Unbelievability sticks to Trump like his own skin.
6
The ADL has asked him to disavow the comments about Jewish extremists by David Duke. He waited 24 hours while he tweeted about his Taco Bowl and love of Hispanics. Where was he?
6
Thank you Tim Egan--always a pleasure. To many of the other so-called journalists out there: do your jobs! Ask some hard questions! God, where did they all go to school--Trump University?!
11
This article is totally backwards . Unlike the lying politicians who parse and nuance every phrase, Trump means what he says and says what he means. I take him at his word . Just like he told Ivana and Marla , Til death do us part.
7
Just keep repeating to yourselves that he can't win, over and over. Like you all did during the primaries.
See how well that worked out?
See how well that worked out?
15
Politics makes strange bedfellows. The opposite is gridlock.
1
Mr. Egan says: "One bit of advice for “the Hispanics”: When the deportation squad shows up on your doorstep on Day 1 of the Trump presidency, have your papers ready." Let's call the deportation squad: STORMTRUMPERS. By the way, deportations will not be their only duty. They'll also be after Muslims, women who've had abortions and the doctors who performed them, and anyone else who looks suspicious, i.e. has dark-colored skin. Donald Trump considers everyone but himself to be a loser, especially the angry white working people who have given him the nomination. Do they really believe that he'll ever do anything good for them? Donald Trump? The privileged white guy from the day he was born, with no other goals in life but to gamble with money and show off his wealth? He's going to help the little fellow? Fat chance!
6
You replace xenophobia, racism, misogyny, factual malpractice, and the other nonsense fantasies you drum up by being a great president and shutting up writers like you.
5
Donald Trump thinks being presidential is something you do and not something you are. He isn't. He can't even play the part on TV.
6
There is an audacious amount of 'wrong' going on in this world.
4
I'll say it again. Donald trump is a gift to the democrats. After he has led the Republican Party to a crushing defeat and President Clinton has both houses of Congress behind her, Mitch McConnell is going to wish he had played ball on the Merrick nomination. He won't even have the numbers to mount a filibuster. I can't wait.
Thank you, Donald, you giant fraud, you lying philanderer, you horror of a human being, for giving us an unvarnished version of Republican hate politics at the head of its ticket, a man who openly embodies and "trumpets" the ugly character that has silently informed the Republican Party for generations.
It's time to take off the gloves, Hillary, and thrash this chump.
Thank you, Donald, you giant fraud, you lying philanderer, you horror of a human being, for giving us an unvarnished version of Republican hate politics at the head of its ticket, a man who openly embodies and "trumpets" the ugly character that has silently informed the Republican Party for generations.
It's time to take off the gloves, Hillary, and thrash this chump.
18
And don't forget the quote from Bobby Knight....the Indiana "hero" who Trump thinks hung the moon.... on how he handled stress. The Indiana men's basketball coach said, ''I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it.''
Along with Tyson, Nugent, Duke, Palin, etc.....this is just one more example of the type of endorsement Trump finds to be "yuge".
Along with Tyson, Nugent, Duke, Palin, etc.....this is just one more example of the type of endorsement Trump finds to be "yuge".
6
Mr. Egan. Turn this article into a video and post it everywhere. Fox, MSNBC, CNN, You Tube, Instagram. Then make it an advertisement so every time you go on Amazon.com it pops up next to whatever one is reading on the Internet. Have it run from now until November with various changes (cause there will be more Trumpism's yet to come) cause that is the only way to balance out the myriad of interviews Trump gets for free on the Networks and the "journalists" not holding Trump responsible for his flip-flops or lies. The press needs expose the lies. Give him a nickname like he has to all of his opponents. Suggestions????
4
I'm voting for Trump precisely because of the over the top hysterics of his critics, from all over the Establishment, from the Israel Firster crowd and the open borders crowd.
Anyone who gets so under the skin of the Times' and the chattering class is worth considering as the least worst option.
Anyone who gets so under the skin of the Times' and the chattering class is worth considering as the least worst option.
5
Trump is indeed hideous. But so were Rubio, Cruz, and Kasich, for that matter. And so is McConnell... and Lee... and Chaffetz... This notion that Trump is "killing" the republican party is puzzling to me. This party has been toxic for a decade or more. The only difference with Trump: he doesn't disguise the toxicity ― he doesn't even try.
25
The worst part of this continuing election-season tragedy is it's become all Trump all the time. Every front page of every newspaper contains dozens of articles about Trump. Every time I flip to CNN or MSNBC the trailer always contains the word TRUMP in big, bold letters. A person simply cannot escape the mayhem in the establishment media. This is insanity.
Never a better time to cut the cord and get rid of my single biggest expense: cable TV. Never a better time to peruse some different news sources, like The Guardian, that report actual news stories that are not about American politics. Neve a better time to go to the library and read some of the history you don't know about. Nvere a better time to do anything - absolutely anything - than listen to the howling of the political class.
Never a better time to cut the cord and get rid of my single biggest expense: cable TV. Never a better time to peruse some different news sources, like The Guardian, that report actual news stories that are not about American politics. Neve a better time to go to the library and read some of the history you don't know about. Nvere a better time to do anything - absolutely anything - than listen to the howling of the political class.
10
Dear Tim, take a look at all Nate Cohen's doomsday statistics of Trump's un-favorability ratings since last June and his predictions that no way Trump will get the nominations: they all had the fate your own statistic will have in November.
All I can gouge reading your editorial is that you hate Trump, you hate Trump even more for winning the nomination, and you are a sore loser piling a mountain of garbage by (false) association on Trump.
With editorials like this the NYT takes the lowest possible road in this election.
I am a woman, a minority, and a PhD supporting Trump and all my female friends in NYC will vote for him (unless Bernie gets the nomination).
He is not what you paint him to be. As a journalist you should make some efforts to be objective; if not, get a PR job in Hillary's campaign.
All I can gouge reading your editorial is that you hate Trump, you hate Trump even more for winning the nomination, and you are a sore loser piling a mountain of garbage by (false) association on Trump.
With editorials like this the NYT takes the lowest possible road in this election.
I am a woman, a minority, and a PhD supporting Trump and all my female friends in NYC will vote for him (unless Bernie gets the nomination).
He is not what you paint him to be. As a journalist you should make some efforts to be objective; if not, get a PR job in Hillary's campaign.
9
Timothy, We the People are really going to need you this election season. If Krugman stays true to his column today maybe the two of you can help the NYT keep the false equivalence that will surely begin to rise from the ashes of modern journalism at a minimum.
I see the democrat's primary weapon in TV ads being T rump and his fellow republican's own words and images....Christie bemoaning T rump's total inadequacy to be president right before he endorsed him with such rapture.....(sic) is just one example.
This would be a good year for the main street media to rediscover its purpose and find its courage.
I see the democrat's primary weapon in TV ads being T rump and his fellow republican's own words and images....Christie bemoaning T rump's total inadequacy to be president right before he endorsed him with such rapture.....(sic) is just one example.
This would be a good year for the main street media to rediscover its purpose and find its courage.
10
Campaigns--ideally--inform voters of candidates: what they stand for--principles and goals, knowledge of the issues, style.
Campaigns--really--are mostly advertising campaigns: jingles, mantras, banners, bands, girls and dramas--like soap operas sell soap; no more credibility or even information.
But traditional political advertising campaigns tried to sell candidates' style--a persona--even if total fiction. Who knew Nixon was so foul mouthed, except his inner circle? Political aesthetics requires a persona that will at least wear well; they all hope for charisma--and a long honeymoon.
Axelrod's theory is that the (pathetic) US electorate is moved by personality pendulum swings. When one persona wears thin, they crave an opposite one: many successions bear this out: JFK succeeded Ike; Nixon-JFK; Carter-Nixon; Reagan-Carter; Clinton-Bush Sr; Bush Jr-Clinton; Obama-Bush Jr.
OMG--Trump fits this model to a T. Can you count the ways he is opposite to Obama?
But also he is breaking with the traditional political advertising campaign--going straight for snake oil sales--totally abandoning the infomercial model, aiming instead at You Tube hits regardless of why. The presidential persona, credibility and coherence.are all irrelevant to his spectacle.
He is America's Scream--sound and fury signifying nothing; it's unusual enough to be newsworthy and You Tube hitworthy.
But GOP marketing has always disregarded truth in advertising; Trump pushes it to a new level.
Campaigns--really--are mostly advertising campaigns: jingles, mantras, banners, bands, girls and dramas--like soap operas sell soap; no more credibility or even information.
But traditional political advertising campaigns tried to sell candidates' style--a persona--even if total fiction. Who knew Nixon was so foul mouthed, except his inner circle? Political aesthetics requires a persona that will at least wear well; they all hope for charisma--and a long honeymoon.
Axelrod's theory is that the (pathetic) US electorate is moved by personality pendulum swings. When one persona wears thin, they crave an opposite one: many successions bear this out: JFK succeeded Ike; Nixon-JFK; Carter-Nixon; Reagan-Carter; Clinton-Bush Sr; Bush Jr-Clinton; Obama-Bush Jr.
OMG--Trump fits this model to a T. Can you count the ways he is opposite to Obama?
But also he is breaking with the traditional political advertising campaign--going straight for snake oil sales--totally abandoning the infomercial model, aiming instead at You Tube hits regardless of why. The presidential persona, credibility and coherence.are all irrelevant to his spectacle.
He is America's Scream--sound and fury signifying nothing; it's unusual enough to be newsworthy and You Tube hitworthy.
But GOP marketing has always disregarded truth in advertising; Trump pushes it to a new level.
8
I still don't think NYT, dems, liberals or moderates get it.
Trump is a super-villian...his super power is he reflects whatever your personal anger might be: those damn immigrants, government, liberals, minorities, feminists, media... He grows in strength the deeper we go into the underbelly of American bigotry and its cultural ADD tendencies.
That's why the least christian candidate 'loves Liberty College' and they love him back, why some democrats are willing to give him a shot, why independents believe that Trump is an 'independent' thinker. Trump exists in our darkest subconscious...even in the most progressive thinkers he's said something that you feel is true.
Forget the polls, the electoral college and pundits. Trump can, and will likely win because we've entertained our lowest qualities in society for so long it was ordained that we'd elect the con man of universal scapegoating: The Donald.
The horned CEO of the United Markets of America has arrived. Democracy: YOU"RE FIRED!
Trump is a super-villian...his super power is he reflects whatever your personal anger might be: those damn immigrants, government, liberals, minorities, feminists, media... He grows in strength the deeper we go into the underbelly of American bigotry and its cultural ADD tendencies.
That's why the least christian candidate 'loves Liberty College' and they love him back, why some democrats are willing to give him a shot, why independents believe that Trump is an 'independent' thinker. Trump exists in our darkest subconscious...even in the most progressive thinkers he's said something that you feel is true.
Forget the polls, the electoral college and pundits. Trump can, and will likely win because we've entertained our lowest qualities in society for so long it was ordained that we'd elect the con man of universal scapegoating: The Donald.
The horned CEO of the United Markets of America has arrived. Democracy: YOU"RE FIRED!
11
And remember folks: a vote for Trump is a vote to destroy America. If you hate America that much, then by all means pick an ignorant, impulsive fascist. Might as well get into a nuclear war and get this nation over with.
13
It is ironic that you choose to lambast Trump for the Birther activity that sought to delegitimize candidate Obama when that travesty originated with Hillary supporters in 2008. Of course, once the Genie was out of the bottle it could not be contained.
Similarly, Hillary & Madeline "Special Place for Women in Hell" Albright attempted to trash Monica even tho Monica spoke the truth & Hillary has been a quite effective attack dog against other women who made claims against Bill over the years so so much for Hillary being protective of women
You, as a Hillary supporter, are being willfully blind when you fail to see that Trump has adopted the Clintons' tried & tested formula of fact free attacks & win at any cost politics that is waged for their own personal enrichment & narcissistic search for glory
The Clintons & Trump are all peas in the same pod & the world would be much better off without any of them mucking things up. Not totally correct, the Financial Sector did wonderfully with Bill as president. Between Bill & former Senator Phil Gramm it was hard to discern who wanted to deregulate more & what has that given us - Enron, Shadow Banking & the 2007-08 Meltdown
Similarly, Hillary & Madeline "Special Place for Women in Hell" Albright attempted to trash Monica even tho Monica spoke the truth & Hillary has been a quite effective attack dog against other women who made claims against Bill over the years so so much for Hillary being protective of women
You, as a Hillary supporter, are being willfully blind when you fail to see that Trump has adopted the Clintons' tried & tested formula of fact free attacks & win at any cost politics that is waged for their own personal enrichment & narcissistic search for glory
The Clintons & Trump are all peas in the same pod & the world would be much better off without any of them mucking things up. Not totally correct, the Financial Sector did wonderfully with Bill as president. Between Bill & former Senator Phil Gramm it was hard to discern who wanted to deregulate more & what has that given us - Enron, Shadow Banking & the 2007-08 Meltdown
6
Yes, yes, in today's America with a citizenry attention span falling somewhat south of a tse-tse fly's, The Donald can indeed take it all back: all three decades of his bigoted, bilious bullying.
As you point out, Mr. Egan, "Count on American amnesia, our opioid," abetted fully by an "independent" media now in thrall to a racist xenophobe who plans to cut the national debt by "dealing" for paying less than 100% on the borrowed dollar.
Hello financial collapse; good-bye 250 years of "full faith and credit." As for The Donald's serial counter-factual conspiracy theorizing, all he needs for NBC News credibility is to chirp, "I mean, it had nothing to do with me," and "poof" it all goes away.
Amazing! Tremendous! Beautiful! Like you wouldn't believe!
www.endthemadnessnow.org
As you point out, Mr. Egan, "Count on American amnesia, our opioid," abetted fully by an "independent" media now in thrall to a racist xenophobe who plans to cut the national debt by "dealing" for paying less than 100% on the borrowed dollar.
Hello financial collapse; good-bye 250 years of "full faith and credit." As for The Donald's serial counter-factual conspiracy theorizing, all he needs for NBC News credibility is to chirp, "I mean, it had nothing to do with me," and "poof" it all goes away.
Amazing! Tremendous! Beautiful! Like you wouldn't believe!
www.endthemadnessnow.org
5
I'm tired of the Right.
But I'm tired of the Left, too.
No country for old moderates....
But I'm tired of the Left, too.
No country for old moderates....
8
If Trump disappeared somehow, now, that would good for the GOP. Wide open convention, right?
1
The reality is BOTH parties paved Trump's path to the Oval Office. 30+ years of partisan bickering and stonewalling have frustrated voters to the point that "anybody except the status quo" was the inevitable fallout and Trump was in the right place at the right time- a perfect storm actually. Because I too am anti-establishment [for both parties] I would love to see a complete outsider lead this country. Trump is willing to shake things up and that scares the heck out of career politicians who do not want to see their cozy little perks and titles diminished. Trump may be callow to Presidential affairs, but he has a keen understanding of people and behavior. Rather than castigate Trump, I think we should work together as citizens and HELP HIM. Let's not stand by and merely grade and his performance- let's help him get an A! We are in this together!
1
We have all heard the expression, 'you don't get a second chance to make a first impression'. Mx. Hillary is counting on it.
We will get who we deserve. We always do.
Hillary has 2 new videos of Trumpaloony nutty lines -- and the other is made of more than a dozen GOPers describing Trump as a loonie tunes kinda guy. And a 3rd showed up late yesterday -- a score of GOP women vowing never ever to vote for that man.
Thanks heaven for videotape. Let the bathos begin.
Thanks heaven for videotape. Let the bathos begin.
1
Trump is very smart, despite his lack of Obama style eloquence. A genius. Tim Egan you minimize him and misread him at your own peril. In 12 months from now I expect a mea culpa editorial from you a la Nate Cohn.
1. First, Trump decided to save GOP from decades of being run by religious and warmonger nuts who had NO NEW IDEAS for the problems of the country. Thanks to him I am now considering for the first time becoming a Republican, if all goes well. He is de-ideologizing GOP and bringing it back to where it should be: a party supposed to work for all people.
2. Trump had the courage to debunk some of the most cherished GOP myths (eg: G W Bush, Irak, McCain, and most recently Paul Ryan's anti-American agenda).
3. In order to get the nomination, Trump paid some lip service to some of the GOP mantras, while always having the courage to say that Planned Parenthood also does very good things that should continue. I suspect, once he'll be the next POTUS, he'll do exactly what he thinks is good for the country.
4. Trump never insulted women, he insulted some women he disliked. As a woman, I am not offended the slightest. In my life I also called bad names some of the men I disliked. Same for Mexicans and minorities, he never insulted them, just suggested that most of the people who chose to come illegally through the south border have a criminal record, and that people should come here legally. That such fact is considered racist and fascist is unpatriotic.
1. First, Trump decided to save GOP from decades of being run by religious and warmonger nuts who had NO NEW IDEAS for the problems of the country. Thanks to him I am now considering for the first time becoming a Republican, if all goes well. He is de-ideologizing GOP and bringing it back to where it should be: a party supposed to work for all people.
2. Trump had the courage to debunk some of the most cherished GOP myths (eg: G W Bush, Irak, McCain, and most recently Paul Ryan's anti-American agenda).
3. In order to get the nomination, Trump paid some lip service to some of the GOP mantras, while always having the courage to say that Planned Parenthood also does very good things that should continue. I suspect, once he'll be the next POTUS, he'll do exactly what he thinks is good for the country.
4. Trump never insulted women, he insulted some women he disliked. As a woman, I am not offended the slightest. In my life I also called bad names some of the men I disliked. Same for Mexicans and minorities, he never insulted them, just suggested that most of the people who chose to come illegally through the south border have a criminal record, and that people should come here legally. That such fact is considered racist and fascist is unpatriotic.
6
Trump's erratic, bull-in-a-china-shop behavior is scary on two fronts. This is NOT a person who should have his finger on the nuclear button. But I also fear that his loose lips will cause other unstable leaders in nuclear countries - like N. Korea - to set off nuclear weapons.
Trump doesn't know what he doesn't know and brags about not preparing. Even if his simplistic solutions had any relationship to reality, they are not worth risking human survival.
Trump doesn't know what he doesn't know and brags about not preparing. Even if his simplistic solutions had any relationship to reality, they are not worth risking human survival.
9
I wonder why his negatives are so high? I was talking to a black 20-something here at work the other day, and Trump came up. He said he loathes Trump because he is a racist. I asked him why he thought that, and he said it was because he heard it on the news. He could not list one negative thing about Trump other than the subjective personality analysis that passes for news these days.
9
I am voting for Trump at this point because he seems to have really irritated all the right people - the people who want open borders and can do nothing more than cry 'racism' when such niceties as "the law" or "the will of the majority" are discussed.
The criticism of Trump has become shrill and over the top, and on twitter there are threats of riots - and yet few and far between in the smug comments below does anyone ask why people view Trump as the best candidate or [in my case] the least awful of a terrible lot.
And what does the open borders crowd really want? Well, it wants to ignore democracy and real economic costs.
And hey Tim - making Trump responsible for what a nut like Nugent says is a cheap trick. maybe most of your readers don't notice it, but its a cheap trick just the same.
The criticism of Trump has become shrill and over the top, and on twitter there are threats of riots - and yet few and far between in the smug comments below does anyone ask why people view Trump as the best candidate or [in my case] the least awful of a terrible lot.
And what does the open borders crowd really want? Well, it wants to ignore democracy and real economic costs.
And hey Tim - making Trump responsible for what a nut like Nugent says is a cheap trick. maybe most of your readers don't notice it, but its a cheap trick just the same.
5
If elected, Trump will probably hate the job. All his financial holdings will be in a blind trust and he cannot be involved in his businesses, so he loses his raison d'etre --- making money. His every move will be critiqued daily which will drive him bonkers. He'll be very frustrated having to work through Congress to get most things done rather than just snapping his fingers in his own company. Averse to following rules, he'll be constrained by the laws and regulations re presidential power. If not impeached, he'll probably resign before the end of his term --- the sooner the better.
9
This article and many of the comments are reminders to me that we have so many problems in our society and our government these days. How do we fix these things? Maybe it's just me because I'm older now and the young dictate the changes in our country, but it's disheartening. It seems we are headed down the wrong track. What will this country look like in 25 years?
2
I do agree with Trump's assessment of George Will. It's been over for baseball George for at least 20 years.
2
Mr. Egan:
the natural restriction of your column-inches limits the listing of all of Mr. Trumps atrocities.
however,
the man's utterances do seem par-for-the-course for a nation that obsesses over the Kardashians and Game of Thrones.
"we", as well as the GOP, are reaping what has been sowed - - -
not a satisfying result for any casual observer.
but,
please make no mistake here:
truth and reasoning are both early casualties in politics.
what the Swift Boaters did to Mr. Kerry is pre-K level mudslinging compared to the barrage that awaits us in the coming weeks.
should HRC survive the DoJ reviews and the HoR committee charades,
she likely will receive more votes than DJT...
however, the Electoral College is a whole different matter.
seriously,
it will take a massive outpouring of eligible voters to stem the overflowing sewer.
how many will chose again to sit-out another election?
grrrrr
2
Is he really that different from the rest of the party? They are just better at dog whistling than Trump, who seems to have an adolescent need to spell everything out literally. But the GOP peddles hate and denigration, which makes Trump somewhat mainstream in that crowd.
3
Donald Trump has followed the mantra of side-show barker P. T. Barnum: "There's a sucker born every moment!" And he uses that concept to place his adversaries into a corner and, then, to make them compete on his terms.
Genius? How about conniving, untrustworthy...evil? That might be a great for a board game, or the hard scrabble world of NYC real estate developers, but its not the type of person who should be sitting ion the Oval Office. No wonder our allies fear Donald Trump.
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
Genius? How about conniving, untrustworthy...evil? That might be a great for a board game, or the hard scrabble world of NYC real estate developers, but its not the type of person who should be sitting ion the Oval Office. No wonder our allies fear Donald Trump.
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
5
Thank you Mr. Eagan for the review of offensive remarks that have spewed out of the orange dumpster. And without apparently knowing it, you also gave clues to how America will forget about the spewage: The TV and radio talking heads will continue the miss-direction, half-truths, un-truths and inane babble that will drive those facts into the vacuum of commercial messages.
Remember folks, this isn't a democratic process - it's a "reality show".
Remember folks, this isn't a democratic process - it's a "reality show".
2
I never thought it was possible that there would be a Repub nominee that could make George W look good. In fact GWB is absolutely brilliant in comparison.
Sad beyond words.
Sad beyond words.
7
I hope Egan and the "real" journalists will avoid acceptance of superficial whitewashing of Trump. He has made it clear who he is, and while the GOP base has accepted that narrow view of America and Americans, we don't want it in the White House.
1
Why write another Trump piece when we know all this?
I had hoped that you would write about the new "Big Burn" happening up in the tar-sands region of Alberta. How much carbon dioxide has already been released by the accumulated mining and processing of tar sands? How common historically are forest fires in the region? How has the climate changed over the course of meteorological data collected for the region? Just as the 1910 Big Burn drove later policy decisions regarding public lands in the US, might the 2016 Big Burn in oil-sands country lead to future policy changes in North America and beyond? Is that too much to hope for?
I had hoped that you would write about the new "Big Burn" happening up in the tar-sands region of Alberta. How much carbon dioxide has already been released by the accumulated mining and processing of tar sands? How common historically are forest fires in the region? How has the climate changed over the course of meteorological data collected for the region? Just as the 1910 Big Burn drove later policy decisions regarding public lands in the US, might the 2016 Big Burn in oil-sands country lead to future policy changes in North America and beyond? Is that too much to hope for?
5
The Trumpster hasn't faced the music yet. Not even close because you can slide through a Republican primary but not through a general election. The press will do their job and when the big guns come out, and they will, he will shrivel under its scrutiny. Oh he'll keep his 25-30% of the Palin faithful but the Conservatives will be forced to put in an alternate candidate to save face for the party and disavow him.
I think they'll concede the election to Hillary, save face with their alternate chump who's going to take one for the team and attempt to save their majority and down ballot party. The con will be up and the trickster will retreat to his mansions and tweets and whatever "media" that will listen to him. The silver tongue has gotten him this far but when the tide turns against you it will come down like a tsunami and you'll be exposed as the fool that you are.
I think they'll concede the election to Hillary, save face with their alternate chump who's going to take one for the team and attempt to save their majority and down ballot party. The con will be up and the trickster will retreat to his mansions and tweets and whatever "media" that will listen to him. The silver tongue has gotten him this far but when the tide turns against you it will come down like a tsunami and you'll be exposed as the fool that you are.
6
I know this topic has been put to rest, but there’s still one thing I’d like to know. If it’s ok for Ted Cruz (American mother, non-American father, born in Canada) to run for president because having an American mother makes him a natural-born citizen, why did we need to see Barak Obama’s birth certificate? Even if he were born in Kenya (American mother, non-American father, born in Kenya)… what’s the difference? Maybe Donald Trump can explain it.
49
As a Candidate, Trump was unafraid leaving everybody in 'could'nt happen' trance. Now he is the winner waiting to be anointed as the Nominated Candidate of the Republican Party totally unleashed, leaving the G.O.P. elite horrified. Even with all the negative labels he earned ( and rightfully! ) he was the Chosen One. He is the 'ends justifies the means ' kind of guy. Now he has made a few apologies but don't expect anymore from him. But all the hullabaloo about his triumph will become moot come November when he loses. But the Democrats better not get smug for This Guy has defied all odds and made the impossible, possible. Never underestimate the power of Trump.
There is a phrase in tort law -- res ipsa loquitur. It means that the nature of the "thing", the injury, leads you to the inevitable conclusion that it was caused by negligence. The phrase aptly describes the Trump phenomenon on multiple levels. The appearance of this "thing" on the landscape could not have happened without the negligence, nay reckless disregard, of the GOP. Moreover, with apologies to Abraham Lincoln, this "thing" clearly speaks only of itself, by itself, and for itself. We can only hope and ensure that the "thing" goes back where it came from in November.
4
I attribute voter amnesia to media malpractice, almost exclusively TV. C'mon TV. Spend the next six months raking over the hot coals of what got Trump here. Hold his feet to the fire. It's not about what he says now. It's what he said then.
3
The media created Trump. The media will have to destroy him.
Except they have a wicked conflict of interest: Trump is their cash cow. Even Egan gets more readers when he has Trump in his headline. The same goes for print, radio and TV commentators. Where would MSNBC and Fox be now without Trump?
He plays them all like a fiddle. Which makes me think that not only is he smarter than the media, but they're not nearly as smart as they think they are.
Their cash cow has bolted through the barn door. Now what?
Well, the media can look at it this way: they can probably make as much money destroying Trump as they made creating him.
Except they have a wicked conflict of interest: Trump is their cash cow. Even Egan gets more readers when he has Trump in his headline. The same goes for print, radio and TV commentators. Where would MSNBC and Fox be now without Trump?
He plays them all like a fiddle. Which makes me think that not only is he smarter than the media, but they're not nearly as smart as they think they are.
Their cash cow has bolted through the barn door. Now what?
Well, the media can look at it this way: they can probably make as much money destroying Trump as they made creating him.
10
If Trump can pull off taking back the bigoted and dictatorial comments it will be due to he Media, formally journalists, who have all pandered to Trump. As a group, there are few more in need of a competitive horse race in which knowing facts is little wanted or needed than the Media.
Egan's critique is attempting put new wine into an outdated analytical wine skin. May as well frame the "take it back" concerns with "love means never having to say you are sorry." May as well ask Mike Tyson to apologize for his knockouts. These things cant be swept under electoral carpet. It is form of creative destruction. The issue is whether GOP still has something of the phoenix in its political DNA?
SOMEWHERE Over the Rainbow, in one of Trump's many Fawlty Towers, there are a series of rooms exclusively for the use of The Donald. They are modeled after the offices of the Police Chief in Jean Genet's play, The Balcony, which are somewhere between Fun House mirrors and the mirrors at Versailles. In Trump's Mirror Rooms, he can engage in meditation on an infinity of his reflected images. Indeed, I think that Trump will have emblazoned on the door, After Me The Donald. No reason to get Louis XV or Madame Pompadour dragged into the middle. Imagine the joys of Trump sitting and admiring the dead creature lurking on is pate, or reveling in the Donald Duck face that he puts on to smile at his victories. Well, we're not buying it. We're not laughing. And we're most certainly not quacking. Trump's interminable screed of verbal abuse to friend and foe alike are signs of an irredeemable character. I heard a rumor that Hollywood is commissioning scripts for a sequel to Charlie Chaplin's film, The Great Dictator. Some titles being floated are, The Great Dictator II, The Great Dicktator II (no doubt an allusion to Rubio's locker room antics that hit below the belt), Bride of Frankenstein II with leading roles going to Louis XV and Madame Pompadour, The Balcony IV featuring scenes from the secret rooms of Donald the Black Hole King, and first ever pix of The Gardens of the Trumperies. Word has it that he's going to open a theme park in Paris too. The guy's talents are AWOL.
1
The scariest thing to contemplate is now that he is the Republican candidate for the Presidency, he is going to get national security briefings just like the President himself. What kind of mischief will result from that?
8
Why does everyone seem to be disappointed or disapprove of Donald Trump being the GOP nominee? I think any of the others would have been much worse for America. If Trump wins the White House, he will bumble along. If any other of the GOP candidates were to win, they would systematically dismantle the ACA, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, SNAPs, any and all social programs; and give the upper 1% a massive tax cut. Forty years of progressive work would be undone in four. So celebrate that the bad is victory over the worst.
Why don't we quit dancing around the issue and just state what many of us frighteningly believe to be the case : T-Rump is delusional and mentaly unbalanced. He is unfit for office.
7
Many of the things that come out of the mouth of this presidential candidate would not be civil enough to allow the NYT moderators to post them in this comment space!
Incidentally, I sincerely appreciate the vetting done to comments here. It helps me decide which responses to read and saves me from those not worthy of my time.
Incidentally, I sincerely appreciate the vetting done to comments here. It helps me decide which responses to read and saves me from those not worthy of my time.
2
Trump's success--millions of angry working people throwing a little tantrum. Americas politicians had better take care that the people don't throw a big tantrum. It will come if big changes are not made--it will be horrible.
3
Donald Trump, proven liar, fraud, bigot, and racist, has brought out the bigots and racists in great numbers and given their hatred a home and license. To those who support him, aside from the anti-intellectual bent of ignoring facts and not even listening to reason, why do you suppose he hasn't released his tax returns. Seriously (if you can), why? Because, fools, everything he says is a lie, from his concern about immigration and trade when he favors illegals over natives and outsources the production of Trump products to his wealth. And wait until you find out how little this creep pays in taxes. Trump has been hurting people like the ones who support him his whole life. Fools.
11
Well said, Tim. America's Id, as Jon Stewart termed Trump, is running for President, and is rooting through the refuse pile of bad American ideas (KKK; 'America First'; '50's attitudes towards woman, minorities, Blacks, Asians...) to tap into anger and resentment in this New Gilded Age.
I'm dismayed to see the the two candidates and two major parties being thrown into a false equivalence in this environment - and on this site in particular.
It's indefensible to equate Trump's campaign with Hillary Clinton's. The new mantra seems to be a pox on both their houses - yet the candidates could not be more different in their qualifications for office, their demeanor, their ethics and their character.
Hillary's sin is that she's the first woman to be this close to the Presidency, and is receiving all the venom that accompanies that challenge to male hierarchy (Jackie Robinson has nothing on her in that regard). Trump, by contrast, is an unqualified, ignorant, un-inquisitive, and unteachable person with a borderline personality.
We need more honest journalists like you, and more journalism like yours, Tim, to lay bare that contrast. Thank you.
I'm dismayed to see the the two candidates and two major parties being thrown into a false equivalence in this environment - and on this site in particular.
It's indefensible to equate Trump's campaign with Hillary Clinton's. The new mantra seems to be a pox on both their houses - yet the candidates could not be more different in their qualifications for office, their demeanor, their ethics and their character.
Hillary's sin is that she's the first woman to be this close to the Presidency, and is receiving all the venom that accompanies that challenge to male hierarchy (Jackie Robinson has nothing on her in that regard). Trump, by contrast, is an unqualified, ignorant, un-inquisitive, and unteachable person with a borderline personality.
We need more honest journalists like you, and more journalism like yours, Tim, to lay bare that contrast. Thank you.
13
We are a nation of nincompoops. Voting against our own best interests time and time again. Why should this time be any different? We now have an opportunity to prove it to the entire world. Make America great again indeed.
8
Trump both frightens and repulses me, but as for those who support him, I find they are even scarier as they are both angry and ignorant, a combination that often leads to thuggish behavior which we have witnessed at his rallies. Without the mob he would be long gone.
11
We are all bombarded by the media's love affair with Donald Trump. Reporters analyze his success with the "frustrated" "angry" middle class ad nauseam. We are told they don't want anymore "politicians" in office. Makes sense. What makes no sense, is the fact that, with Trump as President, minimum wages will remain stagnant, taxes to the middle class will increase, tax breaks to corporate America will increase etc., etc. We may not have to concern ourselves with these and many other issues, such as women's rights or employment opportunities, if one day, he decides to incite a "really great", "fabulous" global Armageddon.
4
"We have always been at war with East Asia."
As if there were ever any doubt, the Trump candidacy has shown us that we truly live in an Orwellian, reality-TV universe where language and ideas have no basis in reality, but instead reflect a fantasy, Facebook and Twitter world where up is down, slavery is freedom and war is peace.
The Trump candidacy is proof that politics has now been totally subsumed by entertainment and entertainment values.
Who will be left to defend reality, what Orwell called "the greatest truth in the universe", namely that "2+2=4"?
As if there were ever any doubt, the Trump candidacy has shown us that we truly live in an Orwellian, reality-TV universe where language and ideas have no basis in reality, but instead reflect a fantasy, Facebook and Twitter world where up is down, slavery is freedom and war is peace.
The Trump candidacy is proof that politics has now been totally subsumed by entertainment and entertainment values.
Who will be left to defend reality, what Orwell called "the greatest truth in the universe", namely that "2+2=4"?
3
Amnesia works well in this country.
Remember the summer of "Death Panels" and all the Tea Party people disrupting and shutting down town hall meetings?
None of them ever think about it let alone question the sources of that misinformation. They are just on to the next manipulated conflict.
You can even find YouTube video of the "normal" Republican, Senator Chuck Grassley, worrying about the government pulling the plug on granny.
No penalty paid for that.
As saying goes and also Trump says, why change a winning team.
Unfortunately, the Republican winning has been at the expense of the country.
Remember the summer of "Death Panels" and all the Tea Party people disrupting and shutting down town hall meetings?
None of them ever think about it let alone question the sources of that misinformation. They are just on to the next manipulated conflict.
You can even find YouTube video of the "normal" Republican, Senator Chuck Grassley, worrying about the government pulling the plug on granny.
No penalty paid for that.
As saying goes and also Trump says, why change a winning team.
Unfortunately, the Republican winning has been at the expense of the country.
1
In 1935 Nobel Prize-winning novelist Sinclair Lewis came out with "It Can't Happen Here," a political novel about a fascist takeover of the US Government by a populist US Senator by the name of Berzelius Windrip. Windrip promised sweeping social and economic while promoting patriotism and traditional values, and once elected President he established a plutocratic and authoritarian dictatorship enforced by a ruthless paramilitary force similar to the Nazi SS. More than 80 years later Sinclar Lewis may well turn out to be incredibly prescient. It can't happen here? It's happening.
3
So first thing I noticed pulling up the NYT site is this clown proposing a default on the national debt. Do those who make the big contributions, and have more to lose from economic mismanagement than us indebted working stiffs, forget?
1
Hypocrisy is dominant. Republicans say their against big government until a city, town needs federal money. Abortion is opposed, but self righteously there is no money provided to those needing assistance and, of course, complaints about family size. So Donald can say anything and it doesn't matter because nothing is real. Deportation sounds like an answer to those out of work until we talk about how it is actually carried out and do these cheering white people actually want the jobs handled by the "rapist, murders," from south of the border? The lack of thought, the dismissal of facts, and the non ending hypocrisy is scary, but hopefully seen by most voters.
2
Republicans this year will be forced to undertake a modern version of “the McCarthy test” by showing whether they have the courage and the decency to stand up to Trump’s demagoguery or meekly submit to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus’ plea, “to unite and focus on defeating @HillaryClinton.” So they have a seminal choice to make between principles and values that this country represents vs. a united party under Trump. It should not be a hard decision at all.
1
How can I tell that the press is worried about a Trump candidacy? Racism allegations & taco pictures. This is what the liberal press resorts to when then have nothing else. The press shot their wad on Trump already. They have no dry powder. This editorial is the definition of flailing in the dark. Looks like Mr. Egan has left the reservation (pun intended).
3
So does all this matter? The choice will be for many do I give the White House back to a Clinton or do I risk it with a Trump. I fear too many will choose the latter. It will depend on whose voters show up at the polls in November. Will the Sanders legions stay home? What if those raging from the left and the right unite behind Trump?
What happens if Trump were to win a majority of the vote nationwide no matter how thin but fail to win the Electoral College?
In the end will the checks and balances hold? Or will it matter?
What happens if Trump were to win a majority of the vote nationwide no matter how thin but fail to win the Electoral College?
In the end will the checks and balances hold? Or will it matter?
I am waiting for the press to start asking him "how will you accomplish" any of the million promises that Trump has made, and make him answer the question with facts. His Snake Oil salesman routine has appeal to the his lowest base of supporter- but the rest of us would like an answer. I watched him a at rally in West Virginia last night- promising to restore jobs in coal country, and his monochrome audience cheered wildly. How you going to do it Donald?
3
It is the attention span and memory of Americans I am concerned some, but Trump is another matter.
He's lived a life of having his workers do the research presenting to Trump's attention. He says yes or no. If no, they go back to more research. Either answer yes or no, Trump does the same thing. Goes to play golf.
He might throw a hissy fit if the Presidency cuts his golf time down.
He's lived a life of having his workers do the research presenting to Trump's attention. He says yes or no. If no, they go back to more research. Either answer yes or no, Trump does the same thing. Goes to play golf.
He might throw a hissy fit if the Presidency cuts his golf time down.
4
Maybe the trump ascent is a product of the eroding middle class and general inability to understand why this is happening. People realize on some gut level this phenomena- our disappearing middle class. They don't know what causes it or what can be done about it, so are ripe for misinformation that hooks them on an emotional level. Same with Sanders, just a different group responding to the same phenomena. Neither of these candidates address this fact in a realistic manner, nor are any attainable solutions offered. The media has done a really good job promoting Hillary hatred, so who knows what the outcome will be
3
Partially as an attempt to suppress my own rising panic, I would like to remind us all that Trump won only in the GOP primaries. Who were the GOP alternatives? True believers who were even more threatening to the future of our country. Now Trump will have to convince a much bigger and more diverse electorate that he is capable of leading our country. The Democrats would have to work hard to lose this election!
5
A Donald Trump Presidency would be the equivalent of trying to bake a Souffle in an Easy-Bake Oven.
2
Bernie talks about a peaceful "political revolution" on the left but Trump is leading the real revolution on the right. Trump's followers, unlike Bernie's, have real guns and ammunition already stockpiled in their garages, and they are just waiting for the opportunity and the signal from Generalissimo Trump to use them. Who their initial human targets will be is irrelevant. There are plenty who need "roughing up" and "punched in the face" and Trump will remind us glibly that some of his followers are "passionate" about their "political incorrectness." The Republican establishment, that made its bed with the NRA, will have nothing to say because they chose gun makers and sellers over little schoolchildren long ago. Guns don't kill, people do, defending the Second Amendment, and all that. The Republican elite, safe and secure in their upscale neighborhoods, country clubs and private jets, haven't rubbed elbows with the kind of white folks they brought into their party tent with all that pro-gun talk and policy over the years. All that talk of "patriots," "freedom" and "take back our country" is just words to them but to Trump supporters, it is actionable, especially to those who don't have jobs.
1
Forgot one correlation here: the Republican party can't take back Trump anymore. No more notion of a broken convention (or, ok, 'brokered'). Trump is their standard-bearer, their nominee, their idea of the best potential president.
This is a man, and I use the term loosely, who only knows what he reads on the internet and in the National Enquirer. He issues at least three bafflingly wrong statements every week (a recent one: "With billions of people coming into the party, obviously I’m saying the right thing.” But there aren't billions of Americans).
The narcissistic buffoon lies constantly, and has clear tendencies of racism, sexism, religious bigotry, and fascism. And this is what the GOP, in their mindless lock-step, picked.
So they can't take it back for the rest of us. There are plenty of American idiots who will be fooled, but people who pay attention and are capable of analytical thought are going to have a hard time trusting the Republican party ever again.
This is a man, and I use the term loosely, who only knows what he reads on the internet and in the National Enquirer. He issues at least three bafflingly wrong statements every week (a recent one: "With billions of people coming into the party, obviously I’m saying the right thing.” But there aren't billions of Americans).
The narcissistic buffoon lies constantly, and has clear tendencies of racism, sexism, religious bigotry, and fascism. And this is what the GOP, in their mindless lock-step, picked.
So they can't take it back for the rest of us. There are plenty of American idiots who will be fooled, but people who pay attention and are capable of analytical thought are going to have a hard time trusting the Republican party ever again.
9
I pretty much despise the Republicans, but Trump is my favorite. Why? Because he's not a religious fanatic. I am thoroughly appalled at the pack of Republicans (it seem like ALL of them) whose goal is to take political office and further the agenda of Christian religious groups. It is un-American and unconstitutional, yet has become the norm for right wing politicians. Somebody pointed out that after Indiana, Trump did not thank god or end his speech with "god bless...". It's actually refreshing. I agree with Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, et al.; not only is the separation of church and state a founding principle, it is the reason the nation was founded in the first place.
As for the coming election; throw out the issues, it's very simple. You either vote for Hillary Clinton or you vote for a racist. But would it be surprising at all for America to elect a racist after electing a black man?
As for the coming election; throw out the issues, it's very simple. You either vote for Hillary Clinton or you vote for a racist. But would it be surprising at all for America to elect a racist after electing a black man?
1
There was a naive time after the collapse of the Soviet Union when a lot of people in this country, and no doubt the EU and New Zealand and Oz as well, believed that democracy would spread across the world. Those were heady days even while it spawned some hubris on our part. Donald Trump has single-handedly destroyed all of this. He is the cautionary tale sure to delay China's move toward democratic governance. Call it karma.
4
Donald Trump doesn't live in the real world. He is used to his "yes" men and everyone else around him telling him how wonderful he is. Words mean nothing to him. In the business world enemies turn into friends everyday in order to put a deal together. He knows most people have a price and few standards.
He thought the Republlican party was going to fall into line and endorse him because they had no choice. Wrong. I suspect his meeting with Paul Ryan next week is the just the beginning of the gradual shifting of Donald Trump in appeasing the party because it's going to start dawning on him that he won't be able to do it alone. Every president needs others to advance their policies.
So he'll start toning his rhetoric down and eventually his supporters will realize that, once again, they've been duped and hung out to dry by the Republicans. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.
He thought the Republlican party was going to fall into line and endorse him because they had no choice. Wrong. I suspect his meeting with Paul Ryan next week is the just the beginning of the gradual shifting of Donald Trump in appeasing the party because it's going to start dawning on him that he won't be able to do it alone. Every president needs others to advance their policies.
So he'll start toning his rhetoric down and eventually his supporters will realize that, once again, they've been duped and hung out to dry by the Republicans. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.
5
Most of the people who voted for Trump in the primaries did so because the other candidates were so bad and because they knew that Clinton will beat him in the general. The percentage of real Trump supporters is not enough to get him elected. The nuts at his rallies are mostly there for the fights and the circus atmosphere, and aren't even registered to vote. So, no problem really. He's just another loud-mouthed blow hard. I've known that type all my life. He reminds me of my mother's brothers who would come to holiday dinners and monopolize the conversation, stuff their faces with food and booze, try to start arguments with the other guys, talk about their sex lives in front of the kids and generally bore everybody to death. We couldn't wait for them to leave, and we can't wait for Uncle Donny to be gone, either.
4
Both candidates have much "taking it back" to do. While Trump's case is egregious, one must not forget Hillary has her own problems, such as with the coal industry, and her image with her other scandals. Every election this happens. Candidates are forced to go farther to the extreme during the primaries to win the nominations, and then have to pitch to the middle in order to win the general election. While what Trump has said has moved "taking it back" to a whole new level, this is not a new thing.
It just keeps getting worse and worse. There was an article in the Huffington Post today about the fact that “his (DTs) top adviser, Paul Manafort, has spent much of his recent career working for pro-Russian forces in Ukraine, and doing complex deals for an oligarch with close ties to Putin.” Top U.S. security officials are afraid of DT getting his hands on top secret information if he gets the nomination. Thanks Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson, Rupert Murdoch, ALEC and all for destroying the republican party with your greed. You must be concentrating on taking over the world and forging alliances with Putin, Erdogen, Assad and the other strong arm men you are getting elected around the world? Think again.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/manafort-russia?utm_term=.bleOPKLkW#.l...
https://www.buzzfeed.com/bensmith/manafort-russia?utm_term=.bleOPKLkW#.l...
13
No matter what we make think of Mr. Trump, he will be a force to be reckon with. There are enough Americans from both major parties that want him as President of the United States no matter his weaknesses or shortcomings.
For the Republican establishment to ignore Mr. Trump would be to their own peril. It would damage their prospects in November if they somehow deny Mr. Trump the nomination. At the same time Mrs. Clinton should not see this as an easy cakewalk. There are enough angry Americans mad at both political parties that their vote for Mr. Trump would be a vote of defiance to both political parties.
This election is far from over. I think the race for the White House may be extremely close.
For the Republican establishment to ignore Mr. Trump would be to their own peril. It would damage their prospects in November if they somehow deny Mr. Trump the nomination. At the same time Mrs. Clinton should not see this as an easy cakewalk. There are enough angry Americans mad at both political parties that their vote for Mr. Trump would be a vote of defiance to both political parties.
This election is far from over. I think the race for the White House may be extremely close.
4
What always surprises me is the willingness of people to cut off their nose to spite their faces. No, Hillary isn't the ideal candidate. Neither is Bernie. But in comparison to Trump, either one is infinitely less reprehensible regarding politics, economics, race, and particularly morals. Still, there are some people, in their hatred of Hillary (and by extension Obama), willing to bargain with the devil. Trump is such a bumptious human that I wonder how anyone can fail to see how bad he is. Are we as nation so bereft of good leaders that we're willing to elevate any gas bag with a voice?
12
It is high time for the *4th Branch* of our government - the truly Free Press - to continue to deeply vet this clearly flawed human.
Start with the premise of breaking down his success business man. Trump Air, Trump Mortgage, Trump Casinos and hotel (especially the Russian Mob backed Trump SoHo), Trump University, Trump Water, Steaks all quickly come to mind.
In addition, how much he's made on bankruptcies and defaulting on his debt? Hey isn't that his new monetary policy?
And still no tax returns? Why? Because his net worth is no where near his bravado. Still a 1%er, but with a ridiculously inflated brand value.
Then move on to other character flaws from there. Family values, service to our country, charitable giving (ummm, that means actually giving), and on and on...
The rest of it - every intelligence and personally insulting txt, Tweet, interview, speech, rally, rant that he has offered since announcing his intentions to seek the highest office in the world - should run as HRC approved ads, stating, "I clearly don't support what he says, but I do support making sure everyone remembers what he stands for..."
Our Love Trumps Hate...
Start with the premise of breaking down his success business man. Trump Air, Trump Mortgage, Trump Casinos and hotel (especially the Russian Mob backed Trump SoHo), Trump University, Trump Water, Steaks all quickly come to mind.
In addition, how much he's made on bankruptcies and defaulting on his debt? Hey isn't that his new monetary policy?
And still no tax returns? Why? Because his net worth is no where near his bravado. Still a 1%er, but with a ridiculously inflated brand value.
Then move on to other character flaws from there. Family values, service to our country, charitable giving (ummm, that means actually giving), and on and on...
The rest of it - every intelligence and personally insulting txt, Tweet, interview, speech, rally, rant that he has offered since announcing his intentions to seek the highest office in the world - should run as HRC approved ads, stating, "I clearly don't support what he says, but I do support making sure everyone remembers what he stands for..."
Our Love Trumps Hate...
10
Most of the American people are essentially uninformed, thanks to a colossally incompetent and/or corrupted mass media, and a goodly number of our fellow citizens are just plain ignorant or bigoted. Trumpolini's plan is to exploit our astoundingly short collective memory, play to the biases so many Americans have, and say as little of substance as possible. It just might work.
In my life I have learned that you should never underestimate the ability and willingness of Americans to delude themselves or the ability and willingness of politicians, especially Republicans, to delude the American people. I grew up understanding that the role of the press was to try to minimize that delusion. It is so sad that most of the news media is far more interested in ratings, Trump as celebrity, and maintaining access to partisan "sources" to do that noble job.
So instead of learning about Trump's policy ideas and goals, we'll get more endless "horse race" coverage, discussion of the content of attack ads, and fawning coverage of Trump's development projects. You get what you pay for, America, and maybe it's time to demand that the news media do its job.
In my life I have learned that you should never underestimate the ability and willingness of Americans to delude themselves or the ability and willingness of politicians, especially Republicans, to delude the American people. I grew up understanding that the role of the press was to try to minimize that delusion. It is so sad that most of the news media is far more interested in ratings, Trump as celebrity, and maintaining access to partisan "sources" to do that noble job.
So instead of learning about Trump's policy ideas and goals, we'll get more endless "horse race" coverage, discussion of the content of attack ads, and fawning coverage of Trump's development projects. You get what you pay for, America, and maybe it's time to demand that the news media do its job.
9
Americans have no wisdom to judge what to believe because Congress legislates credibility for utter delusions and the schools utterly fail to debunk belief in magic.
1
We're going to be reading and hearing and viewing nothing but Trump until the election (hopefully not afterwards). To some extent this continual free news coverage strengthens and legitimizes him.
I'm not sure how responsible news sources should cover him, but I oppose doing it wall-to-wall.
I'm not sure how responsible news sources should cover him, but I oppose doing it wall-to-wall.
4
Poorly educated - low information - reality show focused low income under employed voters are his target market. The question is are there more of them than educated - high information voters?
10
What really boggles the mind is how all over the TV, pundits have been falling in line, if not to actually support Trump, to declare that he is acting more "presidential'; these infantile buffoons talk as if he can change who he is with a quick veneer of smiley happy-talk.
11
The big mistake made by Cruz, and conservatives in his camp, is that their policies are anti-American. When Cruz wants to abolish the IRS, and give tax breaks to the wealthiest, well to offset those tax revenue drops, he proposed eliminating social services. Those people who would be losing unemployment, school subsidized lunches, welfare and medical aid are Americans. When Cruz and social conservatives talk about taking away Planned Parenthood, their wealthy constituents are not harmed. They can still drive their daughters to expensive doctors for abortions, and they all have health care. But the people who lose out on the basic health services offered by Planned Parenthood, those people are also Americans. The list goes on and on where Ted Cruz defended policy that helps wealthy, or conservative, or white Americans, to the detriment of poor, black, or at risk Americans.
Trump on the other hand was attacking outsiders, people trying to come into the country, with a "sorry, you're not American" attitude. Ted Cruz and others in his camp endorsed policies with a "sorry, you're not wealthy, white or privileged" attitude.
Trump on the other hand was attacking outsiders, people trying to come into the country, with a "sorry, you're not American" attitude. Ted Cruz and others in his camp endorsed policies with a "sorry, you're not wealthy, white or privileged" attitude.
7
Everything you say about Cruz is true, but Trump also intends to lower taxes on the wealthy.
1
Trump is a cross between George Wallace (13.5 per cent of the presidential vote in 1968) and Ronald Reagan (50.7 per cent of vote in 1980). I would guess he will take about the average of those two numbers in 2016 (somewhere between 37 and 40 per cent of the popular vote). Look for a lot of throw-away votes for whoever the Libertarian candidate turns out to be. This whole thing is going to turn out to be an exercise in political flatulence. The real question is what will happen in the down ticket races. Will the Republicans suffer big loses in the House and Senate? That is really the thing to keep your eye on.
4
I have more in common as a Black lawyer in Washington DC with George Wallace than Donald Trump does. I have family in Alabama and the deep south, whereas Trump is a native New Yorker. I've been in Alabama more times than Trump. And like George Wallace I've attended Black church services for years, while Trump hasn't. And I've won the GOP nomination for President as many times as George Wallace (Zero), whereas Trump is the GOP nominee as the last man standing.
What is it with Obama liberals just throwing out the names of the biggest meanies they can google and linking them to Trump? Don't you folks ever actually think before you speak?
What is it with Obama liberals just throwing out the names of the biggest meanies they can google and linking them to Trump? Don't you folks ever actually think before you speak?
2
Here is the reality from one who supports Sanders. Today we have wittiness the hypocrisy and unacceptable behavior of the DNC, when of the over forty people the campaign submitted at the DNC request they chose to select only three of for the three standing committees. This outrage shows that the DNC is tipping convention toward Clinton. On the other side, the RNC has treated and continues to treat Trump with contempt. Both sides outrage millions of voters, many young, and are proving that the hatred of the establishment the American people feels is justified. Which brings me to Trump. This man had destroyed a gallery Republican candidates, including governors and senators, and has taken over the Republican Party - unprecedented in our history. When Ryan told CNN yesterday he still cannot support Trump, a destructive statement for the party, it took Trump a millisecond to sent back a ballistic missile - "I do not support Ryan's agenda". Trump has sometimes a repulsive style, but these were primary elections, his goal was to knock down all the candidates, and he had a huge success. What is fascinating are similarities between Bernie and Donald - opposition to an unnecessary war, opposition to trade agreements, resistance to removing manufacturing abroad. His point on financing NATO is correct. So now we might have to choose between an arrogant billionaire, with courage and a big mouth, and a fundamentally corrupt woman with a lot of experience. Where is Bloomberg?
1
I suggest you get out of your Republican-opposition-work-stoked specialist chatter (adopted by all too many Bernie fans who should know better; he himself would not approve) and look at Hillary's actual record and actions. Yes, there's much to criticize, as well as much to praise.
Her voting record is quite similar to Bernie's.
HillaryHateTM is meant to persuade people who should know better than she is evil incarnate, but she is not. Trump, on the other hand, is a nasty dishonest piece of work, without a moral center.
Her voting record is quite similar to Bernie's.
HillaryHateTM is meant to persuade people who should know better than she is evil incarnate, but she is not. Trump, on the other hand, is a nasty dishonest piece of work, without a moral center.
11
Many of us have known from the beginning of the similarities between Trump and Sanders and weren't so fascinated.
There are many similarities between their supporters, too.
There are many similarities between their supporters, too.
2
Trump is a choice, why? because he's not the establishment.
Every time an establishment elite like Egan comes in and tries to rain on Trump parade, it makes Trump look as the person the elites hate the most.
And in case you have not noticed Egan, we hate the elite.
The enemy of my enemy is my ally. The elite hates him, we hate the elite. Trump wins. It's that simple.
Every time an establishment elite like Egan comes in and tries to rain on Trump parade, it makes Trump look as the person the elites hate the most.
And in case you have not noticed Egan, we hate the elite.
The enemy of my enemy is my ally. The elite hates him, we hate the elite. Trump wins. It's that simple.
3
When it's too late, you will realize that you are worse off than before. Think for yourself instead of ignoring reality and taking shortcuts.
12
Trampolini will show his "elite" intelligence when he gets emasculated by Hillary in the debates. You know he is hiding a self-inflicted lobotomy under that combover.
2
You must also hate Blacks, women, Mexicans, Muslims, the disabled, and tortured and captured veterans.
1
Trump doesn't need to take anything back. Those voters who have fed for years on hate radio and Fox News anti-Obama propaganda are easy prey for Donald Trump. Trumpists are able to label ant-Muslim and and-Latino rants and his anti-feminist vulgarity not as racism or obscenity but as a rejection of political correctness.
They don’t care that the Trump family business was sued multiple times for racial discrimination against blacks. They don’t care that Trump’s bankruptcies took millions in lost salaries from workers and tradesmen. And millions in tuition from students he defrauded. They don’t care that Trump prefers to hire hundreds of foreign workers overwhelmingly rejecting American applicants. For the white people who have never recovered from the disaster of the economic collapse brought by George W Bush, Trump is an invincible masked super-hero who will bring them justice.
You cannot reason with these voters or convince them how little regard Trump truly has for working people and how they are just pawns in his personal power game. The proven facts are irrelevant.
In fact if there is a Trump recantation of the "hate foreigners" platform, he risks losing his most enthusiastic supporters.
They don’t care that the Trump family business was sued multiple times for racial discrimination against blacks. They don’t care that Trump’s bankruptcies took millions in lost salaries from workers and tradesmen. And millions in tuition from students he defrauded. They don’t care that Trump prefers to hire hundreds of foreign workers overwhelmingly rejecting American applicants. For the white people who have never recovered from the disaster of the economic collapse brought by George W Bush, Trump is an invincible masked super-hero who will bring them justice.
You cannot reason with these voters or convince them how little regard Trump truly has for working people and how they are just pawns in his personal power game. The proven facts are irrelevant.
In fact if there is a Trump recantation of the "hate foreigners" platform, he risks losing his most enthusiastic supporters.
8
What I and many other African Americans care about is how the Obama presidency has nearly destroyed the Black Community.
But Obama liberals don't care that 1 in 4 Black children are starving in America as of 2013, during the Obama presidency. Obama liberals don't care that African Americans have suffered more economic decline, mass incarceration, drug and gun related youth violence, long term unemployment, rising homeless rates than any other race during the Obama presidency.
Obama and his supporters don't care that as a whole the Black community has suffered during the Obama presidency at levels unseen in America since the 1850s, when we were slaves.
Obama supporters don't care that the Black community's suffering during the Obama presidency is equaled or at least rivaled by what African Americans faced during slavery from the standpoint of socio-economic decline. The only major difference between what's happening in the Black Community during the Obama presidency and the 1850s is that the 13th Amendment prevents us from being actual slaves, in chains.
But Obama liberals don't care that 1 in 4 Black children are starving in America as of 2013, during the Obama presidency. Obama liberals don't care that African Americans have suffered more economic decline, mass incarceration, drug and gun related youth violence, long term unemployment, rising homeless rates than any other race during the Obama presidency.
Obama and his supporters don't care that as a whole the Black community has suffered during the Obama presidency at levels unseen in America since the 1850s, when we were slaves.
Obama supporters don't care that the Black community's suffering during the Obama presidency is equaled or at least rivaled by what African Americans faced during slavery from the standpoint of socio-economic decline. The only major difference between what's happening in the Black Community during the Obama presidency and the 1850s is that the 13th Amendment prevents us from being actual slaves, in chains.
2
People can hate our first African American President as much as they chose for what ever reason they chose. They can distort his accomplishments in the face of complete racism-based obstructionism by the GOP following the disastrous economic crash brought on by GW Bush. It does not add one shred of credibility to the Reality TV boor that is Donald Trump who is giving aid and comfort to our worst critics and enemies..
3
DCBarrister, your made up statistics are as difficult to believe as your claims that you're African American, or a lawyer. When you never back any of these things up with verifiable data, it's very tough to accept your partisan and ridiculous statements.
1
Trump is the star in his own small budget movie and to his surprise he is a hit.
The press keep giving him bad reviews because they don't understand the script, it is a comedy. His ardent supporters know that but they think Washington is a joke so why not send in a clown.
Clinton would be more successful if she called him a joke, a jester poking fun at the Republicans and their dysfunctional behavior. The silly comment he made about loving Mexicans while eating a taco bowl. Does that not sound like the Republicans banning French fries as if that was some diplomatic maneuver.
Trump would thank Clinton for it because he doesn't want to be president in real life.
The problem is that the Democratic race is the important one and Trump's movie is causing the press to ignore the drama unfolding there. Sanders and Clinton are giving voters a choice between 21st century policy and 20th century policy. How we decide the next 4 years will dictate how the rest of this century unfolds. The press needs to concentrate on offering different academic and intellectual views on our choices.
The press keep giving him bad reviews because they don't understand the script, it is a comedy. His ardent supporters know that but they think Washington is a joke so why not send in a clown.
Clinton would be more successful if she called him a joke, a jester poking fun at the Republicans and their dysfunctional behavior. The silly comment he made about loving Mexicans while eating a taco bowl. Does that not sound like the Republicans banning French fries as if that was some diplomatic maneuver.
Trump would thank Clinton for it because he doesn't want to be president in real life.
The problem is that the Democratic race is the important one and Trump's movie is causing the press to ignore the drama unfolding there. Sanders and Clinton are giving voters a choice between 21st century policy and 20th century policy. How we decide the next 4 years will dictate how the rest of this century unfolds. The press needs to concentrate on offering different academic and intellectual views on our choices.
8
Trump is Diversion. He is Entertainment. This is what many Americans want and they respond to it. Diversion is fleeting, entertainment is momentary. It's what everyone is gazing at on their ubiquitous phones as they walk down the street, or drive.
DT knows the value of this empty, ephemeral truthiness and has used it.
Early on I said DT would get bored after the confining aspects of the Oval Office and the constriction of the position, and leave it to his 'advisors" - those "really, really "great people he is going to call upon to help him run the country. Or maybe the spotlight will feed his narcissistic personality disorder even more.
Sinclair Lewis wrote a book called "It Can't Happen Here." It just did. I weep for the republic.
DT knows the value of this empty, ephemeral truthiness and has used it.
Early on I said DT would get bored after the confining aspects of the Oval Office and the constriction of the position, and leave it to his 'advisors" - those "really, really "great people he is going to call upon to help him run the country. Or maybe the spotlight will feed his narcissistic personality disorder even more.
Sinclair Lewis wrote a book called "It Can't Happen Here." It just did. I weep for the republic.
10
I am always dismayed when I read statements that Americans will get what they deserve if someone like Trump is elected. I assume that the folks who write this are Americans, as am I. I will not vote for Trump; I do not share in the illusion that he speaks the truth; and I have worked against him. If he is elected, I and many other Americans, will not get what we "deserve." We will get what some very misguided and some very cynical and manipulative folks want.
106
They will also 'get what they deserve, increasing impoverishment and more military adventures abroad, if they vote for Hillary, who will most likely win. So we're damned either way. This will be the second time I won't vote for president, because neither choice is any good. The first time was in 1968, when both candidates, Nixon & Humphrey, vowed to continue torturing the Vietnamese, who had never done anything to us.
It is ironic how Trump's campaign to "Make American Great Again" has made the US an international joke. I don't think I want to be "Great" if it involves the ugliness that is TRUMP.
7
There was a time when the idea of Ronald Reagan as President was unthinkable, too. Nothing is impossible with an electorate this ignorant and polarized.
13
An endorsement from Ted Nugent: "'Trump is as close to Ted Nugent as you’re going to get in politics,' [Nugent] said." Combine that with Trump's seemingly cordial relationship with David Duke and everything else we've heard and witnessed of him during the past year of the campaign are too much to sit idly by and let him even come close to winning. It calls for action - anything - to work to block Trump from the White House. Citizens, unite and fight back!
8
Let me distill something to its essence: There are quite valid economic, cultural, public health and other reasons to seek to enforce the valid immigration law which most Americans wish to see enforced.
If you think it is "racist" to want to enforce such laws, you are either too lazy, or too obtuse to consider the positions of people who oppose your point of view.
The Times' sustained assault on Trump and support for the dissembling, Ultra-Establishment Clinton isn't about progress, it's about the chattering class thinking they know best which laws to ignore, and when to suspend "democracy."
If you think it is "racist" to want to enforce such laws, you are either too lazy, or too obtuse to consider the positions of people who oppose your point of view.
The Times' sustained assault on Trump and support for the dissembling, Ultra-Establishment Clinton isn't about progress, it's about the chattering class thinking they know best which laws to ignore, and when to suspend "democracy."
5
I don't know how you managed to slip this past the censor, Eochaid mac Eirc. But a tip of the old caubeen to you, you Celtic rascal...
2
Donald Trump:
"Folks, I've spent the last 10 months being politically correct - correct for the group that is the Republican base. Now I'm going to switch to being politically correct for the larger American electorate."
And that ought to go over like balloons made of heavy metals removed from the Flint, Michigan, water supply.
"Folks, I've spent the last 10 months being politically correct - correct for the group that is the Republican base. Now I'm going to switch to being politically correct for the larger American electorate."
And that ought to go over like balloons made of heavy metals removed from the Flint, Michigan, water supply.
7
Say what you will, but least he is honest when he describes his future great relationship with "the Hispanics," and the findings of his birther investigators as "unbelievable."
1
I'm really tired of all the Trump centric nothing new here columns like this one. The opinion page has been rendered irrelevant.
4
But how do you replace xenophobia, racism, misogyny and factual malpractice with “we’re going to love each other,” as he said after winning
Just say it! Like all politicians do anyway. It's not that complicated. One rip-snorting speech is all it takes these days to effect real "change", just as President Obama. As long as people "think" or "say" something, that's as close to real as it's gong to get, anyway. We're all just talk . . . so talk, Donald.
Just say it! Like all politicians do anyway. It's not that complicated. One rip-snorting speech is all it takes these days to effect real "change", just as President Obama. As long as people "think" or "say" something, that's as close to real as it's gong to get, anyway. We're all just talk . . . so talk, Donald.
1
It is time for Americans to stop joking about this clown and seriously unite to defeat him. Let's not underestimate an electorate that almost gave George W. Bush the presidency.
7
The electorate did not 'almost' give George W. Busch the presidency. For his second term, the electorate did elect him. And we are so in trouble.
1
Let's not even talk about Trump's plan to become "presidential" and unsay some of the things he said. I heard him the first time and I intend to vote accordingly.
5
In Conservative alternate universe, the new mantra will be to destroy HRC at all costs, man the torpedoes. I predict everyone will make nice, the country be damned, we just can't have another Democratic POTUS. The base that got him this far will not defect as he tries to act like a human being- they will know perfectly well it's just an act. The more traditional Republlican establishment will come around- better the Donald than Hillary. I think he can bluff his way to the Presidency, God help us.
3
Don't worry, HRC and the Dems will remind voters over and over again. Cut and paste video and words. Never forget, and in this case never forgive this inner-ugly, sexist, racist so and so.
3
Although there's been plenty of competition for the title, this country has never had a more tedious public figure than Trump. It's exhausting to watch this empty-headed solipsist wing it every time he opens his mouth. I'm astonished anyone wants to spend even one more day listening to his tripe, much less the next six months or 4 to 8 years.
6
Don't forget GWBush. Millions wanted to listen to his duplicity for 8 years.
1
You can't "take back" hate. Once unleashed, it becomes its own lord and master. Listening to no one else. Setting about on a course of its own...much like Donald Trump.
When the G.O.P set about charting its platform along these lines, no one thought twice or cared about all the racists, misogynists and xenophobes that it might attract. They're getting their comeuppance now.
When a Presidential candidate can receive the praise and endorsement by none other than a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, you know that there's a problem. And there is. But not so much with Donald Trump, than with the American people who are willing to put someone like that in the White House.
Should something like this happen, no amount of retractions will be able to fix it.
When the G.O.P set about charting its platform along these lines, no one thought twice or cared about all the racists, misogynists and xenophobes that it might attract. They're getting their comeuppance now.
When a Presidential candidate can receive the praise and endorsement by none other than a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, you know that there's a problem. And there is. But not so much with Donald Trump, than with the American people who are willing to put someone like that in the White House.
Should something like this happen, no amount of retractions will be able to fix it.
5
Timothy Egan’s familiar gripes against Trump carry about as much punch as Mrs. Clinton calling him a “loose cannon”. They may as well be reading poetry to the guy.
As a lifetime GOP voter who is now quitting the party because of their appalling choice for nominee, I believe it incumbent upon myself to school Mr. Egan on the real evils of Trump:
1. The “Ick” factor. There is a definite “ickyness” to the man that is simply impossible to abide. In all his many essays about Trump, Mr. Egan has never written anything about the “ick” factor so abundant with Trump. You’d think it would be the first thing he would write about.
2. Trump is way too ignorant and temperamental a man to be president. Does Timothy Egan even know this? He, and other people who don’t like Trump better figure it out soon, and act accordingly.
3. The key to beating Trump will be the concerted use of dirty and filthy identity politics. Divide the country into its various tribes, and you will defeat Trump with his own nationalist fetishes.
The Democrats and liberal commentators like Mr. Egan got the election they wanted with Clinton/Trump. The feckless GOP candidates could not slay the beast, now it’s up to Mrs. Clinton and guys like Timothy Egan. And I am most distressed to write that so far they don’t seem up to the challenge.
As a lifetime GOP voter who is now quitting the party because of their appalling choice for nominee, I believe it incumbent upon myself to school Mr. Egan on the real evils of Trump:
1. The “Ick” factor. There is a definite “ickyness” to the man that is simply impossible to abide. In all his many essays about Trump, Mr. Egan has never written anything about the “ick” factor so abundant with Trump. You’d think it would be the first thing he would write about.
2. Trump is way too ignorant and temperamental a man to be president. Does Timothy Egan even know this? He, and other people who don’t like Trump better figure it out soon, and act accordingly.
3. The key to beating Trump will be the concerted use of dirty and filthy identity politics. Divide the country into its various tribes, and you will defeat Trump with his own nationalist fetishes.
The Democrats and liberal commentators like Mr. Egan got the election they wanted with Clinton/Trump. The feckless GOP candidates could not slay the beast, now it’s up to Mrs. Clinton and guys like Timothy Egan. And I am most distressed to write that so far they don’t seem up to the challenge.
20
I believe John, that you have come closer to understanding and describing the problems with Donald Trump than either Tim Egan (a truly wonderful writer but off-base about Trump) and Paul Krugman. They treat what he says as if it matters. Not only does Trump know it doesn't matter, but those who vote for him, and even most of those who don't, know it doesn't matter. What matters is his ickiness, his laziness and his lack of curiosity. These are substantial deficits, but many people will conclude they are less off-putting than Hillary's. My reasoning is that, with Hillary we know what we will get, another hawk in the White House who will perpetuate the policies of her husband. With Trump, who knows? And that is why, despite my fears about what Hillary will do to muck up the Middle East even worse than it is now, I will vote for her. As Trump would say, Sad.
1
Bernie Sanders would possibly bring Trump to at least a draw. Hillary is likely to be toast.
5
Bernie Sanders is worse!!
Newsflash!!!: you can't unring the bell Mr. Trump, your greatest hits reel will be played ad infinitum this election cycle. I don't think he is going to win, I also believe the Democrats have one heck of a fight in their hands.
1
Here, most of the roofers, fruit pickers, and construction workers are Hispanic. I believe the "Trump Wall" should take into consideration that his alien conspirators are highly skilled at climbing, have ladders, and do great work, quickly, at very reasonable cost. Perhaps we should hire, not fire, them? No one else seems to step up when the heat comes and the work needs doing. If Mexico will finance the wall, will they also build it? If so, it will be excellent, another job gone over the border I'd surmise?
4
I
Tim, loved "Immortal Irishman." Speaking of Mr. Trump, maybe we could all use a little more Thomas Francis Meagher. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys Tim's columns.
Tim, loved "Immortal Irishman." Speaking of Mr. Trump, maybe we could all use a little more Thomas Francis Meagher. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys Tim's columns.
I'm afraid that Trump is on to a winning strategy: when he does a take-back he's going to do it with a wink to his supporters letting them know he's just doing this until he gets elected. When he goes back to to being outrageous, he's going to wink at the establishment media and elites letting them know he's only doing it to maintain support of the base. I despair.
1
Is this what is known as a hatchet job? So you do not like his style and have enumerated all his foibles.
If only the same energy would have been used to parse the NAFTA trade agreement.
If only such energy had been used to parse our involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria.
If only such energy had been used to parse Obama Care.
What everybody is afraid of is what Trump will turn up.
Don't worry the vast majority of people are with him.
If only the same energy would have been used to parse the NAFTA trade agreement.
If only such energy had been used to parse our involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria.
If only such energy had been used to parse Obama Care.
What everybody is afraid of is what Trump will turn up.
Don't worry the vast majority of people are with him.
4
The polls so far show the opposite: the majority are not with him.
2
I assume that you do not consider women, minorities or sane people to be "people"?
3
American amnesia, George W. Bush and Iraq and the economy and..., I know there is more, but I forgot already.
2
I think we didn't completely win something called Vietnam.
1
Mr. Egan:
the natural restriction of your column-inches limits the listing of all of Mr. Trumps atrocities.
however,
the man's utterances do seem par-for-the-course for a nation that obsesses over the Kardashians and Game of Thrones.
"we", as well as the GOP, are reaping what has been sowed - - -
not a satisfying result for any casual observer.
but,
please make no mistake here:
truth and reasoning are both early casualties in politics.
what the Swift Boaters did to Mr. Kerry is pre-K level mudslinging compared to the barrage that awaits us in the coming weeks.
should HRC survive the DoJ reviews and the HoR committee charades,
she likely will receive more votes than DJT...
however, the Electoral College is a whole different matter.
seriously,
it will take a massive outpouring of eligible voters to stem the overflowing sewer.
how many will chose again to sit-out another election?
grrrrr
1
The conservatives in this country have perpetuated a series of myths over the years - climate change is a hoax, the president is a secret Muslim born in Kenya, for example. They want to control women's bodies, put "the blacks" in their place, deport Hispanics, send Muslims back to the Middle East, repeal all the moocher programs like Head Start and SNAP, even Social Security and Medicare as we know it.
They will do or say anything to further their goals - remember how Osama Bin Laden was morphed into Saddam Hussein?
Donald Trump is the living embodiment of everything the modern Republican Party stands for.
That's why he is their party's nominee for president.
They will do or say anything to further their goals - remember how Osama Bin Laden was morphed into Saddam Hussein?
Donald Trump is the living embodiment of everything the modern Republican Party stands for.
That's why he is their party's nominee for president.
5
I just think it's mind-boggling that some of my fellow so-called homo sapiens sapiens have actually considered "he who shall not be named", for President.
Mr. Egan asks us to imagine this un-presidential man faced with the daily briefing in the White House, trying to discern a tabloid rumor from a national security threat.
John Fogarty in 1985 sang, "I know it's true, oh so true 'cause I saw it on TV.
Members of his constituency have been called "low information voters".
Please, my fellow citizens, reconsider.
Mr. Egan asks us to imagine this un-presidential man faced with the daily briefing in the White House, trying to discern a tabloid rumor from a national security threat.
John Fogarty in 1985 sang, "I know it's true, oh so true 'cause I saw it on TV.
Members of his constituency have been called "low information voters".
Please, my fellow citizens, reconsider.
5
Is no one questioning the man's mental health and capacities? Americans can only hope is that those closest to the campaign will come clean and 'out' Trump for the poseur that he is. The willful ignorance, race baiting, woman bashing, unconstitutional positions, and all-round ignorance is beyond baffling. It smells very much like a cognitive problem. That repubs are unable to call him out on his nonsense for 'fear of angering their base' is a travesty. What happens to the USA if this buffoon is prez is far more important that what happens to any individual republican or the GOP. Unity my eye - how about concern for our very country if this grenade thrower is C-O-C. Shouldn't prudence trump party loyalty?
5
Unfortunately, Donald Trump was the best of the bunch.
They were all con men, and that was one of the most important points that Trump made.
Donald Trump has rescued America from thirty some years of Republican looting.
Trump is a big question mark. He has taken several sides on all issues.
People are willing to take their chances on an unknown alternative to what the Republican Party has been selling - mostly tax cuts for the rich.
Who can blame them?
They were all con men, and that was one of the most important points that Trump made.
Donald Trump has rescued America from thirty some years of Republican looting.
Trump is a big question mark. He has taken several sides on all issues.
People are willing to take their chances on an unknown alternative to what the Republican Party has been selling - mostly tax cuts for the rich.
Who can blame them?
3
Ummm, Trump is planning on tax cuts for the rich. Just so you know.
2
Look, most of Trump's supporters are too ignorant of reality to care how inconsistent he is or what he actually says. His and their detachment from the real world are so delusional that no one with a grasp of facts and data pays any attention to them. And they won't be voting for Trump. Unlike the fabricated distrust of Hillary, the distrust of Trump by a majority of voters is real and justified. This will determine the election results in six months.
Eclectic Pragmatist — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — https://medium.com/eclectic-pragmatism
Eclectic Pragmatist — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — https://medium.com/eclectic-pragmatism
4
@Eduardo
Nonsense and insulting.
Try to understand: The people who are not true believers of the views espoused by the radical left are NOT stupid and devoid of knowledge, as is so often claimed by the self-styled progressives of the left. Many who will be inclined to vote for Trump are smart, knowledgeable people. And no matter the level of formal education, they don’t lack common sense. They have seen and abhor the divisiveness and trashing of traditional values that have shaken our country over the last seven and a half years; they have been ridiculed and disparaged, and they have had enough. And don’t kid yourself; his supporters WILL include Independents and Democrats.
Let’s face it. To the average American the central question in a presidential election is how the outcome can or may affect their loved ones and themselves, and as a corollary, how it will affect America. They care about safety, about jobs, healthcare, crime, “illegals” and a host of everyday things. And it is almost certain that most don’t think much of “identity politics” or find it anything but annoying. In simple terms, as seen by most people, when it comes to a presidential election, one result may be good and another not so good for them; and when seen that way, the individual moves instinctively toward what he or she understands “good” to be and votes that way. When all is said and done, if we are fortunate, what they believed to be good when they vote is in fact what’s good for country.
Nonsense and insulting.
Try to understand: The people who are not true believers of the views espoused by the radical left are NOT stupid and devoid of knowledge, as is so often claimed by the self-styled progressives of the left. Many who will be inclined to vote for Trump are smart, knowledgeable people. And no matter the level of formal education, they don’t lack common sense. They have seen and abhor the divisiveness and trashing of traditional values that have shaken our country over the last seven and a half years; they have been ridiculed and disparaged, and they have had enough. And don’t kid yourself; his supporters WILL include Independents and Democrats.
Let’s face it. To the average American the central question in a presidential election is how the outcome can or may affect their loved ones and themselves, and as a corollary, how it will affect America. They care about safety, about jobs, healthcare, crime, “illegals” and a host of everyday things. And it is almost certain that most don’t think much of “identity politics” or find it anything but annoying. In simple terms, as seen by most people, when it comes to a presidential election, one result may be good and another not so good for them; and when seen that way, the individual moves instinctively toward what he or she understands “good” to be and votes that way. When all is said and done, if we are fortunate, what they believed to be good when they vote is in fact what’s good for country.
2
These few examples do reveal Trump's real character, an abomination for a diverse and well educated electorate, a disgrace in decent behavior, totally devoid of civilized principles. His mouth will spew poorly thought-out imbecilic platitudes to tempt his 'fans' into implicit adoration of his sick ego. Trump's cheap shots at Obama, clearly designed to wake up racist and xenophobic attitudes, and culminating with an overt call-to-arms to punch anybody who dares call his bluff. Thies demagogue, shooting from the hip, is, incredibly, gaining favor from opportunists and hypocrites hoping for a piece of Trump's pie, should he ever reach the White House (Ugh!). Would that occur, the Press may be found complicit in temporizing, even applauding Trump's empty rhetoric, and disregard for reason, logic and common sense; negating 'climate change' as a willful act of ignorance, not that he couldn't access scientific information if curious enough...and with a grain of sympathy towards those afflicted already. The Press must not allow this charlatan to get away with the gross lies and innuendos he is so well known for. His conversion to a decent human being now is 'pure wind' and hypocritical.
1
Unless something dramatic happens (e.g. the glacial-paced FBI investigation yields a Hillary indictment, disqualifying her for the nomination) this will be a contest between a clueless buffoon and a hollow shell who has flip-flopped and sold herself to big money big shots for the nomination. A plague on both their houses. Both parties need a wake-up call. I refuse to go for the lesser of two evils. I think I'll stay home on election day.
1
There are millions of racists who will stand by their man, while declaring that they are not bigots and racists, and swearing that they never heard Trump say anything racist. They see nothing wrong with white supremacists supporting Trump. Hey, it's a free country and they are counting on their guy to make it even freer for them. They are fed up with not having their God-given right to white supremacy challenged . Yes, they are as morally corrupt as their leader has proven to be.
If other voters willfully blind themselves to the cynical, and disdainful reset con Trump's advisers are trying to convince their infantile candidate to make, and vote for him, they are nothing more than closet racists, sexist, xenophobes.
If other voters willfully blind themselves to the cynical, and disdainful reset con Trump's advisers are trying to convince their infantile candidate to make, and vote for him, they are nothing more than closet racists, sexist, xenophobes.
3
I think many of the problems in society stem from a lack of moral imagination. The inability to understand the connections between things, the consequences of their words and actions and the illusion of separateness. This partly contributes to the rise of players such as Trump. Only slight mental effort is required to understand how disruptive and dangerous he can be on the world scene- to visualize the scenarios, the future states that could arise with his ascension to the White House.
Coupled with this lack of moral imagination is an ungratefulness for the blessings we do have- and the sacrifice and courage that enabled them to come into being. With this appreciation- we would be far less likely to turn to tyrants or delusional men and woman for salvation- quick answers to solve serious and deep issues. Instead we would be more likely to reflect upon ourselves- our own individual and collective inadequacies and strengths.
Finally we think our words and actions are born, die and vanish from the continuum. But they do not. In fact, they live on through millennium. Shaping the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual landscape of each successive generation. A recognition and awareness of this- might help us stop repeating the mistakes of the past- and look closely at the interconnections in our own lives- that span lifetimes.
Coupled with this lack of moral imagination is an ungratefulness for the blessings we do have- and the sacrifice and courage that enabled them to come into being. With this appreciation- we would be far less likely to turn to tyrants or delusional men and woman for salvation- quick answers to solve serious and deep issues. Instead we would be more likely to reflect upon ourselves- our own individual and collective inadequacies and strengths.
Finally we think our words and actions are born, die and vanish from the continuum. But they do not. In fact, they live on through millennium. Shaping the mental, physical, emotional and spiritual landscape of each successive generation. A recognition and awareness of this- might help us stop repeating the mistakes of the past- and look closely at the interconnections in our own lives- that span lifetimes.
Donald Trump could take nothing back, gas-bag his way to November, get clobbered in the general election, but would still receive over 40% of the popular vote - that's seriously dysfunctional!
7
It will be tricky taking back what his base believes is true and needs to be shouted even more loudly.
3
So much for Trump's line that he tells it like it is. When were you lying, Donald? When you insulted your competitors in the primary, or now that you have warmed to them? Were you lying when you said that you love the Muslims, or that they, as a group, hare us and should be feared? Were you lying when you said that you were very pro-choice or when you said women should be punished or when you said the providers should be punished or when you said the laws are fine as is?
It's exhausting keeping up with your flip-flops, let alone making sense of them!
It's exhausting keeping up with your flip-flops, let alone making sense of them!
5
What has Barack Obama ever taken back?
In the last 7.5 years, Barack Obama has been asked the same question 3 times at end of year press conferences and most recently in a NYT sit down interview:
Obama has been asked to point out mistakes or things he's done wrong as POTUS.
Every single time he's asked this question, Obama blames someone else, or calls the American people stupid. It's not that Obama did anything wrong, its just that all of us in America are stupid and Obama wasn't able to come down from his Ivory tower and 'explain' what he was doing in a way that we simpletons can understand (I'm a Black lawyer in Washington DC with more graduate degrees than Obama, and I won more cases in the first 5 months of my career than Obama will in his lifetime, but oh yeah he's smarter than me).
I need to say this because Mr. Egan, like all the liberal hacks at the NYT continue to miss this point.
The more you try to put Trump in a box. The more you deny Trump the right to be a human being, to change his mind, to do what ordinary people get to do every day--the more he appeals to voters.
Your attempts to dehumanize Donald Trump are doing the exact opposite.
But hey, don't take my word for it. And don't go back in the NYT archives to find my comments since June 2015 predicting that Trump would win the GOP nomination in pretty much every Trump bashing NYT article that allowed comments.
Think about it. You've been wrong about Trump every day for 11 months. Why push for 12?
In the last 7.5 years, Barack Obama has been asked the same question 3 times at end of year press conferences and most recently in a NYT sit down interview:
Obama has been asked to point out mistakes or things he's done wrong as POTUS.
Every single time he's asked this question, Obama blames someone else, or calls the American people stupid. It's not that Obama did anything wrong, its just that all of us in America are stupid and Obama wasn't able to come down from his Ivory tower and 'explain' what he was doing in a way that we simpletons can understand (I'm a Black lawyer in Washington DC with more graduate degrees than Obama, and I won more cases in the first 5 months of my career than Obama will in his lifetime, but oh yeah he's smarter than me).
I need to say this because Mr. Egan, like all the liberal hacks at the NYT continue to miss this point.
The more you try to put Trump in a box. The more you deny Trump the right to be a human being, to change his mind, to do what ordinary people get to do every day--the more he appeals to voters.
Your attempts to dehumanize Donald Trump are doing the exact opposite.
But hey, don't take my word for it. And don't go back in the NYT archives to find my comments since June 2015 predicting that Trump would win the GOP nomination in pretty much every Trump bashing NYT article that allowed comments.
Think about it. You've been wrong about Trump every day for 11 months. Why push for 12?
7
Fox poisoning. Sad case.
2
What, in your opinion should President Obama "take back?"
And if you come up with anything, how does it compare with:
"I saw Muslims cheering in Jersey City on 9-11"
"Mexicans are rapists"
"Carly Fiorina is ugly and therefore unsuited to run for president"
"I was against the invasion of Iraq from the beginning"
And if you come up with anything, how does it compare with:
"I saw Muslims cheering in Jersey City on 9-11"
"Mexicans are rapists"
"Carly Fiorina is ugly and therefore unsuited to run for president"
"I was against the invasion of Iraq from the beginning"
1
go a head . vote for Trump.
And lets not forget his making fun of the disabled. There he is in bed with Rush. Serial bullies. I think he needs to be identified as 'Gasbag Don' by those opponents who both need to make a point and coin a phrase.
10
In 2008, for example, Obama's campaign released an ad that mocked Senator John McCain's inability to send emails. What they neglected to mention is that McCain's inability to send emails was the result of physical limitations caused by the torture he underwent while a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
On another occasion, President Obama made a terrible joke at the expense of physically and mentally handicapped children. During a March 2009 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the president joked that bowling a 129 was "like being in the Special Olympics."
Glass houses libs. Glass houses.
On another occasion, President Obama made a terrible joke at the expense of physically and mentally handicapped children. During a March 2009 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the president joked that bowling a 129 was "like being in the Special Olympics."
Glass houses libs. Glass houses.
4
How can anyone do other than run from a ranter?
6
The reckoning in the fall with Il Trumpolini as the standard bearer of the Republican party, a party who was responsible for creating its very own Frankenstein, will be brutal and swift.
Many voters that used to split their down ticket ballot, will vote straight Democrat, even if their local dog catcher is nicer than the one from their own party.
The Senate is almost certain to become majority Dem again, and even the House seems more and more in play.
Heck, even the up for reelection senator from Arizona, John McCain, admitted - before he endorsing Il Trumolini and selling his soul to Mephisto -that he is in the most challenging fight for his political life this fall because of Trump having insulted the large number of Latino voters in his state.
It couldn't happen to anyone 'nicer' than McCain and his whole sorry party.
Many voters that used to split their down ticket ballot, will vote straight Democrat, even if their local dog catcher is nicer than the one from their own party.
The Senate is almost certain to become majority Dem again, and even the House seems more and more in play.
Heck, even the up for reelection senator from Arizona, John McCain, admitted - before he endorsing Il Trumolini and selling his soul to Mephisto -that he is in the most challenging fight for his political life this fall because of Trump having insulted the large number of Latino voters in his state.
It couldn't happen to anyone 'nicer' than McCain and his whole sorry party.
10
Here I thought it was the so-called "low information voters" that we had to worry about in American politics. Turns out there is a "low information candidate" as well.
6
Yes, there are not enough Muslims to matter unfortunately. If Trump hadn't attacked others, we'd be toast all by ourselves because a lot those turned off by Trump would agree with him. It's the hatred of Muslims that got the Evangelicals to run to him, they betrayed the basic Christian tenant of love to hate the Muslims - at least their core is now evident. My children in elementary and middle school get taunted by Trump - including by their Jewish classmates who parents remember well a generation ago. This has been the scariest part of this election - and the saddest.
5
Trump pales in comparison to the steady hand and dignity of President Obama.
17
Over the course of nearly 8 years, the GOP establishment broke our government through obstruction, delays, blocking qualified cabinet and federal court nominees, filibusters, and one very costly government shut down. Now they're paying the price in the form of Donald trump, a highly divisive POTUS nominee who does not fit the mold of their ideal NeoCon candidate. In the months ahead, the GOP will be campaigning on the notion that we need change in DC. Informed voters know better.
We need change, but it's a change in behavior. A return to statesmanship, give-and-take, and negotiations in good faith to do the important work that matters most to US voters. The GOP has had a majority in both Houses of Congress since January of 2015 and assured us that they "could and would govern," and that they would work with the minority party to tackle issues that had eluded previous Congresses. Tax reform, entitlement spending, veterans healthcare, immigration reform, election financing...the list goes on and on and Congress has sent absolutely nothing on these issues to POTUS to sign or veto.
We need change, but it's a change in behavior. A return to statesmanship, give-and-take, and negotiations in good faith to do the important work that matters most to US voters. The GOP has had a majority in both Houses of Congress since January of 2015 and assured us that they "could and would govern," and that they would work with the minority party to tackle issues that had eluded previous Congresses. Tax reform, entitlement spending, veterans healthcare, immigration reform, election financing...the list goes on and on and Congress has sent absolutely nothing on these issues to POTUS to sign or veto.
10
You are right, Jay Ahuja, but they have been trying to break it and, in the words of the infamous Dictator Grover Norquist, "flush the government down the bathtub drain" for 40+ years. This particular group of operatives is simply holding the status quo for the financial elite so they can continue to steal from OUR hard-earned taxpayer, 401K and consumer pockets. Do not vote for one republican/libertarian/tea party individual - or those posing as democrats and independents - for the foreseeable future. THAT is the only way to clean up America.
4
Winning primaries by dominating the news is easier than winning the election. That requires lots of boots on the ground turning out the vote in each state. With high unfavorability Trump needs party regulars working for him. Ryan's comments were an invitation to Trump to show he can set aside his vindictiveness and unify the party so that he will have some coattails in November. Trump's reaction was nasty and impolitic, showing once again that in his view this election is all about Trump and he need not concern himself with the Republican Party.
1
Trump is the living all-in-one embodiment of the DSM. His inferiority compensation mechanisms are textbook-worthy in and of themselves. He brands everything with his name. He's now rebranded what used to be the GOP. He can't wait to rebrand the United States. Will this be enough? Likely not.
His ego is so far off the scale he exceeds the personification of Ayn Rand's ideal hero archetype (and appears to have none of her usually misunderstood archetype's more generous and redeeming qualities). He is Paul Ryan's worst Randian nightmare. He offends George Will because intellectualism is of little or no value. He asserts "truth" and is impervious to criticism. (Remember Agnew's "nattering nabobs" speech, courtesy of William Safire.) He revels in this sort of "paper combat" (but with real consequences) and knows no restraints or limits.
He identifies himself as an intellectual, though he clearly lacks critical reasoning and discernment skills. Clearly, he does have certain skills; those most usually associated with predator behavior. He can quickly and instinctively identify weakness and use it to his advantage. Like predators, he needs the hunt and is nothing without it. And like predators, he first takes what he wants and is unconcerned with what he leaves behind. Scavengers benefit from following in his wake. What and who is he hunting now, who comprises his pack of scavengers, and who or what will he hunt in the coming months and years?
His ego is so far off the scale he exceeds the personification of Ayn Rand's ideal hero archetype (and appears to have none of her usually misunderstood archetype's more generous and redeeming qualities). He is Paul Ryan's worst Randian nightmare. He offends George Will because intellectualism is of little or no value. He asserts "truth" and is impervious to criticism. (Remember Agnew's "nattering nabobs" speech, courtesy of William Safire.) He revels in this sort of "paper combat" (but with real consequences) and knows no restraints or limits.
He identifies himself as an intellectual, though he clearly lacks critical reasoning and discernment skills. Clearly, he does have certain skills; those most usually associated with predator behavior. He can quickly and instinctively identify weakness and use it to his advantage. Like predators, he needs the hunt and is nothing without it. And like predators, he first takes what he wants and is unconcerned with what he leaves behind. Scavengers benefit from following in his wake. What and who is he hunting now, who comprises his pack of scavengers, and who or what will he hunt in the coming months and years?
9
I don't think Trump can not be Trump. He's been part of pop culture too long, with too much on audio and video of him being his crass, racist self, to take that back now. And in any case, I think he's kind of untrainable. He can't dial back the persona, because the persona is all he's got.
That said, I think this election will be miserable and ugly. He and his advisers -- including that campaign manager who supposedly legitimizes Trump's Republican credentials mainly, it seems, because the manager has also run campaigns for that Ukrainian dictator-Putin friend -- will stop at nothing. Lord knows what we're facing.
That said, I think this election will be miserable and ugly. He and his advisers -- including that campaign manager who supposedly legitimizes Trump's Republican credentials mainly, it seems, because the manager has also run campaigns for that Ukrainian dictator-Putin friend -- will stop at nothing. Lord knows what we're facing.
9
My hopes for the next six months: (1) Trump will continue to be Trump--arrogant, brash, ignorant, unattractive, uninformed, incoherent; (2) Wealthy Republicans will not support Trump so that he will be forced to spend down his fortune (a terrible outcome for a filthy-rich man); (3) Hillary Clinton will defeat Trump so soundly that we will have a Democratic Congress working closely with her for eight years; (4) People long marginalized--women, African-Americans, Hispanics, the Poor--will take center stage in a renewed culture; (5) White men will emerge considerably chastened by 2024.
9
Suggestions for protest signs at Trump rallies:
"President Obama Made America Great Again"
"If Donald Trump were a woman . . . he would be Melania Trump"
"White Supremacists Support Trump. Ask yourself why"
"President Obama Made America Great Again"
"If Donald Trump were a woman . . . he would be Melania Trump"
"White Supremacists Support Trump. Ask yourself why"
8
Mr. Egan, every op-Ed piece I read about Trump from now on will be compared to yours and they will all be "losers". Thank you for your intelligence and humor in these dark days.
10
Trump is taking it all back. The sad thing is that the people believe he is sincere.
5
The really scary thing about the Trump "circus" is that this could be the start of elections where money is all that matters and anyone with enough can run for President in the United States. This includes the Koch Brothers, the social media barons, the corporatists and all the others who possess great wealth. If Trump wins this may set a pattern that could threaten the heart of democracy, keep us under the thumb of the fringe, and throw us off the cliff of endless war. This is very very dangerous for a "fringe" candidate to have this kind of success. I have not heard a single coherent intelligent comment from this man nor do I expect to. I am fearful for the future of the United States and so should everyone be.
89
Betsy, the Koch brothers, the media barons, and the corporatist already buy the elections, and have for a very long time. Although, most prefer to be the man behind the throne, pulling the strings in the shadows. Trump, at least, is not owned by anyone.
The Kochs are running the Republican Party anyway. Everyone in the party is in their pocket. Almost all of the language used by Republicans are more and more right out of the Koch's playbook.
Unfortunately Tim he can and will take it all back. The falling inline of the likes of John McCain, Susan Collins and Kelly Ayotte happened within 48 hours. Paul Ryan's concern is not Tump's rhetoric and blatant lies, but his policy positions whatever they are.
Trump is a national nightmare. I have been so depressed watching this debacle unfold. My daughter is confused by this man who could be our next president. She intelligently notes that his behavior is Ike the bullying that she and her classmates have been told not to do. Apparently, our society is "fed up" with political correctness, I.e., the idea that we shouldn't mock the disabled. Depressed by the cult like behavior of his supporters who mindlessly chant "build the wall." My CDN relatives text and email me asking what is happening down there? And what does the press do? Let this guy call into interviews to blather, bluster and boast on without interruption and display all his tweets for those of us not on Twitter. Then ask when he will "pivot" and act "more presidential" which apparently in this election season/news cycle doesn't mean displaying intelligence, compassion and a grasp of the complex issues facing our country, but eating tacos for cinco de mayo (on Twitter of course) and saying something nice about Lyin' Ted. Can't wait for president Trump's bromance with Putin where they will compare their country's super models and belittle a foreign leader's manhood not having a 10 for a wife.
Trump is a national nightmare. I have been so depressed watching this debacle unfold. My daughter is confused by this man who could be our next president. She intelligently notes that his behavior is Ike the bullying that she and her classmates have been told not to do. Apparently, our society is "fed up" with political correctness, I.e., the idea that we shouldn't mock the disabled. Depressed by the cult like behavior of his supporters who mindlessly chant "build the wall." My CDN relatives text and email me asking what is happening down there? And what does the press do? Let this guy call into interviews to blather, bluster and boast on without interruption and display all his tweets for those of us not on Twitter. Then ask when he will "pivot" and act "more presidential" which apparently in this election season/news cycle doesn't mean displaying intelligence, compassion and a grasp of the complex issues facing our country, but eating tacos for cinco de mayo (on Twitter of course) and saying something nice about Lyin' Ted. Can't wait for president Trump's bromance with Putin where they will compare their country's super models and belittle a foreign leader's manhood not having a 10 for a wife.
4
The biggest story so far is how the media got it ALL WRONG about Trump. Not just once but OVER AND OVER for months!
Sorry but your opinions and analysis for or against Trump are meaningless at this point. And where is the humility??? We're supposed to just believe you no matter what you say?
Everyone needs to WAKE UP, get out of their time machine, and realize that the past election results no longer apply to this new terrain. Gone are the colors of states and "proven" methods. It's all new now.
The era of media influence is OVER. You fail to recognize this at your own peril.
Sorry but your opinions and analysis for or against Trump are meaningless at this point. And where is the humility??? We're supposed to just believe you no matter what you say?
Everyone needs to WAKE UP, get out of their time machine, and realize that the past election results no longer apply to this new terrain. Gone are the colors of states and "proven" methods. It's all new now.
The era of media influence is OVER. You fail to recognize this at your own peril.
3
Hitler also attempted to seem reasonable to attract a larger number of voters and to allay the fears of foreign nations.
(And no, I wont stop making the Trump is Hitler comparison. And no, I don't think its too extreme.)
(And no, I wont stop making the Trump is Hitler comparison. And no, I don't think its too extreme.)
11
So much of what he said is on video / audio tape there's not much Trump can convincingly take back."Woman card ,"etc., are forever in the public record,and Hillary with her offer of a "free woman card " appears willing and very effectivly able to put that record to use.
2
Please stop and remember for a moment why we have Donald Trump. The working class has been sinking into the quicksand for 30 years. When the suffocation started to overtake the white collar classes, we suddenly took notice. People desperately need decent jobs, with which to feed the families they can no longer afford to have. Our infrastructure is collapsing.
If Hillary can address these problems, and why wouldn't she, America can start to heal. Part of the healing will be shocking Congress out of its self-pleasuring paralysis, and back into a working engine of government. Trump is the Marley's Ghost of Christmas Futures that will inevitably come true if we don't wake up and fix our nation.
If Hillary can address these problems, and why wouldn't she, America can start to heal. Part of the healing will be shocking Congress out of its self-pleasuring paralysis, and back into a working engine of government. Trump is the Marley's Ghost of Christmas Futures that will inevitably come true if we don't wake up and fix our nation.
6
I'm not sure to what extent polls can be trusted. If modern polling is taking place asking questions of voters with land lines, how many younger voters have even used one of these devices much less own one at home?
A good example of polling being unreliable in a cell phone age is this week's Indiana primary. Nate Silver declared Clinton the 'winner' before the votes were counted later to find that Sanders won with a comfortable margin.
The key will be who comes out to vote and how both campaigns get out the vote.
A good example of polling being unreliable in a cell phone age is this week's Indiana primary. Nate Silver declared Clinton the 'winner' before the votes were counted later to find that Sanders won with a comfortable margin.
The key will be who comes out to vote and how both campaigns get out the vote.
1
Oh, Tim, he is already working on his walk back. Didn't you see him eating taco salad? What doesn't that say about the guy, and his love of all things "Mexican"?
2
Tim, I hope you're right. But his command of the media spotlight and his big charisma -- indeed, the absolute fascination with him, among all his detractors as well as followers -- are scary. There's something deeper here, appealing to powerful buried atavistic feelings. In a society that has been exquisitely bred by Madison Avenue psychologist-hucksters over many decades to respond on an emotional, irrational, level, and facing a candidate who has mainly wonky rationality to offer, this psychologist-huckster just may prevail.
2
The one thing you can count on, beside death and taxes, is the short memory of the American public.
When you add up his true base, those who don't want to forget the positions Mr. Egan has enumerated here, with those who will simply forget them as he mouths the words and the spin of his new speech writers, he will have a sizable number of supporters in the general election. It would be a mistake to continue to underestimate him.
Hopefully those of us who do see him for what he is, and others who will see him in the inevitable moments when he must speak unscripted during the campaign, will be galvanized to go to the polls in record numbers to assure that he does not get anywhere near the White House.
What a shame that we must be moved to vote against rather than for, this year.
When you add up his true base, those who don't want to forget the positions Mr. Egan has enumerated here, with those who will simply forget them as he mouths the words and the spin of his new speech writers, he will have a sizable number of supporters in the general election. It would be a mistake to continue to underestimate him.
Hopefully those of us who do see him for what he is, and others who will see him in the inevitable moments when he must speak unscripted during the campaign, will be galvanized to go to the polls in record numbers to assure that he does not get anywhere near the White House.
What a shame that we must be moved to vote against rather than for, this year.
2
The roots of Trumpian thought trace back to the heyday of 1950's DC and Marvel comic books. Bright, garish colors and distorted perspectives are his norm. His brain is a random thought generator and these collections of words rattle around inside his skull until he opens his mouth and then they leak out.
The first question that needs answering is: Who will write and illustrate the "research" reports, policy positions, and basically all the user manuals Trump will need as his guide to be "Presidential"?
The second question arises from the first. Who, then, will read them? Because Trump sure won't.
The first question that needs answering is: Who will write and illustrate the "research" reports, policy positions, and basically all the user manuals Trump will need as his guide to be "Presidential"?
The second question arises from the first. Who, then, will read them? Because Trump sure won't.
3
I really don't see Trump as any different from any of the other GOPpers who spew whatever they think they need to do to sucker in voters with the intention of carrying out their original plans whenever they do actually get elected.
47
Apparently the GOP sees quite a difference, which is why none of the major GOP leaders or establishment Republicans are endorsing Trump. It's why the RNC and GOP establishment spent nearly half a billion (443 million) dollars on candidates, attack ads and PAC money to defeat Trump.
Yeah they're all just one big circle of BFFs.
Seriously Obama libs, what's wrong with you?
Yeah they're all just one big circle of BFFs.
Seriously Obama libs, what's wrong with you?
1
This loser, this Trump or whatever his name is, he's just the natural evolution of the political party that encouraged a junior member to shout "You lie!" at our duly elected President during his address to Congress. Xenophobia, racism, misogyny and factual malpractice are the stock and trade of the entire party. The loser is one of them, he perfectly fits in. They shut down the government because the President is black, and isn't one of their party. They'll do it again.
8
The problem here is the NYT itself. Since the beginning of primary season the media has given a pass to all of the lies stated. Oh sure, the fact check article appears after a debate or major speech, but the lie continues to be stated and reported in other articles like it "may" be real, instead of stating that it is a lie each and every time, as many times as it stated. If the lie is not called out each time, then those less inquisitive will start to believe it is fact, and this is the very basis of propaganda. Welcome to 1933 Germany.
4
Trump is betting that people have the attention span of a hummingbird and that they'll not remember what he said or did in the past.
We'll soon see if he's right.
We'll soon see if he's right.
7
George Will is correct. Donald Trump is fundamentally unfit to be President of the United States. The fact that he has run as a Republican and appears to have cinched the nomination of that party not withstanding, does not disavow the responsible and sober members of that party to voice loudly, publicly, and often that rejoiner. He is unfit. If he was running as a Democrat I would expect all of the leaders of that party to turn their back on him. At some point, running the country has to be more important that winning a race. The time is now.
15
I've never heard Trump acknowledge he needs to work on anything. For instance, he has a 70 percent disapproval rating among Hispanics but thinks he will win the Hispanic vote. A tell tale sign of a true sociopath is the inability to critique himself and the complete lack of introspection.
9
Mr. Egan, how about writing about this:
DT just announced his finance director to raise $1 Billion for his election. None other than a fellow inherited-money Wall Street hedge-fund boy Steven Mnuchin. He and his buddies took a FDIC bailout when they bought IndyMac and turned it into a bigger fortune by foreclosing on 35,000 homeowners, most of them minorities. Rachel Maddow did a piece on the IndyMac/OneWestBank corporate welfare rip-off tonight. Of course, Mr. Mnuchin is a Wall Street darling becasue he can make money for his BIG buddy "investors". Are we going to let a bunch of inherited-wealth, hedge fund robbers put DT within one thousand miles of the White House? Just exactly who is it that believes for one nano-second that DT will help "the little people"? It is time to shout down these democracy haters. They have no place in OUR America. Read a little about them at these links:
https://badbankmerger.com/maps/
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-onewest-cit-20140723-story.html
DT just announced his finance director to raise $1 Billion for his election. None other than a fellow inherited-money Wall Street hedge-fund boy Steven Mnuchin. He and his buddies took a FDIC bailout when they bought IndyMac and turned it into a bigger fortune by foreclosing on 35,000 homeowners, most of them minorities. Rachel Maddow did a piece on the IndyMac/OneWestBank corporate welfare rip-off tonight. Of course, Mr. Mnuchin is a Wall Street darling becasue he can make money for his BIG buddy "investors". Are we going to let a bunch of inherited-wealth, hedge fund robbers put DT within one thousand miles of the White House? Just exactly who is it that believes for one nano-second that DT will help "the little people"? It is time to shout down these democracy haters. They have no place in OUR America. Read a little about them at these links:
https://badbankmerger.com/maps/
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-onewest-cit-20140723-story.html
8
Open letter to the leaders of the Republican Party:
As a Democrat I have been amused following the entertainment of the Republican Primary contest over the past year. But now I have something to say - This isn't funny anymore!
The Republican leadership needs to 1) Fire Reince Priebus; 2) Change nomination rules before the convention; 3) Deny Trump the nomination and select a more acceptable candidate like Sen. Lindsey Graham
True, Trump received more primary votes than anyone else but he did not get a majority Republican votes. That means a majority of Republicans voted for someone else and presumably most of them don't like Trump. And if the field hadn't been so large for so long diluting other candidates until all that was left was the unpopular Cruz, he would not have won.
Also, Trump to me appears left of Clinton on some economic and foreign affairs issues so is a poor representative of Republican conservative philosophy anyway.
Yes, you will lose at least some of the 10 Million voters who voted to nominate Trump. So what? Do you really want them in your party with the opinions they hold?
And Clinton is unpopular enough perhaps someone like Senator Graham might just eke out a win in the general election.
For the good of the country and the future of the Republican Party, deny Trump the nomination.
As a Democrat I have been amused following the entertainment of the Republican Primary contest over the past year. But now I have something to say - This isn't funny anymore!
The Republican leadership needs to 1) Fire Reince Priebus; 2) Change nomination rules before the convention; 3) Deny Trump the nomination and select a more acceptable candidate like Sen. Lindsey Graham
True, Trump received more primary votes than anyone else but he did not get a majority Republican votes. That means a majority of Republicans voted for someone else and presumably most of them don't like Trump. And if the field hadn't been so large for so long diluting other candidates until all that was left was the unpopular Cruz, he would not have won.
Also, Trump to me appears left of Clinton on some economic and foreign affairs issues so is a poor representative of Republican conservative philosophy anyway.
Yes, you will lose at least some of the 10 Million voters who voted to nominate Trump. So what? Do you really want them in your party with the opinions they hold?
And Clinton is unpopular enough perhaps someone like Senator Graham might just eke out a win in the general election.
For the good of the country and the future of the Republican Party, deny Trump the nomination.
4
Trump: Makes America Grate!
18
Short explanation: all those statements don't apply to us. They apply to those people out there. Besides, Trump can't really mean all those horrible things he's saying. He's only saying them to get elected. Things will change once he's in office or on the campaign trail.
Those are the words and sentences that people use to convince themselves a truly offensive remark couldn't apply to them. And that's how Trump made it this far. The GOP never considered that their words and actions (or lack thereof) would lead to this sort of problem. They deserve what they are getting now. Let's see what they are made of when their reality free world collides with the reality many of us have been dealing with and a reality which is leading some to support a Trump.
Those are the words and sentences that people use to convince themselves a truly offensive remark couldn't apply to them. And that's how Trump made it this far. The GOP never considered that their words and actions (or lack thereof) would lead to this sort of problem. They deserve what they are getting now. Let's see what they are made of when their reality free world collides with the reality many of us have been dealing with and a reality which is leading some to support a Trump.
9
Yes, voter amnesia and media's need to cover every aspect of Trump and Trumpism will spread oil on the churning waters between now and November. But those are symptoms, while the real cause is the fact-free world so many voters inhabit. They will not take into account policy issues, political math, and Constitutional powers that would individually and definitely collectively shred his support. No, they will support and vote on nebulous attributes of likability ("I hate the bully in the schoolyard but at least he is doing what I wish I could"), misconceptions of power ("He is a great businessman"), and fuzzy feelings that he is on their side in whichever personal battles have special meaning to them. What is worse, Trump is exactly the financial tyrant that these voters feel have shipped off their jobs, discriminate against women and minority workers, and don't pay fair wages. They rail at trade deals but demand the newest smartphones and TVs.
These voters seem to have a near complete lack of empathy for anyone who does not look like their own reflection. Not racially, mind you, but for wanting equal social good. The Danes pay about 70% in taxes and are among the happiest people in the world. Look at the rallies this political season, see some of the unhappiest and lowest tax people in the world.
Maybe it is not Trump we should want to be saved from, but ourselves.
These voters seem to have a near complete lack of empathy for anyone who does not look like their own reflection. Not racially, mind you, but for wanting equal social good. The Danes pay about 70% in taxes and are among the happiest people in the world. Look at the rallies this political season, see some of the unhappiest and lowest tax people in the world.
Maybe it is not Trump we should want to be saved from, but ourselves.
30
Reading these comments, there seems to be one prevailing thread-i.e. fear. Fear that Trump has an actual chance to win the November election. And this has produced a frenetic attempt to characterize or, possibly mischaracterize, the event. (Perhaps in the same ways that Trump has used, adequately identified in Egan's Viewpoint.) But there is an undeniable fact, almost always omitted in this conversation. Trump is making statements that a large swath of the American electorate has waited to hear. (Immigration, Amnesty, Employment, Trade Imbalance, Mission Creep in Defense Treaties, Free Riders of NATO, etc.) The American public is, at best, weary of its role on these issues. Clinton will merely recalibrate the same policies of the past. The US will be in the Middle East and Central Asia for another decade. (Alone, in conflict, and without meaningful and sustainable allies.) And, very likely due to these concerns, Trump will quickly close the poll gap by an additional 5%. Making the election competitive. And fear is once again in the equation.
6
Good morning from Capitol Hill!
I am a Black lawyer in Washington DC, and I've been here the entire Obama presidency. You are onto something when you mention fear of a Trump victory.
Here's what I see in Washington DC.
The "fear" from the political establishment, elite, lobbyists, bureaucrats and assorted Washington groupies and hangers on isn't fear for the future of our country, its fear that they will lose their overpaid, unnecessary jobs and careers in this town.
A Trump presidency means no more useless bureaucrats raking in 6 figure salaries to create more problems than they ever solve. A Trump presidency means if you can't do the job, you're fired. Most importantly a Trump presidency means the end of so called intellectual elites sitting around on cable news shows and in newspaper offices talking nonsense and namecalling.
These folks don't want their gigs to end. That's why the establishment is ringing the alarm.
And as a Black man who volunteers and mentors at risk youth here in Washington DC, I think it's important to note. Barack Obama has never set foot in the poorest Black neighborhood in Washington DC. Ever. As in I am there every week doing my job and I've never seen anyone who works in the Obama WH within a mile. And the poorest and most dangerous Black community in Washington DC is barely a $8 cab ride from the White House.
So when it comes to being good for the Black Community, Obama never was it. We can't get worse than Obama.
I am a Black lawyer in Washington DC, and I've been here the entire Obama presidency. You are onto something when you mention fear of a Trump victory.
Here's what I see in Washington DC.
The "fear" from the political establishment, elite, lobbyists, bureaucrats and assorted Washington groupies and hangers on isn't fear for the future of our country, its fear that they will lose their overpaid, unnecessary jobs and careers in this town.
A Trump presidency means no more useless bureaucrats raking in 6 figure salaries to create more problems than they ever solve. A Trump presidency means if you can't do the job, you're fired. Most importantly a Trump presidency means the end of so called intellectual elites sitting around on cable news shows and in newspaper offices talking nonsense and namecalling.
These folks don't want their gigs to end. That's why the establishment is ringing the alarm.
And as a Black man who volunteers and mentors at risk youth here in Washington DC, I think it's important to note. Barack Obama has never set foot in the poorest Black neighborhood in Washington DC. Ever. As in I am there every week doing my job and I've never seen anyone who works in the Obama WH within a mile. And the poorest and most dangerous Black community in Washington DC is barely a $8 cab ride from the White House.
So when it comes to being good for the Black Community, Obama never was it. We can't get worse than Obama.
1
You are, quite sadly, mistaken. It isn't "fear" that drives such comments, but disbelief at the sheer gullibility of those backing Trump.
1
Six months is way long enough to put lipstick on this pig.
By my calculation, six months amounts to around 180 forgetting cycles for the public. This soon-to-be candidate now has hired appropriate revisionists and is already starting to use Teleprompter scripts. He could pretty much, not take back, but plaster over all the evil crapola that locked in one particular base, and start to pick up another one; for example lock-step Republicans who can't bear the idea of losing the election, members of Congress, also fearful of being unhorsed, and those shadowy types who actually direct party policy.
Can anyone change stripes like this and get away with it? Stay tuned.
By my calculation, six months amounts to around 180 forgetting cycles for the public. This soon-to-be candidate now has hired appropriate revisionists and is already starting to use Teleprompter scripts. He could pretty much, not take back, but plaster over all the evil crapola that locked in one particular base, and start to pick up another one; for example lock-step Republicans who can't bear the idea of losing the election, members of Congress, also fearful of being unhorsed, and those shadowy types who actually direct party policy.
Can anyone change stripes like this and get away with it? Stay tuned.
23
And get away with it? Sure. W got away with convincing millions that he wasn't president on 9/11 and had never even been warned. That's some feat of prestidigitation.
3
Except that despite locking the nomination Trump continues to be ridiculous and express policy ideas that are obviously dangerous. Just today his plan for the national debt was to make creditors "accept less". I can imagine how Wall Street will feel about that. Yesterday he tweets a picture of himself eating a Taco Bowl while claiming "I love Hispanics".
He's proving himself incapable of being reasoned and disciplined for one day much less 6 months.
He's proving himself incapable of being reasoned and disciplined for one day much less 6 months.
I'm still waiting for someone to ask Trump to outline his plans for building The Wall.
As a remodeling contractor for 20 years, I'd never have started a major project before first getting a hefty down payment, say 30%, for materials, labor, permits, etc. So I'm wondering ~ does Trump expect Mexico to write him a check, before construction begins, for the full $30 billion? Or even for $10 billion to cover the start-up costs? Maybe he's confident that Congress will fund The Wall and just wait until Mexico comes through.
These questions may seem preposterous, but they're valid and deserve answers from Trump.
As a remodeling contractor for 20 years, I'd never have started a major project before first getting a hefty down payment, say 30%, for materials, labor, permits, etc. So I'm wondering ~ does Trump expect Mexico to write him a check, before construction begins, for the full $30 billion? Or even for $10 billion to cover the start-up costs? Maybe he's confident that Congress will fund The Wall and just wait until Mexico comes through.
These questions may seem preposterous, but they're valid and deserve answers from Trump.
47
1
I'm sure you've heard of that movie that portrays the moon mission as a fake.
No big deal. Just generate a CGI move showing the construction of the wall and put it on the internet. Trump will declare it real. The Trumpistas will shout their approval, and America is Great again!
No big deal. Just generate a CGI move showing the construction of the wall and put it on the internet. Trump will declare it real. The Trumpistas will shout their approval, and America is Great again!
1
The real-estate developer/empty headed huckster recently publicly stated, in all seriousness, that when he is president creditors will have to receive less in order for the national debt to go away... that means the yuge Wall will be put up, but at little or no cost, creditors be damned. Case solved. The guy is sick I tell you.
1
This is an extremely on-target analysis of the American electorate and their main sources of "information". Paddy Chayefsky, a true prophet, predicted all of this many years ago in " Network ". Americans have lost their ability to separate entertainment from news. Often, those to concepts are indistinguishable from each other. Television news, with the exception of PBS, has functioned for the most part as media outlets for the Trump campaign. With some notable exceptions, tv interviewers have appeared fawning and intimidated in the Donald's presence. As an educated and serious electorate we have failed miserably. If there is no ethical code for TV news we should as " Why not?". Our laziness as consumers of political information just may get us what we deserve. Then, too late, people will say "What happened?".
47
The republican party deserves Donald Trump. No question about it.
The scary thing is that millions of Americans, primarily in both the old and the new confederacies, will vote for Donald Trump.
If by some chance, Mr Trump is elected president of these United States, the American people will deserve Donald Trump.
The scary thing is that millions of Americans, primarily in both the old and the new confederacies, will vote for Donald Trump.
If by some chance, Mr Trump is elected president of these United States, the American people will deserve Donald Trump.
19
TDurk. I agree partially. However, it would be better to say, "SOME of the American people will deserve Donald Trump". I am one of the "American People" you refer to and I have no intention of voting for him and therefore, I feel that I do not "deserve" him. Among my friends, some of whom are Republicans, not one of them is going to vote for Trump. Some said they will abstain from voting, some will write in a candidate and some of the Republicans I know are going to vote for Mrs. Clinton. (with clenched teeth probably, but nonetheless!)
1
If ever term limits was needed, it is now. Congressional offices were never meant to be lifetime positions. Judging from the many Republicans who, in spite of their scathing critiques of Donald Trump, have now indicated they will support him because of their party loyalty, it is time to think about how are representatives stay in office. Year after year, good performance or poor, we vote for the incumbent. If it was not clear before, it is now obvious that so many are self-serving hypocrites who are of no use to us or our country, and in some cases do significant damage.
20
If term limits were mandatory, Bernie Sanders would have been sent home more than 20 years ago.
Be careful, progressives, about the swords you wield, whether term limits, the Electoral College, redistricting, voter fraud, open primaries, the virtues or lack of virtues in party loyalty, to name just a few complaints often voiced in these comments. Because for each of the factors I've named, I can give you examples from history in which they worked against the interests you espouse.
Be careful, progressives, about the swords you wield, whether term limits, the Electoral College, redistricting, voter fraud, open primaries, the virtues or lack of virtues in party loyalty, to name just a few complaints often voiced in these comments. Because for each of the factors I've named, I can give you examples from history in which they worked against the interests you espouse.
1
Tim, your article is another cathartic response to a cataclysm that has already occurred. But that may not be the main quake. True, Trump's plans for his first hundred days reveal the know-nothing we knew existed under that thatch, and his retort to Paul Ryan (sucks to you, buddy) says Donald is still Donald. But Ryan was negotiating: "tone it down, shape up, and we'll support you." Susan Collins says much the same.
The higher probability is that another closed-door meeting will bring about a truce. Trump will give assurances on the SCOTUS, on the military, and on taxes. He'll probably agree on cabinet membership. And then the GOP machine will go into overdrive against Hillary. Heck, it's already is in overdrive: next it will go to rocket propulsion.
Let's reserve some capacity for catharsis.
The higher probability is that another closed-door meeting will bring about a truce. Trump will give assurances on the SCOTUS, on the military, and on taxes. He'll probably agree on cabinet membership. And then the GOP machine will go into overdrive against Hillary. Heck, it's already is in overdrive: next it will go to rocket propulsion.
Let's reserve some capacity for catharsis.
12
Ryan, Collins, and the rest of them will fall into line, because they always to - just ask Merrick Garland. All he has to do is accept a running mate with at least half of a brain, and the G.O.TP. will be one big happy family again, united in spewing venom at the Democratic nominee. Maybe Dick Cheney will be available to head up a VP search committee - that worked pretty well before, right?
And why did none of that matter? Why? Why? Why?
An idiot for President?
/banging head in despair/
An idiot for President?
/banging head in despair/
25
Now he's going to treat us all like idiots and pretend he didn't mean any of it. It is going to be fun watching him trying to keep his base while making nice to women and minorities. More taco-bowl moments, I assume. Who doesn't like a taco bowl? Especially one from the Trump cafe. Is this guy for real? Are we for real in supporting him?
28
Trump has already treated voters like the chumps they are and he'll now change his stripes and veer Left thinking he can fool enough Democrats to see he really is a liberal. Fat chance. Fool me once shame on him. Fool me twice shame on me.
2
While Trump may just be posturing, consider this. For the past 7+ years, Republican vitriol has claimed Obama has ruined our country. With this assertion, then, they are suggesting a president has the ability to cripple the country with his actions. Considering what a Trump presidency could do with walls, international opprobrium, mass deportations, worldwide nuclear proliferation, I pray the majority of voters will acknowledge they have expressed their anger over their state with the ascension of Trump and, realizing what is at stake, now vote with their heads. Crossing my fingers...
14
Look, the Democrats continue to play their tired, steady-as-you-go, predictable game of politics—as in the art of compromise and governing.
Meanwhile, since the glory daze of the Reagan presidency, the Republican Party has been playing an entirely different game, which clearly has nothing to do with compromise or governing the most powerful country in the world in an enlightened, democratic manner.
The Republicans enticed a good many American voters to their side by refusing to play the political governing game and by very successfully playing their own lowbrow culture game--as in purely contrived, manipulative, false narrative trashy entertainment fantasy culture. Clever! The GOP trash culture game resonates well with what is on television these days and with what a lot of stressed, fearful, tired, cash-strapped Americans are much more comfortable with than intelligent political debate, analysis, blah, blah.
Though the fix was in for Jeb! to win the GOP nomination, Trump managed to win over these angry voters, because Trump--who knows and cares nothing about the art of politics--managed to take the GOP's trash culture game to a new high for a low.
But now the challenge begins for Trump. He will not win over all the people in the groups he has managed to insult/trash to get to be #1 with GOP voters, but if he drops his trash culture game to play a political game he knows little about, he may be abandoned by his supporters. Lord, I hope so.
Meanwhile, since the glory daze of the Reagan presidency, the Republican Party has been playing an entirely different game, which clearly has nothing to do with compromise or governing the most powerful country in the world in an enlightened, democratic manner.
The Republicans enticed a good many American voters to their side by refusing to play the political governing game and by very successfully playing their own lowbrow culture game--as in purely contrived, manipulative, false narrative trashy entertainment fantasy culture. Clever! The GOP trash culture game resonates well with what is on television these days and with what a lot of stressed, fearful, tired, cash-strapped Americans are much more comfortable with than intelligent political debate, analysis, blah, blah.
Though the fix was in for Jeb! to win the GOP nomination, Trump managed to win over these angry voters, because Trump--who knows and cares nothing about the art of politics--managed to take the GOP's trash culture game to a new high for a low.
But now the challenge begins for Trump. He will not win over all the people in the groups he has managed to insult/trash to get to be #1 with GOP voters, but if he drops his trash culture game to play a political game he knows little about, he may be abandoned by his supporters. Lord, I hope so.
23
Perhaps if the media had done its job and treated the Trump ascendency as 'news' instead of entertainment suited for the Jerry Springer show we wouldn't be in this mess today.
34
Well uh...it actually WAS entertainment suited for the Jerry Springer show.
The people who have voted for him so far are unmoved by his racism, cowardice, egotism, and intellectual sloth.
The people who have voted for him so far are unmoved by his racism, cowardice, egotism, and intellectual sloth.
7
You bring up a point that I have thought about a lot. Trump has received more press and free publicity than any other candidate; at least so it seems. Even MSNBC which is a presumably liberal leaning network, has broadcast many of Trump's speeches, even to the point of interrupting one of their regular broadcasts. The great interrupter, Chris Matthews (who I actually like) seems to fawn over the Donald even though it seems pretty clear that Matthews dislikes Trump. Chris, if you happen to read this, please stop interrupting your guests! It is rude, frustrating and one of these days one of your guests is going to take a swing at you or walk off the set and I would not blame them.
1
Perhaps The Donald could borrow a few words and phrases from Hillary......"I misspoke"...."You're taking it out of The time is NOW for the end of the political dynasty s and 'career politicians' who do not listen to their constituents' wishes!
1
Hmmm, karl,
do you realize that even the primaries, Hillary has received many more votes than the donald did? So, which "people" are you talking about?
do you realize that even the primaries, Hillary has received many more votes than the donald did? So, which "people" are you talking about?
2
Mr. Egan assumes the people voting for Trump want him to take it back to appear civil and Presidential. Did it ever occur to Mr. Egan that Mr. Trump may have won the nomination because people are tired of our elected officials being civil and Presidential when they viscously stab them in the back for the benefit of their wealthy benefactors? I suspect Mr. Trump isn’t going to walk back anything and may win because of it.
9
"Viscuously"? Are you using spell-check? In any case, will you still be defending The Donald when he inevitably insults whatever race, religion or ethnicity you belong to?
12
Oops; sorry about that. Looks like I'm the one who misspelled "viscously." Even so, are you trying to say that politicians are carving sticky wounds into our backs?
3
Win? Trump? What America in your mind would that be? If you're going by the fanatical jerks who are willing to give up the American Dream of decency and decorum for a bully, a con man, a short-fingered vulgarian you are hanging with the wrong kind of Americans. We who believe in courtesy, faithfulness to our spouses, going to Church and belief in God and country would never even consider voting for such a despicable human being as Donald Trump. He represents the worse not only of what the GOP stands for but what a hard-working law abiding America believes in.
3
Several decades ago Adlai Stevenson quipped that Americans are suckers for good news. Given the choice between agreeable fantasies and disagreeable truths they will choose the fantasies every time. The "opioid of amnesia" helps these agreeable fantasies come to life.... and Mr. Trump has sold lots of voters on the agreeable fantasy that he can Make America Great Again by building walls, bullying our allies, and going after "those people"... Here's hoping that the disagreeable facts of climate change, refugees from war town countries, and global economics can beat those agreeable fantasies...
28
Never underestimate the power of the distraction principle: SQUIRREL!
24
The public sees Egan, Will, and Ryan all as part of the establishment. The more they knock, better yet ridicule Trump, the more people ask themselves why - what are all these establishment hacks so fearful of losing if Trump gets elected? Nothing could have helped Trump more at this pivotal moment, piquing the curiosity of persuadable voters, than Paul Ryan announcing to all of America that Trump's "standards" are not aligned with the current Republican establishment. So helpful, in fact, conspiracy theorists might say "hmmmmm...". With party disunity like that, a guy can get elected president.
1
Trump's most honest comment of the whole campaign was when he said he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not lose voters. That's sad, but true. He could deny the existence of the sun and the moon and they'd still love him for "speaking his mind."
We'll now get a chance to see just how gullible and unthinking the rest of the voting public is. Can he win over large enough chunks of the demographic groups he has offended -- women, Hispanics, blacks, Muslims -- and carry the day in November?
Thirty or even 20 years ago I would have said no way. But in this election year, when up is down and hot is cold, who knows how the electorate will react? Americans seem to have a never-ending list of grievances, and they seem primed to pull the lever for a quasi-populist. loudmouth demagogue who plays to their fears and prejudices with the brilliance of an old-time carnival barker.
God, I hope I'm wrong.
We'll now get a chance to see just how gullible and unthinking the rest of the voting public is. Can he win over large enough chunks of the demographic groups he has offended -- women, Hispanics, blacks, Muslims -- and carry the day in November?
Thirty or even 20 years ago I would have said no way. But in this election year, when up is down and hot is cold, who knows how the electorate will react? Americans seem to have a never-ending list of grievances, and they seem primed to pull the lever for a quasi-populist. loudmouth demagogue who plays to their fears and prejudices with the brilliance of an old-time carnival barker.
God, I hope I'm wrong.
241
Trump is the consummate politician. He has perfected the art of telling core conservative voters what they want to hear. Most people are appalled because its unvarnished and raw. But, I have to wonder why so few people seem to know or remember all the outlandish and inflammatory things said by dozens if not hundreds of conservatives over the last 8 to 10 years. Trump simply packaged them all up and delivered them in his own distinctive style. I'm only surprised his style sold so well everywhere.
14
We can only hope that they didn't sell "everywhere," but you are correct that he has said out loud and in regular speech the racist, misogynist, and xenophobic things that Republicans have been euphemizing for years. And they are all so shocked, shocked that anyone interpreted them that way.
Who's Ted Nugent? What a nasty mouth the guy must have to call President Obama "a subhuman mongrel"! And this man is a friend and supporter of Donald Trump's? And Trump is disliked by 2/3rds of American women and 70 % of nonwhites, young voters, college graduates. What's all the ruckus about? Oh, golly, Tim, you mean the wicked xenophobic, racist, misogynist, low-info fellow who is now in line to be our next President, who said that "we're going to love each other!", as if to erase his slate of bads and start with a clean tabula rasa. Has a candidate for the Presidency ever linked his Republican colleague's father (Rafael Cruz, Sr.) to the JFK murder conspiracy? Or insulted the wife of another wannabe POTUS? These are the words and acts of a President? Threatening to deport millions of Hispanics from America, keeping Muslims out, having spent so much time with the "birther card" trying to delegitimize President Barack Hussein Obama (our best President since Harry Truman)? And misogyny to the tune of calling women "dogs, disgusting animals and fat pigs"? Donald Trump is inviting hatred with his mouth spewing words of toads, snakes, mucky things. Perhaps most awful is his denial of climate-change ("a hoax") and what it is doing to our planet. We can only hope and pray that not enough demented Trump followers will vote that man and his yuge family into the White House in 6 months.
7
Ted Nugent is a has-been rock singer. At Trump rallies, he's often requested to sing his second hit song ... oh, wait ....
How fortunate you are, Ms Socolow, to have avoided him to this point.
How fortunate you are, Ms Socolow, to have avoided him to this point.
3
Dear Tim,
Your scaring me. A path leading forward for the Donald? This possibility alone should lead Bernie Sanders to sit down with his supporters and yes take a bow for pushing Hillary a little to the left. Take a bow for beginning a revolution that has merely begun to gain traction. And then Mr. Sanders must proclaim to all his supporters the only sane path moving the revolution forward is to pull the lever for Mrs. Clinton.
Mr. Sanders must know that if Hillary was losing to him in the democratic primaries that ultimately she would come around and galvanize her supporters to vote for President Sanders. A Supreme Court nominee is at stake. He must understand that this is more than an obligation. It is the right thing to do.
Your scaring me. A path leading forward for the Donald? This possibility alone should lead Bernie Sanders to sit down with his supporters and yes take a bow for pushing Hillary a little to the left. Take a bow for beginning a revolution that has merely begun to gain traction. And then Mr. Sanders must proclaim to all his supporters the only sane path moving the revolution forward is to pull the lever for Mrs. Clinton.
Mr. Sanders must know that if Hillary was losing to him in the democratic primaries that ultimately she would come around and galvanize her supporters to vote for President Sanders. A Supreme Court nominee is at stake. He must understand that this is more than an obligation. It is the right thing to do.
13
I believe wholeheartedly that everything you just said about Sanders should be said of Clinton. She can't beat Trump. This is the danger. She offers nothing more than the same old--which both the Trump and Sanders campaigns prove is not enough for anyone anymore. The one overarching theme of this election cycle is that politics as usual will not work any longer. We are ready for revolution. Or devolution. Depending on whom we elect.
18
Sh can, and she will.
It's time for the Overlords o appear UP There,, as our democracy (rule by the people) has run its course. "Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clark.
Don't underestimate Trump's willingness and ability to reverse course. When you believe in nothing except enhancements of your own power, status, and wealth, you can say anything, and therefore take anything back.
Trump will start wheedling to the middle, make nice with everyone (except the Clintons), say he didn't say the things he said and didn't mean the things he said, say he loves everyone, and say everyone's great. And say that he'll make America great.
And the voting public will believe him, because we've got incredibly short memories, don't go for any deeper or more thoughtful forms of analysis, and, frankly, we're not very bright.
Trump will start wheedling to the middle, make nice with everyone (except the Clintons), say he didn't say the things he said and didn't mean the things he said, say he loves everyone, and say everyone's great. And say that he'll make America great.
And the voting public will believe him, because we've got incredibly short memories, don't go for any deeper or more thoughtful forms of analysis, and, frankly, we're not very bright.
3
That's entertainment. That's entertainment.
1
Trump will not 'cool it'.
He's only interesting to his constituents when he's bombastic and hateful.
It's all he's got.
No one will listen to him if he feigns seriousness.
He's only interesting to his constituents when he's bombastic and hateful.
It's all he's got.
No one will listen to him if he feigns seriousness.
8
Everything in Mr Egan's column is true. But is somewhat irrelevant.
First, because of Trump, the GOP is not going to lose a lot Black votes because they have so few to begin with. Same with Muslims and Hispanics.
He's a racist? That's not a problem, it's the GOP calling card.
Whether he believes the things he says or not, his positions reflect what the low information Republican voter want to hear. That's why he won...Big time!
The GOP establishment resent him because he is not one of them nor does he need their money. They've lost control.
So it boils down to what Independents and independent leaning GOPers and Dems do in November: Do they come out and vote or stay home. There will be few cross-overs.
First, because of Trump, the GOP is not going to lose a lot Black votes because they have so few to begin with. Same with Muslims and Hispanics.
He's a racist? That's not a problem, it's the GOP calling card.
Whether he believes the things he says or not, his positions reflect what the low information Republican voter want to hear. That's why he won...Big time!
The GOP establishment resent him because he is not one of them nor does he need their money. They've lost control.
So it boils down to what Independents and independent leaning GOPers and Dems do in November: Do they come out and vote or stay home. There will be few cross-overs.
5
But he *does* need their money. As the presumptive nominee, he's looking now for party backing and party funds, which is one reason he's now trying to rebrand himself as more of a moderate. Although Trump has continually bragged of his wealth, he hasn't got anywhere near enough to finance this campaign solo, and even if he did, his entire career has been based on using other people's money. (And losing it; we're up to, what, five bankruptcies now?) The GOP establishment may resent him, but they're stuck with him; there's really no way they can snooker him out of the nomination. So he, and they, have to present a façade of his electability.
it's Pathological....Trump knows how to Glisten....he has No ability to Listen.
6
So far, I have watched All of the "Debates".... And have seen absolutely No substance from the lips of the bloviation of Trump. Everything has been purely Vaccuous. Now we are to have Seven more months of this chronic presence?
1
That the leader of the Republican Party reads the Enquirer and believes it is frightening but not unexpected in a party that has done the PT Barnum sideshow act on the US for the last 30+ years. "There is a sucker born every minute" has been their mantra and they have put all their efforts into showing us what suckers we are. Now another rich guy comes along pretending toward being just regular folks and people eat it up. Well if Trump was just regular folks he never would have gotten to college. Regular kids who screw up in school don't have a rich Daddy send them to posh military schools they go to reform school or just end up in jail.
The real question here is will the people who have been supporting him, those that are truly angry and believed his anti establishment rhetoric, abandon him or will they just end up, as we on the Left have had to do for 30+ years, vote for the least worst candidate? Will they vote for their beloved and now backtracking Trump or will they stay home this November?
The real question here is will the people who have been supporting him, those that are truly angry and believed his anti establishment rhetoric, abandon him or will they just end up, as we on the Left have had to do for 30+ years, vote for the least worst candidate? Will they vote for their beloved and now backtracking Trump or will they stay home this November?
5
The GOP speaker of the house uses a novel written by a marginalized author in the 1950s as the basis for his economic policy. Thus it is not surprising that their presidential candidate sees the Enquirer as a legitimate news source. They are all of the same cloth.
13
There are, to my mind, three possible explanations for what's going on now with Trump.
1. He's sending out signals to try to reassure the saner elements of the electorate that he doesn't really believe all the outrageous things he's said; that he spews them just to garner media attention and pander to the basest of his base; and that if nominated and elected, he would govern as a sane, conciliatory moderate. (In that light, one might infer that eventually he'd walk back even the 'Mexican rapists' comment and the religious entry test, the latter of which would be unconstitutional anyway and the former of which stands to screw up diplomatic relations with points south.)
2. He's either crazy or stupid (not mutually exclusive options; he could be both).
3. He's sane and cunning, but assumes we the people are all either crazy or stupid (again, not mutually exclusive) and will overlook, dismiss, and/or rationalize the discrepancies between Trump Classic and nuTrump.
All three are, I think, about equally plausible. Whichever explanation you choose, he's got a problem. A big one. Really big. Really, really big. Because on the Internet, nothing you say or do is ever forgotten, and his words and deeds will haunt him wherever he goes.
1. He's sending out signals to try to reassure the saner elements of the electorate that he doesn't really believe all the outrageous things he's said; that he spews them just to garner media attention and pander to the basest of his base; and that if nominated and elected, he would govern as a sane, conciliatory moderate. (In that light, one might infer that eventually he'd walk back even the 'Mexican rapists' comment and the religious entry test, the latter of which would be unconstitutional anyway and the former of which stands to screw up diplomatic relations with points south.)
2. He's either crazy or stupid (not mutually exclusive options; he could be both).
3. He's sane and cunning, but assumes we the people are all either crazy or stupid (again, not mutually exclusive) and will overlook, dismiss, and/or rationalize the discrepancies between Trump Classic and nuTrump.
All three are, I think, about equally plausible. Whichever explanation you choose, he's got a problem. A big one. Really big. Really, really big. Because on the Internet, nothing you say or do is ever forgotten, and his words and deeds will haunt him wherever he goes.
3
Tim, you deserve credit for trying to capture the awfulness of Trump, but sad to say, you didn't even come close.
6
It's up to the media and ordinary Americans to remind Drumpf of what he said, when he said it and to inquire why he said what he said. It will be very interesting to watch this clown sweating bullets trying to explain the idiocies that come out of his mouth. Let's not let him off the hook. It's gonna be fun, you'll see.
6
It is so scary that it's not fun. He'll doubletalk and his supporters will cheer. I am very discouraged.
To be sweating and trying to walk it back, he'd have to be capable of realizing that they are idiocies - and I don't think he's capable of that.
Great Article, Mr. Egan!
6
Unfortunately, in this age of political correctness, Trump's positions reflect more truth than Mr. Egan's. Trump's comments about how our unwillingness to stop illegal immigration results in criminals (including rapists) being allowed in are crude, but the comments are also literally true. Mr. Egan, however, is precluded bypolitical correctness from ever criticizing illegal immigration. Trump's comments about barring Muslims from immigrating are also crude, but reflect a kernel of truth about how Islamic doctrine causes terrorist attacks. Again, Mr. Egan is constrained by liberal dogma from thinking openly about Islamic terrorism. And so he writes the same cliched, unthinking column (Trump is "racist"; Trump is "xenophobic"). This is why Trump has so much support. People are tired of having elitists like Mr. Egan hector them about how they are racists if they are not for open borders; or if they even question Islamic doctrine and its link to terrorism.
27
1. Trump is racist and xenophobic.
2. Some illegal immigrants are criminals and some Muslims are terrorists directly as a result of their extreme interpretation of Islam.
Those two propositions could both be true. Indeed, I would argue they both *are* true. It is possible to think that we should crack down on illegal immigration and secure our borders, yet fall far short of Trump's loopy wall idea and his inflammatory rhetoric. It is also possible to acknowledge that there is a link between subscribing to certain fundamentalist forms of Islam and terrorism - just as there is a link between certain fundamentalist forms of Christianity and anti-Semitism and/or the murder of abortion providers - without tarring all believers in those creeds with the 'extremist' brush as Trump does.
The thing is, I'm still not sure whether Trump is himself racist and xenophobic or just pandering to a political base he has identified. Or somewhere in between.
2. Some illegal immigrants are criminals and some Muslims are terrorists directly as a result of their extreme interpretation of Islam.
Those two propositions could both be true. Indeed, I would argue they both *are* true. It is possible to think that we should crack down on illegal immigration and secure our borders, yet fall far short of Trump's loopy wall idea and his inflammatory rhetoric. It is also possible to acknowledge that there is a link between subscribing to certain fundamentalist forms of Islam and terrorism - just as there is a link between certain fundamentalist forms of Christianity and anti-Semitism and/or the murder of abortion providers - without tarring all believers in those creeds with the 'extremist' brush as Trump does.
The thing is, I'm still not sure whether Trump is himself racist and xenophobic or just pandering to a political base he has identified. Or somewhere in between.
20
" People are tired of having elitists like Mr. Egan hector them about how they are racists "
So instead you are giving your political support to an elitist who openly courts racists and uses racist rhetoric?!
Does that make sense to you?
Honestly?
Donald Trump was born rich. He took a big pile of money and turned it into a bigger pile of money with the help of his daddy. He went to private schools and ivy league colleges. He is the walking, talking representative of elitism. If you honestly think he cares about the people he attracts with his politically incorrect diatribes you are deluded.
So instead you are giving your political support to an elitist who openly courts racists and uses racist rhetoric?!
Does that make sense to you?
Honestly?
Donald Trump was born rich. He took a big pile of money and turned it into a bigger pile of money with the help of his daddy. He went to private schools and ivy league colleges. He is the walking, talking representative of elitism. If you honestly think he cares about the people he attracts with his politically incorrect diatribes you are deluded.
4
RP, I hate to judge a book by its address, but how many Muslims have you actually spoken with, so that you can make a judgment about "Islamic doctrine"? In 2000, your location ranked 87th nationwide for highest income. The population is 95% white. Tim Egan is a thoughtful writer with a very open mind, and he doesn't hector, although he does take strong positions. He's met a lot of people and traveled a great deal, and made a career of trying to be fair and well-informed. Have you tried as hard? Are you as well-rounded?
4
Mr. Trump doesn't have to follow the normal rules of accountability and respectability for his words and statements because he has skillfully used a compliant media to turn his campaign into an entertainment program. Many of us are horrified by what Trump supporters applaud, or we complain about the gullibility of those who believe he can and will magically bring factory and mining jobs back and all the rest. The real problem for many Trump supporters is that they have been duped into confusing politics and entertainment. Is it their fault? No, Trump is the logical outcome of the replacement of news by entertainment that has been taking place for decades. On the left, we complain about Fox News, but CNN has been appalling, now and for many years. It's not about "ideology"; it's about style: sound bites, staged shouting matches, hyped irrelevance, a constant sports team atmosphere of "who's up?" "who's down?" Bernie rails against Wall Street, the drug companies, and the fossil fuel industry, but we Americans ought to think about how, in this campaign cycle, the mainstream media (I guess I'm lining up with Sarah Palin, fancy that!) has utterly betrayed the public. No smokestack has created more pollution, and no Wall Street mogul has so polluted our politics, as outlets like CNN, the other broadcast networks, and the hacks that play the role of journalists there. It's telling that the most incisive news comes from comedians.
8
In almost 40 years as a voter, I never wanted to participate in a political campaign until now. But I will devote my time and resources to make sure we do not end up with this loathsome Tramp as President.
13
@ Shelby, I have never dipped into my bank account and contributed to a campaign. Now I will not only give money to the presumed winner of the Democratic candidates race against the 'Tramp', but also to those running for the House and the Senate.
Our family received and underserved present courtesy of Dubya, a present we didn't need. Now I finally know how to spend that 'gift'.
Our family received and underserved present courtesy of Dubya, a present we didn't need. Now I finally know how to spend that 'gift'.
2
It's not his crude remarks about women that worry me. It's his saying he'll eliminate gun-free zones, defund planned parenthood, and appoint a Scalia look-alike that make him anti-women.
246
Regarding the rise of Donald Trump and fascism in our country, why is there such an eerie quiet from almost every college campus across the country?
Thomas Paine Redux makes chilling and insightful comments about our current culture...we seem to be sleepwalking through this nightmare.
Where is our Resistance, or is it impossible to subvert a flickering electronic message generated hundreds of miles away?
Thomas Paine Redux makes chilling and insightful comments about our current culture...we seem to be sleepwalking through this nightmare.
Where is our Resistance, or is it impossible to subvert a flickering electronic message generated hundreds of miles away?
3
The 'eerie quiet from almost every college campus' is because they're too busy scrubbing the names of slaveholders such as John C. Calhoun off dormitories (while leaving in place those overlooked in their meagre education, such as Benjamin Franklin, who owned five household slaves); or holding protests to make sure no speaker is invited who might say something they don't already agree with; or pinning medals on each other to congratulate themselves on their impeccably correct opinions. (One thing they didn't bother to do was figure out the rules for voting in the NY state Democratic primary, and the Sanders campaign was too lazy, inexperienced, and/or clueless to inform them effectively, so when they did show up they weren't eligible to vote.) As in the Sixties, don't look to the young to save you; they're self-indulgent, immature nincompoops generating far more heat than light and certainly no significant forward motion.
2
Nothing in the internet age can be taken back. Trump has stupidly done "opposition research" on himself, an embarrassment of riches for the Democrats.
Every GOP candidate running in every race across the country will be asked specifically about any one of Trump's inane assertions.
Trump has provided more than enough rope for the GOP political hangings.
Every GOP candidate running in every race across the country will be asked specifically about any one of Trump's inane assertions.
Trump has provided more than enough rope for the GOP political hangings.
4
All I can add is, keep talkin', Mr. Egan, keep talkin'. As you noted, already NBC is on board the Trump Train with soft interviews directed by the Donald. And already the new narrative is in place: "Trump has suddenly become more presidential so he's a real contender," to be treated with deferrence. This line will only get stronger while any commitment to real journalism lags behind. This man is dangerous, you know it, many of us know it. Please, just keep pounding out the truth.
10
I never thought that The Simpsons episode "Marge vs The Monorail" would prove so prescient about the future of American politics.
1
What is happening to my country? The man is a joke. This entire thing is a joke. This is the end of our democracy, and we have only ourselves, and our idiocy to blame.
10
Can you imagine Trump meeting with the heads of state of our allies in western Europe? The heads of state of any other country in the world? Enough said.
The fact that he is the Republican candidate for president should be a national embarrassment to all Americans. Oh wait, it is.
I enjoyed watching Archie Bunker on television all those years ago (dating myself here). But I would not have enjoyed watching and listening to him as the nominated candidate for president of what was formerly a real (albeit disagreeable) political party.
The fact that he is the Republican candidate for president should be a national embarrassment to all Americans. Oh wait, it is.
I enjoyed watching Archie Bunker on television all those years ago (dating myself here). But I would not have enjoyed watching and listening to him as the nominated candidate for president of what was formerly a real (albeit disagreeable) political party.
9
You're insulting Archie Bunker by comparing him to Trump!
1
To turn Trump's favorite words against him: "Get him outta here!"
6
It is not too late for Bernie. If the DNC can presumptively crown Hillary, it can wise up and realize she can't beat Trump. She's too widely disliked. Even corporate leaders concede that without a middle class with money to spend, our economy can't recover. It might take a decade or so of New Deal investment, but the only thing that will make us strong again is building the middle class back up. The DNC needs to get smart and prioritize winning over politics.
1
"Simple. Count on American amnesia"
In an America where people are educated and informed and make their decisions on a rationale analysis of the facts a Donald Trump would not exist. Have you ever seen the man in the street interviews where people don't have a clue about almost everything. Our gullibility and stupidity is now the bedrock on which our democracy rests. Trump's four positions on abortion within several days never seemed to hurt him. You actually can't confuse people who are already confused to begin with. Let's see if the disease of the "Stupid Party" has effected the brain cells of everybody else.
In an America where people are educated and informed and make their decisions on a rationale analysis of the facts a Donald Trump would not exist. Have you ever seen the man in the street interviews where people don't have a clue about almost everything. Our gullibility and stupidity is now the bedrock on which our democracy rests. Trump's four positions on abortion within several days never seemed to hurt him. You actually can't confuse people who are already confused to begin with. Let's see if the disease of the "Stupid Party" has effected the brain cells of everybody else.
6
Pointing to Trump's statements and actions that befit a frat boy on Red Bull at best and a misogynist racist who would bring back Auschwitz at worst - does nothing.
He is saying what his acolytes (is that 40%-51% of all voters?) say in private, and would do if they had the skills, guile, and resources. He resonates because his appeal is visceral; not reason.
Note what he has not said. He has not said anything about giving anyone a freebie (something that politicians do). Instead he is making a solemn promise to screw a lot of people. Don't half of Americans and then some want to do just that?
Celebrating your mirth and chortling are not winning strategies. Remember that sucker-punching guy? That guy who shouted "go back to Auschwitz" on TV as he left a Trump rally? That is the person you are dealing with. Do you think mirth or reason will work? That guy watches the History channel to see the camps and feel good; he wishes he could go out and lynch somebody.
Pucker lipped republicans are lining up behind Trump; so will Ryan and George Will, with willing puckers.
Hillary cannot win against Trump by appealing to reason. Every democrat who failed tried that. She must find a visceral appeal. Her wonkishness and meta-cognitive presence (versus spontaneity) makes everyone cringe. If her posse is not brain dead (and I suspect they are), I hope they are working on carefully targeted visceral appeals, ready to with "Willy Horton" ads.
Kalidan
He is saying what his acolytes (is that 40%-51% of all voters?) say in private, and would do if they had the skills, guile, and resources. He resonates because his appeal is visceral; not reason.
Note what he has not said. He has not said anything about giving anyone a freebie (something that politicians do). Instead he is making a solemn promise to screw a lot of people. Don't half of Americans and then some want to do just that?
Celebrating your mirth and chortling are not winning strategies. Remember that sucker-punching guy? That guy who shouted "go back to Auschwitz" on TV as he left a Trump rally? That is the person you are dealing with. Do you think mirth or reason will work? That guy watches the History channel to see the camps and feel good; he wishes he could go out and lynch somebody.
Pucker lipped republicans are lining up behind Trump; so will Ryan and George Will, with willing puckers.
Hillary cannot win against Trump by appealing to reason. Every democrat who failed tried that. She must find a visceral appeal. Her wonkishness and meta-cognitive presence (versus spontaneity) makes everyone cringe. If her posse is not brain dead (and I suspect they are), I hope they are working on carefully targeted visceral appeals, ready to with "Willy Horton" ads.
Kalidan
1
Trump's astounding broad ranging ignorance and deviousness that's re visited in this column literally turns my stomach. And adding to this gastrointestinal upset (and the utter confusion regarding how it's possible outside the Twilight Zone that this incompetent, unqualified, man-child is a presidential nominee) is the huge number of his hypnotized troops who willingly/willfully march lock step to his dangerous and divisive siren song.
For sure, psychologists and sociologists will have a field day mulling over the meaning of this for years.
In addition, and even more madding and befuddling (if that's possible) has to do with vote getting. Insanely, Trump doesn't even have to depend on "American amnesia" to forget the character assassinations and other dirt he so freely dishes out and with no signs of a conscience. It's as if ignoring ethics is second nature. Yet, his cult doesn't care. In fact, they seem to feed and grow on dirt. The more the better. What have we become? We must do better!
For sure, psychologists and sociologists will have a field day mulling over the meaning of this for years.
In addition, and even more madding and befuddling (if that's possible) has to do with vote getting. Insanely, Trump doesn't even have to depend on "American amnesia" to forget the character assassinations and other dirt he so freely dishes out and with no signs of a conscience. It's as if ignoring ethics is second nature. Yet, his cult doesn't care. In fact, they seem to feed and grow on dirt. The more the better. What have we become? We must do better!
7
Mr. Egan, I suspect (and hope) that the Times will do all it can to keep the many-faced Trump in political focus. Political kudos defined as " . . . xenophobia, racism, misogyny and factual malpractice . . ." are worth keeping before the public's eyes.
Actually, America is in for six months of absolute political hell. I tremble at the soon-to-begin verbal interplay between Trump and Clinton. It will display to the world what trolls we really are.
Actually, America is in for six months of absolute political hell. I tremble at the soon-to-begin verbal interplay between Trump and Clinton. It will display to the world what trolls we really are.
4
The Normalization is already well underway. The amnesia box, in the form of NBC "news," is hard at work and the rest will follow suit. The media's primary job, like any spouse in an abusive relationship, is above all to maintain the fiction that Everything Here Is Just Fine, and they've had no end of practice over the last 20 years. They'll still be reassuring us it's Just Fine when the deportations begin and the beatings are taking place right out in the street.
9
I for one am tired of hearing the Republican Party referred to as the party of Lincoln. The Republican party of today only shares a name but nothing else with Lincoln's party of 160 years ago. Spare Lincoln the embarrassment.
I know that by keeping the hammer down on these same old stories of Trump's terrible Trumpness is supposed to remind us that he would make a terrible president but it is also have the affect of numbing the reader. I now skim the stories looking for the point. I didn't find one here.
The point I keep looking for in Trump and Clinton stories is how are we going to fix this mess of a process, of a government and of a divided country. How do we change people's minds about Trump since they seem not to mind what he has to say.
He may not be elected president (I think he is only starting to get his head around the fact that his self indulgent media grab has turned into actually being the nominee) but he is the president a large number of Americans want. Media figure that one out.
I know that by keeping the hammer down on these same old stories of Trump's terrible Trumpness is supposed to remind us that he would make a terrible president but it is also have the affect of numbing the reader. I now skim the stories looking for the point. I didn't find one here.
The point I keep looking for in Trump and Clinton stories is how are we going to fix this mess of a process, of a government and of a divided country. How do we change people's minds about Trump since they seem not to mind what he has to say.
He may not be elected president (I think he is only starting to get his head around the fact that his self indulgent media grab has turned into actually being the nominee) but he is the president a large number of Americans want. Media figure that one out.
11
What an unfortunate mess, this Trump business. Especially when American voters, by twice picking Barack Obama for their highest office, had actually been looking for a while like they might not be the world's dumbest people.
17
Actually, Leigh, it's not all the Americn people - just the Republicans. I have faith that the American people will do the right thing. It's just too bad Obama can't run again.
1
As long as some of out voter base gullibility is a tangible point to Trump hope, We should be vigilant about the Games.
Trump can easily un say what he already said. For him this is not something really matters, as we see everyday in celerity magazines.
You cannot beat Trump in his game of what is said and what he meant.
He can change his words many times in a day and still be reliable in his own eyes.
But as I said the issue is not Trump, The issue is gullibility of voter base.
Trump can easily un say what he already said. For him this is not something really matters, as we see everyday in celerity magazines.
You cannot beat Trump in his game of what is said and what he meant.
He can change his words many times in a day and still be reliable in his own eyes.
But as I said the issue is not Trump, The issue is gullibility of voter base.
5
Re Trump and taking it all back, Egan left out a classic quote from Chico Marx that fit well for Trump's performance in the the primaries and should be relevant in the coming months: "Who you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?"
10
It's "Who you gonna believe, me or your own lying eyes?"
2
I've heard that version but I thought Chico left out "lying" in the movie.
As some have commented the Trump candidacy is frightening because it exposes his supporters for what they are, bigots and racists, poor white men and women who look to blame someone, anyone, but especially the president for their predicaments. They live in the environment of low or little employment, drug addiction, alcoholism, and poverty.
The fact that Donald Trump is the candidate of the GOP is of great concern for everyone.
The fact that Donald Trump is the candidate of the GOP is of great concern for everyone.
17
Apparently, Trump's supporters are better-off than any other candidates. The working-class image is just that, an image.
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-mythology-of-trumps-working-clas...
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-mythology-of-trumps-working-clas...
Sarah D
Thanks for the link to Nate Silver's piece. I should certainly be more careful in attempting to categorize Trump supporters by income. That was quite stupid of me.
Thanks for the link to Nate Silver's piece. I should certainly be more careful in attempting to categorize Trump supporters by income. That was quite stupid of me.
1
Of course Trump can take it all back.
He can compliment lyin' Ted, flatter little Rubio and pat Kasich on the head. He can run an ad showing himself surrounded by the ground crew of his Palm Beach home smiling and cheering for him (they will get an extra dollar in their payslip). Trump will now tell America that he loves everybody and will make their lives yuugely better.
Trump is living in TV reality...everything can be scripted, edited, and most important, changed in a retake. He apologizes for nothing because he didn't do anything wrong...his truth is what he says in today's video taping.
Trump has a base that is more frightening than he is. He should have been eliminated in the first primaries, but his voters believe in what he tells them. His voters are angry, blinded by anger, blinded to Trump's make-believe TV reality. If he tells them the KKK is a longtime fraternal organization, they will rush to join it. With his base he can get away with saying anything.
The question is, will sane America let Trump get away with rewriting the script, shooting a retake, taking everything back?
By the way, elsewhere in today's NYT we learn that as the nominee of the Republican Party, Trump will be given national intelligence briefings. Boy does that send shivers down my spine.
He can compliment lyin' Ted, flatter little Rubio and pat Kasich on the head. He can run an ad showing himself surrounded by the ground crew of his Palm Beach home smiling and cheering for him (they will get an extra dollar in their payslip). Trump will now tell America that he loves everybody and will make their lives yuugely better.
Trump is living in TV reality...everything can be scripted, edited, and most important, changed in a retake. He apologizes for nothing because he didn't do anything wrong...his truth is what he says in today's video taping.
Trump has a base that is more frightening than he is. He should have been eliminated in the first primaries, but his voters believe in what he tells them. His voters are angry, blinded by anger, blinded to Trump's make-believe TV reality. If he tells them the KKK is a longtime fraternal organization, they will rush to join it. With his base he can get away with saying anything.
The question is, will sane America let Trump get away with rewriting the script, shooting a retake, taking everything back?
By the way, elsewhere in today's NYT we learn that as the nominee of the Republican Party, Trump will be given national intelligence briefings. Boy does that send shivers down my spine.
385
"Trump has a base that is more frightening than he is."
Boy, truer words were never spoken.
Boy, truer words were never spoken.
2
We might learn a few things from those briefings... so might our enemies and soon to be former friends.
2
"By the way, elsewhere in today's NYT we learn that as the nominee of the Republican Party, Trump will be given national intelligence briefings. Boy does that send shivers down my spine."
This hit home for me while watching a bit on 'The Daily Show' this week. Comparing Trump's ability to keep secrets to the time he publicly released Lindsey Graham's cell phone number as a joke.
This hit home for me while watching a bit on 'The Daily Show' this week. Comparing Trump's ability to keep secrets to the time he publicly released Lindsey Graham's cell phone number as a joke.
4
Trump can re-invent himself, because despite the over the top coverage, most people were not paying attention. Oh, sure they knew he said something awful again, but mostly what they will remember is the bunch of Facebook posts from supporters who captioned it with "This Guy Tells it Like it IS!" They won't actually look a the attached video or story, or look for details.
Think of how many times your get a re-post of something thoroughly debunked in Snopes, with all the attendant outrage. Doesn't matter that it is not true.
So don't count out American amnesia, depend on it.
Think of how many times your get a re-post of something thoroughly debunked in Snopes, with all the attendant outrage. Doesn't matter that it is not true.
So don't count out American amnesia, depend on it.
10
Stop the nashing and hysteria. Trump did a great thing, he destroyed the Republican party. The Republicans blocked President Obama's Presidency and were on the way to ruining the United States with their policy of wealthy only. The Repubs have nobody in their so called party to run the United States. Mr. Trump showed the Republican party how to win by lowering the parties policies even further. What bozos.
8
Sherwood, it seems like you are lost in a forest. Be careful what you wish for. Trump didn't destroy the party, but co-opted social liberals and fiscally conservative people. If you did your research you would see that that this is the vast majority of the country. Tump being a centrist - and left of your candidate in some areas - will enable him to win over the independents. Trump will win in a landslide. You're old enough to remember the Reagan election, right? Remember what the press and pundits said then?
We are through the looking glass with Trump. No one can predict what Hair Duce will do or say and his followers eat it up. A friend who has had some dealings with anther New York real estate developer asked him what he thought of Trump and got this response:He's a nice guy in private, he's a terrible deal maker but a great showman. Sounds like the perfect lunch for Vladimir Putin. I dread the next six months.
10
Yes, Trump is a loathsome, lyin' huckster (at best) but I rue the smug superiority of the Left which finds endless ways to put him down (deservedly) but has never taken him seriously enough, and has never truly considered the proto-Fascist rage out there--enough to have passively watched him hijack a political party. I fear for this country and also fear the smug predictions of a Hillary victory will be wrong. Trump is ready-made fodder for the comedians and pundits, but the disenfranchised have given him the key to the Oval Office. We'd all better watch out and get out the vote. And yes, Hillary is a flawed and not-very-likable candidate, but think of the alternative (you Bernie fanatics).
20
Nice body slam off the top turnbuckle. Ram jet, ram jet, ram jet. But seriously, this is the type of editorial/opinion piece we need. Maybe it will move the pathetic mainstream media out of their hiding placing and really expose the man for the fraud he is. And then I woke up. The living nightmare continues cause the slovenly msm keeps selling soap and crappy cut rate insurance while selling us out. Pathetic.
9
Oh, and one other thing: when will the media stop fawning over this buffoon by giving him more coverage than any other politician on the face of the earth? Just goes to show: people want bread and circuses even though the country and the world are exploding into millions of pieces (politically, geographically, climatically, and every other way).
33
I don't like him either, but like it or not, the man is news. More so than ever, now that he is the presumptive GOP nominee.
In Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, Ulysses explains to Achilles - who has retreated to his tent in a sulk - why Ajax has replaced him in the esteem of his peers:
'The present eye praises the present object;
Then marvel not, thou great and complete man,
That all the Greeks begin to worship Ajax;
For things in motion sooner catch the eye
Than what not stirs.'
Or, to put it less poetically: ' "Oooh, shiny!!!" ' Trump produces the most commotion, and attention turns automatically to the loudest noise and the most agitated movement. It's what Trump has based most of his career on - being yuuuger than anything else in sight.
In Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, Ulysses explains to Achilles - who has retreated to his tent in a sulk - why Ajax has replaced him in the esteem of his peers:
'The present eye praises the present object;
Then marvel not, thou great and complete man,
That all the Greeks begin to worship Ajax;
For things in motion sooner catch the eye
Than what not stirs.'
Or, to put it less poetically: ' "Oooh, shiny!!!" ' Trump produces the most commotion, and attention turns automatically to the loudest noise and the most agitated movement. It's what Trump has based most of his career on - being yuuuger than anything else in sight.
2
Look at it this way: Barack Obama was (and still is) criticized for his dispassionate, some would say blasé, persona. Forget about his positions or ideas, Obama simply failed to connect with much of the electorate, and he was met with suspicion, mistrust, and for some, a foreignness.
Trump is a bursting-at-the-seams ego that drives him, like a bulldozer, through, over or under all lesser beings. Lives will be lost, deserving people humiliated, and winners will take all.
Obama was and is a weak man, to many. Trump is a strong man, in the fine tradition of Mussolini, Lenin, Peron. He personifies brute strength and the triumph of the will. We will all be taught a hard, bitter lesson for having the audacity to have once hoped.
Trump is a bursting-at-the-seams ego that drives him, like a bulldozer, through, over or under all lesser beings. Lives will be lost, deserving people humiliated, and winners will take all.
Obama was and is a weak man, to many. Trump is a strong man, in the fine tradition of Mussolini, Lenin, Peron. He personifies brute strength and the triumph of the will. We will all be taught a hard, bitter lesson for having the audacity to have once hoped.
6
I hay to say it, but there is a good chance that Trump is right. People have a short memory, and many people do not start paying attention until close to the election. People tend to believe what other people say, and have short memories. Trump will transform himself into a "reasonable" sounding person. It is really imperative that those who do not want to see him win in November continue to blast the airwaves with video and audio clips of his past statements so voters are reminder of what a vile human being he is.
8
I think it will be more like a new season on television. Trump will change up his characters, make up a new story line and, just like any good soap opera, people will "forget" what they were watching in the first place. I watched as much as my stomach could take of him in my adopted state of WV last night. It was obvious to me that he knew nothing about the state other than there are coal miners who happen to live and work here. He brought up his tired diatribe about Bobby Knight, perhaps forgetting he was in WV and not Indiana. But I think it is all the same to him. One state or another is much like his television reality shows; throw out a few soundbites and then wrap it up with a hat trick.
12
Trump has mastered the art of the big lie - uttering a falsehood so often and with such great passion and conviction that people believe it. His most ardent supporters don't mind that Trump is a pathological liar. But the general electorate, at the end of the day, won't be drinking Trump's Kool Aid. He will be undressed by Hillary when the debates begin for his ignorance and incuriosity regarding world affairs. His breezing through the primary process was a function of his abysmal competitors. But he will not be able to walk back his bigoted positions on immigration and women's reproductive rights in the general election. It's one thing to ACT presidential, It's entirely another to BE presidential.
12
Trump lacks the guile and self-awareness to conceal his true character, however often he tries to define himself as an actor playing different roles. His clumsy efforts to paint lipstick on his own porcine face over the last few days serve as a harbinger of his long-promised shift to the "presidential" role. Egan argues that Trump's more convincing performance in the part of a rabid pit bull will defeat his effort to re-brand himself as a responsible adult.
I agree, but equally important, Trump will prove unable to resist the temptation to attack Clinton on a personal level. Independent women clearly pose a threat to his ego, and Trump will spare no effort to convert Clinton into a mirror image of himself. The success of this strategy will depend in large measure on how she responds. In a mudslinging contest, the dirty candidate enjoys most of the advantages.
Egan misses, however, one dimension of this contest. Trump's indifference to the truth enables him to paint a picture of a restored American Eden that deeply appeals to alienated voters, even if they remain skeptical of some of the details. If Clinton's more prosaic, although realistic, message fails to resonate with uncommitted voters, the outcome of this election could be closer than many pundits have predicted.
I agree, but equally important, Trump will prove unable to resist the temptation to attack Clinton on a personal level. Independent women clearly pose a threat to his ego, and Trump will spare no effort to convert Clinton into a mirror image of himself. The success of this strategy will depend in large measure on how she responds. In a mudslinging contest, the dirty candidate enjoys most of the advantages.
Egan misses, however, one dimension of this contest. Trump's indifference to the truth enables him to paint a picture of a restored American Eden that deeply appeals to alienated voters, even if they remain skeptical of some of the details. If Clinton's more prosaic, although realistic, message fails to resonate with uncommitted voters, the outcome of this election could be closer than many pundits have predicted.
15
To J. Lee: "indifference to the truth" indeed, and that is a very scary thought.
2
Repositioning for the general election is hardly unique to Trump.
Every election for years has seen it on both sides.
Hillary has repositioned constantly to deal with Bernie, almost state-by-state, and is infamous for her finger in the wind repositioning.
Yes Trump is doing it. Yes, his efforts are absurd. Still, this is not an effective thing to attack given the behavior of Hillary.
Instead, she will need to address his repositioning on its merits. that means mentioning what he said before that his voters liked, which he is now taking back from them. It means pointing out that what he says makes no sense.
But just repositioning as a concept is something Hillary and her supporters ought not to mention.
The only one consistent in this race was Bernie, and Hillary constantly attacked him for that saying he had only one idea. No matter what he talked about, she called it just one idea in which he was consistent, as an attack. Hillary R Repositioning.
Every election for years has seen it on both sides.
Hillary has repositioned constantly to deal with Bernie, almost state-by-state, and is infamous for her finger in the wind repositioning.
Yes Trump is doing it. Yes, his efforts are absurd. Still, this is not an effective thing to attack given the behavior of Hillary.
Instead, she will need to address his repositioning on its merits. that means mentioning what he said before that his voters liked, which he is now taking back from them. It means pointing out that what he says makes no sense.
But just repositioning as a concept is something Hillary and her supporters ought not to mention.
The only one consistent in this race was Bernie, and Hillary constantly attacked him for that saying he had only one idea. No matter what he talked about, she called it just one idea in which he was consistent, as an attack. Hillary R Repositioning.
12
In the general, it will be astonishing watching two positionally unmoored campaigns circling each other in an unending quest to see which candidate has less credibility.
Thanks a lot fourth estate. You got the candidates your stilted coveraged ached for. Expecting the general election campaign to be reported responsibly by the media, given its actions going back three years, is a fool's errand. Wake me when it's over.
Thanks a lot fourth estate. You got the candidates your stilted coveraged ached for. Expecting the general election campaign to be reported responsibly by the media, given its actions going back three years, is a fool's errand. Wake me when it's over.
1
Well, since you can’t control the American appetite for personality and center-right ideology or the consequences they have on governorships, state legislative chambers or the U.S. Congress, then demonize them – heck, maybe they’ll go away; and, if they don’t, at least you made a politically acceptable STATEMENT as your elected exponents retreat to dark corners where real power never visits again.
I love Tim: he’s never NOT Egan.
No, Trump will never take anything back, not seriously. He’ll simply appear as something new and dramatically different from what he appeared to be before, now that he needs to attract a broader audience beyond berserkers who vote in primaries. And Tim will demonize that, as well, as being not enough, or too phony, or just because it’s coming from someone who calls himself “Republican”.
But it does beg the question, why do we need Tim Egan when we have gemli?
I love Tim: he’s never NOT Egan.
No, Trump will never take anything back, not seriously. He’ll simply appear as something new and dramatically different from what he appeared to be before, now that he needs to attract a broader audience beyond berserkers who vote in primaries. And Tim will demonize that, as well, as being not enough, or too phony, or just because it’s coming from someone who calls himself “Republican”.
But it does beg the question, why do we need Tim Egan when we have gemli?
1
Love Luettgen. Always The Richard.
1
Richard, it's hard to describe how inadequate "too phony" is to describe Trumplestiltskin. The man who brays about bringing manufacturing jobs back to 'Murica while the line of cthes bearing his name is made in, natch, China. The myth of the successful bidnessman with no fewer than four bankruptcies on the ledger. He, lke your chosen Jebby, is just another member of the lucky DNA club. Three times married, twice to foreigners. And the stench of phoniness extends to his spawn, two of whom managed to fail to register as Republicants in time for the egregious NY state deadline, which was last OCTOBER, but still a full five months after Pop threw his rakeover into the ring, so couldn't vote in the primary, which is merely hilariously irresponsible.
That's your party, Richard. Own it. Learn to live with it. Embrace it.
That's your party, Richard. Own it. Learn to live with it. Embrace it.
5
Of course the follow question this begs is why do you read the NY Times, which is not nearly so center-right (perhaps a tad righter?) than you.
Politics seems to require the candidates to do things that are distasteful if not unprincipled, but accepting the basest and meanest behavior that Mr. Trump revels in as price of doing business? Putting that repugnant personality aside and what few political positions he held before this campaign, there is no substance behind any issue of substance he has addressed, unless "great" is a substance.
You want center-right, I'm all for it. I could list a couple dozen Republicans and a few Democrats who could easily make that cut. You want a totally inexperienced, self-aggrandizing, twice-divorced, race-baiting, misogynist, insecure, pandering bully who stands so far across the political spectrum he stands nowhere? He's all yours. take him as far away as possible.
Politics seems to require the candidates to do things that are distasteful if not unprincipled, but accepting the basest and meanest behavior that Mr. Trump revels in as price of doing business? Putting that repugnant personality aside and what few political positions he held before this campaign, there is no substance behind any issue of substance he has addressed, unless "great" is a substance.
You want center-right, I'm all for it. I could list a couple dozen Republicans and a few Democrats who could easily make that cut. You want a totally inexperienced, self-aggrandizing, twice-divorced, race-baiting, misogynist, insecure, pandering bully who stands so far across the political spectrum he stands nowhere? He's all yours. take him as far away as possible.
4
Are Muslims and "Mexicans" the new Jews in the world of Trump. How about an isolationist who wants to build up the military? Isn't this what Hitler did? Targeted Jews and then built up the German military for invasions. Too similar for me.
114
The only thing Americans don't forget are their most cherished myths. In a contentious country, myths are the new truths, the vision and world view held dear against outsiders and common sense.
Can Hillary become mythical--can she shake the tag of being a corporatist hawk? Which thrown stones will vanquish the evil of greed and power? This is not an election over the mundane details of policy, the technical details of the debt, the test scores of public schools, or even the building of bridges, both physical and social.
This election is about a world view, a defining consensus of vision and comfort--and whether it will include hate and violence and a return to war and oppression--or will it further peace and expand prosperity by helping the fallen at home (and abroad!) while realizing the magnified benefits of our giving.
We are on the Jericho Road, with two different ethical sets and two different visions of the awaiting Zion.
Can Hillary become mythical--can she shake the tag of being a corporatist hawk? Which thrown stones will vanquish the evil of greed and power? This is not an election over the mundane details of policy, the technical details of the debt, the test scores of public schools, or even the building of bridges, both physical and social.
This election is about a world view, a defining consensus of vision and comfort--and whether it will include hate and violence and a return to war and oppression--or will it further peace and expand prosperity by helping the fallen at home (and abroad!) while realizing the magnified benefits of our giving.
We are on the Jericho Road, with two different ethical sets and two different visions of the awaiting Zion.
70
I fear that Mr Rhett is correct that the power of myths is stronger than the influence of facts--too many voters are vulnerable to clever emotional appeals and too ready to ignore the facts which do not confirm their hopes and dreams. Witness the angry coal miners, caught in a declining industry in degraded landscapes. Not surprising that they are eager to embrace Trump's empty promises about somehow restoring the old role of coal as the fuel powering the nation. This times are long gone, but it hurts too much to accept it.
4
Walter: I always appreciate your comments. But when the dam is about to burst, when it is already over-flowing on all of us, the first order of business is to reinforce the dam and reduce the damage. Then we may have a chance to drain the dam. This dam of America is filled with disinformation, disdain, fear, anxiety, and downright hatred. This election is not about philosophy or a world view, It's about survival of a remnant of the dream that was the Republic. When a dragon needs slaying, we need a warrior like Clinton. Later, we can call on a poet to write the epic.
6
WOW!
3
That collective amnesia is what I fear. Already too many seem ready to say that they want to see how Trump will be post-primaries. They seem to assume that that Trump was just an act and that whatever they see between now and November will somehow be the REAL Trump.
Trump supporters to this point have been a red meat crowd who thrill to his outrageous no-holes-barred racist, bigoted, misogynist, xenophobic remarks. He removes, and allows them to remove, all civilizing constraint (known in their sphere as being "politically correct"). They paint him as the one who says "the truth" and "tells it like it is."
As long as his support is concentrated in that crowd (I have come to realize that there is a whole segment of American society whom I don't want to know at all), he will not win. If others develop amnesia for his outrageous statements, we may indeed have a President Trump. That is very scary and depressing.
Trump supporters to this point have been a red meat crowd who thrill to his outrageous no-holes-barred racist, bigoted, misogynist, xenophobic remarks. He removes, and allows them to remove, all civilizing constraint (known in their sphere as being "politically correct"). They paint him as the one who says "the truth" and "tells it like it is."
As long as his support is concentrated in that crowd (I have come to realize that there is a whole segment of American society whom I don't want to know at all), he will not win. If others develop amnesia for his outrageous statements, we may indeed have a President Trump. That is very scary and depressing.
281
It's not just the amnesia. It's that the narrative of "Trump has suddenly become presidenial" will become the new narrative of the news networks - so much easier than investigative journalism and asking hard questions, and, oh my, the ratings! I'm scared too.
4
Ann Marie-one of the scariest things about the electorate is that they go on the assumption that the candidate doesn't believe what he is promoting. I have a friend who votes Republican just because and states that they won't touch social security, medicare, shut down EPA and other government watchdogs. How well did that work in WI with Walker? Certain unions were "promised" to be off limits. At least until after the election. I can't wrap my mind around the mindset of voting for a candidate who pledges to enact all his destructive policies with the belief that he doesn't really MEAN it. This is the definition of insanity in their black is white, white is black world. Are these candidates speaking in some kind of code, igpay atinlay, or something that I'm just not grasping? What of those who dismiss all the video that shows that their candidate truly is who the press and others claim he is since everything is conspiracy or manipulation by the hated lame stream media? How do you convince those who simply will not believe the truth?
I would like to be optimistic and believe that Americans are too intelligent, too compassionate and too honorable to elect such a dangerous and ignorant buffoon to lead the most powerful nation on earth but then I look to the re-election of Bush, Walker, LePage, Brownback, of Ryan, Blackburn, Sanford, Ernst's elevation to senator and my blood freezes. Because I believe we are that ignorant to elect a candidate like Trump. And it scares me to death.
I would like to be optimistic and believe that Americans are too intelligent, too compassionate and too honorable to elect such a dangerous and ignorant buffoon to lead the most powerful nation on earth but then I look to the re-election of Bush, Walker, LePage, Brownback, of Ryan, Blackburn, Sanford, Ernst's elevation to senator and my blood freezes. Because I believe we are that ignorant to elect a candidate like Trump. And it scares me to death.
8
Walter/AnneMarie--
You are both quite accurate and astute in your observations of the American mind and how fear, paranoia and amenesia rationalize a Trump candidacy.
There is something else...the yearning to turn back the clock to the middle of the last century...hard working white people, segegrated neighborhoods and no globalization.
This backwards view ignores reality in that demography and international events are constantly changing and will continue....American hegemony is now a myth and needs to be treated as such.
Reality is a hard thing to accept...our sociology and our economy have yet to embrace it and come up with new ways to engage....e.g. go back to Reagan, go back to voter suppression, go back to the old social mores...
Rome is burning...but no one smells the smoke.
You are both quite accurate and astute in your observations of the American mind and how fear, paranoia and amenesia rationalize a Trump candidacy.
There is something else...the yearning to turn back the clock to the middle of the last century...hard working white people, segegrated neighborhoods and no globalization.
This backwards view ignores reality in that demography and international events are constantly changing and will continue....American hegemony is now a myth and needs to be treated as such.
Reality is a hard thing to accept...our sociology and our economy have yet to embrace it and come up with new ways to engage....e.g. go back to Reagan, go back to voter suppression, go back to the old social mores...
Rome is burning...but no one smells the smoke.
1
One question I would love to see MSM answer: just who is going to fund Trump's campaign if he isn't? Certainly not the Koch's or any other GOP establishment super PAC. I heard Ed Rollins on NPR yesterday, who's running Trump's super PAC, and it is apparently $700,000 in the red at the get-go. Unlike Bernie, I don't think Trampolini is going to be able to raise millions from the "little people."
34
Since few could trust Trump to keep any promise, you may be right. Adelson will back and fund him. Both men make money off of people's weaknesses, gambling. And both men know how to exploit people. I wonder who Trump supporters will blame two years into his presidency. We will have either a massive economic slump because even Walmart goods cost 40% more following the China tariffs. Or we will all be dead because his bluster led to WW 3?
25
Sheldon Adelson said he'd back him. Makes sense-- another arrogant law-skirting, billionaire Republican casino owner
23
Sheldon Adelson as reported today by the NY Times.
Middle-American crass Trumps American middle class.
18
The problem is not Donald Trump. It is the people who support him.
Without their adoration, he'd be nowhere. With it, he's our national nightmare.
Long after he's gone, they'll still be our problem. He's emboldened them to once again - proudly this time - say out loud and try to do the inaccurate, inappropriate, irrational and illogical things that they believe and feel.
Billions of years of evolution wasted, all due to the invention of the mirror.
Without their adoration, he'd be nowhere. With it, he's our national nightmare.
Long after he's gone, they'll still be our problem. He's emboldened them to once again - proudly this time - say out loud and try to do the inaccurate, inappropriate, irrational and illogical things that they believe and feel.
Billions of years of evolution wasted, all due to the invention of the mirror.
436
I agree. He's in this lofty position today because enough people actually voted for him. No matter the outcome, we're still stuck with that crowd and their ugly ideology.
6
Trump is a white GOPer reflection of the party member's hopes as much as Obama was the self admitted, blank slate upon which Democrats projected their desires and hopes for salvation from "The First Black American President!"
Everyone is and was incorrect. Obama was as conservative as, or more so than Mrs Clinton and more like the hesitant Wilson in his war-making,(I doubt Obama ever did his own typing or writing as Wilson did), than Bush II. But Obama was basically just a continuation of many of Bush's policies , except he had darker skin, lacked a Southern accent and was able to read teleprompters better than almost anyone-giving others the impression he was actually speaking from memory.
People are gullible and desire to be fooled. So Trump's job is made for a character like him(or Bugs Bunny), just as Obama knew that he was playing the part of every liberal's or Democrat's deepest secret desire for a reincarnated cross between RFK, JFK and Martin Luther King jr.
Both of these pols are smart enough to let the voters believe what they want to, and then just string them along.
The Confederates,(former Democrats turned GOP after '68') in the South are afraid that Trump will give away their "farm", since he already has more than enough of his own. They may be right- lets wait and see if he gets elected.
Everyone is and was incorrect. Obama was as conservative as, or more so than Mrs Clinton and more like the hesitant Wilson in his war-making,(I doubt Obama ever did his own typing or writing as Wilson did), than Bush II. But Obama was basically just a continuation of many of Bush's policies , except he had darker skin, lacked a Southern accent and was able to read teleprompters better than almost anyone-giving others the impression he was actually speaking from memory.
People are gullible and desire to be fooled. So Trump's job is made for a character like him(or Bugs Bunny), just as Obama knew that he was playing the part of every liberal's or Democrat's deepest secret desire for a reincarnated cross between RFK, JFK and Martin Luther King jr.
Both of these pols are smart enough to let the voters believe what they want to, and then just string them along.
The Confederates,(former Democrats turned GOP after '68') in the South are afraid that Trump will give away their "farm", since he already has more than enough of his own. They may be right- lets wait and see if he gets elected.
What Trump has brought to light is the large extent of the population that believes in white privilege and are banking on Trump to maintain if not increase this advantage.
2
Trump and his world have no appeal for me but I must admit anyone who George Will hates must have more than a good share of redemptive qualities.
I am a Semite and when it comes to Donald Trump I find it difficult not to believe that the enemy of my enemy is not my friend.
The names Rubio, Cruz, Romney, Boehner and Ryan come easily to mind as people who poison public discourse who are not enamoured of Mr Trump and yet for me Donald Trump still holds very little appeal. Why is that?
I am a Semite and when it comes to Donald Trump I find it difficult not to believe that the enemy of my enemy is not my friend.
The names Rubio, Cruz, Romney, Boehner and Ryan come easily to mind as people who poison public discourse who are not enamoured of Mr Trump and yet for me Donald Trump still holds very little appeal. Why is that?
15
They are only "against" him now because so far, he hasn't cut them in on "the deal." Remember he's the master of "deals" and eventually he'll make one with them since they are weasels who would willingly strike a deal with Satan if they saw a benefit to themselves.
5
Moe, the world is not binary. Will and Trump exist in the same sphere; both are contemptible. Will hides his corrupt "thinking" better than Trump does.
5
You are so lucky to be n Montreal, a wonderful city in a sane country, Moe.
4
As always Tim thanks for the reality check.
The real estate developer will never cross the threshold into the White house.
The world will make sure it doesn't happen. Powerful people see the absurdity, incompetence, insanity, racism that is at his core. They will take the necessary actions.
Hillary is no prize but she appears to be sane. Sad that this is how low the bar has gone,
The real estate developer will never cross the threshold into the White house.
The world will make sure it doesn't happen. Powerful people see the absurdity, incompetence, insanity, racism that is at his core. They will take the necessary actions.
Hillary is no prize but she appears to be sane. Sad that this is how low the bar has gone,
85
That you see Hillary as sane is only a delusion. She is very far away from a true understanding of people and life in America. How frighting it is to have a choice of two leaders who have so little capability of understanding of what our life is all about.
redmist- While I hope you're correct, many have already underestimated how far Trump would go--the media, GOP leaders, his fellow candidates, etc. Now is not the time for complacency. Trump is dangerous with a capital D. Assuring that Trump never crosses "the threshold into the White House" needs to be a grassroots effort, as well as one undertaken by the "powerful people."
2
And we are only one generation from World War II. Where is the cultural remanence of that catastrophe?
25
By now we're two generations from WW2 but we still have among us those who are old enough to remember it. We're one generation from Watergate, for what that's worth.
3
Members of the Greatest Generation must be shaking their heads and wondering if their incredible sacrifices were worth it. On the other hand, they preserved our liberties, and our right to be idiotic and reckless.
1
Sadly, we're actually two generations from Watergate (1972-2016 is 44 years...) and those of the generation previous to mine generally have no idea of what Watergate was all about, never mind WWII. And with the constant McCarthy references- I doubt that 20% of people under age 45 have any idea who you are talking about.
1
Good column. Trump does not say outrageous things because he is a smart marketeer in a Republican primary, but because he is stupid enough to believe them himself. Now he's stupid enough as a marketeer to think he can say the opposite and be believed by those who heard the earlier statements.
Too many journalists are putty in his hands. They report that he said the take-backs while eating a taco, but neglect to report also the fact that the taco was the _only_ evidence he provided to support his counter-claim. So they acted as marketeers, not as historians whose only responsibility is to the whole factual truth, based on complete evidence.
Too many journalists are putty in his hands. They report that he said the take-backs while eating a taco, but neglect to report also the fact that the taco was the _only_ evidence he provided to support his counter-claim. So they acted as marketeers, not as historians whose only responsibility is to the whole factual truth, based on complete evidence.
74
Donny has always struck me as a stupid man. A basic lack of understanding of the world and people. And not very good at higher functions of the mind. I will admit that he has made money, but if you start out a millionaire and your daddy keeps bailing you out, it is kinda hard not to.
7
So, he needs a monicker, true and frequently repeated. By Hillary and all her surrogates. "Racist Trump."
21
Reply to Portola: unfortunately, "racist" might not hurt I'm with his supporters. Perhaps "blowhard Trump"?
Thanks for pointing this out. We should all pitch in with ideas!
Thanks for pointing this out. We should all pitch in with ideas!
6
Revolting Donald!
Gee, Tim, I might be inclined to dismiss the National Enquirer, had they not had the story of the blue dress with Bubba's baby batter, when "mainstream" news sources had no idea. But that's a quibble.
Like the American addiction to fatty, sugary food, and opioids, the Times, like the rest of the lame brain media fed us all Trumplestiltskin, all the time. And who believes that the fourth estate is going to now start doing its job responsibly. Had they, we might have had an objective look at the 17 Republicants, and the original 5 democratic candidates. But the Times, and the rest, chose the path of leadt resistanc, as well as least integrity.
Like the American addiction to fatty, sugary food, and opioids, the Times, like the rest of the lame brain media fed us all Trumplestiltskin, all the time. And who believes that the fourth estate is going to now start doing its job responsibly. Had they, we might have had an objective look at the 17 Republicants, and the original 5 democratic candidates. But the Times, and the rest, chose the path of leadt resistanc, as well as least integrity.
33
Sure lots of women, non-whites, Hispanics, and who knows who else dislike Trump by wide margins. Maybe white men even dislike him! (they do, but it's not polite to mention it)
Trump is, without a doubt, the most unpopular person to ever run for president.
But he's running against the second most unpopular person to ever run for president. You forgot to mention that part.
It's going to be a much closer race than Democrats want to believe...
Trump is, without a doubt, the most unpopular person to ever run for president.
But he's running against the second most unpopular person to ever run for president. You forgot to mention that part.
It's going to be a much closer race than Democrats want to believe...
16
The Democrats take Trump seriously unlike much of the media.
20
Your evidence for a close race, snoopy? Please? We're waiting.
1
All DT has going for him is that he is a boy-man with a big, braggadocio mouth. A blowhard buffoon.
1
Trump is the embodiment of what far too may Americans think and feel. Otherwise, the rest of us would not be in this predicament. Hitler nor Mussolini were "flukes." People allowed it to happen. The safeguards built into our political system do not guarantee that we won't be subjected to the actions of a madman.
147
Egan, like so much of the punditry, just doesn't get it.
We all know - and have come to accept - that all of our politicians are lying to us. Donald, Hillary, Bernie, Ted, Marco - and Obama, Ryan, McConnell. Every last one of them. With Trump, we've just entered a new realm of political dissembling.
With Trump, the lies are so extreme, outrageous and over the top that we all know that it is part of an act. The extreme fantasies of reality TV, Hollywood and social media have caught up with the world of politics and now become the norm.
Egan and his cadre in the MSM are the chumps for not realizing this. Their sedate, kabuki theater of "Meet the Press" and "Face the Nation" is now passe. The new paradigm is the WWF and the in your face extremism of Fox and MSNBC.
We are entering a new era of politics and the Donald-Hillary smackdown is just the beginning. For better or worse, get ready for a bumpy future.
We all know - and have come to accept - that all of our politicians are lying to us. Donald, Hillary, Bernie, Ted, Marco - and Obama, Ryan, McConnell. Every last one of them. With Trump, we've just entered a new realm of political dissembling.
With Trump, the lies are so extreme, outrageous and over the top that we all know that it is part of an act. The extreme fantasies of reality TV, Hollywood and social media have caught up with the world of politics and now become the norm.
Egan and his cadre in the MSM are the chumps for not realizing this. Their sedate, kabuki theater of "Meet the Press" and "Face the Nation" is now passe. The new paradigm is the WWF and the in your face extremism of Fox and MSNBC.
We are entering a new era of politics and the Donald-Hillary smackdown is just the beginning. For better or worse, get ready for a bumpy future.
69
The fact that no one knows what he would really do is what is so frightening about Trump. He stands only for the last thought that pooped into his head.
42
You greatly overestimate the perceptive acuity of his supporters, many of whom do NOT take it all with a wink and a nod. People who think that Trump is somehow more honest in the sense that he has more integrity than other politicians (yes, he is one in the most superficial way) are either kidding themselves or are extremely gullible.
Egan isn't a chump, although some (not all) in the mainstream media are. Not looking forward to the smackdown future. Definitely "for worse."
Egan isn't a chump, although some (not all) in the mainstream media are. Not looking forward to the smackdown future. Definitely "for worse."
4
great typo there
2
Yes, the Old Angry White Guys just want an unhinged loon who will puke forth his bile on Secretary Clinton without holding back. Truth is not part of their calculus because they don't like reality, they want to be "The Deciders" in each and every election. They loved that GOP's poorly trained PIG catcalled the black president with his long-running birther scam that just suddenly stopped when the angry white male media got bored finally after it was debunked a million times. Trump's voters like to live in the trailer trash world of stupid where other Budweiser swilling LazyBoy riders are king and they have their new Kryptonite King Kong.
44
Trump's campaign slogan: vote for me, or I'll punch you in the nose.
If he does win the presidency, the ones who didn't vote for him will be treated accordingly.
GOP: you built this.
If he does win the presidency, the ones who didn't vote for him will be treated accordingly.
GOP: you built this.
57
"Trump's campaign slogan: vote for me, or I'll punch you in the nose."
And yet, the only violence associated with Trump has come from his detractors.
"GOP: you built this."
Repeat it often enough & maybe, just maybe, it'll become true.
And yet, the only violence associated with Trump has come from his detractors.
"GOP: you built this."
Repeat it often enough & maybe, just maybe, it'll become true.
Trump appears to be in a bit of a quandary. First, Ryan has yet to make up his mind to get on the Trump express, and George Will thinks him unsuitable for POTUS. Trump has taken the high road as usual, saying that he won't be backing Ryan's plans and saying that George Will is not important any longer and he doesn't want his support.
Now he is stuck trying to figure out what to do --- be himself, which he has been doing and has found it works only with people like himself (I won't elaborate). As a result, the sane and intelligent people who understand both politics and how the world actually works can't stand him. Now he must act against his nature or try and act in a manner foreign and difficult ---- which means being everything he isn't naturally. I don't think he can do it for six months!
Now he is stuck trying to figure out what to do --- be himself, which he has been doing and has found it works only with people like himself (I won't elaborate). As a result, the sane and intelligent people who understand both politics and how the world actually works can't stand him. Now he must act against his nature or try and act in a manner foreign and difficult ---- which means being everything he isn't naturally. I don't think he can do it for six months!
312
I don't think he can do it for 6 days...let alone 6 months! Donald Trump is a classic narcissist and these people cannot cover up the cracks in their veneer once they are exposed.
I'll certainly give it to the man though, he is certainly polished in the art of gas lighting those who buy into his insane scenarios and vicious lies. Utterly shameful.
I'll certainly give it to the man though, he is certainly polished in the art of gas lighting those who buy into his insane scenarios and vicious lies. Utterly shameful.
3
Why would he change what has worked so far? "...sane and intelligent people" haven't mattered so far, why would they matter now?
As cowardly Republicans get in like to kiss Trumps ring, I worry that the equally cowardly press and media will fawn over Trump to keep their ratings up.
116
As they have fawned over Hillary ?
What about "America First," a genuine Fascist slogan? A candidate so ill-informed as not to be aware of its resonance should scare everyone.
61
Trump is emboldening the bigots. Whether he wins or not, I'm afraid these people will lash out and wreck the joint.
Trump is not as much of a problem as his uneducated followers.
When will the book burnings start?
Trump is not as much of a problem as his uneducated followers.
When will the book burnings start?
165
I've been a registered Republican for eight years, a Trump supporter for 2 years and a Black man for over 30 years.
Are you calling me a bigot?
Are you calling me a bigot?
It is inconceivable that Donald Trump will get elected. But I doubt I'll sleep soundly until such time as Hillary Clinton takes the Oath. Recent American political history has not been kind to sober, mature, self-critical Enlightenment Liberals.
127
Hope you're right about the first; wish I thought Hillary was and Elightenment Liberal but she is at least sane, sober and mature. Let us hope that prevails.
6
Not much to disagree with, except the last word. Hillary is no "liberal." Try subbing in "center right triangulating hawks." It's much more accurate to describe her. She was my $enator for eight year$.
2
Hillary-never-met-a-war-she-didn't-love is equally frightening to those who think critically and made themselves informed. A dead-in-the-water status quo is equally unnatural. But then Trumo is easy to spot. Not just narcissism but narcissism disguised is the real danger to a humane, decent life.
2
Gee, in reading all your examples of Trumpism, I'm feeling sick. Get ready for intense analysis of "Trumpism" over the next six months (I can't believe I just said it: "six long months"--count 'em.
I already mute my TV when that big face takes over the screen. Why should I listen? The same drivel over and over. Trump's voice grates on me as much as Clinton's grates on him.
How does one explain Trump to friends abroad? Frankly, there is no easy way. The US has opened its soul and let all its demons out in the persona of one man. Now a candidate for the Presidency, ready to take on either Clinton or Sanders.
It's going to be a long, bitter campaign, with bodies figuratively littering the streets. Clinton is going to try to make it substantive. Trump will continue with the "entertaining" lies, insults, and innuendo. The world will watch and shake its head in remembering Abe Lincoln's remark about fooling the people. Will he be proved right?
I already mute my TV when that big face takes over the screen. Why should I listen? The same drivel over and over. Trump's voice grates on me as much as Clinton's grates on him.
How does one explain Trump to friends abroad? Frankly, there is no easy way. The US has opened its soul and let all its demons out in the persona of one man. Now a candidate for the Presidency, ready to take on either Clinton or Sanders.
It's going to be a long, bitter campaign, with bodies figuratively littering the streets. Clinton is going to try to make it substantive. Trump will continue with the "entertaining" lies, insults, and innuendo. The world will watch and shake its head in remembering Abe Lincoln's remark about fooling the people. Will he be proved right?
131
"with bodies figuratively littering the streets." Thank you. THANK YOU! for not using the overused, abused, and incorrect "literally". Much appreciated!
8
If she'd said "literally", it still might be correct. Here's hoping it's not, of course, but nothing would surprise me.
5
Seriously - why would you anticipate a retraction. Trump has surged on his appeal to prejudice and insult. Politics has never been so resonant. The nomination is won because he has voiced the inner whispers of previously disinterested voters, rational thought of required. And my fear? The fear is that many more voices will echo when voting in November. Look to the Independents, their inner voices will be heard too; I fear what they will say.
24
Sadly, it will come down to this; are there more of us (the rational lovers of country), or more of them (the destroyers, the 'haters', the 'angry')?
Happily, I’m confident that the real Americans will prevail, and we still, in the aggregate, are a fine people.
... and what's with his need to marry 'babes'? ... just askin....
Happily, I’m confident that the real Americans will prevail, and we still, in the aggregate, are a fine people.
... and what's with his need to marry 'babes'? ... just askin....
51
I only hope the rational Americans show up and are allowed to vote - then hopefully Trump can leave the headlines. Unfortunately, if they assume he will lose and don't vote,or don't ensure they properly registered he may prevail.
23
Great article in the current New Yorker on Trump's current wife. She would be a bit of a change in the White House from Mrs. Obama or for that matter from Mrs. Bush.
1
or don't vote because they don't want a 3rd Clinton term or the orange haired one and it's all hopeless anyway....
1
Trump seems to share a trait with another American demagogue Senator Joe McCarthy. According to his biographer, McCarthy couldn't understand people's enmity toward him. His use of innuendo and falsehood ruined lives, yet he seemed not to comprehend the devastation his behavior caused. He and Trump both engage in self absorbed,stream of consciousness,non sequitur remarks, that are sui generis. They aren't the result of deeply held principles just the political expediency of the moment. When Trump in his post Indiana victory speech, after referring hundreds of times to "Lyin Ted", insulting Cruz's wife Heidi, and disingenuously linking his father to JFK'S assassination, actually said he didn't know if Cruz liked him or not, it was an ominous sign.Remember his "thousands of Muslim's cheering in Jersey City on 9/11" remarks. This kind of rhetorical disassociation and dysfunction simply can't be tolerated in an American President American President
234
Yes, Don Shipp, and everyone let McCarthy get away with it until one brave newsman spoke out - Edward R. Murrow. That, apparently, is not a role anyone in the media except Rachel Maddow wants to take on today. They love their BIG feathered nests.
8
Trump carries New York. That is the headline and that is what Timothy
Egan does not explain. Trump is irrational, unreliable, and uniformed but
that does not explain his enormous popularity. Consider: Donald Trump has
won in Florida and New York, with convincing numbers, and that is
the first step to the White House. It is possible that the public is
voting against the Obama and its records of the past seven years, and Trump
is the spokesman for this discontent.
Egan does not explain. Trump is irrational, unreliable, and uniformed but
that does not explain his enormous popularity. Consider: Donald Trump has
won in Florida and New York, with convincing numbers, and that is
the first step to the White House. It is possible that the public is
voting against the Obama and its records of the past seven years, and Trump
is the spokesman for this discontent.
22
to slimowri2: Trump's wins don't represent the whole country, he won in primaries,
don't forget the nit wits enamored of him, a percentage of Republicans, also
believed Pres. Obama is a muslim. Trump is responsible for the disrespect and
lies thrown at the president, remember? and the republican congress never refuted it. The republican obstruction of everything the president wanted to do, including
infrastructure which could have created jobs, is unconscionable and will go down in
history. Now, the tea party morons and their ilk have a monstrous candidate, Trump who is scaring us and the world with his revolting presence. They got what they
deserved - an unqualified, frightening misfit whose fakery, like snake oil salesmen of the past, have fooled some good people and drawn the worst of us to him.
what a spectacle we are now - how pitiful ....
don't forget the nit wits enamored of him, a percentage of Republicans, also
believed Pres. Obama is a muslim. Trump is responsible for the disrespect and
lies thrown at the president, remember? and the republican congress never refuted it. The republican obstruction of everything the president wanted to do, including
infrastructure which could have created jobs, is unconscionable and will go down in
history. Now, the tea party morons and their ilk have a monstrous candidate, Trump who is scaring us and the world with his revolting presence. They got what they
deserved - an unqualified, frightening misfit whose fakery, like snake oil salesmen of the past, have fooled some good people and drawn the worst of us to him.
what a spectacle we are now - how pitiful ....
97
I've read that Trump won a grand total of 4.7% of the American electorate on his way to the nomination. That is much smaller than the percentages who absolutely loathe him. So there were and are no "convincing numbers."
75
it's possible that your fantasy consumes you.
31
The greatest damage wrought by Trump's candidacy is in the degradation of the language of public discourse. This man subjects listeners to shrill, mindless marketing, with no coherency or consistency outside of his objective of selling his own image. That the populace entertained his presence in the field of Republican candidates up to this moment, in the face of lies, insults, incitements to violence, and scandalous conduct, reflects terribly on our party and press institutions and leadership. It's only the truthful and moral use of language, our common discourse, that enables society to function free of coercion and violence. We can and must demand better than this.
561
Maxxy:"That the populace entertained his presence...." bespeaks of the coarse crassness of the American populace:
One only buys want one is selling- when the purchaser likes the product.
One only buys want one is selling- when the purchaser likes the product.
Well, true, but remember: the public here was, ah, warmed up to that degradation, with Fox "News", scream radio, LOTS of Congress critters, "pundits", Newt Gingrich, Grover Norquist, and let's not forget the ineffable Sarah Palin, who might have been able to see Russia from her porch, but couldn't identify a principle, a policy, or a sentence. War monger George W. Bush should be mentioned, but really he sounds a bit mild now. I'd call that evolution, but think of the reaction from all the above.
1
Yes, curious isn't it. Most rational political discourse was 'Trumped' by this phantasmagoria of a charade in the media's addiction to drama over content.
Journalism, and reading the news – like banking – has gotten way too thrilling.
Journalism, and reading the news – like banking – has gotten way too thrilling.
I can see it now. As clear as it could be.
It is Donald’s first national security briefing.
There is a huge world map on the wall.
It displays Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, China, Japan, the Koreas, and the U.S.A., but no other countries. And no added details at all. Not even the name of a city, river or mountain. Each place has a color of its own. Ours is green.
A photogenic young woman, a member of our national security staff, talks of missiles and nuclear silos.
She employs elaborate exhibits of Tinkertoys, Legos and Erector sets that were initially designed for use at junior high school science projects
The Donald is overjoyed. He says, “Wow she, I mean this, is great. I thought it was gonna be much harder.”
He asks her for permission to take home some of the exhibits to study them further; but she reminds that all of them are classified and top-secret. He promises to be very,
very careful in handling them; and she relents and the top-secret toys are placed in his car.
That night his grandchildren are playing with them in their bedrooms.
It is Donald’s first national security briefing.
There is a huge world map on the wall.
It displays Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa, China, Japan, the Koreas, and the U.S.A., but no other countries. And no added details at all. Not even the name of a city, river or mountain. Each place has a color of its own. Ours is green.
A photogenic young woman, a member of our national security staff, talks of missiles and nuclear silos.
She employs elaborate exhibits of Tinkertoys, Legos and Erector sets that were initially designed for use at junior high school science projects
The Donald is overjoyed. He says, “Wow she, I mean this, is great. I thought it was gonna be much harder.”
He asks her for permission to take home some of the exhibits to study them further; but she reminds that all of them are classified and top-secret. He promises to be very,
very careful in handling them; and she relents and the top-secret toys are placed in his car.
That night his grandchildren are playing with them in their bedrooms.
61
... but she reminds him that all of them are classified and top-secret.
3
Will she be wearing a swimsuit or a formal gown? Will she wither and cry when Trump barks tough questions and pointed criticisms at her about everything from her posture to her choice of lipstick? He doesn't need permission because all the toys are his and he has people to study study stuff for him.
I think the best way to insure this election goes against him is to start a rumor, probably in the Star or other national tabloid, that both he and Newt Gingrich are dating the same woman behind their respective wive's backs. If they put it next to Elvis's alien love baby, most folks will believe it.
I think the best way to insure this election goes against him is to start a rumor, probably in the Star or other national tabloid, that both he and Newt Gingrich are dating the same woman behind their respective wive's backs. If they put it next to Elvis's alien love baby, most folks will believe it.
2
Mr Egan: there never was a Party of Lincoln after he was shot and killed. And what was left, if anything, has slowly but steadily turned into a gathering of fools and half-witted 'politicians,' who have absolutely no interest in bettering the lives of We, the People.
231
But there was a Party of Reconstruction for twelve more years, until the electorate got tired of Reconstruction.
Ben, the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln until 1920 with the election of Warren G. Harding. At that time it became the party of business and against unions and the common man. With Nixon, we got the southern strategy to appeal to racial bigotry and the objection to the civil rights legislation. With Reagan, we got celebrity and the great communicator who said government is the problem which was an add-on to bigotry and phony math which exploded the national debt. W was the most recent disaster and none of them had the vision and compassion of Lincoln.
4
However, one Republican was outstanding, Teddy Roosevelt. The Trust Buster and Promoter of our public spaces known as National Parks, among other good deeds, was unintended. He was meant to remain marginalized in the background as VP but was promoted by an assassination.
Because of this outcome, Republicans learned their lesson: never run a VP with a sense of justice and fair play when your goal is to grow your party into a ruling elite.
Because of this outcome, Republicans learned their lesson: never run a VP with a sense of justice and fair play when your goal is to grow your party into a ruling elite.
7
Mr. Egan, this observer agrees with all you say here. But the problem lies elsewhere. This disaster of a Republican nominee (he will be, let's get that small item out of the way) will arrive in Cleveland in two months--and on Election Day in six months--because his party's base put him there.
Donald Trump didn't just happen. He is the weedy growth that was seeded by the party's "elite," its "intelligentsia." The aloof patricians who ruled the party for decades from behind their green curtain got fat and lazy with the adulation and adoration of their working-class base. They thought they only had to show up every four years with some vague promise to keep blacks and women and immigrants out of the American mainstream. This, mind you, while Ronald Reagan was pulling the plug on collective bargaining; increasing the size of the government he said was such a problem; increasing taxes on an overburdened tax base while de-regulating government's safeguards; and looking the other way while laissez-faire capitalism drove wedge after wedge between working-class prosperity and the elusive American dream.
Ted Nugent, it should be remembered, was a great hit with the Romney camp in 2012, his sons gushing about the third-rate guitarist. Neither Mittens nor any other "responsible" Republican denounced him. It's really no surprise that Iron Mike Tyson, the serial buttocks-fondler, and Trump have something in common: an addiction to curves.
Trump is the GOP's Hindenburg.
Donald Trump didn't just happen. He is the weedy growth that was seeded by the party's "elite," its "intelligentsia." The aloof patricians who ruled the party for decades from behind their green curtain got fat and lazy with the adulation and adoration of their working-class base. They thought they only had to show up every four years with some vague promise to keep blacks and women and immigrants out of the American mainstream. This, mind you, while Ronald Reagan was pulling the plug on collective bargaining; increasing the size of the government he said was such a problem; increasing taxes on an overburdened tax base while de-regulating government's safeguards; and looking the other way while laissez-faire capitalism drove wedge after wedge between working-class prosperity and the elusive American dream.
Ted Nugent, it should be remembered, was a great hit with the Romney camp in 2012, his sons gushing about the third-rate guitarist. Neither Mittens nor any other "responsible" Republican denounced him. It's really no surprise that Iron Mike Tyson, the serial buttocks-fondler, and Trump have something in common: an addiction to curves.
Trump is the GOP's Hindenburg.
451
And the GOP has remade itself into America's Hindenburg.
As the collection of today's First Drafts report, Mr. Trump has quickly re-branded himself overnight. From the photo shot of him proclaiming that the Trump Tower has the best taco bowels in the world, (and by the way. he loves Mexican-Americans); to his conversion of "no way Donald Trump" super-pacs; to his disavowal of KKK's endorsements, he is re-scripting his reality TV show, the President.
In one comment yesterday, the writer posited that Mr. Trump is the product of rabble media such as Fox News, Russ, Tweeter and other outlets. To the degree that media both commercial and social vacillates public opinion in a sometimes blink of an eye, that is true. But, in Trump's case, he is playing out to nationalism/tribalism. As Karl Popper wrote in The Open Society and Its Enemies, 1945, those sentiments of nation and tribe are " the cheapest and most reliable means for a politician without anything else to offer to rise to prominence." So far, Trump has done it on the cheap.
Just the other week, one prominent columnist lamented that the choice for president will come down to a crazy man or a criminal. I think the characterization of crazy man still applies in the one candidate, but in the other, the criminal characterization does not.
A few weeks ago President Obama framed her private sever issues as carelessness. Although the political theater continues, the wind went out of the investigation when the president spoke.
Now choose. either crazy man or a careless person.
In one comment yesterday, the writer posited that Mr. Trump is the product of rabble media such as Fox News, Russ, Tweeter and other outlets. To the degree that media both commercial and social vacillates public opinion in a sometimes blink of an eye, that is true. But, in Trump's case, he is playing out to nationalism/tribalism. As Karl Popper wrote in The Open Society and Its Enemies, 1945, those sentiments of nation and tribe are " the cheapest and most reliable means for a politician without anything else to offer to rise to prominence." So far, Trump has done it on the cheap.
Just the other week, one prominent columnist lamented that the choice for president will come down to a crazy man or a criminal. I think the characterization of crazy man still applies in the one candidate, but in the other, the criminal characterization does not.
A few weeks ago President Obama framed her private sever issues as carelessness. Although the political theater continues, the wind went out of the investigation when the president spoke.
Now choose. either crazy man or a careless person.
37
Let's not forget Colin Powell also used private e-mail for state department business, and the e-mails Hillary received were classified after she received them, not before.
19
Eating ethnic food - that cheap campaign trick from the mid-20th century. It takes a Trump to revive it.
1
Trump has captured the national "angry mood" and like Howard Beale in "Network," he's "mad as hell and not goin' take it any more." But, like it or not, Trump is not the down deep crazy depicted in the movie. Trump's personality and stage presence projects indignation, power, and personal compassion for his "anger army" of committed voters. He may initially "dial it back," but he'll gradually "Trump it up again," because as he famously said in January, "I could shoot somebody and not lose voters."
29
Trump won GOP primary voters. Projecting this limited group onto the rest of the country is fantasy.
25
Is it true the world was convinced Ronald Regan, a movie star, could never be elected president?
I just seem almost inevitable that the biggest reality TV star is the natural follow up.
May the great atheist in the sky (I am thinking of you Hitch) protect us all...
I just seem almost inevitable that the biggest reality TV star is the natural follow up.
May the great atheist in the sky (I am thinking of you Hitch) protect us all...
82
Right now Trump's biggest problem is videotape.
Hilary's biggest problem is that the MSM has decided
if she quotes Trump or his GOP opponents verbatim she
is going "ugly."
Trump keeps telling us who he is. Believe him.
Hilary's biggest problem is that the MSM has decided
if she quotes Trump or his GOP opponents verbatim she
is going "ugly."
Trump keeps telling us who he is. Believe him.
316
Trickster Trump inspires disgust with his slimy squirming in his constantly sputtering vat of lies. Before he's finished with them, Trump's fans will find themselves naked and afraid.
27
That's called 'pivot to the general'. Expect to see the kinder, gentler Trump, the kind women could deal with, who doesn't care what icky things they do with their doctors for family planning, the kind legal Mexican Americans could deal with, the kind of guy who doesn't care who uses what rest room as long as they're Amurican.
But the Republican donor class will forgive Trump. Read today's NYT. Sheldon Adelson has already forgiven Trump. Money talks, nobody walks. Same as it ever was.
203
Trump did what he had to do. He said Israel "has to keep building settlements" in the occupied West Bank, because Hamas "keeps firing rockets."
Try to picture that campaign staff briefing: "Israel...settlements... good. Hamas... rockets... bad. Got it?"
Never mind the lack of even a map to demonstrate the egregious disconnect of those premises. He said what he had to say. and he has Adelson's benediction.
Try to picture that campaign staff briefing: "Israel...settlements... good. Hamas... rockets... bad. Got it?"
Never mind the lack of even a map to demonstrate the egregious disconnect of those premises. He said what he had to say. and he has Adelson's benediction.
21
Sheldon is every bit as despicable as Trump so it is not very surprising that he has embraced him.
11
For a casino owner, Sheldon Anderson's favorite candidates have been bad bets. Here's to Lady Luck continuing that streak.
9
It now appears that the GOP's new strategy is to create a third party this Nov.
Sure it would hurt Trump....., but that is just an extra benefit for the GOP. The GOP's real hope is to deny Hillary the 272 electoral college votes she needs to be POTUS, which then causes the GOP House to be the deciding institution as to the next POTUS.
A bridge too far maybe.