General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMy take on Donald Trump's recent outrageous remarks and the Republican POTUS race:
Trump is coming out with all of these bombastic remarks about Mexicans, bombing the hell out of Iraq and Iran and other topics to make Jeb Bush look like the sane, level-headed candidate of the bunch. Cruz, Perry, Jindall, et al are serving in the same capacity, but at a lower level. If and when Kasich announces his candidacy, it could throw a monkey wrench in my assessment on Bush. He could talk at a sane tone to appeal to middle class voters and convince them to vote against their interests.
The media, however, are hell-bent on making this presidential race between Bush and Clinton because they have volumes of irrelevant stuff to throw out during the campaign season which minimizes the work they'll have to do. They don't want Bernie Sanders in the mix because he would be too disruptive to the status quo.
Why you even give a horse's ass like Trump any credibility as a presidential candidate is beyond me. Whenever he's interviewed he gives this condescending, me-me-me-I'm rich spiel, saying things that are unrealistic, hypocritical and/or untrue. Who would want somebody like that running this country? It's not like his business resume is spectacular with his multiple bankruptcies.
How does a guy have credibility on creating American jobs when his business empire is a model for outsourcing jobs to places like China and Mexico? Where does he get off being an authority on "traditional marriage" when he's on his third failed marriage? And his solution to ISIS? Bomb the hell out of Iraq and Iran. Yeah, that's the ticket! It's been working so well for the last 25 years or so.
My approach to watching the MSM on the presidential candidates is to watch it as if it's some reality show about some outrageous family or group of people just doing anything for attention.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)in your assessment. My approach to watching the MSM on the presidential candidates is much more simple. I don't watch it at all.
bulloney
(4,113 posts)and saw Trump squinting and his arms were flailing during that interview aired on Chris Hayes. I had to watch it to see what horse's ass comments he'd make. I wasn't disappointed.
Archae
(46,262 posts)He's a "Look over there! An obvious distraction!" candidate.
mercuryblues
(14,491 posts)it is backfiring. T-rump is surging in the polls, the rabid racists in the republicon party love him. jebbie boy has the same ideas and policy, just not as bombastic. Make no mistake about that. He would be no different than any of the other 15 or so republicans running for president as far as policy goes. The republicon primary is nothing more than a personality contest and T-rump knows that.
bulloney
(4,113 posts)I think Trump's current surge in the polls is short-term. It's a case of him riling up the xenophobic/bigot base that likes to blame the nation's problems on non-white races and solve problems overseas by bombing the hell out of somebody. When the dust settles, we'll see that Trump's base is small but vocal. Cripe, didn't he pay actors to attend his campaign kickoff event a couple of weeks ago? It wouldn't surprise me if people attending his campaign events afterward were paid to attend. Do the MSM attempt to ferret out this fact? They would rather keep us distracted away from what we should focus on in the POTUS campaign, and Trump with his outrageous comments fit nicely in that plan. That way, we're not discussing and debating the lousy trade agreements we're living under; corruption on Wall Street; money and politics; and how these and other factors are squeezing the middle class out of existence.
mercuryblues
(14,491 posts)looking at it as either/or. I think both are at play here. T-rump started out to make boosh look like the smart one. He found out that people on his side like what he is saying. So he ups the ante. Notice the direct hit on boosh's wife. I look at it as a way to divide their votes. Some will give sympathy to boosh for his vile comment, others will say hell yeah! and throw their support behind t-rump. The rump's #'s will go up, so he will continue on.
the republicons actually believe the Latinos in general are too stupid to see this as a ploy. I say let them beat each other up.
GreatGazoo
(3,937 posts)There is no grand plan that Trump is in on. He says that stuff because he is an asshole with major daddy issues and the media, including social media, can't resist it.
One question I still can't answer on Trump is why is he so f'ing angry at everyone? He has billions and TV shows about him and whatever but he goes off on... migrant workers ?!
If there is any grand scheme behind Trump's rantings it is only Trump's scheme: to lay verbal landmines in front of John Bush and that will not help the GOP hang on to their eternally angry base in the long run when Trump implodes and Bush and other hispanic candidates (Cruz and Rubio) remain.
Vinca
(50,170 posts)Maybe, in the end, this is all a reality show. If not, the guy has delusions of grandeur worthy of a psychiatric hospital.
Maeve
(42,224 posts)His best bet is to promise that he can deliver Ohio to Jeb's campaign. He can at least deliver the Ohio newspapers...