The Cult of Trump

[swamp]

None of the other Trump Lites seem to attract the same cult like worship that Trump does, though.  

I'm really not sure how this will play out, but I can't see someone getting all hot and bothered for DeSantis, Cotton, or Pence.  They will vote for them, but not have the same slavish devotion. 

[Tennesseer]

Nov 22, 2022 9:50:12 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

I’m watching MSNBC right now, and they have a guy on who had a focus group of Republican voters who had voted for Trump at least once, if not twice. 

He asked them to summarize how they felt about Trump in 1 word - a few said positive things, but most said things like ‘tired,’ ‘sanctimonious,’ ‘divisive,’  but when he asked the exact same people to summarize how they felt about DeSantis they said ‘hope’ or ‘future of the GOP’ or ‘leader.’

I think Trump might finally be done - but I think he’ll burn the house down if he goes. 

One part of me wants trump to disappear forever.  And I mean forever.  The other part of my wants trump to be the Republican candidate and loose really, really bigly.

Trump may not make it to the primaries

The conventional wisdom has Donald Trump as either the man to beat for the Republican nomination or at least headed for a drawn-out fight to the finish with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But could Trump flame out and not even make it to the Iowa caucuses?

It’s not as far-fetched as you might think. In fact, it’s not far-fetched at all.

Trump has severe strategic problems and polling problems, not to mention his legal difficulties. They all add up to a very rough trajectory over the next several months. Everyone knows Trump hates to lose. When faced with losing, he either claims he was cheated, or quits.

A year from now, Trump might be far enough behind DeSantis that quitting will be the only way to avoid losing.

Bad numbers getting worse
Trump’s polling has been soft for more than a year, with the percentage of Republicans who want him to run consistently falling 20 points or more below his approval ratings. He has found it difficult to score above 50 percent on ballot tests against Republicans who aren’t even running yet.

And those numbers are getting worse.

Both YouGov and Morning Consult conducted post-election benchmarks, and Trump’s fortunes are falling across the board. Morning Consult has the best polling for Trump, but Trump’s favorable rating with Republicans edged below 80 percent. While 61 percent of Republicans still want Trump to run, 73 percent of independents don’t. Trump’s ballot test against DeSantis fell from a 48 percent to 26 percent advantage pre-midterm to a 47 percent to 33 percent advantage, down 8 points.

The YouGov poll is a disaster for Trump. In one week Trump fell from 81 percent approval to 77 percent. Far worse, Republicans who want him to run collapsed from 60 percent to just 47 percent. DeSantis holds a 46 percent to 39 percent advantage on the ballot test. YouGov polled all voters on a Trump-DeSantis ballot and every demographic preferred DeSantis, except Hispanics who were split evenly. Conservatives favored DeSantis 51 percent to 33 percent, a catastrophe for Trump.

Dull and directionless Donald
But Trump’s biggest problem going forward is he has nothing new to offer.

His campaign announcement showed a man just plodding forward. After months of teasing a “big announcement” where everyone knew he was getting in the race, the actual event was an anti-climax. Instead of a big show, America saw Trump stroll into a gaudy country club ballroom and drone his way through a desultory teleprompter speech.

He offered nothing really new or interesting. Outside of pivoting from blaming the Democrats for stealing the 2020 election to blaming China (watch for that to become a theme), Trump just rehashed old promises and complained about Biden. What’s the message? Trump had four years to build a wall and didn’t, so give him a second chance? Trump didn’t drain the swamp, but he will this time? And there was no follow-up. No big Iowa or New Hampshire rally. Trump spoke, and that was it.

It all adds up to a candidate without a message, without credibility and even — finally — bereft of showmanship.

Given all that, how does Trump gain votes or even stop the bleeding?

Pivots won’t work

Rest of article here: Trump may not make it to the primaries

[Tennesseer]

An update poll of historians, political scientists and presidential scholars as to the best and worst U.S. presidents.

Presidents ranked from worst to best

The ranking of presidents... so far
Is President Joe Biden the best president in history — or the worst? Turns out, it's neither. According to the latest available survey of presidential historians, he's somewhere in between.

But who is the worst, and who is the best? And where would other recent presidents, such as Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush rank on such a list? Here are the results of a sweeping survey of historians, political scientists and presidential scholars maintained by Siena College Research Institute. Since 1982, SCRI has ranked presidents across 20 categories, ranging from integrity to executive ability.

This is the first time that Biden has appeared on such a survey.

List here: Presidents ranked from worst to best

[djAdvocate]

Nov 22, 2022 9:47:01 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Nov 21, 2022 22:45:21 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

I’m tired of the entire party. Trump is just a symptom. The entire party is a bunch of nihilist. They have no vision for the future. Have no interest in improving anything. Don’t care about the well being of ghe people. Just into victimhood for a minority of the population. Feed into “white fragility.” The fact that the get enough people to vote for them says something about our population, and I am not sure it is positive

 

Trump has reduced politics to who wins. The GOP doesn’t have a platform anymore. It’s just the party of winners against all the losers - the dems, the LBGTs, the immigrants, and now even against teachers, the Capital police, and the FBI.  And now, Trump is turning the GOP against the GOP.  

I remember back in 2016 there were some GOP leaders who warned their party not to let Trump take control of the party because he would destroy it. They were right. 

this is precisely it.  it is like a sporting event.  and who benefits from that?  certainly team red or team blue does.  but the rest of us?  what about US?

[djAdvocate]

Nov 22, 2022 13:11:12 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

An update poll of historians, political scientists and presidential scholars as to the best and worst U.S. presidents.

Presidents ranked from worst to best

The ranking of presidents... so far
Is President Joe Biden the best president in history — or the worst? Turns out, it's neither. According to the latest available survey of presidential historians, he's somewhere in between.

But who is the worst, and who is the best? And where would other recent presidents, such as Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush rank on such a list? Here are the results of a sweeping survey of historians, political scientists and presidential scholars maintained by Siena College Research Institute. Since 1982, SCRI has ranked presidents across 20 categories, ranging from integrity to executive ability.

This is the first time that Biden has appeared on such a survey.

List here: Presidents ranked from worst to best

there are a few surprises on that list, but i generally agree.  it is surprising how many dogs are in the bottom half.  ranking Trump in the bottom 10% is a given.  he may still go lower.

[Tennesseer]

Trump's sick ad he posted on Truth Social.  Took cuts from older movies.

link

[Opti]

I don't think I can finish watching that. 

[happyhoix]

Nov 22, 2022 18:49:22 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Trump's sick ad he posted on Truth Social.  Took cuts from older movies.

link

So what was the point of that? Simply the joy Trump gets being adored? 

There seemed to be no message in it. Only fluffery. 

Such narcissism. 

[dondub]

Nov 22, 2022 19:51:29 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Nov 22, 2022 18:49:22 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Trump's sick ad he posted on Truth Social.  Took cuts from older movies.

link

So what was the point of that? Simply the joy Trump gets being adored? 

There seemed to be no message in it. Only fluffery. 

Such narcissism. 

He’s a fluffer.😵

[djAdvocate]

Nov 22, 2022 18:49:22 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Trump's sick ad he posted on Truth Social.  Took cuts from older movies.

link

WTF does that even mean?

yeah, he is a "phenomena".  so are hurricanes, and lightening, and tidal waves.  but i don't want them running my government.

[Tennesseer]

Nov 22, 2022 20:12:47 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Nov 22, 2022 18:49:22 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Trump's sick ad he posted on Truth Social.  Took cuts from older movies.

link

WTF does that even mean?

yeah, he is a "phenomena".  so are hurricanes, and lightening, and tidal waves.  but i don't want them running my government.

You forgot red tide as a "phenomena".

[dondub]

Nov 22, 2022 20:30:37 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Nov 22, 2022 20:12:47 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

WTF does that even mean?

yeah, he is a "phenomena".  so are hurricanes, and lightening, and tidal waves.  but i don't want them running my government.

You forgot red tide as a "phenomena".

Who said the ‘red wave’ was just some ketchup on a Mar-a-Lago wall?😎

[laterbloomer]

The thing is, you guys are actually always close to a 50/50 split of democrats and republicans when the elections actually happen. Even the trumpettes didn't change that in any really significant way. And I mean when they elected Trump.
You didn't have a red wave this time but you won't be able to tell its a slim majority when they start going after democrats and passing extremely conservative legislation. How does a country stay so close to 50/50 for so long?

[billisonboard]

Nov 22, 2022 22:38:38 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

The thing is, you guys are actually always close to a 50/50 split of democrats and republicans when the elections actually happen. Even the trumpettes didn't change that in any really significant way. And I mean when they elected Trump.
You didn't have a red wave this time but you won't be able to tell its a slim majority when they start going after democrats and passing extremely conservative legislation. How does a country stay so close to 50/50 for so long?

The Republican majority in the House can pass all the conservative legislation they want and it will not pass the Democratic controlled Senate nor be signed into law by our Democratic President.

[Opti]

Nov 22, 2022 19:51:29 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Nov 22, 2022 18:49:22 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Trump's sick ad he posted on Truth Social.  Took cuts from older movies.

link

So what was the point of that? Simply the joy Trump gets being adored? 

There seemed to be no message in it. Only fluffery. 

Such narcissism. 

I think it was I'm so popular, re-elect me.

[tbop77]

Nov 22, 2022 22:38:38 GMT -5 laterbloomer said:

The thing is, you guys are actually always close to a 50/50 split of democrats and republicans when the elections actually happen. Even the trumpettes didn't change that in any really significant way. And I mean when they elected Trump.
You didn't have a red wave this time but you won't be able to tell its a slim majority when they start going after democrats and passing extremely conservative legislation. How does a country stay so close to 50/50 for so long?

I don't think it will be as bad as this, DEMS are at least willing to work on a bipartisan level.  I know they will be going after the DEMS.  I cannot help but think their actions over the next 2 years will prove how they care nothing about the country.  I think the big red wave faltering is encouraging.  Trump running his big mouth over the next two years will help.  And they are stuck with him.  His cult is only about 30%.  


The Republican-controlled Senate has the 116th Congress on track to be the least productive in history.



Only 1 percent of nearly 15,000 bills have been enacted into law between January 3, 2019, and now, a new report from watchdog group Common Cause shows.



"The House of Representatives passed nearly 10 democracy reform bills, often with bipartisan support, this session, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked debate and markups on all of these bills and refused to allow a vote," Common Cause's director of legislative affairs, Aaron Scherb, said.

www.newsweek.com/mitch-mcconnells-legislative-graveyard-helping-current-congress-least-productive-history-1532424

[swamp]

Nov 22, 2022 22:15:55 GMT -5 dondub said:

Nov 22, 2022 20:30:37 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

You forgot red tide as a "phenomena".

Who said the ‘red wave’ was just some ketchup on a Mar-a-Lago wall?😎

It was mid-cycle spotting. 

[tbop77]

Happy Thanksgiving! So thankful to be able to come here with people who share my views.  Living in the red state of KY and now snowbirding in FL....well, you can imagine!  

And since I like to always start the day off with a laugh, here's your 2024 Republican ticket:


Now that his Twitter account has been reinstated, Kanye, 45, has been keeping fans abreast of his political plans and claimed to have visited Mr Trump, 76, at his Mar-A-Lago home in Florida.



In a Tuesday night tweet, the rapper wrote: ‘First time at Mar-a-Lago. Rain and traffic



‘Can’t believe I kept President Trump waiting. And I had on jeans Yikes.’



He then added: ‘What you guys think his response was when I asked him to be my running mate in 2024?’


www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/kanye-west-asks-donald-trump-to-be-running-mate-in-presidential-bid-and-here-we-go-again/ar-AA14spWI?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=d2d2133d02024eff87a0d9bb23df3078

[moon/Laura]

Oh holy shit, lol. trump as a vp instead of pres? He probably laughed that dumbass, Ye, right out of the room! And I'm pretty sure he wouldn't accept Ye as *his* running mate, either.

[djAdvocate]

actually, VP would have been a way better choice for him.  it gives him all the shelter he wants without any of the hassle of actually doing anything.

[moon/Laura]

But he can't be '2nd place'. His ego won't allow it.

[djAdvocate]

Nov 24, 2022 16:37:25 GMT -5 moon/Laura said:

But he can't be '2nd place'. His ego won't allow it.

i realize that.  all i am saying is that VP gives him everything he wants EXCEPT being #1.  all of the power and influence, all of the "percs of office", etc- NONE of the baggage.

[tbop77]

The 1'51 Twitter video opened with a title card revealing that the following conversation took place at "Yeezy HQ" in Los Angeles, California. What follows is West's account of the "Mar-a-Lago Debrief":



"I think the thing that Trump was most perturbed about, me asking him to be my vice president. I think that was like lower on the list of things that caught him off guard. It was the fact that I walked in with intelligence.



So Trump is really impressed with Nick Fuentes, and Nick Fuentes, unlike so many of the lawyers of so many people that he was left with on his 2020 campaign, he's actually a loyalist. When he didn't know where the lawyers is, you'll still have your loyalists. And when all the lawyers said, 'forget it, Trump's done,' there are loyalists running up in the White House, right? And my question would be, why, when you had the chance, did you not free the January Sixers?



And I came to him as someone who loves Trump. And I said, 'Go and get Cory back, go and get these people that the media tried to cancel and told you to step away from.'



He basically gives me this would be mob-esque kind of story, talking to some kid from the Southside of Chicago trying to sow mobby or whatever. He goes into the story about all that he went through to get Alice Johnson out of jail and how he didn't do it for Kim, but he did it for me. But then he goes on to say that, 'Kim is a [BLEEP], you can tell her I said that' and I was thinking like, 'that's the mother of my children.'



Since we know and all the Christians in America that love Trump, know that Trump is a conservative, we're going to demand that you hold all policies directly to the Bible.



When Trump started basically screaming at me at the table telling me I was going to lose. I mean, has that ever worked for anyone in history? [laughs] I'm like, woah woah hold on hold on Trump, you're talking to Ye."

www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/trump-was-screaming-at-me-says-kanye-full-transcript-of-mar-a-lago-video/ar-AA14xAmJ?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=06866d3539154218abda906bf813dc73

OMG, the Republican party is just full on crazy!  

[tallguy]

OMG, the Republican party is just full on crazy!

Has been for a while.  The thoughtful, sane people left.

[dondub]

So what’s up with Ye? Is it delusions of grandeur AND bi-polar all rolled into 1?

[happyhoix]

Nov 25, 2022 13:09:05 GMT -5 dondub said:

So what’s up with Ye? Is it delusions of grandeur AND bi-polar all rolled into 1?

He certainly has some kind of MH issues.

I feel sorry for the guy. Clearly he has no one who can speak frankly with him, maybe steer him to some help. His crazy ass anti Jewish comments recently lost him a bunch of sponsors and now one of the big shoe companies is suing him for something like 250 million.

Being crazy but wealthy is one thing. Being crazy and broke is a whole lot worse.

[happyhoix]

Ye brought some friends - Nick Fuentes, white nationalist and holocaust denier. 

www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-dined-with-white-nationalist-holocaust-denier-nick-fuentes/ar-AA14yVkM?ocid=a2hs&cvid=ac196f9819ab40be94cfd42712808c94

Trump is trying to claim Ye brought Nick without telling Trump he was going to do that. Plus they ate quickly and then left for the airport. 

The secret service letting someone come to dinner with Trump who hasn’t been vetted? I don’t think so. 

Doesn’t matter. This will endear him to the MAGA minions. 

[thyme4change]

Nov 22, 2022 10:50:56 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

Nov 22, 2022 10:42:15 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

The evangelicals have money and Republicans are desperate to retain that base.  If they refuse to sign checks that's it for Trump.   They've been backing him up to this point because his name had power and brought in votes/donors.  Voters are now drying up and if the money dries up I think the Republican party will be done with him.

They have the ability to pick their candidate and put someone forward who could potentially beat Trump.

Whether not he would take his ball and go run third party or try to usurp the Democratic party to stick it to the Republicans IDK.  Given his current record if he does that though I imagine that is the end of him he doesn't have enough hard core supporters to take away from either major party enough to win.

What scares me is people get lazy and don't vote like in 2016 because they assume he will lose and he slides in that way for a second time.   People need to remember 2020 and continue to vote.

You are far more optimistic than I am. I think Trump has a good number of republicans under his spell. If he is the nominee, they will vote for him, rather than allowing a dem to be elected president. They believe the ends justify the means. If it requires holding your nose and voting for trump, or getting what they do not want, they will vote for trump. Morals do not(and never did) matter to them.

I think most voters chose the worst of two evils - especially for President. So, in 2020 Dems concentrated on Trump’s disgusting personality and Republicans concentrated on the Democrat’s disgusting view of the world. In 2016 it was just disgusting Trump vs disgusting Hillary.

[happyhoix]

Trump says the massive fraud surrounding the 2020 election is so huge we must terminate all rules, even those found in the Constitution.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-calls-for-termination-of-election-rules-in-constitution-to-overturn-2020-election/ar-AA14S1n7?cvid=ad12e29072fe4a6483134a3e327a3222

Then reinstate Trump as president, because everyone KNOWS he actually won.

Well while we’re throwing out all the rules, let’s throw out the one that gets misinterpreted the most - the one about everyone has a right to swagger about carrying weapons of mass destruction like modern day pirates.

[djAdvocate]

Nov 26, 2022 13:30:22 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Nov 22, 2022 10:50:56 GMT -5 pulmonarymd said:

You are far more optimistic than I am. I think Trump has a good number of republicans under his spell. If he is the nominee, they will vote for him, rather than allowing a dem to be elected president. They believe the ends justify the means. If it requires holding your nose and voting for trump, or getting what they do not want, they will vote for trump. Morals do not(and never did) matter to them.

I think most voters chose the worst of two evils - especially for President. So, in 2020 Dems concentrated on Trump’s disgusting personality and Republicans concentrated on the Democrat’s disgusting view of the world. In 2016 it was just disgusting Trump vs disgusting Hillary.

again, not arguing, but what is this?  i am just having trouble imagining it.