Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Masark]

Oh, I pray that they mute him but don't cut his camera. I'd love for everyone watching to see the impotent bluster of the blowhard-in-Chief one one half of the screen, while watching a calm Biden answer the question on the other half.

I personally doubt that would work. He would probably just start yelling loud enough to be heard through Biden's microphone.

[Elegiac]

I personally doubt that would work. He would probably just start yelling loud enough to be heard through Biden's microphone.

Got some real "Boomers conducting a phone call over speakerphone in public" energy, so that tracks.

[Thepersona]

It’s this kinda stuff that worries me. Where these allegations and conspiracies against Biden will trick vulnerable voters, and I hate that it’s so easy to do that. Dems need to take down the Trump kids.

Those people would never vote for Biden to begin with.

[cubby]

Oh, I pray that they mute him but don't cut his camera. I'd love for everyone watching to see the impotent bluster of the blowhard-in-Chief one one half of the screen, while watching a calm Biden answer the question on the other half.

I really hope we see that a lot on this last debate. A foreshadowing of what's to come.

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Oh no, let him tweet, when he's no longer President Twitter can just ban him for all the shit he says that anyone else on the planet would be banned for.

I actually disagree with this - I think shutting off all his social media accounts post-conviction is the exact right thing to do.

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Ya I live in Idaho and I see so many people with a giant American flag on one side of the truck and a giant Trump/Pence flag on the other.

Which, ironically, is an improper display of the flag, according to regulations.

[unfilteredJW]

Which, ironically, is an improper display of the flag, according to regulations.

"Liberals don't respect the flag!"

Proceeds to cover dick and balls with flag swim trunks.

[Elegiac]

"Liberals don't respect the flag!"

Proceeds to cover dick and balls with flag swim trunks.

It's also kind of an ugly flag, let's be real.

Canton flags are bad vexillology, change my mind.

[cubby]

It's also kind of an ugly flag, let's be real.

It's going to be a lot prettier with four more stars on it in 2022 (/knockswood).

[Elegiac]

It's going to be a lot prettier with four more stars on it in 2022 (/knockswood).

Not really; like I said canton flags are grody.

[Breccia]

So a US court just struck down another Trump action, namely, one that would make it harder for unemployed people to get food stamps. You know, the type of person that food stamps were made for?

Cited here is the judge's ruling:

Because coronavirus

Well, close enough.

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Ohio: 1,549 new cases; no deaths reported

That's a lucky break, right?

[Zan15]

So a US court just struck down another Trump action, namely, one that would make it harder for unemployed people to get food stamps. You know, the type of person that food stamps were made for?

Cited here is the judge's ruling:



Well, close enough.

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That's a lucky break, right?

weekend reporting, ftw?

[PhaelixWW]

It's going to be a lot prettier with four more stars on it in 2022 (/knockswood).

Puerto Rico and DC are two, but what do you consider 3 and 4?

[Fugus]

Puerto Rico and DC are two, but what do you consider 3 and 4?

I am hoping, that if they get all 3 houses and California is a strong Democrat, they could divide it up from 1 state into 3 or more and make sure that the populations are weighted in that division.

[PhaelixWW]

I am hoping, that if they get all 3 houses and California is a strong Democrat, they could divide it up from 1 state into 3 or more and make sure that the populations are weighted in that division.

That's really a non-starter in California.

[Benggaul]

That's a lucky break, right?

Last Sunday they reported 2. I wouldn't read anything into it.

[Kaleredar]

I am hoping, that if they get all 3 houses and California is a strong Democrat, they could divide it up from 1 state into 3 or more and make sure that the populations are weighted in that division.

California isn’t splitting up any time soon.

The only groups in California that are for splitting up are republican groups... the poor rural republicans that want the “liberal elite” to stop telling them what to do, and the rich coastal Republicans that want to stop having to pay taxes to support the first group.

I’d rather see the electoral college abolished in favor of the popular vote before DC and Puerto Rico statehood, which would be colossal logistical undertakings and not ultimately address the electoral college problem.

[PhaelixWW]

I’d rather see the electoral college abolished in favor of the popular vote before DC and Puerto Rico statehood, which would be colossal logistical undertakings and not ultimately address the electoral college problem.

It's not really about the electoral college so much as it's about doing the right thing. Not so incidentally, it would also add 4 more Senate seats and 5 more House seats that would hopefully vote Democratic.

The solution for the electoral college will likely come (if it comes) from the states, not Congress, anyway.

[Kaleredar]

It's not really about the electoral college so much as it's about doing the right thing. Not so incidentally, it would also add 4 more Senate seats and 5 more House seats that would hopefully vote Democratic.

The solution for the electoral college will likely come (if it comes) from the states, not Congress, anyway.

On that same token, I’d leave the issue of Puerto Rico and DC statehood up to the people living there. I don’t think that’s a hard-line item Biden would need to push for, other than being open to it happening.

At any rate, the electoral college has been nothing but trouble, and it can’t really be dealt with in a piecemeal manner. The whole system is antiquated, unnecessary, and will really only ever exist to abrogate the will of the American people.

[DarkTZeratul]

On that same token, I’d leave the issue of Puerto Rico and DC statehood up to the people living there. I don’t think that’s a hard-line item Biden would need to push for, other than being open to it happening.

My understanding is that statehood is overwhelmingly popular in DC, and is favored with a slight majority in Puerto Rico. With Puerto Rico though the main alternative desire to statehood is not staying as a territory but being given independence, but since that has virtually no chance at all of happening the right thing to do is make them a state. In theory one could do the same with the other territories (Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands), but unlike Puerto Rico they all have extremely small populations (Puerto Rico has about 3.5 million people, while the next largest - Guam - has only 168k).

[PhaelixWW]

On that same token, I’d leave the issue of Puerto Rico and DC statehood up to the people living there. I don’t think that’s a hard-line item Biden would need to push for, other than being open to it happening.

That's the thing, though. It has to be approved on by both sides: the territory legislature as well as Congress. And for the last 200 years or so, states would only enter existence as roughly offsetting pairs. Hawaii for the Democrats and Alaska for the Republicans, for example. It's been almost the only way to get enough bipartisan voting to allow it to pass Congress.

But with the Democrats looking to hopefully have control of the WH, Senate, and House, and coming off the complete and utter SHITSHOW of the Trump Administration, the political desire might just be strong enough to use that advantage to bring some additions officially into the fold. Because this might be the only time.

I mean, what reason does the GoP have to ever play ball on new statehood? There's nothing in it for them. Any new territory would likely vote Democrat. And no existing state is going to conscience splitting.

At any rate, the electoral college has been nothing but trouble, and it can’t really be dealt with in a piecemeal manner. The whole system is antiquated, unnecessary, and will really only ever exist to abrogate the will of the American people.

The NPVIC is not really a "piecemeal manner". It's a simple and elegant solution. And again, doing away with the Electoral College entirely would require an Amendment, which would be inherently the same process of states voting independently.

[DingDongKing]

That's not the consensus map I'm looking at. Their consensus map currently puts Biden at 290 electoral votes; main difference in your map there is that they give Biden Arizona and one of Nebraskas electoral votes. That still leaves several toss up states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Iowa plus Maines 2nd District.

RCP has, in North Carolina, Biden leading in every recent poll save for one, albeit by slim margins, with his aggregate lead being 2.7 there. Trump won NC by 3.7 points in 2016.

In Florida, Biden has led in recent every poll except for three, one of which was a tie with Trump. His aggregate lead in Florida is 1.4; Trump won the state by 1.2 percent in 2016. Further hurting Trump is that he is hemorrhaging support among seniors. Turns out demanding that they die for the stock market isn't a winning strategy.

In Arizona, Biden has led in every poll save for one and that outlier was a Trafalgar Group poll, and they are bad pollsters, with an aggregate lead of 3.9 points. Trump won Arizona by 3.5% in 2016.

In Iowa, Biden has led in all but three recent polls; of the other three, two were ties between him and Trump and the third had Trump up by 3; Trumps aggregate lead in Iowa is 1.2 points. Trump won Iowa by 9.5% in 2016.

In Georgia, Biden has an aggregate lead of 1.2. Out of five recent polls, Biden led in three of them and Trump lead in 2. Trump won Georgia by 5.1 points in 2016.

The only battleground state Trump currently leads in is Ohio, with an aggregate lead of just 0.5%. Of recent polls, he lead by 4 in one poll, tied in one and Biden lead by 1 in two. Trump won Ohio by 8.1 points in 2016.

Trump is hemorrhaging support everywhere.

In Real Clear Politics 'no toss ups' map, giving them all to Biden produces 357 electoral votes to 181 for Trump. Now of course that's no guarantee and the odds of Biden winning every 'toss up' state are slim, especially Georgia and how desperate the GOP will be to keep it in their column. Expect a lot of foul play by the GOP there.

I know, dude. I made it up as a ‘this is the minimum Biden needs to win’.