What's Happening to Trump's Campaign?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Trump has been running a "campaign by bumpersticker". He says wherever comes to mind impulsively. Buddha help us if he's in charge of our foreign affairs. He'll make Dubya look like Gandhi.

[Baruch]

Trump has been running a "campaign by bumpersticker". He says wherever comes to mind impulsively. Buddha help us if he's in charge of our foreign affairs. He'll make Dubya look like Gandhi.

Dubya was Gandhi, in that he was harmless except to himself when eating pretzels.  It was President Cheney who played Darth Vader.

[Mr. Pibb]

Dubya was Gandhi, in that he was harmless except to himself when eating pretzels.  It was President Cheney who played Darth Vader.

...and when riding bicycles and segways.

[Baruch]

...and when riding bicycles and segways.

The guy who invented the Segway, fell off a cliff to his death riding one ... death by one's own invention.  And its successor ... that mini version that is a robot skateboard ... that really caught the market on fire!  Thank G-d I am too old for bicycles either.

[Cavebear]

Trump happened.  And the viking lady in the opera is singing!

LOL!

[Mike Cl]

I'm beginning to think there never was a campaign.  I think it is possible that from the start his end game was not the presidency, but a new media outlet started by him; he saw a way to rally the angry, group (large group) that the Rep. created but kind of ignored for the most part.  He found he could talk to them and they would respond.  Now his aim is to keep that base intact so that when he loses, he can carry on attacking the Clintons (and other political figures) on his outlets and his base will support him.  After all, that type of thing has been going on in radio for quite some time and Fox News has been the mouth piece of the regular Rep. party for awhile now.  What if you could combine radio, TV, and social media all under one umbrella with his brand on it?  Would that not make money?

I'm not totally sold on the above yet--but after watching his behavior in the last debate, I am convinced he does not really think he can win this race.

[trdsf]

I don't know if "freefall" or "total meltdown" is appropriate now.  Maybe "free-falling into a meltdown".  He's about to make Utah go either Democratic or Independant, which is something I didn't think I'd see in my lifetime.

[Baruch]

But will Trump suck the other Republicans into the vortex of his Black Hole?  Only time will tell.

[SGOS]

I don't know if "freefall" or "total meltdown" is appropriate now.  Maybe "free-falling into a meltdown".  He's about to make Utah go either Democratic or Independant, which is something I didn't think I'd see in my lifetime.

But will Trump suck the other Republicans into the vortex of his Black Hole?  Only time will tell.

The Party leadership is divided about throwing support to him, and those that do I'm guessing aren't enthusiastic about it.  I doubt that he represents a new direction for the Republican Party.  In fact, I don't know what his direction is.  I think it's his bravado that makes him viable to voters.  I'm guessing other potential leaders in the party are coveting his style and flair, wondering how they could put it to good advantage.  He may inspire more brashness in future candidates, but a change in political direction, I don't think is likely.  I can't support that speculation, however.  I just think it.

Brashness is not a direction in policy.  It's a personality quirk, but it does seem like something that is gaining strength among Republican candidates, because in the end, it works.  I first noticed it years ago in conservative talk radio, and then it began to widen with actual politicians mimicking the wild style of Rush Limbaugh.  Sara Palin and Michelle Bachman made fortunes from it, and Trump just seems like the next step, but the party itself seems not to have changed it's direction, much. 

But the question, "Where's this all going," does cross my mind.

[Blackleaf]

The Party leadership is divided about throwing support to him, and those that do I'm guessing aren't enthusiastic about it.  I doubt that he represents a new direction for the Republican Party.  In fact, I don't know what his direction is.  I think it's his bravado that makes him viable to voters.  I'm guessing other potential leaders in the party are coveting his style and flair, wondering how they could put it to good advantage.  He may inspire more brashness in future candidates, but a change in political direction, I don't think is likely.  I can't support that speculation, however.  I just think it.

Brashness is not a direction in policy.  It's a personality quirk, but it does seem like something that is gaining strength among Republican candidates, because in the end, it works.  I first noticed it years ago in conservative talk radio, and then it began to widen with actual politicians mimicking the wild style of Rush Limbaugh.  Sara Palin and Michelle Bachman made fortunes from it, and Trump just seems like the next step, but the party itself seems not to have changed it's direction, much. 

But the question, "Where's this all going," does cross my mind.

From what I've experienced, most Trump supporters don't actually support Trump; they just hate Hillary more. They think that she is dangerous and evil woman who evades the law, and therefor Trump is the better option and conveniently ignore all of his flaws. I never actually hear anything good said about Trump, just excuses for why he's not that bad compared to Hillary.

[GSOgymrat]

From what I've experienced, most Trump supporters don't actually support Trump; they just hate Hillary more. They think that she is dangerous and evil woman who evades the law, and therefor Trump is the better option and conveniently ignore all of his flaws. I never actually hear anything good said about Trump, just excuses for why he's not that bad compared to Hillary.

I know people who love Trump and are supporting him because they believe Trump:

is a Republican
will appoint conservative supreme court justices
is a businessman and will run the nation like a successful corporation
isn't a politician, is more sincere and is against "PC bullshit"
will stop the biased liberal media
will improve the economy by creating international trade deals that benefit the US
will create more jobs
will stop same-sex marriage and abortion
will stop illegal immigration
will be more aggressive in stopping terrorism
will put America first instead of capitulating to foreign governments as Obama has
upsets the status quo
will end Obamacare and make healthcare affordable
will create a more Christian country because "God will work though him."

Plus they hate Hillary with a hot burning passion. In a poll 41% of North Carolina Trump voters say they think Clinton is the devil to 42% who disagree with that sentiment and 17% who aren’t sure one way or the other. Plus 69% of Trump voters think that if Hillary Clinton wins the election it will be because it was rigged, to only 16% who think it would be because she got more vote than Trump.

http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2016/08/clinton-leads-in-nc-for-first-time-since-march.html

[Hydra009]

I know people who love Trump and are supporting him because they believe Trump:

is a Republican
will appoint conservative supreme court justices
is a businessman and will run the nation like a successful corporation
isn't a politician, is more sincere and is against "PC bullshit"
will stop the biased liberal media
will improve the economy by creating international trade deals that benefit the US
will create more jobs
will stop same-sex marriage and abortion
will stop illegal immigration
will be more aggressive in stopping terrorism
will put America first instead of capitulating to foreign governments as Obama has
upsets the status quo
will create a more Christian country because "God will work though him."

Great list.  I'd add to it "tells it like it is" which means that he spins a narrative that they largely accept as true.

According to Trump, the US has fallen on hard times.  China is killing our economy, Mexico is sending scores of murderers and rapists over the border, the US - particularly its president - isn't respected by other countries, Obama founded ISIS, we're capitulating to our enemies, etc.

And in this distorted reality, Trump's perception of himself is the most distorted.  He says the sorts of things about himself that North Koreans say about Kim Jong-un.  I'm not kidding, that's how he actually talks about himself.  He's the most knowledgeable and capable person in the world in a dizzying and ever-expanding array of fields.  He's also near-universally beloved, even by unexpected groups like Hispanics and "the blacks".  So if he doesn't win, it's because the election was rigged, the debates and newspapers were biased against him, etc.

This sort of reality-free thinking is the most worrying thing about his campaign and his supporters.  How are we supposed to identify and solve problems together with a huge chunk of the country living in la-la land?

[Baruch]

The assumption that if half the country is wrong, means that half the country is right ... is a poor assumption.  It is possible for both halves to be wrong, but for different reasons.  Don't like people ... then you won't like politics.

[SGOS]

From what I've experienced, most Trump supporters don't actually support Trump; they just hate Hillary more. They think that she is dangerous and evil woman who evades the law, and therefor Trump is the better option and conveniently ignore all of his flaws. I never actually hear anything good said about Trump, just excuses for why he's not that bad compared to Hillary.

It's possible this may be something that is happening as of late to some extent, because at some point, even some republicans are bound to realize Trump isn't playing with a full deck, at least with a political full deck.  But the last time I watched clips of reporters interviewing people (back during the primary elections), I didn't hear any "lesser of two evils" comparisons from anyone that I remember.  People were enthusiastically fawning over him, and this was the primary elections, where they were comparing him to other Republicans.  Hillary was most likely going to be a part of the picture later, although she wasn't an official factor yet.  Back then, what I saw seemed like gushing adoration for Trump.

[Jason Harvestdancer]

It looks to me like Trump has finally found the key to torpedoing his own campaign.

Mission accomplished.