# Will Trump self destruct before November, 2020? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [February 13, 2020, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889 "2020-02-13T18:43:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/21 "2020-02-14T00:14:21Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > Exactly. He regularly does something that would constitute self-destruction for anyone else, and it doesn’t hurt him a bit. Short of physically losing the ability to speak, tweet and swing a five-iron, what exactly would self-destruction look like? I would say it’s when his enablers turn. His destruction is not just what he does. It’s the way it’s recvd in the world. I think the context of dts behavior is changing, for instance, this week is big. I can’t believe that this is a steady state that can just go on forever. That doesn’t sound like a real world scenario to me. Lets’ say that dts opponents are using the levers of govt and justice to pursue his removal. In doing this they have gains and setbacks on the way. Most posters here are saying that this makes no difference at all, and never could. (Because history is over?) But that is the way justice works, and has worked in the past. It’s a hell of a time to cancel the future. I’m trying to think of the historical figure who lived in a permanent bubble and died old and happy. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/22 "2020-02-14T00:20:33Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > Exactly. He regularly does something that would constitute self-destruction for anyone else, and it doesn’t hurt him a bit. Short of physically losing the ability to speak, tweet and swing a five-iron, what exactly would self-destruction look like? It would look like people laughing at Donald Trump. It would sound like that too. Trump wins because no one points out how ridiculous he is. Every time someone stops protesting and lets him get away with something, he wins. And people would rather not argue, rather not fight in public, etc. Frankly, George Stephanopoulos missed a golden opportunity when Trump lied during an interview and Stephanopoulos called him out. But Trump leaned in towards him and raised his voice a little and asserted himself again and this time Stephanopoulos backed down (although he did smirkingly mug for the camera to show he was backing down). Bur Stephanopoulos should not have backed down. He should have pressed him on it. It was all being recorded. And it would have exposed how ridiculous Trump is, how far he will go to cover his lies, etc. But he didn’t and here we are. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/23 "2020-02-14T00:24:52Z")
> [@Tigers2B1](#): > > While you may not I do care when someone shows a potential bias in our judicial system. Right or wrong - at best this may call the fairness of the trial in the question, at worst this may lead to a mistrial. Don’t care if someone is biased? Sounds to me like you’re the other side of Trump. Congratulations. I never said I didn’t care when someone shows a potential bias in our judicial system: that was you trying to put words in my mouth. Your other assertion is just unfounded knee-jerk half-assed angry name-calling. Who’s side are you on? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/24 "2020-02-14T00:27:51Z")
Everyone give it a rest. This thread has generated a bunch of reports in all directions while I’ve been gone. Next one steps out of line - in any way and at my discretion - gets a warning and a ban from GD and PE for a week. I hope that’s clear. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/25 "2020-02-14T00:46:10Z")
Hopefully…and literally. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/26 "2020-02-14T01:20:35Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Everyone give it a rest. This thread has generated a bunch of reports in all directions while I’ve been gone. > > Next one steps out of line - in any way and at my discretion - gets a warning and a ban from GD and PE for a week. > > I hope that’s clear. This thread started today. Have you got the right one? ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/27 "2020-02-14T14:17:04Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I would say it’s when his enablers turn. His destruction is not just what he does. It’s the way it’s recvd in the world. But what possible Trump behavior would cause his enablers – in DC, in the media and among the voters – to turn? He gets worse and worse, and we keep waiting for the breaking point. There isn’t one. > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > It would look like people laughing at Donald Trump. It would sound like that too. > > Trump wins because no one points out how ridiculous he is. People have been pointing out how ridiculous he is since the day he declared his candidacy. He acts in more and more ridiculous ways, and says more and more ridiculous things, and we keep waiting for the breaking point. There isn’t one. Trump isn’t going to beat himself. Our only real hope is that enough voters in enough key states understand what’s at stake in November. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2020, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/28 "2020-02-14T14:48:21Z")
Everything about Trump is baked in the cake, and it’s been that way for a very long time. Only the true undecided would determine whether he “self destructs” or not. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/29 "2020-02-14T16:05:11Z")
I’ve never thought about it before – because who really wants to think about it? – but do narcissists melt down? Trump takes pleasure in destroying his critics and enemies and raining chaos down upon them; the messier and dirtier the crime scene he’s in the middle of, the better he likes it. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/30 "2020-02-14T16:14:26Z")
He already has self-destructed, years ago. The problem is that it doesn’t matter, and the debris still occupies the White House. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/31 "2020-02-14T16:48:08Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > This thread started today. Have you got the right one? This. Granted, I just arrived from the Pit, but I haven’t noticed anything reportable ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/32 "2020-02-14T16:55:41Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > People have been pointing out how ridiculous he is since the day he declared his candidacy. He acts in more and more ridiculous ways, and says more and more ridiculous things, and we keep waiting for the breaking point. There isn’t one. People have NOT been pointing out how ridiculous he is _to his face_. If Hillary Clinton had stopped in the middle of that debate and said “Donald, could you please not loom over me like you’re trying to see down my blouse” she would have won the election. But she didn’t. She didn’t confront him and imply he was a lecher. She just let him do his thing. If George Stephanopoulos had pressed Trump in the interview I mentioned, laughing at his transparent and persistent attempts to assert a lie, things in this country would be different today. But he didn’t. He didn’t confront the POTUS on a blatant lie; h e just kind of let it go. He just let Trump do his thing. When Trump crashed that kid’s charity event years back, they should have thrown him out and called the cops and made a stink. But they didn’t. They just let Trump do his thing. > [@Akaj](#): > > Trump isn’t going to beat himself. Our only real hope is that enough voters in enough key states understand what’s at stake in November. What part of living in the US for the past 20 years has you optimistic about Americans’ abilities to collect and process pertinent information such that they will reach the same conclusion that you deem “logical and correct”? :dubious: I’m not at all sure I share your outlook there. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/33 "2020-02-14T16:57:02Z")
> [@Red\_Wiggler](#): > > I’ve never thought about it before – because who really wants to think about it? – but do narcissists melt down? Trump takes pleasure in destroying his critics and enemies and raining chaos down upon them; the messier and dirtier the crime scene he’s in the middle of, the better he likes it. Inclined to agree. Trump has no capacity for shame. There is nothing he will stop at. The most humiliating thing for him is to NOT respond to the merest slight. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/34 "2020-02-14T17:00:50Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > What part of living in the US for the past 20 years has you optimistic about Americans’ abilities to collect and process pertinent information such that they will reach the same conclusion that you deem “logical and correct”? :dubious: I never said I was optimistic about voters doing the right thing in November; I said it was our only hope. I’m anything but optimistic. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/35 "2020-02-14T17:50:08Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > When was the last president who did not win a 2nd term with a good economy? Think it was Taft in 1912. I think economy influencing elections is so 20th century. We’re in our tribes now, and the only thing that matters is how much of the blue tribe shows up and votes. It all comes down to MI, OH, PA, FL, and WI. Whoever gets 3 of 5 wins. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/36 "2020-02-14T18:33:51Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > History shows people overlooking any amount of corruption, so long as it’s “their guy” who is running. This is true regardless of whether we’re talking about the left or the right. No. You need to look at the Richard Nixon impeachment. > [@](#): > > On August 5, 1974, Nixon released a transcript of one of the additional conversations to the public, known as the “smoking gun” tape, which made clear his complicity in the Watergate cover-up. Reaction to this disclosure was swift—he lost the support of his most loyal defenders in Congress with respect to the obstruction of justice article of the charges. Republican congressional leaders met with and told Nixon that both his impeachment and his conviction were inevitable. Thereupon, Nixon gave up the struggle to remain in office, resigning the presidency on August 9, 1974, before the full House could vote on the articles of impeachment. > **[Impeachment process against Richard Nixon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_process_against_Richard_Nixon)** > > The impeachment process against Richard Nixon was initiated by the United States House of Representatives on October 30, 1973, during the course of the Watergate scandal, when multiple resolutions calling for the impeachment of President Richard Nixon were introduced immediately following the series of high-level resignations and firings widely called the "Saturday Night Massacre". The House Committee on the Judiciary soon began an official investigation of the president's role in Watergate... ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/37 "2020-02-14T18:59:09Z")
Although it would entail stooping to Trump’s level, I wish Bloomberg would attack Trump on his alleged financial/business acumen. Point out the he (Bloomberg) could buy and sell the entire Trump organization without a thought. That he earned his money rather than having been given it through shady practices. That Trump was pretty much a joke in the NY real estate community. It wouldn’t do much for his chances in the election but it might make Trump become even more unhinged and reveal his true self to a greater extent. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/38 "2020-02-14T19:06:41Z")
Everyone should read Tim Snyder. Fascism is an attempt to end history. It’s infected many posts here. “It’s all over. There is no future or history” i think everyone should take a step back. Anyone remember before social media? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/39 "2020-02-14T19:08:55Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > we keep waiting for the breaking point. There isn’t one. Everyone who ever saw a bubble said these exact words. Yet there are no historical cites of bubbles which did not burst. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2020, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889/40 "2020-02-14T20:16:40Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > Although it would entail stooping to Trump’s level, I wish Bloomberg would attack Trump on his alleged financial/business acumen. Point out the he (Bloomberg) could buy and sell the entire Trump organization without a thought. That he earned his money rather than having been given it through shady practices. That Trump was pretty much a joke in the NY real estate community. It wouldn’t do much for his chances in the election but it might make Trump become even more unhinged and reveal his true self to a greater extent. Agreed. Stoop away, Dem candidate (whoever you are). Stoop, stoop, and more stoop! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-self-destruct-before-november-2020/847889.md?page=3)