# 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:** 38
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/743 "2015-12-08T06:03:17Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > What, do you think Trump’s idea is something no one has ever tried before? I would be astounded to learn that any mainstream US presidential candidate has ever called for a complete ban on members of a mainstream religion entering the country. Please educate me. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2015, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/744 "2015-12-08T06:03:42Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Maybe, but thats not what he’s calling for: > “[https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/donald-j.-trump-statement-on-preventing-muslim-immigration](https://www.donaldjtrump.com/press-releases/donald-j.-trump-statement-on-preventing-muslim-immigration)” > “Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” > > Guess the UN will have to remove their HQ from New York as well. Not to mention all the Muslims serving overseas in the US military, who Trump would ban from returning to their own country. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/745 "2015-12-08T06:07:47Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > I would be astounded to learn that any mainstream US presidential candidate has ever called for a complete ban on members of a mainstream religion entering the country. Please educate me. Not a religion, but a race, sure. > **[Immigration Act of 1924](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_Act_of_1924)** > > The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the Asian Exclusion Act and National Origins Act (Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 68–139, 43 Stat. 153, enacted May 26, 1924), was a federal law that prevented immigration from Asia and set quotas on the number of immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. It also authorized the creation of the country's first formal border control service, the U.S. Border Patrol, and established a "consular control system" that allowed Enact... ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/746 "2015-12-08T06:22:05Z")
Why stop there? Lets go back to the naturalization act of 1790. Is that when America was great? > **[Naturalization Act of 1790](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalization_Act_of_1790)** > > The Naturalization Act of 1790 (1 Stat. 103, enacted March 26, 1790) was a law of the United States Congress that set the first uniform rules for the granting of United States citizenship by naturalization. The law limited naturalization to "free White person(s) ... of good character", thus excluding Native Americans, indentured servants, enslaved people, free black people, and later Asians, although free black people were allowed citizenship at the state level in many states. The courts also ... ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/747 "2015-12-08T06:27:59Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I think he’s on the up and up. The policy he’s proposed would work, it’s just not very savory. True, but can you imagine anyone successfully functioning as president while hewing to everything Trump is saying he’d do? It would be impossible in my opinion, even if in point of fact everything he’s said might work in theory. Surely he realizes this, and that’s what makes me question his motives and whether he’s on the up and up. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/748 "2015-12-08T06:51:10Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > Why stop there? Lets go back to the naturalization act of 1790. Is that when America was great? > > [Naturalization Act of 1790 - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalization_Act_of_1790) It certainly would not make us great, but it’s not an unheard of policy. It’s been done. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2015, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/749 "2015-12-08T07:02:10Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It certainly would not make us great, but it’s not an unheard of policy. It’s been done. But that act was superseded by The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 that prohibits racial and gender discrimination in naturalization. Point is that I could see an Act made by conservatives in congress and signed by the president made to change that, but I think if that does happen then so much for Trump not being serious about what he is claiming. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/750 "2015-12-08T07:32:20Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > …it’s just not very savory. The nominations for the 2015 SDMB Galactic Understatement of the Year Award are now closed. But the unsavory is just the gravy, a bit of sauce for the stupid. And this does for “stupid” what Godzilla does for “lizard”. “We don’t have enough enemies, I’m gonna manage that, and the enemies we do have don’t hate us enough, I gotta plan for that, you won’t believe how much they gonna hate us, its gonna be huge!”. Maybe he isn’t sincere, maybe he’s just bullshitting for politics. I would think better of him if I thought that were so. Not much better. Some. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/751 "2015-12-08T08:06:34Z")
Liberals love to put a lot of emphasis on “don’t do things that make enemies”, but it’s not very intelligent policymaking in the real world. Is it good for us or is it not good for us? Is it right or wrong? Those two questions come before “will it make us less liked?” Doing the right thing and doing the smart thing will make enemies, assuming you’re doing it right. ---
**Author:** ![T.M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ad7895/32.png) [@T.M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T.M)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/752 "2015-12-08T09:57:24Z")
During the second world war the U.K. imprisoned German civilians living in the U.K. I believe that the U.S.A. also imprisoned Japanese civilians, so we are not looking at anything new. The problem we have is that the present problems are not hosted by a nation but by a religion that has a history of NOT tolerating other religions. Are all Muslims evil NO what the are guilty of is a failure to admit that there is a massive problem within Islam and a complete failure to take positive action against the terrorists known to them. I personally do not like Trump and do not want to see him in any position of power. But we cannot ignore him because in amongst the ranting and raving are grains of truth and these truths need to be addressed. The U.S.A. needs to look outside of her borders and observe what is happening in Europe and Asia, what we are experiencing now you will start to experience in two or three years time. Because Europe has not taken the threat seriously and have been to scared of being called racist we are now starting to see the public swing in support of the right ---
**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:** [December 8, 2015, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/753 "2015-12-08T10:43:11Z")
Trump has morphed from buffoon to carnival barker to troll to unmitigated evil. Take one of Hitler’s speeches, translate to English, and substitute “Muslim” for “Jew” and you’ve got a Trump speech. Goebbels would be proud. The idea that a leading candidate for president from a major party would propose something so morally repugnant and have crowds applauding this filth should make every citizen of the planet fear for their lives. We cannot let the world’s most powerful nation be led by such an evil, disgusting man. If you are not genuinely horrified and appalled by Trump, then YOU are the problem. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/754 "2015-12-08T10:49:08Z")
Yep, but he’s not doing it for no reason. Bet your life his private polling is coming back with white working class concerns for various social ills. And maybe not only. Still a buffoon in anything other than the most extreme parochial terms but is he pulling in the headlines and defining the GOP primary agenda. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2015, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/755 "2015-12-08T12:29:23Z")
> [@T.M](#): > > The problem we have is that the present problems are not hosted by a nation but by a religion that has a history of NOT tolerating other religions. How is that different from Christians who do not tolerate other religions? Hell, some Christians don’t even tolerate other Christians! Trump is so naive he doesn’t even realize he is being manipulated by ISIS. He is doing exactly what they want, advocating a war between Islam and the West. If that happens, the terrorists win. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2015, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/756 "2015-12-08T12:39:10Z")
Not getting it … Almost everybody understands that what Trump is saying now is crazy … unhinged. And it is. Yet the same logic that applies to not letting in refugees applies here even more so and we do not see the same consensus on that. Maybe we should have the FBI head personally sign off on every Muslim visiting our country or living in our country that they are not threats? The risk of a terrorist coming in as a visitor from the EU or elsewhere is greater than one coming in with the refugees. For people fleeing war … we are willing to restrict entry. That makes sense? But tourists? ---
**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:** [December 8, 2015, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/757 "2015-12-08T12:45:29Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Doing the right thing and doing the smart thing will make enemies, assuming you’re doing it right. We certainly found that out when we invaded Iraq. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2015, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/758 "2015-12-08T12:53:17Z")
> [@T.M](#): > > During the second world war the U.K. imprisoned German civilians living in the U.K. I believe that the U.S.A. also imprisoned Japanese civilians, so we are not looking at anything new. And this is now seen as a shameful episode in recent American history, not one we wish to repeat. BTW, Trump didn’t seem to have a problem with this [Muslim immigrant](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rima_Fakih). ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/759 "2015-12-08T12:57:46Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Doing the right thing and doing the smart thing will make enemies, assuming you’re doing it right. This blatantly false, because Geopolitics and worlds economy are not Zero Sum Games: > **[Zero-sum game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-sum_game)** > > Zero-sum game is a mathematical representation in game theory and economic theory of a situation that involves two competing entities, where the result is an advantage for one side and an equivalent loss for the other. In other words, player one's gain is equivalent to player two's loss, with the result that the net improvement in benefit of the game is zero. > If the total gains of the participants are added up, and the total losses are subtracted, they will sum to zero. Thus, cutting a cake, whe... ---
**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:** [December 8, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/760 "2015-12-08T13:48:33Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Liberals love to put a lot of emphasis on “don’t do things that make enemies”, but it’s not very intelligent policymaking in the real world. Is it good for us or is it not good for us? Is it right or wrong? Those two questions come before “will it make us less liked?” Doing the right thing and doing the smart thing will make enemies, assuming you’re doing it right. This seems pretty short sighted in a long view game. Making “friends” _is_ the smart thing to do and in our best interests. Enemies are expensive and unhelpful. ---
**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:** [December 8, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/761 "2015-12-08T13:52:49Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > This is blatantly false and stupid. America is the wealthiest, most affluent, and most prosperous society in human history by so far that it’s off the scale. And we are better off now than we have been in decades. > > We are absolutely, easily able to take in 10 times as many immigrants as we do now with no appreciable harm and to our considerable benefit. If we don’t have our shot together now it’s because we are afflicted by the same kinds of mental and moral deficiencies that we would have to deal with no matter the circumstances. > > We are living in a golden age of America and a golden age of humanity with the most peaceful and prosperous world that humans have ever known, and if you can’t see that, you need better perspective. This point touches on the GD thread questioning Republican sanity but it’s worth noting that conservatives almost universally feel that times in this country (and the world) have never been worse when statistically the exact opposite is true. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828/762 "2015-12-08T14:22:41Z")
**Adahe** r? A clear statement, if you will. Do you support this…bold new initiative, or do you defend it because we condemn it? For instance, do you have any Muslim friends or relatives? What are you going to say to them? I have (briefly) met one, my representative, the Hon. Keith Ellison. You can find him in Washington, D.C., in that building with the high dome. This may have a positive effect on infrastructure, investments and upgrades. For trains, at any rate… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828.md?page=37) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trumps-republican-primary-campaign/729828.md?page=39)