# Trump: Peace Candidate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 11, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611 "2016-03-11T02:31:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/222 "2017-04-19T09:47:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Have you considered that maybe it’s your problem and not democracy’s? Most of the voters saw through Trump and voted against him. > > When your political beliefs leads you to a place where you didn’t want to be, you should stop and re-examine those beliefs. You should consider the possibility those beliefs don’t work in the real world. Again, I voted against Trump as well. In any case, the person they voted for holds the same position Trump has defaulted to. If they had voted for Clinton, they would have gotten an escalation in Syria as well. Somehow the irony of your second paragraph has eluded you. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/223 "2017-04-19T09:49:35Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > You are correct of course, but this would call for thoughtful self-analysis, which is a quality that is all too often lacking. > > It would seem that many people are loathe to admit ANY mistake, to the point where they will start off saying that their candidate is “the peace candidate”, and then never deviate from this, even when this candidate drops bombs on multiple countries, and leads us closer to nuclear annihilation than we’ve been for years. > > It would seem that rather than say those three little words (“I was wrong”), they would rather go for the tried and true “I’m right and you’re an idiot”. Indeed. See Obama supporters’ hardcore willful ignorance of his mass killings. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/224 "2017-04-19T16:14:08Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Again, I voted against Trump as well. In any case, the person they voted for holds the same position Trump has defaulted to. If they had voted for Clinton, they would have gotten an escalation in Syria as well. > > Somehow the irony of your second paragraph has eluded you. No, I find my political assessments of presidential candidates are usually borne out by their performance. I thought Ronald Reagan was a nice guy who lacked substance behind his surface charisma and he wouldn’t be able to control his administration. I thought George Bush was a political insider who had experience in government but lacked charisma and vision so he would be seen as a poor follow-up to Reagan and have problems in office. I thought Bill Clinton would be a capable political operator whose moral flaws were confined to his personal life. I thought George W. Bush lacked wisdom and wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between good decisions and bad decisions. I thought Barack Obama was a nice guy who was intelligent but lacked the ruthlessness a president needs. I won’t pronounce a final assessment on Donald Trump yet because he’s only starting out his term. But so far, he’s been within my expectations. I certainly didn’t make the mistake of thinking Trump was the peace candidate. Clinton might have fought a war during her presidency but she would have only started a war if she had an intelligent reason for doing it. Trump, as many of us anticipated, doesn’t let a lack of intelligent reasons hold him back. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/225 "2017-04-19T17:20:55Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Indeed. See Obama supporters’ hardcore willful ignorance of his mass killings. And how come nobody ever talks about how Obama shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die? But I think we were talking in this thread about how Trump was the “peace candidate”, but now that he is the “bomb countries and threaten nuclear war” president, it’s all OK. Because reasons. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/226 "2017-04-19T20:44:16Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No, I find my political assessments of presidential candidates are usually borne out by their performance. > > I thought Ronald Reagan was a nice guy who lacked substance behind his surface charisma and he wouldn’t be able to control his administration. > > I thought George Bush was a political insider who had experience in government but lacked charisma and vision so he would be seen as a poor follow-up to Reagan and have problems in office. > > I thought Bill Clinton would be a capable political operator whose moral flaws were confined to his personal life. > > I thought George W. Bush lacked wisdom and wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between good decisions and bad decisions. > > I thought Barack Obama was a nice guy who was intelligent but lacked the ruthlessness a president needs. > > I won’t pronounce a final assessment on Donald Trump yet because he’s only starting out his term. But so far, he’s been within my expectations. > > I certainly didn’t make the mistake of thinking Trump was the peace candidate. Clinton might have fought a war during her presidency but she would have only started a war if she had an intelligent reason for doing it. Trump, as many of us anticipated, doesn’t let a lack of intelligent reasons hold him back. Given a second chance, the irony remains elusive to you. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/227 "2017-04-19T20:47:30Z")
Maybe you’re too hip for the room? ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/228 "2017-04-19T20:55:01Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > And how come nobody ever talks about how Obama shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die? > > But I think we were talking in this thread about how Trump was the “peace candidate”, but now that he is the “bomb countries and threaten nuclear war” president, it’s all OK. Because reasons. And Obama was considered the peace candidate yet he became the “drone bomb anyone who moves president” and “destabilize regions president”. It’s ok because Reasons. Apparently you don’t understand what I thought was obvious. That is “peace candidates” are _candidates_. The fact that Trump was the peace candidate was pretty obvious. Indeed the chief complaint in regards to foreign policy during his candidacy was that he was unlikely to antagonize the evil Putin. Warmongers from Bill Kristol to the hawks in this thread were very afraid that he would not start enough wars for them. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/229 "2017-04-19T21:27:13Z")
Oooooh! You meant Trump would be the peace candidate, not the peace president! Of course! That’s why you posted this so many months ago: > [@](#): > > How will you feel about voting for a warmonger when a viable alternative exists that would kill less innocent people? Does peace matter to you this election? You clearly meant Trump would kill fewer people _as a candidate_ than Obama was doing _as President_! How silly of us to misunderstand your point. Although, if we’re just comparing candidates, recent lawsuits seem to indicate that Trump was a less peaceful candidate than Clinton, considering how many people left Trump’s rallies after being roughed up at his direction. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2017, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/230 "2017-04-19T21:47:55Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Oooooh! You meant Trump would be the peace candidate, not the peace president! Of course! That’s why you posted this so many months ago: > > You clearly meant Trump would kill fewer people _as a candidate_ than Obama was doing _as President_! > > How silly of us to misunderstand your point. Although, if we’re just comparing candidates, recent lawsuits seem to indicate that Trump was a less peaceful candidate than Clinton, considering how many people left Trump’s rallies after being roughed up at his direction. I am comparing the record of Peace-Candidate-turned-president Obama with Peace-Candidate-turned-president Trump. I’m noticing a similarity. Others are seeing Peace-candidate-turned-president Trump drop bombs and so are trying to deny that he existed as the Peace Candidate. I do not deny that Obama existed as the Peace Candidate even though he dropped many bombs. That would be silly. I think others are being silly. Or, gasp, partisan. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/231 "2017-04-20T00:42:06Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Given a second chance, the irony remains elusive to you. Cut me some slack, Will. When you start posting about politics, it’s really hard to separate the parts where you’re intentionally being ironic from the parts that would be ironic if anyone else posted them but you intended seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/232 "2017-04-20T01:54:31Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Again, I voted against Trump as well. In any case, the person they voted for holds the same position Trump has defaulted to. If they had voted for Clinton, they would have gotten an escalation in Syria as well. Given how well your prediction of Trump as a “peace candidate” worked out, why should anyone give any attention at all to your predictions of what Hillary would have done? ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611/233 "2017-04-20T21:19:57Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Given how well your prediction of Trump as a “peace candidate” worked out, why should anyone give any attention at all to your predictions of what Hillary would have done? It wasn’t a prediction. He was the peace candidate. Like Obama, Trump was the “peace candidate”, and like Obama, he has been a “war president”. “War candidates” do not go on to be “peace presidents”, so it’s pretty easy to assume Clinton would have escalated in Syria. She criticized Obama for not escalating enough, promised to escalate as a candidate, and has approved of Trump’s escalations. I also predicted fairly early on that there was no way Clinton was going to become president. Who did you predict was going to win? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-peace-candidate/748611.md?page=11)