# Trump's Republican primary campaign **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 3, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828 "2015-09-03T18:00:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 106
**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:** [February 29, 2016, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2105 "2016-02-29T06:27:58Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > I don’t think he is going to get a huge share of the black vote or anything, especially against Hillary. I’m guessing he has a good shot at getting \>15% though. Yeah, that scare tactic is indeed not very effective. But sure you expect Trump to use it. > [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > He didn’t say he had never heard of him. He said he doesn’t know him. Which he said in order to distance himself from Duke, to counter the insinuations people are making associating them together, rather than come across apologetic. As pointed before, the neo nazi and white genocide guys from tweeter demonstrate the kind of people he likes to associate with, and then there is Joe Arpaio too. > [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > I never looked into this, but it sounds like more forced outrage. Just because he made fun of him once doesn’t mean he remembers him or knows him. Or maybe he did, and played dumb, like every politician before him has probably done at one point or another. That excuse is not going to work, many over here are not dumb. Trump is the one who is or he just loves to have many of his followers fall down on their faces by failing to find reasonable explanations for the crazy things he says and it amuses **him**. And I’m not talking that he is amused by what their opponents find, but by how his followers never get it. He knows who is supporting him. > **[Truth Social Tanks - Digby's Hullabaloo](https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2016/02/qotd-trumpf.html)** > > In case you were wondering how The Great Businessman is doing: https://twitter.com/acnewsitics/status/1838240184061534484 It would appear that now that the lock out period is over, Trump or other big stock holders are dumping stock. Too bad about the... > [@](#): > > Yes, Gawker baited him into retweeting Mussolini. And he eagerly took the bait. > > Apparently Trump didn’t study any history after he finished his Classic Comics series on “medieval times.” ---
**Author:** ![emcee2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emcee2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emcee2k)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2106 "2016-02-29T06:32:35Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > The way it was phrased in the clip I watched, he was asked to condemn not just the KKK, but an unelaborated number of groups that the ADL had labeled white supremacists. He refused to condemn all of them without seeing a list and checking out the groups, which is defensible. In the clip I watched this “unelaborated number of groups” was mentioned only once. It was mentioned after Trump already refused to condemn David Duke by feigning ignorance (mentioning him by name, so there’s no doubt he knew exactly who he was talking about). And when Trump switched to talking about those other groups, Tapper specifically said “I’m just talking about David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan here”. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2107 "2016-02-29T06:39:05Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > [Azlealia Banks endorses Trump](http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/6859504/azealia-banks-donald-trump): My first thought was “Who the fuck is Azlealia Banks?” I clicked your link and read what appeared to be the rantings of a young idiot. I saw on the photo caption that she performed at Coachella last year. So now I know that much about her and I’m thinking “Who the fuck cares what Azlealia Banks thinks? She’s kind of an idiot.” ---
**Author:** ![DerekMichaels00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f14d63/32.png) [@DerekMichaels00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DerekMichaels00)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2108 "2016-02-29T09:03:33Z")
[see my prediction](http://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1498/25002459239_23e2234305_b.jpg) for the rest of the primary (assuming Rubio stays around till the end) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2109 "2016-02-29T09:58:42Z")
No idea who Banks is either, but the “I want a President who will take on big business therefore I’m voting for the big businessman” argument has a few obvious flaws in it… ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2110 "2016-02-29T11:10:40Z")
Trump showcased one of his political weaknesses on _Meet the Press_ yesterday. When Chuck Todd kind of subtly needled him about not knowing the origin of a famous quote by Mussolini, typically insecure Trump couldn’t handle any implication that he was not knowledgeable about history, so he insisted that sure, of course he knew it was a Mussolini quote, but he just thought it was interesting and worth sending out there. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2111 "2016-02-29T11:54:48Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > No idea who Banks is either, but the “I want a President who will take on big business therefore I’m voting for the big businessman” argument has a few obvious flaws in it… it’s more plausible than Hillary Clinton dealing harshly with her son in law on Wall Street. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2112 "2016-02-29T12:24:26Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Trump showcased one of his political weaknesses on _Meet the Press_ yesterday. When Chuck Todd kind of subtly needled him about not knowing the origin of a famous quote by Mussolini, typically insecure Trump couldn’t handle any implication that he was not knowledgeable about history, so he insisted that sure, of course he knew it was a Mussolini quote, but he just thought it was interesting and worth sending out there. That may be, Slacker, but the man drew (according to reports) about 3-4 times the crowd Rubio did (if you see claims for 30,000+, that is a fantasy; I know that stadium and it wouldn’t hold that many–but 10,000-12,000, yes it can). And he got an endorsement from Sessions, an Alabama Senator, so Meet the Press or not, I’m betting on him sweeping through Alabama. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2113 "2016-02-29T12:39:50Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > There is no reason an asshole can’t be elected president. But an asshole shouldn’t be elected president. Right? > [@](#): > > Anyway, he didn’t accept the endorsement, they were talking about groups labeled white supremacist by the ADL, and Trump said he didn’t know anything about the groups, and thus couldn’t condemn them. So either Trump is so fucking stupid and ignorant that he doesn’t even know these groups and their history, or he’s lying for political gain so as not to piss off racists. Either way is unforgivable. > [@](#): > > The important aspect is that he didn’t apologize _on demand_, Bullshit. He wasn’t asked to apologize for anything, he was asked to repudiate racists. ---
**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:** [February 29, 2016, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2114 "2016-02-29T12:46:42Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I wouldn’t dismiss the power of that though. What happened to society when moral scolds ran wild, trying to censor dirty movies and books? We’re seeing the same thing happen now to the modern moral scolds. Yes, because condemning white supremacy groups is like censoring dirty books. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2115 "2016-02-29T13:29:51Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > it’s more plausible than Hillary Clinton dealing harshly with her son in law on Wall Street. How does that follow? With Clinton, the conflict of interest is with her son-in-law. With Trump, the conflict of interest is with _himself_. And in between you’ve got Ted Cruz and his Goldman Sachs investment manager wife. I realize that your internal narrative requires you to spin Hillary as the worstest person ever but by this metric she’s \*maybe \*third from the bottom. I don’t think Hillary is going to “take on” Wall Street for a hot second but compared to Donald Trump she looks like Bernie Sanders. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2116 "2016-02-29T13:43:09Z")
> [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > That may be, Slacker, but the man drew (according to reports) about 3-4 times the crowd Rubio did (if you see claims for 30,000+, that is a fantasy; I know that stadium and it wouldn’t hold that many–but 10,000-12,000, yes it can). And he got an endorsement from Sessions, an Alabama Senator, so Meet the Press or not, I’m betting on him sweeping through Alabama. I’m not saying his campaign is about to collapse. I’m saying it’s another example of how he is vulnerable, and why his appeal will be limited outside of a plurality of the GOP primary electorate. It’s not even just that it leads him to take very questionable positions (“I knew I was quoting Mussolini, I did it on purpose because I like the quote”). It’s because I have a little higher opinion of the general, non-GOP public than many others here do, and I think for most people, Trump reeks of defensive insecurity, which is very unattractive. He’s like [Kristen Wiig’s SNL character Penelope.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX9xNn2f1Go) That this personality characteristic of his, on its own, doesn’t tank his campaign within the GOP is a little surprising and is to that party’s discredit (although to be fair, plenty of people in the GOP establishment roll their eyes at him for exactly this reason). I have no doubt, however, that it will be disqualifying for him among the wider electorate. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2117 "2016-02-29T13:48:41Z")
BTW, I just did some Googling and it appears that no one has \*ever \*commented on Trump’s similarity to Penelope, not online anyway. That’s surprising! ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2118 "2016-02-29T14:36:44Z")
On the latest about not denouncing David Duke and the kkk. Why the heck should he? The kkk has exactly zero influence on todays society, politics, or culture and he isnt wort a fart let alone real words. But lets see who wants to make a big deal of it? ---
**Author:** ![Grsz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grsz11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grsz11)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2119 "2016-02-29T14:36:55Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > There is no reason an asshole can’t be elected president. > > Anyway, he didn’t accept the endorsement, they were talking about groups labeled white supremacist by the ADL, and Trump said he didn’t know anything about the groups, and thus couldn’t condemn them. Your argument that because Donald Trump didn’t have detailed knowledge of certain white supremacist groups, thus he couldn’t condemn them? Are you arguing that white supremacy isn’t prima facie bad? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2120 "2016-02-29T14:41:38Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > On the latest about not denouncing David Duke and the kkk. > > Why the heck should he? The kkk has exactly zero influence on todays society, politics, or culture and he isnt wort a fart let alone real words. But lets see who wants to make a big deal of it? Because they have a monstrous ideology, and a monstrous history of violence against black people and others. Whether the KKK itself has any influence, racism and white supremacy still do (though there are significant disagreements on how much influence) to some degree, and it’s entirely reasonable to expect a candidate to denounce specific prominent white supremacists _when those white supremacists endorse their campaigns_. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2121 "2016-02-29T14:43:22Z")
Doesn’t matter, it’s too late. Trump’s not losing 15 points in two days over a Meet the Press interview. He’s going to blow through the primaries tomorrow and the new-news will be all about how Trump dominated and is the presumptive nominee, not what he said three days earlier on a Sunday news show. This is the same audience that goes into conniptions over a Youtube clip of a black woman saying “Obamaphone”, who wants to build a Muslim database, thinks “Heritage not Hate” is a valid motto for flying the Confederate battle flag and who thinks that we need a 40’ wall to stop murderous rapist Mexican druglords from streaming the border. Thinking that failing to denounce the KKK is going to shed them off Trump is absolutely quaint. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2122 "2016-02-29T14:56:53Z")
But it’s not too late for him to get wiped out in November, by a much \*larger \*group of people who do not go into conniptions over “Obamaphone” et al. Further illustrating what I was talking about upthread in terms of Trump’s insecure, thin-skinned defensiveness is [this segment](https://youtu.be/DnpO_RTSNmQ?t=357) of John Oliver’s takedown of Trump last night. Think about what it says about Trump that nearly thirty years after being called a “short-fingered vulgarian” in one magazine piece, he continues to send the article’s author pictures of himself with his hands circled and notes reading “See, not so short”?!? Good lord. I’m only about a third of the way into that video, but I also love how Trump claims to be “self funding” but has actually raised $7.5 million dollars thanks to a website that has \*two \*“Contribute” buttons on the front page! If he were really as rich as he claims, I’ve got to think he would actually self-fund, just to look all strong and be able to back that smack talk up. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2123 "2016-02-29T14:59:54Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I wouldn’t dismiss the power of that though. What happened to society when moral scolds ran wild, trying to censor dirty movies and books? We’re seeing the same thing happen now to the modern moral scolds. Really? You’re comparing condemning a racist terrorist group to “scolding” over dirty movies? I’ve never heard something more ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/2124 "2016-02-29T15:02:11Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > But it’s not too late for him to get wiped out in November, by a much \*larger \*group of people who do not go into conniptions over “Obamaphone” et al. From your fingers to God’s ears. No defense of Trump intended but I thought his “self-funded” campaign meant that he wasn’t using superPACs. There’s been multiple stories before about how he hasn’t spent any of his own wealth yet, being able to get by on private contributions (and free media advertising). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828.md?page=105) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828.md?page=107)