# Why would a Republican dislike Trump? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 18, 2020, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064 "2020-04-18T17:13:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/41 "2020-04-20T06:15:24Z")
Why would a Republican dislike Trump? Ask the McCain or Bush families. ---
**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:** [April 20, 2020, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/42 "2020-04-20T12:23:08Z")
Of those things mentioned earlier, if I was a Republican I would dislike him most because of foreign policy. The way he openly admires dictators is bad enough, but the way he has repeatedly trashed our allies and shown contempt for NATO is even worse. This flies in the face of 75 years of post-war agreement among Democrats and Republicans alike that strong alliances are key to preserving the world order. Sure, some are probably unhappy with protectionism but I would think that the collapse of American leadership on the world stage is the most troubling from a Republican viewpoint. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/43 "2020-04-20T14:46:26Z")
Leaving aside character reasons, they are plenty of reasons to dislike Trump. Almost all of the good things he has done would have been done by any Republican, and most of the bad things would not have. In terms of remaking the judiciary Bush did more, but had more time, and 90% of the credit for that goes to the Senate who actually approves the nominees. He has done a good job there but nothing any Republican in his position would not have done. He has appointed some good cabinet members and they have done a good job but they were choices almost any republican president would have made. Possibly Carson might be a Trump only appointee and I give him credit for that. Rolling back regulations is a standard republican idea and I don’t see evidence that he has been especially effective at it. In foreign policy his best idea was to allow the commanders to go after ISIS harder and that worked out great, but other than that there is not much to celebrate. There has been alot of effort to North Korea but I don’t see any real progress and I think cancelling military exercises is a big mistake. Rejecting the Iran deal was a good idea any republican would have done. Playing with Ukraine aid for political reasons was stupid and we are lucky nothing bad came of it. I don’t see any progress in attacking entitlements or even any indication that he wants to or thinks it is a problem. The tax cuts were good, but that was something any republican could have done. Even a democrat would have been forced to lower the corporate tax at some point. The biggest disappointment is the tariffs which is a type of tax. He has raised tariffs by large amounts, hurting American businesses, and then tried to bail those businesses out with huge amounts of spending. Taxing and spending is the opposite of what a Republican president is supposed to do, and no other presidential candidate would have done that if elected. I don’t see much progress on his signature issue, immigration. The small parts of the wall are finally being built, but his outspokenness on the issue has made compromise less likely. Getting Mexico to get tougher on immigrants passing through was a big win, but that is pretty much it. He has been a better president than I feared, and I am planning to vote for him this time, but he was the worst candidate of the 2016 republicans and I still would rather vote for almost any other republican. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/44 "2020-04-20T15:04:23Z")
There are many, MANY Republicans that wish he would stop tweeting. My personal opinion is that if he stopped tweeting (right after he won) his approval rating would be up 10 points. I think it would also deplete some ammo for his detractors. Others disagree, saying he needs it to counter the media, but I don’t think so. It’s kind of too late to make a difference now however, the damage to civil discourse is already done. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/45 "2020-04-20T19:05:27Z")
> [@Tabco](#): > > I think that ultimately, Trump is damaging the Republican party brand, and that this will have negative effects on the party in the future. I think this is true. I’m not (currently) a Republican, and I usually vote for Democrats, but I tend to agree with many of the traditional Republican economic policies and at least some of their social ethic. I find it hard to imagine ever voting for a Republican again after Trump. ---
**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:** [April 21, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/46 "2020-04-21T15:38:05Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I think this is true. I’m not (currently) a Republican, and I usually vote for Democrats, but I tend to agree with many of the traditional Republican economic policies and at least some of their social ethic. I find it hard to imagine ever voting for a Republican again after Trump. Assuming he loses (and I can’t bring myself to do this yet), the most interesting thread in this forum might be the one called “What now for the GOP?” We may actually have had one of those already but it’ll be tons more interesting to discuss if they’ve put all their hopes into this awful president and been defeated in a landslide. ---
**Author:** ![Reason10](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@Reason10](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reason10)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/47 "2020-04-21T15:52:01Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > The first article in this month’s Atlantic is about “never-Trumpers.” I just don’t get it. Whatever you think about the man, from this liberal’s perspective, he has had unprecedented success in furthering various parts of the “conservative” agenda. Remaking the judiciary, attacking the permanent bureaucracy, rolling back regulations, tax cuts for the wealthy/industries, reducing international ties, attacking individual “entitlements”, … The list goes on and on. > > What conservative plank has NOT been advanced under him? > > I’m trying to think of a liberal whom I do not respect, or whom I think is a revolting human being. While I might prefer to have a literate, intelligent president representing my preferences, I’d LOVE liberal results of the sort conservatives have experienced under Trump, even if they occurred under a boorish idiot. Not just Republicans but establishment CONSERVATIVES are more pissed off at Trump than the Democrats. The Bush/Kasich brand of conservatives has been promising for 20 years what Trump has delivered in three. They’ve been smoked and their egos are bruised. People still haven’t figured out that Trump is not an ideologue. That’s not how he thinks. He doesn’t see the world in the black and white of liberal versus conservative. He’s not comfortable talking about it. He’s a businessman. He doesn’t play by the rules. He sees a task and gets it done. He’s nice to everybody but he fights back if he is attacked. Remember, the Republican establishment HATED Ronald Reagan as well. ---
**Author:** ![Reason10](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@Reason10](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reason10)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/48 "2020-04-21T15:55:48Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Trimp IS the GOP brand now, replacing the Teahead, Dubya, and Raygun brands. Time and (hopefully inexorable) demographics will destroy the GOP when they can no longer disenfranchise, suppress, and court-pack to maintain power. Individual GOPs may dislike Trimp but if they go public they’re cast aside, politically gutted. Sucks to be Romney. > > You’ve got a tiger by the tail there, folks. Hang on or else. Enjoy the ride. One of the reasons Trump ignored the House race in the last election and put his energies into the Senate races was precisely for one of the reasons you hate him. He is completely realigning the court system. He has appointed judges who follow the LAW and not just prop up liberal sources. And I can see why you’re pissed. Most of the things you liberals want would never pass a Congress. You can only get them through the court system. If a Republican Congress passes something and a Republican president signs it into law and you don’t like it, you can use the court system to overturn the will of the people. Trump has been patiently taking that away from you. I expect major street riots of liberals when Ruth Bader Ginsberg finally takes her dirt nap and is replaced by Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Tachyon\_Theorist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tachyon_theorist/32/15_2.png) [@Tachyon\_Theorist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tachyon_Theorist)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/49 "2020-04-21T16:00:52Z")
What reason do Republicans have to believe in Trump. He’s made promises that he didn’t keep, he’s made the wrong choices multiple times, and, worst of all, during hurricane Irma, he told people to shoot the hurricane! All he’s really done for my community is show how you don’t have to be smart to notice that he’s made america worse everyday. Even common citizens would know not to strengthen a hurricane by giving it something hard and metal to fling. ---
**Author:** ![Reason10](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@Reason10](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reason10)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/50 "2020-04-21T18:17:38Z")
> [@Tachyon\_Theorist](#): > > What reason do Republicans have to believe in Trump. He’s made promises that he didn’t keep, he’s made the wrong choices multiple times, and, worst of all, during hurricane Irma, he told people to shoot the hurricane! All he’s really done for my community is show how you don’t have to be smart to notice that he’s made america worse everyday. Even common citizens would know not to strengthen a hurricane by giving it something hard and metal to fling. Probably the reasons why Republicans believe in Trump (at least 91 percent polled) is because he is the greatest president in the history of America. He created the greatest economy of all time with ZERO Democrat help whatsoever. If you have found a source with the “shoot the hurricane” lie and you believed it, I’ve got some Pacific Oceanfront property in Iowa I’ll be glad to sell you, real cheap. I live in Southwest Florida and was DIRECTLY in the path of this Category 5 nightmare. The president NEVER said any such thing. Most of the news we were getting anyway was from our brilliant Governor Rick Scott, but anyone claiming Trump said such an idiotic thing is a liar. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/51 "2020-04-21T19:04:31Z")
To copy and paste myself from a different thread: > [@Me](#): > > Trump does not have a time machine, nor does he have the power of mind control. And, I’ll note, neither does Hilary Clinton. He did not jump back to the Obama Administration (2010), brainwash Barack Obama into following his commands, and start the unemployment rate on a steady decline. Likewise, she didn’t lose the election, jump back a year, and brainwash Trump into hiring [Paul Manafort](https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000015f-6d73-d751-af7f-7f735cc70000) and [Carter Page](https://web.archive.org/web/20150221174333/https://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/10/02/2015/new-slaves-global-edition-russia-iran-and-segregation-world-economy). > > Magic ain’t real. Some things we can rule out. > > And in the case of unemployment, we can _also_ rule out the idea that Barack Obama or anyone in government is to thank for that. England, Germany, and many other nations have had a similar, extreme low unemployment rate following the Great Recession. My personal bet would be that it’s an artifact of the gig economy. But, definitely, we can be certain that Barack Obama didn’t fly around the world taking over the minds of Angela Merkel and David Cameron, and implement a policy that lead to wondrous unemployment across the globe. > > Given that Trump has a hatred for the tech industry, and the tech industry is what brought you the gig economy, it’s pretty unreasonable to thank him for it. And again, that all started from before he was in office or had the power to do diddly squat but use his position on The Apprentice to try and force women to sleep with him. He didn’t do it. > > Now as to things like the stock market and the continuing direction of the economy upwards, post-Obama, if there is anything to thank for those, it would be 1) cutting taxes, and 2) dumping money into the economy. > > The Republicans in Congress cut taxes, that is certainly true. And they almost failed - like they actually did fail with revoking ObamaCare - at accomplishing that, because of Trump’s tweets about his wall funding and various other inanities that destroyed the coalitions being built inside of Congress. Tax cuts almost didn’t pass, because of Donald Trump, and that’s when he had the benefit of having a Republican majority _in every single branch and arm of government_. I wouldn’t be surprised if we got a less-extreme cut because of Trump’s disruptions and that stretching out the process, so that cooler heads could push moderation into the matter. > > And, I’ll note, there is very little reason to think that he was the progenitor of the idea of a tax cut nor the driving force for one. Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell were ready to go, the instant a Republican president was in the White House, and they would have done the same had it been Mike Pence or John McCain who got the seat. > > And as for dumping money into the economy, the White House has consistently pushed for a laughably minimalist budget. Granted, I don’t believe that they had any particular expectation that it would be considered by anyone in Congress, so it was purely a vehicle for wooing some libertarian voters, but the very first budget under Trump was basically just a rubber stamp to everyone on both sides of the fence. Democrats want to give caviar to all the homeless? Great! They can do it! Republicans want to buy some robot sharks for the US military? Great! Go ahead! > > The budgets under Trump have all been fairly blatant attempts to buy off the public by boosting the economy through government money. > > I mean take, for example, the case of George. George decides that he wants to enjoy life, so he goes to a bank and takes out a loan for $1m. Feeling happy about this, he goes to his employer and says, “Hey, you know what, I came into some money, I don’t want to hurt you guys, why don’t you cut my wage by half?” For the next four years, George goes on to live a life of luxury, getting a fast car, installing a pool in his backyard, etc. Great economy! > > Despite the car and the pool, the luxury dinners, is George _actually_ in a good place, economically? Or is he just self-deluded and ignoring the future, blinded by the $1m he gave himself? > > Taking out some loans and lowering taxes, to propel yourself out of a recession, is probably reasonable. If you let the economy stay in a recession, it’s liable to become chronic. Doing the same, when everything is good, rather than switching around to paying down the loans and getting a better money supply, is stupid and grossly financially irresponsible. > > Great for getting votes, though. > > Personally, I don’t like Trump because I don’t want my kids to have to learn Chinese. > > Let’s say, for example, that McDonalds saw that Burger King was finally catching up and is liable to take over the fast food industry. So McDonalds forms this clever plan: > > 1. Raise their prices. Hey, if the customer is paying more money, we’re making more money, and Burger King will be making less per customer! > 2. Charge franchise owners for use of the corporate producers. I mean, right now they’re all able to get bottom dollar on beef, flour, lettuce, etc. That’s money lost to the core company, and we’re the ones that got all the producers assembled and willing to go bottom dollar. We deserve our 5%! > > Now, what do you think, does this great plan _help_ or _hurt_ in McDonald’s mission to fight against the encroaching financial might of Burger King? > > I don’t want Trump because, for as much as he’s working on the things that I might want a President to work on, there is such a thing as, “Please stop helping”. Competence matters. > > Add if you add incompetent to criminal and liable to pack the government with a bunch of slimeballs who are going to suck away at the might and fortunes of our government for the next few decades, I’m not seeing anything good on the horizon. > > Trump took millions of dollars from his dad and created a $1.25b hole. His dad died and left him a business empire of hundreds of buildings in New York City - some of the most valuable land on the planet - and he turned it into about 7 buildings, most on cheap land in the countryside. > > The man is not good at business. His dad was amazing. If you compare their wealth, baby Trump is laughably horrible and appears to have shrunk dad’s business to about 1/20th of its former size. > > He was, it seems, good at being a TV show host. And he is good at self-promotion and making suckers think that he’s good at things. > > But, personally, I look at hard numbers. And the real numbers are that the number of people taking Chinese aptitude tests has curved upwards under Trump, the bank of Mexico is seeing more money sent back from abroad than ever before, and the time until the US budget makes a sound like the last bit of Jello getting pulled through a dime-sized hole into a vacuum has moved from being something like 30 years in the future to something more like 10. > > Cites available (except for the last - I’m not sure of the exact predictions, though I do know that the timeline has shrunk). I’ll also note: > **[Logistics](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2020/03/11/logistics/)** > > I never did get a chance to continue the discussion of Trump’s Mexico policy but here’s a report by the (acting acting acting) head of the DHS: Note that he is talking about 2,500 peopl… > **[Quotes of the Day](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2020/04/17/quotes-of-the-day/)** > > LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege! – Donald J Trump (in reference to Stay-at-Home emergency orders) Amendment 2: A well regulated militia being necessary… > **[Some minutiae](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2020/04/15/some-minutiae/)** > > Trump stops funding WHO because they told us to keep flights to China. They did. Because Trump let China take over the WHO, in his continuing quest to let the US lose its ability to control its own… > **[Quote of the Day](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2020/03/06/quote-of-the-day-8/)** > > From the Wikipedia: In the first Nixon administration, Malek designed and directed the “Responsiveness Program”, a strategy to replace civil servants with Nixon supporters and to steer … > **[The dark side of Trump’s wall](https://hpr1.com/index.php/feature/news/the-dark-side-of-trumps-wall)** > > ND Fisher Industries CEO attends SOTU with Kramer > **[US budget deficit to break $1 trillion in fiscal 2020, CBO says](https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/01/28/us-budget-deficit-to-break-1-trillion-in-fiscal-2020-cbo-says.html)** > > After passing that mark this year, the deficit is expected to average $1.3 trillion between 2021-30, rising from 4.6% of GDP to 5.4% over the period. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_sxSGKB3Sj0/maxresdefault.jpg "Lev Parnas releases recording of Trump dinner: Full video") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sxSGKB3Sj0) [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-23/giuliani-s-sidekick-parnas-traces-part-of-money-trail-to-ukraine](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-23/giuliani-s-sidekick-parnas-traces-part-of-money-trail-to-ukraine) > **[Quote of the Day](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2020/01/17/quote-of-the-day-4/)** > > Our army manned the air, it rammed the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do, and at Fort McHenry, under the rockets’ red glare, it had nothing but victory President D… > **[Quote of the Day](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2019/11/02/quote-of-the-day/)** > > From the Special Counsel’s office notes on the testimony of Steve Bannon: Bannon reviewed a document Bates stamped SB\_00006329. The Guardian and the Financial Times did articles... > **[9/11](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2019/04/16/9-11/)** > > No personal opinion on Saudi Arabia’s complicity. But if I thought that they were guilty and complicit and killed “hundreds of my friends”, I feel like I’d at least wait unt… > **[The day the FTC shamed their boss](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2019/03/27/the-day-the-ftc-shamed-their-boss/)** > > One June 14th of 2018, the Trump Foundation was hit with a suit, accusing them of self-dealing, taking money from US military veterans to spend on paintings and campaigning. One month later, on Jul… > **[Why is there no wall?](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2019/03/14/why-is-there-no-wall/)** > > From January 2017 to January 2019, the Republican President was blessed with: A Republican Senate A Republican House A Republican Supreme Court A Republican Executive Branch A key goal of these gro… > **[Stephen Calk](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2019/01/25/stephen-calk/)** > > Let’s say that it’s 2pm on a Saturday and you want to buy some heroin. There’s a nice, big, inviting building with the word “Police” over the front door. You could go … > **[Mattis’ Resignation Letter](https://publius2point0.wordpress.com/2018/12/20/mattis-resignation-letter/)** > > In summary: Mr. President, I believe that allies are allies and enemies are enemies. On this point, we seem to disagree. I wish you well finding someone who has a different view on that subject. No… ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/52 "2020-04-21T19:47:17Z")
> [@Reason10](#): > > People still haven’t figured out that Trump is not an ideologue. That’s not how he thinks. Many of us are painfully aware that Trump is not an ideologue; we figured that out a long time ago. While he has many prejudices, he has few real ideas. Even The Wall (that Mexico is going to pay for…any day now, I’m sure) was initially [not really anything Trump actually cared about](https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2019/01/04/where-the-idea-for-donald-trumps-wall-came-from/#70cee7be4415). It was just a throwaway line in a speech, but the crowd loved it, and if Trump believes in anything, it’s getting a big crowd to whoop and holler and cheer his name. Because he isn’t an ideologue; he’s a narcissistic demagogue. He doesn’t care about ideas–I don’t think he even really cares about _bad_ ideas, although he certainly promotes many of those–he ONLY cares about himself (because that’s just how narcissists are), and _everyone_ else is just a means to an end, whether lining Trump’s pockets or gratifying Trump’s ego. > [@Reason10](#): > > Probably the reasons why Republicans believe in Trump (at least 91 percent polled) is because he is the greatest president in the history of America. He created the greatest economy of all time with ZERO Democrat help whatsoever. Here you go folks: [The Greatest Economy Of All Time!](https://www.macrotrends.net/1365/jobless-claims-historical-chart) (Hint: The blue line and the numbers on the left are like a golf score: High is bad, low is good.) Now to be fair, even under a competent POTUS, that line and that number would quite likely look pretty scary. But look at the blue line _BEFORE_ it takes off like a Saturn V; notice that it hit a peak (a normal, mountain-type peak, not a straight vertical line) in late 2009, then started sliding gradually back down all through the presidency of Barack Obama ( **D** ), and then did continue declining for the first years of the Trump Presidency, before the Greatest Economy Of All Time! fell off a cliff. So: _NOT_, actually, The Greatest Economy Of All Time! and _NOT_, actually, “ZERO Democrat help whatsoever”. > [@](#): > > If you have found a source with the “shoot the hurricane” lie and you believed it, I’ve got some Pacific Oceanfront property in Iowa I’ll be glad to sell you, real cheap. I live in Southwest Florida and was DIRECTLY in the path of this Category 5 nightmare. The president NEVER said any such thing. Most of the news we were getting anyway was from our brilliant Governor Rick Scott, but anyone claiming Trump said such an idiotic thing is a liar. OK, to be completely fair, that one does seem to be [a garbled re-telling of what was intended as a joke by some random guy from Florida.](https://www.snopes.com/ap/2017/09/10/florida-mans-joke-shooting-irma-gets-taken-seriously/) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/53 "2020-04-21T20:46:45Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > OK, to be completely fair, that one does seem to be [a garbled re-telling of what was intended as a joke by some random guy from Florida.](https://www.snopes.com/ap/2017/09/10/florida-mans-joke-shooting-irma-gets-taken-seriously/) [Maybe not.](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-nuke-hurricanes/) ---
**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:** [April 21, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/54 "2020-04-21T20:46:49Z")
I thought “greatest president in the history of America” was a joke post. No? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/55 "2020-04-21T20:49:52Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > I thought “greatest president in the history of America” was a joke post. No? > [@Trump voters are most of the people upset about staying at home](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-voters-are-most-of-the-people-upset-about-staying-at-home/852134/27): > > Trump voters need to get back to work and pay taxes so that Democrats can continue to get welfare checks and food stamps. … ---
**Author:** ![Reason10](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@Reason10](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reason10)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/56 "2020-04-21T23:06:28Z")
**Many of us are painfully aware that Trump is not an ideologue; we figured that out a long time ago. While he has many prejudices, he has few real ideas**. That’s true. Most of what he has done to accomplish this miracle of creating the greatest economy of all time has been by following the Reagan model. Admittedly Trump was a lot quicker on the draw and got results much faster. Trump is a genius businessman. He’s in his element. **Even The Wall (that Mexico is going to pay for…any day now, I’m sure) was initially [not really anything Trump actually cared about](https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2019/01/04/where-the-idea-for-donald-trumps-wall-came-from/#70cee7be4415). It was just a throwaway line in a speech, but the crowd loved it, and if Trump believes in anything, it’s getting a big crowd to whoop and holler and cheer his name.** With the new trade deal and new revenues coming in from Mexico, that country IS paying for the wall. **Because he isn’t an ideologue; he’s a narcissistic demagogue. He doesn’t care about ideas–I don’t think he even really cares about _bad_ ideas, although he certainly promotes many of those–he ONLY cares about himself (because that’s just how narcissists are), and _everyone_ else is just a means to an end, whether lining Trump’s pockets or gratifying Trump’s ego.** What politician ISN’T an narcissistic demagogue, (other than Reagan)? And how can you say he’s lining his pockets when he is WORKING FOR FREE and his company is losing MILLIONS of dollars because he can’t work it? How about the egomaniacal Obama, who totally screwed the American economy and retired, having made $70 million off his job? So far, Trump has NOT gotten richer in this job. But show me ONE Democrat who hasn’t gotten richer because of the office. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/57 "2020-04-21T23:54:25Z")
All this “miracle of creating the greatest economy of all time” talk would have been a pretty ludicrous argument a month ago. But to be making it _ **now** _ really kind of defies belief. At this point, it’s a line of argument worthy of “Baghdad Bob”. “There are no American infidels in Baghdad–Never!” …As American tanks can be seen right behind him, merrily rampaging through the city. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064/58 "2020-04-21T23:55:33Z")
Aaand it looks like the Coalition forces just captured Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-would-a-republican-dislike-trump/852064.md?page=2)