# The Trump Resignation Pool **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [June 17, 2017, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168 "2017-06-17T05:46:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/121 "2017-08-18T19:55:43Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > What Trump wants most–even more than wealth and power–is personal veneration, even if it comes with scorn from the media he dismisses as being “fake”. If the media stops paying attention to his facile activities like idiotic tweets or the pointless press briefings that have only become an exercise in pointless power struggles, and instead focuses on the real failures of the adminstration’s political agenda to even support the people who support him, he’ll tire of the constant criticism and lack of attention on his person. > > A few months ago, Jake Tapper made a big deal about how CNN was “kicking ass” when it came to reporting on Trump, but in fact they’ve basically become the Trump Clown Show, focusing largely on the most superficial aspects of the Trump presidency in ways that reinforce what critics of the media already believe. I’m not suggesting that they’ll listen to more factual reporting, but if we stop hearing about his fucking tweets shat out in response to whatever he saw on cable news five minutes previous and instead concentrate on hard facts such as that Trump has not made good on a single one of his campaign “promises” like making more favorable trade deals or developing an infrastructure plan that will also revitalize the economy, they can’t credibly be accused of making things up or presenting only one side. > > Ignore Trump and he’ll act out like an intemperate toddler just to get attention. His actions will speak for themselves without having to tediously repeat the idiocy he has spewed out on Twitter. > > Stranger While I agree, it does make me nervous that someone with the nuclear codes may get desperate for attention. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/122 "2017-08-18T20:35:45Z")
Oh, I’m wholly in agreement with that concern. But Trump has already made his ambitions to be known as the “Nuclear President” clear. On that account, I think Congress should be pressed to enact reform in the nuclear weapon oversight and authorization process such that the President cannot unilaterally initiate a launch without verification of an imminent threat or without consensus of independent approval by the JCS or another responsible body. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/123 "2017-08-18T21:35:11Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Oh, I’m wholly in agreement with that concern. But Trump has already made his ambitions to be known as the “Nuclear President” clear. On that account, I think Congress should be pressed to enact reform in the nuclear weapon oversight and authorization process such that the President cannot unilaterally initiate a launch without verification of an imminent threat or without consensus of independent approval by the JCS or another responsible body. > > Stranger Technically, there already is such a mechanism, but it depends on the JCS finding such an action illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/124 "2017-08-18T21:53:51Z")
I originally postulated two reasons for Trump to resign: 1. He gets tired of being treated like an idiot every day, by everyone he meets with. 2. His business comes under investigation and he needs to trade a stop of the investigation for stepping down. I’m not sure which way the Bannon departure affects #1. On the one hand, it means that Trump’s last fellow crazy has left, so he’s all alone with all the smart people. On the other hand, with Bannon out and Kelly running everything, Trump’s standing with the general public and the media is liable to improve. In a sense, he’ll be treated like an idiot in-person, but treated as (more) reasonable outside of his circle. For Trump, public glamor probably counts for more than private shame. But person-to-person interactions still seem like they should have to count for a lot. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2017, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/125 "2017-08-18T22:38:52Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Technically, there already is such a mechanism, but it depends on the JCS finding such an action illegal. The JCS has no operational authority to issue or countermand orders to the services since the 1986 Goldwater–Nichols Act. The chain of command is from the President to Secretary of Defense, and thence to the major strategic and combatant commands. And Presidential authority over the permitted use of nuclear weapons is so vague and plenary that it would be difficult to argue that any order is illegal unless it could be demonstrated that the President was under duress or without control of his or her faculties. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/126 "2017-08-18T23:42:31Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Everyone on The President’s Committee On the Arts and Humanities has quit today. I for one am shocked that President Trump had a Committee on the Arts & Humanities. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/127 "2017-08-18T23:48:01Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > When will Trump resign? Put me down for June 1, 2018. I figure we have him for about another year. I figure sometime next year the pressure will be too much. That said, it could happen any time. I think the pressures on him are mounting daily at this point, and the self inflicted wounds are growing and bleeding more and more. A lot of groups seem to be rethinking their support, and the groups that are all for him are hurting him and his administration. The Republicans seem to me to be on the verge of outright rebellion against this fool. I think he could pop any time. Of course, he might have a heart attack or some other health issue or something really juicy could come out that makes impeachment a real option. Somehow, though, I don’t see him lasting out his full term at this point. 😛 ---
**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:** [August 19, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/128 "2017-08-19T00:11:14Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I originally postulated two reasons for Trump to resign: > > 1. He gets tired of being treated like an idiot every day, by everyone he meets with. > 2. His business comes under investigation and he needs to trade a stop of the investigation for stepping down. > > I’m not sure which way the Bannon departure affects #1. On the one hand, it means that **Trump’s last fellow crazy has left** , so he’s all alone with all the smart people. On the other hand, with Bannon out and Kelly running everything, Trump’s standing with the general public and the media is liable to improve. In a sense, he’ll be treated like an idiot in-person, but treated as (more) reasonable outside of his circle. > > For Trump, public glamor probably counts for more than private shame. But person-to-person interactions still seem like they should have to count for a lot. With respect to what I bolded… whut? Kellyanne Conway is still there (the other Mercer mole besides Bannon). Sebastian Gorka and his wife, Catherine, are still there. Stephen Miller is still there. Cory Lewendowski is still around, as is Katrina Pierson. There’s no shortage of crazies still hanging around and influencing the idiot in the Oval Office. The investigation is not going to stop or go away. Trump’s corruption runs wide and deep. Much of it is already documented – and what we already know is due to a diligent free press. [Donald Trump’s Worst Deal](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/13/donald-trumps-worst-deal) [Trump’s Business of Corruption](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/08/21/trumps-business-of-corruption) [Interactive Timeline of Everything We Know About Trump and Russia](http://billmoyers.com/story/trump-russia-timeline/) Fortunately, Mueller has so many more resources at his disposal. Mueller’s is a counter-intelligence investigation, meaning it’s less about Trump personally and more about shutting down Russian intrusion into our democracy. Agencies like the CIA, NSA and FBI take this stuff pretty seriously. They will mean to make Trump and his posse an example of why it is important to preserve the norms of American elections and not try to corrupt them. And that’s all before they get around to evening the score against Trump himself for attempting to undermine the integrity of those agencies, as well as firing one of their own in such a cruel, callous way. I don’t believe Trump will resign, because he views the presidency as his only shield against actual impeachment/prosecution for these crimes he knows full well he has committed for decades. In his attempts to derail impeachment/prosecution, I believe he will go so far as to: 1) attempt to fire Mueller; 2) throw anyone under the bus he deems necessary to stave off a conclusion of the investigation; 3) pardon anyone (including himself) in an effort to bribe people from talking or protect himself (it won’t work); and 4) escalate or start a war as a distraction. Trump is dangerous and crazy. He will not willingly leave office, in my opinion. Without the presidential “cloak of invincibility,” as he sees it, he may go to prison. He will avoid that at all costs. Trump doesn’t quite grasp the particulars of what makes Mueller’s investigation so toxic to him, but he well understands the general concept that he is in serious peril. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2017, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/129 "2017-08-19T00:13:34Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I for one am shocked that President Trump had a Committee on the Arts & Humanities. That completely cracked me up… because it is so true!! ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/130 "2017-08-19T00:32:03Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Trump is dangerous and crazy. He will not willingly leave office, in my opinion. Without the presidential “cloak of invincibility,” as he sees it, he may go to prison. I think that’s what will eventually do it. He’ll be offered a chance to resign in exchange for what amounts to a get out of jail free card. And frankly, I’m OK with that; getting him someplace he can do no harm is way more important that having him in prison, and it’s the closest we’re likely to be able to come to a compromise his supporters will accept. It seems like things are accelerating now, though. My pool entry is November, 2017, partly just because “a year from the election” seems like a nice round interval. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/131 "2017-08-19T00:38:41Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > I for one am shocked that President Trump had a Committee on the Arts & Humanities. So was he. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/132 "2017-08-19T01:55:30Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > What, like a seat on the Supreme Court? Senator for life. It worked for Pinochet. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/133 "2017-08-19T02:30:56Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The JCS has no operational authority to issue or countermand orders to the services since the 1986 Goldwater–Nichols Act. The chain of command is from the President to Secretary of Defense, and thence to the major strategic and combatant commands. And Presidential authority over the permitted use of nuclear weapons is so vague and plenary that it would be difficult to argue that any order is illegal unless it could be demonstrated that the President was under duress or without control of his or her faculties. > > Stranger I wouldn’t think that’d be much of a stretch where president Dilbert is concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/134 "2017-08-19T05:54:06Z")
[‘Art of the Deal’ co-writer: Trump will resign so he doesn’t ‘lose’](http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/334188-art-of-the-deal-ghostwriter-trump-will-resign-so-he-doesnt-lose) [Al Gore to Trump: Resign](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2017/08/18/al_gore_to_trump_resign.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/135 "2017-08-19T06:02:18Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > With respect to what I bolded… whut? > > Kellyanne Conway is still there (the other Mercer mole besides Bannon). Sebastian Gorka and his wife, Catherine, are still there. Stephen Miller is still there. Cory Lewendowski is still around, as is Katrina Pierson. There’s no shortage of crazies still hanging around and influencing the idiot in the Oval Office. I had meant within the inner circle. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/136 "2017-08-19T06:05:56Z")
I’m hearing Gorka’s about to be the next one booted out. ---
**Author:** ![Flying\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/858c86/32.png) [@Flying\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flying_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/137 "2017-08-19T09:59:00Z")
My thoughts all along have been Trump will not make it through his term and will resign. I’ve been actually hoping he will stay in long enough to irreparably damage the Republican party, but not long enough to destroy the world. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/138 "2017-08-19T10:48:29Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > With respect to what I bolded… whut? > > Kellyanne Conway is still there (the other Mercer mole besides Bannon). Sebastian Gorka and his wife, Catherine, are still there. Stephen Miller is still there. Cory Lewendowski is still around, as is Katrina Pierson. There’s no shortage of crazies still hanging around and influencing the idiot in the Oval Office. Of those mentioned, Gorka and Miller are probably the two fringe thinkers with any real pull, and as Bannon’s exit showed, nobody really influences Trump to begin with; they just exist to reinforce and disseminate whatever bat shit notions he has fluttering around in his brain. Bannon was fired not really for disagreeing with the president but for mistaking his influence on Trump and raising his profile. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > The investigation is not going to stop or go away. Trump’s corruption runs wide and deep. Much of it is already documented – and what we already know is due to a diligent free press. > > [Donald Trump’s Worst Deal](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/13/donald-trumps-worst-deal) > > [Trump’s Business of Corruption](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/08/21/trumps-business-of-corruption) > > [Interactive Timeline of Everything We Know About Trump and Russia](http://billmoyers.com/story/trump-russia-timeline/) > > Fortunately, Mueller has so many more resources at his disposal. Mueller’s is a counter-intelligence investigation, meaning it’s less about Trump personally and more about shutting down Russian intrusion into our democracy. Agencies like the CIA, NSA and FBI take this stuff pretty seriously. They will mean to make Trump and his posse an example of why it is important to preserve the norms of American elections and not try to corrupt them. And that’s all before they get around to evening the score against Trump himself for attempting to undermine the integrity of those agencies, as well as firing one of their own in such a cruel, callous way. Yep, there’s clearly a reason Donny didn’t want those tax returns and financial records released. And yep, he’s Mueller’s got all kinds of resources at his disposal. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > I don’t believe Trump will resign, because he views the presidency as his only shield against actual impeachment/prosecution for these crimes he knows full well he has committed for decades. In his attempts to derail impeachment/prosecution, I believe he will go so far as to: 1) attempt to fire Mueller; 2) throw anyone under the bus he deems necessary to stave off a conclusion of the investigation; 3) pardon anyone (including himself) in an effort to bribe people from talking or protect himself (it won’t work); and 4) escalate or start a war as a distraction. Yeah, this is how I see it as well. Trump probably already hates being president, but he now probably sees his powers to being essential for immunizing himself and his clan from prosecution. > [@Aspenglow](#): > > Trump is dangerous and crazy. He will not willingly leave office, in my opinion. Without the presidential “cloak of invincibility,” as he sees it, he may go to prison. He will avoid that at all costs. Trump doesn’t quite grasp the particulars of what makes Mueller’s investigation so toxic to him, but he well understands the general concept that he is in serious peril. It does raise the question about the lengths to which he is willing to go to avoid personal catastrophe, especially since it is pretty apparent that he is a narcissist. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2017, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/139 "2017-08-19T11:07:13Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I was thinking more like an excuse that they provide for him. Democrats won’t allow Trump to make America Great Again, and for the good of the country he is resigning and Pence will leave America in good hands. > [@John\_DiFool](#): > > So Pence is an insurance policy? 😕 ISWYDT. Oh, yes I did. ---
**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:** [August 20, 2017, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168/140 "2017-08-20T05:02:39Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I’m gonna take my daughter’s birthday, October 10th, because that would be a helluva present for her. Oh, yeah, a Pence presidency would be a HELLUVA birthday present. Maybe you should also get her a chador. :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-trump-resignation-pool/789168.md?page=8)