# Why is Donald Trump allowed to run for President? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 12, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263 "2015-12-12T18:56:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/41 "2015-12-13T03:48:03Z")
I really like seeing this thread title and username at the top of the Elections forum. That’s amusing. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/42 "2015-12-13T03:48:57Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > And Anglicans only. Can’t have dirty Papists and clodhopper Nonconformists exercising suffrage rights. And fuck those left-handed mother fuckers. You just know they’re up to no damn good. And dirty hippies and hipster douchebags. Oh, and people who refuse to use their headlights! Fuck those guys! ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/43 "2015-12-13T04:50:41Z")
I would no more endorse the OP’s suggestion than suggest all presidents should have a law degree, or graduate from an Ivy League college. Making the presidency a set-aside for a specific class is fundamentally undemocratic. We’re not a democracy, but we have a degree of democratic tendencies and the proposal at hand would err in the wrong direction. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/44 "2015-12-13T05:23:39Z")
Does anyone really believe that trump would actually disclose all his assets or put the entire trump organisation into a blind trust for the duration of his presidency? I’d like to see the disclosure of assets much earlier in the election process and candidates sign an ironclad legal agreement that they will place assets into a blind trust. Withdrawal or resigning after election should require assets stay in the trust for the full four years. Neither of those should be a problem for a genuine candidate with nothing to hide. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/45 "2015-12-14T14:09:15Z")
This country’s government originally was a citizen government. That is citizens served in office for a period of time then went back to being a private citizen. They served. We now have a politician government. Politicians spend their life in office. They do not serve, but we serve them. People in office should not be receiving a high wage but at most the average wage of the district they are “serving” in. But I don’t think they should even receive that wage. And there should be no retirement benefit, their retirement should come from their regular job not the government. ---
**Author:** ![sbunny8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@sbunny8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sbunny8)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/46 "2015-12-14T15:08:47Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There are four requirements to become President: > > 1. Be a natural born citizen > 2. Reside in the United States for fourteen years > 3. Be at least thirty five years old > 4. Get elected. > > Millions of people can meet the first three standards. So it’s the fourth one that’s important. Gerald Ford didn’t do #4. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/47 "2015-12-14T15:11:40Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > People in office should not be receiving a high wage but at most the average wage of the district they are “serving” in. But I don’t think they should even receive that wage. And there should be no retirement benefit, their retirement should come from their regular job not the government. That’s an awful idea, it would just enshrine even more that only those born into wealth can ever aspire to office. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2015, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/48 "2015-12-14T15:20:30Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > That’s an awful idea, it would just enshrine even more that only those born into wealth can ever aspire to office. Agreed – a good (but not ridiculous) salary encourages anyone to consider public office, while not providing any significant monetary incentives (from salary, at least) for those motivated purely by income. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/49 "2015-12-14T15:21:24Z")
> [@coremelt](#): > > That’s an awful idea, it would just enshrine even more that only those born into wealth can ever aspire to office. I thought of that, that is why I would agree to an elected offical’s wage being only the average wage of the district they are in elected in. What we have is now a awful idea. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/50 "2015-12-14T15:34:12Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Agreed – a good (but not ridiculous) salary encourages anyone to consider public office, while not providing any significant monetary incentives (from salary, at least) for those motivated purely by income. BTW a large proportion of elected officials in the US, have a not particularly stupendous compensation package. Many state legislature and town/county council seats are still part-time posts and paid like it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2015, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/51 "2015-12-14T17:20:52Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > I thought of that, that is why I would agree to an elected offical’s wage being only the average wage of the district they are in elected in. Do we really want average people to be running our country? ---
**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:** [December 14, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/52 "2015-12-14T18:10:44Z")
> [@Barack\_Obama](#): > > Yes. > > Another requirement should be a masters in politics and international relations. I would guess, without looking, that maybe two or three former presidents might have those. Even our very best presidents probably didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263/53 "2015-12-22T19:33:26Z")
One problem with adding more requirements for the Presidency (such as a degree) is that everyone on the presidential line of succession should meet them. That’s 18 positions. It would suck to have the President and VP killed and realize nobody else on the list has the dual Masters in Poli-Sci and International Relations that we require to run the country. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-donald-trump-allowed-to-run-for-president/740263.md?page=2)