# What's Trump's October Surprise? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 17, 2020, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544 "2020-07-17T03:13:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/143 "2020-08-24T15:48:17Z")
Here’s the scariest thing I’ve seen recently. Direct quote from the Votemaster who not usually an alarmist: > [@](#): > > The plan is to revive a technique the RNC used in the 1980s. They hired armed off-duty police officers (in uniform) to patrol polling stations in minority neighborhoods. They wore armbands reading “National Ballot Security Task Force,” an imaginary organization. The officers asked people in line if they had the right to vote (which the officers had no right to do) and told them about how many years in prison they would get for voting illegally. The intent was to scare off voters. The Democrats went to court and in 1982 the RNC was eventually forced to sign a [consent decree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballot_Security_Task_Force) agreeing not to do this until 2018. It is now 2020, so the consent decree has expired and here we go again. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/144 "2020-08-24T22:23:41Z")
Why in hell would that have an expiration date? ---
**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:** [August 25, 2020, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/145 "2020-08-25T06:34:47Z")
Here’s a theory I saw today: > **[Trump just teed up an 'October surprise' that's doomed to fail](https://www.rawstory.com/2020/08/trump-just-teed-up-an-october-surprise-thats-doomed-to-fail/)** > > On Sunday, Donald Trump held a press conference to announce a "therapeutic breakthrough" that was anything but. Trump said that his FDA had issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for antibody-rich plasma to treat Covid-19 patients, and claimed... TL;DR: He got the FDA to issue this “EUA” (Emergency Use Authorization) for the “convalescent plasma”, which probably won’t actually do much good. But this author thinks the idea is to just get the public used to hearing about "EUA"s. Then, in October, there will be a sudden “EUA” for a breakthrough Covic-19 vaccine! And the public will be prepped to be gullible to believe it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/146 "2020-08-25T13:03:13Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > And the public will be prepped to be gullible to believe it.- Apparently the stock market believed it, and that is Donald’s principal measure of “The Economy,” which is BS. ---
**Author:** ![bobsmom101](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobsmom101/32/2867_2.png) [@bobsmom101](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobsmom101)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/147 "2020-08-25T22:40:29Z")
And did anyone catch him leering at the poor woman who’d recovered from COVID that he trotted out at the convention last night? She has _valuable plasma_ now. Lordy, I expected him to sink his fangs in her neck and drain her on the spot. ---
**Author:** ![ricksummon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ricksummon/32/3333_2.png) [@ricksummon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricksummon)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/148 "2020-08-26T01:33:27Z")
Didn’t Kimberly Guilfoyle _also_ recover from COVID? ---
**Author:** ![ricksummon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ricksummon/32/3333_2.png) [@ricksummon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricksummon)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2020, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/149 "2020-08-30T19:40:00Z")
Why is Trump the _only_ one who could deliver an October Surprise? What would happen if the New York AG gets the appeals court to approve the subpoena for Trump’s financials, the Supreme Court refuses to grant cert, and the AG files charges against one or more of the Trump children? Don Jr and Ivanka wouldn’t be able to claim any kind of immunity from being _related_ to a sitting President. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2020, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/150 "2020-08-30T20:30:32Z")
…Don’t tease like that… 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2020, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/151 "2020-08-30T21:08:57Z")
We’re talking about Trump because Trump, as an incumbent president, is in a better position to make things happen (although I acknowledge that the original OS was _against_ an incumbent). ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/152 "2020-08-30T21:34:32Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > We’re talking about Trump because Trump, as an incumbent president, is in a better position to make things happen (although I acknowledge that the original OS was _against_ an incumbent). There is also a fundamental asymmetry between how supporters of the candidates react to news. Right-wingers, and Trump supporters in particular, have long been trained to dismiss news stories unfavourable to their candidate as “media bias”, which makes in hard to move the needle with a late breaking scandal. The Democratic Party has a lot more supporters who think along the lines of, “he’s not my first choice, but he’s the winnable compromise candidate, so I’ll hold my nose and vote for him”. Those people are a lot easier to shake off into, “meh, they’re both the same, so I’ll stay home” cynicism. ---
**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:** [September 1, 2020, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/153 "2020-09-01T04:30:25Z")
Here’s an August Surprise that could stretch out into September and beyond, and isn’t good for Trump: In Ohio, where the race is too close to predict right now, Republican Speaker of the Ohio House Larry Householder was arrested (on July 21) in a burgeoning bribery and money-laundering scandal, with a prospect that more Republicans could get swept up in it. This could, just possibly, tip the Ohio vote toward Democrats and Biden, which could, just possibly, tip the nationwide election toward Biden. > **[Opinion | Ohio Republicans are embroiled in scandal. Could they lose the...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/08/31/ohio-republicans-are-embroiled-scandal-could-they-lose-election-trump/)** > > Ohio's Republican House speaker and multiple associates have been arrested for bribery. Voter disgust could turn the country's most important swing state against the president. Article discusses action done on July 21-22, but was published just today (Aug. 31), suggesting that the story is still “hot”. > [@](#): > > Still, neither law enforcement nor the media is letting the scandal die. DeVillers, the federal prosecutor, said after the initial arrests: “We’re not done with this case. There are a lot of federal agents knocking on a lot of doors.” The state’s major newspapers are following the money, reporting on which House members were supported by funds from the same sources tied to Householder. > > There’s no telling what could happen between now and November, especially if new information comes to light. In presidential elections that are increasingly decided by the shift of a handful of votes, a widespread perception that Republicans are corrupt could put Biden over the top. As Weaver acknowledged, the state of the race could easily change “with another round of arrests.” > > As pundits prepare their list of possible October surprises, the scandal engulfing Ohio’s Republican leaders is one to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/154 "2020-09-01T19:13:37Z")
I expect that Republicans will drop some kind of ‘bombshell’ with a woman or women coming forward with a not-disprovable story about being sexually assaulted by Biden. I used to worry about this more, but with the general incompetence surrounding things that Trump does and a lot of traditional Republicans moving back, I think that the people who could pull this off and have it stick aren’t going to be working on it. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/155 "2020-09-01T23:35:16Z")
Sounds about right. And they will be bought/paid off with campaign funds from a lawyer that Trump didn’t know. SOP. ---
**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:** [September 2, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/156 "2020-09-02T15:57:37Z")
And which we won’t find out about until after the election, to gales of Republican laughter. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/157 "2020-09-03T01:58:37Z")
The CDC says a vaccine is going to be available at the beginning of November: > **[CDC tells states to prepare for distribution of COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 1](https://news.yahoo.com/cdc-tells-states-prepare-distribution-231945460.html)** > > It remains highly uncertain, however, whether a vaccine will be ready by then or which manufacturer will make it. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/158 "2020-09-03T05:03:17Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > CDC says a vaccine is going to be available at the beginning of November: Not quite. More along the lines of _IF_ really amazing positive results from phase 3 trials come out then there may be an obligation, in accordance with standards established before the testing began, to stop the trials. This would allow the manufacturer(s) to apply to the FDA for Emergency Use Authorization. _IF_ all of that comes to fruition then we don’t want to be caught with our collective pants down and be unable to expeditiously commence widespread vaccination. So, the time is NOW to start setting up. The two candidate vaccines the CDC referenced require special handling and deep freezer storage - capabilities not normally present in a typical doctor’s office and not even in some hospitals. One (Pfizer’s) must be stored at negative 70 Centigrade. The other (Moderna’s) at a comparative balmy negative 30 Centigrade. Those are some might big _IFs_. But with thousands of people dying every week we need to be ready to go full tilt on day one. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/159 "2020-09-03T14:21:42Z")
Prediction: Because “Trumpery” is a common word for bullfeathers, Trump will change his name to Ballyhoo, Gobbledygook or Flimflam to bolster his election chances. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/160 "2020-09-03T15:06:30Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Prediction: Because “Trumpery” is a common word for bullfeathers, Trump will change his name to Ballyhoo, Gobbledygook or Flimflam to bolster his election chances.- Maybe he’ll change his name to Jesus Christ and promise eternal salvation. 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/161 "2020-09-03T17:43:34Z")
Because “I alone can solve this”? ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2020, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544/162 "2020-09-04T04:52:08Z")
I don’t think the real “October” surprises are going to come from Trump’s camp. You probably have all read or heard about [“Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are ‘Losers’ and Suckers’,”](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/?utm_source=feed) just published by The Atlantic. As used to Trump’s degradations as we think we are, this is still going to take up a lot of oxygen over the next few days, and Trump and his surrogates will be spending time [defending Trump](https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/04/trump-responds-to-insults-us-service-members-408750) when they’d rather be attacking Biden. I fully expect more revelations like this to appear over the next eight weeks, as Trump’s inner circle becomes more emboldened to dish about him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-trumps-october-surprise/915544.md?page=9)