire gameplan is to pretend to be rich, and to do it convincingly enough that people will pay him for that image. Which is basically what’s going on in this campaign. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/18 "2015-08-12T22:48:58Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > No, no, no, if you’re going to have a conspiracy, it’s got to involve either (1) The Illuminati, (2) The Bilderbergers or (3) The Reptile Overlords posing as humans. > > Without at least one of those groups, you can’t really call in a conspiracy (well, if you’re desperate, I guess the Freemasons or the Knights of Malta would work). > > And with that, have at it. That’s just what Google, the Vatican, and the American Medical Association _want_ you to think! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-card-trump-candidacy-as-conspiracy/727325/19 "2015-08-13T02:42:28Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > That’s just what … the American Medical Association _want_ you to think! Oye, and I was worried about the Knights of Malta! :rolleyes: