# This Trump's campaign staff really so incompetent, or he he handcuffing them? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 20, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447 "2016-07-20T20:50:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447/1 "2016-07-20T20:50:27Z")
I am reading a lot about the incompetency of the Trump campaign operation, and I agree that the campaign is run badly. But are his people really that bad, or does he keep them on such a short leash and so consistently ignore their advice that it _appears_ his staff are all idiots? I genuinely don’t know the answer to this. Is he being given bad advice, or simply ignoring good advice? ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447/2 "2016-07-20T20:59:36Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I am reading a lot about the incompetency of the Trump campaign operation, and I agree that the campaign is run badly. But are his people really that bad, or does he keep them on such a short leash and so consistently ignore their advice that it _appears_ his staff are all idiots? > > I genuinely don’t know the answer to this. Is he being given bad advice, or simply ignoring good advice? Probably some of each. Remember, Trump considers a lot of the things normal campaigns do to be a waste of money. And he’s alienated the majority of the people who are experienced at running campaigns. It’s not that no one could make his campaign run smoothly, it’s that those people don’t want to work for him, and he doesn’t want to hire them. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447/3 "2016-07-20T21:06:32Z")
Keep in mind; _Donald Trump is a con artist_. His demonstrated MO, over the last four decades, has been to lure in marks by promising them the world, then deliver nothing, claim that they owe him, threaten to sue them, and thus bewilder them into “settling” for pennies on the dollar. Is it any surprise that he can’t find competent help? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447/4 "2016-07-20T21:10:26Z")
Here is the official statement: [https://assets.donaldjtrump.com/MeredithStatement.pdf](https://assets.donaldjtrump.com/MeredithStatement.pdf) Linked to from here: [https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/statement-on-melania-trump-speech1](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/statement-on-melania-trump-speech1) Campaign website linking to corporate website containing admission by long-term corporate employee that she wrote Melania’s speech while as an employee. Just FYI this is illegal as hell and is why there are PAC’s. I can only think that he is getting bad advice _and_ rejecting good advice. He’s telling the RNC what they want to hear while he is doing whatever the hell he wants to do… because this is what Donald J. Trump does, right? ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447/5 "2016-07-20T21:14:00Z")
Perhaps he hired the staff from Veep. Not the actors or the characters. The actual production company. They know everything about dumb mistakes a politician can make but, unlike the fictional staff, have no idea how government works. ---
**Author:** ![DeptfordX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DeptfordX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeptfordX)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447/6 "2016-07-20T22:33:04Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Keep in mind; _Donald Trump is a con artist_. > > His demonstrated MO, over the last four decades, has been to lure in marks by promising them the world, then deliver nothing, claim that they owe him, threaten to sue them, and thus bewilder them into “settling” for pennies on the dollar. > > Is it any surprise that he can’t find competent help? I can’t imagine anyone agreeing to work for him or worse supply him with goods and services who wouldn’t demand cash in advance after even the most basic due diligence of the man’s habitual business practices. ---
**Author:** ![Enlightening\_Meditation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@Enlightening\_Meditation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enlightening_Meditation)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447/7 "2016-07-21T00:15:08Z")
If I recall correctly, the Trump campaign staff only consisted of approximately 30 people as of early June 2016. By comparison, the Clinton campaign had approximately 800 people at that time. There is certainly some incompetence in the Trump campaign, but the Trump team are severely understaffed regardless of competence level. ---
**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:** [July 21, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447/8 "2016-07-21T00:18:25Z")
> [@Enlightening\_Meditation](#): > > If I recall correctly, the Trump campaign staff only consisted of approximately 30 people as of early June 2016. By comparison, the Clinton campaign had approximately 800 people at that time. There is certainly some incompetence in the Trump campaign, but the Trump team are severely understaffed regardless of competence level. And it’s basic incompetence to be that severely shortstaffed for no reason. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447/9 "2016-07-21T00:53:33Z")
Well, if you take a closer look at some of the people on Trump’s campaign you’ll get a better picture of how competent they are. Start with Eric Branstad, his Iowa manager. > **[Eric Branstad to lead Trump's presidential campaign in Iowa](https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2016/06/15/eric-branstad-lead-trumps-presidential-campaign-iowa/85937960/)** > > Branstad, the son of Gov. Terry Branstad, was named Trump's state director [Branstad For Governor: Iowa's Terry Branstad Tough On Crime If It Doesn't Involve His Family - Operation-Nation](http://operation-nation.com/?p=102) \<–shows a side that political schenanigans covered up. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447/10 "2016-07-21T01:07:01Z")
One thing we have to remember, campaign staffs ALWAYS complain that they’re being handcuffed, and their good advice is being ignored. It happens when the candidates lose, and it even happens when the candidates win. Hell, Ross Perot had both Democrats and Republicans working for him, and staffers from both sides got fed up and quit because Perot wouldn’t follow anyone’s advice. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2016, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-trumps-campaign-staff-really-so-incompetent-or-he-he-handcuffing-them/760447/11 "2016-07-21T01:55:42Z")
Trump’s staff won’t say they were handcuffed. In order to work for the campaign they had to sign a contract saying they couldn’t make negative comments about him. Everyone who works for Trump lives under constant threat of lawsuit. It’s no wonder he can’t get anyone good.