# 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:** 23
**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:** [October 21, 2015, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/441 "2015-10-21T23:14:24Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Biden’s built a pretty successful career around that concept. The difference is that the shit that pops into his head isn’t all that alarming. Which is why I said, Democrats can have both authenticity and reasonableness. There’s no reason to put an obvious phony before the public. And I don’t think it will work this time. > > I think I already predicted that Hillary Clinton will not be President, but if I haven’t, let me say it now: Hillary Clinton will not be President. I don’t think Trump will be either. > > IMO, the next President will be from this group: > > Joe Biden > Bernie Sanders > Martin O’Malley > Ben Carson > John Kasich > Chris Christie > Marco Rubio I think you’re letting your personal distaste for Hillary color your predictions. After she kicks ass and chews bubblegum at her hearing tomorrow, it’ll all be over but the shouting. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/442 "2015-10-22T01:36:38Z")
Look at [the GOP Presidential preference polls for end-of-September 2011](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationwide_opinion_polling_for_the_Republican_Party_2012_presidential_primaries#2011_polls). Herman Cain had 17% in some polls; Sarah Palin had 10% in some; did anyone really think either of them had a chance for the nomination? Similarly, Fred Thompson still had 19% in a poll from early November 2007. Did many think he had a chance for the nomination? And both 2008 and 2012 were elections where smart GOP’ers never liked their chances. They didn’t even want to win in 2008, with the Middle East and the eocnomy both headed for a disaster that could be blamed on whoever was incumbent. But 2016 is the last big chance for the GOP. They’re favorites to win, or almost so, but the demographics are rapidly turning against them for 2020 etc. _They will “pull out all the stops” for 2016._ Given all this, I think it’s totally silly to imagine Trump or Carson has any chance at all. _ **It will be Rubio vs Hillary in November 2016, with Rubio winning handily after his supporters spend half a billion dollars on Benghazigate and Email-boating.** _ (I hope I’m wrong, but “wishes aren’t horses.”) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/443 "2015-10-22T13:32:15Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Look at [the GOP Presidential preference polls for end-of-September 2011](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationwide_opinion_polling_for_the_Republican_Party_2012_presidential_primaries#2011_polls). Herman Cain had 17% in some polls; Sarah Palin had 10% in some; did anyone really think either of them had a chance for the nomination? > > Similarly, Fred Thompson still had 19% in a poll from early November 2007. Did many think he had a chance for the nomination? Actually, there was a time in there when more or less unbiased observers thought Thompson had a decent chance at the nomination. I can’t imagine anybody outside of Herman Cain’s fan club thought that about him. > [@](#): > > Given all this, I think it’s totally silly to imagine Trump or Carson has any chance at all. Given all _what?_ Did Thompson or Cain lead in the polls for three and a half months? Besides, the question isn’t so much whether Trump or Carson can win the nomination. It’s what happens to the GOP nominating process as a result of the followings they’ve developed. And a lot has happened already. Scott Walker’s been squeezed out of the race. Jeb’s on the ropes, looking like the proverbial empty suit. Assuming Trump and Carson eventually fade, who gets their supporters? They aren’t going back to Jeb. Here’s the real problem for Rubio, assuming he rather than Jeb is the ultimate standard-bearer of the GOP Establishment’s hopes. And that’s: who’s going to vote for him that’s not already in his column? If you look at the RCP averages, Rubio and Bush are at 9% and 7% respectively. Another 8-9% is racked up by candidates whose supporters would likely support Rubio over Cruz or Trump: Fiorina, Kasich, Christie, Paul, Graham, Pataki. And another 9% are in the undecided/don’t know zone. When you put them all together, that’s about 39% of the prospective GOP primary vote. So how’s that gonna work? He has to hope the other candidates in his lane, particularly Jeb, either drop out early or fade into insignificance quickly, while Trump, Carson, and Cruz all stay alive in the other lane. Or he’s gotta draw off supporters from the other lane, while vacuuming up all of his, plus the undecideds. I’m not saying he can’t win, but even with the support of party insiders and donors, he’s going to have a tough path there. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz is aiming for the SEC primary at the beginning of March. If he wins big then, bets are he gathers up almost all of Trump’s supporters and a good deal of Carson’s, and is off to the races. Not saying that’ll happen either, but there’s a lot of ways this could break. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/444 "2015-10-22T13:35:09Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I think you’re letting your personal distaste for Hillary color your predictions. After she kicks ass and chews bubblegum at her hearing tomorrow, it’ll all be over but the shouting. If her problem was that people were worried about her debating ability, you’d have a point. Her problem is her honesty, and there’s no easy way to reassure voters on that aspect of your character. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2015, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/445 "2015-10-22T13:45:01Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > If her problem was that people were worried about her debating ability, you’d have a point. Her problem is her honesty, and there’s no easy way to reassure voters on that aspect of your character. And this is based on what, repeating the word “Benghazi” ad nauseum? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/446 "2015-10-22T14:53:39Z")
I have ideas on what it’s based on, but it doesn’t really matter. The public views her as dishonest, and once you’re considered a liar you’re not likely to ever be trusted again. Clinton’s debate performance was good, but didn’t address any weaknesses she had. Voters already think she’s ready to be President. That’s why she wants few debates, they can only hurt her. Her great performance didn’t up her poll numbers at all. It did improve Sanders’ though, despite her victory, thus proving debates are a no-win situation for her. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/447 "2015-10-22T15:03:35Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The public views her as dishonest, and once you’re considered a liar you’re not likely to ever be trusted again. > [@](#): > > Voters already think she’s ready to be President. Well, which is it? 😉 > [@](#): > > Her great performance didn’t up her poll numbers at all. It did improve Sanders’ Wrong again. ---
**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:** [October 22, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/448 "2015-10-22T16:53:07Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I have ideas on what it’s based on, but it doesn’t really matter. The public views her as dishonest, and once you’re considered a liar you’re not likely to ever be trusted again. > > Clinton’s debate performance was good, but didn’t address any weaknesses she had. Voters already think she’s ready to be President. That’s why she wants few debates, they can only hurt her. Her great performance didn’t up her poll numbers at all. It did improve Sanders’ though, despite her victory, thus proving debates are a no-win situation for her. Nate Silver’s team [says](http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/hillary-clinton-got-the-biggest-post-debate-polling-bounce/) that Hillary got the post-debate bounce, not Sanders. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/449 "2015-10-22T18:05:33Z")
CNN said otherwise, but that’s because their poll did in fact say that. But the other four said the opposite, so I’ll agree with Silver’s team on that one. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/450 "2015-10-23T16:24:42Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Her great performance didn’t up her poll numbers at all. It did improve Sanders’ though, despite her victory, thus proving debates are a no-win situation for her. If you take the _average_ of the four polls in the RCP average taken since the debate, her support is 49% and her lead is 23.5%. Not one single poll in the RCP average taken between the beginning of September and the first debate gives her either that much support, or that big a lead. IOW, her post-debate _average_ exceeds her pre-debate _maximum_ with respect to both her support and her lead. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/451 "2015-10-23T17:36:49Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I have ideas on what it’s based on, but it doesn’t really matter. The public views her as dishonest, and once you’re considered a liar you’re not likely to ever be trusted again. … The public views politicians as dishonest and the longer someone has been in politics the more dishonest they are going to be judged. No question that the tactic played, trying to build on that perception, was the politically smart game to play for the GOP. But between a bad bounce of the ball (Sanders’ “sick of your damned e-mails”) and poor execution (the stupid public admission it was a politically motivated exercise, the lack of actually having anything to tie on her, and horrible prosecution during the hearing) they have lost their main chance to exploit that potential weakness. The interesting thing will be to follow the poll results on the honesty question and compare the numbers before the hearing and those that are taken from this point onward. Meanwhile this is a Trump thread. How honest and trustworthy is Trump perceived by all likely voters? Best I can find is back in July and they both had the same ratings. Dang. An outsider should be high! He hasn’t even had his flip flopping statements really called to account yet! Trump as a general candidate won’t beat Hillary as the more honest alternative. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/452 "2015-10-23T20:12:38Z")
My skepticism of polls right now duly stated there is [these Iowa results](http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/iowa/release-detail?ReleaseID=2291) to note: “Trump tops the ‘no way’ list as 30 percent of Iowa likely Republican Caucus participants say they ‘would definitely not support’ him for the GOP nomination.” Hard to win a nomination with that and hard to imagine great turnout when that much of the base cannot see supporting you. 45% of likely GOP Iowa caucus voters now view him as not honest or trustworthy. (Compare to 8% for Carson, 32% for Bush, 15% Rubio … and from slightly older [Iowa polling on the Democratic side](http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/iowa/release-detail?ReleaseID=2277), 30% Clinton, and 4% Sanders). If the candidate most viewed as honest is the one most likely to win then this should be a Carson-Sanders battle, with Sanders winning. 🙂 ---
**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:** [October 28, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/453 "2015-10-28T20:47:12Z")
My “Boy, Do You Have Balls” award for today goes to Rand Paul for suggesting that Trump’s decline in poll numbers means that Trump should drop out of the race. Ok, let’s get this straight – Trump’s numbers have dropped from roughly the high 20s or low 30s to sort of the mid 20s. In other words, maybe Trump has lost about 6 percentage points. Attention Rand Paul: you don’t poll better than 6 percentage points. You’re telling a guy with four times more supporters than you that he should drop out because he no longer has five times the support that you do. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/454 "2015-11-05T20:03:51Z")
Carson and Trump have both been approved for Secret Service protection: [http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/05/politics/donald-trump-ben-carson-secret-service/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/05/politics/donald-trump-ben-carson-secret-service/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/455 "2015-11-12T19:53:48Z")
[Trump plays a race card - but loses.](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/organizers-seat-woman-behind-trump-because-shes-black-so-she-silently-protests-by-reading-her-book/) > [@](#): > > Johari Osayi Idusuyi, a student at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, said she brought a copy of “Citizen,” an award-winning book on everyday racism by Claudia Rankine, to a rally near her home, reported WICS-TV. > > “I’m genuinely not interested in him as a person, but if you have the chance to see a presidential candidate, why not?” Idusuyi said. > > She and some friends ended up with a spot directly behind the Republican candidate after seeing an open seat and being invited into the VIP section by a campaign staffer. So how did they handle being tokenized? > [@](#): > > Idusuyi insisted she went into the rally with an open mind, but she took out her book and began reading after Trump demanded the removal of some protesters, and she said supporters cheered after a supporter removed a woman’s Obama hat and tossed it into the crowd. > … > > “The woman kept saying, ‘If you don’t want to be here then leave. You didn’t even stand for the Pledge of Allegiance,’” Idusuyi said. “I said, ‘I do want to be here, that’s why I’m here. You don’t know who I am. I’m reading my book because I’m uninterested. Did you not just see what happened? This person disrespects women, minorities, everybody and you’re still supporting him. He’s not saying anything of substance.’” ---
**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:** [November 13, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/456 "2015-11-13T04:15:34Z")
I like Ike less now. And Trump keeps on playing the race and culture cards. > **[It Came Up In The Debate: Here Are 3 Things To Know About 'Operation Wetback'](https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/11/455613993/it-came-up-in-the-debate-here-are-3-things-to-know-about-operation-wetback)** > > Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump pointed to the Eisenhower-era program that deported masses of Latino immigrants. But the program was deadly and controversial. > [@](#): > > It Came Up In The Debate: Here Are 3 Things To Know About ‘Operation Wetback’ > [@](#): > > But as mass deportations took place, Gutierrez writes, Mexican-Americans began to realize that this issue was also about them. > > “Not even the most politically conservative Mexican American organizations could ignore the fact that [immigration] dragnets not only were affecting putative illegal aliens but also were devastating Mexican American families, disrupting businesses in Mexican neighborhoods, and fanning interethnic animosities throughout the border region,” he writes. > > By 1954, Gutierrez recounts, LULAC’s news publication was running more-sympathetic stories that described those who had been deported arriving in Mexico as “broken men, with strength spent and exhausted by the senseless struggles of a life revolving around slavish, ill-paid labor, and the degradation of jail and prison cells.” > > 1. The program proved deadly > > In her book Impossible Subjects, Mae Ngai writes that many Mexicans were deported by ship. A congressional investigation, according to the book, compared the conditions on the ship to that of an “eighteenth century slave ship.” > > In another case, immigration authorities dumped hundreds of thousands of braceros across the border. She continues: > > > [@](#): > > > > ``` > > "Some 88 braceros died of sun stroke as a result of a round-up that had taken place in 112-degree heat, and [an American labor official] argued that more would have died had Red Cross not intervened. At the other end of the border, in Nuevo Laredo, a Mexican labor leader reported that 'wetbacks' were 'brought [into Mexico] like cows' on trucks and unloaded fifteen miles down the highway from the border, in the desert." > > > > ``` > > Citing immigration documents, [FactCheck.org](http://FactCheck.org) reports that Operation Wetback lasted a few months. Officials stopped shipping out Mexicans after “some drownings caused a public outcry in Mexico.” > > By the fall of 1954, funding for the program had begun to run dry, FactCheck says. The government called the operation a success and said the border had “been secured.” Knowing that Ike also liked to see coups (mostly done to support corporations) in Latin America, I do think that the same kind of gangster solutions are being considered by Trump and his fellow travelers. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/457 "2015-11-13T11:03:25Z")
Maybe [this](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/11/12/donald-trump-delivers-95-minute-rant-on-everything-thats-wrong-in-this-race/) is the beginning of the end for Trump: > [@](#): > > FORT DODGE, Iowa – For an hour and 35 minutes, Republican front-runner Donald Trump vented about everything that’s wrong with this country and this election. > > He said he would “bomb the s—” out of areas controlled by the Islamic State that are rich with oil and claimed to know more about the terrorist group than U.S. military generals. He ranted about how everyone else is wrong on illegal immigration and how even the “geniuses at Harvard” have now backed his way of thinking. He accused Hillary Rodham Clinton of playing the “woman’s card,” and said Marco Rubio is “weak like a baby.” He signed a book for an audience member and then threw it off the stage. He forgot to take questions like he promised. And he spent more than 10 minutes angrily attacking his chief rival, Ben Carson, at one point calling him “pathological, damaged.” > [@](#): > > an hour and 20 minutes into the speech, people who were standing on risers on the stage behind Trump sat down. The applause came less often and less loud. As Trump skewered Carson in deeply personal language, a sense of discomfort settled on the crowd of roughly 1,500. Several people shook their heads or whispered to their neighbors. > [@](#): > > Trump said he doesn’t believe Carson is telling the truth [about the incident where Carson’s alleged attempt to stab a friend was blocked by the friend’s belt buckle] and questioned how a belt buckle could stop a blade. He stepped away from the podium and acted out how he imagined such an attack would happen, with his own belt buckle flopping around. He asked if anyone in the audience had a knife to try out his theory. > [@](#): > > And yet Carson is doing well in the polls, Trump said in disbelief. > > “How stupid are the people of Iowa?” Trump said. “How stupid are the people of the country to believe this crap?” Dayum. ---
**Author:** ![dude77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@dude77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude77)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/458 "2015-11-13T14:20:30Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Maybe [this](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/11/12/donald-trump-delivers-95-minute-rant-on-everything-thats-wrong-in-this-race/) is the beginning of the end for Trump: > > Dayum. beginning of the end over what ? hurt feelings ? lol … this is exactly trump’s appeal … he doesn’t give a s== and says what’s on his mind … short of saying he rapes babies, his support won’t go down … the only way I see them going down is through a massive propaganda attack on both of them which is obviously possible ---
**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:** [November 13, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/459 "2015-11-13T14:40:33Z")
I have to admit Trump’s campaign is brilliant. His signature issue, immigration, resonates perfectly with the Republican base. You don’t have to talk sense, you don’t have to propose workable policies, all you need to do is awaken that latent racism in the base and they eat it up like manna from heaven. The rest of the field has been dancing to his tune ever since he first vaulted to the top. Now he’s taken aim at that professional autobiographer, Ben Carson. You might think that isn’t too smart, considering Carson’s popularity. But I think Trump is one step ahead, he can see that Carson’s luster is going to evaporate very quickly and that he is going to wilt in the spotlight. As these base voters abandon Carson, they just might gravitate to the one that opened up their eyes, Trump. I see Trump as taking a calculated risk and that when more and more about Carson is known, the base voters will leave in droves. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/460 "2015-11-13T16:03:31Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I have to admit Trump’s campaign is brilliant. His signature issue, immigration, resonates perfectly with the Republican base. You don’t have to talk sense, you don’t have to propose workable policies, all you need to do is awaken that latent racism in the base and they eat it up like manna from heaven. The rest of the field has been dancing to his tune ever since he first vaulted to the top. > > Now he’s taken aim at that professional autobiographer, Ben Carson. You might think that isn’t too smart, considering Carson’s popularity. But I think Trump is one step ahead, he can see that Carson’s luster is going to evaporate very quickly and that he is going to wilt in the spotlight. As these base voters abandon Carson, they just might gravitate to the one that opened up their eyes, Trump. I see Trump as taking a calculated risk and that when more and more about Carson is known, the base voters will leave in droves. I don’t know. I think the novelty is wearing off a bit on Trump and his poll numbers are going down. And Trump is not someone who can patiently wait for his poll numbers to go up, or learn from why people are going to Carson and change his tactics so get people to come back. He’s flailing, and will start flailing more. From the Washington Post article about his speech: > [@](#): > > At first, the audience was quick to laugh at Trump’s sharp insults and applaud his calls to better care for veterans, replace the Affordable Care Act and construct a wall along the Mexican border. But as the speech dragged on, the applause came less often and grew softer. As Trump attacked Carson using deeply personal language, the audience grew quiet, a few shaking their heads. A man sitting in the back of the auditorium loudly gasped. > > \ > > Trump’s tear started hours before the rally. On Twitter, he slammed Carson, “dopey Karl Rove” and the Wall Street Journal editorial board. In a CNN interview, Trump accused Rubio of supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the country simply because he’s Hispanic. A few of Trump’s fans learned about the rally speech on Twitter and accused reporters of fabricating the quotes and tweeting them out in unison. Video later posted online showed that Trump indeed had said these things. I tried to find some disbelieving tweets from Trump supporters, but couldn’t find them since so many people tweet about Trump, and most of it is making fun of him. But I can understand, because if I saw a tweet about Trump asking people to stab him, or that he compared Carson to a child molester I would guess it was made up. It does appear that Trump has some consistently enthusiastic supporters: [White Supremacists Are Thrilled Donald Trump Mentioned “Operation Wetback”](http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/white-supremacists-are-thrilled-donald-trump-mentioned-opera#.laBj7dmMEk) > [@](#): > > After Trump mentioned the policy, called “Operation Wetback,” at Tuesday night’s Republican presidential debate, Richard B. Spencer, the president of the white nationalist National Policy Institute, tweeted, “Operation Wetback, fuck yeah!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828.md?page=24)