Mega-Thread: Trump Focused Discussion

[Benggaul]

Well, it amounts to the same thing. It might even be a chicken/egg situation. Are they not strong enough because they aren't brave enough...or are they not brave enough because they aren't strong enough?

It's debatable, sure, but I feel reasonably confident that in secret there are far more against Trump than for Trump--if by "strong" you meant strength in numbers. They've just had to publicly say they're for Trump so they can continue their own grift on the MAGA cult.

Somewhat related, there certainly are a lot of GOP "retiring" lately citing the inability to get anything done in DC as the reason, and that inability to push legislation forward stems pretty much solely from the handful of MAGA cultists holding office and holding meaningful work hostage in favor of pushing conspiracy theories.

[Nymrohd]

I think the problem isn't that they're not strong enough. It's that they're not brave enough. Either they fear for their position/office or they fear for their actual lives considering the threats constantly being tossed their way.

Also a realization that opposing Trump would likely leave them out of power for a decade.

[Breccia]

Surprising absolutely nobody, DeathSentence gave up his campaign. So I guess now it's just a mudslinging fest between Haley and Trump to look forward to.

Oh, noes! The man who had no chance had no chance? I'm shocked, shocked, that he admitted it.

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"They are all witch hunts against President Trump"

I hope this is a line that keeps her warm at night. It won't be her charm or her sanity.

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DeSantis might be pro-life, but his campaign was an abortion.

Let's see, he announced in May 2023 and it's January so...242 days, yeah, his campaign got into the third trimester. Don't give me that look, y'all know where this was going.

[Malkiah]

I do think there is a part of the Republican Party that does want to see Trump gone...I just don't think that faction is strong enough. And the only way for them tog et stronger is for them to have a really strong alternative for tRump...and they've never had one.

why would you think that?
trump is living personification of US conservatism made flesh - he is every republican value manifested into human form. why would any of them oppose him?

i think what actually exists is a certain strain of old guard republican who have spent the last 60 years keeping up the 'gentleman politician' act, taking out the human skin mask they wear and keeping it well oiled for when they go on TV, and they are upset that trump went outside without the mask on.
there's not a single policy trump pushes for that is against the republican or conservative agenda. there's not a single position he espouses or opinion he declares that isn't in line with every facet of the american right.
what is there about trump for any republicans to oppose, other than a small quibble about decorum?

it is a fantasy that there are right-wing politicians who want to see trump gone, and it always has been.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

why would you think that?
trump is living personification of US conservatism made flesh - he is every republican value manifested into human form. why would any of them oppose him?

i think what actually exists is a certain strain of old guard republican who have spent the last 60 years keeping up the 'gentleman politician' act, taking out the human skin mask they wear and keeping it well oiled for when they go on TV, and they are upset that trump went outside without the mask on.
there's not a single policy trump pushes for that is against the republican or conservative agenda. there's not a single position he espouses or opinion he declares that isn't in line with every facet of the american right.
what is there about trump for any republicans to oppose, other than a small quibble about decorum?

it is a fantasy that there are right-wing politicians who want to see trump gone, and it always has been.

The Lincoln Project along with Chris Christie would seem to be proof otherwise. There are Republicans that are not on "Team Trump".

[Endus]

The Lincoln Project along with Chris Christie would seem to be proof otherwise. There are Republicans that are not on "Team Trump".

One has to wonder why they are/vote Republican, then.

All the party's stood for, for decades, is inflicting harm and suffering on non-whites, non-cishets, and non-Christians. They've been the white supremacist Christian nationalist party since at least Nixon, and unapologetically increasingly fascistic since Bush Jr.

If you're consistently willing to sit down with fascistic white supremacists and Christian nationalists and work together with them on their policy goals and call them colleagues if not friends, how are you really meaningfully different?

Because it's not just Trump. Trump's just a stupid avatar who told them to stop being ashamed of being monsters. So they ripped off the masks and showed us who they've literally always been. The primary change in the Republicans over the last 25 years or so is that they're more open about their goals, and less willing to accept compromise. They haven't actually fallen into an ethical or moral hole. They were always in that hole. They dug themselves that hole, and have raised their families in that hole. That hole is Republicanism.

[Kaleredar]

The Lincoln Project along with Chris Christie would seem to be proof otherwise. There are Republicans that are not on "Team Trump".

The proof is whether they end up voting for Trump or not.

There are numerous Republicans who don't like Trump. But the reason they end up with someone like Trump is that they're still willing to hold their nose and vote for him. The system doesn't care that they technically don't like him, a vote is a vote, done in protest or not.

[s_bushido]

DeSantis probably ruined his chances in 2028 as well. He's been completely exposed as a terrible national candidate.

I would not be surprised if his career as a politician was over entirely after this debacle. The past year and a half has been a trainwreck for the piece of shit (basically ever since he decided to poke Disney), and all his campaign did was expose him as a useless loser for the entire country to see. His only hope is that the Democratic party in Florida continues to be as ineffectual and stupid as they have been. But even then, some other Republican could probably easily unseat him, since no one cares about covid anymore (his only claim to fame) and once all the recent sabotage to the education system of the state starts to tank those stats as well (as that was the only other thing he could brag about).

One has to wonder why they are/vote Republican, then.

Because their only beef with Trump is how he destroyed their optics game. They support every policy he's enacted, because none of that came from his mind in the first place. They're just upset that Trump made it obvious for everyone else to see how fascistic and toxic the party is...rather than being able to hide it behind the veneer of respectability that they've maintained for decades.

[Gorsameth]

They don't stand against Trump, because Trump stands for everything the GOP has stood for since forever. The racism, the self enrichment, even attempting to remain in power by nefarious means.

What they stand against is Trump being so open about it so they can't feint ignorance while appealing to independents.

[Lanrefni]

I would not be surprised if his career as a politician was over entirely after this debacle. The past year and a half has been a trainwreck for the piece of shit (basically ever since he decided to poke Disney), and all his campaign did was expose him as a useless loser for the entire country to see. His only hope is that the Democratic party in Florida continues to be as ineffectual and stupid as they have been. But even then, some other Republican could probably easily unseat him, since no one cares about covid anymore (his only claim to fame) and once all the recent sabotage to the education system of the state starts to tank those stats as well (as that was the only other thing he could brag about).



Because their only beef with Trump is how he destroyed their optics game. They support every policy he's enacted, because none of that came from his mind in the first place. They're just upset that Trump made it obvious for everyone else to see how fascistic and toxic the party is...rather than being able to hide it behind the veneer of respectability that they've maintained for decades.

Desantis is truly fucked politically,he's on his second term and cannot run for a third consecutive term,he has to sit out the next election for governor due to Florida's very very clear constitutional restrictions,after 4 years out of office he will be less relevant than New Coke to Republicans.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

The proof is whether they end up voting for Trump or not.

There are numerous Republicans who don't like Trump. But the reason they end up with someone like Trump is that they're still willing to hold their nose and vote for him. The system doesn't care that they technically don't like him, a vote is a vote, done in protest or not.

Well, it would seem that a lot of them didn't vote for Trump last time around.

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One has to wonder why they are/vote Republican, then.

All the party's stood for, for decades, is inflicting harm and suffering on non-whites, non-cishets, and non-Christians. They've been the white supremacist Christian nationalist party since at least Nixon, and unapologetically increasingly fascistic since Bush Jr.

If you're consistently willing to sit down with fascistic white supremacists and Christian nationalists and work together with them on their policy goals and call them colleagues if not friends, how are you really meaningfully different?

Because it's not just Trump. Trump's just a stupid avatar who told them to stop being ashamed of being monsters. So they ripped off the masks and showed us who they've literally always been. The primary change in the Republicans over the last 25 years or so is that they're more open about their goals, and less willing to accept compromise. They haven't actually fallen into an ethical or moral hole. They were always in that hole. They dug themselves that hole, and have raised their families in that hole. That hole is Republicanism.

I've never said "these are good people"... I said "they don't support Trump"

[s_bushido]

Desantis is truly fucked politically,he's on his second term and cannot run for a third consecutive term,he has to sit out the next election for governor due to Florida's very very clear constitutional restrictions,after 4 years out of office he will be less relevant than New Coke to Republicans.

I'd forgotten about term limits, not gonna lie.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

Desantis is truly fucked politically,he's on his second term and cannot run for a third consecutive term,he has to sit out the next election for governor due to Florida's very very clear constitutional restrictions,after 4 years out of office he will be less relevant than New Coke to Republicans.

Well, the thing of that is his term is until Jan 2027...so he won't have 4 years out of office...if he decides to try again in a Trump free environment in 2028. I'm not saying his chances would be much better though.

[Redwyrm]

The scary thing is, who does Trump listen to for policy advice if he is re-elected. Last time he had McConnell siting on his shoulder steering things. I am afraid it's going to be Qanon bottom of the barrel critters.

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I'd forgotten about term limits, not gonna lie.

Don't be surprised if they don't try to re-write the Florida constitution to allow him to run for a third term. They ignored the provision that he can't hold the governor's office and run for president this time around.

[Malkiah]

The Lincoln Project along with Chris Christie would seem to be proof otherwise. There are Republicans that are not on "Team Trump".

none of those people are against a single policy, they just don't like that trump has the republican mask off about it.
that doesn't counter my point at all, in fact it pretty much confirms it.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

none of those people are against a single policy, they just don't like that trump has the republican mask off about it.
that doesn't counter my point at all, in fact it pretty much confirms it.

I wasn't talking about policy though. I was strictly refering to them not being on "Team Trump"

This is not me saying "some Republicans are actually really great guys"

[Nymrohd]

Holding abhorrent views is not inherently fascist though. This is not just about taking the mask off, it is about openly admitting you want to destroy democracy. Sure the GOP was OK with eroding it, but Trump and MAGA want it gone

[Jastall]

Holding abhorrent views is not inherently fascist though. This is not just about taking the mask off, it is about openly admitting you want to destroy democracy. Sure the GOP was OK with eroding it, but Trump and MAGA want it gone

Slight addendum; they're totally OK with democracy when it goes their way. It only becomes bad when the results don't suit them. Those MAGA people are as unprincipled as any I've ever seen; feeling victorious is the only thing that ever seems to motivate them. What said "victory" actually means, what is its cost, what it's over, doesn't matter. It's all about "winning", so elections are cool and fair when you win them and bad and fake when you lose them. It's the mentality of a six years old, but it's still that simple.

[Sorshen]

"DeSanctimonious" as spineless as they get.

[Gigantique]

Well, it amounts to the same thing. It might even be a chicken/egg situation. Are they not strong enough because they aren't brave enough...or are they not brave enough because they aren't strong enough?

They've cultivated a voterbase gullible and emotionally loaded enough to believe any nonsense thrown their way and now that voterbase has become a runaway train since Trump supercharged those traits and made said voterbase openly exhibit all the worst traits the Republican Party has spent decades balancing around on a knife's edge.

There's no candidate that wins on the more abstract "keep our borders safe" as long as there's a Trump that straight up says "All Mexicans are murderapists build a giant wall that they'll pay for bigly MAGA!" as the frankly low IQ voters will just go for the explicit guy instead.

They lay their bed and deliberately laid it using shitstained bedding and now they get to sleep in it. Just hope it doesn't drag their damn country down with it as they make worse and worse compromises to try and ride this runaway train voterbase.