Trump's Republican primary campaign

[PhillyGuy]

@JohnT

Is this the first time the Trump campaign “clarified” one of his statements? It’s been my view that he is his campaign and his top people just react to what Donald wants *now * and don’t provide any real, meaningful advice.

Or the advice is: Cruz is gaining on you in Wisconsin. You need, once more, to make voters focus on you so they’ll forget about him.

@JohnT

I can’t wait for the books to be written about this campaign.

Me too.

Is Trump partly sincere, or is he a complete con artist who couldn’t care less about immigration, trade, Muslims, or the future of the United States? Is he foolish enough to think he can actually increase the GDP, or is he just running so he can redecorate the White House and upgrade his 757 to an Air Force One 747? I’m am totally on the fence here and would like to see what a well-reviewed campaign history will say.

[BrainGlutton]

@PhillyGuy

Is Trump partly sincere, or is he a complete con artist who couldn’t care less about immigration, trade, Muslims, or the future of the United States? Is he foolish enough to think he can actually increase the GDP, or is he just running so he can redecorate the White House and upgrade his 757 to an Air Force One 747? I’m am totally on the fence here and would like to see what a well-reviewed campaign history will say.

Somewhere in between, is my guess.

[SlackerInc]

I agree, somewhere in between.

@Siam_Sam

It most certainly does. First paragraph: “Donald Trump scrambled to clarify his position on abortion and put out a firestorm of criticism Wednesday after he initially said women who obtain abortions should be punished.”

Then he backpedaled to say no, this is what I meant, blah, blah, blah. But he obviously let his true feelings show in his initial knee-jerk comment.

Oops, sorry–I must have read it too fast. I think I missed one line, bolded below:

“There has to be some form of punishment,” Trump said during a televised town hall event.
“For the woman?” Matthews asked, to which Trump replied, “Yes.”

I thought he had just said “some form of punishment” and people were jumping to conclusions. My bad.

JohnT, good point: I don’t recall any previous backpedalling.

@BrainGlutton

I recall an episode of Ally McBeal where a guy’s company orders him to trim his ridiculous fools-nobody combover if he wants to keep his job, as it makes him look dishonest to the clients. He keeps protesting, “But it’s all my own hair!” And so it is – but when he loses the case and has to trim it, we see it’s a couple of feet of hair growing out of one little patch on his scalp and wound round and round.

Heh, I remember liking that show at first but stopped watching after a season or two. I must have missed that one. Is there a YouTube clip of that last part?

[running_coach]

@SlackerInc

Heh, I remember liking that show at first but stopped watching after a season or two. I must have missed that one. Is there a YouTube clip of that last part?

Here’s the whole episode on Youtube (S2E18 "Those Lips,That Hand)
I have no idea where the part you want is.

[BrainGlutton]

@running_coach

Here’s the whole episode on Youtube (S2E18 "Those Lips,That Hand)
I have no idea where the part you want is.

'Twould be near the end.

[BrainGlutton]

@running_coach

Here’s the whole episode on Youtube (S2E18 "Those Lips,That Hand)
I have no idea where the part you want is.

Go to the 30-minute mark.

[Johnny_Ace]

@PhillyGuy

Is Trump partly sincere, or is he a complete con artist who couldn’t care less about immigration, trade, Muslims, or the future of the United States? Is he foolish enough to think he can actually increase the GDP, or is he just running so he can redecorate the White House and upgrade his 757 to an Air Force One 747? I’m am totally on the fence here and would like to see what a well-reviewed campaign history will say.

Wait for the book. Somebody will write one, might even be Lewandowski.

My take, though, is that he’s an egomaniac just in it for the attention, and the further he goes the more attention he gets.

[Fear_Itself]

One positive thing that comes from Trump’s grandstanding has been some really sparkling prose descriptions. Today, an Associated Press writer characterized Trump as a “Stygian homunculus”, which made me giggle.

[BrainGlutton]

@Johnny_Ace

Wait for the book. Somebody will write one, might even be Lewandowski.

My take, though, is that he’s an egomaniac just in it for the attention, and the further he goes the more attention he gets.

So, what would he actually do as president? Which is a still unlikely but now very real possibility.

[Johnny_Ace]

@BrainGlutton

So, what would he actually do as president? Which is a still unlikely but now very real possibility.

Unlikely is an understatement. But as to your question, nobody knows. Well, aside from effing up every possible relationship with our allies. I can just see a bunch of people from State running around to foreign diplomats saying, “No, that’s not really what he meant. Be calm.”

And making kneejerk decisions that have nothing to do with political reality, or for that matter any other kind of reality other than that According To Donald.

[Trinopus]

@BrainGlutton

So, what would he actually do as president? Which is a still unlikely but now very real possibility.

My prediction is that, once he gets brushed back by Congress and the courts, he stomps out in a petty tantrum. He’s got less staying power than Sarah Palin.

[bengangmo]

If by some miracle he does get through and get elected - how likely is it that he is impeached?

[BrainGlutton]

@bengangmo

If by some miracle he does get through and get elected - how likely is it that he is impeached?

We can predict that Congress will always be hot to impeach him, but not that he’ll commit any actual crimes in office. Oh, what am I saying, of course he will, from Day One.

[Maastricht]

http://www.xojane.com/issues/stephanie-cegielski-donald-trump-campaign-defector . Here’s I an inside view from a strategic advisor from the Trump camp, who has lost faith in him, and now says don’t vote Trump.

[bengangmo]

@BrainGlutton

We can predict that Congress will always be hot to impeach him, but not that he’ll commit any actual crimes in office. Oh, what am I saying, of course he will, from Day One.

But he doesn’t have to does he?
From previous discussions I thought that the standard was “whatever Congress wants to make it?”

[SlackerInc]

@BrainGlutton

Go to the 30-minute mark.

Heh, pretty funny. Scrolling through it, though, I would say the 20 minute mark is better.

@Johnny_Ace

Unlikely is an understatement. But as to your question, nobody knows. Well, aside from effing up every possible relationship with our allies. I can just see a bunch of people from State running around to foreign diplomats saying, “No, that’s not really what he meant. Be calm.”

And making kneejerk decisions that have nothing to do with political reality, or for that matter any other kind of reality other than that According To Donald.

That is certainly the CW. But I have a sneaking suspicion, not that this will ever be tested, that he would surprise us by being a lot more boring as president then he is as a candidate. There are a lot of people who say that behind the scenes, he’s just sort of a typical New York businessman type. I mean, he doesn’t apparently go down to his Florida resorts and suddenly demand on a whim that they dynamite up all the golf greens or put nothing but fish sticks on the restaurant menu. KWIM?

I think he might just outsource most everything to old Washington hands and just enjoy flying around the country and the world and gladhanding people and being a ham. So, still pretty embarrassing but more in a “what a doofus” way.

[Gyrate]

There’s a theory floating around that Trump doesn’t want to be President and expected to be out by now, but has suddenly discovered that nothing he can do or say can tank his campaign and now he’s stuck, unable to credibly quit or lose without losing face. He doesn’t want to be The Man Who Would Be King; he wants to be The Man Who Could Totally Have Been King If It Weren’t For Those Losers, But Now Gets To Do What He Wants Without Any Actual Responsibility, and he’s scared that he’s going to have to deliver in a job he really can’t back out of.

If it were anyone else I’d think this was ridiculous conspiracy theory, but with Trump…who knows?

[Steve_MB]

@Gyrate

There’s a theory floating around that Trump doesn’t want to be President and expected to be out by now, but has suddenly discovered that nothing he can do or say can tank his campaign and now he’s stuck, unable to credibly quit or lose without losing face. He doesn’t want to be The Man Who Would Be King; he wants to be The Man Who Could Totally Have Been King If It Weren’t For Those Losers, But Now Gets To Do What He Wants Without Any Actual Responsibility, and he’s scared that he’s going to have to deliver in a job he really can’t back out of.

If it were anyone else I’d think this was ridiculous conspiracy theory, but with Trump…who knows?

Can’t he just tap the GOP Brain Trust and use on of the stories they came up with (“I have a boil on my butt”, “I have other priorities”, etc) for getting out of an unwelcome obligation?

[Steve_MB]

@BrainGlutton

We can predict that Congress will always be hot to impeach him, but not that he’ll commit any actual crimes in office. Oh, what am I saying, of course he will, from Day One.

Committing actual crimes is not required; impeachment is not a criminal proceeding. If a sufficient consensus could be found, Congress could impeach and remove a President for wearing the wrong color tie. Ultimately, it’s only the fact that some Republicans aren’t quite willing to march off the precipice that has prevented the current President from being impeached for having the wrong color, er, tie.

[asahi]

Trump won’t be president. He won’t be the republican nominee for one thing, and he wouldn’t win as a 3rd party candidate. He might still be strong enough as a candidate to siphon votes away from Ted Cruz, though, which would not be insignificant. However, if Ted Cruz can beat Donald Trump by a 2-1 margin, then Cruz could still defeat Hillary in conservative states. Cruz would almost certainly lose in battleground states against Hillary, assuming she hasn’t been indicted or stained by scandal. Lots of ‘ifs’ in this one, but one thing that’s no longer an ‘if’ is Donald Trump losing the race. He’s done.