Trump

[Tweefo]

How the hell can anybody, who is doing the best he can to derail his campaign, be still in the race? He's pissed off the Latinos, whomen, war vets and anybody who is proud of his hair. Not only still in the race but actually gaining? The bigger question, of course, is what will the world be like if he managed to become the president? The Americans are sometimes nutty enough to let him do just that. A bit like us voting Zuma in.

[Faerie]

He is arrogant and he is stupendously wealthy - two things the Americans admire above anything else. I would not be surprised if he got voted in. What the world would look like after his first term I dont want to even contemplate, he'd bomb whatever he considers a threat. The man doesnt possess an inkling of compassion or sense of fair play.

[BoogieMonster]

The voted in Bush, who believed he was god's instrument against the unbelievers... and that spawned multiple wars. So I don't think this all that theoretical at all.

What can go wrong? Nuclear armageddon.

[brianvds]

The man's a complete buffoon, meaning he'll stand a good chance of getting at least half the vote. :-)

Still, having such a man as prez fora term or two sometimes does a nation a lot of good, in that they learn a hard lesson in being more careful about whom you vote for. My condolences though to the families of everyone he's going to bomb.

[BoogieMonster]

You're assuming SA doesn't do something mildly irritating to him personally and he doesn't decide to bomb US.

[Faerie]

My first thought was that it might be doing us a favour.... 

[Brian]

Back to Trump the Chump: I have a different take on this idiot...he knows how to play to the crowds and TV and they love him for that but when and if he becomes Prez he'll sing a totally different tune with special advisors backing him. He's never been in politics and will bring business acumen to the White House which is not a bad thing. However much will depend on him being less of an arrogant clown.

[Faerie]

He's a wet fish. Flip flopping between and around issues. From a female perspective he's a disaster waiting to happen. The man will erode the little bit of rights women have over their bodies and prospects in that country, ditto the minorities.

[Majin]

Back to Trump the Chump: I have a different take on this idiot...he knows how to play to the crowds and TV and they love him for that but when and if he becomes Prez he'll sing a totally different tune with special advisors backing him. He's never been in politics and will bring business acumen to the White House which is not a bad thing. However much will depend on him being less of an arrogant clown.

I don't think he will really bring business acumen seeing as he isn't such a great business man to begin with. He got most of his money from Daddy, and even messed that up at times. Trump is just a name.
http://opinion.injo.com/2015/09/247749-donald-trump-is-a-mediocre-businessman-and-his-record-proves-it/

Besides I think he will make the rich only richer and the poor poorer. Sooner or later we are going to have something like a "french revolution" again because issues aren't solved.

[BoogieMonster]

Agreed with Majin, he's an arrogant ass who thinks he walks on water despite being relatively sucky at business for a supposed billionaire. His statements and attitudes betray that he's not much of a deep thinker. Whether the US prez really holds the power to erode anyone's rights is debatable. I think often politicians make promises knowing full well there are multiple layers of government preventing exactly what they're promising.

Plausible Deniability. "Oh I didn't expect it'd be so hard to deport an entire class of people. #WhoKnew?"

[Majin]

The guy playing "devil advocate." Someone is finally asking trump some hard questions.
Imo it doesn't matter if the reporter baited him, he still gave a stupid answer.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvmseaBPgmE

[Mefiante]

Trump is successful ’cos most of his supporters are inept and easily bored paranoiacs.

No surprises there, then.

'Luthon64

[BoogieMonster]

These attitudes of "they have to be stupid and/or insane" towards Trump supporters is a part of what's got them all riled up. Tell someone they "disagree with you because they're stupid" long enough and they may just believe you: Not.

All they hear is a cathedral saying "Trust us all ye worthless masses, let us deliver you from your own ignorance". And such a stance is never going to go down well. This is why Trump Exists. He's the Nirvana of politics: There to play the discontent, a vehicle for anger with the status quo. The latter bit of the article is actually the most accurate: It's a middle finger to the establishment more than it is actual support of Trump.

Call me stupid and/or crazy, but I do kinda see the point: We can't trust trump, sure, but can we trust Hillary? He may engage in a war or two, but what recent president hasn't? etc. I do have a citation, from the very mouth of a Trump supporter.

This reminds me of Marilyn Manson's reply to a reporter asking him what he would've told the kids who committed the Columbine massacre. He simply replied: "I would've listened to them". This is the mental inversion the larger world needs to realize: To keep calling Trump supporters idiots, despite how one may feel, has so far been entirely counter-productive. It has about as much effect as calling Nirvana fans "washouts" or teenagers "potheads": It merely strengthens their resolve. All they really want is to make a point so big that nobody can miss it: "It's time to listen to us". I wish a lot of talking heads would realise this, and have an earnest conversation about the problems with politics. Instead everyone's hands are on the same wheel steering us towards an abyss.

The problem I personally have is, a lot of the PC stuff they're against, I'm also against. Trump may be a massively stupid overreaction, but that's the reaction, and it may be more productive to accept that without invoking prejudice so that the real problem can be addressed.

I do not hope Trump wins, but in my disagreement, I can understand.

[brianvds]

These attitudes of "they have to be stupid and/or insane" towards Trump supporters is a part of what's got them all riled up. Tell someone they "disagree with you because they're stupid" long enough and they may just believe you: Not.

I have seen it argued that the thing that his supporters have in common is not stupidity or low education, but authoritarianism. I.e. they believe in a strong leader that tells other people what to do.

Call me stupid and/or crazy, but I do kinda see the point: We can't trust trump, sure, but can we trust Hillary? He may engage in a war or two, but what recent president hasn't? etc.

Yup, there is actually preciously little to choose between the two - they are both far right wing authoritarians and warmongers. With her long experience, Hillary is likely a more effective and intelligent administrator, but that might actually make her a worse choice, as she'll be more effective in enforcing her agenda.

America is in for interesting times... :-)

[Mefiante]

The let’s-circle-the-wagons effect lies at the heart of all identity politics, so raising it in the context of the Trump phenomenon isn’t really any more enlightening than pointing out the fruitless mutual name-calling that characterises such politics.  There are local analogues aplenty.

What’s interesting is that the poles seem to be heftier than the middle.  What’s entirely uninteresting is that that rather vast middle (i.e., “middle” in US terms) is aligned mostly along its own historical allegiances: most Republicans will vote red and most Democrats will vote blue.  What would be as jaw-droppingly encouraging as it is unlikely to happen would be a US electorate that woke up to the realities it is facing and voted Independent.

Apart from that, the fact that the US’s sphere of influence on most of the rest of the world is vastly disproportionate to its actual presence and that the choice of its leader currently is between a psychopath and a village bully, should be deeply concerning to any thinking observer.  It’s the whole world that’s headed for “interesting times”, not just the US.

'Luthon64