Donald Trump discussion Thread IX (threadbanned users listed in OP)

aloyisious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121859003#Comment_121859003

He is supposed to have made a reference on his Truth Social site to her funding and the votes she got as radical left democrat. I Think the Koch Brothers cut their funding after Haley lost 15 of the primaries to Trump.

Another of her funders, Ken Griffin, also stopped his funding after Haley suspended her campaign. He has not committed any funds to Trump, saying he is a conservative republican and would look at Trumps campaign promises to see if they satisfied him. I cant see the Koch brothers changing horses midway to funding Trump.

Elon Musk does not, as yet, seem to have decided to fund Trump with cash donations, just verbal support along the rhetorical line after they met on Sunday supposedly to discuss him funding Trumps campaign with cash in the future. Trump has not made public comment yet to confirm his campaign now has extra cash from a new source, which I assume would not be long in coming were it correct and legal.....

Edit. I've just seen an online report in the Daily Mail to the effect that Musk said he is not donating to either 2024 presidential campaign. However the report may be "dated" at this time and I don't have absolute faith in that papers reports.

aloyisious

It looks like Trump is another step closer to having a political party of his own now that he's got family members and proxies in charge of the RNC. The GOP may not be quite done yet, if those elected GOP members who are never-Trumpers can hold onto the original party trails and choose to fight back against Trump from within the organization. I hope they succeed and give the US a reason for existence.

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121874677#Comment_121874677

They’ve got what they wanted and what they deserve.

Anyone who’s still a member of the GOP can’t claim to be a “never Trumper”.

eire4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121875114#Comment_121875114

They certainly have got what they deserve. I totally agree with you there. What is very disturbing not just for Americans though but for the whole world given how powerful the US is like or not is that the Republican party at this point is no longer interested in democracy but have now fully embraced authoritarianism and have as their leader a full on demagogue and wanna be dictator. That is not good news for anybody.

Brian?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121875879#Comment_121875879

My biggest fear is a smarter, younger version of Trump. He’ll be unstoppable.

Yes, it will be a he.

aloyisious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121875114#Comment_121875114

There may be some amongst those who are facing or were convicted of offences related to the insurrection Trump incited who see themselves as GOP members AND "never Trumpers" having decided not to be recidivist.

Some former RNC people are claiming to be under no apprehension of what Trump and Co plan to do with RNC funds once they get control the funds. Odds on the Trump family members now on the RNC will be very selective in where and on what they spend RNC funds.

eire4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121876112#Comment_121876112

Again I agree with you. It is very scary indeed.

aloyisious

Robert Hur, the lawyer appointed as special counsel to investigate Bidens handling of classified documents and who gave Biden what amounts to an all clear with his report on the issue [despite passing comments on Bidens memory] testified on the matter today before a congress committee.

Mr Hur retired officially from his DOJ job and position some days back which removed him from legal obligations/duties he may have had to the Dept and freed him up to give the testimony as requested by GOP members, with another lawyer linked to the GOP aiding him to do so.

https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=9089a76c53c03b5fJmltdHM9MTcxMDIwMTYwMCZpZ3VpZD0wYjkyYjAwZC1mOGE4LTY4ZDktMzIxOC1hM2I3ZjllNTY5YzMmaW5zaWQ9NTUyMw&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=3&fclid=0b92b00d-f8a8-68d9-3218-a3b7f9e569c3&psq=Robert+Hur+to+testify+before+congress&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmJjbmV3cy5jb20vcG9saXRpY3MvanVzdGljZS1kZXBhcnRtZW50L2xpdmUtYmxvZy9saXZlLXVwZGF0ZXMtc3BlY2lhbC1jb3Vuc2VsLWJpZGVuLWNsYXNzaWZpZWQtZG9jdW1lbnRzLWNhc2UtdGVzdGlmeS1jLXJjbmExNDI3OTg&ntb=1

aloyisious

In what is described as a surprise move, Ken Buck, the GOP Rep for the 4th district of Colorado announced in a short statement on social media that he would be stepping down from Congress at the end of next week, reducing the GOP majority number there to two.

The sudden decision of Rep Buck to retire suddenly without even [reportedly] informing Speaker Johnson - 'I was surprised by Ken's announcement. I'm looking forward to talking to him about that,' first seems to speak loudly of how co-operative the GOP members are feeling toward each other.

The other GOP Colorado Rep, Lauren Boebert, of the 3rd district has been facing a decision lately in whether to move districts and run [alongside other persons] for the 4th district in Nov next or stay put in the 3rd. Her family has been facing into problems of their own along with her son facing charges related to: EDIT, alleged thefts. I do not know if it was coincidence that Rep Boebert was already planning to make a move on Rep Buck's seat in Nov or if there had retirement rumours in the wind that Speaker Johnson knew nothing of.

robinph

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121876112#Comment_121876112

We should definitely be worried about someone more competent than Trump coming along. But at the same time it is highly unlikely.

The Trump thing is that he had existing celebrity that people believed in. No politician is going to have that. Any of the people hanging around Trump and trying to be a younger version of him are nobodies until they got into politics and started hanging around Trump, and the moment they lose their seat will fizzle away to nothing other than an occasional guest on a TV "news" show.

To have what Trump has you'd need to have pre-existing celebrity before deciding to get into politics. The MAGA heads will most likely lose interest in voting in the same numbers once Trump leaves the scene, so whilst he has exposed weaknesses in the system and messed with the balance of the likes of the Supreme Court for decades, I don't think there is a replacement for him coming along anytime soon.

mewso

Elon Musk just handed me his beer.

robinph

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121889247#Comment_121889247

He's South African.

mewso

Ah yes I forgot about that part. Still he could send some money Trump's way to have that rule changed.

Flaneur OBrien

If he didn't get sacked from Fox, I thought Tucker Carlson would have been the MAGA heir apparent.

Only time I was happy with Fox, was them showing him the door.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121889256#Comment_121889256

No he couldn't. It is a constitutional requirement.

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121891423#Comment_121891423

I mean it was the core part of his whole "birther" bollocks with Obama...

Tony EH

...and the reason why Arnie never ran.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121892406#Comment_121892406

It is one of the great (American) political what-ifs: would Arnie have won had he been able to run for Presidency? Seems broadly accepted that if he could he would have, as he was quite serious about his career. It's so long ago I can't even remember how his term as governor went - or where he sits on key American ideological subjects.

salmocab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121892466#Comment_121892466

Have no idea about his competence but I’ve seen him speak about the country being divided by politics and he seems well clued in on where the conservatives are heading/gone

Rjd2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121888872#Comment_121888872

RDS was basically a more competent Trump, a clearly intelligent man whose worldview was that of what supposedly MAGA wanted politically.

However he was rejected because MAGA don't care about policy, heck I'm not even sure they care about winning , they just want Trump because he annoys the people they dislike.

Looking at 2028 who knows, Donald JR maybe?

I do think we could also get some social media type entrepreneur type with a big social media following going for the MAGA base.

It likely won't be a conventional GOP politician no matter how much they run to the right policy wise as RDS found out the hard way this time round.

Brussels Sprout

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121892466#Comment_121892466

As governor he championed independent redistricting in California against the wishes of many sitting politicians from both parties who were unhappy at potentially having to face competitive elections. That's a great legacy to have in a country where so many states are disgustingly gerrymandered.

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121893467#Comment_121893467

RDS was rejected because he has the personality of a pebble.

MAGA is about emotion and being "emotive".

They support Trump because he puts on a good show and rouses them - He is a carnival barker and snake-oil salesman perfectly suited to the White Conservative Christian Zeitgeist of frustrated anger at their rapidly declining demographic and the loss of their perceived "moral high-ground".

They don't like change , they don't like different and they absolutely don't like the growth of a secular inclusive society that is rapidly becoming the main-stream norm in the US.

Trump's gift has been tuning into that anger and spinning a story that resonates - Just like the arch con-man that he is..

Dohnjoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121876112#Comment_121876112

People say Trump is stupid, in my opinion he's not, he's extremely smart and knows how to manipulate a large swath of Americans, to the point that he can threaten democracy. Right now there are a young generation of populists studying his every move, learning how to do the same. I have the exact same worry.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121893600#Comment_121893600

I understand this argument, but I don't agree with it. I think he has essentially lucked into the fact that his shtick is wildly popular with certain sectors and that they don't care about logical inconsistency. There is no rhyme or reason to his actions, his cohort just follow his bizarre zig zagging through political issues. He can't control himself at all, he is an inherently deeply impulsive man. There is no thought to his actions at all.

Leroy42

There is nothing in Trumps past to suggest he is intelligent. Certainly not above average.

He lacks self control, lacks the ability to form structured sentences. Seems to have no ability to stay focused or concentrate. He has shown no desire to learn or improve.

Seems to struggle with anything more than a basic amount of information. Shown no ability to either understand or explain complex ideas.

As in the previous post what he has got is an ability to lie continuously and without any regret. He has no shame. He has been lucky to be accepted and idolised by so many that are willing to not only accept all the above but actually support it and gladly accept his lies.

Dohnjoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121894076#Comment_121894076

Intelligence is multi-faceted. I'm sure he couldn't name a capital in Scandinavia, but he could wrangle himself out of a situation that would sink 99 out of 100 smart politicians. Multiple times.

He might not be "book-smart", but he knows how to manipulate 10's of million of Americans like it's nothing.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121894783#Comment_121894783

He doesn't wrangle himself out of anything. His fanatical supporters wrangle themselves into continuing to support him and the media tags along with ridiculous reporting of him. 99 out of 100 politicians would not get the same framing or treatment as him. When people constantly say that if politician X did Y it would sink them, it doesn't mean Trump is somehow deftly manoeuvring out of consequences for doing Y, it just means that everyone has gone insane and is letting him away with it.

He could do a complete about face on everything he has professed tomorrow and his support would be relatively undiminished.

Does he manipulate them? yes. Does he do it consciously or know how to control it? absolutely not.

Leroy42

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121894783#Comment_121894783

He is a good liar, is shameless and has both the money and enough sycophants around him to allow him away with it.

But what he is great at doing is making people change widely accepted definitions to suit the narrative that he is what he clearly isn't.

Intelligence is understood and most people understand what it means. Yes, con men, drug dealers, mafia etc are all intelligent in terms of getting success but they are not considered intelligent as intelligent is understood to mean the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. Trump has shown neither.

Podge_irl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121894943#Comment_121894943

He's a brazen liar, not a "good" one.

I wouldn't completely agree otherwise either. I think some con men for example can be quite intelligent in how they go about things and it definitely involves knowledge and skill. Trump just...isn't that. He just has an army of willing dupes.

aloyisious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121894967#Comment_121894967

And lawyers willing to do his bidding for a variety of reasons, not necessarily in the pursuit of justice.