# This article is by far best explanation I've seen as to why Trump is dominating - **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 31, 2015, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449 "2015-08-31T00:03:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/21 "2015-08-31T14:27:35Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > People on the progressive side can’t stand her. _Some_ people on the progressive side can’t stand her. And they will feel differently when she shreds the GOP candidate into tiny pieces next fall, whoever the lucky victim turns out to be. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/22 "2015-08-31T14:30:00Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > For example, after the shootings in Paris in January, every politician from Obama on down told us that the terrorists weren’t motivated by Islam and the kosher food store wasn’t chosen because it served Jewish people. Where do you come up with this stuff? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/23 "2015-08-31T14:47:56Z")
> [@astro](#): > > This article is by far best explanation I’ve seen as to why Trump is dominating - The media is beside itself trying to figure out why Trump won’t go away. The only thing that indicates is that the media doesn’t understand/refuses to understand is that the voters/viewers aren’t buying what the media is selling. How dare our viewers not believe our political activists posing as news reporters? Just as the Tea Party became a reality and managed to get candidates elected based on the fact that many voters are simply fed up with politicians and politics as usual, Trump’s support, and Ben Carson’s support, seems to be based on the fact that they are not politicians. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/24 "2015-08-31T14:51:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think the difference between Trump and the other candidates is Trump has no real plans to be elected. He doesn’t want to be President; he just likes the attention he gets from running for President. The other candidates actually want to get elected and expect to have to follow through on at least the broad outlines of what they’re promising. Trump, on the other hand, can promise anything because he knows he won’t have to deliver. > > So Trump can promise that he’ll build a wall along our southern border and make Mexico pay for it. And he can promise that he will keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons. And he can promise that he will defeat ISIS. And he can promise he will stop companies from opening a factory in Mexico. Would he be able to deliver on any of these promises if he was President? Almost certainly not - they all require agreement from people a President has no direct control over. When has the future inability to deliver on the promise ever stopped a politician from promising? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/25 "2015-08-31T14:55:20Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > The media is beside itself trying to figure out why Trump won’t go away. The only thing that indicates is that the media doesn’t understand/refuses to understand is that the voters/viewers aren’t buying what the media is selling. How dare our viewers not believe our political activists posing as news reporters? “How dare the voters support Trump when we keep telling them he’s a joke and they shouldn’t take him seriously?” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/26 "2015-08-31T15:34:10Z")
Trump isn’t “dominating” anything. He’s got a plurality of support by being interesting to watch at a point when the nomination process has barely begun. He will not be on the actual ballot in any state, and frankly I’ll be mildly surprised if he’s involved in any primary or caucus. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/27 "2015-08-31T15:38:30Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Trump isn’t “dominating” anything. He’s got a plurality of support by being interesting to watch at a point when the nomination process has barely begun. He will not be on the actual ballot in any state, and frankly I’ll be mildly surprised if he’s involved in any primary or caucus. Trump built his career on people underestimating him. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/28 "2015-08-31T15:43:24Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Trump built his career on people underestimating him. While RickJay’s comment is ridiculous overconfident, you don’t build a real estate empire by having people underestimate you. The opposite if anything. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/29 "2015-08-31T15:54:16Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > The media is beside itself trying to figure out why Trump won’t go away. The only thing that indicates is that the media doesn’t understand/refuses to understand is that the voters/viewers aren’t buying what the media is selling. How dare our viewers not believe our political activists posing as news reporters? Boy howdy, you’re gonna [keep on grinding this axe](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18641751&postcount=231), aren’t you? But who are you talking about this time? When you say “the media doesn’t understand/refuses to understand is that the voters/viewers aren’t buying what the media is selling,” surely you’re not talking about Univision other than in passing, so when you refer to their “political activists posing as news reporters,” you can’t be talking about Jorge Ramos this time. So who do you mean? And can you give for-instances? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/30 "2015-08-31T15:54:20Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > The media is beside itself trying to figure out why Trump won’t go away. While not a common one the theory have is matching what we are seeing, the media knew that billions of dollars are there for the taking in political ads and eyeballs for other commercials in this cycle. 538 has made references to the Trump rise, Trump is popular for a chunk Republicans because he had more name recognition and it has been a growing feedback with the media too. I would expect then the media to bat their eyes and claim feigned ignorance on this. The media expected that they were going to get the gravy train in the general election, Trump is making that train to arrive early, even before the primaries now. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/31 "2015-08-31T15:55:47Z")
There is a very simple explanation for Trumps current success: there is a segment of the Republican base that gets milked for money and votes every single election and then tossed aside once Republicans get into power because their goals are unpalatable to the grand majority of the electorate. Nobody is going to win an election by appealing to racists and misogynists, but you sure as hell can lead in the polls against twenty something other guys when you are the only one openly courting them. Nobody else is ever going to openly say “brown people are here to rape your women and we need to get rid of every single one of them”, it’s insane, but there is a small but not completely insignificant segment of the population that honestly feels that way and has been completely marginalized by one party and demonized by the other. Of course both parties are right in doing this, but they were ripe for the picking. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/32 "2015-08-31T15:58:26Z")
The biggest difference between people who have done very well in private life – like Trump, Ross Perot, or any other number of very successful business people – is that what people expect of someone as a business partner is totally different than what people expect of a leader. To use a common example, the bank guy I used to get a mortgage was kind of a dick. He didn’t listen well, hard to get in touch with, wasn’t especially responsive with questions… but he got me an awesome interest rate and saved me a bunch of money. Sure, I’d use him again. And recommend him to friends, with the caveat that he’s kind of a dick. Contrast that to how quite a few people think about Bill Clinton. In terms of outcomes, his Administration was very successful on a lot of counts. Budget surpluses – yes, surpluses! – no huge wars, huge economic expansion, and so on. But Clinton was the public policy equivalent of being kind of a dick for the whole Monica Lewinsky thing. That really had nothing to do with the results of his Administration, but there’s quite a few people who will never ever forgive him for his comments along the lines of, “Depends what the meaning of is is,” etc. For public figures, being liked is part of the requirement of doing a good job. We all know it. People are often asked, which presidential candidate would you like to have a beer with? Nobody ever asks which car dealer, real estate agent, or banker you’d like to have a beer with. There’s no question Trump is going to flame out, because he simply cannot conceive that he will have to act differently in public life than he has in business for his whole career. That doesn’t explain his success, but it will explain his failure when it comes. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/33 "2015-08-31T16:24:36Z")
From afar, it sometimes seems like politics has lost credibility - all that juvenile nonsense over federal budgets, etc. It looked petty and pathetic. John Boehner? At least republicans. I wonder if a celebrity democrat would do less well, excluding Jon Stewart. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/34 "2015-08-31T16:30:14Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > “How dare the voters support Trump when we keep telling them he’s a joke and they shouldn’t take him seriously?” Eggs-actly. The media outlets biased opinions undermined their own credibility with the voters. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/35 "2015-08-31T16:32:05Z")
It’s been easy for Trump to get a plurality from a field of 17. In a field of 4, he comes in 4th. The pertinent question I believe is will the field narrow quickly enough to deny him the nomination? If there are still 10 candidates going into Super Tuesday and winner-take-all states come into play, then he actually has a chance. What’s up with his polling now? He’s saying what a lot of low-information voters are thinking and that nobody else is stupid enough to say. The message of making America great again is simple and fits on a bumper sticker. For many, that is enough detail. Whether it is enough for an election remains to be seen. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/36 "2015-08-31T16:35:19Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > It’s been easy for Trump to get a plurality from a field of 17. In a field of 4, he comes in 4th. Cite? ---
**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:** [August 31, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/37 "2015-08-31T16:38:49Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > Cite? Just my estimation. If I had the funds to make a poll I’d commission one that pits Trump against Bush, Walker, and Cruz and I’d be the comes in last. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/38 "2015-08-31T16:41:19Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Boy howdy, you’re gonna [keep on grinding this axe](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18641751&postcount=231), aren’t you? > > But who are you talking about this time? When you say “the media doesn’t understand/refuses to understand is that the voters/viewers aren’t buying what the media is selling,” surely you’re not talking about Univision other than in passing, so when you refer to their “political activists posing as news reporters,” you can’t be talking about Jorge Ramos this time. > > So who do you mean? And can you give for-instances? Did you read the thread title? _ **This article is by far best explanation I’ve seen as to why Trump is dominating -** _ I’m talking about the political advocates working for the media outlets who keep saying that Trump can’t continue much longer, or that Trump’s campaign will fail, or that the latest statement by Trump (whether Trump actually said what the LSM is saying he said, or not) means the end of Trump’s campaign. It appears that the political advocates working for the media outlets have repeatedly been mistaken. How is that possible? :smack: I’ll suggest that is because the political advocates working for the media outlets either don’t know what they’re talking about, or are actively trying to undermine Trump’s campaign. Either way, they aren’t reporting actual news. They are trying to drive the news. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/39 "2015-08-31T16:45:53Z")
I think the other candidates are all giving him enough rope to hang himself, and he’s all “hey, free rope…” Eventually we’re going to get to a sticking point in the campaign and he’s going to have to either run for office for real or open a rope store. Hillary’s doing the same thing with Sanders, and he’s building bridges with his rope. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2015, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449/40 "2015-08-31T16:46:48Z")
You know, when the wheels fall off of Trump’s campaign and people start saying, “Well at least Sarah Palin had experience…” I’m going to laugh and laugh and laugh at all the reasons that will be given for why Trump was sabotaged rather than self-destructed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-article-is-by-far-best-explanation-ive-seen-as-to-why-trump-is-dominating/729449.md?page=3)