# 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:** 26
**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 19, 2015, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/501 "2015-11-19T16:30:36Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > He went in to say that the Paris attack showed why the US shouldn’t allow Syrian refugees in. He claimed the Obama administration was going to allow 250,000 Syrian refugees to enter the country. The admin has actually committed to allowing 10,000 refugees over the next fiscal year. > [Donald Trump Says Paris Attacks Would Have Been ‘Much Different’ If People Had Guns - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-paris-attacks-people-guns/story?id=35207857) How fortunate for Trump that facts are irrelevant to Republican primary voters. The attacks came at a marvelous time for Trump. It gives him the opportunity to be bombastic and talk tough and exploit Islamaphobia, yet not have to offer any credible plan of action. It also showcases Carson’s utter ignorance on foreign affairs, even when compared to Trump. Carson’s downward spiral has begun. It’s beginning to look a lot like 2012, but instead of the unRomney clown car spitting up one failure after another, it’s the unTrump clown car. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/502 "2015-11-19T16:34:16Z")
> [@Steve\_MB](#): > > The problem with Trump is that he’s too easily distracted, e.g.: > > [Trump’s Focus on Muslims Distracting Him from Campaign Against Mexicans, Supporters Fear](http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/trumps-focus-on-muslims-distracting-him-from-campaign-against-mexicans-supporters-fear) FYI: For those who might be victims of Poe, this is satire. ---
**Author:** ![John\_D\_Adamo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed8c4c/32.png) [@John\_D\_Adamo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_D_Adamo)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/503 "2015-11-19T21:29:57Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > How fortunate for Trump that facts are irrelevant to Republican primary voters. > > The attacks came at a marvelous time for Trump. It gives him the opportunity to be bombastic and talk tough and exploit Islamaphobia, yet not have to offer any credible plan of action. It also showcases Carson’s utter ignorance on foreign affairs, even when compared to Trump. Carson’s downward spiral has begun. It’s beginning to look a lot like 2012, but instead of the unRomney clown car spitting up one failure after another, it’s the unTrump clown car. Every political instinct bone in my body is saying SOMETHING will take down Trump in favor of Cruz/Rubio. There’s no way he’s the GOP nominee… right? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/504 "2015-11-19T22:58:44Z")
> [@John\_D\_Adamo](#): > > Every political instinct bone in my body is saying SOMETHING will take down Trump in favor of Cruz/Rubio. There’s no way he’s the GOP nominee… right? If he were a legitimate favorite, the Republican Party has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. [Here’s what Nate Silver was saying back in August: “Donald Trump’s Six Stages Of Doom”](http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/donald-trumps-six-stages-of-doom/): > [@](#): > > The lesson, rather, is that Trump’s campaign will fail by one means or another. Like Cain, Bachmann and Gingrich, Buchanan, Huckabee and Forbes came nowhere close to winning the Republican nomination. His thesis is that there are six filters Trump must pass through in order to win the primary, and the GOP mainstream will be working against him every step of the way. Silver pegged his chances at 2%, which is wildly optimistic but proves that even if you’re wildly optimistic about Trump’s chances he still has a Hell of a long road ahead of him and his trip will be markedly different from, and worse than, what Jeb! or Rubio or even Cruz will have to endure. His overall thesis is that the party decides nominees, because the party sets a lot of the rules and the party as a whole decides endorsements, which are essential to winning. Trump has provoked something which is best described by that often-misused term “Fear And Loathing”: He angers Republicans for many of the same reasons he scares the shit out of them, so they’ll do what they can to stop him before he becomes one of the last three or four standing. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/505 "2015-11-19T23:12:44Z")
> [@Gukumatz](#): > > I, for one, would adore being a fly on the wall in a presidential meeting between Putin and Trump. Me, too, but mostly because it sounds like the safest place to be. I do not trust putting two hotheads with nuclear capabilities in a room like that. Though at least that one debate where he let Fiorina stomp him makes me think Trump might have a smidgen of self control. But was that only because he didn’t see her as a threat? ---
**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:** [November 20, 2015, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/506 "2015-11-20T02:07:32Z")
[Trump won’t rule out registry for Muslims](http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-register-track-muslims-396267). Uggh. Any Dopers still want to defend him? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/507 "2015-11-20T02:33:07Z")
Trump said “We need a new President, fast.” Is that a call for the crazies to take out the President? ---
**Author:** ![Donald\_Rump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Donald\_Rump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donald_Rump)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/508 "2015-11-22T17:27:21Z")
So… what’s the most realistic scenario where Trump _isn’t_ the nominee? A raft of new polls have come out since the Paris attacks, all of which show Trump pulling back into a [commanding lead](http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/2016_republican_presidential_nomination-3823.html) of the GOP field. I have long assumed that Trump and Carson would peter out, leaving Cruz to consolidate the anti-establishment vote and likely win the nomination. Carson does, indeed, seem to have peaked. But Trump has benefited the most of any candidate from the renewed focus on ISIS thanks to his tough-sounding bluster and xenophobic demagoguery. Seems like he may be unstoppable at this point unless events once again dramatically shift the political focus of the race. Of course, in the event that there are more terrorist attacks in the West, his lead could grow further still. ---
**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 22, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/509 "2015-11-22T17:36:53Z")
Well, then it is Barry Goldwater 1964 time for the Republicans once again. We have to realize that what the Republicans are running with is really reprehensible, that is no leadership at all, but to give the reigns to fear and prejudice. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/19/yes-the-comparison-between-jewish-and-syrian-refugees-matters/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/11/19/yes-the-comparison-between-jewish-and-syrian-refugees-matters/) > [@](#): > > Earlier this week, WorldViews ran a post that cited a set of polls conducted in the United States in the build-up to World War II. Broadly, they illustrated the extent to which American public opinion was largely against the arrival of refugees from Europe, many of whom were Jews. > [@](#): > > Others were less convinced: Numerous reader e-mails angrily rejected any connection between Jewish refugees and their current Syrian counterparts. In the latter, it was repeatedly argued that (with varying degrees of profanity) Muslims can’t assimilate, represent an evil religion and seek to wreak violence on the West. > > “There was not even a question of Jews fomenting attacks in the United States,” wrote one reader. “Your intent is to pull on the politically correct heartstrings.” > > The point here is that, in the 1930s, there most certainly was a question of Jews “fomenting” some sort of trouble. As WorldViews wrote earlier, a considerable proportion of Americans viewed Jewish refugees with the similar kind of suspicion that’s now on display in social media and from leading Republican politicians, who have issued loud calls to block arrivals of Syrian refugees. > [@](#): > > Nothing puts the U.S. conversation about refugees more in perspective than France’s own insistence – declared by President François Hollande on Wednesday – that it will still take in some 30,000 Syrian refugees over the course of the next two years. In spite of the traumas of the past week, Hollande said, “our country has the duty to respect this commitment.” Even in the darkest days after 911 Bush did not fell for the ideas of the scaredy cats in his party. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/510 "2015-11-22T17:37:13Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > [Trump won’t rule out registry for Muslims](http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-register-track-muslims-396267). Uggh. Any Dopers still want to defend him? Okay, I’ll bite. I’m not a Trump fan, but in this particular case, the idea was proposed by the reporter, Hunter Walker, as a gotcha question, and not by Trump. Trump, that shining example of humanity, did not shoot it down immediately as preposterous, but gave a series of increasingly belligerent non-answers, as is his wont. So this is an idea that Trump did not propose and has not said he supports; he merely refused to condemn it. Of course, he should have condemned it, but the way people have been talking about it you would think it was a central plank in his platform. I can imagine Trump supporting the identification of Muslims (and later there was talk about a registry), but I think it’s all part of the general Republican racist, xenophobic bluster, and not anything specifically Hitlerian on Trump’s part. Still evil, but not the kind of evil some of the news outlets are insinuating. ---
**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 22, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/511 "2015-11-22T18:54:50Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Okay, I’ll bite. I’m not a Trump fan, but in this particular case, the idea was proposed by the reporter, Hunter Walker, as a gotcha question, and not by Trump. Trump, that shining example of humanity, did not shoot it down immediately as preposterous, but gave a series of increasingly belligerent non-answers, as is his wont. So this is an idea that Trump did not propose and has not said he supports; he merely refused to condemn it. > > Of course, he should have condemned it, but the way people have been talking about it you would think it was a central plank in his platform. I can imagine Trump supporting the identification of Muslims (and later there was talk about a registry), but I think it’s all part of the general Republican racist, xenophobic bluster, and not anything specifically Hitlerian on Trump’s part. Still evil, but not the kind of evil some of the news outlets are insinuating. Trump did double down, so much for Trump not being on board with registration, but he is jumping to the dark side with gusto. > **[Donald Trump: I'll bring back waterboarding to stop the Syrian refugee...](https://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/donald-trump-ill-bring-back-waterboarding-to-stop-the-syrian-refugee-trojan-horse/)** > > Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said over the weekend that he would reauthorize the use of enhanced interrogation techniques in order to protect Americans from terrorism. "When the Syrian refugees are going to start pouring into this... > [@](#): > > Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said over the weekend that he would reauthorize the use of enhanced interrogation techniques in order to protect Americans from terrorism. > > “When the Syrian refugees are going to start pouring into this country, we don’t’ know if they’re ISIS, we don’t know if they’re a Trojan Horse,” Trump told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. “I want to see a database and other checks and balances. We want to go with watch lists, we want to go with databases, and we have no choice.” > [@](#): > > “I would bring it back, I think waterboarding is peanuts compared to what they do to us,” he opined. “I would absolutely bring back interrogation and strong interrogation.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/512 "2015-11-22T20:10:42Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Trump did double down, so much for Trump not being on board with registration, but he is jumping to the dark side with gusto. > > [Donald Trump: I'll bring back waterboarding to stop the Syrian refugee 'Trojan Horse'](http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/donald-trump-ill-bring-back-waterboarding-to-stop-the-syrian-refugee-trojan-horse/) Ugh. Well, I guess move the Trump slider a little further toward the evil side. That actually brings up an interesting question: which of the Republican canditates’ campaign personas is the least xenophobic? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/513 "2015-11-22T21:42:39Z")
Trump goes full demagogue: Claims he saw thousands of Arab-Americans cheering in New Jersey on 9/11. This [NYT article](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/us/politics/donald-trump-syrian-muslims-surveillance.html) notes that a search of published news sources at the time uncovers no mention of any such thing. > [@Maggie Haberman](#): > > Perhaps the most striking comment of the day was his recounting of the Sept. 11 attacks as he talked about the security landscape since the Paris massacre: > > “Hey, I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down. And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering. So something’s going on. We’ve got to find out what it is.” > > It was not clear what Mr. Trump was referring to. There were cheers of support in some Middle Eastern countries that day, which were broadcast on television. But a persistent Internet rumor of Muslims celebrating in Paterson, N.J., was discounted by police officials at the time. A search of news accounts from that period shows no reports of mass cheering in Jersey City. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/514 "2015-11-22T21:55:50Z")
> [@Donald\_Rump](#): > > So… what’s the most realistic scenario where Trump _isn’t_ the nominee? The scenario where more of the GOP field has dropped out to the point where 27.5% _isn’t_ considered a commanding lead. I’m looking over Trump’s numbers. The best he’s ever done is 30.5%, and that was back in mid-September. He’s never even come close to 50% on this metric. There’s still more than a dozen contenders in the field. The GOP doesn’t even have to consider its seriously dirty tricks until Trump is polling at 30% with four left standing. For those playing along at home: This is Nate Silver Stage-O-Doom 4: Winnowing. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/515 "2015-11-22T22:02:33Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Trump goes full demagogue: Claims he saw thousands of Arab-Americans cheering in New Jersey on 9/11. This [NYT article](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/us/politics/donald-trump-syrian-muslims-surveillance.html) notes that a search of published news sources at the time uncovers no mention of any such thing. I’m imagining Trump as president. He’ll be at state dinners, and just blurting out things right and left–with no regard for reality–and eventually no one will pay any attention, because he’ll be like your grandmother with dementia, talking about the men who live in her bathroom, making baby shoes all night. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/516 "2015-11-22T22:07:06Z")
Trump shouldn’t just take back his Nazi-ass Muslim database comments - he should end his presidential bid. The fact that he was able to say this, like so much other crap he says, and get away with it shows how deeply corrupted the GOP has become. ---
**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 22, 2015, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/517 "2015-11-22T22:18:41Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I’m imagining Trump as president. He’ll be at state dinners, and just blurting out things right and left–with no regard for reality–and eventually no one will pay any attention, because he’ll be like your grandmother with dementia, talking about the men who live in her bathroom, making baby shoes all night. As Kissinger could tell us, [“the Madman theory”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman_theory) only works if the president only **pretends** to be mad. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/518 "2015-11-22T22:36:32Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > > [@Donald\_Rump](#): > > > > So… what’s the most realistic scenario where Trump _isn’t_ the nominee? > > The scenario where more of the GOP field has dropped out to the point where 27.5% _isn’t_ considered a commanding lead. > > I’m looking over Trump’s numbers. The best he’s ever done is 30.5%, and that was back in mid-September. He’s never even come close to 50% on this metric. > > There’s still more than a dozen contenders in the field. The GOP doesn’t even have to consider its seriously dirty tricks until Trump is polling at 30% with four left standing. > > For those playing along at home: This is Nate Silver Stage-O-Doom 4: Winnowing. And now it looks like The Donald [had his fingers crossed](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-wont-rule-out-independent-run-for-president/ar-BBnj11T?li=BBnbcA1)\* when he pledged to support the eventual GOP nominee. Stocking up on popcorn. \*Apologies for the extraneous crap, MSN was the best link I could find. ---
**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 23, 2015, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/519 "2015-11-23T01:14:58Z")
> [@OttoDaFe](#): > > And now it looks like The Donald [had his fingers crossed](http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-wont-rule-out-independent-run-for-president/ar-BBnj11T?li=BBnbcA1)\* when he pledged to support the eventual GOP nominee… I _knew_ it, and said so at the time. Just saw my first Trump bumper sticker today. I was almost tempted to follow the guy’s car and ask him at the next stop light, “What were you _thinking_?” ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/520 "2015-11-23T02:10:22Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Trump shouldn’t just take back his Nazi-ass Muslim database comments - he should end his presidential bid. > > The fact that he was able to say this, like so much other crap he says, and get away with it shows how deeply corrupted the GOP has become. You don’t think the US intelligence agencies already have lists of people and their viewpoints. Have you seen the size of the NSA’s facilities? That’s just one intelligence agency. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828.md?page=27)