Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Edge-]

They don't want Trump but they absolutely need his supporters.

Arguably more importantly, they're fucking terrified of his supporters. Because many have been on the receiving end of a considerable amount of harassment and shit-talking by their voters should they fail to show sufficient allegiance to Trump.

[Breccia]

Unfortunately (or fortunately as the case may be) the Republican party is stuck between two impossible choices. They don't want Trump but they absolutely need his supporters. And the two are so inextricably linked that it would take Trump to have a heart attack and die to get any of his supporters to vote for someone else.

I wonder if any of them have the stones to order him killed. Probably not. There's a difference between having thousands of brown people slaughtered for oil, and killing someone who's hand you've shaken.

Yes, the GOP are in such a horrible place. If only someone had warned them!

[Kathranis]

https://www.rollingstone.com/politic...gn-1234631885/



Damn, MAGAGA folks are going to have to find new safe spaces pretty soon, because the MAGA safe spaces aren't very safe for them anymore. Even his Nazi buddies didn't like his announcement.

Very low energy. Very Jeb Bush.

Imagine being so discouraged by your own false narrative that you give up.

[Breccia]

Imagine being so discouraged by your own false narrative that you give up.

I wonder how badly Trump has to lose, that even the cultists say it's not fraud? Like, if he got 10% of the popular vote, how many people would say "he lost because some shadowy conspiracy changed a literal majority of American votes"?

We'll never know. I predicted that Trump could drop out of the 2020 race, faking an illness, when he knew he would never win. He never got to that point. This time, different story. I don't know if it'll happen, but based on his bankruptcy histories and settled lawsuits, Trump seems the type to lose without admitting he lost.

[s_bushido]

I wonder how badly Trump has to lose, that even the cultists say it's not fraud? Like, if he got 10% of the popular vote, how many people would say "he lost because some shadowy conspiracy changed a literal majority of American votes"?

I mean...he literally got 7 MILLION fewer votes than the other guy last time around. That's the population of, what, 10 red states combined? Safe to say that as long as they're being told they only lost because of fraud, they'll believe it regardless.

[Nymrohd]

https://www.rollingstone.com/politic...gn-1234631885/



Damn, MAGAGA folks are going to have to find new safe spaces pretty soon, because the MAGA safe spaces aren't very safe for them anymore. Even his Nazi buddies didn't like his announcement.

Very low energy. Very Jeb Bush.

The scary thing is that they did not like his announcement because it wasn't vile enough.

[Poopymonster]

The scary thing is that they did not like his announcement because it wasn't vile enough.

Trump winning the Republican nomination would be like trying to jam a turd back into your ass.

[Nymrohd]

Trump winning the Republican nomination would be like trying to jam a turd back into your ass.

I mean, you are the poopymonster, I'll bow to your superior knowledge in all things excrement-related.
My common line on this topic is that Trump is a central figure in the Tea Party movement which existed before Trump and will exist after him. He definitely helped radicalize many people but the issue already existed.

____

On the idea that the Republicans have to abandon the MAGA vote alongside with Trump, I think the math became clear that if they want to keep the MAGA vote they need to abandon conservative-leaning independents. And the math favors the latter for winning elections. Some of the MAGA crowd will not show up to elections otherwise but given most of them are domestic terrorists in training, that's a good thing for everyone involved, the GOP included. The true concern would be if there was a third party with prominent nutcases.

[Breccia]

On the idea that the Republicans have to abandon the MAGA vote alongside with Trump, I think the math became clear that if they want to keep the MAGA vote they need to abandon conservative-leaning independents. And the math favors the latter for winning elections

The GOP is desperately looking for a way to fix this. Trump can't get indy votes, you're right about that. So they want someone who will keep Trump voters in their party without scaring off, you know, sane people who don't support violent terrorism. As long as Trump is running, they can't do that. If Trump somehow leaves the race, such as by giving up or dying, they'll have a shot at this.

[Nymrohd]

The GOP is desperately looking for a way to fix this. Trump can't get indy votes, you're right about that. So they want someone who will keep Trump voters in their party without scaring off, you know, sane people who don't support violent terrorism. As long as Trump is running, they can't do that. If Trump somehow leaves the race, such as by giving up or dying, they'll have a shot at this.

My understanding is, much of the MAGA crowd were not voters before Trump. Some of them may have voted if they were on counties or states with a strong Tea Party presence that gave very similar messaging with Trump but most of them probably did not bother. MAGA also probably does not align that well with your average conservative voters; I doubt abortion is nearly as important for them and while many evangelists hold opinions that make my brain hurt, they are still a separate group that likely doesn't have much overlap with Trumpkins.
IMO if I was running the GOP circus I would try to identify those margins between MAGA voters and independents that have historically voted for the GOP in the last 2 decades and then choose candidates on a case by case basis. There will be places in the US were an MTG is their best bet for a seat because voters who never showed up before the circus came to town outnumber those who left in disgust. I would hope those places are very, very few but I have no doubt they exist.

On the Trump issue, I think their only solution is to pay him off. Make a very clear promise they will pardon the orange turd if they get the presidency (which won't amount to much given how many non-federal crimes he has committed) and possibly commit a solid amount of cash to keep him happy (perhaps by paying him exorbitant amounts to make appearances at rallies were that might be helpful).

[Breccia]

Make a very clear promise they will pardon the orange turd if they get the presidency

And they really don't want to do that, they still remember Gerald Ford. As in, a lot of them were alive and working in DC then.

[Draco-Onis]

On the Trump issue, I think their only solution is to pay him off. Make a very clear promise they will pardon the orange turd if they get the presidency (which won't amount to much given how many non-federal crimes he has committed) and possibly commit a solid amount of cash to keep him happy (perhaps by paying him exorbitant amounts to make appearances at rallies were that might be helpful).

I think the combination of Trump's gigantic ego, hubris and whatever Russia has on him would compel him to decline that offer. Also can you imagine the backlash if such a deal were discovered or he used it on the campaign against "the establishment"? it's too much of a risk to even offer it to Mr. loose lips.

[Gorsameth]

My understanding is, much of the MAGA crowd were not voters before Trump. Some of them may have voted if they were on counties or states with a strong Tea Party presence that gave very similar messaging with Trump but most of them probably did not bother. MAGA also probably does not align that well with your average conservative voters; I doubt abortion is nearly as important for them and while many evangelists hold opinions that make my brain hurt, they are still a separate group that likely doesn't have much overlap with Trumpkins.
IMO if I was running the GOP circus I would try to identify those margins between MAGA voters and independents that have historically voted for the GOP in the last 2 decades and then choose candidates on a case by case basis. There will be places in the US were an MTG is their best bet for a seat because voters who never showed up before the circus came to town outnumber those who left in disgust. I would hope those places are very, very few but I have no doubt they exist.

On the Trump issue, I think their only solution is to pay him off. Make a very clear promise they will pardon the orange turd if they get the presidency (which won't amount to much given how many non-federal crimes he has committed) and possibly commit a solid amount of cash to keep him happy (perhaps by paying him exorbitant amounts to make appearances at rallies were that might be helpful).

You talk of the party choosing candidates but its the voters that decide the candidates through primaries.
That middle of the road candidate that can keep both sides is likely to lose in the primary to someone running left or right of him.

The party doesn't want these crazy candidates.
But the voters are not giving them sane candidates for the general election.

[Forogil]

You talk of the party choosing candidates but its the voters that decide the candidates through primaries.
That middle of the road candidate that can keep both sides is likely to lose in the primary to someone running left or right of him.

Having primaries like that isn't set in stone, the democratic party has super-delegates to reduce that impact and originally it seems party members in congress selected the presidential candidates.

The party doesn't want these crazy candidates.

But they don't have the balls to avoid them either.

[Breccia]

Turtles seem to live forever. McConnell elected party leader for the ninth time.

Evidently the Senate does this by a sealed ballot, all we know is he got 37 "aye" votes.

Good luck, McConnell. You've watched your party come apart at the seams for a while now. Time to see if you're good with a needle and thread.

[Paranoid Android]

Hunter Biden!!!

You know what season is coming up. That's right it will be Hunter Biden Investigation season in January.

- - - Updated - - -

Turtles seem to live forever. McConnell elected party leader for the ninth time.

Evidently the Senate does this by a sealed ballot, all we know is he got 37 "aye" votes.

Good luck, McConnell. You've watched your party come apart at the seams for a while now. Time to see if you're good with a needle and thread.

This dude was the mother bleeper though. The dude who really didn't give a bleep. A person who must have loved wrestling or movies where bad guys monologued. He would always tell he was going to be evil as possible. I always give McConnel and Republicans credit. They know they are a-holes and play the part well.

[Breccia]

Hunter Biden!!!

You know what season is coming up. That's right it will be Hunter Biden Investigation season in January.

I'm not convinced. Giving into the crazies within days of taking office? That's telling the crazies "you have the power, we will give you whatever you want". I doubt that is the message the GOP leadership wants to send so quickly. It might work better as a smokescreen in mid-2024, when they want to coax the disheartened but goldfish-memory cultists back to the voting booths.

[Endus]

Hunter Biden!!!

You know what season is coming up. That's right it will be Hunter Biden Investigation season in January.

If I had the skills, I'd video edit the Looney Tunes scene with Bugs and Daffy tearing down hunting season signs, replacing "rabbit" and "duck" seasons with "hunter" and "hillary" seasons.

Because they only have two stupid points.

[Paranoid Android]

I'm not convinced. Giving into the crazies within days of taking office? That's telling the crazies "you have the power, we will give you whatever you want". I doubt that is the message the GOP leadership wants to send so quickly. It might work better as a smokescreen in mid-2024, when they want to coax the disheartened but goldfish-memory cultists back to the voting booths.

They are announcing it now. Sorry I should have gave a heads up but on social media.

Hunter Biden's laptop is REAL.

This is from official House Republican twitter account. Also Gym Jordan and others are salivating about it.

Maybe you are giving me sarcasm, but not matter this is likely real.


@UnifiedDivide is on top of it.

[Breccia]

They're very focused on it.

Well, okay, if they want to sign their party over to the crazies in exchange for another Benghazi failure that's on them. Can't say I'll mind watching them spending two years finding nothing.

EDIT: I'd like to add that, from now on, nobody on these forums is allowed to call the Jan 6th panel a witch hunt, or any synonym, ever again. If the House GOP really is going after Hunter Biden right out of the gate, then they are announcing that purely political investigations are okay, and it no longer matters whether the investigation into Trump is purely partisan or not.

Oh, and of course, the rank hypocrisy of them trying to end the Jan 6th panel while immediately going after Hunter Biden needs to be addressed as well.

So again, no posters here is allowed to call the Trump investigation a purely partisan issue. The House GOP have announced that a purely partisan investigation is completely okay.