Quote :

"congressional GOP repeatedly fails all over itself"

And yet I have zero confidence that the Dems will pick up seats in the midterms. R is such a terrible platform with terrible leaders and yet D has been unable to do anything about it.

9/14/2017 2:45:51 PM

Quote :

"I'd rather have one 6 year house term and one 10 year senate term, and that's it. Let them get in, do the goddamned work that needs to be done and move on."

good fucking luck getting them to vote for term limits on themselves.

9/14/2017 3:48:47 PM

i know. it's so damned depressing

9/14/2017 7:22:38 PM

Art of the deal, people. Start from an extreme position, double down, walk away, then come back and accept a normal deal which gives the impression that you are the nicest guy ever who would give up anything for the sake of getting the deal done.

He been doing divide and conquer with the republican party the whole time. He's trying to piss them off so he can paint them as the bad guys. He's using the democrats to help make himself look better. Yes its a win win, but only for him.

Who is the base and the alt right going to vote for if something like this happens? Trump of course because they still want their court justices.

Quote :

"He barely won, and even his own team thought he was going to lose. They did no absolutely no prep work, and still have been woefully underprepared. His win was a fluke. Hillary didn't make great choices, but had it not been for Comey's weird 2nd press conference, she probably would be president now."

ok thats a strong argument but then how do you explain the primaries? He beat a lot of big names and had the entire establishment against him. How did he manage to build so much support? Did he have all those flukes in a row?

9/14/2017 9:47:15 PM

Quote :

"You can’t con people, at least not for long. If you don’t deliver the goods, people will eventually catch on. - The Art of The Deal"

https://mobile.twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/278255308009267200

9/15/2017 8:55:12 AM

^^

Yes. When you have a field of 10 people and you get 15% of the vote, you win.

It’s an illogical way to pick a winner, it’s mathematically unsound.

If gop had used ranked voting trump would probably not have won.

9/15/2017 7:06:24 PM

Quote :

"Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Loser terrorists must be dealt with in a much tougher manner.The internet is their main recruitment tool which we must cut off & use better! 6:48 AM · Sep 15, 2017"

FINALLY coming down hard on those white supremacists. Thank God!

9/15/2017 8:20:21 PM

Quote :

"Did he have all those flukes in a row?"

Simply put, yes. It was the greatest fluke and confluence of situations in history. It is also a stain on all of us.

He won fairly and it's a disgrace.

9/16/2017 6:40:02 AM

Quote :

" ok thats a strong argument but then how do you explain the primaries? He beat a lot of big names and had the entire establishment against him. How did he manage to build so much support? Did he have all those flukes in a row?"

Because too many republicans were eating each other trying to be the not-Trump choice. Up until the point where most of the other candidates dropped out, he was nowhere near close to having a majority of the Republican primary votes except in Massachusetts and Mississippi. When it was down to just Trump, Cruz, and Kasich, he did worse and was losing states until the north east voted (New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island...who all were going to be for Hillary no matter what). Then he had it locked up and there was no point in showing up to the primaries in the final states, which led to Trump landslides in the final states (Indiana, California, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico)

If it had just been Trump vs Kasich the whole way, like it was Hillary vs Bernie, then it would have been a completely different primary and likely a different result.

9/18/2017 2:57:11 PM

Quote :

".@POTUS says again he wants a Bastille Day-like parade of U.S. military assets on 4th of July in DC, "to show our military strength.""

FFS, he either has a 2" dick or fetishes Hitler history channel shows.

9/18/2017 3:23:47 PM

He's an unintelligent autocrat.

9/18/2017 4:29:22 PM

Quote :

"Because too many republicans were eating each other trying to be the not-Trump choice."

This argument doesn't hold up because, at the start of the primaries, they were all ahead of him. They didn't start running against him until he was already in the lead. So my question for you is, how did he become the frontrunner in such a crowded field?

Quote :

"he was nowhere near close to having a majority of the Republican primary votes"

Thats how it works when you have a large field. This theory that all of the non-trump votes would rank trump last was disproven time and time again as more people dropped out. Thats where your excuses really start to become elaborate

Quote :

" except in Massachusetts and Mississippi. "

Quote :

"until the north east voted (New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island...who all were going to be for Hillary no matter what"

Quote :

"here was no point in showing up to the primaries in the final states,"

So once we take out:
-all of the states he was strong in
-the states that voted too early
-the states that voted too late
-the states that were going to hillary anyway...

Quote :

"If it had just been Trump vs Kasich the whole way"

this was never possible. Kasich was never a leading candidate so don't compare him to Hillary. Bush was the Hillary. Trump took out all of the frontrunners. In hindsight, maybe your hypothetical would work out, but it was never possible. Trump made Kasich.

Here is the original poll from 2015; back when I thought Trump was an idiot.


Jeb Bush 22%
Scott Walker 17%
Marco Rubio 14%
Ben Carson 11%
Mike Huckabee 9%
Rand Paul 7%
Rick Perry 5%
Ted Cruz 4%
Chris Christie 4%
Carly Fiorina 2%
Donald Trump 1%
Lindsey Graham 1%
John Kasich 1%

You're saying Trump was lucky to be behind all of those guys and refusing to give him any credit for defeating all of those previously very strong candidates.

Quote :

"Simply put, yes. It was the greatest fluke and confluence of situations in history. It is also a stain on all of us."

So it was all an accident and he wasn't opportunistic at all? So is there really no one on this board who can give him any credit for coming from a position of nowhere to defeating the entire political and corporate establishment of both parties all by himself?

I can't understand the origin of this mindset where someone we completely disagree with is automatically stupid because they think in a different way. Like, do you ever do "what if" thought experiments to test out the alternatives of what you believe?

[Edited on September 18, 2017 at 11:34 PM. Reason : lwhay]

9/18/2017 11:25:57 PM

Quote :

"I can't understand the origin of this mindset where someone we completely disagree with is automatically stupid because they think in a different way."

Is this real? And addressed to me? I've admitted countless times on here when I'm wrong as I get new information. Just recently about Sanders voters.

I've known Trump was a gritfting moron for years. Ever since he was plastering stories about his dick size and sexual prowess all over the local news and papers where I grew up. He didn't and won't ever change. Period.

In general, I'm perfectly willing to listen to other sides and my views have been known to change over time as I get more knowledge (I'm FAR more progressive now in my 30s than I ever have been -- a lot thanks to becoming a dad).

[Edited on September 19, 2017 at 8:06 AM. Reason : Surprised Earl isn't outraged about Trump using govt like a bank account]

9/19/2017 8:05:57 AM

Quote :

"Trump Administration Rejects Study It Commissioned Showing Positive Economic Impact Of Refugees After commissioning a study of the impact of refugees to support its travel ban, the Trump Administration rejected its primary conclusion, according to The New York Times. Health and Human Services researchers reportedly found that refugees have in net contributed $63 billion to the economy over the last 10 years. This fact was taken out of the final report however, with the White House saying that conclusion was politically motivated. The final report only provides figures comparing benefits given to refugees vs benefits given to citizens, and does not mention revenue."

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/us/politics/refugees-revenue-cost-report-trump.html

9/19/2017 3:19:51 PM

The problem is that you want to say every part of his life was a fluke.

Got rich? fluke
Regained his forture? fluke
TV success? fluke
Primaries? fluke
general election? fluke

Flukes don't happen that many times to the same person. That kind of goes against the definition of fluke. You don't have to condone him to acknowledge that he is clever. Thats the whole problem. I'm pretty sure I disagree with him more than you because I'm further left than you but you paint me as a Trump supporter just because I acknowledge his genius.

9/20/2017 1:28:24 AM

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/09/19/iran-america-first-five-takeaways-president-trumps-united-nations-speech-north-korea-america-first-f/680994001/

What an atrocious mendacious genocidal megalomaniac.

Didn't he say before the elections that he wants to pull American tentacles out of the world and focus on America's internal issues? And that he doesn't want war?

9/20/2017 5:19:22 AM

He lost an inherited fortune twice. His staying power came with being a reality TV star as I’ve said multiple times. I give him credit the same way I give Kim Kardashian credit.

I don’t consider conmen geniuses though I suppose being able to get less informed people to believe you mean well and aren’t trying to simply enrich yourself is a talent too.

9/20/2017 6:46:09 AM

Narcissism, charisma and being born into a near billionaire family is all you need to be a famous TV personality.

Trump was never a spectacular businessman, he’s always been a TV personality that tried to leverage this into making money and has had varying degrees of success, until he conned Republicans into nominating him then fluked his way to being president.

9/20/2017 2:06:59 PM

How are Michael Cohen and Barry Zuckerkorn not the same person?

9/20/2017 2:16:11 PM

He just publicly uninvited Steph Curry to the White House. Manchild strikes again. This after last night calling Kapernick and friends "Sons of Bitches" and telling them to get off the field.

Truly amazing 40% of the country in 2017 approves of this guy.

9/23/2017 9:29:29 AM

^best part is the White House has not even invited the warriors to visit because he doesn’t want to be turned down. The man put two straight up lies in less than 140 characters, he’s an efficient SOB

9/23/2017 10:32:24 AM

go ahead and give Lebron a Nobel Peace Prize

9/23/2017 12:10:12 PM

I’m sure Earl is preparing a “12D chess” post but this is such a stupid play by Trump. His base probably loves it because he is poking at blacks but these are some of the most popular athletes on earth

9/23/2017 12:22:04 PM

Trump doubling down on it now. Sad this is our president. At least the more time he spends bashing minorities for peacully protesting, the less time he spends on anything else?

9/23/2017 2:33:04 PM

Quote :

"I’m sure Earl is preparing a “12D chess” post but this is such a stupid play by Trump. His base probably loves it because he is poking at blacks but these are some of the most popular athletes on earth "

The explanation is right there in your own post. You hate it, I hate it, and ^ hates it, but none of us were ever going to vote for Trump. How is it stupid to piss off people who were never ever going to vote for you anyway?

The reality is that "his base" and enough of the country to win the election demands respect for the flag, police, and military under any circumstance. The NFL's words don't really matter because Kaepernick was effectively banned from ever playing in the league again. "His base" may enjoy watching these players play basketball, but at the end of the day, they think NBA players are thugs and only have respect for them when they are "being good". -(See Cam Newton celebrations).

9/23/2017 7:13:40 PM

He doesn't need to actively play to his base. They're with him him, pretty much no matter what. Making more enemies while gaining basically nothing more than he already had with these people is not some genius move

9/23/2017 7:57:10 PM

Nobody is gonna talk about Healthcare when they can talk about Steph and Bron

9/23/2017 8:22:25 PM

Quote :

"He doesn't need to actively play to his base."

Fear requires you to always press the pedal to the floor. He has to keep them scared and riled up 100% of the time. That's why he's doing it (though I am almost certain he's doing it by instinct as opposed to intelligently deploying strategy).

More importantly, by doing this, it guarantees they all come out to vote. The problem isn't that more people in this country agree with him, the problem is that more people who agree with him vote than do people who do not agree with him.

tulsigabbard's not making a bad point - Trump doesn't give two shits about the people that won't vote for him. He just has to do enough to make sure 100% of the people that will vote for him come out and vote. Democrats have been absolutely awful at this for the past 30 years on a local level and the past 10 years or so on a national level (Senate/House).

9/23/2017 8:40:58 PM

I would argue there are ways to do exactly what you're describing without picking new topics and making new enemies

Also if this is just a distraction from healthcare that would make his earlier tweet on just that subject an interesting choice

9/23/2017 9:06:29 PM

The setting of that speech was campaigning for a candidate who is opposed by his base. He had to strategically throw them a bone since he is siding with Mitch MC against Bannon and the right on this. Everytime he does something "divisive" he's getting liberals to attack them so that conservatives have a common enemy and reason to support him.

Its all calculated and especially effective because you guys still can't see through it. It might not have been effective if no one reacted but when Lebron goes on twitter calling the president a bum, it solidifies the reaction he wanted to get. He's playing you guys hard and counting on your response to his every word. Its an artistic level of genius.

9/23/2017 9:15:52 PM

It’s fucking pathetic and abhorrent. Nothing else needs to be said.

[Edited on September 23, 2017 at 9:19 PM. Reason : Lebron James has done more for this country than Donald Trump could do in a 1,000 years ]

9/23/2017 9:18:23 PM

Earl how much would you be willing to bet one of the scenarios you volunteered earlier that would prove Trump is NOT a genius playing all of us doesn't occur?

9/23/2017 9:35:58 PM

Quote :

"I would argue there are ways to do exactly what you're describing without picking new topics and making new enemies"

I do agree he could be smarter about it. That's why I made the comment regarding instinct as opposed to strategy. I can't see how the black people that voted for him continue to do so after this. Then again, who knows.

9/23/2017 10:05:54 PM

Quote :

"none of us were ever going to vote for Trump. How is it stupid to piss off people who were never ever going to vote for you anyway? "

It's stupid to piss off people who didn't vote at all the first time and are now much much more likely to show up to vote against you the second time.

9/24/2017 2:16:38 AM

Maybe I'm simplifying this but how is this any different then Clinton's "basket of deplorables" comment?

9/24/2017 7:06:55 AM

Trump haters, would you hate trump less if he didnt tweet? I'm pro-trump but i hate the tweeting and am anti-wall, things i thought would cost him the presidency. Is he redeemable in your eyes?

9/24/2017 8:39:36 AM

" I support Trump I just wish he was a completely different person from the one I voted for, I also don't support his number one campaign promise"

9/24/2017 9:31:13 AM

Quote :

"Trump haters, would you hate trump less if he didnt tweet? I'm pro-trump but i hate the tweeting and am anti-wall, things i thought would cost him the presidency. Is he redeemable in your eyes?"

I think Trump haters would be less aware of the things that give them a reason to hate him if he tweeted less. But he would still be doing all of the things that make people hate him.

9/24/2017 10:41:05 AM

I don't see his tweets unless they make the news. But I listen to a lot of what he says at rallies and in speeches and I hate him for pretty much everything he says.

9/24/2017 1:07:16 PM

his tweets aren’t some foreign entity

they’re him

9/24/2017 1:09:37 PM

^^Trump haters don't watch his rallies/speeches. But they do see his tweets, like you said, in the news.

9/24/2017 2:03:03 PM

I do, because what the president says matters.

9/24/2017 3:43:53 PM

I guess what I'm implying is, people like myself pretty much expect the worst from him so I can guess what he says at any given time so no reason to waste my time watching him pander to his base with predictable rhetoric.

9/24/2017 4:08:04 PM

His tweets don't bother me one bit, because they're just his stream of consciousness in poorly composed into 140 character messages. Nothing he says really shocks me anymore- I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he starts being even more disgusting by using racial slurs openly or dropping F-bombs. He's the same person he's always been, so why would his childish Twitter behavior be the last straw?

9/24/2017 6:44:14 PM

Not like the Iranian leadership is peaceful, but damn, this juxtaposition is just epic.

https://www.facebook.com/ajplusenglish/videos/vb.407570359384477/1049315745209932

He sounds like a mean little horrible egomaniacal genocidal troll.

9/24/2017 8:10:08 PM

I think he forgot to clarify Iran's position that the world of which he's speaking does not include Israel.

9/24/2017 11:37:40 PM

and you forgot to mention that the context of that would be Israel's government in its current, oppressive, imperialist form.

9/24/2017 11:59:05 PM

I personally think the President isn't divisive enough.

We need more of it as a country.

9/25/2017 8:51:27 AM

lol

9/25/2017 9:44:30 AM

I thought Obama touting his stupid NCAA bracket was a waste of presidential time. I probably criticized him as such on here. But these latest developments? Wow. Who cares what the NFL does? You don't like it, don't watch it. We have way too many things to worry about. Rather than wasting time talking about sports in a speech, perhaps we should focus our efforts elsewhere.

9/25/2017 9:53:28 AM