While I am no supporter of Donald Trump, I have often wondered what made this guy want to run for president... I mean what exactly drove or urged him to do all this ridiculous crap... And is he really this ignorant and buffoonish? Trump seems to me to represent a bad but pretty accurate caricature of a republican. Everything he says, like in his own private life is above and beyond outlandish.. Ultimately the man has to be running for his own ego.... I came to conclusion that he must really be sick in the head to seek this MUCH attention for himself. But I had a thought the other day, He once said if he didn't win not only the nomination but the presidency as well, then this whole "thing" would have been wasted time (in Trump lingo repeating himself and then boasting about himself). So assuming he actually received the nomination and ran against Hillary and got defeated... What would this man say?? What if he said exactly what he stated earlier and then doubled down on it and said, "I ran with no experience, and said whatever I thought would get me votes, I spent none of my own money but a lot of yours and made some more while doing it! Most of all I made it to the very top of the Republican Party and nearly won the white house! What a waste of time.." What an epic line that would be! Haha, well it made me laugh... What a country we live in...
Donald Trump appears to be many things, and to many people. He's no fool, because he's rich enough to live the way few other people manage to in their (sad, pathetic) lives. He's no loser. But he is a fool because he thought he could apply the same logic that made him rich (which no doubt was accompanied by many lies) to make himself into a politician. Not just any politician mind you, but The Big Man kind of politician who gets to sit behind the desk of the Oval Office. His problem seems to be (to me, anyway), that he then would have no-one at all behind him. To wit, the image above, courtesy of the New Yorker (possibly).
1) Power. People like it. He's used to it and has spent his whole career trying to acquire it. 2) Of course he's that ignorant. He has surrounded himself with people who tell him how smart he is, and has made a lot of money, so he has no reason to change. Exactly. He just doesn't have enough political experience to cloak his comments in the "dog whistle" language that the rest of the GOP uses. For example, you can't say "Mexicans are rapists" but you can ask "do you really want to have your kids going to school in an area overrun by illegal aliens?" You can't say you want women who want abortions punished, but you can try to mandate transvaginal ultrasounds "for the good of the woman and her unborn baby." That would imply a level of introspection I doubt he is capable of. More likely he'll say "I was the people's choice, but the election was unfairly stolen from me by those a**holes in the GOP and that b**ch Hillary. Watch my new reality TV show where people try to campaign with ME to be President!"
Well it's more than power, in Trump's case I think it's mostly ego. Is Trump ignorant? Well, the jury is still out on that one. I guess the question is, about what? He may very well be ignorant of international events. I'm not sure how much of what Trump says is just baiting and appeasing the Republican base and how much is real. I have to believe, given his background, he isn't ignorant of economics and business. He should know something of economics. He did go to business school. But that doesn't mean he is a good businessman. And clearly, thus far his stated economic policies are just as wacko and preposterous as wacko can be. But that's what the Republican base wants to hear. As for making a lot of money, well the jury is out on that one as well. Because Trump's businesses are private, it's difficult to know how much money Trump has made or lost. Based on valuations of others, professionals who do such things, it appears Trump is at best mediocre as a businessman and may very well be much less than mediocre. Actually, I think that is his strength. He outright says what others have only referenced in coded language and that is attractive to the disgruntled Republican base. The Republican base perceives Trump's behavior as being forthright and honest. This is Trump's strength. Trump has seen an opportunity and is taking full advantage of it. I have little doubt Trump has much introspection, in his world, in his mind, he is perfection. So why would he need introspection? I agree, if he loses, he will scapegoat others for his failure. It's what Republicans do, they do it well and often. If Trump fails to get the Republican nomination, I wouldn't be surprised to see him attempt a 3rd party run.
What was it that trump actually said about punishment and abortion? I don't think he said that women should be punished, did he?
After 8 seconds of searching on Google: =========== MATTHEWS: Do you believe in punishment for abortion, yes or no as a principle? TRUMP: The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment. MATTHEWS: For the woman. TRUMP: Yeah, there has to be some form. MATTHEWS: Ten cents? Ten years? What? TRUMP: I don’t know. That I don’t know. That I don’t know. MATTHEWS: Why not? TRUMP: I don’t know. =========
Isn't that what Republicans have been advocating for years now with unnecessary medical procedures and restricting acct to healthcare?
Well, I guess if abortion becomes illegal, the mother would be paying to have her unborn child murdered. That's what's the right to life crowd is always talking about, how abortion is murder. Now that Trump came out and said it, they are upset?
Suppose a child is due to be born in the afternoon, and the mother elects for an abortion: Is this murder? How about stopping life a few days afterwards? How about stopping life a few months beforehand?
1) It's called a "Ceasarean Section" or "induced labor", and the child is alive afterwards - so no, that's not murder. 2) Killing children is murder. 3) That's not murder, obviously, because no person exists yet to murder. Do you favor punishing women for having abortions? Do you regard Trump's opinions in this matter as "progressive"?
Do I favor punishing women for having abortions? Are you insane? Maybe you forgot, you're the Statist. Whereby according to your logic, if the functionally illiterate electorate 'The People" pull the magic voting lever and make abortion illegal, then the State will indeed 'punish' women for having abortions. Because at that point abortion will be illegal. Just like drugs. One day legal, the next illegal, the next legal again. As a matter of fact, if abortion became illegal, and a woman resists State coercion, agents of the State have the right to escalate violence up to and including murdering her. See? That's the State's special right, to initiate violence against morally innocent humans, as well as those that are guilty. As an aside, of anyone here, I'm probably the only, or one of the few, who have dealt with human fetuses and late embryos. Anyone here see a human embryo through a dissection microscope? Care to guess the differences between 7 and 16 weeks? I promise you, the developmental changes are fairly dramatic. While I could probably toss a chunk of beef or a chicken breast on the table in front of you, and you'd probably not think twice (particularly if it was wrapped), if I did so with a 21 week human fetus, you'd have an all together different reaction. Yes, it's easy enough to say 'no person exists' from the ease of your keyboard. Is abortion murder? Good question. Depends on the developmental age of the fetus. Even so, it is my opinion that any woman can make the choice of elective abortion for herself. Murder or otherwise. There's no need to ask the functionally illiterate masses their opinion on the legality of the matter. Nor me mine. Clear enough?
What kind of questions are these? Of course. There are circumstances where I'd advise elective abortion be performed. It's by no means an easy decision to be made. It's one that should be made with a heavy heart and leave a long lasting feeling of remorse whenever reflected upon. In my opinion.
Trump earned his money the old fashioned way, he inherited it. He had a rich daddy. Below is a link to a Psychology Today article on Trump: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/theory-knowledge/201509/trump-psychosocial-analysis
Well, he came out and said it "in the clear." For years, right wing extremists have been using "dog whistles" - coded phrases meant to communicate what they really think about women/minorities/gays etc. without coming out and saying it. They learned that when they say "blacks are lazy" for example they get a lot of grief from those evil liberals and the mean mainstream media. But if they don't say it, their base (i.e. other bigots) don't support them. So they have learned to speak in code. Rather than saying "blacks are lazy" they say "inner city youths can't hold down a job." Their base knows what they mean; "inner city" in their mind translates to "black." And if they are called on it? They can claim "I just said 'inner city' not 'black!' What are you, racist?" Trump's sin, therefore, is not that he is saying these things. The GOP has been saying them for years. His crime is that he said it in the clear, without any code words. This is putting the far right in a very uncomfortable position. Do they disavow the things they have been saying for years? Do they censure him for saying what their other leaders have been saying, albeit in code? Or do they support him, and lose the ability to deny their positions when called on them?
