# Will Donald Trump Leaving Office Solve Anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 18, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425 "2018-05-18T20:59:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/41 "2018-05-19T19:05:34Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Trump is unique in his abiliy to exploit his “Trumpy-ness” but there are plenty of imitators in conservative politics who are trying to engage in the same level of outrageous and inflammatory comments with greater or lesser success. And the problem with bomb-throwers like Trump (or Bernie Sanders) isn’t that they’ll succeed in fully destroying the existing system, but that they can do enough damage to undermine essential norms in democracy that are understood but not explicitly guranteed by anything in the Constitution. Of course, Trump may well appoint one or more Supreme Court justices, damage the security posture and defensive capability by undermining critical strategic relationships, and do any number of other things with long term impacts on the security and well-being of the United States, notwithstanding what the lack of leadership is going to foster autocrats and demogogues in other nations. What I was really getting at, and maybe it wasn’t clear, is that Trump seems to have a charisma that defies anything I can understand, but I don’t see anyone else being able to take his place in presidential politics in the same way. His fans are devoted to him in a way that scares the bejesus out of me. But on the bright side, I don’t see those fans being as devoted, in so intense a way, to someone else. It’s truly a cult of personality, and Trump is a unique personality in American politics. I may regret asking this, but how do you think President Sanders would “do enough damage to undermine essential norms in democracy that are understood but not explicitly guranteed by anything in the Constitution.”? ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/42 "2018-05-19T20:27:45Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > My concern is that the damage he is doing can not be repaired. Much like when ISIS was busy blowing up ancient monuments, these things that took generations to build are not replaceable. It will take generations to rebuild. > > It’s not going to be like at the end of WWII when the allies liberated the concentration camps, and all of the starving prisoners walked out into freedom. When Trump goes away, however he goes away, there is not going to be some universal awakening with the sun finally parting the clouds. > > We are still going to have intractable political divisions, we will now also have a large swath of the populace who does not trust any form of federal investigative law enforcement, or any form of reality based media trying to explain why something is bad and important. Trump has so far successfully thrown out any standards of behavior and adherence to rules governing the Presidency (Nepotism? Emoluments clause? Pfft!) This is not going to go away soon. > > The legitimate (and illegitimate) gripes that the various voting factions have are not going away. And the reputation of the US internationally as a stable bulwark against whatever has been proven to be worth less than any paper it was printed on. Again, this is going to take generations to put back together. ^ Good post and I agree with much of it. Indeed, the Balkanization of our society into factions is what might make it difficult to reverse the trend, however unpopular Trump becomes. We’ve splintered into different tribes that increasingly agree on very little. It’s not only conservatives disagree with liberals, but factions within these larger categories disagreeing with each other, and often disagreeably so. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/43 "2018-05-19T20:30:50Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > What I was really getting at, and maybe it wasn’t clear, is that Trump seems to have a charisma that defies anything I can understand, but I don’t see anyone else being able to take his place in presidential politics in the same way. His fans are devoted to him in a way that scares the bejesus out of me. But on the bright side, I don’t see those fans being as devoted, in so intense a way, to someone else. It’s truly a cult of personality, and Trump is a unique personality in American politics. > > I may regret asking this, but how do you think President Sanders would “do enough damage to undermine essential norms in democracy that are understood but not explicitly guranteed by anything in the Constitution.”? I don’t equate Sanders with Trumps in terms of ethics or morality - one is clearly superior to the other. But what I would say is that Sanders has in no way demonstrated he knows how to govern, and that’s different from being part of a legislative body. My fear is that Bernie’s incompetence would be on full display and inspire the support of a true right wing authoritarian ideologue as a reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/44 "2018-05-19T21:05:57Z")
I wish that I could post a poll in his Forum. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/45 "2018-05-19T21:26:37Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Again - Pence is a highly skilled politician. He knows how to wheel and deal. He’d get more passed than you think he would. “Highly skilled”? He was a one-term Governor–you, as a Hoosier, know better than I that his chances of re-election looked poor, before he was elevated to the GOP presidential ticket. Pence is almost universally despised. The left hold him in contempt for obvious reasons, but most Trump fans find him to be an object of derision, too. Those who crave a macho President with whom to identify won’t warm to a man who calls his wife Mother. He’s a boot-licker, and Trump fans know it. Sure, evangelicals will be pleased if he becomes President, but even they are fairly lukewarm about him. (I agree with all Jonathan Chance had to say on the topic, too.) The larger point is that it’s important to ask _ **who** _ is pushing the ideas that ‘Pence would be worse than Trump’ and ‘will Trump leaving office solve anything?’ _Who_ benefits if voters fear that impeaching-and-trying (or 25th Amendment-ing) Trump will make them worse off? The obvious answers are: those currently cashing in, and those who believe Trump will do more to further their goals than Pence would. Russian oligarchs have no reason to believe Pence will slow-walk sanctions the way Trump has; the Kremlin has massive leverage over Trump, and much less leverage over Pence. And Trump is destroying US credibility and the US economy at a pace that must please every enemy of America—could Pence possibly match that ‘achievement’? No. He’s just not suited to the task the way Trump is. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/46 "2018-05-19T21:41:51Z")
Ok can we replace “highly skilled” with “will not continuously sabotage his own agenda by acting like a complete idiot” and leave it at that? We all know all the GOP needs is a pulse that can sign bills. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/47 "2018-05-19T21:45:27Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > Ok can we replace “highly skilled” with “will not continuously sabotage his own agenda by acting like a complete idiot” and leave it at that? We all know all the GOP needs is a pulse that can sign bills. Basic functional competence is “highly skilled” compared to what is in there now. What’s this thing I just tripped over? Oh, it’s the bar. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/48 "2018-05-19T21:51:47Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Well, it would solve having one of the worst, least qualified human beings in the highest office in the world. So, there’s that at least. Wait a sec, Hillary Cinton WASN’T elected. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/49 "2018-05-19T21:54:55Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Wait a sec, Hillary Cinton WASN’T elected. Oooh burn. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/50 "2018-05-19T22:15:00Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Wait a sec, Hillary Cinton WASN’T elected. Emails, too. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/51 "2018-05-19T22:28:45Z")
A former senator and Secretary of State is “least qualified”? Compared to a guy whose greatest accomplishment is going bankrupt multiple times? I suppose that if you consider bankruptcy to be a qualification for the Presidency, then Clinton was unqualified. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/52 "2018-05-20T00:36:30Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > If Trump is gone cable news networks would have find something else to talk about 90% of their air time The thing is… they wouldn’t have to. Whatever gets him gone (defeat, death, incapacitation, removal, resignation) will be big news for weeks, if not months. There’ll be plenty of meat on that bone to pick at for a long, long time. We’re STILL arguing about the 2016 (beyond the investigations, that is). And there will be ripples to the cause of his leaving. If he’s impeached and removed (or resigns like Nixon to avoid it), there will be other resignations, possible/likely criminal convictions for various cronies and enablers. If it’s death, it could be weeks of “See kids? This is why you eat a green salad from time to time and walk your fat ass around the golf course instead of using the cart.” Obama left quietly and with dignity and it really closed the book on his administration. Whether he’s here for six more hours or six more years (ugh), the news won’t suffer. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/53 "2018-05-20T00:58:16Z")
With Thump gone, however it happens, you will see a field day of arrests, indictments and major prison sentences. Remove the head, and the body will die. Not the body of idiots who elected him, but the body of corrupt pustules that are his cabinet and advisers. Pence doesn’t rouse the scum like Thump does.The Feds and the states will have a feeding frenzy to see who gets the biggest bites out of Thump Administration asses. My estimate is that there would be 50+ new inmates by the time it ran its course. Plus a couple of suicides, a “fled the country” and a couple of suspicious accidents. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2018, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425/54 "2018-05-20T01:10:18Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > …And the problem with bomb-throwers like Trump (or Bernie Sanders) isn’t that they’ll succeed in fully destroying the existing system, but that they can do enough damage to undermine essential norms in democracy that are understood but not explicitly guranteed by anything in the Constitution… Bernie wouldn’t have led a full-out assault on truth and the media, nor would he have pulled us out of every deal he could get his hands on, or threatened nuclear war with NK. He also would have been smart enough to surround himself with people who are capable of giving him pertinent advice, and he likely would have listened, certainly much more so than Baby Huey. He wouldn’t have been able to get any of the things he wanted done, but he also wouldn’t have done his level best to destroy the country. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-donald-trump-leaving-office-solve-anything/814425.md?page=2)