# Trump will be re-elected -- "Americans are a stupid people. We believe whatever we're told." **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 21, 2019, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844 "2019-04-21T09:50:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/81 "2019-04-23T18:31:53Z")
Who knew Easter was an anti christian holiday? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/82 "2019-04-23T18:42:49Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Who knew Easter was an anti christian holiday? I like to think of Easter as the first Furry holiday, what with adults dressing up as bunnies. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/83 "2019-04-23T19:05:04Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Why are people so convinced of Trump’s reelection because “his base will never leave him” when his base has consistently hovered at around 30 percent? That’s not overwhelming approval. Is that 30 per cent of _likely_ voters? The most hardcore voters (on both sides) are more likely to vote. Trump is both uniquely loved (by his supporters) and hated (by his opponents), even more than Clinton and Obama (who also saw similar outbursts of emotion from voters). I imagine a huge turnout from all these fired up people. I was hoping that lots of Republicans would get tired of the incompetence and corruption, but that’s not really happening. Trumpian charisma and dishonesty is so far “trumping” Democratic overreactions. That didn’t help him in the midterms though. The Democrats’ “likely” supporters tend to be younger, and less likely to vote. The Republicans’ “likely” supporters tend to be older, and more likely to vote. The younger Millennials now outnumber the older Baby Boomers, but I suspect more Baby Boomers vote, so right now older voters hold an advantage. Due to the usual effects of old age, this will gradually shift numbers in favor of younger voters. I am not expecting a massive shift in only four years. There will still be a lot of people not connected to the political process at all, who will not vote. ---
**Author:** ![UnwittingAmericans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d9b06d/32.png) [@UnwittingAmericans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UnwittingAmericans)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/84 "2019-04-23T19:20:59Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > The problem is that the two examples you are using are not nearly equivalent, so phrasing it this way is equivocating. McCain defended Obama as a decent man - the criticism of him was that he was Arabic. First, that was a stupid criticism from the crowd that McCain was responding to because being Arabic and being decent are not mutually exclusive. Second, Obama didn’t do anything to call into question his decency so the charge was wholly unfounded. > > Pence on the other hand, is a hateful homophobe. It’s entirely understandable why people would object to Pence being characterized as decent. > > For your example to work, the people underlying the comparison would have to be similar. But they are not, not even close. I disagree with many of Obama’s policy positions, but the guy was pretty awesome as a person. Pence, I probably agree with many of his policy positions, but he’s an asshat. Your attempt at equivocation only works if you raise it to a level so high as to be meaningless. Like, yeah, they’re both humans. But that’s not a useful comparison. I’ve seen that clip probably 50 times, so god help me if I get it wrong but the sequence was this: [ol] [li]Lady gets up, starts going on about how we can’t trust Obama, starts fumbling, “I heard he’s he’s…” finally spits it out “an Arab.”[/li][li]McCain immediately starts shaking his head and starts replying, “No ma’am…no ma’am”[/li][li]So the first thing he does is shoot down the whole birther thing (yes I know that Kenya doesn’t equal Arab)[/li][li]You can see a few people in the audience front rows kind of laughing at the question[/li][li]McCain then goes on to describe Obama as decent, etc.[/li][li]At which point you can hear people booing McCain.[/li][/ol] For Trumpies, that is the origin moment of the hatred of McCain, not his thumbs down vote on Obamacare. Just like for some of them, Hillary’s goes all the way back to the Tammy Wynette comment in 1992. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/85 "2019-04-23T19:25:42Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Why are people so convinced of Trump’s reelection because “his base will never leave him” when his base has consistently hovered at around 30 percent? That’s not overwhelming approval. It’s enough, if 50% of Americans don’t care. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/86 "2019-04-23T19:54:32Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Interesting take. The upside of re-electing thump. > > **There’s a Bigger Prize Than Impeachment > _Keeping Trump in office will destroy the Republican Party_.** > [https://nyti.ms/2W0iAtJ](https://nyti.ms/2W0iAtJ) > > > [@](#): > > > > … Mr. Trump is three years into destroying what we know as the Republican Party. Another two years just might finish it off. Trumpism has become Republicanism, and that spells electoral doom for the party. That article is _not_ calling for Trump’s re-election; it claims that just two more years will doom the GOP. Assuming Trump is their nominee the GOP will be tied to Trumpism in 2020-2021. If the Democrats find _ **a unifying message** _, we can hope that Republican power will fade away. _Six_ more years of Trump? Not only would permanent damage be even more severe than has already occurred, but with gerrymandering, voter suppression, and more partisan judicial appointments there would be risk that the criminals would cement their political power despite increased American awareness. Victory in the 2020 election is crucial; yet it’s a 50-50 coin-toss right now. I may be lambasted for saying so, but America’s best hope for the future is that a severe economic crisis develops next year. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/87 "2019-04-23T21:01:50Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > That article is _not_ calling for Trump’s re-election; it claims that just two more years will doom the GOP. Assuming Trump is their nominee the GOP will be tied to Trumpism in 2020-2021. If the Democrats find _ **a unifying message** _, we can hope that Republican power will fade away. > > _Six_ more years of Trump? Not only would permanent damage be even more severe than has already occurred, but with gerrymandering, voter suppression, and more partisan judicial appointments there would be risk that the criminals would cement their political power despite increased American awareness. > > Victory in the 2020 election is crucial; yet it’s a 50-50 coin-toss right now. I may be lambasted for saying so, but America’s best hope for the future is that a severe economic crisis develops next year. You’re right. I was just hinting at the pony in this room full of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/88 "2019-04-23T22:50:29Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > But they are certainly stupid enough to believe exaggerated retellings over the original words said in context. See “deplorables”. I’ve read the original words in context. They hardly need exaggerating. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2019, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/89 "2019-04-23T23:12:11Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Interesting take. The upside of re-electing thump. > > **There’s a Bigger Prize Than Impeachment > _Keeping Trump in office will destroy the Republican Party_.** > [https://nyti.ms/2W0iAtJ](https://nyti.ms/2W0iAtJ) A lot of pundits predicted that Trump’s nomination in 2016 would destroy the party - not only has it not broken the party, but he has now largely unified it under his banner. What can be said is that a lot of independents are turned off by today’s GOP and find it increasingly difficult to identify with much of it. But that doesn’t mean they’ve become liberalized. If anything, I think it’s a sign that the electorate is capable of splintering into smaller, more tightly-woven factions. Governing by coalitions is going to be harder the longer Trump (or Trump-like creatures) inhabit the White House. People like Trump win by polarizing and by simply ignoring all the rules - not just the conventions of democratic rule by also the laws and the Constitution. Look at what Trump is doing now. “You want my tax returns? Come get them, mother fuckers!” ---
**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:** [April 23, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/90 "2019-04-23T23:21:37Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > And exactly which party would that be? > > Sorry, but neither major party in America is pushing the truth. Trump lies as naturally as breathing but Democrats do themselves a great disservice by jumping on anything and everything. Remember Kavanaugh? Democratic Dopers were freely calling him a rapist when it was manifestly a political put-up job. Trump a Russian agent? Give over. It’s like the boy crying wolf: the people know to ignore it. The old Democrats have thoroughly discredited themselves and thus have squandered their gains; perhaps that’s one reason why newcomers like Buttigieg and Cortez are doing so well? > > Of course, I’ve money on Buttigieg, so I’m biased. There was evidence and eyewitness testimony that suggested rather strongly Kavanaugh had committed acts that, at best, were highly inappropriate and of a sexual nature. There is evidence that the Trump campaign supported Trump’s election, and that Donald Trump knew about it. There is evidence that Trump has dubious financial ties to Russian oligarchs, including Putin. And at any rate, what you’re referring involves no distinction between old and new Democrats. I really don’t know what you’re getting at, honestly. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2019, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/91 "2019-04-23T23:32:14Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > … There is evidence that the Trump campaign supported Trump’s election, and that Donald Trump knew about it. … LOL! One would hope! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/92 "2019-04-24T08:20:20Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > America has one political party which pushes the truth … opposed by a gang of criminals and hypocrites who do nothing but lie. So you favor the Republicans? American politics is subjective. BOTH of the main parties are lying, cheating, incompetent skunks. The only difference is how they promote their brand of lies. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/93 "2019-04-24T09:37:46Z")
> [@MarvinKitFox](#): > > So you favor the Republicans? > > American politics is subjective. BOTH of the main parties are lying, cheating, incompetent skunks. > The only difference is how they promote their brand of lies. I’ve noticed that this “both sides do it” crap is only brought up when the Republicans are being criticized. Why is that, I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/94 "2019-04-24T10:30:09Z")
> [@MarvinKitFox](#): > > So you favor the Republicans? > > American politics is subjective. BOTH of the main parties are lying, cheating, incompetent skunks. > The only difference is how they promote their brand of lies. I don’t expect you to back up your bizarre and incompetent assertion. I do wonder if you’ll divulge what your “news” source(s) are. ---
**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:** [April 24, 2019, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/95 "2019-04-24T11:42:32Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Interesting take. The upside of re-electing thump. > > **There’s a Bigger Prize Than Impeachment > _Keeping Trump in office will destroy the Republican Party_.** > [https://nyti.ms/2W0iAtJ](https://nyti.ms/2W0iAtJ) Going back to this article, I remember that this was what some of the more extreme Bernie Sanders, Jill Stein, and even whacked out Trump supporters believed when they eitehr voted for Trump or simply decided not to vote for Hillary. There was a small but not-so-insignificant group of political nihilists who believed that Trump would tear down the system and that it would be for the long-term good of the country if we could just grin and bear it for 4 years. The problem is, tearing down a system necessarily requires building a new one in its place that can effectively be used as a political framework to create something for the common good. What we might very well be facing after the Trump era finally ends is a federal debt so massive that some form of austerity will have to be implemented to restore some degree of balance and to save things like social security and medicare/medicaid. It could be that even if we elected someone on a medicare-for-all mandate, we simply might not be able to afford it until much, much later. Moreover, by that time, we may have a federal judiciary that is so ideologically conservative that they effectively render progressive reforms unconstitutional and dead on arrival. We may be left with a political system that is ripe for more and more obstruction, which would undermine and discredit progressivism and potentially create a breeding ground for clashes between right and left extremist ideologues. I don’t see us headed to a good place right now. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/96 "2019-04-24T12:26:57Z")
I’ve thought more about this discussion overnight and now I’m not sure that I agree that Trump will ruin the GOP, whether he remains in the White House for two more years or six. Post Trump, Republicans will simply ask American voters to ignore the fact that he was ever president, to forget that they ever went down that road in the first place and instead ramp up their Holy War against the continuing encroachment of “socialism.” Battling progressivism and suppressing democracy will be their righteous causes and, though increasingly outnumbered, there will always be an audience willing to listen. They’ll be far from ruined. The awful tactics used to stack the Supreme Court and a majority in the Senate that Dems may never be able to dislodge will enable them to obstruct progress for many more election cycles. As always, keep an eye on the country’s newest voters. They can’t be stifled forever. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/97 "2019-04-24T13:44:45Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’ve noticed that this “both sides do it” crap is only brought up when the Republicans are being criticized. Why is that, I wonder? Probably because the SDMB leans so far left that there isn’t much criticism of Dems here. What little there is often enough is responded to with “both sides” arguments that I’m a bit surprised you’d try to make an “only” claim. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/98 "2019-04-24T14:13:45Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > Probably because the SDMB leans so far left that there isn’t much criticism of Dems here. What little there is often enough is responded to with “both sides” arguments that I’m a bit surprised you’d try to make an “only” claim. I make the claim because I can’t find any evidence to the contrary, despite your unsubstantiated claim that it happens often. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/99 "2019-04-24T14:15:06Z")
It may well be that a reelected trump will destroy the Republican party. But some of us, at least, are worried about what will happen to America before that happens. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844/100 "2019-04-24T14:16:55Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > It may well be that a reelected trump will destroy the Republican party. But some of us, at least, are worried about what will happen to America before that happens. Same here. Let’s leave that “ends justify the means” crap to the Republicans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-will-be-re-elected-americans-are-a-stupid-people-we-believe-whatever-were-told/832844.md?page=6)