View Full Version : Would Donald Trump Make a Good President?
HappyHiker
2-10-11, 5:15pm
Donald Trump has recently said he would decide by this June whether he will run for president in 2012. If he does run, do you think he would help the needs of the average citizen or help more his fellow millionaires and billionaires? Would he get your vote? Could he beat President Obama?
I certainly wouldn't vote for a cartoonish character like Trump.
Oh geez............is he serious?
Sorry, but I'd have to emigrate if he were elected.
Probably make a better one that "W" or the present Governor of Texas. But in reality I think most of the present candidates are from the same mold. We need an "awakening" and I don't mean that in a biblical sense.
Peace
I am not sure I could get past the hair!
BUT, I have heard him in a couple different interviews where they mostly talked political issues and was actually kinda - okay - A LOT surprised on his knowledge of many of the current issues of the day -- and his opinions/solutions/etc.
Though right off the top of my head I can't think of them at the moment, but there was just this feeling of amazment that first he was considering the run AND I was interested in learning more of what he had to say!
I think anyone who would want to go through that process has to have a BIG EGO and he certainly can check that one off the list!!
With his two very public divorces, bimba wives, his bankruptcies and other odd financial dealings, I doubt he would make it past both the religious right or the fiscal conservatives in the GOP. To be president, you have to gain the nomination via the various state primaries and then the convention. I doubt Mr Trump would be able to do that.
Of course voters will forgive almost any transgression of someone in their own political party, so who knows?
Sorry, but I'd have to emigrate if he were elected.
I'm already learning Canadian in case I have to flee, eh.
iris lily
2-10-11, 10:45pm
No. He can't even produce a good reality teevee show.
Just today I was thinking of all of the reality tv shows I liked and while season 1 of The Apprentice was a lot of fun, the one following were dull and now it's just awful. The other reality tv show I liked was Survivor season 1. Project Runway has been the only one that didn't bore me after multiple seasons. So accoding to that criteria, Heidi and Tim Gunn can run for PRes and co-pres.
So accoding to that criteria, Heidi and Tim Gunn can run for PRes and co-pres.
Good thing Don't Ask, Don't Tell has been repealed. ;)
Project Runway is about the only reality show I enjoy. Never have watched the Apprentice. Oh, and I've enjoyed some of Dancing with the Stars. Guess this is too much thread drift.... Sorry about that.
Back to our regularly scheduled soap opera - The Donald - Will he run? Would he make a good president? Will he restyle his hair alla Giuliani? Marry an even younger woman? Go bankrupt again? Inquiring minds want to know... Tune in to this same station next year - we'll know much more then. ;)
Eggs and Shrubs
2-11-11, 1:55am
I don't know if there is such a thing as a negative role model but if there is mine would be Donald Trump. From his meglomania to his haircut he represents everything I despise.
Recently his behaviour over the developement of an unspoilt part of Scotland into a £1 billion golf course summed him up. Trump genuinely could not comprehend that some people prefer to spend time in the countryside and not play golf.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/26/donald-trump-scotland-golf-protest
Three questions, three no's.
I'd love to see him run. As a Democrat.
loosechickens
2-11-11, 12:48pm
wash your mouth out with soap, LDAHL. :~)
The question that turns my hair gray isn't Trump per se, too many people despise him even as a Personality. But will there come a time when a president is actually elected on the basis of face recognition? When the thing that bring voters out of the woodwork in unprecedented droves is their approval of a candidate as a celebrity? Most people really like Kevin Kline. He played a really nice, ethical president once, ("Dave"), he was very sexy and sweet and responsible in Big Chill, and funny as all hell in A Fish Called Wanda. Charming, seems savvy but kind, gets great movie reviews, has good hair. Does that mean there could come a day when the umpty ump million people who don't currently vote or have any interest in or knowledge of politics get up en masse and pull the lever for him? :0!
The question that turns my hair gray isn't Trump per se, too many people despise him even as a Personality. But will there come a time when a president is actually elected on the basis of face recognition? When the thing that bring voters out of the woodwork in unprecedented droves is their approval of a candidate as a celebrity? Most people really like Kevin Kline. He played a really nice, ethical president once, ("Dave"), he was very sexy and sweet and responsible in Big Chill, and funny as all hell in A Fish Called Wanda. Charming, seems savvy but kind, gets great movie reviews, has good hair. Does that mean there could come a day when the umpty ump million people who don't currently vote or have any interest in or knowledge of politics get up en masse and pull the lever for him? :0!
Didn't that happen to some degree in the last election?
loosechickens
2-11-11, 5:04pm
LDAHL.....pass your soap to Alan when you are finished, please............
edited to add: sadly there probably WERE people who voted for President Obama in just that way, as some of my very own relatives voted for Senator McCain because they were so entranced by the glamorous mother of five from Alaska. As one of them said, "well, she manages to have five kids, a house and a big job up there in Alaska....if she can juggle all that, she'd make a good President".
So.....only a "taste" of soap needed, Alan.....not a whole mouthful........:~)
Does that mean there could come a day when the umpty ump million people who don't currently vote or have any interest in or knowledge of politics get up en masse and pull the lever for him?
It's already happened, and more than once.
There have been several affable actors elected to higher public office. Some would say on face recognition... Ronald Reagan (gov, prez), Arnold Swartzenegger (gov), Jessie Ventura (gov), the guy from loveboat (Iowa?Nebraska?) (congress), Sunny Bono (congress), George Murphy (senator) ..... 5 of 6 were Republicans, don't remember the party of Ventura - could have been an Independent.
Then there was the 'mature' guy from the tv police drama who dinked about in the Republican primaries in '08. Cant remember his name.
Clint Eastwood was elected to city council, another Republican, but that was local politics. Did any opponent really stand a chance against Dirty Harry?
There could be more, these are the only ones I remember.
edit: and at least a couple pro athletes - Kemp (football) and Bill Bradley (basketball). One a Repub, the other a Dem.
These guys all start out with a foot up - not only are they used to being infront of the public, but they already have great name recognition, even if they lack political or legal experience.
Gina, I thought of a few of them, but I'm talking about going from The Office to The Oval Office without any trial period. Reagan had something of a career as a politico for quite a while, people had a chance to see him in action at least. Good evening, I'm Pat Sajak and I'll be your president for this evening. Would you like to buy a vowel? I'm sorry, "F" is not a vowel.
I realize that people are going to vote to some extent based on recognition, appearance and personal appeal, I doubt the public has Ever voted in a president simply because he was politically well-versed. But how far are we going to go down the road of celebridents?
I just have this vision that if it weren't Trump but someone more likeable, there might be a line out the door of people who never thought of voting in their lives suddenly excited about the prospect because there's who knows who that is, the droner, the other one with the mole, and... holy hell, Kevin Kline! Count me in!!
... yikes. maybe the electoral college isn't such a bad idea after all.
but I'm talking about going from The Office to The Oval Office without any trial period.
I would hope that would not happen - isnt the electorate at least that smart? Maybe that's asking too much. Palin came very close if McCain had been elected. She was not an actor per se, but a celebrity candidate none the less. Some would say the same of Obama, but at least he has a few brain cells to rub together.
As to the electoral college, doing away with them, though an idea some think timely, would change the complextion of elections and governance. What candidate would ever campaign in a small state or rural area again? Just hit the big cities and pander to city dwellers because they are where the most numbers of votes are.
catherine
2-13-11, 12:07pm
I think it's an interesting question.
It's true that we are melding celebrity with politics--I think it has to do with the fact that people tend to vote for people they know. A lot of people don't follow political news--but they do follow TV entertainment, and the trailblazers Gina mentioned have opened the door for people like Al Franken (I liked him on SNL, but can't stand that thought that he's in office--Talk about government by sarcasm).
Even though I'm registered independent but have voted Democrat almost exclusively, I actually leave the door open on the Trump question, like Greg. I don't dismiss him out of hand. I think he's smart, self-confident (understatement), decisive. Most of all, he seems to really love what he does and does what he loves.
Anna Quindlen once wrote a great op-ed piece on how all of the greatest presidents transmit a joie de vivre that somehow infects the citizens. You might not like Ronald Reagan, but he sure had that optimistic smile on every single day. Same with Clinton--he seemed like a kid in a candy store running the country. Both easily got in a second term.
Contrast that with Jimmy Carter, who Quindlen said ran the country as if he were doing the Stations of the Cross. He was a one-term president. I voted for Obama, but I don't get the feeing he's lovin' it in the White House. I don't know.
I'm from New Jersey, and, despite my Democratic leanings, I think Chris Christie is a breath of fresh air. I would like to see a president bring the same kind of fearless commitment to the job. Not saying Trump would do that, but I'd give him the opportunity to at least make a good case.
I'd love to see him run. As a Democrat.
LMAO!
ApatheticNoMore
2-14-11, 2:29pm
"Buy low, sell high, get rich and you still die,
Money talks, people jump, ask how high low life Donald What's-his-name,
And who cares? I don't want to know what his girlfriend doesn't wear,
It's a shame that people that work want to hear about this kind of jerk." - John Gorka :)
Really the subject leaves me profoundly indifferent. Of course he's not qualified. Then again some good qualifications have done us either, when the political system is entirely corrupt.
He could try running for governor instead :). (Hey honestly I didn't think our famous governor was that bad, though I prefer the current Jerry Brown, who doesn't have an ounce of charm, and I absolutely love that!)
ETA: Amazon sought fit to recommend this book to me today: "The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America", I don't know if I'll ever read it, but Donald Trump does sound like one big walking pseudo-event! :)
We're so secure/safe/well fed in this country that I guess we can afford to waste our choices of president. Its sort of like Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Most of us in the U.S. have food/clothing/shelter/laws that protect us and our property, and much, much more. I guess because we feel so secure, we can be flippant about who's in charge. Can you imagine the people of Eqypt now choosing a rock star/movie star or some other kind of idol? Even our poor have so much more than the poor of many other nations. I'll bet its the people who are ignorant of how much they really do have, and are ignorant of what it would truly feel like to lose it all, who are being silly in voting for the celebrity-du-jour for president.
ApatheticNoMore
2-15-11, 12:56pm
We're so secure/safe/well fed in this country that I guess we can afford to waste our choices of president. Its sort of like Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Most of us in the U.S. have food/clothing/shelter/laws that protect us and our property, and much, much more. I guess because we feel so secure, we can be flippant about who's in charge.
Sometimes I am sympathetic to the argument that there is something psychologically wrong with the masses of people that makes them so apathetic. :|( And the critique has often been made that people have no real training in freedom and democracy.
But I think it's more people don't see much difference regardless of who they vote for now. However voting for Trump would be a bad communication to make. It's sending a message "we really don't give a darn! we really really really don't!"
Can you imagine the people of Eqypt now choosing a rock star/movie star or some other kind of idol?
I don't fully understand the movement in Egypt, don't know any more than anyone what will evolve out of it (nor whether it will turn fanatical or whether U.S. involvement will end up sabotaging it (or both)). Maybe unlike the U.S. they'll get leaders that don't bankrupt their country, transfer their money to banksters, outsource their jobs, sell their environmental protections to the highest bidder, and then through the IMF work on weakening demand for the debt! We can only wish them well.
With his two very public divorces, bimba wives, his bankruptcies and other odd financial dealings, I doubt he would make it past both the religious right or the fiscal conservatives in the GOP. To be president, you have to gain the nomination via the various state primaries and then the convention. I doubt Mr Trump would be able to do that.
Of course voters will forgive almost any transgression of someone in their own political party, so who knows?
I found this thread from 2011.
Teacher Terry
9-1-18, 7:50pm
Too funny!
iris lilies
9-1-18, 8:43pm
I found this thread from 2011.
Haha, thanks for finding this thread.
Did Bronxboy leave the country, I wonder?
Bronxboy's last post was 3 days after Trump was elected.
I stand by my original position. I would prefer Mr Trump to be a Democrat. I would even settle for Social Democrat or perhaps Green.
gimmethesimplelife
9-1-18, 10:22pm
Nobody in the 85006 really believed he'd be elected.......seriously, it was and still is very much a shock that Hillary Clinton did not win. Interesting thread dating back to 2011 btw! Rob
Teacher Terry
9-1-18, 10:29pm
Democrats are not that gullible!
Williamsmith
9-1-18, 11:32pm
So maybe start a conversation about if Trump will get re-elected. Then in 2020 we can look back with astonishment.....AGAIN!
Teacher Terry
9-1-18, 11:40pm
If our country is that stupid twice heaven help us! Just watched John McCain’s funeral and hearing Obama speak was awesome . That’s what a president should sound like. Bush was a breath of fresh air in comparison to trump. Meghan McCain had the last word about trump on her father’s behalf. I love John McCain’s last message which is America is important and country first than party.0
I find it interesting that thete are two different reactions to the Trump message.
Meghan McCain and others say America always was great.
Krystal Lake and others are saying America Never Was Great.
If the opposition to Trump splinters he could win again.
Nobody in the 85006 really believed he'd be elected.......seriously, it was and still is very much a shock that Hillary Clinton did not win. Interesting thread dating back to 2011 btw! Rob
I was in a super secret ballroom in Washington DC, with members of the CIA, OSS, various special forces groups, and some foreign intelligence folks. Shortly before the election - a few weeks.
Nobody in that room thought Trump would be elected. They were all trying to figure out how to deal with Clinton winning.
Ooops.
I was in a super secret ballroom in Washington DC, with members of the CIA, OSS, various special forces groups, and some foreign intelligence folks. Shortly before the election - a few weeks.
Nobody in that room thought Trump would be elected. They were all trying to figure out how to deal with Clinton winning.
Ooops.
Doesn't speak well for our "intelligence community" , does it?
I stand by my original position. I would prefer Mr Trump to be a Democrat. I would even settle for Social Democrat or perhaps Green.
Except racism and fiscal irresponsibility aren’t really democratic party traits so he would have had to go with a whole different platform.
Teacher Terry
9-2-18, 1:17pm
Democrats don’t enjoy making fun of people that are disabled, don’t hate immigrants and don’t want poor people to die.
Except racism and fiscal irresponsibility aren’t really democratic party traits so he would have had to go with a whole different platform.
Oh I don’t know. His positions on immigration and protectionism were pretty similar to Bernie’s. He also seemed to share Bernie’s emancipatory fiscal mathematics. He certainly seemed to indulge in identity politics, although from a somewhat different perspective than the Democrats. I could have seen him running on the donkey ticket.
Except racism and fiscal irresponsibility aren’t really democratic party traits ….
I think history says otherwise.
Democrats don’t enjoy making fun of people that are disabled, don’t hate immigrants and don’t want poor people to die.
So you're saying that Republicans do?
Democrats don’t enjoy making fun of people that are disabled, don’t hate immigrants and don’t want poor people to die.
You’re forgetting Mr. Obama’s Special Olympics joke.
Teacher Terry
9-2-18, 1:52pm
You can draw your own conclusions.
You can draw your own conclusions.OK...Done!
Teacher Terry
9-2-18, 1:59pm
What does voting for someone that openly is racist, etc say about people that voted for trump? I would never vote for anyone that is so hateful. He has made it okay for people to be racist and they feel empowered. After all he is the so called president.
gimmethesimplelife
9-2-18, 4:03pm
What does voting for someone that openly is racist, etc say about people that voted for trump? I would never vote for anyone that is so hateful. He has made it okay for people to be racist and they feel empowered. After all he is the so called president.The Thug of Orange is a leader is one way and I have to give him this much to be fair. He is a leader in showing the public how NOT TO act, think, believe, and behave. He's a very good opposite of a role model - a very good example of how not to be. So I guess even the Thug of Orange does serve a purpose of sorts. Rob
The Thug of Orange is a leader is one way and I have to give him this much to be fair. He is a leader in showing the public how NOT TO act, think, believe, and behave.
People at his rallies seem to be emulating his behavior. So at least some portion of the public is using him as a model.
Bother.
As the saying goes, "Everyone has a purpose........even if it's to set a horrible example".
I'm trying to understand many of his followers. I'm not sure what the motivation is. Are they just rebellious and Trump is encouraging them? Are they people who have inflexible minds and once they choose something/someone, they are theirs forever?
I'm having a hard time understanding them. Now don't go making me sound like I'm saying ALL Trump voters are like that. I think a lot of them really thought he could change things for them, in a good way. What I don't understand is how, after awhile of listening to him and seeing how egotistical and self-serving and hateful and immature he is, they don't change their minds about him? That makes me think a lot of them are just getting off on him giving them permission to be obnoxious and hateful.
I can't believe what he said about if the Dems win in November.......that they will quickly and violently reverse all the changes he's made. Violently? I think that was a 'dog whistle' to get his base all worked up, and to let Dems know there would be violence if they did reverse things. There's always a reason why he says everything he does. It may not make sense to many of us, but it's a convoluted way of him directing things to go the way he wants.............total hateful narcissist that he is.
Remember, he's totally in thrall to Putin (as a "useful idiot"), whose goal is to sow chaos*. Putin must be fairly orgasmic with glee over how this turned out. And with the GRU hacking critical election software, he may yet reach his most treasured goal--to be a dictator, with total power.
*Intelligence officers suspect there's more in his background than incontinent hookers...
Williamsmith
9-2-18, 10:47pm
Remember, he's totally in thrall to Putin (as a "useful idiot"), whose goal is to sow chaos*. Putin must be fairly orgasmic with glee over how this turned out. And with the GRU hacking critical election software, he may yet reach his most treasured goal--to be a dictator, with total power.
*Intelligence officers suspect there's more in his background than incontinent hookers...
Just wondering, how intelligent are these intelligence officers who can’t produce a meaningful shred of evidence to support this narrative the media has been selling advertising with? If Trump finishes his first term and gets re-elected.....will you still buy this horse hockey? It was pointed out by the previous President that hacking critical election software in the US is impossible. These are the same agencies that were mistakenly certain Saddam had WMDs poised to use against the world but they can’t prove Trump has a urine fetish. What a crock.
Just wondering, how intelligent are these intelligence officers who can’t produce a meaningful shred of evidence to support this narrative the media has been selling advertising with?
It seems to me that the people in positions to have access to the alleged information would not be in a position to disclose anything specific to the media. Well, without subletting Chelsea Manning's cell.
I’m curious about the no shred thing. I mean, heck, trump has pretty much confessed to everything. And i suspect Mueller knows a lot more than i do. The real question is whether trump’s followers will continue to screech ‘fake news!’ After mueller spells it all out in painful, irrefutable detail.
Williamsmith
9-3-18, 7:15am
I’m curious about the no shred thing. I mean, heck, trump has pretty much confessed to everything. And i suspect Mueller knows a lot more than i do. The real question is whether trump’s followers will continue to screech ‘fake news!’ After mueller spells it all out in painful, irrefutable detail.
The use of the words “pretty much”. And “I suspect” are words you’d hate to hear on a witness stand. I suspect your Testimony would pretty much be disregarded.
Every few weeks for the past two years, and I'm quite serious about this, I see a headline or hear the words "President Trump," and for fraction of a second I experience this weird feeling of disconnectedness from reality. Can this actually be happening? I ask myself. And then, after that fraction of a second passes, I realize: Yes, this is really happening.
I haven't yet found a satisfactory term in psychology to explain these mental blips. The closest I've come is cognitive dissonance (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance), but I'm not sure that's entirely accurate. Words like shock or incredulity don't seem right, since those are ongoing states and this feeling only lasts for the barest fraction of a second. I guess it could be compared to the emotion you'd feel if you saw something in the sky you thought was a weather balloon and then realized it was actually a UFO.
I'm still having a hard time believing this is happening. To my dying day, the words "President Trump" will never stop sounding bizarre together. Unless perhaps, they are eventually replaced by "prisoner Trump."
I feel the same way, oldhat. Even though this image is "funny"......it is so appropriate. (I think one has to be older to understand it). But it's perfect.
2492
The use of the words “pretty much”. And “I suspect” are words you’d hate to hear on a witness stand. I suspect your Testimony would pretty much be disregarded.
It’s pretty much a given that Bob Mueller is aware of this. And I suspect that the witnesses wont be using either phrase.
I think the phrase "the noose is tightening" is appropriate here. There are many elements involved, and these acts go back decades. Everyone who knows him believes that Mueller is meticulous and fair--if only he isn't cut off at the knees by our Defendant in Chief.
-if only he isn't cut off at the knees by our Defendant in Chief.
Or his defenders in congress who seem to love being in power far more than they love the rule of law.
Or his defenders in congress who seem to love being in power far more than they love the rule of law.
I've noticed that. As in other areas--fiscal conservatism, individual freedom, states' right, etc.--the current power structure seems to take an expedient view.
One theory I've heard is that the Russians have extensive dossiers and plenty of Kompromat held in reserve. Lindsey Graham went from "holy hell to pay" to "Trump deserves the AG he wants" in the blink of an eye.
I've read Malcolm Nance's excellent The Plot to Hack America, and I'm in queue for Isikoff and Corn's Russian Roulette, which a friend highly recommended.
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