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[Astral Dog]

Trump Trump Trump Trump!

Nothing will stop him.

 

[Byakuya769]

Look at Gingrich in December 2011. He lead Romney 35 - 22. In September of that year Perry lead Romney 32 - 20. These up and down turnarounds happen all the time, and people seem to always forget that the Republican Party doesn't want Trump or Carson. They won't get money or endorsements and the party will focus their support on the candidate they want.

Most people aren't paying attention to the race just yet. I'm as confident as ever that Trump will not be anywhere near the nomination at this point.

Neither Newt nor Perry were as consistently up as Trump. Further, Romney was a stalwart at/near 20. The bottom reshuffles now, but really it has been Trump "and...." For a pretty long time now.

 

[Downhome]

Are you really going to move if he is elected? Serious question.

We hear that every election cycle from both sides, and we hear more and more of it with each election cycle that passes. We have yet to see some sort of mass move of voters. I think it's kinda cute now, almost adorable. Like when I hear a little kid pout and say they are running away if they don't get dessert for dinner or something.

 

[Into]

I think the Paris attacks helped him more than anyone.

He is the candidate taking the strongest stance, and people get very emotional after what transpired in Paris. We saw that with 9/11 in the US where even people who did not vote Bush still supported him in very high numbers.

Trump really has 3 pillars to where he seems to appeal to people, illegal immigration, which was suppose to kill his run, yet actually made it. Anti political correctness, which is only growing these days and his acumen as a businessman for a country that is over 18 trillion in debt.

Add in his stance on terrorism and no wonder he is still doing well. Either he is incredibly smart and forward thinking, or he really lucked out how everything has been transpiring.

 

[LiquidSword]

I have said this many times before, in different ways, but I'll say it again.

I'm shocked that so many are so strongly against the idea of Trump. There is absolutely nothing to any of his "extreme" views. He is saying what people want to hear in order to climb to the top, to take out everyone else. Once he secures the nomination (which he will) and his only true opponent is Hillary, his presentation and even much of his policy will shift in order to sway the democrats. He will do so without losing the Republican voters because he will then be the ordained "one" for that side, and he will not do so to the extent that it forces anyone to try to decide on someone else at the convention.

If he is elected President, he will then start to negotiate away much of the far right ideas he has presented and more meet in the middle.

Heck, I'll go so far to say that I think he is the only candidate period that would ultimately be able to get things done on either side of the aisle. I've thought this from almost the very beginning, and I think it even more so now.

I just can't believe that so many people are taking him at face value. That is more insane to me than anything he has actually said or done so far, haha.

On the whole Trump and Carson thing - once Carson pulls back, drops out, the entire nomination race will be over and he will essentially hand it to Trump. I don't think Carson even makes it very far into 2016 at all.

You seem very sure about what Trump is thinking. You know something we don't because you sound delusional to me.

 

[213372bu]

Some perverse part of me really, really, really wants to see Donald Trump win.

Spoiler

I can't be alone in this.

 

[BertramCooper]

If anyone else besides Donald Trump were maintaining this sort of consistent and prolonged lead in polling, he'd probably be considered the presumptive nominee at this point.

 

[QuiteWhittle]

I have said this many times before, in different ways, but I'll say it again.

I'm shocked that so many are so strongly against the idea of Trump. There is absolutely nothing to any of his "extreme" views. He is saying what people want to hear in order to climb to the top, to take out everyone else. Once he secures the nomination (which he will) and his only true opponent is Hillary, his presentation and even much of his policy will shift in order to sway the democrats. He will do so without losing the Republican voters because he will then be the ordained "one" for that side, and he will not do so to the extent that it forces anyone to try to decide on someone else at the convention.

If he is elected President, he will then start to negotiate away much of the far right ideas he has presented and more meet in the middle.

Heck, I'll go so far to say that I think he is the only candidate period that would ultimately be able to get things done on either side of the aisle. I've thought this from almost the very beginning, and I think it even more so now.

I just can't believe that so many people are taking him at face value. That is more insane to me than anything he has actually said or done so far, haha.

On the whole Trump and Carson thing - once Carson pulls back, drops out, the entire nomination race will be over and he will essentially hand it to Trump. I don't think Carson even makes it very far into 2016 at all.

Sounds like Mitt Romney.

 

[phanphare]

Some perverse part of me really, really, really wants to see Donald Trump win.

Spoiler

I can't be alone in this.

I'd love to see what happens during his presidency, for sure, but not enough to actually want to see what happens during his presidency

if that makes sense lol

 

[213372bu]

No but seriously, if this man gets elected things are probably going to go to shit even though he'll have to curb all the stuff he spouts.

I'd love to see what happens during his presidency, for sure, but not enough to actually want to see what happens during his presidency

if that makes sense lol

Exactly.

 

[Downhome]

I think the Paris attacks helped him more than anyone.

He is the candidate taking the strongest stance, and people get very emotional after what transpired in Paris. We saw that with 9/11 in the US where even people who did not vote Bush still supported him in very high numbers.

Trump really has 3 pillars to where he seems to appeal to people, illegal immigration, which was suppose to kill his run, yet actually made it. Anti political correctness, which is only growing these days and his acumen as a businessman for a country that is over 18 trillion in debt.

Add in his stance on terrorism and no wonder he is still doing well. Either he is incredibly smart and forward thinking, or he really lucked out how everything has been transpiring.

I don't think it has anything to do with luck at all. I mean, I'm not saying he is a genius either, but I think he knows a hell of a lot more about what he is doing than people will give him credit for.

It also helps that he has something of a record on certain topics. This isn't an out of the blue thing, he talked about running for president or being VP in the past. The revelation of his book from 2000 almost "predicting" certain things made him look even stronger on all of this, and on and on.

Then the entire celebrity aspect surely helps him a lot as well. There is no denying that.

EDIT:

Just to add, his entire outsider thing helps a great deal also. As does the entire way that he has funded the campaign, how he has spent the money he actually has spent, and all of that. Like it or not, much of what he offers appeals to a ton of people on both sides.

 

[4Tran]

Neither Newt nor Perry were as consistently up as Trump. Further, Romney was a stalwart at/near 20. The bottom reshuffles now, but really it has been Trump "and...." For a pretty long time now.

Yup. The narrative of the Republican 2012 nomination was that the GOP was constantly trying to find a more exciting alternative to Romney, so they flirted with a whole bunch of not-Romneys. None of them panned out, so they fell back on the only viable choice. Trump's support is substantially different from the 2012 pattern, and there is no obvious choice for the GOP unlike back then.

 

[PBY]

Some perverse part of me really, really, really wants to see Donald Trump win.

Spoiler

I can't be alone in this.

I'm so with this, in a "Welp, you've gone and fucking done it now" way, but not actually in the way that makes you live with it in actual reality.

 

[Downhome]

You seem very sure about what Trump is thinking. You know something we don't because you sound delusional to me.

That's fine, I'm not going to argue the point.

Just let it play out. To me it couldn't be any more obvious.

 

[B-Dubs]

I'd love to see what happens during his presidency, for sure, but not enough to actually want to see what happens during his presidency

if that makes sense lol

I totally understand, I feel the same way.

 

[The Albatross]

I am definitely not voting for Trump, but I am going to a Trump rally today just to people watch. Hitting the bar first and then going in... I'm pretty eager to witness the environment.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

If anyone else besides Donald Trump were maintaining this sort of consistent and prolonged lead in polling, he'd probably be considered the presumptive nominee at this point.

Certainly. If it were Bush or Rubio leading here, I can imagine the Romney narrative easily. The "Sure, technically anything could happen between now and election day, and there wil be some challengere, but I think we've got our guy" narrative. Trump is an unusual beast though.

 

[sangreal]

You seem very sure about what Trump is thinking. You know something we don't because you sound delusional to me.

While I don't necessarily agree that Trump will take that route, it is pretty routine for an election. You pander to the base in the primary, and then pivot to the center for the general. An example would be Obama going from railing against warrant-less wiretapping during the primary and then doing a 180 and voting for it for the general

I think Trump, while malleable, is pretty sincere for the moment in whatever he is pushing though

 

[gutter_trash]

 

[teruterubozu]

I think the Paris attacks helped him more than anyone.

He is the candidate taking the strongest stance, and people get very emotional after what transpired in Paris. We saw that with 9/11 in the US where even people who did not vote Bush still supported him in very high numbers.

Trump really has 3 pillars to where he seems to appeal to people, illegal immigration, which was suppose to kill his run, yet actually made it. Anti political correctness, which is only growing these days and his acumen as a businessman for a country that is over 18 trillion in debt.

Add in his stance on terrorism and no wonder he is still doing well. Either he is incredibly smart and forward thinking, or he really lucked out how everything has been transpiring.

Anything that turns up the xenophobia dial helps Trump.

 

[Malygos]

America needs Trump, he's got my support.

 

[Mengy]

Romney wasn't leading at any point really and came back from third place to win Iowa. He was the party's choice. When has a candidate that the party explicitly did not want won the nomination?

The problem is that if Trump doesn't get the party spot and he feels like he has the voter's backing, he'll just go independent and literally hand the election over to the democrats. The republican party leaders know this and I'm certain they fear it greatly, so in the end they just might be better off actually letting Trump win the primary and contest in the general against Hillary. Trump has the money and will to actually do this as an independent like no other candidate ever has, and it would be disastrous for the republican's if he did.

 

[Angry Grimace]

The idea of a Trump-Hilary election is becoming more and more of a reality. Interesting.

Romney had actual support among voters though.

Look, I'd fucking love to be wrong. Sure, my poligaf bet was on Trump winning this but that's only because I thought it'd be funny. But so far, I'm not seeing any way for Rubio to overcome Trump's support or organization. Not only is Trump running like 20-30 points above Rubio, and has been for the entire race so far, he's also got the best campaign infrastructure in the republican primary. That's not a joke, I wish it was though. He hired the guy that won Santorum Iowa to lead his efforts in Iowa. He's opening offices in the primary states while Rubio is sitting on his ass and talking about running his campaign like it's UBER. It feels like Trump is the only one putting any real effort into winning this thing.

I think people are heavily discounting how much influence the RNC actually has and are also underestimating how truly disastrous a Trump nomination would be for the RNC - the man is deeply unpopular with independents; almost ruinously so. It would be utterly catastrophic for the GOP to have either Carson or Trump as the nominee. I would expect the RNC to flex its superdelegate muscle and anything else they've got to prevent the guy from making it all the way. I don't know if even Trump's really got the money to defeat the full might of the RNC.

 

[BertramCooper]

America needs Trump, he's got my support.

Cool. Why?

 

[BoboBrazil]

Trump is the least scary of the Republican candidates. He's also been in the media spotlight and better for decades. There is no scandal that can rock him, unlike the other candidates.

 

[SodiumBenzoate]

I have said this many times before, in different ways, but I'll say it again.

I'm shocked that so many are so strongly against the idea of Trump. There is absolutely nothing to any of his "extreme" views. He is saying what people want to hear in order to climb to the top, to take out everyone else. Once he secures the nomination (which he will) and his only true opponent is Hillary, his presentation and even much of his policy will shift in order to sway the democrats. He will do so without losing the Republican voters because he will then be the ordained "one" for that side, and he will not do so to the extent that it forces anyone to try to decide on someone else at the convention.

If he is elected President, he will then start to negotiate away much of the far right ideas he has presented and more meet in the middle.

Heck, I'll go so far to say that I think he is the only candidate period that would ultimately be able to get things done on either side of the aisle. I've thought this from almost the very beginning, and I think it even more so now.

I just can't believe that so many people are taking him at face value. That is more insane to me than anything he has actually said or done so far, haha.

On the whole Trump and Carson thing - once Carson pulls back, drops out, the entire nomination race will be over and he will essentially hand it to Trump. I don't think Carson even makes it very far into 2016 at all.

I'm starting to share this line of thinking. I'm not sure what's going to happen but it's going to be crazy.

 

[Angry Grimace]

 

[najehe]

I am definitely not voting for Trump, but I am going to a Trump rally today just to people watch. Hitting the bar first and then going in... I'm pretty eager to witness the environment.

Don't be surprised to hear a "Build the wall!" chant
Also expect tons of Hispanics there since the Hispanics love him.

 

[sestrugen]

Fuck if I know, blow the dust off ol' Mitt Romney or something, anything.

 

[BertramCooper]

I have said this many times before, in different ways, but I'll say it again.

I'm shocked that so many are so strongly against the idea of Trump. There is absolutely nothing to any of his "extreme" views. He is saying what people want to hear in order to climb to the top, to take out everyone else. Once he secures the nomination (which he will) and his only true opponent is Hillary, his presentation and even much of his policy will shift in order to sway the democrats. He will do so without losing the Republican voters because he will then be the ordained "one" for that side, and he will not do so to the extent that it forces anyone to try to decide on someone else at the convention.

If he is elected President, he will then start to negotiate away much of the far right ideas he has presented and more meet in the middle.

Heck, I'll go so far to say that I think he is the only candidate period that would ultimately be able to get things done on either side of the aisle. I've thought this from almost the very beginning, and I think it even more so now.

I just can't believe that so many people are taking him at face value. That is more insane to me than anything he has actually said or done so far, haha.

On the whole Trump and Carson thing - once Carson pulls back, drops out, the entire nomination race will be over and he will essentially hand it to Trump. I don't think Carson even makes it very far into 2016 at all.

Yeah, I'm sure that millions and millions of Hispanic voters will totally forget about Trump calling their friends and family members murderers and rapists.

 

[phanphare]

lol, that picture makes it look like his short legs are different lengths

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Some perverse part of me really, really, really wants to see Donald Trump win.

Spoiler

I can't be alone in this.

I swore to my wife if Trump won we were moving out of the United States, and there's definitely a part of me that wants to live abroad for a few years to experience life from a new perspective. But I think I could still swing that without Trump winning, so I'm gonna go with "no."

 

[Veritigo_X]

Man, I kinda wish Romney would jump in. I loved all the random out of touch rich guy stuff he'd say. "Are these store bought cookies? Yeah, must've gotten them from the local 7-11 bakery because they aren't very good." (paraphrasing)

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Hmm, looks like it's still November 2015.

Normally I would agree, this isn't the case where Jeb is coasting in second or third, Trump and Carson have demanding leads and they haven't gone away.

Primary season is 3 months away, if someone was gonna take the lead and become the person to at least get behind Trump and consistently trail enough to be the serious candidate it should have happened months ago

Trump is going to win this nomination.

 

[KHarvey16]

Neither Newt nor Perry were as consistently up as Trump. Further, Romney was a stalwart at/near 20. The bottom reshuffles now, but really it has been Trump "and...." For a pretty long time now.

But Romney wasn't leading until right before Iowa. The noise before that wasn among less, just as it is now. Without the party's support his candidacy has a huge uphill battle to not simply maintain his standings, but to even still rank on them in a few months.

The problem is that if Trump doesn't get the party spot and he feels like he has the voter's backing, he'll just go independent and literally hand the election over to the democrats. The republican party leaders know this and I'm certain they fear it greatly, so in the end they just might be better off actually letting Trump win the primary and contest in the general against Hillary. Trump has the money and will to actually do this as an independent like no other candidate ever has, and it would be disastrous for the republican's if he did.

The point is by the time it matters he likely won't have the voter's backing.

 

[B-Dubs]

I think people are heavily discounting how much influence the RNC actually has and are also underestimating how truly disastrous a Trump nomination would be for the RNC - the man is deeply unpopular with independents; almost ruinously so. It would be utterly catastrophic for the GOP to have either Carson or Trump as the nominee. I would expect the RNC to flex its superdelegate muscle and anything else they've got to prevent the guy from making it all the way. I don't know if even Trump's really got the money to defeat the full might of the RNC.

Even if he doesn't have the cash to beat them in the primary, he will run as a third-party if they force him out when it looks like he'd otherwise win. The man can hold a grudge like nobody's business. The RNC knows that. If they force him out like that they lose anyway. His ego wouldn't let him take being forced out lying down.

The point is by the time it matters he likely won't have the voter's backing.

He'd only have to move a few percentage points in a few places on the electoral map to totally screw the GOP.

 

[sangreal]

Romney wasn't leading at any point really and came back from third place to win Iowa. He was the party's choice. When has a candidate that the party explicitly did not want won the nomination?

romney didn't win the iowa caucuses. though that misconception probably did help catapult his bid

 

[SodiumBenzoate]

I think people are heavily discounting how much influence the RNC actually has and are also underestimating how truly disastrous a Trump nomination would be for the RNC - the man is deeply unpopular with independents; almost ruinously so. It would be utterly catastrophic for the GOP to have either Carson or Trump as the nominee. I would expect the RNC to flex its superdelegate muscle and anything else they've got to prevent the guy from making it all the way. I don't know if even Trump's really got the money to defeat the full might of the RNC.

If the RNC does this, he will run third party. Book it.

 

[WaffleTaco]

romney didn't win the iowa caucuses. though that misconception probably did help catapult his bid

It was reported that he did...and then a while later it was declared Santorum won...but that does not matter. Santoroum literally came out of nowhere and became the anti-Romney for the rest of the primariers

 

[B-Dubs]

It was reported that he did...and then a while later it was declared Santorum won...but that does not matter. Santoroum literally came out of nowhere and became the anti-Romney for the rest of the primariers

It's kinda important because Trump's got the guy that engineered Santorum's upset in Iowa working for him.

 

[Guevara]

LOL that lovable robot, doing his best person impersonation.

"This is human food right?"

 

[Downhome]

If the RNC does this, he will run third party. Book it.

If they did that, he SHOULD run third party, and I would bet he would get more support than whoever they put in his place.

 

[Veritigo_X]

LOL that lovable robot, doing his best person impersonation.

"This is human food right?"

"Honey, can you pick up something for dinner?"
"TASK COMPLETE: FOOD ACQUIRED"

 

[PBY]

If they did that, he SHOULD run third party, and I would bet he would get more support than whoever they put in his place.

Naw.

 

[aliengmr]

The problem is, so many people just don't vote.

I actually could see Trump win the general election, if events outside of Clinton's control change the landscape. God forbid there's an attack on U.S. soil, or the situation in Europe worsens or something. Americans love a loud-talking bully.

If there an attack on US soil, that would be horrible for Trump. Swing voters will choose experience over bluster.

Its the other way round. If world peace suddenly breaks out Trump has a chance.

 

[balladofwindfishes]

So of the big two that could potentially rival Trump, Rubio and Bush, who drops out first?

I'm thinking Bush drops out by spring after gaining nothing at all from anywhere, while Rubio tags along for awhile until he gets offered the vice presidency and then jumps aboard the Trump Train.

 

[metalslimer]

Man part of me is happy because another McCain would have a legitimate shot but part of me is really sad at what the republican party has become and how many people support them

 

[B-Dubs]

So of the big two that could potentially rival Trump, Rubio and Bush, who drops out first?

I'm thinking Bush drops out by spring after gaining nothing at all from anywhere, while Rubio tags along for awhile until he gets offered the vice presidency and then jumps aboard the Trump Train.

Jeb might not have the cash on hand to survive past New Hampshire.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Even if he doesn't have the cash to beat them in the primary, he will run as a third-party if they force him out when it looks like he'd otherwise win. The man can hold a grudge like nobody's business. The RNC knows that. If they force him out like that they lose anyway. His ego wouldn't let him take being forced out lying down.



He'd only have to move a few percentage points in a few places on the electoral map to totally screw the GOP.

I think people are underestimating how truly disastrous a Trump candidacy would be - Trump being the candidate pretty much assures they lose both the Senate and the White House vs. maybe a fighting chance to hold onto the Senate if Trump goes 3rd party.

 

[DietRob]

I think people are underestimating how truly disastrous a Trump candidacy would be - Trump being the candidate pretty much assures they lose both the Senate and the White House vs. maybe a fighting chance to hold onto the Senate if Trump goes 3rd party.

The best possible scenario is for Trump to be forced to go 3rd party. It would split the GOP votes and we wouldn't have to endure another GOP presidency.