... Why in the world is Donald Trump running for President?

[Gikoku]

Seriously, this feels and sounds like some SNL skit come to life. This man has no business being in the presidential race, but he's in it anyway. He's a republican to the core and fully embraces his own bull manure on a daily basis, every time he opens his mouth he says all the wrong things and it doesn't even faze him. Bigotry to racism, he's done it all. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger & Ronald Reagan before him I fear his pop-culture status is what will give him that exceptional edge and that's probably what will indeed happen.

I've seen folks all over the net express how hilarious it will be for Trump to be president and will opt to vote him into office for that very reason. Really? I guess George Bush was hilarious too given all the damage he caused.

I mean what's next, Kanye West running for president? This country...

 

[Precipice]

In regards to thread subject: This is what I have been thinking since his announcement.

I think he's only playing a Republican to the core. Previously he was a huge fan of the Clinton Foundation, supporter of loose immigration and gave a thumbs up to pro-choice initiatives. I don't think he's in politics because he has any firm political ideals. Instead, I believe that he's using the pedestal of presidential candidate to feed his ego, and he correctly believes he can do this better as an elephant than a donkey. Listen to one of his speeches, if you can, and see how high you can count before he mentions how great he is, or better than someone else, or how lousy another candidate is. If you can make it to thirty seconds I will call you a liar.

Kanye did announce for 2020, I'll assume you knew that and that you were being ironic. I don't talk politics, or I try not to at any rate. But this guy, he's not politics. He's vanity. He's self-absorption personified. If you're wondering if I'm talking about Trump or West, both.

 

[TRA Rotid]

Kanye did a mock announcement as a commentary of the current situation (aka Trump).

 

[Quistrix]

Not sure how I'd feel about living in the country with a president that's quickly becoming a parody of himself. :ermm:

As for those people who think it'll be "funny" to vote for Trump are probably the same people who yell "HERE HOLD MY BEER!" then headbutt a steel beam. For the lulz.

Politics is srs bsns. Don't waste your vote. :thumbsup:

 

[Zarkes]

It's like the Fox channel itself decided to become a human entity.

 

[Precipice]

I think he'd be a touch more tolerable if he wasn't so awful to women. I already mentioned the whole "it's not rape if it's your wife" thing. I decided to put that in quotes in the hopes that people don't mistakenly perceive that to be my own opinion. But the things he says about women, including his wife, ex-wife, daughter, Democratic rival(s), GOP rival, and Fox journalists (note to Zarkes: Fox doesn't endorse gender hate on their own staff), these are things you don't do when you're running for president. When you announce, these are the sorts of things that you bury evidence of so that people don't use them to attack you, but in front of the entire world he has no problem debasing half of the American population, calling them pigs and worse, dismissing criticism by saying it's because of a period. That's Mel Gibson territory (vice president material?).

A lot of people are talking about leaving the country if this or that candidate wins. They say these things every election cycle, of course, but this time I think a lot of people are serious. I've never been to Canada. It's practically America, but cleaner by all accounts and more polite. I've never been to England either. I don't know if I could learn their language though. Anyone here considering jumping ship?

 

[Zarkes]

I think he'd be a touch more tolerable if he wasn't so awful to women. I already mentioned the whole "it's not rape if it's your wife" thing. I decided to put that in quotes in the hopes that people don't mistakenly perceive that to be my own opinion. But the things he says about women, including his wife, ex-wife, daughter, Democratic rival(s), GOP rival, and Fox journalists (note to Zarkes: Fox doesn't endorse gender hate on their own staff), these are things you don't do when you're running for president. When you announce, these are the sorts of things that you bury evidence of so that people don't use them to attack you, but in front of the entire world he has no problem debasing half of the American population, calling them pigs and worse, dismissing criticism by saying it's because of a period. That's Mel Gibson territory (vice president material?).

A lot of people are talking about leaving the country if this or that candidate wins. They say these things every election cycle, of course, but this time I think a lot of people are serious. I've never been to Canada. It's practically America, but cleaner by all accounts and more polite. I've never been to England either. I don't know if I could learn their language though. Anyone here considering jumping ship?

It can be alarming, just remember its meaningless politics.

 

[Precipice]

It seems frivolous to you, but if the end sum impacts your life in a negative way, it's serious business. We're talking about a guy who wants to bomb countries we're not at war with to steal their oil. It was one thing to accuse George W. of this, but we have a candidate who plainly states that this is what he wants to do if elected. Trump wants to keep nukes out of Iran's hands. Good. People should want to keep nukes out of Trump's hands. Be careful what you call meaningless, we need to pay attention because that lunatic will get us killed.

 

[Zarkes]

It seems frivolous to you, but if the end sum impacts your life in a negative way, it's serious business. We're talking about a guy who wants to bomb countries we're not at war with to steal their oil. It was one thing to accuse George W. of this, but we have a candidate who plainly states that this is what he wants to do if elected. Trump wants to keep nukes out of Iran's hands. Good. People should want to keep nukes out of Trump's hands. Be careful what you call meaningless, we need to pay attention because that lunatic will get us killed.

I should be worried.

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

As above has said, it's his ego trip. He's accomplished a lot in business, and bought politicians (as he boasted) so he thought he'd go ahead and try to beat them at their own game. I think he's doing all the wrong things on purpose to see if he can win while making a mockery of the system. The sheer fact that he's leading polls should show that he's more than half right about what the presidential race has become, whether we want to admit it or not.

The problem here isn't that he's running. Anyone can run and you can vote for anyone, even if they aren't running. Or even dead. The problem is that he's winning, at least for the moment. We should stop being baffled and pay attention to what his lead tells us about the state of politics in the USA. We should take the opportunity to learn why he's gotten as far as he has. We should not just make a snide comment about the IQ of the general population and ultimately gain nothing from this. Are those people being manipulated? Are they thinking for themselves? What is it they see in him that we don't? What could the appeal possibly be? Are they so resigned to voting red that they won't consider anything else even if they think Trump is the best option they've got? What is making this Trump machine tick, I wonder. Is it his tendency to be outrageous and consequently getting more attention than anyone else combined?

While I'm worried about what would happen should he win, I'm also surprised by how much I don't understand. This has sparked an intense curiosity and I think we stand to learn a lot if we pay attention instead of just dismissing the other party as stupid. In my experience, when stupid starts winning you have made an abhorrent miscalculation. The smartest thing we could all do is admit to ourselves just how much we don't know.

 

[Gikoku]

In regards to thread subject: This is what I have been thinking since his announcement.

I think he's only playing a Republican to the core. Previously he was a huge fan of the Clinton Foundation, supporter of loose immigration and gave a thumbs up to pro-choice initiatives. I don't think he's in politics because he has any firm political ideals. Instead, I believe that he's using the pedestal of presidential candidate to feed his ego, and he correctly believes he can do this better as an elephant than a donkey. Listen to one of his speeches, if you can, and see how high you can count before he mentions how great he is, or better than someone else, or how lousy another candidate is. If you can make it to thirty seconds I will call you a liar.

Kanye did announce for 2020, I'll assume you knew that and that you were being ironic. I don't talk politics, or I try not to at any rate. But this guy, he's not politics. He's vanity. He's self-absorption personified. If you're wondering if I'm talking about Trump or West, both.

That's what I've been wanting to believe about this, that he's just doing it because he can or some elaborate ruse for the sake of entertainment. I've been utterly amazed at some of the things he's said about the other candidates and how it somehow manages to have such a positive effect on the polls for him. It's like that of a seasoned standup comedian that can say just about anything on stage and get away with it in front an applauding audience.

Yep, I was being ironic. The day Kanye and the Kardashians start rolling around the oval office is the day humanity has officially failed.

Kanye did a mock announcement as a commentary of the current situation (aka Trump).

Yeah I had figured, though I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he ended up giving it a go anyway just to follow Trump in making a mockery of the system to prove a point.. or to fuel his outstanding ego.

It seems frivolous to you, but if the end sum impacts your life in a negative way, it's serious business. We're talking about a guy who wants to bomb countries we're not at war with to steal their oil. It was one thing to accuse George W. of this, but we have a candidate who plainly states that this is what he wants to do if elected. Trump wants to keep nukes out of Iran's hands. Good. People should want to keep nukes out of Trump's hands. Be careful what you call meaningless, we need to pay attention because that lunatic will get us killed.

Wait wait, he actually said he would do that? What. First rule of nuclear war, soon as that rocket flies there's no turning back. Everyone loses.

I have to agree with taking it seriously at some point, I'm not really one for politics either but the system as it is now along with the people involved are screwed up. There are so many corrupted officials and underhanded actions that take place, and most of the time they get away with it because the whole thing isn't taken seriously. And really I can't blame someone for not doing so, you take one look at our system and you can't help but laugh.

As above has said, it's his ego trip. He's accomplished a lot in business, and bought politicians (as he boasted) so he thought he'd go ahead and try to beat them at their own game. I think he's doing all the wrong things on purpose to see if he can win while making a mockery of the system. The sheer fact that he's leading polls should show that he's more than half right about what the presidential race has become, whether we want to admit it or not.

The problem here isn't that he's running. Anyone can run and you can vote for anyone, even if they aren't running. Or even dead. The problem is that he's winning, at least for the moment. We should stop being baffled and pay attention to what his lead tells us about the state of politics in the USA. We should take the opportunity to learn why he's gotten as far as he has. We should not just make a snide comment about the IQ of the general population and ultimately gain nothing from this. Are those people being manipulated? Are they thinking for themselves? What is it they see in him that we don't? What could the appeal possibly be? Are they so resigned to voting red that they won't consider anything else even if they think Trump is the best option they've got? What is making this Trump machine tick, I wonder. Is it his tendency to be outrageous and consequently getting more attention than anyone else combined?

While I'm worried about what would happen should he win, I'm also surprised by how much I don't understand. This has sparked an intense curiosity and I think we stand to learn a lot if we pay attention instead of just dismissing the other party as stupid. In my experience, when stupid starts winning you have made an abhorrent miscalculation. The smartest thing we could all do is admit to ourselves just how much we don't know.

All good questions being asked as I'm having some serious difficulties trying to comprehend exactly what goes through a person's head when they decide "Yep, Trump's my guy". I think it goes back to that previously mentioned issue of folks just not taking politics seriously. Whether controversy sells, his charisma, finding him amusing, or "Hey, isn't he that toupee guy who fires people on tv??? Haha, I love that guy!" and don't take the time to consider future consequences.

I'd like to think that maybe, just maybe this is all some brilliant, elaborate ruse and he pulls out at the last second to prove to everyone how ridiculous this system is in the most sobering and delectable display of trolling in history. Because I also have a hard time believing that even Trump knows what would happen should he win, like "lol oshit I actually won? The **** do I do now?" People definitely need to pay attention, because if they think this country can't possibly get any worse than the state it's in now, then they're going to be quite surprised.

Whether he wins or not, I think it'll further expose just how messed up this system is and for hopefully more people to take notice. I'm not entirely sure how they'll end up resolving the issues, but having better requirements and voting system would be a start. The fact that anyone of age can vote and for that matter proclaim their run for presidency and then actually do it (with either enough pull or money) is one heck of a problem.

 

[Precipice]

Wait wait, he actually said he would do that? What. First rule of nuclear war, soon as that rocket flies there's no turning back. Everyone loses.

Well, he didn't say he'd use nukes. But he'd still have the keys to the nuclear arsenal. Anyone see The Dead Zone? Not the series, but the movie? Got a relevant scene, one I believe to be a prophetic portrayal of Trump in office.

As for the taking of oil, here's a link.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/421825/donald-trump-foreign-policy-middle-east-oil

Yeah I had figured, though I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he ended up giving it a go anyway just to follow Trump in making a mockery of the system to prove a point.. or to fuel his outstanding ego.

Indeed, in fact I believe this is how Trump ended up in his candidacy. He joked saying he'd run, a few oddballs said Hey! That's a great idea! And now he's really doing it. And so it is my full expectation that Mr. West will do the same thing.

I have to agree with taking it seriously at some point, I'm not really one for politics either but the system as it is now along with the people involved are screwed up. There are so many corrupted officials and underhanded actions that take place, and most of the time they get away with it because the whole thing isn't taken seriously. And really I can't blame someone for not doing so, you take one look at our system and you can't help but laugh.

Right you are. Things used to be simple, and people could afford to be apathetic and disinterested in knowing what's going on. The points of contention between the red party and the blue party were things like abortion, gay marriage, taxes and spending. Now both parties are pretty much the same in that they're tyrannical liars and thieves seeking to bypass congress and just do whatever they want. Worse, saying that's what they're doing is their campaign strategy and when they do that, they go up in the polls. It's like people want to vote to make their votes not matter and I don't get it.

The fact that anyone of age can vote and for that matter proclaim their run for presidency and then actually do it (with either enough pull or money) is one heck of a problem.

It was a change in the population. Crazy people have been trying to run for president for ages and people just had the good sense not to vote for them. Poor Ron Paul.

Now, I think candidates must be screened for mental health and voters should pass some kind of baseline requirement. I mentioned this before in class and got called a racist for wanting to undo the 15th amendment, the broad interpretation of which is that you can't deny anyone the right to vote based on race and that making people pass a literacy or competency would deny black people from voting. Guess what, that was over a hundred years ago and black people know how to read and write, despite rap's best attempts to convince people otherwise (looking at you Chali 2na). We can impose some standards now, it's time.

 

[Precipice]

Watching the debate now. Trump's first words "First of all Rand Paul shouldn't even be on this stage, he's number 11." He referenced Pataki in passing, stopped, and said "who, by the way, is a failed governor." Walker mentioned that everyone's wasting time talking about Trump and not talking about real issues, Trump tossed back that Walker lost billions in his state and added "I'm so much better than that." Kasich redirected again saying they should talk about substantive issues, annoying moderator Jake Tapper who appears to have spent the first ten minutes or so of this debate encouraging squabbling over Trump. Meanwhile Trump's just making faces like he's constipated and annoyed that he has to share a stage with anyone at all, because he'd rather do all the talking himself. And for the most part it appears that CNN was hoping this would go down like the murder of Julius Caesar, everyone stabbing Trump in the back.

I don't get it at all. Someone help me understand.

 

[Firis]

America is a strange creature, I love my country; but we are not at all the eagles and fireworks we try to show off to everyone, this Trump thing terrifies me, and even if he loses Clinton is just as scary, I'm on Sanders team but even with him I'm scared, scared because he could too much too fast and it'll cause chaos, or because Congress and the Senate won't let him do anything. (Like what has happened often with Obama, and any bill that civilians try to pass.)

 

[Precipice]

People don't seem to agree on who won the debate. A lot of people say Trump did. I don't think so. I think it was a 10-on-1 verbal melee in which mostly everyone talked about why Trump's an inferior candidate and Trump could only muster childish comebacks. He was hit most devastatingly when Fiorina and Bush shut him up.

On every network I watch, every focus group put together, most people agree that Trump's notoriety is trumped by his sophomoric antics and lack of a strategy or detailed plan of any kind post-election. He could provide no details on how he was going to get anything done, merely saying that it'd be done. Now, I'm not sure if any of you know who runs Russia, but I assure you it isn't the Boy Scouts. Yet Trump insists that if he's elected, he could march into Moscow and be BFFs with Putin and get him to stop doing everything we don't want him doing. One does not simply have a reasonable discussion with Putin. One also does not simply deport millions and millions of people, rewrite the 14th amendment to suspend birthright citizenship, and convince Mexico to finance and build an impenetrable wall along the border and it became apparent yesterday that he has no idea how to do any of what he's been talking about. Which is good - I would be very alarmed if he had a 57-point plan with which he aims to deliver on his promises.

People talk about how his support will start to dwindle, and how they want to see candidates talk about substance, topics with real nutritional value, intellectually, it's relieving. Still, Trump is Trump and he'll have his super radical fanbase who will vote for him no matter what. Like this guy.

But I hope this will mark the start of a decline for him.

 

[cheezMcNASTY]

I'll say this. And grudgingly. Virtually every person on that stage had a nightmarish platform that is not congruent with public opinion what. so. ever. Trump at the very least is saying he will close the loopholes currently being exploited by the rich to evade taxes. He flip-flopped on the social security point, so it wouldn't be fair to call that part of his platform.

Rand Paul, despite being a bit too libertarian, was decisively the smartest-sounding person on that stage. He at least knew how to cite sources when talking about something other than himself.

It's a pitifully small number of good things, Trump has promised to do. Shame it's allowing him to win by default.

Side note: if reading comments on a viral image tell me anything, a lot of Trump support is coming from people who just don't side with the liberal approach to economics like it's the devil. I saw plenty of people preaching the trickle down theory... Oh, hey! Look who's plane was behind them on stage!

Side side side note: Ted Cruz is a prick.

 

[Quistrix]

Donald Trump: proof that money doesn't buy good hair.

– Urban Dictionary

 

[Romero]

I'm unsure if Trump is qualified as president, but I agreed with what he said on foreign politics, Middle East to be precise. Iraq and Libya was a disaster, and he doesn't want to repeat the same mistake in Syria.