# Things that don't bother voters vs. things that REALLY bother voters **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 11, 2026, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304 "2026-08-11T21:58:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/1 "2026-08-11T21:58:47Z")
Famously, Donald Trump was recorded in 2006 saying he could do Anything because he was “a star”–including grabbing women by their genitals. This “Access Hollywood tape” became public ten years later, not long before the 2016 election, and many expected it to derail Trump’s chances. But it didn’t. Many voters were “fine” with it. There’s not much that bothers 2026 right-wing Americans. Not much that one of their candidates can do, other than offend their Dear Leader. But Dear Leader himself seems to get a pass on just about everything. Is it possible that this could change? > [@](#): > > … Leaving Türkiye on July 8 after the NATO summit, the day after he had renewed strikes on Iran, Trump made a show of switching from the newly outfitted plane given to the U.S. by Qatar to an older plane that had served as Air Force One before Trump got the Qatari jet. The journalists who were traveling with the president and some of the White House staff moved with the president to the older plane for the leg of the trip that would take them to Britain. > > But the journalists report that **Trump and some of his aides secretly left the older plane in a container lowered into an airport catering truck** and were transferred to a smaller plane for the trip. There had apparently been credible Iranian threats against Trump’s life, and so officials turned to a plan to hide him, even from senior U.S. officials. To do so, **they left the journalists and staff on the plane that would use the Air Force One call sign, turning them into a decoy for an Iranian strike**. … > > Trump secretly reboarded the bigger plane in Britain and was filmed coming down its stairs, suggesting he had been on the flight. Then he boarded the Qatari jet, along with the press pool and the staffers who had been on Air Force One, for the trip from Türkiye. > On the flight, Trump briefly spoke to reporters, who asked why they had been asked to lower their window shades on the previous flight. It was “because you’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with,” Trump said. > > He added that there are threats against his life “all the time” and that “I’m number one on their list, before you. **But if I go, you go**. Right?” … (My bolding.) There are two notable aspects of this story, and only one seems to be making waves: the “Donald hiding in the catering truck” aspect. Already there are tons of memes: [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nfcd7z3sloniluqpdrcoebu6/bafkreiaawllzhmzya5dytdawdhbpiicot5o767zlpqfvc4njwzsfppgp3a) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nfcd7z3sloniluqpdrcoebu6/bafkreiaawllzhmzya5dytdawdhbpiicot5o767zlpqfvc4njwzsfppgp3a) This is what’s catching on: the cowardice of a hiding-in-the-catering President. To my mind the uglier aspect of this story is the “decoy” one. As many have pointed out, there was no need to turn Air Force One into a decoy target. Instead, there could have been an announcement of a mechanical issue. The smaller plane actually containing Donald could have left and gotten to its destination and then a new announcement (that he was already on safe ground) and then Air Force One, now known to be empty of Presidents, could have taken off. But Donald liked the idea of missiles going for a decoy. A decoy which contained not only Journalists (Enemies of the People!) but also jet staff and even many of Donald’s own aides. (You can imagine how thrilled they must have been to learn they’d been offered up for sacrifice…) Still, it’s the ‘inside the catering truck’ part of the story that is grabbing people. A lot. I am wondering if Donald can recover from this. It may be that we have finally reached the part of a Dear Leader’s life in which he is no longer Teflon. (Of course the hard-core white supremacists will stick with him no matter what. But it’s possible that many of his 2024 voters could…become disenchanted.) Article on the Decoy story: much longer and excellent all the way through: > **[August 10, 2026](https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-10-2026)** > > Remember when Mondays in August were lazy, quiet summer days? > **[Donald Trump Access Hollywood tape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_Access_Hollywood_tape)** > > On October 7, 2016, one month before the United States presidential election that year, The Washington Post published a video and article about then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and television host Billy Bush having a lewd conversation about women in September 2005. Trump and Bush were on a bus on their way to film an episode of Access Hollywood, a show owned by NBCUniversal. In the video, Trump described his attempt to seduce a married woman and indicated he might start kissing a woman... ---
**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:** [August 11, 2026, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/2 "2026-08-11T22:07:08Z")
Unfortunately, comedic as this is, I think this catering-truck incident will have probably just 4 days of attention before everyone moves on to the next absurd thing he says/does. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/3 "2026-08-11T22:11:08Z")
You could absolutely be right. But I watch with interest the combination of these “Coward” memes with the news that Iran has just said they won’t even bother negotiating again until Trump is gone. He has to be having trouble putting this aside and Thinking Positively. So much of the news is about his being a scared loser. (Which for him is the very, very worst.) Another meme: [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fqzbkx7heueurkrukopss6kb/bafkreibj5jxd253dkqbr3v34gzwdood7utenc7js3yppkfi2pdrw7gruhm) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:fqzbkx7heueurkrukopss6kb/bafkreibj5jxd253dkqbr3v34gzwdood7utenc7js3yppkfi2pdrw7gruhm) ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/4 "2026-08-11T22:23:15Z")
Some TV pundit I heard earlier today was saying that, especially for the Republicans, bad behavior doesn’t really matter anymore. You’ve got Trump, of course, but the latest news with Max Miller, for example. To contrast with (as said by the pundit) somebody like Gary Hart or even just the photo of Dukakis in a tank. I’m sure we could come up with more examples from both parties if we tried. I’m not sure hypocrisy really bothers the voting public anymore. Or if they don’t like it, they write it off as all politicians being lying corrupt hypocrites. For that matter, I’d say that’s more likely for why these sorts of scandals don’t stick as much anymore. If they’re all scum, pick the scum that’s slightly more on my side. Kind of like the decoy bit of this story. I agree, even if there was a credible threat there was no reason to actually have the plane take off. Worst case a bunch of people are stuck in Turkey for a day until it can be reported that Trump is in Germany or wherever. But I also think a lot of people these days really hate large parts of the media and wouldn’t care if an entire planeload of them went down. And that it’s going to be far broader a cross-section of the public than you might think. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/5 "2026-08-11T22:23:36Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > the news that Iran has just said they won’t even bother negotiating again until Trump is gone. “We took down Carter, we can take down Trump.” ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/6 "2026-08-11T22:35:44Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > ..especially for the Republicans, bad behavior doesn’t really matter anymore. You’ve got Trump, of course, but the latest news with Max Miller, for example. Few would argue with this. But that’s about “bad behavior” in the sense of being Aggressive and Dominating…which the right _ **loves** _. The right does NOT love Cowardly and Weak and Ineffectual. Not at all. And while Donald has been providing tons of examples of Ineffectual since he started to bomb Iran, his fans have been able to overlook it. Change the subject, lalalala! But the photos of Donald crouching in the food truck are not so easy to ignore. And by tomorrow I would guess there will be hundreds of them. Weakness doesn’t work for the right. They’re fine with vicious, but they don’t like cowering. That’s why I’m thinking there’s a chance this could stick around for a while. > [@echoreply](#): > > “We took down Carter, we can take down Trump.” Well, yeah. It’s plausible. The more that Donald is perceived as a lame duck, the better Iran will do. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard doing well is **far** from being something to celebrate. They are a brutal regime and the world would be better off with them out of power. But the odds of Donald being the one to achieve this seem tiny to pretty much everyone in the world who’s paying any attention at all. ---
**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:** [August 11, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/7 "2026-08-11T22:40:36Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if some on the right are actually spinning it the opposite way. _“Our Dear Leader is facing such intense threat from America’s enemies, specifically Iran, that he was forced to take unprecedented measures to defend himself against a plot to shoot down his airplane. What a cunning ruse to fool the foes. What a badass. He faces such an intense threat that no other previous POTUS had to do this before!”_ After years of observing the Trumpiverse, I’ve seen that almost nothing Trump does can’t be spun into some angle of “well, here’s the GOOD interpretation of why he did that…” ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/8 "2026-08-11T22:41:52Z")
I agree that they will try. They have to hope that The Faithful never happen to see any of the ‘hiding’ images by accident, though. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/9 "2026-08-11T23:25:12Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I am wondering if Donald can recover from this. Ha ha! It won’t move the needle one iota. (ETA: I’ve already seen comments on line like “Ohhh, that was a really slick James Bond move! What a guy!” ---
**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 12, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/10 "2026-08-12T00:16:32Z")
I thought hiding in a food receptacle was an Indiana Jones move. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/11 "2026-08-12T00:37:38Z")
> “Hiding Trump in a catering truck is like hiding Hegseth in a liquor cabinet” --Andy Borowitz ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/12 "2026-08-12T00:49:34Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > What a cunning ruse Now I want a new episode of Blackadder set in modern times. “I have a cunning plan, my lord!” ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/13 "2026-08-12T01:14:41Z")
Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/14 "2026-08-12T01:19:03Z")
What might bring Donald down is if he followed the example of the atrocious politician in a Stephen King story. When a sniper opened fire on him, he grabbed a small child to hold in front of him as a shield, and escaped - but did it on camera. That could do it, except diehards would probably declare it “fake news”. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/15 "2026-08-12T01:19:34Z")
What really bothers me are attack ads. Here in Topeka someone is really slamming the Democratic candidates for governor and US senator. ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/16 "2026-08-12T02:55:51Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > I agree that they will try. I was channel-surfing during dinner and Hannity’s opening was about the heroic actions Trump took in the face of Iran’s assassination attempt. I didn’t stick around to hear his justification for that point of view. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/17 "2026-08-12T03:30:50Z")
Old Yellowstain. ---
**Author:** ![Win\_Place\_Show](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/win_place_show/32/13469_2.png) [@Win\_Place\_Show](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Win_Place_Show)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/18 "2026-08-12T06:10:31Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Weakness doesn’t work for the right. They’re fine with vicious, but they don’t like cowering. That’s why I’m thinking there’s a chance this could stick around for a while. I nodded along to this. I was thinking today that this latest episode kinda reminds me of when “TACO” (Tfg Always Chickens Out) came to be, and he was the butt of the joke for quite a while. I think a large number of folks on social media still recognize the acronym TACO, but I don’t know how much it still hits or resonates. I’m hoping that the “cowering” memes originating today stick in his craw and continue to strike a nerve, at least through the midterms. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/19 "2026-08-12T07:19:11Z")
This thread is pure unadulterated copium. It won’t bother the magats in the slightest. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2026, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304/20 "2026-08-12T11:21:51Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > What might bring Donald down is if he followed the example of the atrocious politician in a Stephen King story. > > When a sniper opened fire on him, he grabbed a small child to hold in front of him as a shield, and escaped - but did it on camera. > > That could do it, except diehards would probably declare it “fake news”. No – I long ago concluded that MAGA types and many Republicans would not be upset at all if Trump pulled that maneuver. Our standards have fallen drastically. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-dont-bother-voters-vs-things-that-really-bother-voters/1032304.md?page=2)