Will/should the Democratic nominee shake hands with Trump?

[TriPolar]

@BrotherCadfael

It’s the little things that can turn an election. Al Gore lost major points during the Bush debates with his eye rolling and condescending sighs. While any one thing by itself may not be enough to lose the election, it all adds up.

He shook hands with Bush, right?

[beowulff]

They should absolutely shake his hand.
Then pull him close, bend forward, and whisper “Now I’m going to kick your chickenshit ass.”

[Gatopescado]

@SlackerInc

Walking up to him, staring him in the eyes, and saying that he has disgraced the office of the presidency, then turning and walking to the podium, would not look cowardly.

I like this. Just make sure the mic is hot.

[XT]

@SlackerInc

Assuming Trump agrees to a debate, which is no sure thing, standard protocol is to shake hands at the start of the proceedings. For the first time in modern political history, I tend to lean toward thinking the Democratic presidential nominee should not shake his hand. But how would this go over politically? Does it conflict with a pledge to restore civility and traditional political norms?

Sure, why not? I’d say that it would be a sign of respect for the office, or the candidate position, not necessarily the person filling it. During the debate they can go wild on showing just how much they DON’T respect Trump, but it would be petty and really meaningless, and probably backfire, to not even shake the hand of the President, regardless of if the current person in that position is an idiot. And for no real gain, IMHO.

[Pleonast]

Leave Trump out of it–the Democratic and Republican candidates should ignore him and shake each other’s hands.

[Thing_Fish]

@Pleonast

Leave Trump out of it–the Democratic and Republican candidates should ignore him and shake each other’s hands.

You win the thread.

[Muffin]

Why not shake hands with each other and come out swinging, the way Canadian politicians do it? (Conservative Federal Senator Brazeau v. Liberal Federal Member of Parliament and now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.)

[kaylasdad99]

@BigAppleBucky

My fantasy is the Democratic nominee selecting Mayor Pete for VEEP. And at the vice presidential debate watching Mike Pence trying to avoid shaking hands.

I rather doubt Trump will allow a debate. But if he does for some reason, the Democratic candidate should be civil at least until it comes time for him or her to start calling Trump the liar he is.

---

Given Trump’s utter disdain for the Constitution, I wonder if he’d somehow try to postpone and eventually cancel the election. He has spoken about deserving an investigation free additional term, serving for more than eight years and getting his son elected. He has also called the impeachment investigation an attempted coup. (And when Trump makes an accusation, it’s actually a confession.) None of that sounds all that pro-democracy to me. **And, after all, how many jets and tanks does Congress control? **

{I know that last paragraph sounds insane, but after the last several days, it no longer seems totally out of the realm of possibilities. }

Heh. Reminds me of the (Stalin? I wanna say Stalin) quote How many legions has the Pope? That one got a lot of callbacks when Kayol Wojtyla assumed the Papacy.

[Lance_Turbo]

Two words: stink palm

[kaylasdad99]

@I_Love_Me_Vol.I

Shake his hand then immediately look down at it in amused amazement while mouthing the words: “Wow! It’s really, really small!!”

Or, if the Dem nominee is feeling magnanimous, a fist-bump. I hate T-rump with the fire of 1,000 Zippos but even I would have to smile if Trumpy and Biden/Warren/Whoever fist-bumped before a debate.

Double fist-bump, like if they were wearing boxing gloves…

[kaylasdad99]

@Velocity

I think half of the responses in this thread are really over-analyzing a molehill into a mountain. Do people really think the handshake will become an issue like that? It’s something that people wouldn’t even notice or think about unless someone hyped up a big deal about it. 99% of the post-debate focus is going to be on things that Trump and the Democratic candidate said during the debate, not about some handshake that takes all of 1 second.

@BrotherCadfael

It’s the little things that can turn an election. Al Gore lost major points during the Bush debates with his eye rolling and condescending sighs. While any one thing by itself may not be enough to lose the election, it all adds up.

And don’t forget the points GHWB lost against Clinton when he kept checking his watch.

[Fair_Rarity]

Probably because it’s a sense of normalcy and diplomacy, but no smiles.

Although I think it’s a moot point because if he is still in office next summer/fall, I don’t think he’d do a debate. I think he’d make a list of unreasonable demands and then say the hosts are against him and not show up at all. He would have to face tough questions and he doesn’t do that anymore unless there’s a helicopter nearby so he can pretend he doesn’t hear and has to go.

[TriPolar]

@kaylasdad99

And don’t forget the points GHWB lost against Clinton when he kept checking his watch.

He also shook Clinton’s hand. Every time the candidates shake hands one of them loses. Clearly, shaking hands is a bad idea.

[Little_Nemo]

@kaylasdad99

Heh. Reminds me of the (Stalin? I wanna say Stalin) quote How many legions has the Pope? That one got a lot of callbacks when Kayol Wojtyla assumed the Papacy.

Yes, it was Stalin. He said it to Pierre Laval, the French Prime Minister, in 1935. The actual quote was “The Pope! How many divisions has he got?”

But let’s put it down as a maybe. It apparently wasn’t attributed to Stalin until years later. And similar remarks had been attributed to Bismarck and Napoleon. So it can be used to make the rhetorical point that the person in question isn’t concerned with morality and only cares about military power.

[SlackerInc]

@Fair_Rarity

Although I think it’s a moot point because if he is still in office next summer/fall, I don’t think he’d do a debate. I think he’d make a list of unreasonable demands and then say the hosts are against him and not show up at all. He would have to face tough questions and he doesn’t do that anymore unless there’s a helicopter nearby so he can pretend he doesn’t hear and has to go.

This is a distinct possibility.

@Unreconstructed_Man

Best thing to do, I think, is shake his hand but yank it aggressively like he does in a way which says “Yeah, I’m shaking your hand, but I still hate your fucking guts”.

@Alessan

How about this? They shake politely, and then when Trump turns away, they take some wipes out and calmly clean their hand.

A small bottle of sanitizer would also be good.

I like both of these.

[Chronos]

Say, can we arrange for Trump and Jimmy Carter to shake hands at some event? I’d really love to see Trump get his fingerbones crushed by a nonagenarian.

[bobot]

@kaylasdad99

And don’t forget the points GHWB lost against Clinton when he kept checking his watch.

On the other hand, Trump stalking around the stage like an idiot with a runny nose didn’t cost him.

[skdo23]

@Little_Nemo

The Democratic nominee should shake the President’s hand.

Even if it’s Trump.

Yeah, being an adult means still respecting the process if not the person.

[Hari_Seldon]

I would have liked to see Hillary turn around and say, “Go back up your tree” when he stalked her during their debate.

Of course, the Dem should shake. Why even think about it?

As for cancelling the election, I don’t see how it could work. It’s organized state by state. I suppose he could refuse to step down, but everyone would ignore him. I predict he would boycott the inauguration if he loses.

[SlackerInc]

@Hari_Seldon

I predict he would boycott the inauguration if he loses.

I like your prediction. But you won’t get Doper bragging rights if it comes true:

https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=877271