Wrong finger.
89
Ms Wallace is in earnest, but she is a Bush family adviser. The Bushes represent that most curious of internal contradictions, the "moderate" Republican. Jeb Bush had an apparently admirable record as Governor of Florida. But despite all the institutional and financial support he had for his Presidential campaign, he could never articulate a compelling vision, in a compelling fashion. On the other hand, Trump has been playing the New York and national media for almost 40 years. His glibness and 'authenticity' is in stark contrast to the affecting, but halting, Bush style. He knows exactly what to say to get attention, and include enough maybes, we should think abouts, and we're going to look into thats, to allow him to backpedal when he oversteps and the media is always playing catch-up. In short, despite his denials, he is a pure politician with no real policy commitment or agenda except self-promotion. Why do you think Governor Chris Christie, who shares those traits, is being drawn into his inner circle?Ms. Wallace should have pointed out that the real Trump evil are that his business acumen over the more recent past is branding, not building, and that he really does not appear to know or care when he is lying or changing position..
108
[Trump's] "speech wasn’t followed by any sustained strategy to reinforce the case he laid out against Hillary Clinton."
The only case I heard from Trump was how Clinton was a "crook" and every other bad-mouthed description he could think of. Maybe that's why there was no follow-up; there wasn't anything of substance to follow up on!
The only case I heard from Trump was how Clinton was a "crook" and every other bad-mouthed description he could think of. Maybe that's why there was no follow-up; there wasn't anything of substance to follow up on!
153
Small hands (or whatever) Trump isn't going to change!
44
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.
Nicolle Wallace and the GOP did it with Palin and are doing it again with Trump.
Nicolle Wallace and the GOP did it with Palin and are doing it again with Trump.
159
Republican leaders would be better off reflecting not on what Trump needs to do to become a credible candidate but on why their voters embraced Trump. He did not create an audience with nativist instincts that dismisses traditional conservative policies. It has been growing and been fed by GOP leaders since the Clinton years. Instead of engaging Democratic politicians, GOP politicians shaped a Manichean universe that substituted anger for reason, conflict for compromise. Whether it was the infantile replacement of "Democrat" for "Democratic," or fantasizing that Obama is a Marxist, a Moslem or a Kenyan, the GOP did nothing to weed out the crop Trump has harvested.
153
The only thing more futile than waiting for a man to change is waiting for a woman to change. Ms. Clinton is trying to change voter's perceptions, not herself and that's why, god willing, people will vote for her as the second to least appealing candidate.
5
The real problem is that winning the Presidency is an ego trip for Trump. He's focused on winning and hasn't a clue what to do if he actually did win the Presidency. The Republicans want to stay in the game so they really don't have a choice and if the choice is integrity versus reelection, I think we all know what choice wins out.
The only thing that can be done to combat Trump is for the media to keep on his back and hold him accountable for all he says and has said and hope that there are enough educated, thoughtful voters to send Trump back to where he came from.
The only thing that can be done to combat Trump is for the media to keep on his back and hold him accountable for all he says and has said and hope that there are enough educated, thoughtful voters to send Trump back to where he came from.
98
The Republicans don't have low standards. They have no standards.
171
There are plenty of reasons not to be enthusiastic about Secretary Clinton but who are these people who think we are better off in a military crisis with Trump? That is deeply disturbing if that's how this group of voters really feels and they are not just masking some other reason why they want to support the Republican. Just like the UK is learning the hard way, you only get one vote. Use it wisely or suffer the consequences.
109
"Republicans are stuck in these awkward standoffs that have come to embody everything that is uncomfortable and disorienting about this election: Our voters, in decisive numbers, picked a guy who embarrasses us."
All the Republican candidates were embarrassing
All the Republican candidates were embarrassing
162
Grow up? How about when will all his evangelical support help him find his soul?
Sadly for him, and for all of humanity should he win this election, The Donald's vast and deep emotional problems most likely stem from an over-bearing father - that clearly love his eldest son best - and a mother who wasn't allowed to hug him enough...
Sadly for him, and for all of humanity should he win this election, The Donald's vast and deep emotional problems most likely stem from an over-bearing father - that clearly love his eldest son best - and a mother who wasn't allowed to hug him enough...
29
The problem for GOP elites is that too much of the Republican base was seduced by decades of race and class baiting right wing TV and radio personalities and they are now recognizing slowly that the party never really had their interests in mind. Literally every Republican position on the economy, the social safety net and government spending has hurt the very people who now support Trump.
The carefully cultured resentment of poor white males has resulted in a new Frankenstein's monster that now attacks its creator. Nothing will save Ms. Wallace's party from it and the Democrats will crush the empty shell of the GOP in the fall.
The carefully cultured resentment of poor white males has resulted in a new Frankenstein's monster that now attacks its creator. Nothing will save Ms. Wallace's party from it and the Democrats will crush the empty shell of the GOP in the fall.
75
Anyone who still thinks Clinton and Trump are about the same should consider this point by point response to criticisms of her, read by 1,600 so far https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/open-letter-sanders-supporters-scott-s-sm...
18
I dislike anyone who says to others: "grow up". While some youthful traits are annoying or inconvenient, we should never lose our appreciation for speaking bluntly and plainly that which we think in the moment.
But of course, professional politicians don't do that. Every word is picked apart by one group or another, searching for insincerity, bigotry, out right lies. Politicians aren't allowed to be like the rest of us - flawed, inconsistent humans who often mis-speak or change their minds. Politicians aren't allowed to have bad days, fumble a speech or mispronounce a word. They will be the punchline for comedians or the headline blazing: "Candidate Stumbles".
Trump is right about a lot of things even if he is an offensive character. So was John Adams. He was acerbic, unapologetic about his views and very unpopular with his fellow Continental Congressmen. Yet, he guided this country through a difficult time during his presidency - something that George Washington, by declining a third term, wouldn't. Perhaps Adams' most difficult task was to temporarily suspend free speech, signing a decree that anyone who incited Americans to support the French Revolution would be jailed.
I'm tired of rock star politicians who are photo-op ready, packaged and sold. I'm not voting for Trump, but I find his wide open and often over the top style interesting. Perhaps a little volume control is in order, but I don't think "growing up" is the right thing to demand.
But of course, professional politicians don't do that. Every word is picked apart by one group or another, searching for insincerity, bigotry, out right lies. Politicians aren't allowed to be like the rest of us - flawed, inconsistent humans who often mis-speak or change their minds. Politicians aren't allowed to have bad days, fumble a speech or mispronounce a word. They will be the punchline for comedians or the headline blazing: "Candidate Stumbles".
Trump is right about a lot of things even if he is an offensive character. So was John Adams. He was acerbic, unapologetic about his views and very unpopular with his fellow Continental Congressmen. Yet, he guided this country through a difficult time during his presidency - something that George Washington, by declining a third term, wouldn't. Perhaps Adams' most difficult task was to temporarily suspend free speech, signing a decree that anyone who incited Americans to support the French Revolution would be jailed.
I'm tired of rock star politicians who are photo-op ready, packaged and sold. I'm not voting for Trump, but I find his wide open and often over the top style interesting. Perhaps a little volume control is in order, but I don't think "growing up" is the right thing to demand.
6
I do not share the view of some that Ms. Wallace deserves blame. We need two parties and many points of view and while I don't share hers more often than not, I welcome her expressions of it. As President Johnson is said to have predicted, however, the Republican Party that transformed itself to house the racists who fled the Democratic Party after the Voting and Civil Rights Acts became law, has now become a modern day "Know Nothings" Party, and no longer a voice for reasonable debate about the issues facing us.
94
Hillary is going to spend $1 Billion Dollars on this Presidential Election.
$1 Billion Dollars!!!
Look what Trump and Sanders were able to accomplish at a fraction of the cost. Their messages, although diametrically opposed [but in some areas the same] - invigorated and inspired new voters and brought light to the issue that our campaign system is crooked and rigged.
If Hillary is so smart, so clever, so politically savvy and astute- so in touch with "the common folks" - Then why does she need to spend $1 Billion Dollars to beat Donald Trump? Isn't her message just as compelling as Trump or Sanders? Evidently not!
$1 Billion Dollars!!!
Look what Trump and Sanders were able to accomplish at a fraction of the cost. Their messages, although diametrically opposed [but in some areas the same] - invigorated and inspired new voters and brought light to the issue that our campaign system is crooked and rigged.
If Hillary is so smart, so clever, so politically savvy and astute- so in touch with "the common folks" - Then why does she need to spend $1 Billion Dollars to beat Donald Trump? Isn't her message just as compelling as Trump or Sanders? Evidently not!
27
why?
Because the media has gifted Trump that amount and more in terms of fawning media attention.
Next question.
Because the media has gifted Trump that amount and more in terms of fawning media attention.
Next question.
172
How did you know Madam Clinton intend to spend a billion on her campaigns? It was Mr. Trump that promised to raise a billion dollars
14
Aaron: She has NO message, since her policies would be "4 more years of Obama" on steroids.
11
Wallace was a senior advisor to McCain in 2008 and worked in Bush II's inner circle? Now there are a couple of real resume builders. That must be why she doesn't get that Trump is the Anti-Party-Establishment candidate. Trump is running against everything that Wallace and her ilk perpetrated on the rest of us. To top it off, these self-anointed elitists have the gall to call us populists, as if average Americans - you know, the vast majority of the US - are just stupid smucks.
47
It sure is edifying to get the low down from Nicolle Wallace, Dubya's nightly spin doctor whose role as White House shill obliterated any shot the American public had at hearing something other than carefully wrought falsehoods. After which she provided sage counsel to McCain, who accepted the advice of another now sought after "political analyst," Steve Schmidt, whose wise counsel was responsible for bringing the world the wit and wisdom of Sarah Palin. Both Schmidt and Wallace are still partisan spin doctors although they've gotten really good at laying on a patina of unbiased analysis and commentary.
108
The idea of President Trump is absurd. It would be similar to a minister giving a sermon to the church and his pants fall down. Putting the two words together, President and Trump, would be an oxymoron like jumbo shrimp. Impeachment proceedings would begin within a month of his taking office, but he would probably resign before that.
60
So The Donald starts reading from a prepared script and stays off of Twitter for a few days and all is forgiven? Everything he has said and done so far is forgotten? If so, the country is in far worse shape than I could ever have imagined. The man has amply proved who he is. Anyone who thinks he will become anything else is a fool.
186
"and he vanquished the aspirations of 16 accomplished rivals in less time..."
I just had to laugh. 16 accomplished rivals in the Republican primaries? Please, what did any of them accomplish of value?
I just had to laugh. 16 accomplished rivals in the Republican primaries? Please, what did any of them accomplish of value?
182
With all of our expensive universities, think tanks, MBAs and government administration, why were our leaders not able to strategize and communicate a plan to ready American workers for trade agreement job changes? If they did not know what changes would occur then these trade agreements were badly flawed from the start. And elites wonder why they are now the enemy not to be trusted?
26
You clearly think that the people who voted for these trade plans gave a rats-patootie about the worker/citizens whose livelihoods would be destroyed.
Alas, the social contract negotiated during the 1930's (We'll pay you a living wage, and give you a modestly improving standard of living - in exchange for you not staging a Communist revolution). was deemed null and void after the fall of the USSR (home - you may recall - to The Menace of Global Communism). Without the very real threat of torches and pitchforks, our plutocratic oligarchy sees no need to allow wealth to dribble out of their investment accounts and into the paychecks of the hoi polloi.
Alas, the social contract negotiated during the 1930's (We'll pay you a living wage, and give you a modestly improving standard of living - in exchange for you not staging a Communist revolution). was deemed null and void after the fall of the USSR (home - you may recall - to The Menace of Global Communism). Without the very real threat of torches and pitchforks, our plutocratic oligarchy sees no need to allow wealth to dribble out of their investment accounts and into the paychecks of the hoi polloi.
31
The Fourth of July is coming up, and it reminds me of Donald Trump. Yes, it does. Trump is all about breaking away from authority, with his wild ideas.
But there is a down side to declarations of independence, no matter how exciting and lofty. After July 4, 1776, we had to fight a long and costly war. In some sense, we may still be fighting that war for freedom.
Yes, Trump has stirred the IMAGI-NATION of the nation. But his child-like approach may be "playing with fire." As we celebrate the Fourth of July, with fireworks, we might become worried.
The only thing we have to fear is ... Donald Trump?
======================================
But there is a down side to declarations of independence, no matter how exciting and lofty. After July 4, 1776, we had to fight a long and costly war. In some sense, we may still be fighting that war for freedom.
Yes, Trump has stirred the IMAGI-NATION of the nation. But his child-like approach may be "playing with fire." As we celebrate the Fourth of July, with fireworks, we might become worried.
The only thing we have to fear is ... Donald Trump?
======================================
13
the republican platform has decimated the middle class through lobbying endlessly for tax breaks for the wealthy, smaller government, charter schools and war.
They distract us with abortion and gays and provide no leadership
They just rob and pillage
You gave us Sarah Palin...how do you live with yourself?
They distract us with abortion and gays and provide no leadership
They just rob and pillage
You gave us Sarah Palin...how do you live with yourself?
153
Vox populi. Twitter messages that provide clarity to less-educated supporters. Republicans that have now fallen in line according to the polls - they back Trump 86/14 in the most recent Q-poll. Going to Scotland got him more press than if he stayed home. Supporting Brexit got him more coverage that condeming. Criticizing Obama on foreign soil got him more press than if he didn't. Crowing at a news conference that a weak Sterling Pound benefitted his business/pocket only reinforced his "role" as a businessman/"job-creator". Only intelligent people who can grasp the nuances of the dire trade consequence of "ripping up NAFTA" can see that this is dangerous baloney. Shifts positions on key issues like a weathervane. Since only 34% of Americans have a college degree, what does one expect? This is why there is an electoral college, a Supreme Court and a Congress. Founding Father's knew it would be a matter of time before a Donald would show up at the presidential ballot box. When and if Trump "pivots" the media will be filled with glowing reports of how "presidential" he looks. The longer he waits - the better. And if Clinton v. Trump are in a dead heat today - why should he really change anything? It's works! He dispatched a well-financed Bush, a well-organized Cruz and photogenic Rubio. If the news media fixes on an empty lecture waiting for Don to speak while Clinton delivers a speech with substance, we don't a weatherman to tell us which way the wind is blowing.
19
"His advisers are waiting for their candidate to recognize that learning just a few more things about national security and counterterrorism might reverse his June nose-dive." That's where the GOP has set the bar: we don't need a President who's the smartest man In government, we just need him to know a few things. What could possibly go wrong?
36
The Bible says that each man is allotted three score and ten by God, as a normal lifespan. The irrational ranting child in most of us stops throwing tantrums before the first score is done. Donald Trump ever incapable of grasping complex issues, and lacking the kind of experience a presidential candidate requires, has already had his 3 score and ten. It is a tad late to expect he'll grow out of what he is, best be safe and vote Democrat.
25
50 years ago The Republican Party created the Southern Strategy, the conscious effort to appeal to the segregationist Strom Thurmond and George Wallace Democratic voters.
In the 1980’s the Republican Party gave us the culture wars and Reagan and the dog whistle politics of welfare queens and States Rights and created the Reagan Democrats.
In the 1990’s we got the Newt Gingrich House of Representatives take no prisoners confrontation, the Clinton impeachment, Whitewater, and Vince Foster murder conspiracy.
With Obama, they created the Tea Party and gave us the birthers, death panels, and support of the Confederate flag.
And all these years, the Republican politicians have been using the Reaganomics talking points of small government and tax cuts for the job creators coming from the right-wing think tanks.
And the Republican establishment is sick, just sick I tell you, to think of Trump representing the Republican Party.
They can’t understand how the Republican voters, who during 35 years of Trickle Down Economics have been losing their manufacturing jobs all these years as Mitt Romney and his Wall St. colleagues sent those jobs to China, these same voters who have been listening to talk radio all these years, can blindly follow Trump and not listen to reason.
In the 1980’s the Republican Party gave us the culture wars and Reagan and the dog whistle politics of welfare queens and States Rights and created the Reagan Democrats.
In the 1990’s we got the Newt Gingrich House of Representatives take no prisoners confrontation, the Clinton impeachment, Whitewater, and Vince Foster murder conspiracy.
With Obama, they created the Tea Party and gave us the birthers, death panels, and support of the Confederate flag.
And all these years, the Republican politicians have been using the Reaganomics talking points of small government and tax cuts for the job creators coming from the right-wing think tanks.
And the Republican establishment is sick, just sick I tell you, to think of Trump representing the Republican Party.
They can’t understand how the Republican voters, who during 35 years of Trickle Down Economics have been losing their manufacturing jobs all these years as Mitt Romney and his Wall St. colleagues sent those jobs to China, these same voters who have been listening to talk radio all these years, can blindly follow Trump and not listen to reason.
33
As idiotic, heartless and behind the times the Republican Party presents itself especially with the likes of Trump around creating more havoc, unfortunately, even if they do not attain the presidency for the foreseeable future, they have been smart enough to put in place systems that will make them very difficult to dislodge from positions of power in both the legislature.
In David Dalys recent book about the stealing of democracy, he described in detail how the Republicans have gerrymandered countless districts in many states along racial/economic lines so even when during the last congressional election where democrats in every state won at least half and often considerably more total votes than Republicans, Republicans still ended up with significantly more members in Congress than democrats. Combine that with new voter suppression laws in over 20 Republican controlled states, the thought of the Republicans being easily removed from power will be, at best, somewhat premature and wishful thinking.
As Sanders has stated time and again, low voter turnout means Republican victories. Less than 30 percent of registered voters voted in the last congressional election. If democrats and voters in general want to break the bonds of Republican power in the states and legislature and finally bring America in to the 21st century, they will have to turn out for the vote like probably never before in history.
In David Dalys recent book about the stealing of democracy, he described in detail how the Republicans have gerrymandered countless districts in many states along racial/economic lines so even when during the last congressional election where democrats in every state won at least half and often considerably more total votes than Republicans, Republicans still ended up with significantly more members in Congress than democrats. Combine that with new voter suppression laws in over 20 Republican controlled states, the thought of the Republicans being easily removed from power will be, at best, somewhat premature and wishful thinking.
As Sanders has stated time and again, low voter turnout means Republican victories. Less than 30 percent of registered voters voted in the last congressional election. If democrats and voters in general want to break the bonds of Republican power in the states and legislature and finally bring America in to the 21st century, they will have to turn out for the vote like probably never before in history.
27
To those of us Democrats who believe the most important thing for the future of America is to keep a Democrat in the White House and ensure a Supreme Court which is no longer an activist arm of the Republican Party on most issues, the continuing resistance of Donald Trump to wise political advice is a good thing.
As experienced people like Nicole Wallace realize, a self-moderated, rational Donald Trump will be much more difficult to defeat in November than the proudly ignorant loose cannon we have seen.
Putting it another way, a President Donald Trump will be the real Donald Trump, and that should be a frightening prospect for America. We don’t want voters lining up behind the phony, air-brushed, safe Trump which Ms. Wallace and the Republican establishment are trying to create temporarily.
As experienced people like Nicole Wallace realize, a self-moderated, rational Donald Trump will be much more difficult to defeat in November than the proudly ignorant loose cannon we have seen.
Putting it another way, a President Donald Trump will be the real Donald Trump, and that should be a frightening prospect for America. We don’t want voters lining up behind the phony, air-brushed, safe Trump which Ms. Wallace and the Republican establishment are trying to create temporarily.
45
My parents and all of my older relatives over age 50 support Trump. I support Sanders, but for the same reason my elder relatives support Trump.
We all see that our society is broken. The 1% have all the wealth. Our federal government doesn't work - both parties fight each other endlessly, deadlock on everything and prioritize their own power over the desires of the people they are supposedly serving. The middle class is vanishing quickly. In San Francisco, rent for a one bedroom apartment is often around 3k per month.
Neither of my parents went to college. My dad worked in construction and supported a wife and 3 kids. They lived in a home, near SF. My mom occasionally worked when the kids were older. My husband and I both have college degrees and barely make ends meet. We have college debt that grows bigger every year due to interest and our payments barely make a dent.
I always knew I wanted children, but couldn't afford to try until I was 35. I didn't conceive until I was over 40 - our insurance did not cover fertility treatments and I couldn't afford having twins anyway. I would love to stay home with my baby the first few years. I am familiar with all the zero to three research on brain development, but can't afford to stay home. My mom knew nothing of that research, but she was able to stay home.
When I tell my parents Trump is a crazy narcissist, they mostly agree - but they feel he is their only hope for meaningful change.
We all see that our society is broken. The 1% have all the wealth. Our federal government doesn't work - both parties fight each other endlessly, deadlock on everything and prioritize their own power over the desires of the people they are supposedly serving. The middle class is vanishing quickly. In San Francisco, rent for a one bedroom apartment is often around 3k per month.
Neither of my parents went to college. My dad worked in construction and supported a wife and 3 kids. They lived in a home, near SF. My mom occasionally worked when the kids were older. My husband and I both have college degrees and barely make ends meet. We have college debt that grows bigger every year due to interest and our payments barely make a dent.
I always knew I wanted children, but couldn't afford to try until I was 35. I didn't conceive until I was over 40 - our insurance did not cover fertility treatments and I couldn't afford having twins anyway. I would love to stay home with my baby the first few years. I am familiar with all the zero to three research on brain development, but can't afford to stay home. My mom knew nothing of that research, but she was able to stay home.
When I tell my parents Trump is a crazy narcissist, they mostly agree - but they feel he is their only hope for meaningful change.
23
“When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time.”
― Maya Angelou
― Maya Angelou
83
I think 70 is a tad old to "grow up". Growing up to the author means "put on a better act", whether she realizes it, or not.
37
This is all operating under the assumption that Trump's ultimate goal is the presidency. What I see (and a lot of other people are starting to see) is a business man running a skeleton campaign, keeping costs and overhead down while reaping millions upon millions of dollars in free advertising for himself, and thus, his many brands: trump's estates, trump wine, trump steaks, trump water... etc. The revelation that about 1/6th of campaign donations go straight back into Donald's (and his family's) pocket only reinforces that. It may be negative attention he's garnering, but in business, even bad publicity is welcome when trying to hammer one's brand home. I doubt even he believes he can win at this point--but months of free advertising offer him a different business opportunity. The one thing the Trump campaign hasn't skimped on is merchandising; hundreds of thousands of those inane "make America great" hats are everywhere you look,l. Trump is a business man pulling one of the greatest cons ever attempted: fleecing the most powerful nation on earth in plain sight.
62
Odd how I finished reading this just as the number of comments hit 666.
18
I'm guessing that CRINGE RESPONSE they're all feeling so regularly will come in handy for us all if he ever actually got elected president.
Who in his/her right mind thinks he'd stop doing it the day he took the oath of office?
Only question in my mind is how fast and far he'll stick his foot in his mouth, making us COLLECTIVELY SHUDDER at his latest utterance.
Correction... the Archie Bunker crowd will cheer, that he totally nailed it again.
Only the rest of us, will cringe. Like those with families, and children, and church friends, and educations, who have a shred of moral decency. You know... the normal people
Who in his/her right mind thinks he'd stop doing it the day he took the oath of office?
Only question in my mind is how fast and far he'll stick his foot in his mouth, making us COLLECTIVELY SHUDDER at his latest utterance.
Correction... the Archie Bunker crowd will cheer, that he totally nailed it again.
Only the rest of us, will cringe. Like those with families, and children, and church friends, and educations, who have a shred of moral decency. You know... the normal people
32
Apparently it takes a hand grenade to get the attention of Washington, because that's what Trump is. I guess that's what Brexit was, too. I'm not convinced the message has fully soaked through, though.
25
Sarah Palin and Donald Trump - how is that for examples of American Exceptionalism!
62
Nicole, the problem is that people like you have not been embarassed by the behavior of your party for the last twenty years.
Sure, Donald Trump is a walking disaster but he is the logical conclusion to the Republican's race to the bottom - the Southern Strategy, repeal of voting rights, handouts for the wealthy. The GOP is a fraud and a perversion that has come to stand for one thing: "Comforting the comfortable and afflicting the afflicted."
As with so many powerful people, Trump's undoing is the thing that has made him successful - his bullet proof sense of his own greatness. Trump is a very damaged personality with off the charts egotism and narcisism. It is pathological. He has no filter because in his mind, he is a mini-god. If it occurs to him it must be a good idea and it must be true. If it is not true (as 75% of his pronouncements are either baldfaced lies or totally divorced from reality) it becomes true because he said it.
I can understand how pseudo rational people like leaders in the Republican establishment are a bit confused by this. Unless you have first hand experience dealing with a completely unhinged demagogue then it can be a little confusing trying to figure out what is going on. But surely his family must know that Trump can't be controlled much less stay on message for the simple reason that he cannot control himself. He is too self-involved to take the time to actually think through a policy. He just says what pops in his head.
Sure, Donald Trump is a walking disaster but he is the logical conclusion to the Republican's race to the bottom - the Southern Strategy, repeal of voting rights, handouts for the wealthy. The GOP is a fraud and a perversion that has come to stand for one thing: "Comforting the comfortable and afflicting the afflicted."
As with so many powerful people, Trump's undoing is the thing that has made him successful - his bullet proof sense of his own greatness. Trump is a very damaged personality with off the charts egotism and narcisism. It is pathological. He has no filter because in his mind, he is a mini-god. If it occurs to him it must be a good idea and it must be true. If it is not true (as 75% of his pronouncements are either baldfaced lies or totally divorced from reality) it becomes true because he said it.
I can understand how pseudo rational people like leaders in the Republican establishment are a bit confused by this. Unless you have first hand experience dealing with a completely unhinged demagogue then it can be a little confusing trying to figure out what is going on. But surely his family must know that Trump can't be controlled much less stay on message for the simple reason that he cannot control himself. He is too self-involved to take the time to actually think through a policy. He just says what pops in his head.
45
It is no surprise that the GOP is supporting not only a irascible and intractable persona. Trump simply reflects the ethos of a party that basically junked their 2012 post-mortem analysis the day it was written. Their voter suppression strategy and war on women went unabated.
27
So the GOP acknowledges that they selected a child to run the country - and are hoping that he will mature . Seriously, time to write him off and to start rebuilding the rest of the party. The only play left is to forge an independent platform for Congress and to run it as a separate campaign.
11
What is going to happen when Trump gets elected and things do not change? There will be no wall. Too many business will fail because they use undocumented labor. We will continue to have NAFTA because too many companies rely on the goods (watermelon at Christmas) coming in from Mexico during the winter that we want to buy. Drugs will continue to come in because there is no plan to decrease demand. No trading with China? - there will be no Wal Mart if we can't trade with China. Trump is making promises he can't keep and what will those people who supported him do? They will not turn to the Republican party or any party for that matter. How will we deal with this anger?
16
Alexandra Petri had a hilarious satire on this topic recently, "Waiting for Pivot" (as in a pivot toward being presidential). Well worth the read.
5
Back in January on 'Morning Joe', Joe Scarborough described the Trump candidacy as a giant middle finger extended toward the Republican establishment. This calls forth the question: at what point do legitimate complaints morph into temper tantrums and signs of immaturity?
5
It is not just Trump who needs to grow up. The U.S. is the only advanced nation where access to guns is seen as more important than access to health care. The government has broken and no one cares.
The U.S. locks up more of its own people than any other advanced nation. The U.S. leads the advanced nations backward, in a march away from science. The U.S. degrades education, sneering at foreign languages and the metric system.
Where other countries are crazy about soccer, Americans know nothing of their own history or government but they are obsessed with sports of all kinds, including the deadly sport of football.
Vote? Who - us?
Sure, Trump needs to grow up but with all the millions of overage adolescents around the country, he has lots of company.
The U.S. locks up more of its own people than any other advanced nation. The U.S. leads the advanced nations backward, in a march away from science. The U.S. degrades education, sneering at foreign languages and the metric system.
Where other countries are crazy about soccer, Americans know nothing of their own history or government but they are obsessed with sports of all kinds, including the deadly sport of football.
Vote? Who - us?
Sure, Trump needs to grow up but with all the millions of overage adolescents around the country, he has lots of company.
24
I have never met Ms. Wallace and likely never will, yet I've experienced a distinct love-hate relationship with her for years now. Watching her on MSNBC I see a very intelligent, well spoken, bright commentator, one who can best be described as the gleaming veneer of the Republican party. Venturing beyond the surface though is to be drawn into the dark core, decades of GOP devolution.
Ms. Wallace writes that Mr. Trump's advisers are, "waiting for their candidate to recognize that learning just a few more things about national security and counterterrorism might reverse his June nose-dive." Is she agreeing with these advisers that running for President is akin to cramming for a high school civics exam?
What is distressing about Ms. Wallace and the Republican Party is their inability to take off the blinders that keep them from recognizing that they are the problem. Ms. Wallace, as an aid to George W. Bush, became an enabler to policies that are in large part responsible for the flourishing horrors that now define the Middle East. In writing that Mr. Trump has correctly brought to light the fears of the base in regards to their "economic despair and mounting fears about Islamic extremism," she continues the GOP myth that Democrats are responsible for the serious mistakes of Republicans. Not true, Ms. Wallace!
Just as waiting for Mr. Trump to grow up is a fools' errand, it is even more certain that waiting for the Republican party to correct itself is an impossibility.
Ms. Wallace writes that Mr. Trump's advisers are, "waiting for their candidate to recognize that learning just a few more things about national security and counterterrorism might reverse his June nose-dive." Is she agreeing with these advisers that running for President is akin to cramming for a high school civics exam?
What is distressing about Ms. Wallace and the Republican Party is their inability to take off the blinders that keep them from recognizing that they are the problem. Ms. Wallace, as an aid to George W. Bush, became an enabler to policies that are in large part responsible for the flourishing horrors that now define the Middle East. In writing that Mr. Trump has correctly brought to light the fears of the base in regards to their "economic despair and mounting fears about Islamic extremism," she continues the GOP myth that Democrats are responsible for the serious mistakes of Republicans. Not true, Ms. Wallace!
Just as waiting for Mr. Trump to grow up is a fools' errand, it is even more certain that waiting for the Republican party to correct itself is an impossibility.
38
Donald Trump cutting the ribbon in Scottland and in the same breath blaming globalization for all evil is a contradiction in itself.
Whatever else, one can not accuse him of being a diplomat. There he was, on scottish soil, where people overwhelming voted for EU, rejoicing the break up with EU prognosticating better future in the "long" run. This is much like someone from France visiting US during civil war predicting:"it will be great in 150 years, there will be a black president", rubbing salt on the wound.
This from a guy who could not for see his casinos would go bankrupt within 5 years and make no money ever.
In his real-estate dealings with Saudis, Chinese, he seems to have "settled" after getting paid much less than market repeatedly. So, when he claims he is going to unilaterally tear up treaties and re-negotiate, probably US will end up much worse in the end.
By any measure, he is a totally incompetent nincompoop. He made money for himself and his clients. Maybe. By bankruptcy. So did Madoff. At least Madoff seems to recognize he was being a con artist.
Whatever else, one can not accuse him of being a diplomat. There he was, on scottish soil, where people overwhelming voted for EU, rejoicing the break up with EU prognosticating better future in the "long" run. This is much like someone from France visiting US during civil war predicting:"it will be great in 150 years, there will be a black president", rubbing salt on the wound.
This from a guy who could not for see his casinos would go bankrupt within 5 years and make no money ever.
In his real-estate dealings with Saudis, Chinese, he seems to have "settled" after getting paid much less than market repeatedly. So, when he claims he is going to unilaterally tear up treaties and re-negotiate, probably US will end up much worse in the end.
By any measure, he is a totally incompetent nincompoop. He made money for himself and his clients. Maybe. By bankruptcy. So did Madoff. At least Madoff seems to recognize he was being a con artist.
20
Ms. Wallace's powers of persuasion won't work with most, if not all, voters/supporters because she forgets that voting decisions are made from the emotional part of us, not the logical, reasoned part. Arguments made to try to change the hearts and minds of voters are usually a futile effort that wastes resources and effort.
Nor will she be able to change Trump's mind regarding his behavior. Why, if he has to behave and doesn't have fun anymore, he just might quit the campaign and go back to his small, white balls.
Nor will she be able to change Trump's mind regarding his behavior. Why, if he has to behave and doesn't have fun anymore, he just might quit the campaign and go back to his small, white balls.
10
Nicolle Wallace would be a good running mate for Donald.
So would Bernie Sanders.
Or Jane Sanders, if he's determined to have a woman.
So would Bernie Sanders.
Or Jane Sanders, if he's determined to have a woman.
4
This woman and her party are really desperate.
17
My apologies for the mutilated metaphor, but the Republican establishment has been making this bed for decades, and now they are surprised to find that when they lay down in it, it's ridden with fleas?
20
Trump is the candidate Republican party was holing to happen but now that it has actually happened they don't know what to do with it. Its similar to Britain leaving EU. Some politicians wanted it but now that it has happened they don't know how to handle it.
The Flim Flam man has actually appeared in the Republican party. They either arrest him or follow him
The Flim Flam man has actually appeared in the Republican party. They either arrest him or follow him
9
This is not happening. He can't help himself. I've moved on. Johnson or none of the above.
1
And Osa Bin Laden?
So easy to blame Obama for everything. Even though
He did not start a war in the Middle East giving rise to ISIS.
We have The cabal of Bush Cheney and Rumsfeld to thank for that.
So easy to blame Obama for everything. Even though
He did not start a war in the Middle East giving rise to ISIS.
We have The cabal of Bush Cheney and Rumsfeld to thank for that.
6
And Osama bin Laden?
So easy to blame Obama but he is not the one
who started a never ending war resulting in ISIS.
We have Bush Cheney and Rumsfeld to thank for that.
So easy to blame Obama but he is not the one
who started a never ending war resulting in ISIS.
We have Bush Cheney and Rumsfeld to thank for that.
20
It's funny that people like Nicolle Wallace are writing this in the NY Times when they should be publishing their contempt for Trump in the Washington Times and other right wing. Maybe some of the republicans who can actually read may benefit from her insight.
22
How about if you and the party renounce Donald Trump, and let's all focus on having a spirited and competitive "midterm" election?
9
No, Dangerous Donald, Don the Con and Trump the Reality TV star will never grow up. Thank you Nicole, Joe and Mika, and many others, for giving Trump so much free air time throughout the primaries. He played you all like a fiddle. When you finally realized what a flame-thrower Trump was, you started to be objective about analyzing him, but so sorry, too little, too late. You helped create this monster and I for one am enjoying watching him ravage your Grand Old Party.
27
1. Personally, I don't care if Mr. Trump's campaign isn't doing what it should to promote him as a candidate. Long may it fail.
2. I shed no tears for the demise of the Grand Old Party. This iteration of the GOP brought this on themselves, beginning with Newt Gingrich and the 104th Congress.
3. WHY does the GOP think that Donald Trump will change if he were to become POTUS? They remind me of those countless brides and bridegrooms who swear, they just KNOW, that their intended will change his/her ways once they get married.
NEVER. GONNA. HAPPEN.
2. I shed no tears for the demise of the Grand Old Party. This iteration of the GOP brought this on themselves, beginning with Newt Gingrich and the 104th Congress.
3. WHY does the GOP think that Donald Trump will change if he were to become POTUS? They remind me of those countless brides and bridegrooms who swear, they just KNOW, that their intended will change his/her ways once they get married.
NEVER. GONNA. HAPPEN.
33
Nicolle should join George Will.
16
He can wring his hands while she clutches her pearls. Bless their hearts.
13
More republican lies from a serial republican liar.
19
NW is a political operative of a certain age who has made a career of turning her vest around in order to please a future employer,willing to say anything provided the salary is right.. Now a steady on MSNBC, many remember that when she was WH comm. director, she was an aficionado of the war which has resulted in thousands of American lives lost. This war without a name continues today, with no end in sight. When Tenet walked into the Oval Office in 2002 to offer his 2 cents on the decision to go to war:"Mr. President, it's a slam dunk," Wallace, "tout a fait comme par hasard,"was standing alongside him, egging him on.Despite her posh background--maiden name was Devenish--and her degrees from.Berkeley and Northwestern, NW has no moral standards. Is it unreasonable to expect that Wallace, like other neo-cons who didn't mind seeing blood spilt so long as it wasn't their own, would have the good taste to refrain from criticizing Mr. TRUMP, who maybe has the answers. Like others who supported the war, Ms. Wallace has "les mains sales!"Why would the TIMES or anyone else take her words seriously? Condescending to maintain that GOP is waiting for Mr. Trump to grow up.He is a successful businessman who hopes to rescue the country from the doldrums where it finds itself. Kenny O Donnell, about whom JFK remarked,had nothing of the ----- in him, where r u now that we need u?
13
There, there... feel better now?
Maybe you could tell us exactly what's wrong with the article itself?
Maybe you could tell us exactly what's wrong with the article itself?
8
So - you disapprove of Ms. Wallace because she went to Berkeley?
5
What Donald Trump doesn't understand is that respect is earned. You cannot bully your way into earning it, you cannot fake your way into earning it. You actually have to DO something not just brag about yourself.
14
If what Ms. Wallace is correct then the GOP is waiting for Godot. 'Taint going to happen.
DD
Manhattan
DD
Manhattan
8
"The G.O.P. Waits, and Waits, for Donald Trump to Grow Up"
They should hold their breath while they're waiting...
They should hold their breath while they're waiting...
20
c2396: And you will, along with America suffocate if\, God forbid, Hillary gets elected. There is NO generational recovery after Hillary....
Nicole Wallace, the woman who stayed the distance with Sarah Palin, peddling her to the public as a viable vice presidential candidate, is now playing the responsible grown-up with Trump? Sweetheart, you are one of the chief reasons your party nominated this guy! You greased the slide with the incompetent Palin. Now you own mentally ill Trump.
38
Thank God Wimbledon is on because I cannot stand another minute of Morning Joe"s false equivalencies between Clinton and Trump.
Sure, you can powder him up to tone down His Orangeness, pop him in front of teleprompter so he can deliver his lies while appearing to be "statesman-like" and somewhat sane but he's still Trump. He's said what he's said, it's done, how anyone with half a brain can support him is beyond me.
Sure, you can powder him up to tone down His Orangeness, pop him in front of teleprompter so he can deliver his lies while appearing to be "statesman-like" and somewhat sane but he's still Trump. He's said what he's said, it's done, how anyone with half a brain can support him is beyond me.
34
The only way Trump would read a WORD of "The Looming Tower" would be if it were serialized in People or The Enquirer.
5
He cannot change because he is mentally ill . I do not understand why people talk so little about the obvious signs of a psychiatric nature in this bizarre man . That is the scary part and not the fact that he is a demagogue . It is not likely , but not completely impossible , that you may elect a madman to be the next President .
45
Could not agree more.
8
As a pediatrician you should know that squalling, tantrums, and relating everything in the world to oneself are not necessarily signs of a psychiatric disorder. Some parts of peoples' personalities get stuck at certain stages sometimes, but *human behavior is not a psychiatric disorder unless it causes a significant degree of impairment.* The Donald mounted a successful campaign to become the candidate of a major party, and has wives, kids, friends, and what seems to be an income that supports a lavish lifestyle. The fact that he is a braggart, often insensitive, impulsive, offensive, etc. does not mean he has a mental disorder, and responsible clinicians (and I would imagine you are one of those) avoid diagnoses based on media appearances.
3
And,as you can plainly see, Trump's finger is still in the air, testing if the wind has changed so he can follow it. (Second choice vocation: weather broadcaster.)
2
Donald Trump has had five decades to "grow up" and so what you see is what you get. Any change in the next five months is obviously just a sham. He is what he is. If you think a narcissistic, petulant, shallow, gaudy, irresponsible bigot is presidential material then he's your man.
42
glen: Thanks for describing Obama so well....all 8 years of his waste and destruction....from the country, immigration, to our sad military. I hope you are enjoying your ObamaCare.
1
vps: Your response is incoherent, so, not surprisingly, you've found your man in Trump. Have fun with that.
11
Nicolle, maybe it's time for YOU to grow up. He's not going to get any more presidential; in fact he's not really interested in the job. He just wants global expansion of the brand. Get wise and get ready for a really ugly convention.
22
Didn't Ms. Wallace play a huge role in the selection of Ms. Palin as Mr. McCain's VP nominee?
18
"We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason."
- Edward R Murrow
- Edward R Murrow
12
This is a lost cause. Donald Trump will NEVER "grow-up" because he doesn't need to.
And as long as he's able to manipulate other people and entire Political Parties to his every will and whim, there's no reason for him to join the adult table.
And as long as he's able to manipulate other people and entire Political Parties to his every will and whim, there's no reason for him to join the adult table.
15
Ms. Wallace, you and I do not share the same political views, but I have followed you for some time because you speak across the aisle, and you are reasonable.
But this OpEd adds to my disappointment in you, and it tells us nothing. For many months now, you and Joe Scarborough have been repeating this same thing over and over again. 'The GOP is waiting, will he change?' 'No,' 'Maybe,' 'No' . . .
You've all become a broken record, and it is extremely boring. All you are able do to make this story interesting at this point, is to repeat all of his inflammatory garbage.
And it is all from a man who boasts about his business acumen without having produced his tax returns, who has had plenty of time to learn about the world but still doesn't know anything (it's kind of amazing), whose first lady could foreseeably pose nude in the Situation Room, and whose biggest claim to fame is for being rude on a reality show.
Admitting your party's embarrassment is fine, but it is far from enough. I would like to think you are all smarter, braver, and most importantly, more patriotic than this.
But this OpEd adds to my disappointment in you, and it tells us nothing. For many months now, you and Joe Scarborough have been repeating this same thing over and over again. 'The GOP is waiting, will he change?' 'No,' 'Maybe,' 'No' . . .
You've all become a broken record, and it is extremely boring. All you are able do to make this story interesting at this point, is to repeat all of his inflammatory garbage.
And it is all from a man who boasts about his business acumen without having produced his tax returns, who has had plenty of time to learn about the world but still doesn't know anything (it's kind of amazing), whose first lady could foreseeably pose nude in the Situation Room, and whose biggest claim to fame is for being rude on a reality show.
Admitting your party's embarrassment is fine, but it is far from enough. I would like to think you are all smarter, braver, and most importantly, more patriotic than this.
33
Trump is 70 years old. Just how long do you think the GOP will have to wait until Trump grows up?
He is what he is.
He is what he is.
22
Just the other day, Dr. James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family called Mr. Trump a "baby Christian". Grab the baby wipes, the powder, change that crying baby's diaper, and give him some time to grow up! After all, some day, he might become president... hopefully not in my lifetime.
12
Hate to break it to you Nicolle, Trump never heard of The Looming Tower. He thinks terrorism was spawned since Barack Obama was elected. That works for him, because he appeals to folks who also don't know, and don't care.
Scary combination.
Scary combination.
21
And this guy wants Trump to win!
A few Can'ts:
Can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!
Can't teach an old dog new tricks!
Can't dress up the emperor who has no clothes!
These attempts are futile endeavors.
Can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear!
Can't teach an old dog new tricks!
Can't dress up the emperor who has no clothes!
These attempts are futile endeavors.
12
The man has a serious mental illness Ms. Wallace. You don't see that?
15
Republicans just keep playing the tired old tunes tunes they know. It's like playing John Philip Sousa 78rpm's after everyone else had gone on to The Beatles.
5
"People don't change, they just become more of who they are." - Marcus Buckingham, mgt.author.
Keep waiting American. Donnie will never change.
Keep waiting American. Donnie will never change.
8
Nice framing, "shake off Bernie Sanders", like he is some kind of repellent insect. The Times has become, or maybe always was and I just didn't notice, thoroughly yellow.
5
" ..... waiting for Mr. Trump to grow-up ? ".
I doubt if his family of origin ever heard of Emily Post.
I doubt if Mr. Trump knows or cares.
So why are we expecting comme il faut behaviour from him ?
He "points" frequently.
I only expect my canine friends "to point".
I doubt if his family of origin ever heard of Emily Post.
I doubt if Mr. Trump knows or cares.
So why are we expecting comme il faut behaviour from him ?
He "points" frequently.
I only expect my canine friends "to point".
7
I'll keep saying this. To quote Sarah Palin - they are trying "to put lipstick on a pig." Even with the most expensive lipstick it is still a pig.
12
it's going to be a long wait. throughout his life mr trump has probably gotten everything he wanted. definitely as a businessman. does that sound like someone who is capable of 'growing up'?
9
That's a laugh.
I've been waiting for Mitch McConnell to 'grow up'.
The only difference between Trump and McConnell - oh, wait.
Never mind.
I've been waiting for Mitch McConnell to 'grow up'.
The only difference between Trump and McConnell - oh, wait.
Never mind.
22
What none of the Republican leadership seems to GET is that they created this situation by fanning the fear about Obama being weak for the country and the country being in constant dire threat. Not to mention the fact that all their policies (tax cuts for wealthy, cuts to essential safety nets for the poor) have put the poor in a worse state. But the anxiety level is so high, and therefore people are so susceptible to being manipulated by Trump, because the Republicans have done everything they could for 8 years to portray Obama as weak, not really American, dangerous, etc. They COULD have pointed out that an American's chance of dying from terrorism is about the same, statistically, as dying from a large piece of furniture falling on you. They COULD have not portrayed Sonia Sotomayor as if she was some kind wild-eyed crazy person when she was nominated. They COULD have congratulated him on an incredibly skillful diplomatic achievement (the Iran deal) that is already having huge benefits. They COULD have stood up to the Sarah Palins of the party when she was running around the country warning people that Obama was going to kill their grandmothers. But they didn't -- they fanned the craziness n order to reap political gain. So there's been a constant drumbeat of fear-mongering and anxiety raising that they have actively fostered. And now they're all hoping Trump will turn down his TONE, as if that's the problem and not his ideas and his bigotry itself.
27
How can Trump best Clinton when it comes to trustworthiness? He's the most dishonest, false, and intellectually and morally unfit political figure on the national stage in the last century. For his relative position, on top of a major mainline political party, he has no equal. Historically, nobody even comes close.
Someone who lies or openly igores/distorts truth - or who openly engages in fantasy, sometimes *dozens of times in one speech,* cannot hold to any high ground on trustworthiness. As for Clinton, she is largely honest: her failings being largely exaggerated, if not outright manufactured by years of relentless GOTP demonizing and false messaging. Just remember Benghazi: yet again, another GOTP commission has just reluctantly ground to a halt - after concluding that (try as hard as they might) Clinton had done nothing wrong. This is not the first, or second, GOTP commission to have reached this conclusion.
Trump is obsessed with respect, in the same way a 12 year old bully on the playground is. Why do you think he ran for President? He wants respect, adoration, and the perma-boost to the Trump brand, the White House can give him. Does anyone actually think he will change?! I expect Trump thinks he will be dividing his time: perhaps the White house on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays... while managing Trump branded businesses, hotels, and golf course the rest of the time.
Wake up America: it's all been a branding exercise by a self absorbed, world class Con Man!
Someone who lies or openly igores/distorts truth - or who openly engages in fantasy, sometimes *dozens of times in one speech,* cannot hold to any high ground on trustworthiness. As for Clinton, she is largely honest: her failings being largely exaggerated, if not outright manufactured by years of relentless GOTP demonizing and false messaging. Just remember Benghazi: yet again, another GOTP commission has just reluctantly ground to a halt - after concluding that (try as hard as they might) Clinton had done nothing wrong. This is not the first, or second, GOTP commission to have reached this conclusion.
Trump is obsessed with respect, in the same way a 12 year old bully on the playground is. Why do you think he ran for President? He wants respect, adoration, and the perma-boost to the Trump brand, the White House can give him. Does anyone actually think he will change?! I expect Trump thinks he will be dividing his time: perhaps the White house on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays... while managing Trump branded businesses, hotels, and golf course the rest of the time.
Wake up America: it's all been a branding exercise by a self absorbed, world class Con Man!
28
you may be familiar w a burger chain in n out
excellent burgers but thin string fires which are more grease than potato
they have considered changing th fries to a thicker cut, but rejected it
bc their loyal public have become accustomed to those fries , for better or worse
and theyre afraid to make a change even if it might improve th product
excellent burgers but thin string fires which are more grease than potato
they have considered changing th fries to a thicker cut, but rejected it
bc their loyal public have become accustomed to those fries , for better or worse
and theyre afraid to make a change even if it might improve th product
3
Once a conman always a conman. He will never change.
And until he is hammered for his lies, completely dishonest statements, scams (Trump university, etc.) he will continue to spout his verbal diarrhea.
And until he is hammered for his lies, completely dishonest statements, scams (Trump university, etc.) he will continue to spout his verbal diarrhea.
14
Donald Trump is losing and will lose for several reasons:
1. He is Donald Trump, and he scares millions of us Small Government Republicans.
2. He doesn't care about issues and is disturbingly ignorant. That turns off Big Money donors who got where they are being smart, strategic, cautious and opportunistic.
3. He is undisciplined. That frosts Big Money donors, political leaders and political consultants who are disciplined and don't hire people who can't plan nor execute plans.
4. He doesn't have the staff he needs to attack Clinton for going along with Obama's acceptance of ISIS, which today is attacking innocents around the world. She should have resigned, instead she worried about PR during the Benghazi attack. She did nothing to save the ambassador and four Americans who were trying to save him.
5. He is not a Republican on national security, free trade, integrity, health care, social issues, taxes and on many other issues.
6. He seems to want to win, but he has shown no interest in governing.
7. His intellectual laziness and lack of staff will allow Clinton to get away with making Elizabeth Warren or some other hard left Democrat her running mate.
8. He won't listen to advisers, and he is misreading the public on many issues.
9. We all know Trump is more interested in promoting his brand and businesses than in winning in November. So why should we waste our money or time supporting him?
#NeverClinton #NeverNeverClinton/Warren
1. He is Donald Trump, and he scares millions of us Small Government Republicans.
2. He doesn't care about issues and is disturbingly ignorant. That turns off Big Money donors who got where they are being smart, strategic, cautious and opportunistic.
3. He is undisciplined. That frosts Big Money donors, political leaders and political consultants who are disciplined and don't hire people who can't plan nor execute plans.
4. He doesn't have the staff he needs to attack Clinton for going along with Obama's acceptance of ISIS, which today is attacking innocents around the world. She should have resigned, instead she worried about PR during the Benghazi attack. She did nothing to save the ambassador and four Americans who were trying to save him.
5. He is not a Republican on national security, free trade, integrity, health care, social issues, taxes and on many other issues.
6. He seems to want to win, but he has shown no interest in governing.
7. His intellectual laziness and lack of staff will allow Clinton to get away with making Elizabeth Warren or some other hard left Democrat her running mate.
8. He won't listen to advisers, and he is misreading the public on many issues.
9. We all know Trump is more interested in promoting his brand and businesses than in winning in November. So why should we waste our money or time supporting him?
#NeverClinton #NeverNeverClinton/Warren
1
Its just not Trump. I think the entire GOP needs to grow up. How many times have I seen my Republican friends enjoy Trump's antics when he started the birther movement and supported it. How many time have I seen Republicans deliberately call President Obama "Osama" and then seemingly to correct themselves. I have never seen such deliberate hatred toward's any president. And we had to endure Bush 2 with his false wars and the meddling in the ME which has led to the unintended consequences in that region as well as ruining the US economy. As you sow so you reap Republicans. How very Karmic!!!
34
If Trump and the GOP do lose this election, it will be because of "Republicans" like Nicole Wallace. Throughout the primary GOP leaders tried to no avail to convince the Republican base that Trump was toxic, as they went along with the left's narrative that Trump was a bigot, xenophobe and whatever else they chose to call him. It made it all the more embarrassing, then, when Trump handily won the primary despite unmatched media scrutiny from both the right and left. If Republicans continue to show hesitance to support Trump and are critical of him, like this article is, they're basically acting as surrogates for the Clinton campaign. The sooner the GOP gets off their high horse, begins to support the candidate a majority of its party members voted for, and stops shooting themselves in the foot by criticizing their candidate, the sooner they will realize they have a real opportunity to take back the White House. In my opinion, the GOP elite has taken the left's bait and caved in, choosing to attack Mr. Trump using the same lines that Democrats have. If the GOP would use their energy to attack Clinton-- a deeply flawed and extremely beatable candidate, who a large majority of Americans dislike-- and actually rally behind its candidate, they can very easily win in November.
3
So Ben wants a World War III to make America Great Again? Maybe Ben is selling fallout shelters. Count me out Ben.
13
reply to Ben of Indiana: If the GOP had indeed been on a "high horse" before Trump's ascension within their party, they "might" have had some kind of leverage with which to counter such a toxic mutant.
When you nurture only pathogens, what you get is full-blown disease.
When you nurture only pathogens, what you get is full-blown disease.
13
Right, because Clinton hasn't at all been a hawk in her 15 years as Senator and Secretary of State. She only supported the invasion of Iraq, and not to mention intervening in several other countries in the Middle East while she was secretary of state. I don't understand how people think she has the advantage on foreign policy. Everything she's supported has failed and turned to chaos
Pavlov's dog learned to salivate at the sound of a bell. The Republican base is like Pavlovs' dog. The bells that get them salivating are racism, bigotry, anti-immigration, misogyny, fear of the unknown, lies about jobs being brought back to America and of course the evil Hillary. The party has been conditioning the base for decades and now the guy that rings the bell the loudest is the presumptive nominee of the GOP. Changing the tone of his rhetoric will not change the man. We know who he is. An informed person could not in good conscience vote for him.
33
Are there no informed intelligent insightful adult commentators? Are we doomed to the national media narrative, monotonous and tedious as it is redundant for the next five months?
5
Christie claims that polls show Trump is more trustworthy than Hillary Clinton. The GOP liars have had 20 years to paint Hillary as a person who covered up for Bill, carried out the Whitewater fraud, killed Vince Foster, carried out Benghazi single handed, and had her private server that violated the law. All of this is a pack of lies, but as Goebbles told us, repeated often, a lie is taken to be truth. But now the GOP eleites are talking fondly of someone who is not nearly as crazy as Trump. Could Hillary be the wish choice of the GOP elites? Will this be the elites versus the disaffected outsiders? Wait until Nov 8. I will vote for Hillary--Trump is just too crazy.
7
As Edward R Morrow has pointed out during another difficult period in American history, “The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer.”
14
What a frightening spectacle to behold. Trump riding the wave of the disaffected working class buffeted by globalization and automation and pent up racial resentments finding an outlet in such bombastic rhetoric as “no one knows the system better than me” or "I am speaking with myself number one because I have a very good brain and I've said a lot of things". Trump promises in his first 100 days to nominate a Supreme Court justice like Antonin Scalia, start the repeal of Obamacare, revoke the Obama executive order keeping immigrant families together here, develop plans for his "beautiful" wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, implement the "Deport 'Em All" policy for all "illegal" immigrants, and keep Muslims from entering the country. And it now appears that even GOP stalwarts like Ryan and McConnell are not afraid to fully embrace the true, non-P.C. face of bigotry GOP extremists have been peddling since the Nixon southern strategy and kneel before the billionaire bully who has wrested control of the party from them. The nation is in peril, no question.
14
Donald Trump has been showing us exactly who he is for the last year. If he were to suddenly change and become more policy oriented, more presidential, less bombastic and self-centered wouldn't that be the very definition of political correctness? Aren't his supporters saying they like that he is not P.C.? And who in the world could trust someone who would make such a turn-around? The man is who he is and he is not fit to be president of the United States of America.
13
Ms. Wallace misses the point when she states that the GOP "would like to be brought along" (as Trump does whatever it is that he's doing) in that Trump IS the party, and if the Republican establishment wants to go along for the ride, it had better jump on the train before it leaves the station. That Trump is the head of her party is no accident: it is the logical result of 35 years of Republican tactics that were designed to keep "the base" angry and fearful and quick to go to the polls. What tactics, you ask? Well, try these: Welfare queens! Willie Horton! Baby body parts! Brown-skinned job thieves! Climate change hoax! Gays getting married! Obamacare! Hide your guns!
So much to fear! More importantly, so much to be distracted by. Ms. Wallace mentions that Trump relates to what the "Republican base feels," but she declines to get into the reasons for its feelings. The GOP establishment intentionally fed the afore-mentioned red meat to its base while it was off on K Street making a fortune, but, once the base saw the curtain pulled back and the wizard exposed for the manipulator that he is, the base realized it had been taken for a ride. The GOP wanted and needed a pliant, poorly-informed base to keep it in power. Now that the (still uninformed) base is speaking for itself, what can the establishment do with its Frankenstein?
So much to fear! More importantly, so much to be distracted by. Ms. Wallace mentions that Trump relates to what the "Republican base feels," but she declines to get into the reasons for its feelings. The GOP establishment intentionally fed the afore-mentioned red meat to its base while it was off on K Street making a fortune, but, once the base saw the curtain pulled back and the wizard exposed for the manipulator that he is, the base realized it had been taken for a ride. The GOP wanted and needed a pliant, poorly-informed base to keep it in power. Now that the (still uninformed) base is speaking for itself, what can the establishment do with its Frankenstein?
21
Very good analysis, very well put.
9
“You know, when the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry,” he said, seeing a silver lining for the golf course he owns there.
But he is right. That's probably the truth. Maybe we need a lot more of the truth than we see and have seen for the past 7 years with this administration. And maybe how this administration behaves has caused the huge increase in murders, suicides, and depression in this country. People are plainly SAD and made to feel AWFUL.
But he is right. That's probably the truth. Maybe we need a lot more of the truth than we see and have seen for the past 7 years with this administration. And maybe how this administration behaves has caused the huge increase in murders, suicides, and depression in this country. People are plainly SAD and made to feel AWFUL.
1
Trump growing up is kind of like going to the hardware store expecting to be able to buy milk. NOT gonna happen. GOP is engaged in magical thinking.
6
At 70 years old The Trumpster Monster is not going to change! Try to imagine him giving The State of the Union speech! Try to imagine him giving a powerful speech at the U.N.! Try to imagine him comforting the latest gun violence victims! We are witnessing a nightmare in action in this election!!
9
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck: it must be a duck.
3
It is a complete waste of time to read what the NYT thinks about this election. I could write all this stuff myself. Trump is deficient and is sure to lose; Hillary is the best thing since sliced bread, and if anyone says she did anything wrong they're wrong. The Times is, and has been from the beginning, the Hillary Clinton Propaganda Machine.
So now the headline of this article assures me that Trump needs to "grow up" whatever that means. What a surprise!
So now the headline of this article assures me that Trump needs to "grow up" whatever that means. What a surprise!
1
I don't want to hear about this from Nicolle Wallace.
Her job in the McCain campaign was be the groomer & hand-holder for Sarah Palin - get her up to speed as a credible vice-presidential candidate. If the book "Game Change" can be believed - she was irritated by the challenge but she did her best to pull it off.
What she did not do - go to John McCain & tell him "Palin isn't qualified to be vice-president, not even close! & you need to find a reason to replace her - this is a tragedy waiting to happen if you're elected." She didn't do it. I would have added to him "If you won't replace her, I'm going to resign & start talking to the media about my experience with her & how hopelessly unqualified - & emotionally unstable - I think she is. She cannot be second in line to the presidency. It might destroy this country."
When her country needed her to be a grownup & put her concerns for the country first instead of partisan politics - or her own career! - Nicolle Wallace completely failed us. She worked to hide Palin was a mess.
I don't care what she thinks about Trump. Palin was every bit as bad & Wallace could have warned us about her long before the election. We needed the truth.
I don't care what Wallace says now about anything. It's too late.
She's a hack. People are hard on McCain for picking Palin. Those who watch Wallace on 'Morning Joe' should hold her accountable for completely failing her country when we needed her to tell us
the truth.
Shame on her.
Her job in the McCain campaign was be the groomer & hand-holder for Sarah Palin - get her up to speed as a credible vice-presidential candidate. If the book "Game Change" can be believed - she was irritated by the challenge but she did her best to pull it off.
What she did not do - go to John McCain & tell him "Palin isn't qualified to be vice-president, not even close! & you need to find a reason to replace her - this is a tragedy waiting to happen if you're elected." She didn't do it. I would have added to him "If you won't replace her, I'm going to resign & start talking to the media about my experience with her & how hopelessly unqualified - & emotionally unstable - I think she is. She cannot be second in line to the presidency. It might destroy this country."
When her country needed her to be a grownup & put her concerns for the country first instead of partisan politics - or her own career! - Nicolle Wallace completely failed us. She worked to hide Palin was a mess.
I don't care what she thinks about Trump. Palin was every bit as bad & Wallace could have warned us about her long before the election. We needed the truth.
I don't care what Wallace says now about anything. It's too late.
She's a hack. People are hard on McCain for picking Palin. Those who watch Wallace on 'Morning Joe' should hold her accountable for completely failing her country when we needed her to tell us
the truth.
Shame on her.
518
How many people would push the ejector seat button on their career in political campaigning to tell the truth to a public that already knew? Of the hundreds of Republicans currently in office--how many of them have come out with an honest opinion of Trump? Many who have did it to save their career, not at the expense of it.
2
Yes. The same Nicole Wallace who wrote in the Times in January that it was "one of the finest moments from one of the country's finest men" when then-POTUS nominee McCain responded to a woman at a rally who criticized Obama for being "an Arab" by saying, “'No, ma’am,'... that Mr. Obama was a good and decent family man and an American with whom he simply disagreed on policy matters." A pitiful, racist response whose subtext was Muslims are not good and decent family people.
5
So the GOP can't muffle the Trump and keep him from making fools of the party and himself. Where have you been for the last year? Or eight?
Know-nothing, semi-lunatic, self-deluded GOP presidents are not new, beginning with the Saint and Bush One, and then W, who looted the country only after he took us to his trillion dollar war.
Candidates McCain and Palin weren't embarrassing enough for you? McCain who inflicted Palin on us and couldn't perceive our tanked economy. Palin, whose empty-headed proclamations just show what a cringe-making dodo she is.
The GOP had no trouble with darlin' Sarah, apple of Kristol's eye, charmer of David Brooks, a real star. The party loved her and she so nicely fit the republican stereotype of women who are, you know, maybe mildly pretty, but empty-headed, ditzy. Ornamental.
The party had no trouble with Trump when he announced and denounced the whole Mexican population, put down China, Japan, put down his own party. The GOP didn't criticize his mockery of disability, his hatred of Muslims, immigrants. It had no trouble with Trump's obsessive birther nonsense, when he has repeatedly insulted our president.
I hope, in your dating days, you didn't try to change a genuinely dangerous man. You ignore the obvious: Trump is a rich man with the influence money buy, but he's breathtakingly ignorant and the longer he rants and spews in public the more he shows that he's probably insane. But hey, that's okay with the GOP.
Know-nothing, semi-lunatic, self-deluded GOP presidents are not new, beginning with the Saint and Bush One, and then W, who looted the country only after he took us to his trillion dollar war.
Candidates McCain and Palin weren't embarrassing enough for you? McCain who inflicted Palin on us and couldn't perceive our tanked economy. Palin, whose empty-headed proclamations just show what a cringe-making dodo she is.
The GOP had no trouble with darlin' Sarah, apple of Kristol's eye, charmer of David Brooks, a real star. The party loved her and she so nicely fit the republican stereotype of women who are, you know, maybe mildly pretty, but empty-headed, ditzy. Ornamental.
The party had no trouble with Trump when he announced and denounced the whole Mexican population, put down China, Japan, put down his own party. The GOP didn't criticize his mockery of disability, his hatred of Muslims, immigrants. It had no trouble with Trump's obsessive birther nonsense, when he has repeatedly insulted our president.
I hope, in your dating days, you didn't try to change a genuinely dangerous man. You ignore the obvious: Trump is a rich man with the influence money buy, but he's breathtakingly ignorant and the longer he rants and spews in public the more he shows that he's probably insane. But hey, that's okay with the GOP.
27
Here’s the problem Ms. Wallace – YOU. You and other loyal Republicans, who choose winning over country, are the enablers in chief of all things Trump. Psychology calls this relationship co-dependence. It’s not any different than turning a blind eye to a physical abusive spouse or an alcoholic dependent family member. In the movie ‘’Game Change”, I vividly recall that moment in the film where you tearfully confessed to Steve Schmidt that you could not bring yourself to vote for John McCain because of Sarah Palin. Here you are 8 years later telling us something everyone already knows - Donald Trump will not change - ‘No Duh”!
Will you state now that you cannot support Donald Trump? You can salvage your honor and reputation now or slink away as you did in “Game Change”. This time around Ms. Wallace we are talking about the Republican nominee eminently not qualified for the office of the President of the United Sates. This is not a game, theatre or a dream where one is trying to “outrun the three headed dragon on roller skates”. (FYI your words). This is the nightmare reality that your Party has visited upon the rest of us. It is rare in life that we get do overs. Here is a big one for you. This moment is not about the character of Mr. Trump. That’s been established. This moment is about your character and all Republicans who choose silence over responsible action. No more teary eyed regrets when you had plenty of ample opportunity to do something now.
Will you state now that you cannot support Donald Trump? You can salvage your honor and reputation now or slink away as you did in “Game Change”. This time around Ms. Wallace we are talking about the Republican nominee eminently not qualified for the office of the President of the United Sates. This is not a game, theatre or a dream where one is trying to “outrun the three headed dragon on roller skates”. (FYI your words). This is the nightmare reality that your Party has visited upon the rest of us. It is rare in life that we get do overs. Here is a big one for you. This moment is not about the character of Mr. Trump. That’s been established. This moment is about your character and all Republicans who choose silence over responsible action. No more teary eyed regrets when you had plenty of ample opportunity to do something now.
382
Well said! Thank you for saying it!
6
Ms. Wallace has been a major contributor to the very sad state of American politics. Ms. Wallace, when you look in the mirror... does the monster stare back?
12
GOP(BC)
Grand old party before country.
Grand old party before country.
6
Or maybe we're all just "Waiting for Trump-ot"...
Trump is the gilded chicken come home to roost. For decades the GOP has glorified and promoted willful ignorance and prideful stupidity, and denigrated "elitist" education and culture. They developed a solid base of arrogance and ignorance that could be manipulated through fear and mistrust with dog-whistle messaging and bombastic radio show sermonizing. The base has bolted. They will be duped by the GOP establishment no more. They will be duped by their new hero; a super duper who speaks their language, and has them believe what they want to believe.
Eight years out we are still dealing with the wreckage from the Cheney/Bush administration. It could take generations to come back from a certain disastrous Trump administration.
Eight years out we are still dealing with the wreckage from the Cheney/Bush administration. It could take generations to come back from a certain disastrous Trump administration.
11
I don't understand what you mean by a fools only choice? If Trump, as is, comes across as so unpalatable to you, then look around at the other choices. Maybe it's time for the Republican party to implode. Vote for Hillary or Gary Johnson or Jill Stein. Or work for a better candidate and more useful message for 2020.
1
Trump is winning. What's so wrong about that? Face it. He will be the next president.
1
Donald Trump IS the Republican Party. Is he any different from Mitch McConnell? Both spout nonsense. He'll grow up when the Republican Party grows up. My fear is that a majority of Americans believe the nonsense he spouts, and often he and they are right. The elite have taken over the country. The people are seeing this, from the Donald and from Bernie. There is a real problem here.
6
Trump says his campaign is merely lean, but I think it projects an unhealthy body image for today's youth.
6
Just like "Brexit" the NYT and other elites seem to be missing the point. The Working Class and Poor are fed up with systems that don't work for them. It's understandable what's going on because all we ever hear about anymore is the "Rich" and the "Middle Class". The problem is that the only people speaking to the White Working Class are folks like Trump and his ilk. If you want to know where this is leading read the book: "Harvest of Rage" and then multiply it a couple of hundred million.
2
The writer should be careful what she wishes for. If Trump gets elected president, good luck waiting for him to grow up. He won't need you people anymore. Why do you republicans insist on trying to make him something he will never be (a respectful and respected person)?
9
Admit it, he's loser
8
I have to laugh at the "money is speech" crowd lamenting the blabbermouth they nominated. By emboldening the radical right and reporting on them as though they were mainstream and "normal", you have laid the foundation for this election cycle's chaos. You reap what you sow and you guys sowed the seeds of hate, ignorance and bigotry for a long time and gave the haters a public platform. I would love to hear one of you in the media take some responsibility for the mess you created. That would be a welcome turn of events.
10
When is the Republican Party going to grow up and face reality in the 21st century?
5
About a day after they cease to exist as a meaningful political force. Right around November 8.
3
Trump will win because everyone secretly wants to be like the guy.
I'm a Wyoming Republican, will vote for Clinton. But I'm throwing my vote away in Wyoming, which will go Trump and Liz Cheney for US House. We are headed to a fascist future of a bankrupted and collapsing global military empire. Get used to it: NDAA 2012 arrest and permanent detention.
I'm a Wyoming Republican, will vote for Clinton. But I'm throwing my vote away in Wyoming, which will go Trump and Liz Cheney for US House. We are headed to a fascist future of a bankrupted and collapsing global military empire. Get used to it: NDAA 2012 arrest and permanent detention.
1
Everyone wants to be like that poor, mentally ill cartoon of a man? Would you trade places with him, really? Wake up every day and see that face in the mirror, live with those thoughts in your own mind, give up your feelings for those feelings? I think not.
6
No, John in Laramie, people don't want to be "just like the guy [Trump]". No one wants to be an insecure, slimy, blowhard coward who picks on the disabled. He's just a mentally unstable huckster with money, a big mouth, and no sense of honor or duty. He's not a real man. Put him in any real life situation where he has to man up, and he'll shriek, then run and hide behind his butler.
8
A chameleon is a chameleon and may change on the outside, but inside it remains the same! We've seen the real Donald Trump, folks.
8
If you're Donald Trump why in the world would you "grow up" when what you're doing is obviously working? The latest Quinnipiac poll has him in a dead heat with Hillary.
Trump disgusts me, but to continue to dismiss him for ignoring all the rules is idiotic. The rules have changed. Everything is different in this cycle, and the only ones who really seem to get that have been Trump and Bernie.
Hoping and pretending that campaign dynamics will revert to the norm will just leave the RNC, as well as Hillary, continually playing catch up.
Trump disgusts me, but to continue to dismiss him for ignoring all the rules is idiotic. The rules have changed. Everything is different in this cycle, and the only ones who really seem to get that have been Trump and Bernie.
Hoping and pretending that campaign dynamics will revert to the norm will just leave the RNC, as well as Hillary, continually playing catch up.
3
Am I hallucinating? Is this the same Ms Wallace that swoons over Trump every time he is able to to walk and chew gum at the same time? That applauds his moronic speeches because he read them from a teleprompter? That overlooks his nonstop stream lies? That lauds him as a giant because he bettered a field of even worse candidates? That laments not his lies and bigotry but his lack of cynical Repulbican stagecraft?
I know the hosts at Morning Joe set a very low bar for critical thinking or nuanced opinion. Joe does little more than say tha the latest Republican outrage is an extrodianry expamble of statescraft. Mika is content just to tug her sweater and occatioanally echo some inanity. But even there, I would think NBC would something for theire paycheck.
Stop waiting for Trump to grow up and grow up yourself.
I know the hosts at Morning Joe set a very low bar for critical thinking or nuanced opinion. Joe does little more than say tha the latest Republican outrage is an extrodianry expamble of statescraft. Mika is content just to tug her sweater and occatioanally echo some inanity. But even there, I would think NBC would something for theire paycheck.
Stop waiting for Trump to grow up and grow up yourself.
15
Ms Wallace, you write that Trump vanquished 16 accomplished rivals in the primaries. Really ? Is that supposed to be a joke?
15
About the only thing I can imagine Trump saying to Christie is, "Fetch me a cup of coffee."
It's not like anyone didn't know he was a bombastic bully; one viewing of THE APPRENTICE would confirm that. The people wanted something else and they got it. The problem is, there was an expectation they were getting someone fit to be in a position of global leadership and what they got was a guy with a bunch of failing businesses.
Caveat emptor, folks. You just got what you paid for.
http://wifelyperson.blogspot.com/
It's not like anyone didn't know he was a bombastic bully; one viewing of THE APPRENTICE would confirm that. The people wanted something else and they got it. The problem is, there was an expectation they were getting someone fit to be in a position of global leadership and what they got was a guy with a bunch of failing businesses.
Caveat emptor, folks. You just got what you paid for.
http://wifelyperson.blogspot.com/
8
Peter Pan he ain't! But he does remind me of "Lord of the Flies" or the Red Queen in "Alice in Wonderland", none of whom we'd want running anything sensitive, diplomatic, or crucial to any part of our lives. The worst thought could be Trump's being Dorian Gray and that is scary. If this is the grown up Trump America has gone wrong in more ways than I thought we could.
4
Donal Trump does not deserve credit for "... acknowledging their [the voters] economic despair and mounting fears about Islamic extremism."
You do not get credit for what you whip up - despair and fear.
You do not get credit for what you whip up - despair and fear.
5
Trump's strength is also his weakness. His gutsy childish imagination has stirred millions of voters with a sense of hope for the future. On the other hand, Trump is "playing with fire." His nasty remarks and wild plans for the nation can spell disaster.
As a Clinton supported, I am hoping that she can learn from Trump and capture the IMAGI-NATION of the nation.
The only thing we have to fear is...Donald Trump
------------------------------------------------------------
As a Clinton supported, I am hoping that she can learn from Trump and capture the IMAGI-NATION of the nation.
The only thing we have to fear is...Donald Trump
------------------------------------------------------------
5
It would seem that Popeye's immortal refrain ... " I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam" ... would apply very well to Mr. Trump.
3
Not sure but after watching her on MSNBC for months now, me thinks Nicole might be ready to jump ship with George Will. Looking forward to her announcing "#Imwithher". Come on Nicole you can do it!
4
Waiting & waiting on Trump to grow up.....
.....not gonna happen. Give up.
.....not gonna happen. Give up.
5
Trump is what the Republican Party has made of itself. Bigotry and racism have been appeals of the Republican Party since Nixon's "Southern Strategy." Republican live in a fact free zone as witnessed by the latest waste of money the Benghazi House Report.
16
The same Republican Party that spent $475 million dollars to destroy Trump is the same Republican party that made Trump?
Seriously Obama liberals, what's wrong with you?
Seriously Obama liberals, what's wrong with you?
2
I've heard many a canned speech from politicians, but never ones like Donald's. They are like a parody of bad political speeches. He is completely mechanical and/or wooden, clearly suppressing his personality, and rolling off cliche criticisms based on zero empirical reality, unable to address an actual issue facing the country if his life depended on it. This election would be a rout if it were not for Hilary's own failings as a candidate (though those failings are not on the same galactic scale as Donald's).
3
Trump's unjustified, persistent and venomous attacks on groups and often specific individuals are the ugliest examples of his strident willingness to use the vilest means to destroy people including self-sacrificing and devoted public servants. This is hardly presidential behavior. The incredible freak happenstance of Trump emerging as an actual presidential candidate ... a sure blow to american prestige in the eyes of the world ... begs for a definitive rebuke of everything Trump stands for with his resounding defeat at the polls in November.
10
It is standard populism to blame all that the base believes wrong about their own lives on some ostensible bogeypeople. China is another scary ogre to Trump, because he knows better than anyone what it is like to be taken to the cleaners by people from Hong Kong.
3
Why does everyone: Nicolle Wallace, TV news anchors and pundits, political journalists write and speak of "Hillary" or "Bernie" and only rarely as Secretary Clinton or Senator Sanders when all invariably address Trump with the respectful honorific of "Mr." ? If ever a doofus should be called Doofus or the more casual and dismissive "Don the Con," it is he.
12
What's more troubling than this election is the thought that this is now the norm going forward-- the race to the bottom idea. Reality TV candidates. We have the end of the Republican Party now, and so next time the Dems join in? And then this trickles down to Governorships and Congressional candidates?
3
Nicole, what's the point? Are you saying this boorish lout of a man is still a viable candidate to become the leader of the free world? I hope not.
I think an American made robot would have done an excellent job as a Republican presidential candidate, had you put in all these efforts of improving this con-man into actually making one.
I think an American made robot would have done an excellent job as a Republican presidential candidate, had you put in all these efforts of improving this con-man into actually making one.
5
Ms. Wallace, whose observations and personality I enjoy, is part of the republican party apparatus that enabled the development of TRUMP.
Where was the outrage when Congressman Joe Wilson called out during the POTUS State of the Union "YOU LIE!". Sure some republicans shook their fingers but little else. Or when highly "respected" GOP consultant Erick Erickson referred to Supreme Court Justice David Souter, on his retirement, as a “goat f...ing child molester!”. Or this wonderful prose by Mr. Erickson, "Regarding the press, Erickson wrote, Obama “could be a serial killing transvestite and the media would turn a blind eye.”
I could go on going back to the days of Lee Atwater and others but my point is made as Ms. Wallace and other republicans, who as long as they advanced their careers, looked the other way as the Party of Lincoln was overtaking by short sided, ill informed, jingoistic charlatans.
I was a loyal republican until 2004. I was State Director for John McCain in CT during his 2000 campaign. In 2004 seeing the Bush administrations waste money from needless wars to "No Child Left Behind" and a move away from embracing a more inclusive party I left and joined the great unwashed, unaffiliated.
Hopefully Ms. Wallace and her friends from Karl Rove to "W" will not simply remain silent but aggressive set forth on a strategy to bring the republican party back to the party that got things done. Right now it’s all hat no cattle.
Where was the outrage when Congressman Joe Wilson called out during the POTUS State of the Union "YOU LIE!". Sure some republicans shook their fingers but little else. Or when highly "respected" GOP consultant Erick Erickson referred to Supreme Court Justice David Souter, on his retirement, as a “goat f...ing child molester!”. Or this wonderful prose by Mr. Erickson, "Regarding the press, Erickson wrote, Obama “could be a serial killing transvestite and the media would turn a blind eye.”
I could go on going back to the days of Lee Atwater and others but my point is made as Ms. Wallace and other republicans, who as long as they advanced their careers, looked the other way as the Party of Lincoln was overtaking by short sided, ill informed, jingoistic charlatans.
I was a loyal republican until 2004. I was State Director for John McCain in CT during his 2000 campaign. In 2004 seeing the Bush administrations waste money from needless wars to "No Child Left Behind" and a move away from embracing a more inclusive party I left and joined the great unwashed, unaffiliated.
Hopefully Ms. Wallace and her friends from Karl Rove to "W" will not simply remain silent but aggressive set forth on a strategy to bring the republican party back to the party that got things done. Right now it’s all hat no cattle.
9
"We are lulled into a false sense of calm when he takes a break from his incessant intraparty trash-talking and racially divisive rhetoric." You are that clueless as to be lulled by Trump's inane rhetoric? No wonder you end this piece with drivel recalling your dating years, you've got some growing up to do.
6
Seriously?
Repubs still believe that if he started "behaving himself" now, that would wipe out his ignorance, his poor character, his extremely shallow understanding of problems, his aversion for learning, his nastiness, his poor judgment, his vengefulness...
I could go on. The guy has proved himself wildly unfit for the office, over and over and over. What image change, what minor threshold of temporary self-control do you really think is going to change that in any substantial way?
You guys worship money. You think he's GOT to be able to swing it if he's been capable enough to earn all that money. But the problem is, that's not true, and for many reasons.
Do the honorable thing. Renounce him. Then look at your own party and why this was even possible.
Repubs still believe that if he started "behaving himself" now, that would wipe out his ignorance, his poor character, his extremely shallow understanding of problems, his aversion for learning, his nastiness, his poor judgment, his vengefulness...
I could go on. The guy has proved himself wildly unfit for the office, over and over and over. What image change, what minor threshold of temporary self-control do you really think is going to change that in any substantial way?
You guys worship money. You think he's GOT to be able to swing it if he's been capable enough to earn all that money. But the problem is, that's not true, and for many reasons.
Do the honorable thing. Renounce him. Then look at your own party and why this was even possible.
10
Ms. Wallace apparently has not learned much since her "dating days." Expecting Trump to change into John Kerry, a sensitive and mature diplomat, is almost amusing.
"Why did you sting me, Mr. Scorpion?" Ms. Wallace must have expected the scorpion to become a Prince.
"Why did you sting me, Mr. Scorpion?" Ms. Wallace must have expected the scorpion to become a Prince.
3
It's funny to read most of these comments because it shows the fear behind of the liberal masses that Hillary is waiting once again for defeat to be snatched from the jaws of victory.
Just a little bit of change from Trump would stroke the hysteria that Hillary, the "most qualified candidate" with the huge untrustworthy poll numbers, would start the death spiral.
Sorry to tell you but I'm afraid its already started. You just may find that folks aren't telling the pollsters the truth. Many more will vote for Trump than are telling. With the liberal condemnation of anything Trump, folks don't want to admit the truth.
The truth is they don't like where the country is going and they really don't like being treated by an elite liberal class and media who tell them they are those gun lovin', Bible tote'n hicks that Obama referenced in 2008.
This is not fishing in a barrel for the Presidency for Hillary. It may be Trump who's doing the fishing. And laughing all the way to the White House.
Just a little bit of change from Trump would stroke the hysteria that Hillary, the "most qualified candidate" with the huge untrustworthy poll numbers, would start the death spiral.
Sorry to tell you but I'm afraid its already started. You just may find that folks aren't telling the pollsters the truth. Many more will vote for Trump than are telling. With the liberal condemnation of anything Trump, folks don't want to admit the truth.
The truth is they don't like where the country is going and they really don't like being treated by an elite liberal class and media who tell them they are those gun lovin', Bible tote'n hicks that Obama referenced in 2008.
This is not fishing in a barrel for the Presidency for Hillary. It may be Trump who's doing the fishing. And laughing all the way to the White House.
1
Trump has more votes than any Republican contestant . So the left need to get their heads out of the sand--Trump tackles the problems head on.
2
The GOP waits for Trump to grow up.
The Democrats wait for Bernie to grow up, concede and endorse.
But...
Trump's still dancing the Hustle at Studio 54.
Sanders is still speechifying on some 1965 campus.
Leopards don't change their spots...or in this case, their liver spots.
The Democrats wait for Bernie to grow up, concede and endorse.
But...
Trump's still dancing the Hustle at Studio 54.
Sanders is still speechifying on some 1965 campus.
Leopards don't change their spots...or in this case, their liver spots.
3
The fools' only choice, indeed. Own it.
2
The Donald will undoubtedly always be The Donald...
His rabid supporters cheer anything he utters, and aren't open to any other opinion. His Republican Leaders and Fence Sitters, would vote for the Devil himself, based on their 30+ year, red misted, abject hatred for HRC.
Why do they hate her so much? If she is as bad as they've been telling us since she first appeared on the national stage, she'll be an epic fail and they'll own the WH for a generation. No, me thinks they know she's not as bad as they say and no they're stuck be between their dog and the tree.
And now it looks like Bernie, and his Potomac Fever blinded Band of Bros, is feeding Trump his new lines to fire up their base.
Make no mistake Trump can win. P.T. Barnum warned us long ago, all he needs to do is fool the majority of the people just one more time. And as John Oliver aptly reminded us, "We don't get a f***ing do-over!
With all the craziness in our world, let sanity rally and lets send the world a message that the USA will once again vanquish the tyrants, lead the way forward to greater prosperity, security, respect and common decency.
His rabid supporters cheer anything he utters, and aren't open to any other opinion. His Republican Leaders and Fence Sitters, would vote for the Devil himself, based on their 30+ year, red misted, abject hatred for HRC.
Why do they hate her so much? If she is as bad as they've been telling us since she first appeared on the national stage, she'll be an epic fail and they'll own the WH for a generation. No, me thinks they know she's not as bad as they say and no they're stuck be between their dog and the tree.
And now it looks like Bernie, and his Potomac Fever blinded Band of Bros, is feeding Trump his new lines to fire up their base.
Make no mistake Trump can win. P.T. Barnum warned us long ago, all he needs to do is fool the majority of the people just one more time. And as John Oliver aptly reminded us, "We don't get a f***ing do-over!
With all the craziness in our world, let sanity rally and lets send the world a message that the USA will once again vanquish the tyrants, lead the way forward to greater prosperity, security, respect and common decency.
10
The entire premise of this piece is disgusting. It says, if Trump were to just "act" like a human being, even though we know he isn't one, we could try to fool enough Americans to get him elected to the highest office, which we know he is not qualified for and should not hold. Disgusting.
17
Also, if The Donald would just learn a little bit about security and counter-terrorism, the Rs could sell him to the American people. Actual knowledge or even a modicum of genuine interest in learning anything about the job he wants, apparently not a requirement. Disgusting, indeed.
3
I am almost impressed, Ms. Wallace, that you dare say anything negative about your candidate...your almost there, but have a long way to go. The bottom line is that Trump doesn't have the gravitas, the intelligence, or the basic decency one expects of any candidate for the presidency. He represents the worst in us as Americans and needs a lot more than maturity to be anywhere near the White House. Do the right thing, Ms. Wallace, and show some real chutzpa and simply denounce him. Then I'll be impressed!
13
As a Black lawyer in Washington DC, watching the 2016 election unfold amidst the ruins of the failed Obama presidency, both sides need to grow up.
What Nicolle Wallace demurs in this op-ed is critical to know.
She is a co-host on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" which means she's part of the self-imagined cabal of smug, self-important, expatriated Washington insiders sitting around on a TV set pretending they have the market cornered on fashion, pop culture and all things hip.
Donald Trump embarrassed Joe Scarborough, host of Morning Joe who is living a midlife crisis before our eyes, dispatching his rural Florida identity in favor of a college freshman's hairdo, fashion sense and smugness as he reinvents himself as a New Yorker who does heady intellectual stuff by day and plays gigs in a band at night.
MSNBC is no safe haven for Trump, and Morning Joe's 180 on Trump is impossible to miss.
Nicolle, one of my law professors once remarked that it is impossible to have an honest conversation without keeping a seat at the table for honesty.
Joe's temper tantrum, and by logical extension yours are part and parcel to this missive that Trump needs to grow up. Perhaps maturity begins at home. For all of us.
What Nicolle Wallace demurs in this op-ed is critical to know.
She is a co-host on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" which means she's part of the self-imagined cabal of smug, self-important, expatriated Washington insiders sitting around on a TV set pretending they have the market cornered on fashion, pop culture and all things hip.
Donald Trump embarrassed Joe Scarborough, host of Morning Joe who is living a midlife crisis before our eyes, dispatching his rural Florida identity in favor of a college freshman's hairdo, fashion sense and smugness as he reinvents himself as a New Yorker who does heady intellectual stuff by day and plays gigs in a band at night.
MSNBC is no safe haven for Trump, and Morning Joe's 180 on Trump is impossible to miss.
Nicolle, one of my law professors once remarked that it is impossible to have an honest conversation without keeping a seat at the table for honesty.
Joe's temper tantrum, and by logical extension yours are part and parcel to this missive that Trump needs to grow up. Perhaps maturity begins at home. For all of us.
4
I could take this piece more seriously if the writer acknowledged that the campaign she served paved the way to Trump by elevating current Trump-surrogate Sarah Palin to the national stage. Thanks for that.
4
I'm not waiting for a New, Improved Trump, Model XXV. Ain't gonna happen. Narcissists don't react to disapproval by thinking about how to change. They become angry, cannot believe that people don't see the world from their amazing point of view, and conclude that it is only a few critics making a loud noise, while everyone else loves them.
4
If you inherit a fortune, run 90% of your businesses into the toilet, how are can you claim to be a success? He appears to rely heavily on others and be emotionally and mentally challenged.
Shouldn't he be eating steak dinners on his airline with his football team and toasting with his water? The GOP is a disgrace. They are either staying home or voting for Clinton. At least she doesn't show signs of going off the rails.
Goodness grace. And where is all his money? This was a ploy to make a buck.
Shouldn't he be eating steak dinners on his airline with his football team and toasting with his water? The GOP is a disgrace. They are either staying home or voting for Clinton. At least she doesn't show signs of going off the rails.
Goodness grace. And where is all his money? This was a ploy to make a buck.
3
Enough has been said about how 'unfit' to govern Trump is. The question
everyone should be asking and working on is:
So what are we going to do about it?
everyone should be asking and working on is:
So what are we going to do about it?
4
"It counts as progress at this point that party leaders have not had any reason to condemn a Trump statement for at least seven days."
His statements in Scotland after the Brexit vote are certainly condemnable (if only because it was obvious that he didn't know what he was talking about)... and they were fewer than seven days ago.
His statements in Scotland after the Brexit vote are certainly condemnable (if only because it was obvious that he didn't know what he was talking about)... and they were fewer than seven days ago.
3
Waiting for Donald Trump to grow up makes about as much sense as waiting for pigs to fly and chickens to grow teeth.
4
The real problem with trump is trump and the fools that support him.
4
I hate to say this but Donald Trump is statistically tied with Hillary Clinton as of this morning according to today's Quinnipiac poll. There, I think I spelled it correctly, Quinnipiac.
What happens if Trump were to become rational? Does he lose outright or sweep the board?
What happens if Trump were to become rational? Does he lose outright or sweep the board?
2
This is an insane little game. GOP leaders are waiting for Trump to pivot, to grow up, to act presidential. They're saying, "Just pretty up the package and we'll 'unite.'" Which is craven almost beyond belief. Almost. Except it has become standard Republican behavior. Trump has shown his hand. Time to paper over his xenophobic, racist inclinations so even more voters will fall for the con. Wow.
6
Ha. Grown up establishment GOP is not what I want. I want the current establishment kicked out and the party reformed. Mr. Trump was a Democrat. He still is in many respects. Both establishments, Democrat and Republican, serve the elite just in different ways.
So "growing up" is now an euphemism for ceasing to be a liar and a fascist? Headlines like this work into the hands of the fascists by helping them pass as regular politicians. Shame on fascist enablers in the GOP and in the Times. Looks like it's time to cancel my subscription.
4
spare us the endless partisan. oh nicole, who knew she was so conflicted -- struggling with always choosing the wrong male mate, while foisting sarah palin on us. it does not matter to this woman that trump (or palin) is an idiot and a racist and a grifter. despicable.
5
Enough prevarication from Republican pundits. It is not Mr. Trump's bluster that is the problem. If elected he will no longer just be giving speeches at rallies. He will be setting our foreign policy, he will be meeting with world leaders and he will be the Commander in Chief of the military. This is not simply fodder for news channels and late--night talk show hosts. You all failed to stop him once. You cannot fail again. This is our country and you are not taking the risk seriously enough.
The only sure-fire way to stop Mr. Trump is for you all to tell everyone that you are going to vote for Hillary and that they should too. Third-party and write-in votes or simply staying at home still risk a Trump victory, You say, "I just can't bring myself to do that," and I understand it's a big ask. So here's the compromise: 1) Announce you will vote for Mrs. Clinton and tell your fellow Republicans that they should all show up at the polls and vote for her too, and 2) tell them that they all also need to vote for Republicans in all the down-ballot races. This would stop Trump from becoming President but severely limit what Mrs. Clinton could do. Personally, I'd prefer the Republicans stay home and give the White House and the Senate if not the House to the Dems, but I prefer 4 more years of acrimony and gridlock to even one day of President Trump.
The only sure-fire way to stop Mr. Trump is for you all to tell everyone that you are going to vote for Hillary and that they should too. Third-party and write-in votes or simply staying at home still risk a Trump victory, You say, "I just can't bring myself to do that," and I understand it's a big ask. So here's the compromise: 1) Announce you will vote for Mrs. Clinton and tell your fellow Republicans that they should all show up at the polls and vote for her too, and 2) tell them that they all also need to vote for Republicans in all the down-ballot races. This would stop Trump from becoming President but severely limit what Mrs. Clinton could do. Personally, I'd prefer the Republicans stay home and give the White House and the Senate if not the House to the Dems, but I prefer 4 more years of acrimony and gridlock to even one day of President Trump.
4
"Our voters, in decisive numbers, picked a guy who embarrasses us."
Ms. Wallace, you should be embarrassed. I myself am profoundly embarrassed by your former boss, George W. Bush. The GOP is rotten to the core, and anyone with any shred of integrity or respect for this country should have quit the party as soon as Trump became the presumptive nominee.
Save us the hand wringing. You and your ilk are responsible for this shameful development.
Ms. Wallace, you should be embarrassed. I myself am profoundly embarrassed by your former boss, George W. Bush. The GOP is rotten to the core, and anyone with any shred of integrity or respect for this country should have quit the party as soon as Trump became the presumptive nominee.
Save us the hand wringing. You and your ilk are responsible for this shameful development.
9
Trump does not deserve credit for anything. All he has done is play to the irrational fears of the ignorant. This is the problem with journalists and how they approach Trump. They legitimize his dishonesty and incoherent positions by saying things like "he deserves credit for..."
6
But Ms. Wallace will still support him. She ignores all his bigotry and worries about him getting off message. If only the just read from teh teleprompter. Whe is a large part of the problem in this country.
4
Under the current psychiatric classification, there are four Cluster B personality disorders: Narcissistic, Histrionic, Borderline, and Antisocial.
It's challenging to deal with someone who has just one of those disorders. His behaviors over his lifetime, magnified during the course of his campaign, should be enough to diagnose him with ALL of the Cluster B personality disorders.
It's challenging to deal with someone who has just one of those disorders. His behaviors over his lifetime, magnified during the course of his campaign, should be enough to diagnose him with ALL of the Cluster B personality disorders.
5
We're a capitalist society, and we reward a great salesman. Mr. Trump deserves admiration and respect for his persuasiveness, his fierce competitiveness, his confidence, his ability make an escape from messes in ways no one else would dare imagine, and for speaking to the deep longing of segments of our population. I give it to him wholeheartedly. I like and admire all of that, and I'm a lifelong democrat who will never vote for him.
The problem of Trump is much deeper and more fundamental than campaigning problems--he doesn't belong in governement. He is dictatorial by nature, has no knowledge, no experience with policy and governing. There's just absolutely no path from his cv to the Office, except through rallies--where he is, stumbling or not, incredibly impressive--from his authoritative false statements, to his teflon-ability to turn 180, with no consequence to the polls; it's an Art of a Deal of a magnitude we have never seen before.
But none of the hundreds of millions of us, of any stripe, would trust and pay a surgeon, a lawyer, a plumber, a gardener, a musician with no education or resume on the topic, yet millions of these same people are willing to give the most powerful position in the world to one such person. The issue is--how do you let them down?--push them to to process the essential need for honorability, diplomacy, and simple knowledge of governing before we are all crushed by that singular and overwhelming skill selling?
The problem of Trump is much deeper and more fundamental than campaigning problems--he doesn't belong in governement. He is dictatorial by nature, has no knowledge, no experience with policy and governing. There's just absolutely no path from his cv to the Office, except through rallies--where he is, stumbling or not, incredibly impressive--from his authoritative false statements, to his teflon-ability to turn 180, with no consequence to the polls; it's an Art of a Deal of a magnitude we have never seen before.
But none of the hundreds of millions of us, of any stripe, would trust and pay a surgeon, a lawyer, a plumber, a gardener, a musician with no education or resume on the topic, yet millions of these same people are willing to give the most powerful position in the world to one such person. The issue is--how do you let them down?--push them to to process the essential need for honorability, diplomacy, and simple knowledge of governing before we are all crushed by that singular and overwhelming skill selling?
6
Oh please Nicole, you are kidding me with this op Ed. We have been waiting for the Republican Party to grow up for the last 8 or more years. The republican elites like you have ruined our party with their far right stances on social issues and their inability to move to the center on most other issues. Additionally, the republican elites have led us to defeat in the last two elections; who ever thought that Sara Palin could possibly have been a good VP candidate??? The elites of the Republican Party also blew their chance to win senate seats in many states including Nevada. So spare me your indignation on Donald Trumps candidacy.
9
"...pokes fun at prisoners of war for getting captured in the first place." There was no fun poked at Senator McCain for getting captured. Trump insulted McCain for getting captured, by saying he preferred war hero's who didn't get captured. No one saw Trump anywhere near Viet Nam just as no one saw W in the Texas Air Guard. Trump has put words to the true republican tenets, rather than talk around them as the GOP has been so good at to woo their followers, who must not be either too bright or listening. No, Trump is not going to change, for anyone. Either the GOP establishment dethrones Trump at their convention, or they deservedly all go down with the ship in November. It's the end of the extreme right, neofascist GOP, and good riddance
10
A more accurate psychological description of Mr Trump is "narcissistic", i.e. complete self absorption. Not anti-social, not severely hostile, not intentionally cruel, but always overbearing because narcissists do not share an emotional world with others. The only point of view they can make sense of is their own. The Republicans are struggling to make sense of a presidential candidate with a personality disorder.
12
I have watched this woman on TV trying to explain the rise of T rump and its implications. With other republican elites, the question is always why? No where do I hear any contrition for creating this monster. After 50 years of stirring up the fear of any one different from the white, southern, rural "values" voters without doing one positive or concrete thing to make their lives better there was no way that a T rump would not arise.
Had your party worked with Obama to get infrastructure projects going, employing millions of American; had your not party not put party before Nation the last 50 years; you would have been able to nominate somebody who wasn't a scam artist, bloviating, demagogue. And that person might have stood a chance to get elected.
Now America waits with held breath for your party to implode and let the rest of us get back to work. Making America.... America.
Had your party worked with Obama to get infrastructure projects going, employing millions of American; had your not party not put party before Nation the last 50 years; you would have been able to nominate somebody who wasn't a scam artist, bloviating, demagogue. And that person might have stood a chance to get elected.
Now America waits with held breath for your party to implode and let the rest of us get back to work. Making America.... America.
13
If Trump changed to be like the other Republican leaders, he would lose.
Hillary would prefer to compete against a traditional Republican candidate so the usual choose of sunny side up or scrambled is in play.
Trump is offering french toast or pancakes and Hillary is baffled.
Hillary would prefer to compete against a traditional Republican candidate so the usual choose of sunny side up or scrambled is in play.
Trump is offering french toast or pancakes and Hillary is baffled.
3
Trump can't change; if he does, he'll lose his most fervent supporters. The reason is simple: When he reads a prepared speech, he is boring.
If you take the Wallace and Sanders Op-Eds as companion pieces, I think the only logical conclusion is that Trump has no intention of uniting The Republican Party, nor should he if he wants to be elected.
He is drawing the disaffected from both parties - in other words, creating his own third party candidacy, which happens to be labeled "Republican" for ballot purposes.
He's a RINO on steroids, but could just as easily been a DINO.
Note to Establishment of all stripes: get used to it. Soon-to-be-President Trump has enough support in OH, PA, FL, to easily offset the number of voters who cost Mitt the last election.
He is drawing the disaffected from both parties - in other words, creating his own third party candidacy, which happens to be labeled "Republican" for ballot purposes.
He's a RINO on steroids, but could just as easily been a DINO.
Note to Establishment of all stripes: get used to it. Soon-to-be-President Trump has enough support in OH, PA, FL, to easily offset the number of voters who cost Mitt the last election.
2
If America doesn't grow up, why would that racist puffbag? Let's be clear: Trump will be whomever we ask him to be, he has no integrity. The American people are begging to hear a largely inarticulate bigoted insult comic tear into Hilary and anyone else they've been told to hate.
2
Just look who she used to work for. One, Mcain, a loser in so many ways including his military record and the other, GWBush, a war criminal who is still running around free for some reason.
I know fair and balanced unlike Fixed Noise propaganda, but why does the NYT allow such obvious specious deceptions?! Maybe she is the one who needs to grow up along with all the Republican'ts and their ilk! They are getting what they deserve as the chickens have come home to roost with Trump since Reagan. At least we have an adult currently in The White House and another in Hillary about to enter The White House next year, thankfully for this nation and this earth.
Just another reason to vote ONLY Democrat 2016 and shove the Republican'ts and their voters and supporters so far back that they'll never recover and end up in the trash heap of history where they belong. C'mon Americans, let's join the civilized world and 21st century in 2016 rather than go backward to the first century where the Republican'ts wish us to be.
I know fair and balanced unlike Fixed Noise propaganda, but why does the NYT allow such obvious specious deceptions?! Maybe she is the one who needs to grow up along with all the Republican'ts and their ilk! They are getting what they deserve as the chickens have come home to roost with Trump since Reagan. At least we have an adult currently in The White House and another in Hillary about to enter The White House next year, thankfully for this nation and this earth.
Just another reason to vote ONLY Democrat 2016 and shove the Republican'ts and their voters and supporters so far back that they'll never recover and end up in the trash heap of history where they belong. C'mon Americans, let's join the civilized world and 21st century in 2016 rather than go backward to the first century where the Republican'ts wish us to be.
5
Plenty to dislike about McCain's politics and the GOP, but I think it's beyond dispute that he has more than paid for whatever mistakes that may have blemished his military record. True, he was not at the top of his Academy class, but (speaking from personal experience), that's true of a great many people. For a tuition free institution yielding excellent opportunities upon graduation, it would probably surprise you to learn how many people never graduate. In any case, when called upon, McCain both reported for duty and gave more than most in a war that was worse than most. That is not true of many people in politics (or in general).
"Before he flew to Scotland last week, Mr. Trump delivered a professionally written speech from a teleprompter criticizing Mrs. Clinton. "
A "professionally written speech"... which was 75% lies. (yes, I estimated that 75%... but it's not far from what it would be if analyzed).
A "professionally written speech"... which was 75% lies. (yes, I estimated that 75%... but it's not far from what it would be if analyzed).
6
The notion that Trump is speaking to the "economic despair" of the Republican base is polite speak or wishful thinking at this point. This is all about racism (including Islamaphobia), sexism and the worship of anti-intellectualism. The saddest part of all of this is that Republicans who are none of the above are still trying to normalize his candidacy or waiting for it to normalize. Just don't. Please don't.
5
Maybe we've been following the "intellectuals" too long?
I have fished the same streams for 35 years. I go back instead of exploring because I catch fish. Why would he change a thing. Look at where it got him. He beat them all.
1
Your analogy doesn't work. The Republican primaries are not the same stream as the general election.
1
Trump is poisoning the GOP which has been poisoning U.S. politics.
3
"He vanquished the aspirations of 16 accomplished rivals"? That's an assessment of this year's Republican debate/debacle that I haven't seen before.
5
Honestly, I think the man is actually trying to lose.
4
Isn't the term " poked fun at" a little lame in describing The Donald's comment regarding Senator McCain? I "poke fun at" my sister for wearing a silly outfit. The Donald compared a war hero being tortured for five years to his heroic avoidance of gonorrhea while dating. I would say this was beyond poking fun. His comment, for me, just showed he is a clueless, arrogant carnival barker with no experience of life, let alone politics. . .
7
I just can't fathom the thinking behind this piece. What, exactly, is your point Nicole? Your party has put forward an ignorant and unstable clown as its choice to run the United States of America. Donald Trump's rise is an insult to this country.
"the truth is that he won decisively because he speaks directly and plainly to the anxieties that the Republican base feels." And the plain and direct talk that excites the Republican base is that he "disparages women, mocks disabled people and pokes fun at prisoners of war for getting captured in the first place."
And, so, what? You are put out because he's blowing your shot at the White House?
Amazing.
"the truth is that he won decisively because he speaks directly and plainly to the anxieties that the Republican base feels." And the plain and direct talk that excites the Republican base is that he "disparages women, mocks disabled people and pokes fun at prisoners of war for getting captured in the first place."
And, so, what? You are put out because he's blowing your shot at the White House?
Amazing.
7
He will not change.
I am reminded of the old baseball adage.
"Go with the one that brung you."
Trump beat all of his Republican rivals by the scorched earth policy he is waging. He believes he is the brightest, smartest guy in the room. His pride is full but remains unsated.
He really believes he does not need anybody's advice or experience.
OK! Let him go with the one that brung him. Fine by me.
Let him burn those bridges.
But there is something other than the baseball adage that comes to mind.
Narcissus at the edge of the pool. He stared at his reflection until he died.
Keep believing in your intelligence Mr Trump. Think of yourself as the handsome man models cannot help but fall in love with.
America will be better for it. Your self-destructive impulses will take you down instead of the country.
He is now narcissus looking at his reflection
I am reminded of the old baseball adage.
"Go with the one that brung you."
Trump beat all of his Republican rivals by the scorched earth policy he is waging. He believes he is the brightest, smartest guy in the room. His pride is full but remains unsated.
He really believes he does not need anybody's advice or experience.
OK! Let him go with the one that brung him. Fine by me.
Let him burn those bridges.
But there is something other than the baseball adage that comes to mind.
Narcissus at the edge of the pool. He stared at his reflection until he died.
Keep believing in your intelligence Mr Trump. Think of yourself as the handsome man models cannot help but fall in love with.
America will be better for it. Your self-destructive impulses will take you down instead of the country.
He is now narcissus looking at his reflection
1
True story from 1970 or so. I stood near the anti-war leaders by happenstance as they lined a small platform at the front of a mass of several hundred protesters on campus. The protest went along fine--some speeches, some songs--and then the mistake that the leader of a crowd should never make, a question to the people: "Who has a suggestion now?" The answer came right away from somewhere in the bunch: "March on Kamm's house!" and the crowd turned and took off down the street.
Now, Kamm was the president of the university, so marching to his house, I guess, made sense of some sort. But as the crowd took off, shouting along the way, the leaders--now in the rear--were yelling, "You're going the wrong way! You''re going the wrong way!" And so they were. But nobody heard them over the noise. So the crowd disappeared down the road, no one knowing where they were going at all.
The republican bosses spent a long time jazzing up their crowd. But now the crazy guy has yelled his suggestion and taken the bunch down the street yelling, going the wrong way. It's hard to have sympathy for the bosses; they've had it coming for a while. But the crowd? Now, that's a problem for us all.
Now, Kamm was the president of the university, so marching to his house, I guess, made sense of some sort. But as the crowd took off, shouting along the way, the leaders--now in the rear--were yelling, "You're going the wrong way! You''re going the wrong way!" And so they were. But nobody heard them over the noise. So the crowd disappeared down the road, no one knowing where they were going at all.
The republican bosses spent a long time jazzing up their crowd. But now the crazy guy has yelled his suggestion and taken the bunch down the street yelling, going the wrong way. It's hard to have sympathy for the bosses; they've had it coming for a while. But the crowd? Now, that's a problem for us all.
12
I have little to no respect for George Will, but, he evidently has far more honor and respectability than the author of this. If you hate Trump, and any decent person should, then do something about it.
12
Well said Michael. Trumps a racist, sexist, mean spirited pig but hey as long as he keeps his opinions to himself and reads from a teleprompter all's well to Nicole Wallace and her Repub friends. After all its about winning and who cares about morals or ethics.
1
Maybe Reagan Democrats are such suckers for snake-oil peddlers because they calculate the odds are in their favor to win Powerball so they could carry on like Trump too.
3
If the GOP establishment is concerned that Trump can't act "grown up" for an extended time prior to the election ... why do they think he can act grown up for 4 years as President when he's not trying to woo voters? Because being President is a grown up job. It concerns me that - like Brexit - many voters aren't thinking through the consequences of their vote.
6
Whoa, What about that constant whine we hear from the left, or that silly accent you put on whenever a Mexican or Mexican American walks in the room. Me thinks that there is enough silliness and stupid to go around in this campaign. Sorry Democrats but we are getting the nominees that we deserve.
1
I don't know what disappoints me more: the fact that he is the GOP's presumptive nominee, or the fact that in the latest polls he is running neck and neck with Clinton.
4
"Mr. Trump is waiting for party leaders to stop reprimanding him for ... his politically incorrect utterances"
Mr. Trump's utterances have nothing to do with political correctness. It is about humane correctness and civil discourse. I'm tired of the anti-PC crowd ignoring the offensive words spouted, and their lack of empathy. Just because certain names, phrases, or action don't offend the anti-PC'er, it doesn't mean it is an appropriate way to address another human being. As the article asserts, this is something Mr. Trump will never learn until he "grow up".
Mr. Trump's utterances have nothing to do with political correctness. It is about humane correctness and civil discourse. I'm tired of the anti-PC crowd ignoring the offensive words spouted, and their lack of empathy. Just because certain names, phrases, or action don't offend the anti-PC'er, it doesn't mean it is an appropriate way to address another human being. As the article asserts, this is something Mr. Trump will never learn until he "grow up".
3
Donald Trump reminds me a Toys R Us ad in TV where a grown up man playing and saying " I do not want to grow up, I am a Toys R Us kid'. He can not and will not grow up. I am scared that God forbid he may get the power to put his finger on the Nuclear key. Because he is thin skinned and an immature politician. He has no idea about our constitution, how he can uphold it. He is politically ignorant. His moral character and honesty is very much questionable. He cheated his workers and vendors when he declared bankruptcy 5 times. He may call it was business but it is really shortchanging small people.
4
What with the nonsense that Trump could be a stateman? He is a bully who might put make up on but Trump remains a ridiculous liar and a lot more.
6
"he vanquished the aspirations of 16 accomplished rivals"
Fifteen clowns all fighting to be the most outrageous candidate lost to the guy who owns the franchise on asininity. The one adult in the room was left with no oxygen.
Fifteen clowns all fighting to be the most outrageous candidate lost to the guy who owns the franchise on asininity. The one adult in the room was left with no oxygen.
5
Trump is the most disgusting mainstream candidate in the history of America. It's not even close. Already, Mexican and Muslim minorities are having discrimination heaped on them all across America because of the nasty venom constantly spewed out by this high energy hate monger. And we will remember the all the media people who helped enable this despicable monster.
9
The Republican convention will resemble Jonestown more than Cleveland. Anyone who speaks for this man will be committing political suicide.
5
We could also ask when is Hillary Rodham Clinton going to grow up. She has the naively optimistic view that the United States can go into other countries, especially those with cultures radically different from our own, and re-make them to resemble ours. Syria, Libya, and Ukraine are 3 examples where, as Secretary of State, she sent in Americans to topple the leader in hopes that the countries would become more like the U.S.. Her representatives organized and equipped traditional opposition to Assad, and now Syria has been in a years long civil war with many dead, others displaced, and ISIS in charge of major areas.
Secretary Clinton convinced President Obama to enact a “No Fly Zone” over Libya so his traditional enemies could do away with him. ISIS was already in Libya. Qaddafi was limiting where they could go and what they could do. Clinton's “No Fly Zone” was to their advantage. Now ISIS controls much of the Libyan coast, one of Africa's exit points to Europe.
Secretary Clinton also took it upon herself to organize opposition to the duly-elected Ukrainian president. Her representatives handed out money to bring various groups together in order to topple the president. Instead of a peaceful election campaign, a mob made the president flee, out of fear for what it might do next. And now we are in a Cold War with Russia,
Clinton is like an idealistic adolescent. She thinks America has the duty to make every country like our own.
Secretary Clinton convinced President Obama to enact a “No Fly Zone” over Libya so his traditional enemies could do away with him. ISIS was already in Libya. Qaddafi was limiting where they could go and what they could do. Clinton's “No Fly Zone” was to their advantage. Now ISIS controls much of the Libyan coast, one of Africa's exit points to Europe.
Secretary Clinton also took it upon herself to organize opposition to the duly-elected Ukrainian president. Her representatives handed out money to bring various groups together in order to topple the president. Instead of a peaceful election campaign, a mob made the president flee, out of fear for what it might do next. And now we are in a Cold War with Russia,
Clinton is like an idealistic adolescent. She thinks America has the duty to make every country like our own.
2
I agree with all of these points, and I did not vote for Hillary in the primary because of them. And I didn't vote for her in 2008, either, because she was too hawkish. I still think that. But I will be damned sure be voting for her now because she'll definitely way better than Trump. She has a grip on reality and could be trusted to sit in a meeting a world leader whose support is important to us without being obnoxious and hurting that relationship. I think regardless of who is elected (and there are only two choices on the menu), we're going to see more military action by the US, more meddling around the world. Or maybe not. The Republicans, who are usually all for anything involving bombs or war, and who have constantly called Obama weak when he thought it better not to get involved somewhere militarily, will suddenly make it their main goal in life to oppose absolutely everything she does as president and obstruct things. So if she does get too bellicose, there will be a counter to that, at least. In any case, she's way better than Trump.
2
The Democrats wait and wait for their focus grouped, teleprompted, corporate vetted mannequin of ambition duct taped to a resume to make an utterance that isn't contrived pandering.
Just one. And they wait some more...
Just one. And they wait some more...
1
Trump is a mirror image of the Republican Party and it's less than educated members who not smart enough or been brain washed by Faux News and old Rush to continue to vote against their own self-interest.
These voters continue to vote and elect politicians who do not have the voter's interest in mind. Guess these Republican voters keep forgetting who made it possible for the 1% to gain so much at the expense of the other 99%.
These voters continue to vote and elect politicians who do not have the voter's interest in mind. Guess these Republican voters keep forgetting who made it possible for the 1% to gain so much at the expense of the other 99%.
6
Bald faced article showing the dishonesty of the writer. They clearly cannot see Trump, morally, as the right person to lead our nation, but continue to hope that Trump will hang enough window dressing on himself to allow the Republican party to back him in the election. This window dressing is just like all those pundits that talk about a "pivot" after the primaries. This is just another way of saying the politician is not who they say, but is who they need to be for any one audience. Disgusting politicians and talking heads.
1
TRump proudly makes essentially exclusive use of that oldest layer of the brain, the Reptilian brain.
This of course appeals to his base. Any thinking person would renounce him as a mental midget and totally unqualified. And it is evident he will never change.
Are there any thinking repubs out there.
This of course appeals to his base. Any thinking person would renounce him as a mental midget and totally unqualified. And it is evident he will never change.
Are there any thinking repubs out there.
4
There's way too much dissecting of the Trump anomaly in the search for rational answers. What most Liberal Democrats don't want to believe, or understand, is that a vast swath of the American people are mad as hell at Washington and they want a change. So they're gravitating to the antithesis of what they've got. It really doesn't matter what Trump says or does or how much money he doesn't raise. His message gains kinetic energy with every crisis that occurs on or off the shores of our nation. The Liberal Democrats will continue to fight on the battleground of principle but that's not where the fight's at; it's over on the battleground of raw emotion and the Trump ranks are in charge.
4
I live in Oklahoma, so of course I know what you mean. The emotional high of anger (and most of these people are NOT poor or struggling--it is an emotional high more than a response to oppression), and their knee-jerk hatred of democrats since Civil Rights impel them. And you're right; no appeal to logic matters to them. But short of hitting them on the head with bats (not our style or good for anyone), we won't change most of them. That's why we have to find and energize those who DO care about principle, who reason more than shout, to work hard now and to get out the vote--in such numbers that no vote-suppressing chicanery can touch. I believe we can. If we can't, if a mob does rule, then democracy in fact cannot work here anymore, and we'll have to deal with that fact then, as best we can.
4
Psst - I'm a liberal who's mad as hell and I suppose I count in the polls as a mad as hell American. The difference is that I'm mad as hell because of republican obstruction and refusal to legislate, their constant and foolish attempts to repeal the ACA and now choosing Donald Trump as their ridiculous candidate. So in choosing a candidate that assuages your anger you've greatly increased mine.
6
Like the parents of any spoiled child Republicans are shocked and dismayed when their offspring embarrasses them. And, like the parents of a spoiled child they are unwilling to see that they are looking at their own reflection.
20
How Trump unintentionally managed to insult Scotland by being there and then supporting Brexit is a Saturday Night Winner. But how some people, like Ms. Wallace, continue to find positives because he is a Republican is less funny.
17
"He deserves credit for acknowledging their economic despair and mounting fears about Islamic extremism."
Economic despair? I've heard that his fans average an income of around $70,000 per year.
I'm not impressed by the scapegoating either.
Economic despair? I've heard that his fans average an income of around $70,000 per year.
I'm not impressed by the scapegoating either.
9
Most of Trump's successes are due to the media coverage and controversy's that they stir up; if they reported on him without so much flair and debate and backed off on debating him; his base would start to fall apart
6
I can almost feeling sorry for him waiting to change. But since Trump is just echoing back the beliefs the GOP cultivated and/or tolerated in the base for eight years, they have no one to blame but themselves.
11
"...disparages women, mocks disabled people and pokes fun at prisoners of war for getting captured in the first place"
+ hurls taunts like a 10-year-old, lies habitually and pathologically, can't finish a sentence, changes positions as frequently as socks, accuses judge of bias for being of Mexican descent
and in the last seven days, declares he will start a trade war claiming we're being "raped, "adopt the torturing and terrorist methods of our adversaries.
Today? Who knows?
I would have thought these were disqualifying. Do you suppose it's accidental he chose to run as a Republican?
+ hurls taunts like a 10-year-old, lies habitually and pathologically, can't finish a sentence, changes positions as frequently as socks, accuses judge of bias for being of Mexican descent
and in the last seven days, declares he will start a trade war claiming we're being "raped, "adopt the torturing and terrorist methods of our adversaries.
Today? Who knows?
I would have thought these were disqualifying. Do you suppose it's accidental he chose to run as a Republican?
16
Trump suffers from narcissistic personality disorder. He's not going to change. He can't change. All a narcissist cares about is attention and admiration. He's not going to start learning about policy or issues because that would mean admitting he doesn't know those things. People don't admire ignorance so he just insists that he doesn't need to know anything. He has a good brain, okay? His flip flopping on positions? Of course. He says whatever is necessary at any given moment to get the people present to admire him. When the media point out his lies, he lashes out at them because they are not giving him the admiration he believes he deserves. He's not going to change before the convention or before November or after he's in the White House -- some personality disorders are treatable; his is not.
20
Someone please tell me how Obama is such an adult. When radical Islamic terrorists kill people in the US, he blames republicans, the NRA, Christianity, and anyone who disagrees with him. When radical Islamic terrorists kill people in other countries, he says it is because he is winning the war against them.
The reason terrorism is on the rise is that Obama refuses to acknowledge the real threat. Just like a two year old with a hammer, everything is a nail, and in this case, that means that republicans are to blame for everything in the World today.
And remember when Elizabeth Warren challenged Obama on free trade, and his response was like a spoiled, petulant child?
"She is absolutely wrong," the president argued. "Think about the logic of that, right? The notion that I had this massive fight with Wall Street to make sure that we don't repeat what happened in 2007, 2008 [the recession], and then I sign a provision what would unravel it? ... I'd have to be pretty stupid."
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/ken-walshs-washington/2015/05/11/obama-...
Real mature, Barack...
I despise Trump, but I hate the press that pretends that Obama is the most intelligent, competent, and mature person in history, when the facts prove he has many faults that he has failed to correct. And I also despise the NY Times readers who remain ignorant, but think themselves informed and intelligent because they all drink his Kool-Aid.
The reason terrorism is on the rise is that Obama refuses to acknowledge the real threat. Just like a two year old with a hammer, everything is a nail, and in this case, that means that republicans are to blame for everything in the World today.
And remember when Elizabeth Warren challenged Obama on free trade, and his response was like a spoiled, petulant child?
"She is absolutely wrong," the president argued. "Think about the logic of that, right? The notion that I had this massive fight with Wall Street to make sure that we don't repeat what happened in 2007, 2008 [the recession], and then I sign a provision what would unravel it? ... I'd have to be pretty stupid."
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/ken-walshs-washington/2015/05/11/obama-...
Real mature, Barack...
I despise Trump, but I hate the press that pretends that Obama is the most intelligent, competent, and mature person in history, when the facts prove he has many faults that he has failed to correct. And I also despise the NY Times readers who remain ignorant, but think themselves informed and intelligent because they all drink his Kool-Aid.
1
There is also the possibility that you, yourself, lack the maturity to discern which one is the adult in the room.
2
You're absolutely right - if only Obama would use the term 'radical Islam', then certainly your skies would open, a rainbow would appear and all terrorists would lay down their weapons and see the error of their ways. That's all you think is required? Who is being a baby now?
I never heard the President blame Republicans for terrorists' actions. I have heard him ask for tighter gun laws - I know lots of Republicans who agree with that. Not the Republicans in Congress but that's because they are bought and paid for by the NRA. That's just a fact.
I think the President walks the fine line with a clear head, just what is desperately needed in these difficult times. Words are important - using the wrong words would give terrorists the recruitment propaganda they could use to get more American citizens to join their demented forces.
President Obama is doing fine - you need to get a grip.
I never heard the President blame Republicans for terrorists' actions. I have heard him ask for tighter gun laws - I know lots of Republicans who agree with that. Not the Republicans in Congress but that's because they are bought and paid for by the NRA. That's just a fact.
I think the President walks the fine line with a clear head, just what is desperately needed in these difficult times. Words are important - using the wrong words would give terrorists the recruitment propaganda they could use to get more American citizens to join their demented forces.
President Obama is doing fine - you need to get a grip.
6
Obama can articulate with logic and a comprehensive understanding of relevant facts why he takes a position. Often, the issues he's facing have no single right answer or no rught answer at all. But we can trust the president to think the issue through with integrity, to consult with highly knowledgeable advisors, and to focus on what's best for the nation and our common humanity.
Trump fails on all those points.
Trump fails on all those points.
5
Come on, folks! As long as we keep thinking he can't win, he can. Right now we each have to start explaining to our friends and family members that they need to be standing in those lines (the long lines brought on by the GOP) to vote for Hillary and especially for the Democratic Senate and House candidates.
17
Trump gives a "normal" speech when a normal (if somewhat venal) speechwriter writes one for him to give, and Trump deigns to give it as written. Other than that, it's Trump, who is nothing like normal. And the scary part is that it's that man, the bizarre man, the crazy fella, whom his followers want to lead them. It's the guy who darkly mutters, "Something's going on", as if he's in a schizophrenic bad place, that they most agree with. It's the guy who tells them to punch out people, the one who says he'll think about it, and then decides not to kill reporters--that's the one they love. No need for editorials-- it's all very clear and easy to say: this man is unfit to be president of anything except his own demented fan club; he would succeed well at that. And we should keep an eye on him even then.
21
When he gives one of those scripted speeches he is sooooo boooring.
He can't go against his nature. Any more than a rattlesnake or scorpion can.
He can't go against his nature. Any more than a rattlesnake or scorpion can.
1
Will the "real" Donald Trump please stand up? He has and it's not the one reading from a teleprompter. If he really understood that being President requires a certain standard of appropriate behavior (yes, that still matters even though being politically correct is declining ). I'm speaking for myself, of course. Unfortunately, we have people supporting him who really don't care how crudely he behaves. I think of the times when people say, "I'm just being honest" after insulting someone. Unfortunately, Trump will embarrass the whole country if he becomes President.
16
This isn't complicated. Trump is mentally and emotionally unstable, with profound narcissism. He cannot change or evolve.
17
So much analysis and so much insight and so many words wasted on a vapid, empty, vain, egotist.
8
Lawrence O'Donnell summed it up well last week about Trump. The man is intellectually lazy. He doesn't want to put in the hard work of learning about government policy, about trade deals, about foreign policy, about anything else related to government.
Instead, he just wants to fall back on stereotypes and vague promises about how he will fix things without any specifics. Look past his bigotry and misogyny and you see someone who doesn't have the patience to learn the details and skills necessary to be good in politics. If he hadn't been born into a wealthy family, I imagine he would be one of these late night car salesmen staring at the camera with a mountain lion or bear by his side. He is a performer and nothing else.
Instead, he just wants to fall back on stereotypes and vague promises about how he will fix things without any specifics. Look past his bigotry and misogyny and you see someone who doesn't have the patience to learn the details and skills necessary to be good in politics. If he hadn't been born into a wealthy family, I imagine he would be one of these late night car salesmen staring at the camera with a mountain lion or bear by his side. He is a performer and nothing else.
11
"As I recall all too well from my dating days, waiting for a man to change is a fool’s errand, but in the case of Mr. Trump, it may be the fools’ only choice."
No, there is another choice -- repudiation -- but the GOP is too unprincipled to repudiate the monster it created through decades of dogwhistle appeals to the electorate's uneducated racists, bigots and unreconstructed Confederates. For all his faults -- and can anyone think of a single thing about Trump that ISN'T a fault? -- that is the man the GOP is nonetheless intent on foisting upon the American people and the world stage. Does anyone seriously think that a majority of voters can be persuaded to believe that a 70 year old man -- a career A-hole of the first order -- is going to change who he is because he learns to read what he is supposed to think from a teleprompter? Those distressed by his rally rants should brace themselves for his state of the union addresses. And how awkward it will be when a President Trump brings a teleprompter to his meetings with Putin or Xi Jinping or the Pope? The man is certifiably unstable and the only path forward for a desperate GOP is to admit it and perhaps regain a modicum of its respectability. Trump's credibility is long ago shot; it is the GOP's credibility that is on the line now.
No, there is another choice -- repudiation -- but the GOP is too unprincipled to repudiate the monster it created through decades of dogwhistle appeals to the electorate's uneducated racists, bigots and unreconstructed Confederates. For all his faults -- and can anyone think of a single thing about Trump that ISN'T a fault? -- that is the man the GOP is nonetheless intent on foisting upon the American people and the world stage. Does anyone seriously think that a majority of voters can be persuaded to believe that a 70 year old man -- a career A-hole of the first order -- is going to change who he is because he learns to read what he is supposed to think from a teleprompter? Those distressed by his rally rants should brace themselves for his state of the union addresses. And how awkward it will be when a President Trump brings a teleprompter to his meetings with Putin or Xi Jinping or the Pope? The man is certifiably unstable and the only path forward for a desperate GOP is to admit it and perhaps regain a modicum of its respectability. Trump's credibility is long ago shot; it is the GOP's credibility that is on the line now.
14
th gop powers were against him before they were for him
th press fears him bc reporters are afraid hell call them fat pigs
th press fears him bc reporters are afraid hell call them fat pigs
Trump is 70. This doesn't bode well for those who hope for blossoming maturity.
More likely, his frontal lobes will continue to shrivel and he'll become even less able to control his nasty outbursts and illogical thinking.
More likely, his frontal lobes will continue to shrivel and he'll become even less able to control his nasty outbursts and illogical thinking.
14
a schizoid tourette sufferer ?
may be a medical first
may be a medical first
Trump waits for no one Ms. Wallace. (And why should he grow up or behave like an adult? There has never been any negative consequence to his bratty behavior, at least any he could detect.) And, in the wake of the Brexit vote, I am thinking about cashing out of most my investments. While you parade goers/clown car chauffeurs on the right stand by with mouths agape (and the Berners brawl), the Macy's Day Donald Trump balloon swells to a Hindenburg, sans anchors. I am worried that the world as we know it may crash and burn in November. Sadly, this column is just a light breeze on a baloon's toupee.
5
It needs to be pointed out again that Donald Trump routed his opponents by not acting like an adult. When Trump's said it makes no sense to change because being himself has got him to where he is he's right. It was up to his opponents to put him in his place, and they were either way too timid or too much like him to do it. While it hopefully will be Trump's demise keeping on doing things his way (being egregiously immature and uninformed), there's also something vaguely admirable about the fact -whether by choice or he just can't do it- that Trump won't become the professional candidate the RNC wants him to be.
6
Thanks for your coherent political analysis of the disturbing Trump candidacy. We need less invective and more rational attempts to understand and resolve issues.
2
I believe Trump's adulthood is already in the process of happening. He recently fired Corey L, a good sign.
I watched the recent videos with Clinton and Warren and they concentrated on bashing Trump. Hillary said that she loved how Warren gets under Trump's think skin. Warren said that Trump will crush us.
But Trump was talking about something else - how various deals like NAFTA and TPP are harmful to the American worker. He may be wrong and he may be right but his tone was more adult than that of Clinton and Warren.
Moreover, we all know that on some of the issues, both Sanders and Warren agree more with Trump than with Clinton.
If Trump manages to reach adulthood, the NYT will never admit it, but some of the other Americans might well notice.
I watched the recent videos with Clinton and Warren and they concentrated on bashing Trump. Hillary said that she loved how Warren gets under Trump's think skin. Warren said that Trump will crush us.
But Trump was talking about something else - how various deals like NAFTA and TPP are harmful to the American worker. He may be wrong and he may be right but his tone was more adult than that of Clinton and Warren.
Moreover, we all know that on some of the issues, both Sanders and Warren agree more with Trump than with Clinton.
If Trump manages to reach adulthood, the NYT will never admit it, but some of the other Americans might well notice.
2
Donald Trump is 69 years old. This IS him as an adult. Support him or not, don't pretend he will ever change.
149
Standard pretzel logic by a professional in the field of entertainment known as politics. N Wallace knows that no Trump change is coming. Check. But she doesn't seem to get the irony that even if Trump did change, it wouldn't be genuine. That her party is clinging to the hope that their candidate is suddenly going to start faking it. That's the state of statesmanship these days. Blech.
14
Gosh. Good point, Diego.
1
The Supreme Court which had been a guardian of racial justice for decades reversed its history with decisions removing protections to individual speech and voting rights.
The Hallmark of the Scalia Court was the empowerment of corporate speech and a radical interpretation of the 2nd Amendment which has led the United States to become an armed camp.
This is a watershed moment in the history of the court and the country. Fueled by corporate money, the NRA, the Koch brothers and Fox have whipped the mob into a frenzy and created a Frankenstein Monster of a Republican nominee.
The course of the country and the judiciary will change now for a generation. The reign of Scalia's haphazard 'originalism' is no more.
The Hallmark of the Scalia Court was the empowerment of corporate speech and a radical interpretation of the 2nd Amendment which has led the United States to become an armed camp.
This is a watershed moment in the history of the court and the country. Fueled by corporate money, the NRA, the Koch brothers and Fox have whipped the mob into a frenzy and created a Frankenstein Monster of a Republican nominee.
The course of the country and the judiciary will change now for a generation. The reign of Scalia's haphazard 'originalism' is no more.
1
What concerns me is, what if Trump did start acting or speaking differently? Would Republicans then think it was OK to support a president who was only secretly bigoted and incompetent?
Republicans don't seem to be waiting for Donald Trump to change. They are waiting for him to act in a way that they can pretend that he isn't who he is. They need, instead, to think of what it means to be a Republican and how what it currently means has led to Donald Trump.
Republicans don't seem to be waiting for Donald Trump to change. They are waiting for him to act in a way that they can pretend that he isn't who he is. They need, instead, to think of what it means to be a Republican and how what it currently means has led to Donald Trump.
4
Ms. Wallace misses the bigger picture. The Republican establishment has created a political party that is no more legitimate than Mr. Trump. No wonder the birther-in-chief was chosen by a base they've misled to believe that government doesn't work and that the elite they should be afraid of is the intellectual elite that is trying to solve the country's problems rather than the business elite that causes most of them.
1
All the gloss won't change the fact that operatives like Ms. Wallace created the current GOP, which then became rottenly ripe for a Drumpf coup.
No. The problem is not just the candidate, it's the party itself. Next election, vote against every Republican candidate, for every office, at every level. Be patriotic. Save the country.
No. The problem is not just the candidate, it's the party itself. Next election, vote against every Republican candidate, for every office, at every level. Be patriotic. Save the country.
4
No amount of changing or pivoting or growing up will change the fact that he got where he is by appealing to people's racist, xenophobic fears, and he has done that because that's all he's got. Republicans who disavow him are on the right side of history; those who make the mistake of supporting him now or coming around later will certainly come to regret it.
Ms. Wallace tries very hard to make the Republican party look like victims in the ascendancy of The Donald, but they need to realize that they are the ones who helped create the very conditions for Trump's success, and until they disavow Trump and his 'ideas', their party is doomed as a national party.
2
Nicole - The party sullied the bathwater and continued to "wash, rinse, repeat" and then "Big Baby Donald" cannon balled in. Why not, the water was fine and likely thickened his hair. The bathwater needs to be changed, just throwing out "Big Baby Donald" won't do it. A republican democracy needs two or more relevant parties with water hygiene standards that address the true needs of the masses, not the desire for one party quest for mere power.
1
Trump sat straddling the surf board for years unit he caught a tsunami of dissatisfaction caused by tectonic divide and friction. Now he rides the frightening height of its crest, gleefully anticipating its creative destruction and how it will benefit him.
1
The grown-ups in the Republican room do have other choices besides waiting for Trump to grow up. They can endorse Clinton. They can endorse the Libertarian. And they can put up their own third-party candidate.
During the primaries, the Republican leadership agreed virtually unanimously that Trump is "unfit" to be president. "Unfit" is not a comparative term, like less experienced or less knowledgeable - unfit is a yes/no disqualifier. If you have integrity, you do not stand silent when your party nominates a candidate who is "unfit" for office, no matter how much you disagree with the opposing candidate, whose policies you might not like but who is unquestionably "fit" to be president.
Just a very few Republican leaders, mostly commentators like George Will and David Brooks, not elected leaders like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, have shown integrity by making clear their unwillingness to support Trump. George Will has all but endorsed Clinton, arguing that Republicans should accept her in 2016 but look ahead to another race in 2020.
If Trump loses, which I think is likely, the failure of Republican leaders to stand up to their nominee won't matter much to history. But if he wins, the astonishing lack of integrity that Republican leadership is showing today will be a lesson taught to our descendants for generations.
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
During the primaries, the Republican leadership agreed virtually unanimously that Trump is "unfit" to be president. "Unfit" is not a comparative term, like less experienced or less knowledgeable - unfit is a yes/no disqualifier. If you have integrity, you do not stand silent when your party nominates a candidate who is "unfit" for office, no matter how much you disagree with the opposing candidate, whose policies you might not like but who is unquestionably "fit" to be president.
Just a very few Republican leaders, mostly commentators like George Will and David Brooks, not elected leaders like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, have shown integrity by making clear their unwillingness to support Trump. George Will has all but endorsed Clinton, arguing that Republicans should accept her in 2016 but look ahead to another race in 2020.
If Trump loses, which I think is likely, the failure of Republican leaders to stand up to their nominee won't matter much to history. But if he wins, the astonishing lack of integrity that Republican leadership is showing today will be a lesson taught to our descendants for generations.
politicsbyeccehomo.wordpress.com
1
I suspect, when all is said and done, the US will owe the Brexit voters a huge "thank you" for illustrating what happens when voters believe what xenophobic liars put out there. I think the media should play the interviews with people who voted to leave the EU and are now saying "well, we just wanted to send a message" as their economy tanks. A vote counts. Treat it as the prize it is.
2
The theme of this piece is that Trump just needs to pretend to be presidential, learn a few salient facts and employ the GOP hype machine and, presto change-o, Ms. Wallace sees a candidate who all Republicans can unite behind. I have not read anything so pathetic and cynical. Coming from someone who thought that Sarah Palin was a viable VP candidate who was mistreated by the media, I guess that it's not surprising.
4
Republicans still have not awakened to what hit them. For one thing, is it correct to say that Trump "won decisively"? Well, no. He won early primaries only because of the rules of the Republican party allow the candidate who gets a plurality to get all of the delegates. This is a system slanted toward picking one strong candidate early on. Oops. It backfired on Republicans this year causing Trump to appear to be the choice of the party when most of the early votes cast could be interpreted as "anyone but Trump".
Here's the other truth: Republicans think they can live with Trump because they have seldom been looking for someone to actually BE president in the first place. They want someone to play the role, just like Ronnie did in the glorious 1980s. They want a stooge or, as that far right wing guy, Norquist, said 4 yrs. ago, they want someone to sign the legislation and basically do what he is told. (Democrats, in comparison, are always looking for the perfect candidate, the Kennedy, the appearance and substance of a true leader who can do everything and provide actual leadership.)
You can't study for the presidency while running for the office. Well, you can, but it won't work. Anyone who gets to be president should have been preparing to do so since the age of 25 or even earlier. Trump faking instant knowledge of world affairs ain't gonna work. It would just make him look worse. He is stuck with what he is and the Republicans are stuck with him and god help us all.
Here's the other truth: Republicans think they can live with Trump because they have seldom been looking for someone to actually BE president in the first place. They want someone to play the role, just like Ronnie did in the glorious 1980s. They want a stooge or, as that far right wing guy, Norquist, said 4 yrs. ago, they want someone to sign the legislation and basically do what he is told. (Democrats, in comparison, are always looking for the perfect candidate, the Kennedy, the appearance and substance of a true leader who can do everything and provide actual leadership.)
You can't study for the presidency while running for the office. Well, you can, but it won't work. Anyone who gets to be president should have been preparing to do so since the age of 25 or even earlier. Trump faking instant knowledge of world affairs ain't gonna work. It would just make him look worse. He is stuck with what he is and the Republicans are stuck with him and god help us all.
4
I believe that "Mrs. Clinton" should be "Secretary Clinton" or "Senator Clinton." Please use appropriate titles; she has held elected office and a key Cabinet position and should be addressed with the respect due to one who held those posts.
6
Nicole Wallace (like Eugene Robinson) have perfected the art of saying very little (and what has already been said) in a long essay. I ask, what exactly is the purpose of this?
2
Keep in mind- Voter memory is short term. The election is going to hit the mother of all RESET buttons at the first Presidential debate. If Trump stays on point and addresses the issues that got him to where he is: Trade, Establishment Politics, Jobs, Spending Accountability in Washington, having other nations pay more for U.S. defense, the fact that he has spent significantly LESS than any candidate in the last 4 elections- This will win him the White House. If Trump wanders, puts his foot in his mouth, and starts hurling insults rather than substance- Then Hillary need not to anything- except sit back and enjoy her billion dollar campaign ride to the Oval Office. Interesting dynamic for sure..
Now a fact. It takes a 2 year old exactly one year to become a three year old. So how long are the Republican party and its apologists prepared to wait?
There are really only 2 possibilities. First, Trump is actually a clever, thoughtful, reasonable politician who behaved like a goon to win over primary voters who he rightly calculated were overwhelmingly goonish. Second, he is actually a goon and won over primary voters who were overwhelmingly goonish. So which is it Paul Ryan et. al? Which is worse?
Here's the deal. More than a $ billion will be spent by Republicans and a lot of that will be spent on Trump family and friends, Trump hotels, restaurants and marketing the brand--good will or bad. The Republicans get wiped off the map and Trump laughs all the way to the bank. Yes, Trump does share similarities with Palin and someone better start checking who is getting charged for the family's clothing and make clear it has to be given back.
Trump is legitimately famous for bankrupting industries, hollowing them out and walking away a winner. None of it was illegal. We're now watching him do this to the Republican Party. Do you hear the laughter?
There are really only 2 possibilities. First, Trump is actually a clever, thoughtful, reasonable politician who behaved like a goon to win over primary voters who he rightly calculated were overwhelmingly goonish. Second, he is actually a goon and won over primary voters who were overwhelmingly goonish. So which is it Paul Ryan et. al? Which is worse?
Here's the deal. More than a $ billion will be spent by Republicans and a lot of that will be spent on Trump family and friends, Trump hotels, restaurants and marketing the brand--good will or bad. The Republicans get wiped off the map and Trump laughs all the way to the bank. Yes, Trump does share similarities with Palin and someone better start checking who is getting charged for the family's clothing and make clear it has to be given back.
Trump is legitimately famous for bankrupting industries, hollowing them out and walking away a winner. None of it was illegal. We're now watching him do this to the Republican Party. Do you hear the laughter?
9
Lets hope that the sad example of the pro-Brexit vote in Britain serves as an example. Politicians said what their supporters wanted to hear and made lots of promises that were not based on fact and blasted 'experts'. The trouble now is that the lies were undone within 24-hours of the vote, The UK will suffer for a long-time because a number of politicians put their careers in front of the public good. The Conservatives who dreamed up the referendum in the first place could well be taken over by the racist UKIP. Does the GOP see the same danger - does it care?
8
One of Trump's problems is that we he delivers a serious speech he's a disaster. He has no presence, he's very stiff and really unwatchable. Unless he is in free-form, free-association mode he is an abominable candidate.
5
We can only hope that the backpedalling being done by the "leave" advocates for Brexit can give pause to possible Trump voters. The message: don't cast a "protest vote" just to say you're mad about something. As has been quoted from both sides of the aisle of late, "elections have consequences." The consequences of the November election could be dire indeed.
6
After watching Mr. Trump all these months, I really wonder if he may be taking steroids? His behavior is so erratic. I'm serious. It really concerns me.
6
A 70-year-old man who hasn't grown up isn't likely to do so now. It is clear from his comments and demeanor over the past few days that he's decided to "go rogue" and effectively tell the Republican Establishment to go to Hades. He apparently has come to the conclusion that there are enough disaffected white voters to sweep him into the Oval Office. After the Brexit vote, one can only hope that he has miscalculated.
4
Harry Enten of 538.com made an interesting revelation about why he failed to predict Trump's ascendancy to the head of the Republican ticket. Specifically; that he and other pollsters failed to realize that Trump has a base of (mostly white) 'strongly positive' voters- or at least 30-40% of the electorate- that will vote for Trump no matter what he says or does. While the demographics are different, his net favorability ratings among white voters, currently trailing Clinton by 12-17%, about where Romney was in 2012 and that was not a landslide election. Call him a demagogue, because he is, but it would be a mistake to dismiss his electorate. In other words, his 'floor' appears to gets him at least 40% of the national vote, with plenty of upside remaining, given the wide swath of independents still on the sidelines and Clinton's negatives.
1
US nihilists will have some months before the November election to see how upsetting the applecart works for Brexit fans.
From the article: "the aspirations of 16 accomplished rivals". This is where you are wrong. There were no accomplished (or qualified) rivals. Each in his/her own way was just as nutty and defeatable as Trump. Trump's shoot-from-the-hip braggadocio style of a drunk appeals to white males who dream of finally being able to throw their weight around, like roosters in a barnyard. And there are a lot of these permanently aggrieved men, who were born believing that the world is supposed to be theirs, but unfairly it ain't happening. Let's face it, if there is such a thing as a level-headed Republican somewhere, he or she knew from the get-go that running against the Democrats in this election was a lost cause--so why be a loser? Only the old maids showed for this singles party, and with that kind of competition, and armed with the projected fantasies of his followers, all eyes were on Trump.
1
Statesmanship means nothing to the primary voters who selected Trump, much like economic chaos meant nothing to the voters in the UK who chose Brexit. The primary motivation was to wall the country off from immigrants, both foreign and domestic. Trump and Brexit supporters share a common education level and racial identity. The GOP fed and sheltered this racism and the chickens have come home to roost.
3
There is little more to say about Donald Trump except that even Jesse Ventura stopped playing his professional wrestler character long enough to act like a sober grown-up when he went into politics. The Bombastic "Billionaire" -- Trump is not even close to being that rich -- is a tiresome act.
I suppose in a country where it is acceptable for adults to wear cartoon characters on their clothing and make celebrities out of the likes of the Kardashians, it is inevitable that a crude, thoughtless and ill-mannered boor would be considered to be a political breath-of-fresh-air.
What is most frightening is that he commands a loyal base. No getting around it: Americans just are that stupid.
I suppose in a country where it is acceptable for adults to wear cartoon characters on their clothing and make celebrities out of the likes of the Kardashians, it is inevitable that a crude, thoughtless and ill-mannered boor would be considered to be a political breath-of-fresh-air.
What is most frightening is that he commands a loyal base. No getting around it: Americans just are that stupid.
1
...he speaks directly and plainly to the anxieties that the Republican base feels.
That would be the base that the Republican Establishment has spent two or three decades courting and encouraging rather than seeking to find support elsewhere. Let's say Mr./ Trump receives a total of 60 million votes and loses. Let's say that half of those voters truly believe in Mr. Trump (while the rest hate Clinton or just vote for anything with an R next to its name). If Trump loses, what the Party or country is going to do with the 30 million people who truly believe Mr. Trump can be a great president, is an interesting question. They are not going to learn some lesson, nor think they might have made a mistake because they have been brainwashed this year and in previous years into thinking they are the "true Americans" who, in effect, cannot make a mistake. They are still going to be the core of the Republican Party. As ye sow...
That would be the base that the Republican Establishment has spent two or three decades courting and encouraging rather than seeking to find support elsewhere. Let's say Mr./ Trump receives a total of 60 million votes and loses. Let's say that half of those voters truly believe in Mr. Trump (while the rest hate Clinton or just vote for anything with an R next to its name). If Trump loses, what the Party or country is going to do with the 30 million people who truly believe Mr. Trump can be a great president, is an interesting question. They are not going to learn some lesson, nor think they might have made a mistake because they have been brainwashed this year and in previous years into thinking they are the "true Americans" who, in effect, cannot make a mistake. They are still going to be the core of the Republican Party. As ye sow...
1
Yes, some voters love his antics, but thoughtful voters are appalled by his antics and self aggrandizing. I have to believe there are more of us than them. It all comes down to voter turn out. I think that his campaign has tapped into many voter's fears, be they on the left or the right. The left and independent voters should be sufficiently afraid of him to show up in mass to vote for the sane candidate Clinton. The white male middle aged blue collar vote will be out numbered by the female, Hispanic, Black and Asian voters who are aghast at this train wreck of a man becoming our president.
1
Mr. Trump, as we all do, has faults and is inexperienced as a venal, self serving politician.
The media in and of itself is a self aggrandizing hierarchy which refuses to scrutinize it's chosen.
Currently ignoring the heartless, soulless administration that values their power and control above human life, freedom and even our countries constitution, it is small wonder you must withdraw into pointing out minor, by comparison, flaws when Obama, Clinton et, al. lay waste to the world and it's population by seeking to destroy honor and truth.
The media in and of itself is a self aggrandizing hierarchy which refuses to scrutinize it's chosen.
Currently ignoring the heartless, soulless administration that values their power and control above human life, freedom and even our countries constitution, it is small wonder you must withdraw into pointing out minor, by comparison, flaws when Obama, Clinton et, al. lay waste to the world and it's population by seeking to destroy honor and truth.
1
Does anyone else feel that those who would continue to want Trump in the oval office are, in their own way, terrorists? Just being against Hillary is not justification for letting this fool take the reins of the U.S. George Will has it right. Start preparing for the next election.
"But the truth is that he won decisively because he speaks directly and plainly to the anxieties that the Republican base feels." Fortune tellers do the same thing. And they do it for money - just like Trump. Not for the greater good.
"But the truth is that he won decisively because he speaks directly and plainly to the anxieties that the Republican base feels." Fortune tellers do the same thing. And they do it for money - just like Trump. Not for the greater good.
3
Nicolle, you wrote, "Mr. Trump is waiting for respect. He believes he deserves the party’s admiration for his political achievements, his success as a businessman and his potential to transform and broaden the party’s appeal. He is brand new at the business of politics..."
Yes, Trump is brand new to politics, but his brand of politics is not new. It was the politics that dominated twentieth-century Germany, Italy, Japan, and Russia. In the end, Trump-style politics destroyed those countries because a majority of their citizens were frightened, angry, struggling, woefully under-educated, and gullible--they believed in their respective pompous, narcissistic leaders. Each of those countries produced a leader who exploited those weaknesses to the point of destruction. It can happen here, too, despite our feelings of American exceptionalism.
Yes, Trump is brand new to politics, but his brand of politics is not new. It was the politics that dominated twentieth-century Germany, Italy, Japan, and Russia. In the end, Trump-style politics destroyed those countries because a majority of their citizens were frightened, angry, struggling, woefully under-educated, and gullible--they believed in their respective pompous, narcissistic leaders. Each of those countries produced a leader who exploited those weaknesses to the point of destruction. It can happen here, too, despite our feelings of American exceptionalism.
4
From one who has always disagreed with the President's policies, but liked the man himself, I find it heartbreaking that now that the opportunity presents itself to alter the course of these policies, we are only left with an individual who is so immature.
I turn daily to the NYT home page on my computer hoping to see some encouraging news that he has finally fathomed that the election is real only to find more of the same idiotic dribble coming from his mouth. Whats scary is that with the issues as they are, Immigration, Gun Control, Economy, he might still win. Then there would be "buyers remorse" similar to the Brexit situation.
A country as great as ours seems to have always found a statesman in times of duress, but I think not this time around.
I turn daily to the NYT home page on my computer hoping to see some encouraging news that he has finally fathomed that the election is real only to find more of the same idiotic dribble coming from his mouth. Whats scary is that with the issues as they are, Immigration, Gun Control, Economy, he might still win. Then there would be "buyers remorse" similar to the Brexit situation.
A country as great as ours seems to have always found a statesman in times of duress, but I think not this time around.
2
Donald Trump reminds me of a 3-year-old child, only without the innocent cuteness. The adorable 3-year-old child has no brain-to-mouth filter or self-censorship, no sense of inappropriateness. Trump is a 70-year-old man with, in some instances, the brain of a 3-year-old child. His vast fortune has insulated him from having to compromise on his beliefs, words, or actions. He knows that he can manipulate people into doing things his way, because this is how it has always been with him. "What, me grow up?"
4
I have some friends who are rabid Trump supporters. I have never voted for a Democrat Presidential candidate. But one thing is increasingly certain. I can't vote for Trump. With all of the genius in our great nation how sad to be having a choice between these 2 "presumptive nominees".
2
Coming from a republican-leaning journalist, not a bad judgment on such an irresponsible, know-nothing demagogue, whose huge ego won't tolerate the bright lights (on him) to be shut off, for a moment of reflection. Crooked lying Trump, a bully only second to Chris Christie, is a twisted tree, beyond redemption, and seeking for relevance in all the wrong places. Although Trump is not a republican, an opportunist instead, and fanning fear and anger to sustain his base, the G.O.P. has nurtured him and, in complicity, allowed this "ugly american" to debase the presidency by his racist 'birtherism' on Obama. Allowing this monster to reach the presidency would be a disaster for the country, and chaos in the world order (if any) to flourish. His arrogance won't allow him to see how wide, and deep, his ignorance is; and ignorance breeds prejudices, of which Trump is so well endowed with. If 'his' delegates have a conscience, and care for this 'flickering' democracy to succeed, they ought to dump Trump...and save the day.
3
Don't blame Trump. The Republican Party picked the road it wanted to go down a long time ago - "the vote suppressing, race-baiting, billionaire boosting, women-hating, anti-science, no-government, tax avoiding, gun-loving, war mongering super highway".
That road leads just one place, nowhere. Trump represents only the final stages of the Republican's pathetic journey, with the trail gradually reduced to a narrow track, and now petering out to nothing in a desolate wasteland of irrelevance.
That road leads just one place, nowhere. Trump represents only the final stages of the Republican's pathetic journey, with the trail gradually reduced to a narrow track, and now petering out to nothing in a desolate wasteland of irrelevance.
4
The problem with your analysis Paul from Canada, is that although the GOP (probably) cannot win the presidency with ANY candidate, they still rule our country. Most of the statehouses and surely at the federal level, their dominance is enormous. My theory is- they really do not want the presidency. If the did win it, they would have to govern-- actually serve a people who are sad and worried and realize they have been tricked-- who cannot be governed. By not winning the presidency the GOP can huff and puff and do nothing to deal with the very real problems of our era.
Trump is a 70-year-old senior citizen who has the vocabulary of a third grader and claims he gets his news from whatever her sees on TV and the National Enquirer. Not much different from Sarah Palin, another reality TV character. It's extremely doubtful if he were ever to read the daily CIA briefs.
Now he's giving speeches in front of piles of garbage and spewing that same rubbish from his pouty month. By the way, is that building material for a wall?
And the overwhelming selfish behavior is so glaring. He claims he is so very very rich yet refuses to release his taxes when everyone else does and his website accepts contributions. He rails against free trade agreements yet his clothing line is Made in China. He claims he's generous yet the media had to call him on it. Giving away access to his golf courses in a raffle hardly qualifies.
What is scary is that some folks still say: "He's a lunatic but I'll still vote for him."
Have enough people become so nihilist (hey, Donald check this word out) that a lunatic is their man?
Now he's giving speeches in front of piles of garbage and spewing that same rubbish from his pouty month. By the way, is that building material for a wall?
And the overwhelming selfish behavior is so glaring. He claims he is so very very rich yet refuses to release his taxes when everyone else does and his website accepts contributions. He rails against free trade agreements yet his clothing line is Made in China. He claims he's generous yet the media had to call him on it. Giving away access to his golf courses in a raffle hardly qualifies.
What is scary is that some folks still say: "He's a lunatic but I'll still vote for him."
Have enough people become so nihilist (hey, Donald check this word out) that a lunatic is their man?
7
How anyone in the media can give this man any credence, I will never know. Trump can not even articulate a coherent sentence that states a clear fact. He is a coward in a massive, beautiful, magnificent, tremendous, spectacular, incredible and huge way. If he wins, we are all in trouble.
5
"Media credence" may not be what you think. All Drumpf needs is the continuing wall-to-wall coverage every media outlet seems to want to give him to continue through November. It doesn't really matter what he says about anything. Unless his past tax frauds amount to actual criminal wrongdoing, there's nothing about him that will hold him back. He thrives on the attention, and masterfully turns around any conversation to eliminate facts or details, so all that's left is the huckster rap. Believe me.
1
I doubt that Ms Wallace and other members of the GOP elite will ever admit that Trump's speaking "directly and plainly to the anxieties that the GOP base feels" is largely about him exploiting the anxieties relating to their base's racism. The GOP elite just cannot admit that beginning with Nixon's Southern strategy their party has been exploiting racism in order to prosper at the polls because such an admission would require a degree of honesty and character that is sadly lacking in their ranks.
5
Perhaps this will be a bittersweet way to finally break the glass ceiling. The presumptive Democratic nominee has fought all her life to rise to the top of the political establishment, becoming one of the most resilient, battle scarred creatures in modern political history. Only to face an opponent who seems determined to go to the ends of the earth to avoid being a formidable adversary.
1
I misunderestimate Ms. Wallace as someone dear to her heart would say. She has truly disappointed me. I viewed her as rational, contemplating and a critical thinker. I gave her more credit for being a thinker and objective than she deserves. Alas, I was wrong, but she shows her true colors in her opinion piece. Ms. Wallace is just another right wing Republican passing herself off as the reasonable one in the room, but not so. She is just another Republican who puts party before country as most if not all do. If she is waiting for Donnie Trump to emerge as member of the human race, well, the sun will cease to exist before that happens.
Ms. Wallace dismisses the many characteristics that disqualify Donnie Trump from being president. Characteristics that are contrary to the values that make this country exceptional. Donnie has no understanding of the rule of law; no appreciation for the separation of powers; courts bigotry; encourages violence; and for a presidential candidate is incurious of its history.
Why isn't there more of an outcry of: "Why do Republicans hate their country?". Surely if Democrats offered up such a candidate as Donnie, the Republicans would be shouting: "Traitor", Unamerican", et al.
The bottom line for Republicans is the quest for power. There is no tactic so low, no person so vile no matter the malevolence, that would deter them in seeking their goal. Even at the cost of losing this Republic. Lets not have buyers remorse in November!
Ms. Wallace dismisses the many characteristics that disqualify Donnie Trump from being president. Characteristics that are contrary to the values that make this country exceptional. Donnie has no understanding of the rule of law; no appreciation for the separation of powers; courts bigotry; encourages violence; and for a presidential candidate is incurious of its history.
Why isn't there more of an outcry of: "Why do Republicans hate their country?". Surely if Democrats offered up such a candidate as Donnie, the Republicans would be shouting: "Traitor", Unamerican", et al.
The bottom line for Republicans is the quest for power. There is no tactic so low, no person so vile no matter the malevolence, that would deter them in seeking their goal. Even at the cost of losing this Republic. Lets not have buyers remorse in November!
4
One of the most interesting parts of this insightful Op-Ed is the little phrase "16 accomplished rivals." This number includes Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Carly Fiorina, Ted Cruz, Chris Christie, and Scott Walker. Opinion is divided as to whether these people are giants of probity, but no could argue that they are not accomplished. One might not approve of his line of work, but one would have to concede that Ted Bundy was an accomplished murderer and necrophiliac.
It is evident that Trump vanquished his rivals because he is more accomplished than them. So while I agree with Ms. Wallace that its not gonna happen, I don't understand why anyone would want Trump to "grow up" in the first place. To me it seems like he would be the GOP's dream candidate, one who distills the essence of Republican-ness better than anyone else. Name me any one who looks out for Number 1 more avidly than he does. Not only that, but accomplished men like Trump do not become who they are without a deep deep certitude in their rectitude. To expect him to "grow up" is like waiting for a week-old banana in a compost pile to unrot itself.
It is evident that Trump vanquished his rivals because he is more accomplished than them. So while I agree with Ms. Wallace that its not gonna happen, I don't understand why anyone would want Trump to "grow up" in the first place. To me it seems like he would be the GOP's dream candidate, one who distills the essence of Republican-ness better than anyone else. Name me any one who looks out for Number 1 more avidly than he does. Not only that, but accomplished men like Trump do not become who they are without a deep deep certitude in their rectitude. To expect him to "grow up" is like waiting for a week-old banana in a compost pile to unrot itself.
1
Ms. Wallace demonstrates the kind of voice that once resonated from the Republican Party about the genuinely wrongheaded portions of Democratic Party proposals that otherwise met both parties' objectives. Even now, writing about an obtuse general contractor from the construction industry (and who, just who has had a good experience with a construction contractor or ever thought that one was not obtuse?), Ms. Wallace strives to be reasonable.
Though her party's candidate poses many undesirable traits in a candidate for the US presidency, she and her ilk demonstrate the reasonableness that once pervaded that party - and may yet, after President H. R. Clinton completes a second term.
Though her party's candidate poses many undesirable traits in a candidate for the US presidency, she and her ilk demonstrate the reasonableness that once pervaded that party - and may yet, after President H. R. Clinton completes a second term.
1
If the poor fellas who returned from World War II had been treated for their undiagnosed PTSD, they would have been able to form healthy bonds with their children. Instead, they suffered and we've been dealing with their insufferable children and the unrelenting results of their Daddy Issues. Thank you, Boomers, for sugary breakfast cereals, climate change inducing muscle cars, the romanticism of drug abuse, the commercialization of everything, and finally the vapid figureheads of your stupefying generation in Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Forgive the next generation for not being enthused. They're a little distracted by the next 150 years of environmental reclamation and cultural rehabilitation.
When I was young, my father would say, “a leopard never changes its spots.” Donald Trump is a leopard and trying to rein him in is impossible. Also, he is admittedly a guy who gets by on four hours of sleep a day – this is clearly inadequate and might be contributing to his hypersensitive, hyperactive behavior.
If Weiner taught us anything is that a politician, who tweets at odd hours of the day is likely to become a “Carlos Danger.” This does not necessarily imply sexually oriented tweets, but equally incongruent and impulsive ones. If Trump’s closest advisers hope to ensure that their Carlos Danger does not emerge, they have to convince him that random tweets are not an act of soundness, especially in a presidential candidate.
But then waiting for Trump to change is like waiting for Godot.
If Weiner taught us anything is that a politician, who tweets at odd hours of the day is likely to become a “Carlos Danger.” This does not necessarily imply sexually oriented tweets, but equally incongruent and impulsive ones. If Trump’s closest advisers hope to ensure that their Carlos Danger does not emerge, they have to convince him that random tweets are not an act of soundness, especially in a presidential candidate.
But then waiting for Trump to change is like waiting for Godot.
Donald Trump has long ago crossed the line of acceptable character of an educated adult, let alone one seeking a White House office. He shows no sign of knowledge, experience or any notable qualification to be President. Trump has also shown a complete lack of respect to the office he seeks and the government he wants to lead. Now here we are, talking about whether his "behaviour" will improve between now and whenever so we can forget ALL of what I've already mentioned as if it were unimportant. Really? Is this what a presidential campaign in America has been reduced to?
It is past due time to call a spade a spade. It doesn't matter how "well" the man "plays" to his niche or anything he might "promise", Trump is not qualified to run for President of my country let alone lead it. To discuss the "possibility" of a change in behaviour at this point is a very unfunny joke and an insult to intelligence.
It is past due time to call a spade a spade. It doesn't matter how "well" the man "plays" to his niche or anything he might "promise", Trump is not qualified to run for President of my country let alone lead it. To discuss the "possibility" of a change in behaviour at this point is a very unfunny joke and an insult to intelligence.
3
Is Trumpery Trump that clever? Alternating between being an isolationist ant-immigration demagogue and a "Presidential candidate" actually enlarges his base; one day he keeps his disaffected voting base at home by appealing to their issues and on any other day (moment) by donning a more thoughtful cloak he teases those who want dearly to vote Republican to come to him. Vague policy statements also keep his people at home; a supporter or potential supporter can easily find reassurance that Trump is his/her champion by choosing to embed a specific issue into a broad vague policy basket. Clinton better beware.
Expecting Donald Trump to grow up is asking too much of him. He's simply unable to deliver. Donald Trump's behavior is on automatic. His unrestrained lashing out when anyone crosses him indicates that he's driven by deep insecurities which he's tried to overcome through fame, increased wealth, winning, placing his name in mountain sized letters on stuff spread around the world and now the presidency. He's not yet learned that high self esteem comes from work on the inside; not outside accumulations.
Change is hard, even when someone wants to. Donald Trump doesn't want to. Wanting to usually comes from sufficient inner suffering. Donald Trump avoids that. He distracts himself from his inner world by way of outer distractions including scapegoating, and always staying busy. Thus Donald Trump lacks the fundamental factors for change to happen, being aware of his inner workings, sufficient inner suffering, being self-aware rather than on automatic, and mindfulness. As BF Skinner, the renowned behaviorist stated "A person who is aware of himself is in a better position to predict and control his own behavior."
Change is hard, even when someone wants to. Donald Trump doesn't want to. Wanting to usually comes from sufficient inner suffering. Donald Trump avoids that. He distracts himself from his inner world by way of outer distractions including scapegoating, and always staying busy. Thus Donald Trump lacks the fundamental factors for change to happen, being aware of his inner workings, sufficient inner suffering, being self-aware rather than on automatic, and mindfulness. As BF Skinner, the renowned behaviorist stated "A person who is aware of himself is in a better position to predict and control his own behavior."
1
We can (and probably will) go on forever about Mr. Trump's candidacy and personality. He did, though, defeat 16 Republican rivals including many perfectly viable candidates, whatever Democrats think of them. The real problem is that Trump exposed a chasm between Republican voters, fed a steady diet of anger, nativism, fear, and conspiracy theories, and a Republican establishment that has pushed an economic program that serves those at the top. For the GOP, the silver lining could be that the Democrats face a similar problem. Mr. Trump's inroads with white working class voters, like the big Brexit vote in depressed Labour strongholds, suggest that Democrats have also lost touch with some constituencies. I supported Senator Sanders and I support Secretary Clinton, but Clinton and Democrats up and down the ticket have to be careful not to be completely wrapped up in their own "establishment" of fellow politicians, professionals, tech folks, people who run advocacy groups, pundits, and other comfortably "middle class" voters (the ones Clinton pledges to give an unneeded tax cut to). Democratic policies, especially if beefed up, would be more friendly to more people, but it is also a matter of tone, style, and language: the Remain campaign in Britain had all the right advocates, but they didn't speak effectively to enough voters. With the right policies, the benefits of globalization can reach all of us, and with the right language, that can be explained in terms everyone "gets".
Donald Trump, among other things, is both a pathological liar, and a megalomaniac. According to fact check, 78% of his statements are outright lies. All this aside, he is in business with the mafia, he maligns anyone who is not "Trump", and foments hate among those who need to hate. None of this takes into account his extraordinary ignorance of governance, world affairs, and simple things like treaties. That any American would consider this foolish man capable of leading this country is embarrassing. We have just seen
the results of Brexit, disastrous for the Brits, with tidal waves affecting financial markets worldwide, brought about by people who, next day, were googling "what is the EU". Are we so stupid that we would allow the least educated among us to turn our country on its head?
the results of Brexit, disastrous for the Brits, with tidal waves affecting financial markets worldwide, brought about by people who, next day, were googling "what is the EU". Are we so stupid that we would allow the least educated among us to turn our country on its head?
3
What exactly is anyone hoping to accomplish with these carefully scripted speeches?
Who believes for one minute that Trump is doing anything an ordinary parrot couldn't do? Are Americans so naive as to think that the fine words of hired speech writers reflect the ideals and true character of the person making the speech?
Everyone keeps waiting for the moment when Trump will suddenly become more presidential as if that will change anything.
Sorry. No. The man is who and what he is and will revert to type as soon as the script is read. Why wouldn't he? His base likes him just the way he is. In fact all this fancy speechifying does nothing for any of them. Quite the opposite.
Everyone needs to start looking at what's been happening in the rest of the world, not just here in America, and begin to respond in a truthful way to what the undercurrent is bringing to the surface.
People are sick to death of being lied to by their politicians. Fancy well crafted speeches written by professionals to be parroted by whomever do not speak to our concerns any longer. They mean nothing. They sound like lies, the same old lies that have kept us in our places for far too long.
The whole political process is so far removed from reality, so far removed from the leadership we need on so many fronts, its no wonder the whole system its falling apart. Truth is it needs to. Truth is it will. Maybe not this time around, but soon. Things are rumbling. Change is coming.
Who believes for one minute that Trump is doing anything an ordinary parrot couldn't do? Are Americans so naive as to think that the fine words of hired speech writers reflect the ideals and true character of the person making the speech?
Everyone keeps waiting for the moment when Trump will suddenly become more presidential as if that will change anything.
Sorry. No. The man is who and what he is and will revert to type as soon as the script is read. Why wouldn't he? His base likes him just the way he is. In fact all this fancy speechifying does nothing for any of them. Quite the opposite.
Everyone needs to start looking at what's been happening in the rest of the world, not just here in America, and begin to respond in a truthful way to what the undercurrent is bringing to the surface.
People are sick to death of being lied to by their politicians. Fancy well crafted speeches written by professionals to be parroted by whomever do not speak to our concerns any longer. They mean nothing. They sound like lies, the same old lies that have kept us in our places for far too long.
The whole political process is so far removed from reality, so far removed from the leadership we need on so many fronts, its no wonder the whole system its falling apart. Truth is it needs to. Truth is it will. Maybe not this time around, but soon. Things are rumbling. Change is coming.
2
Most terrifying in this admittedly persuasive argument is the weighted focus on strategy, managed rhetoric, and gamesmanship to woo and deceive, not authenticity. Like most critiques of this erratic candidate and his volatile campaign, it sidesteps actual content -- the man's (lack of) substance and (deficit of) gravitas -- to hone in on a team's sustained failure to land on a winning bag of tricks. As a result, the real take-away here is how cynically political operatives view the electorate: as an easily manipulated group of capricious lemmings who need only a well-funded "ground game" to be pushed off the nearest cliff.
1
>>The problem with Mr. Trump’s campaign lies...
There! That's the big problem right there. Trump lies, and lies, and lies, and he never once admits that he's told an untruth. He simply changes the subject and follows one fabrication or conspiracy theory with another one. His apparent grandiose personality disorder insulates him from reality, and inflates his ego to the point where it crowds out common-sense and the notion that other people matter, not just him.
Trump has never grown up because he's never had to. The land of wealth and privilege thrives on characters instead of people; image instead of substance; quantity instead of quality; money instead of grace. This is the only universe he understands, and it is what he offers to people like himself---the very worst elements of human nature! And waiting for that to change is like waiting for the sun to rise in the west!
It'll never happen.
There! That's the big problem right there. Trump lies, and lies, and lies, and he never once admits that he's told an untruth. He simply changes the subject and follows one fabrication or conspiracy theory with another one. His apparent grandiose personality disorder insulates him from reality, and inflates his ego to the point where it crowds out common-sense and the notion that other people matter, not just him.
Trump has never grown up because he's never had to. The land of wealth and privilege thrives on characters instead of people; image instead of substance; quantity instead of quality; money instead of grace. This is the only universe he understands, and it is what he offers to people like himself---the very worst elements of human nature! And waiting for that to change is like waiting for the sun to rise in the west!
It'll never happen.
5
Lot's of respectable establishment voices in both parties say Trump is a defective adult, flawed in several clear ways and it is impossible to allow him to actually become the president of the United States of America. At the same time, today's American establishment is an outgrowth of the same American ruling class that is part of a planetary ruling class which has caused global warming and cannot do anything to reverse it. has had two world wars and America's endless wars over the past century, has so polluted India and China that dangers to health exceed cures from advances in medical and pharmacological sciences, and so on. What has gone on for centuries and millenniums cannot have been allowed to happen. Trump cannot match the disasters of the past; the president has too many constraints. I'm not worried that much about my old friend from Queens from when I attended Jamaica High School a few blocks from his house -- Donald Trump. I am worried about our centuries old two-party system: It does not work and has been responsible for genocide at home and abroad, along with the destruction of the global environment. Why single out Trump for things he cannot even carry out under the U.S. Constitution?
Lot's of respectable establishment voices in both parties say Trump is a defective adult, flawed in several clear ways and it is impossible to allow him to actually become the president of the United States of America. At the same time, today's American establishment is an outgrowth of the same American ruling class that is part of a planetary ruling class which has caused global warming and cannot do anything to reverse it, has had two world wars and America's endless wars over the past century, has so polluted India and China that dangers to health exceed cures from advances in medical and pharmacological sciences, and so on. What has gone on for centuries and millenniums cannot have been allowed to happen. Trump cannot match the disasters of the past; the president has too many constraints. I'm not worried that much about my old friend from Queens from when I attended Jamaica High School a few blocks from his house -- Donald Trump. I am worried about our centuries old two-party system: It does not work and has been responsible for genocide at home and abroad, along with the destruction of the global environment. Why single out Trump for things he cannot even carry out under the U.S. Constitution?
"You know, when the pound goes down, more people are coming to Turnberry."
That statement, of all he has made, is all you need to know about Donald Trump, and of how ineligible he is to be President.
If he does not understand the complexities and subtleties and global effects and effects on the US and possible domino effects and political effects and trade effects of the Brexit vote - he is unqualified.
If he does, and he reduces it all down to the effects on his own bottom line on one exclusive private venture he owns in a foreign country - he is unfit.
I suspect it is some of both - which makes it despicable.
Never has there been a person of less stature so close to such a respected and powerful and critical office. He must be stopped.
That statement, of all he has made, is all you need to know about Donald Trump, and of how ineligible he is to be President.
If he does not understand the complexities and subtleties and global effects and effects on the US and possible domino effects and political effects and trade effects of the Brexit vote - he is unqualified.
If he does, and he reduces it all down to the effects on his own bottom line on one exclusive private venture he owns in a foreign country - he is unfit.
I suspect it is some of both - which makes it despicable.
Never has there been a person of less stature so close to such a respected and powerful and critical office. He must be stopped.
5
It is interesting that what many are calling for is basically a personality change. "He needs to be more presidential", "he will change as the election gets closer" and so on. I find this most disturbing because it suggests he is either a chameleon or bipolar in nature both of which render him an unsuitable candidate. Admittedly the primary system tends to create the need to pivot from pandering to an isolated, radical, segment of the electorate in winning the nomination to appealing to the general population which can have quite different views.
As many have pointed out here he isn't going to change. Hopefully they are right.
As many have pointed out here he isn't going to change. Hopefully they are right.
With Benghazi suddenly rendered useless as a weapon (thanks, Trey Gowdy!), Clinton's only unresolved issue that Trump can try to exploit is the email non-scandal, a byproduct of the Benghazi investigation. Meanwhile, Trump's troubles are far larger and more manifold than State Department office infractions. For example, one current lawsuit charges Trump with raping a 13-year-old girl at one of another New York billionaire's sex parties. That reminds me of his ex-wife's lawsuit that details seriously troubling charges of Trump ripping chunks of Ivana's hair out and raping her. I would hate to see HRC go into the gutter to fight Trump, but unfortunately, that's where he lives.
1
The article itself highlights why this man should be nowhere near the White House. If we can just control him, get him to read some adult sounding words, package him just right, etc., etc. then perhaps he can thread the needle and get to 271 votes or even get this election into the House of Representatives. Perhaps Ms. Wallace and the GOP would do better contemplating if they want to keep swimming against the tide of history on so many issues. The Southern Strategy days are over. The great gerrymander project too will fail in time. Its long past time for viable programs, for an end to the fear mongering, for a party of adults. If you go that way, the White House is easily attainable. If not, the drought will continue.
3
Character and personality are the foremost issues, and will become even greater issues in the general election. They are formed in youth and are cemented in adulthood. The old adage “the leopard cannot change its spots,” is true; you can paint a leopard any color you wish, but it is still a leopard.
Mr. Trump is a classic sociopath. Here’s what the Mayo Clinic says about sociopathy:
“Antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is a mental condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others. People with antisocial personality disorder tend to antagonize, manipulate or treat others harshly or with callous indifference. They show no guilt or remorse for their behavior.
“Individuals with antisocial personality disorder often violate the law, becoming criminals. They may lie, behave violently or impulsively, and have problems with drug and alcohol use. Because of these characteristics, people with this disorder typically can't fulfill responsibilities related to family, work or school.”
Mr. Trump is a classic sociopath. Here’s what the Mayo Clinic says about sociopathy:
“Antisocial personality disorder, sometimes called sociopathy, is a mental condition in which a person consistently shows no regard for right and wrong and ignores the rights and feelings of others. People with antisocial personality disorder tend to antagonize, manipulate or treat others harshly or with callous indifference. They show no guilt or remorse for their behavior.
“Individuals with antisocial personality disorder often violate the law, becoming criminals. They may lie, behave violently or impulsively, and have problems with drug and alcohol use. Because of these characteristics, people with this disorder typically can't fulfill responsibilities related to family, work or school.”
2
And the GOP certainly can ignore that fascist component of using religion as a standard for entry into the country, or suing the press for negative coverage. He and Giuliani and Joe Arpaio are already preparing the illegal immigrant roundup. No worries GOP! All he needs to do is act more Presidential and everything will be OK.
3
"He deserves credit for acknowledging their economic despair and mounting fears about Islamic extremism." Then would you also give him credit for stoking and exploiting those fears into ridiculous policy proposals like building walls around our borders and religious tests for civic involvement? I'm not waiting for Donald Trump to grow up. I'm waiting for the Republican Party to grow a spine. Donald Trump is a threat to the stability of this country and you know it. To even dally with the notion of a Trump presidency is political pathology bordering on treason.
11
There isn't a Repuglican in our country who is fit to be president, OR a member of Congress.
9
As the Brexit vote demonstrated, an ill-informed and disenfranchised &$#!-you vote, if large enough, can have historical consequences. In the US it certainly did in the republican primary. Trump may be down at the moment and with each week he continues to demonstrates just how unfit he is for the office. But it would be foolish to count him out. A lot can happen between now and November.
1
People at 70 do not change or their inane utterances more profound just more public and more idiotic..come on eake up and get him out of a party he is only using..are you all that naive..
1
The truth is actually becoming much clearer. It's less about Trump than about the Republican base. A group of people infected by hate, racism, and lying at every turn. It's exactly the party that they tried to build over the last 35 years, and they succeeded dramatically.
12
Every time I see this guy on TV bloviating about the latest news from somewhere in the world, I can count on shallow cliches and generalizations. He speaks and thinks like a first year college student who didn't study for his essay exam and tries to answer like he knows what he is talking about. But you read one sentence and you know he doesn't have a clue. He is the male version of Sarah Palin. Where is Katie Couric when we need her?
Oh yeah, and personally I'm not convinced that he won over people by addressing their economic hurting. He won because there are a lot of xenophobic and I'm sorry to say bigoted know-nothings who wanted to spite the GOP establishment after being spited by them for so many years.
Oh yeah, and personally I'm not convinced that he won over people by addressing their economic hurting. He won because there are a lot of xenophobic and I'm sorry to say bigoted know-nothings who wanted to spite the GOP establishment after being spited by them for so many years.
9
Ms. Wallace's experience in 2008 as Ms. Palin's handler provided her with a complete picture of what an unqualified candidate looks like.
13
He is seventy and the perfect representative of the "grown up" conservative mindset. This is as good as it gets for conservatives and terrible for the nation.
7
Yeah, I have a couple uncles who are carbon copies of Trump without the money. The idea of him with his hands on the nuclear codes is terrifying.
1
1. He mocks disabled people.
2. He relies on Chris Christie in moments of crisis.
Full stop.
2. He relies on Chris Christie in moments of crisis.
Full stop.
12
You lost me at "Bush worried." That phrase is simply too oxymoronic and farcical for credibility.
4
How can any voter defend their support of a mentally ill Donald Trump who is one of the most ignorant, bigoted, racists to ever run for office in the United States. What justification can they offer other than to say something stupid and insulting about Hillary?
10
I can because I'm sick and tired just like the rest of the sane people in the US. You have a nice day.
The GOP made its bed; now it must lie in it.
6
Actually it may be up to the GOP voters to stop Trump....by voting for Hillary! As insane as that sounds it may come down to it as a last resort. The populist mania that he is inspiring can grow to a dangerous level especially due to world events. Any serious terrorist attacks in America would fuel a support for the Trump call for isolationism and striking back with "shock and awe."
Trump has become a modern day Messiah that people see as their only hope to fix all the major problems the world faces. The erosion of the middle class, world wide terrorism and the pressures of immigration all are very difficult to fix problems plaguing countries. It is appealing to turn to Shaman Trump to solve them by his "common sense" approach. Of course simple solutions are for simpletons and don't work in our complex and interconnected world. But Trump's followers badly want to believe in him, so facts mean little to them. They are willing to risk it all by throwing the elites out of office and giving him a chance at spinning his magic. What they cannot see is that this would be emperor "has no clothes." He has no magic. His proposed changes all have serious potentially negative collateral damage for many. Replace the best and the brightest (however flawed) with the ignorant and deluded? What could go wrong? No one wants to accept the fact that as bad as things may be they can be worse. A lot worse.
Trump has become a modern day Messiah that people see as their only hope to fix all the major problems the world faces. The erosion of the middle class, world wide terrorism and the pressures of immigration all are very difficult to fix problems plaguing countries. It is appealing to turn to Shaman Trump to solve them by his "common sense" approach. Of course simple solutions are for simpletons and don't work in our complex and interconnected world. But Trump's followers badly want to believe in him, so facts mean little to them. They are willing to risk it all by throwing the elites out of office and giving him a chance at spinning his magic. What they cannot see is that this would be emperor "has no clothes." He has no magic. His proposed changes all have serious potentially negative collateral damage for many. Replace the best and the brightest (however flawed) with the ignorant and deluded? What could go wrong? No one wants to accept the fact that as bad as things may be they can be worse. A lot worse.
1
He doesn't have to grow up, you (the Republican party and the media) helped to nurture this and we all will be paying for it for years to come.
And in regards to his rantings about bringing jobs back and other pipe dreams, where are all of his clothes, hats, etc. made?
Makes me wonder where all of the Trump meat comes from too?
And in regards to his rantings about bringing jobs back and other pipe dreams, where are all of his clothes, hats, etc. made?
Makes me wonder where all of the Trump meat comes from too?
3
I couldn't get any farther than the authors giving Trump credit for acknowledging his supporters' "economic despair and mounting fears about Islamic extremism." I guess that means we should all credit Hitler for acknowledging the economic despair of the Germans and their mounting fears about communism.
12
Mr. Trump is Mr. Trump because none of the other 16 candidates--what could have been a plethora of know-how--showed the charisma, the optimism, the acumen, and so on--that Mr. Trump has exhibited. But even Mr. T seems to have scant supplies of those, so I write on a thick schmear of snark and skepticism. One of the key reasons Mr. Trump has been foisted on us was the inability of the RNC to recruit or encourage a more inspiring or appealing candidate. I'd guess that no one else wanted the job of getting the job. Passively aggressively or otherwise, Mr. Preibus & Co. stuck the red staters, and uncomfortably close to the other 52% or whatever of us, with a used politics salesman, a lemon of a statesman, a demon of democracy, a defaulter of debt. He wins some hearts and minds in large part because, to those who are duped 24/7 by rightist hyperbole, Hillary is a loser. We the people have been gifted by graft, played for fools by yet another systemic attempt to misguide Us into the firm grasp of con men, weapons merchants and robber barons. It won't succeed. Next time, the RNC should offer candidates who won't generate so much angst and negative ink, who walk the walk, express good will and have no skeletons that everyone will have to bear.
1
Isn't this a second time the Republicans are waiting for a Presidential candidate to grow up? Did the Republicans have another candidate named Bush who was a man/boy on a mountain bike instead of getting security briefings? The result of this Republicans repeating the same actions is a nomination of a Vice President to be the "experienced one". The first time the Republicans pulled this stunt it resulted in one of the worst VPs -Cheney. Since we all know the results of the Bush administration it is time to accept that the Republicans are offering us act 2 of this experiment and the outcome could be another disaster if Trump wins in November.
16
hey, don't blame the mountain bike!
1
Trump is a drama queen. Once he is crowned at the Republican convention it will all be downhill for him. Embarrassing debates, horrid poll numbers and an increasingly hostile press and public will cause him to quit a few months before the election because American doesn't appreciate him enough. I hear Romney is getting ready...
11
I think you are right, Adam.... except for the 'debate' part. Just as he ran from Fox's Megan when she was going to be a moderator and he was doing his 'bleeding' routine that week so he ran off to go stand on the foredeck of a battleship for a Veteran's group with only one member so he wouldn't have to face her, so, too, with Clinton. I don't see him ever stepping onto that stage.
Deep inside, he HAS to know he's utterly unqualified, totally ignorant, and lives in a fact-free bubble.
Even drama queens know when to trot off to powder their noses.....
Deep inside, he HAS to know he's utterly unqualified, totally ignorant, and lives in a fact-free bubble.
Even drama queens know when to trot off to powder their noses.....
4
Republicans would be more satisfied if the Donald exercised the ability to not say what he's thinking. Having said that what they enjoy about the same quality is that it's honest as much as it is embarrassing. In contrast the main talent that Obama has is to state the obvious (as he did in his last speech) as if it were some kind of hidden knowledge into which he has insight. Statements like "the country has a unique racial prejudice or discrimination" or "we treated the Native Americans cruelly". This is not knowledge or insight- it is pure politics of the worst kind- the divisive kind. Husbands will identify with the comparison of the wife who states during an an argument concerning present day issues "remember what you said 5 years ago on February 23rd at the dinner table" ??? Of course not. Same kind of situation- attempting to thwart the argument by raising another issue.
Obama also continually throws everyone back into the old way of thinking when the positive thing to do is "let it go". That's the only healthy thing to do but it would not serve Obama to admit that. He uses Native American because its more effective than saying black Americans.
Obama also continually throws everyone back into the old way of thinking when the positive thing to do is "let it go". That's the only healthy thing to do but it would not serve Obama to admit that. He uses Native American because its more effective than saying black Americans.
Nicole what I found interesting was that yesterday when Trump was speaking in front of the aluminum recycling plant was his stupidity was on full display. Not be the back drop but by the arrogance of his campaign. Trump has supplied the Chamber Of Commerce with a copy of his speech in advance. I guess in hopes of some form of approval. Instead the Chamber was live Tweeting a rebuttal to every talking point he brought up. "Not True" was the overall tone of everything the Chamber rebutted to Trump's EVERY statement. I am positive the most business friendly lobbying organization in America calling you a liar is really going to enhance your standing with the donor class you desperately need?
3
It is the patriotic duty of every American who values our nation and the values that make us great to do everything possible to make sure trump never sees the White House except on a guided tour.
2
Watch out for the 2018 mid-term under President Hillary where the Cruz-like will be in full force. It might even be worse than a Trump presidency. Personally, I am hopeful for 2020, maybe even a third party?!
Let's compromise: Waterboard Palin publicly, and we'll call it even.
3
I suppose this means the GOP will have to wait and wait for its members to grow up as well.
4
The author is clearly conservative leaning, and has sympathy for both the party and DT. However it goes without saying that they brought this upon themselves after years of feeding lies and rhetoric to its base, and they deserve what's happening right now.
3
Those paying attention in the GOP, should have recognized that Trump begins and ends with the consequences of his Personality Disorder. The Man has an Axis 2 disorder. When people say "He can't help himself", this is what they are talking about. The Russians are trying to help the dumpster any way they can , as evidenced by their leaking material that was negative to Hillary's campaign. They know that Trump is much preferable from their perspective.
"It’s abundantly clear, however, that a move toward statesmanship will never materialize."
Does that statement imply that Trump's priorities, should he be elected, might include: commissioning a 3rd rate composer to write "Donald's Theme" to replace "Hail to the Chief"; personally overseeing the gilding of Trump's Castle (what was formerly known as the White House); converting the National Mall into a golf course; moving the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to a warehouse because the names on the wall are of losers because they died; the mandatory surgical reduction of all citizens' finger sizes so that his fingers will no longer be considered short and vulgarian... I could go on and on.
Seriously, if this man becomes Commander in Chief will senior military officers actually obey orders that he gives? Will Homeland Security become an agency that will focus only on enemies, real and imagined, who are critical of Trump? Will the purpose of the Department of Education be to force the Ivy League to accept Trump University? Trump's inaugural address will bastardize JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you..." and turn it into "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for Trump."
There isn't enough oxygen on the planet for everyone to hold their breath while waiting for Trump to grow up.
Does that statement imply that Trump's priorities, should he be elected, might include: commissioning a 3rd rate composer to write "Donald's Theme" to replace "Hail to the Chief"; personally overseeing the gilding of Trump's Castle (what was formerly known as the White House); converting the National Mall into a golf course; moving the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to a warehouse because the names on the wall are of losers because they died; the mandatory surgical reduction of all citizens' finger sizes so that his fingers will no longer be considered short and vulgarian... I could go on and on.
Seriously, if this man becomes Commander in Chief will senior military officers actually obey orders that he gives? Will Homeland Security become an agency that will focus only on enemies, real and imagined, who are critical of Trump? Will the purpose of the Department of Education be to force the Ivy League to accept Trump University? Trump's inaugural address will bastardize JFK's "Ask not what your country can do for you..." and turn it into "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for Trump."
There isn't enough oxygen on the planet for everyone to hold their breath while waiting for Trump to grow up.
4
"The G.O.P. Waits, and Waits, for Donald Trump to Grow Up"
Perhaps. Yet, there is no doubt that the country is waiting for the delusional and dishonest liberal Democrat establishment to join the rest of us in reality. The Democrat establishment candidate is, without question, amoral, a congenital liar, a money grubbing crook, a tool of Wall Street and big corporations and the enabler of a serial sexual predator. None of this seems to bother liberals. It is almost as if all they care about is winning and desperately holding on to power for its own sake and its associated graft and patronage. To bad Al Capone is dead. He would make a better candidate. He was a better dresser.
Perhaps. Yet, there is no doubt that the country is waiting for the delusional and dishonest liberal Democrat establishment to join the rest of us in reality. The Democrat establishment candidate is, without question, amoral, a congenital liar, a money grubbing crook, a tool of Wall Street and big corporations and the enabler of a serial sexual predator. None of this seems to bother liberals. It is almost as if all they care about is winning and desperately holding on to power for its own sake and its associated graft and patronage. To bad Al Capone is dead. He would make a better candidate. He was a better dresser.
"None of this seems to bother liberals" It bothers many of us. There are always those in politics who will not admit to flaws in their candidate, but Bernie Sanders' campaign is testament that there are many who see HRC for what she is. But, flaws and all, HRC is the only sane choice in this election.
That's so establishment Nicole, kind of like you gig @ msmbc. And now a piece in the NYT! You have arrived. You are the reasonable republican. Only problem is so was GWB the first, McCain and Romney. Quiz question...what do they all have in common? Time to break the mold my dear.
Democrats are confused with the ability to recognize the art of subtle lying (Obama's main talent) and that of saying what you think (which is admittedly embarrassing in Donald's case). The awe, and respect that Democrats assign to Obama for simply stating the obvious or general knowledge is quite interesting. It's one of their blind spots. Example in his most recent speech "This country has a unique racial discrimination culture". He states this as if he has insight that others lack. He does not. He states this purely for political gain and to divide the country. This has always been his fall back plan. By saying this he invites everyone to go back to the old way of thinking- when the only healthy thing to do is "LET IT GO"
OR Obama was telling the truth and Trump is selling lies. Truth is not so easy to divine particularly when it comes to motivations. At least Obama sounds sincere. That is really the best you can do.
2
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. He is no more a political wizard than a business one. His conquest of the GOP demonsrates only the shocking weakness at the party's core. No healthy political party could nominate Donald Trump. George Will recognizes this dire condition. Most other party stalwarts are still wishfully clicking their heels together, wanting desperately to find themselves back home in Kansas.
12
Trump reads one speech off of a teleprompter, and Republicans hope/assume that he has changed. Then he advocates war crimes and they're back to square one.
I'm close enough to Trump's age to wonder exactly what they want Donald to do.
At 70 years old, after a privileged life of ordering people around and doing just what he pleases, how could he change? What sort of life changing event would he have to go through to start respecting all people?
I think if on Nov. 8th he is badly beaten, being labeled a historic LOSER might change him. But probably not for the better.
I'm close enough to Trump's age to wonder exactly what they want Donald to do.
At 70 years old, after a privileged life of ordering people around and doing just what he pleases, how could he change? What sort of life changing event would he have to go through to start respecting all people?
I think if on Nov. 8th he is badly beaten, being labeled a historic LOSER might change him. But probably not for the better.
12
The Republican establishment has a big problem -- Trump, at 70, is never going to change. He has a narcissistic personality disorder and will always crave the spotlight and will always expect to be applauded and admired for what he views as his self-made accomplishments. A Trump presidency would be one of bluster and blather and chest thumping and chaotic "deal making" here and abroad. He will lie, exaggerate, bully, and tweet. He will reject efforts to make him more "presidential." And as he slides the country into chaos he will gather Republicans around him to show support and appeal to the worst of us, not the best, to shield himself. from criticism.
10
When they show you who they are, believe them the first time.
13
When I was young and a man would catch my eye and he'd say, "Ah, you don't want to be with me..." I finally wised up and learned to say, "Okay!" and would happily walk off. Trump wouldn't have gotten past "Hello" with me. Republiklan men aren't very discerning, are they?
I sympathize with Nicolle's yearnings for him to grow up, but there's something so 50's about it all, isn't there?
I sympathize with Nicolle's yearnings for him to grow up, but there's something so 50's about it all, isn't there?
1
Trump represents the worst of Amerca, rather than the best of America. The GOP Participated heavily in the making of Trump.
President Obama has represented the best of America while the GOP did everything they could to attack his character and partisinship, and in doing so eroded our democracy. They created hate in all they have done and not done.
President Obama has represented the best of America while the GOP did everything they could to attack his character and partisinship, and in doing so eroded our democracy. They created hate in all they have done and not done.
12
While it might be an act that brings a perpetrator to light, it’s the cover-up that brings them down. So is it with Trump in particular and the republicans in general.
For DECADES republicans, however unobtrusively, have stoked the heat of bigotry, hatred, prejudice and scapegoating, transferring that aggression into political gain. Now they have a nominee who’s actually ascended to their leadership by campaigning on those very same issues the party powerbrokers have the hypocritical temerity to disavow (wink. wink.). Now they have a nominee who’s openly stepped into the litter box of republican nationalism and xenophobia, and in cat-like fashion, the republicans are scratching to cover up the all-too-noticeable droppings.
It’s to Trump’s unintended credit that he’s revealed his real self. It is equally to the republican establishment’s unintended credit they have so fecklessly done the same.
I’ve been gleeful at their distress and potential self-relagation to the status of small, regional, vanishing voting bloc. Then my joy fades as I consider what just might metastasize to fill such a national void.
William Butler Yeats asked: “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” What beast indeed! Perhaps it is indeed better to have a seen enemy in front of us rather than a stronger, unseen one behind us.
For DECADES republicans, however unobtrusively, have stoked the heat of bigotry, hatred, prejudice and scapegoating, transferring that aggression into political gain. Now they have a nominee who’s actually ascended to their leadership by campaigning on those very same issues the party powerbrokers have the hypocritical temerity to disavow (wink. wink.). Now they have a nominee who’s openly stepped into the litter box of republican nationalism and xenophobia, and in cat-like fashion, the republicans are scratching to cover up the all-too-noticeable droppings.
It’s to Trump’s unintended credit that he’s revealed his real self. It is equally to the republican establishment’s unintended credit they have so fecklessly done the same.
I’ve been gleeful at their distress and potential self-relagation to the status of small, regional, vanishing voting bloc. Then my joy fades as I consider what just might metastasize to fill such a national void.
William Butler Yeats asked: “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” What beast indeed! Perhaps it is indeed better to have a seen enemy in front of us rather than a stronger, unseen one behind us.
1
I was very surprised this morning to see Nicole Wallace's name here. She is one of the prime reasons that I can't watch MSNBC for election coverage anymore.
How the hosts can sit there and treat someone like her who glosses over the fact that her party is full of climate deniers, bigots, abortion propagandists, water boarding proponents, etc as though she belongs in the same friendly discourse of the others at the desk is the greatest symbol that they have sold out. They don't even ask her about these things. It's bizarre.
And this isn't only about Trump.
Cruz, Rubio, Ben Carson...
All climate change deniers and worse...
Carly Fiorina with her rhetoric about 'baby parts', doubling down after the shooting at the PP clinic..
I just don't get it. Hopefully someday soon this will all crack. These pundits are worse than Trump, if they don't hold him to account for the evil he is spouting. More water-boarding, he said yesterday, as if he was proud of the practice.
Nicole please stop caving to the media powers that love to place people with your take at desks with people that many of us still try to be fans of (Rachel, Lawrence, especially). You still have a chance to get serious, and based on the way things are going, you will have a better career after it is all over if you stand up to the machine.
How the hosts can sit there and treat someone like her who glosses over the fact that her party is full of climate deniers, bigots, abortion propagandists, water boarding proponents, etc as though she belongs in the same friendly discourse of the others at the desk is the greatest symbol that they have sold out. They don't even ask her about these things. It's bizarre.
And this isn't only about Trump.
Cruz, Rubio, Ben Carson...
All climate change deniers and worse...
Carly Fiorina with her rhetoric about 'baby parts', doubling down after the shooting at the PP clinic..
I just don't get it. Hopefully someday soon this will all crack. These pundits are worse than Trump, if they don't hold him to account for the evil he is spouting. More water-boarding, he said yesterday, as if he was proud of the practice.
Nicole please stop caving to the media powers that love to place people with your take at desks with people that many of us still try to be fans of (Rachel, Lawrence, especially). You still have a chance to get serious, and based on the way things are going, you will have a better career after it is all over if you stand up to the machine.
5
Trump has captured one sector of the electorate: White, uneducated males who admire his brazen contempt for civility. They like the unscripted Trump, the one who flings around lies and hope they stick. Fortunately for Hillary Clinton, the unscripted Trump, without the canned teleprompting he continues to mock but is being coerced to use by Manafort, will be on full display during the debates, where he will be exposed for his naked ignorance on any substantial issue. Yes, he will retain his hold on one sector but for goodness' sake, it will not be enough to carry him to the presidency.
He has brilliantly harnessed economic frustration and fears of Muslim extremism. He also has a big ego and he might be convinced that his job is done--he raised awareness but rather than go down to a historic defeat, he should step aside at the convention and turn it over to someone who can win. The money guys would jump at the chance to back a winner like Robert Gates. If Trump stays in the money will stay on the sidelines and he will lose in a landslide,
Ms. Wallace, when you were senior advisor to the McCain campaign, did you perchance have anything to do with the decision to select Sarah Palin as running mate?
If so, the ascendance of an ignorant, lazy, entitled, draft-dodging racist grifter to the top spot in your party should really pose no mystery to you.
If so, the ascendance of an ignorant, lazy, entitled, draft-dodging racist grifter to the top spot in your party should really pose no mystery to you.
5
Anyone can say what he says. Why isn't another millionaire in the running? Because a person who has had continued success isn't a big mouth making grandiose statements he cannot follow through with....he is a joke. The Republicans, bless your hearts all of you who want a clown and a bafoon for a leader, get ready for your reckoning to come. It will be swift and dangerous and all of you will be sadly Teumped. He is a swindler and a con man.
4
Too bad Samuel Beckett didn't live long enough to encounter Donald Trump. Nothing says theater of the absurd more than "Waiting For Donald"....to grow up.
The real issue here is that Republicans have lost sight of the fact that country, not party, comes first. They have convinced themselves that voting for Drumpf is a necessity, however distasteful the task may be, because he's not a Democrat. Republicans believe that voting for a Democrat is committing treason to their party. In fact, all they are doing is abdicating free will, while selling their country down the drain.
Thomas Jefferson's words bear repeating at a time like this:
"I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed
of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in
politics, or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for
myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and
moral agent. If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I
would not go there at all."
What ever happened to the likes of such people in public life?
The real issue here is that Republicans have lost sight of the fact that country, not party, comes first. They have convinced themselves that voting for Drumpf is a necessity, however distasteful the task may be, because he's not a Democrat. Republicans believe that voting for a Democrat is committing treason to their party. In fact, all they are doing is abdicating free will, while selling their country down the drain.
Thomas Jefferson's words bear repeating at a time like this:
"I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed
of any party of men whatever, in religion, in philosophy, in
politics, or in anything else, where I was capable of thinking for
myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and
moral agent. If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I
would not go there at all."
What ever happened to the likes of such people in public life?
3
Well, there was George W. Bush ... "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"
Now there's a statesman.
Now there's a statesman.
1
Nicolle: Problem is, the things you call missteps are precisely what makes Trump appealing to his base. Cleaning up his act by mouthing a few restrained proposals and his core supporters disappear. Face it.....your candidate is deeply, deeply flawed, reckless and profoundly insecure.
3
I never can figure out why Trump keeps making that "loser" L with his right hand. Nor can I figure out why he is always pinching nonexistent bugs with his thumbs and forefingers.
Hitler and Mussolini used very forceful "baton" gestures when delivering their harangues. Trump's little fingers weave arpeggios of distraction for his erstwhile snake-oil customers.
Hitler and Mussolini used very forceful "baton" gestures when delivering their harangues. Trump's little fingers weave arpeggios of distraction for his erstwhile snake-oil customers.
4
This dunce is not interested in becoming president. All this dunce is interested in is improving his brand, or what's left of it.
Red O. Greene, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Red O. Greene, Albuquerque, NM, USA
2
He is simply unqualified. Intellectually, he is probably equal to some former presidents with his "very good brain." Emotionally and morally is where he comes up so short. He is ignorant. He lies easily and often. He exploits the fears of people and that is despicable. If he starts to act presidential or dignified is when everything will fall apart for him.
6
So here we have a member of the Republican "elite" castigating Trump in a newspaper whose readership is largely left of center. I suggest to Ms. Wallace that this piece in the WSJ would reach a more receptive audience. Trump might even read it himself.
2
There is some evidence that Trump is "growing up" because he is allowing his hair to grow gray. Also, he is getting a bit fatter in the middle. Other than that he is still a meatheaded bully.
6
ms wallace??!! - she's big fan of gwb - why are you quoting her when there are so many intelligent moral pundits available - amoral - self-serving -shallow
3
You phrase the conundrum well. His followers, one of which i could never be, accept him and his true nonsense blindly, that all will be well if only he is elected. He says terrorists are "bad"; well, yes, but what are you going to do? One thing Donald, just one. He has zero comprehension of strategy, much less any strategic thinking. His impulse is to do what is best only for him, regardless of the rest of the world or, for that matter, the GOP. You are spot-on that he cannot change course. At 70, this is who he is. Mouth off first, perhaps think later. And did I mention the lying, the outright lying.
For him to lose, good people must do nothing, In other words, it is not enough for Hillary to keep her loyalists of which I am reluctantly one. [What has she done? She has been involved in much but what has she accomplished? But I digress]
The election will turn on Bernie. He must, for the good of the country, say we fought the good fight but to save the republic, we must unite behind her.
For him to lose, good people must do nothing, In other words, it is not enough for Hillary to keep her loyalists of which I am reluctantly one. [What has she done? She has been involved in much but what has she accomplished? But I digress]
The election will turn on Bernie. He must, for the good of the country, say we fought the good fight but to save the republic, we must unite behind her.
3
The Donald simply keeps everyone around him off balance all of the time. This will fly like a lead balloon in foreign relations.
1
None of is sure that Donald will eventually "grow up". All of us acknowledge that Hillary has grown up. Most of us cannot support the "adult" she has become and will not vote for her under any circumstances. Our dilemma is to withhold our vote or grudgingly vote for a volatile, untested amateur. The inexperienced, naive and untested adolescent I voted for in 2008 and 2012 has been an unmitigated disappointment who has virtually destroyed American power and pride. I am making every effort to evaluate "live" presentations by Donald Trump since the partisans, pundits, politicians and press are so hopelessly disingenuous and biased that a valid assessment based on their blathering is quixotic and counterproductive.
The man you voted for in 2008 and 2012 has been an unmitigated success:
- Managed successfully the economy abyss of the Great Recession
- Delivered health care reform
- Increased the tax rate on high earners against the Republican's wishes
- Stared down the Republican who wished nothing more than to shut down the government
- Created a well thought through foreign policy that extracted us out of stupid wars
- Reacts thoughtfully to global political events without spreading gas on the many fired
- I can go on and on ....
I am not denying a few disappointments but they are dwarfed by the successes.
The fact that we voted for a thoughtful, charismatic, and passionate leader makes me proud to be an American. Hopefully we do it agin - and Trump is the antithesis of thoughtful, charismatic, and compassionate.
- Managed successfully the economy abyss of the Great Recession
- Delivered health care reform
- Increased the tax rate on high earners against the Republican's wishes
- Stared down the Republican who wished nothing more than to shut down the government
- Created a well thought through foreign policy that extracted us out of stupid wars
- Reacts thoughtfully to global political events without spreading gas on the many fired
- I can go on and on ....
I am not denying a few disappointments but they are dwarfed by the successes.
The fact that we voted for a thoughtful, charismatic, and passionate leader makes me proud to be an American. Hopefully we do it agin - and Trump is the antithesis of thoughtful, charismatic, and compassionate.
1
When the collective mental age of a nation is in the single digits, there isn't any adult supervision.
President Obama made clear in his books that his ambition to be president rested on his belief that he would be able to preside over the best crowd-sourced ideas rising up through the general cloud of confusion.
He probably never imagined how much ill will would preclude that.
He probably never imagined how much ill will would preclude that.
1
Waiting for Trump to "grow up" is the least of anyone's worries. What is deeply troubling is that Trump preaches hate, violence and bullying as his weapons of choice to achieve "greatness" for our country. His comments in light of the terrorist bombing in Istanbul were nothing short of horrifying in proposing that we sink to the level of ISIS and become the inhuman and inhumane people they are as a means to combat terrorism. Apart from the fact that such policies would be a prescription for increased terrorism and a major international war, is this the kind of country we want?
Hillary gets my enthusiastic backing and vote.
Hillary gets my enthusiastic backing and vote.
20
All the terrorists so far as I can see are the kind of race or nationalities that Mr. Trump wants to keep out of our country. Why is that bad? Hillary and obama our puppets for wall street and are war mongers. That is bad.
And, after all that Ms. Wallace, there's this: http://pollyvote.com. The professional forecasting trend is converging. What that may mean is that there are political forces outside of Trump&co. that don't care what Trump says; they care about something else. I think that's not explicit.
2
"Establishment" media and politicians are desperate to maintain their self-serving status quo, in this case equating "growing up" with joining the establishment that has failed the country. Despite the intense media propaganda, voters are tired of the status quo, and want a Sanders or a Trump. While the media have successfully marginalized Sanders, it looks like Trump may break through in 2016.
10
While there are many voters out there who are tired of the "status-quo", there is probably an equal amount of voters out there who don't want either Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump.
They want someone who is not self-serving, and so they turn to Trump? Then democracy never had a chance, for the people are crazy.
1
The problem with Trumo is not the "solutions he recommends", but the reality of what he is. He is a demagogic , megalomaniacal charlatan. He can be coached to tone down his rhetoric and suggest rationally sounding policies. But he cannot release his tax returns, and expose his exploitation of those who now constitute his constituents: Trump U students, small contractors and lanorers he stiffed, and lenders and investors he he damaged. The current level of Trump's "self funding" reveals the truth about his actual liquidity. The GOP is not as frightened about Trump's rhetoric as he is merely restating their extremism. The GOP is terrified that on inauguration day their emperor will have no clothes.
58
No one has had enough courage or enough clout to convince Trump that the Emperor (that would be him) has no clothes! He's 70 years old, very rich, and very clever. You would think he's learned how to dress for success. But he and his most passionate supporters prefer the naked, bare au natural approach; very attractive.
7
Trump is very clever? Newton is spinning in his grave..
This article assumes that a Trump with more knowledge and and a little time between thought and utterance would somehow be a suitable president. Nothing he has done has shown this to be even remotely true.
The one useful,and patriotic, thing the Republics can do is to let him lose.
The one useful,and patriotic, thing the Republics can do is to let him lose.
61
"Patriotic"? The so-called Republican party, which few today recognize, uses all the tools Trump wields - xenophobia, racism, name-calling and lies - to keep its base riled and distracted. Their intransigence in the face of a popular president has cost this country 8 years of addressing real issues and looks to continue under a new popularly elected president. There's nothing "conservative" about a party that goes off the rails at every single opportunity to govern. That party, whatever it is, will need a tremendous shellacking at the polls for anything constructive to creep out of it.
1
You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig.
39
He may speak to the anxieties of the GOP base but he really is pandering to their racism & bigotry. It's so easy to blame immigrants, Mexicans & Muslims for your troubles. Trump works this very well
34
Since Obama never had the courage, Trump was able to roar on in!
Yes. But you forgot to mention the part about him being endorsed by a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
2
And Laura, it's easy to convince yourself if you live in Chicago or Baltimore that you are more likely to be harmed by the police than by another member of your community. It's human, not republican, to engage in denial.
1
"..to grow up."?? How about "...to become sane."??? Neither a likely occurrence.
39
Ms. Wallace, the party you thought you were helping to lead no longer exists, because the forms of conservatism you imagined could generate a governing majority have demonstrated that they cannot.
Your voters have moved on to Trump's UKIP-style nativist, protectionist, revanchist, authoritarian, and anti-fact politics. They will build their new coalitions wherever they can: Chris Christie, Jeff Sessions, David Duke, neo-Nazi skinheads, all equally fine to them.
We can debate whether the party you were trying to sell us ever existed. But now that it clearly does not, what are YOU going to do?
Your voters have moved on to Trump's UKIP-style nativist, protectionist, revanchist, authoritarian, and anti-fact politics. They will build their new coalitions wherever they can: Chris Christie, Jeff Sessions, David Duke, neo-Nazi skinheads, all equally fine to them.
We can debate whether the party you were trying to sell us ever existed. But now that it clearly does not, what are YOU going to do?
37
If she had any integrity at all, she would have written a piece that admits embarrassment and disgust over Trump. She would admit that the GOP is morally bankrupt. She would call on the rest of the enablers and collaborators to do whatever it takes to prevent this obscene assault on the democratic process.
But she won't.
But she won't.
1
Today's conservative and libertarian movements rest on a premise that has never, ever been true - that the rich and powerful need only serve their own interests and all will prosper.
That premise only makes the rich richer and everyone else poorer. So the only way the rich and corrupt can hold power is by dividing the people they abuse - spreading hate.
That premise only makes the rich richer and everyone else poorer. So the only way the rich and corrupt can hold power is by dividing the people they abuse - spreading hate.
33
Trump will be Trump, and if that holds, Hillary won't have to win the election, he will simply lose it. My fear is that if, by some miracle, his handlers can keep him on the teleprompter, he'll convince our short-memoried electorate that he's actually OK. Then we'll wake up on November 9th to the reality that we've just elected the old Donald. Brexit remorse will pale by comparison. Donald, please, don't listen to them; just be you!
24
Just last night Trump was being Trump at a political rally talking about waterboarding being a good thing again. Off the rails, no teleprompters, just Donald being obnoxious Donald. We need some folks asking him questions like: Donald, how are your bone spurs in your feet, you know the ones that kept you out of Vietnam while 55,000 troops were being killed?" Or Donald, how much does a gallon of milk cost?" Or, Donald, what are you going to do about the inner cities of America and the poverty and mayhem that exists there?" He'd be off the rail in a minute, spewing forth his crappola.
1
So, according to Ms. Wallace, all Trump needs is to learn "just a few more things" about national security and counterterrorism and read a book about 9/11 and he'll be ready for the presidency. Wow. Who knew that's all it took?This begs the question: what "things" does he already know about national security and counterterrorism? He's not been in any hurry to let us in on that. But, not to worry. Trump has said that he is his own most trusted advisor. So, we just have to wait, along with the Republican Party, for him to read that book, and he'll be ready for the White House. Good to know.
367
Ms. Wallace was brought up under W. so the difference is about the same, none. Just learn a few things....
1
If course he'll be ready! W really didn't know any more that DT, maybe less. How'd that work out for us? Great!
1
"Mr. Trump managed to stay off the TV programs that often send him wildly off message, but the speech wasn’t followed by any sustained strategy to reinforce the case he laid out against Hillary Clinton."
Trump is only on message when he is "off message".
That is exactly what animates his followers.
You just want him to "change" to make yourself feel better and to take you off the hook when you give your inevitable support to a man who's disqualified himself from the presidency in too many ways to count.
He's not going to change, and you're not going to find the courage to disavow him, let's be honest.
Trump is going to ride the train all the way into the station his way.
At least he's got the guts to own what he is.
He's going to be himself. If you're so horrified, get off the train already.
Trump is only on message when he is "off message".
That is exactly what animates his followers.
You just want him to "change" to make yourself feel better and to take you off the hook when you give your inevitable support to a man who's disqualified himself from the presidency in too many ways to count.
He's not going to change, and you're not going to find the courage to disavow him, let's be honest.
Trump is going to ride the train all the way into the station his way.
At least he's got the guts to own what he is.
He's going to be himself. If you're so horrified, get off the train already.
233
Sorry JayK, But thinkers never boarded that train. Trump is considered "trustworthy?" Why? Because his lies haven't yet come to fruition? He vows to rip up trade deals with China--how exactly does the POTUS accomplish that singlehandedly? Bring back manufacturing jobs? Not in his lifetime, even if he can actually do something positive toward that end, an enterprise which he appears to know nothing about. But, no worries, Trump is still "trustworthy." Right.
3
Well said JayK! Indeed, by not taking a stand, the writer lacks authority and her complaint sounds shallow and unconvincing.
3
Where did I say Trump was "trustworthy"?
He's a liar and a fraud.
But somehow, probably owing to the fact that he is a complete sociopath, he is proud of this and proudly "owns" it.
His completely unabashed and over the top persona and "bling" has always been the strange source of his appeal.
He was never embarrassed or in doubt for one second about what he was, which I suppose it what people find appealing about him.
These characteristics were endlessly entertaining for gossip columnists and somewhat innocuous for the rest of us until he decided to become a full on "birther" and use that to springboard him into politics.
He's has become an existential threat to everybody.
I'm not on his team, all I'm saying is that he is true to himself.
He's a liar and a fraud.
But somehow, probably owing to the fact that he is a complete sociopath, he is proud of this and proudly "owns" it.
His completely unabashed and over the top persona and "bling" has always been the strange source of his appeal.
He was never embarrassed or in doubt for one second about what he was, which I suppose it what people find appealing about him.
These characteristics were endlessly entertaining for gossip columnists and somewhat innocuous for the rest of us until he decided to become a full on "birther" and use that to springboard him into politics.
He's has become an existential threat to everybody.
I'm not on his team, all I'm saying is that he is true to himself.
1
How my Republican friends can even think Trump represents anything good for America baffles my mind. I never knew how closed minded these buddies of mine were until I heard them actually supporting the racist bully. Makes me think less of my buddies, unfortunately....
29
I'll take your comment a little farther . . .
I don't want to be the sort of person who makes another person's politics the deciding factor in my assessment of him or her. I don't want to be, but I am. I think of those who plan to vote for Trump as enemies. I know I shouldn't, but I do.
It's not as if our voting choices made no difference. What the clueless Bush, the morally bankrupt Cheney and the right-wing dogma-obsessed Neocons promoted in Iraq may, in the end, destabilize the entire planet, permanently.
It doesn't seem to matter that Bush's advisers were more successful in restraining him than Trump's seem to be. Bush still gave us a state of permanent war, which Trump seems poised not to end, but to expand.
That, in my view, is what's at stake. I have nothing but contempt for those who want to enable this insecure, money-grubbing narcissist who knows nothing and cares less.
I don't want to be the sort of person who makes another person's politics the deciding factor in my assessment of him or her. I don't want to be, but I am. I think of those who plan to vote for Trump as enemies. I know I shouldn't, but I do.
It's not as if our voting choices made no difference. What the clueless Bush, the morally bankrupt Cheney and the right-wing dogma-obsessed Neocons promoted in Iraq may, in the end, destabilize the entire planet, permanently.
It doesn't seem to matter that Bush's advisers were more successful in restraining him than Trump's seem to be. Bush still gave us a state of permanent war, which Trump seems poised not to end, but to expand.
That, in my view, is what's at stake. I have nothing but contempt for those who want to enable this insecure, money-grubbing narcissist who knows nothing and cares less.
1
Imagine how I feel, my daughter, a smart gal with a masters in science is going to marry a Trump supporter.
1
Nicolle:
Just say it, Donald Trump is not competent to be President of the United States. Just say you will not vote for him. Why is it that so many Republicans are without any courage.
For once, just once, put the country ahead of party.
Hillary is not my first choice, but she is my only choice.
Just say it, Donald Trump is not competent to be President of the United States. Just say you will not vote for him. Why is it that so many Republicans are without any courage.
For once, just once, put the country ahead of party.
Hillary is not my first choice, but she is my only choice.
63
Whoa...Nicolle Wallace dated Donald Trump ???
11
Ha! Go Detroit!
Republican leaders don't share the interests of their base -- that is they belong to two different parties, Trump or No Trump. It'll be fun to watch them trying to square that circle over the next few elections.
4
Lately, the "method of maturation" for Mr. Trump has been to eschew his impromptu tirades by reading off a teleprompter, which use he previously considered beneath his dignity, fit only for the likes of Obama and Clinton.
And having watched him read two of his teleprompter speeches, I conclude yes indeed, he is a reasonably capable actor, having spent much time on TV.
But I am not convinced, because when he is himself, as when he gloated over Brexit because it will make more money for his golf course, I am convinced that Trump will never grow up.
At least no one was killed over Brexit, but when he congratulated himself for "predicting" the Orlando massacre, he made clear to me his moral unfitness for the office of president.
And having watched him read two of his teleprompter speeches, I conclude yes indeed, he is a reasonably capable actor, having spent much time on TV.
But I am not convinced, because when he is himself, as when he gloated over Brexit because it will make more money for his golf course, I am convinced that Trump will never grow up.
At least no one was killed over Brexit, but when he congratulated himself for "predicting" the Orlando massacre, he made clear to me his moral unfitness for the office of president.
20
I think the family of Jill Cox would beg to differ with your statement. Brexit has also brought a large increase of racist violence incidences in the UK. If trump is elected I fear that the dark underbelly of our society which supports him will see it as a green light to unleash their violent tendencies here.
1
Actually, British Labour MP Jo Cox was murdered in the street, a few days before the end of the rancorous Brexit campaign, because of her support for remaining part of the European Union.
Yet another reason why Trump's greedy gloating in Scotland was so unseemly.
Yet another reason why Trump's greedy gloating in Scotland was so unseemly.
1
Actually, Jo Cox was murdered over Brexit.
1
Nicole, you said waiting for a man to change is a fools errand.
Well, Little Donnie has been doing the same obnoxious thing for 70 years now. A recent story in the Washington Post described him as behaving as he does now when he was a kid in grade school and high school.
So take your own sage advice: just accept the idea that there is not going to be any change. Maybe the occasional try, but that will last only a short time, and then back to being a bloviating megalomaniac with a tenuous grip on facts, history and sound business principles.
Donald J. Trump is out for only one thing .... Donald J. Trump. Always was, always will be.
Well, Little Donnie has been doing the same obnoxious thing for 70 years now. A recent story in the Washington Post described him as behaving as he does now when he was a kid in grade school and high school.
So take your own sage advice: just accept the idea that there is not going to be any change. Maybe the occasional try, but that will last only a short time, and then back to being a bloviating megalomaniac with a tenuous grip on facts, history and sound business principles.
Donald J. Trump is out for only one thing .... Donald J. Trump. Always was, always will be.
26
I would like to see how the IRS treats a two-bit grifter but it looks like Trump will be allowed to deprive us of that spectacle.
I have no idea what it looks like from the inside the beltway crowd, but in the real world, the GOP's presumed nominee has exposed the party's inexcusable act of putting party before country. Republicans are twisting themselves into a pretzel by trying to have it both ways. Either Trump is a conservative supported by conservatives, and you support him wholeheartedly; or, Trump is not a conservative and his supporters are not conservatives.
You know what they say - when stuck in a hole, stop digging! Republicans have a clear choice - they need to take one for the sake of the country and cancel their convention. Believe me I'm as disappointed as anyone that the Republicans would be handing the keys to the kingdom to Hillary, but at least she won't make us the laughing stock of the world.
I have no idea what it looks like from the inside the beltway crowd, but in the real world, the GOP's presumed nominee has exposed the party's inexcusable act of putting party before country. Republicans are twisting themselves into a pretzel by trying to have it both ways. Either Trump is a conservative supported by conservatives, and you support him wholeheartedly; or, Trump is not a conservative and his supporters are not conservatives.
You know what they say - when stuck in a hole, stop digging! Republicans have a clear choice - they need to take one for the sake of the country and cancel their convention. Believe me I'm as disappointed as anyone that the Republicans would be handing the keys to the kingdom to Hillary, but at least she won't make us the laughing stock of the world.
20
And at least Hillary showed (years) of income tax information -- unlike "The Donald"....with the blessings of the G.O.P. Chairman.
2
Well said.
Trump appears to be running for Panderer-in-Chief rather than President and is doing so without the intellect and gravitas required. One believes if he were speaking to a crowd of gorillas, he would simply hold up a stalk of bananas and shout "Bananas for all of you!"
But ignore for the moment, if at all possible, his demeanor. Trump is stupid and for all he does that disgusts many, he does not seem to understand that a majority of voters aren't as stupid as he thinks they are. Why would he choose Scott Brown as an attack surrogate against Elizabeth Warren knowing full well (perhaps) that Warren defeated Brown in Massachusetts - unless the as yet invisible string pullers have decided Brown needs the visibility for 2020. Choosing Brown to represent Trump certainly doesn't seem the correct move for a man who blusters near and far that he's a "winner" and that he hates "losers." The same with his acceptance of Chris Christie as an advisor even though Christie is another "loser" vanquished by Trump himself in the circus that was the Republican primary cycle. His recent hiring of a defeated advisor to Ted Cruz as a communications officer has again indicated Trump's stupidity. Does this man - and the so-called "kingmakers" advising him, heaven forbid they actually are his children - really believe America is unaware of his inconsistency? The most believable conclusion is Trump is too stupid to see the results of his decisions and too stupid to realize America sees them.
But ignore for the moment, if at all possible, his demeanor. Trump is stupid and for all he does that disgusts many, he does not seem to understand that a majority of voters aren't as stupid as he thinks they are. Why would he choose Scott Brown as an attack surrogate against Elizabeth Warren knowing full well (perhaps) that Warren defeated Brown in Massachusetts - unless the as yet invisible string pullers have decided Brown needs the visibility for 2020. Choosing Brown to represent Trump certainly doesn't seem the correct move for a man who blusters near and far that he's a "winner" and that he hates "losers." The same with his acceptance of Chris Christie as an advisor even though Christie is another "loser" vanquished by Trump himself in the circus that was the Republican primary cycle. His recent hiring of a defeated advisor to Ted Cruz as a communications officer has again indicated Trump's stupidity. Does this man - and the so-called "kingmakers" advising him, heaven forbid they actually are his children - really believe America is unaware of his inconsistency? The most believable conclusion is Trump is too stupid to see the results of his decisions and too stupid to realize America sees them.
12
If you really want to "wait", Nicolle, then you and the Republiklans don't have long.
The Debates will be happening soon.
You know, just him and Hillary Clinton, alone, on a stage, all those cameras, all those lights, all those questions he can just dazzle us with on his answers.
He'll be so coherent. He'll be crisp, controlled, dazzle us with his technical grasp of nuance and geohistorical tidbits.
What nights those will be! Why, at the final moment he will even whip out his... tax returns! He'll go down in history as the greatest orator since Pericles! Poor Clinton will be trembling in shock and awe..!
Oh, bring it on! Bring on those debates that we all hunger for! Republiklans will be redeemed! Razzle dazzle me, Donnie! Blow me away, John Barron!
.... and exactly 'when' are those much awaited debates going to be?
Is it all nailed down? Gosh, who will be the moderator? Ah, after all these months of looking at one podium, we now get to have two!
Republiklans! Rejoice! The time is nearing for the wonderful moment!
Be patient, Nicolle.... any day now.... soon....
The Debates will be happening soon.
You know, just him and Hillary Clinton, alone, on a stage, all those cameras, all those lights, all those questions he can just dazzle us with on his answers.
He'll be so coherent. He'll be crisp, controlled, dazzle us with his technical grasp of nuance and geohistorical tidbits.
What nights those will be! Why, at the final moment he will even whip out his... tax returns! He'll go down in history as the greatest orator since Pericles! Poor Clinton will be trembling in shock and awe..!
Oh, bring it on! Bring on those debates that we all hunger for! Republiklans will be redeemed! Razzle dazzle me, Donnie! Blow me away, John Barron!
.... and exactly 'when' are those much awaited debates going to be?
Is it all nailed down? Gosh, who will be the moderator? Ah, after all these months of looking at one podium, we now get to have two!
Republiklans! Rejoice! The time is nearing for the wonderful moment!
Be patient, Nicolle.... any day now.... soon....
171
He will not show us his tax returns. He will never agree to terms for a debate. No show Trump.
2
The Republican Party persistently demonstrates its distance from the vast majority of sensible Americans in its increasing willingness to trample the rule of law when democracy gets in the way, from W's stolen election in 2000, to voter suppression tactics aimed at people of color and young voters, to Mitch McConnell's flagrant shredding of the Senate's constitutionally mandated responsibility to vet the President's nominee for the Supreme Court. I do worry what would happen if Trump is elected. I also worry about what he will do if he isn't.
12
Republican politicos are so quick to judge when it comes to non-existent voter fraud, private bathroom business, family planning, and anything Obama. And now they are showing themselves en-masse to be spectacularly poor judges of character. Tsk tsk - you've got your nominee. I hope he manages to clear the House and Senate of ALL the current crop of bad characters.
15
"private bathroom business"
I do not think Republicans are talking about private bathroom business but public ones.
And if Obama orders schools to allow transgenders (even those who have not had surgery) to use whichever restroom they want, it is Obama who is treading on everyone else's privacy rights and the right of schools to autonomy.
The difficulty with writing something anti-Republican here is that everyone will believe it without asking "is it true?" but when these anti-Republican positions are not examined they can result in tunnel vision.
Partisanship is not a good substitute for thought.
I do not think Republicans are talking about private bathroom business but public ones.
And if Obama orders schools to allow transgenders (even those who have not had surgery) to use whichever restroom they want, it is Obama who is treading on everyone else's privacy rights and the right of schools to autonomy.
The difficulty with writing something anti-Republican here is that everyone will believe it without asking "is it true?" but when these anti-Republican positions are not examined they can result in tunnel vision.
Partisanship is not a good substitute for thought.
Trump is going to win. Brexit polls consistently undercounted the nativist anger, and the U.S. polls likely are doing the same here. Further, the polls keep limiting the choices to Clinton and Trump. But the ballots in most if not all states also will include the Green and Libertarian parties. The establishment isn't -- again -- capturing the right data. Unless Clinton can open a 10% lead over Trump in polls showing all four voting options, Trump will win. And then the only thing that can save us is to have a Democratic Congress.
5
Trump may or may not win, but the polls for the Brexit vote did not particularly underestimate the Leave vote. It was a statistical dead heat going into it, and the final total was within the margin of error of most every poll. The vote was exactly where the data said it would be. Markets got it wrong, but they did so despite the polls, not because of them.
This is similar to Trump in the primaries; there was a notion out there that he outperformed expectations, but he outperformed PUNDIT expectations, not the polls; he consistently finished in the 35-40% range where he was polling. There were plenty of people assuming that was soft support that would fade, but it didn't, Once again, wrong because they ignored the data, not because the data was faulty.
I do not think there is any reason to believe Trump supporters are consistently and systematically represented in all polls. The US presidential race is probably the most obsessively polled event that humankind puts together. Even if you can find a statistical quibble with one or two polls, taken as a whole they suggest something about the state of the race. Right now, it is that Trump is behind by several points. You can choose to ignore that, but understand that is exactly the sort of magical "i know better than the numbers" thinking that got Brexit doubters and Trump naysayers in trouble. No reason to believe your pet theory is any different.
This is similar to Trump in the primaries; there was a notion out there that he outperformed expectations, but he outperformed PUNDIT expectations, not the polls; he consistently finished in the 35-40% range where he was polling. There were plenty of people assuming that was soft support that would fade, but it didn't, Once again, wrong because they ignored the data, not because the data was faulty.
I do not think there is any reason to believe Trump supporters are consistently and systematically represented in all polls. The US presidential race is probably the most obsessively polled event that humankind puts together. Even if you can find a statistical quibble with one or two polls, taken as a whole they suggest something about the state of the race. Right now, it is that Trump is behind by several points. You can choose to ignore that, but understand that is exactly the sort of magical "i know better than the numbers" thinking that got Brexit doubters and Trump naysayers in trouble. No reason to believe your pet theory is any different.
As a quick add on to my last post, 3rd party candidates are unlikely to move the dial in a meaningful way either. They DO consistently poll higher than their final vote totals. Virgil Goode in 2012, for example, polled as high as 9% in Virginia and consistently mid single digits.
He ultimately got .33% of the vote. in VA and .06% nationally.
I'm less certain about this, since there does seem to be dissatisfaction with Hillary and Donald as candidates, but this sort of polling vs reality result is typical for 3rd parties.
Once again, you may be right, who knows? But there is not much evidence to suggest your theories carry a lot of weight.
He ultimately got .33% of the vote. in VA and .06% nationally.
I'm less certain about this, since there does seem to be dissatisfaction with Hillary and Donald as candidates, but this sort of polling vs reality result is typical for 3rd parties.
Once again, you may be right, who knows? But there is not much evidence to suggest your theories carry a lot of weight.
You do realize by now that polls are notoriously inaccurate, don't you???
Only someone whose ears are permanently damaged from years of listening to the Republican Noise Machine could fail to see the irony of the statement, "Our voters, in decisive numbers, picked a guy who embarrasses us." Perhaps you should have phrased that as "They picked a guy who embarrasses EVEN us".
Since 1980, your party has been systematically altering altering American life with your Robin-Hood-in-reverse tactics, taking from the poor to give to the filthy rich, and, with a straight face, insisting that this helps all of America. Trickle-down, rising tides, yadda, yadda. Your own track record didn't embarrass you, but Trump's buffoonery does? Give me a break!
Since 1980, your party has been systematically altering altering American life with your Robin-Hood-in-reverse tactics, taking from the poor to give to the filthy rich, and, with a straight face, insisting that this helps all of America. Trickle-down, rising tides, yadda, yadda. Your own track record didn't embarrass you, but Trump's buffoonery does? Give me a break!
27
I share a very low opinion of Trump's maturity but I am grateful to him for at least tearing the masks off so many Republican politicians. A very good example is how Trump sent Scott Walker home after saying how Walker did a very bad job with Wisconsin. While the idea of a Trump Presidency is horrifying, his campaign has managed to damage a whole generation of Republican wolves. Thank you Donald J. Trump.
11
Scripted Donald is boring Donald. It ain't going to get him the presidency. Besides, he's not going to change. Republicans waiting for Trump to grow up remind me of the coyote in the road runner cartoons. Finally got him! Then look down, and it's 500 feet and you've got an anvil in your hands.
6
Ms. Wallace: thank you for your article laying out Mr. Trump's character flaws. By now, the public knows and takes Mr. Trump for exactly what he is, a circus side show hawker selling snake oil. I can see him now, standing on the podium yelling, "Step Right Up Ladies and Gentlemen, Purchase a Bottle of Trump's Snake Oil, Guaranteed to Cure All of Your Maladies." Mr. Trump's business expertise can be researched on the web. He bankrupted four casinos while drawing millions in salary and writing off god only knows how many personal debts, he screwed bondholders, shareholders, employees, tradespeople alike and damaged the AC economy. Then add Trump U into a recipe for disaster. A large number of citizens signed up for and paid good money for Trump U courses, only to be screwed. In Mr. Trump you have a fraud of the highest order. I still find it hard to believe he's the GOPs presumptive nominee for the Presidential candidacy. People are simply amazing!
6
I find this to be unsettling.
Ms. Wallace, are you suggesting that if only Donald Trump alter his style all will be well? How does one unring the bell of making fun of someone with a physical disability, or banning an entire religious group from entering the United States, or of insisting that a judge recuse himself based on his parents having been born in a country you want to wall off?
One last question, Ms. Wallace--who will you vote for in November?
Ms. Wallace, are you suggesting that if only Donald Trump alter his style all will be well? How does one unring the bell of making fun of someone with a physical disability, or banning an entire religious group from entering the United States, or of insisting that a judge recuse himself based on his parents having been born in a country you want to wall off?
One last question, Ms. Wallace--who will you vote for in November?
19
Donald Trump cares about one thing and one thing only - Donald Trump. These silly Republicans...they just don't get it. They had a hand in creating this guy and now they don't like him. They should look in the mirror and then watch the movie "Frankenstein." Cry me a river.
11
I'm waiting for Repuglicans to grow up, because Trump won't.
The only issue here is Trump's character, and its perverse gravitational pull on their cherished base of ignorant and fear-manipulated voters. But GOP leaders from Ryan on down can't see it.
The only issue here is Trump's character, and its perverse gravitational pull on their cherished base of ignorant and fear-manipulated voters. But GOP leaders from Ryan on down can't see it.
5
We defined him as a joke and he entertained us all. We thought his mean-spirited comments on the OTHER was not dangerous or threatening . We still view him as a joke and a form of entertainment instead of a throwback to the 1030's.
3
Shame on you Ms Wallace. After months of hyping on Morning Joe, you're now lamenting the fact that Trump, a narcissistic bully and blowhard, will not revert to the prototypical republican candidate. Instead of bemoaning the current state of play, the republican party should be using all their resources to analyze why this flawed, overblown bully managed to destroy a field of 16 candidates, ostensibly the best the republicans had to offer.
17
Agreed.....Waiting for Trump to morph into a combo of Gregory Peck, and Abe Lincoln is a wait unending.
The idea that anyone can advise him, especially the Press, is daydreaming
on a grand scale.......and if by some miracle that combo showed up,
how do you mesmerize the population stunned by his....bigotry. his simple-mindedness, his non-stop lying to say nothing of those awful, glow-in-the-dark ties.......into forgetting every hateful, dumb thing uttered that came before.
They say he tells it like it is.......Like what for instance?
The idea that anyone can advise him, especially the Press, is daydreaming
on a grand scale.......and if by some miracle that combo showed up,
how do you mesmerize the population stunned by his....bigotry. his simple-mindedness, his non-stop lying to say nothing of those awful, glow-in-the-dark ties.......into forgetting every hateful, dumb thing uttered that came before.
They say he tells it like it is.......Like what for instance?
119
"The G.O.P. Waits, and Waits, for Donald Trump to Grow Up." Ms. Wallace, a great portion of America is waiting for Trump supporters to wake up too.
18
It boggles my mind that anyone can support this crude and self-serving man. How is it possible for Republicans to support him? How can they rationalize him becoming president. Do they think they can 'control' him? I think he's proven, he won't be controlled. He can't be 'tamed' and made into a statesman. It is not possible.
What scares me the most right now is that soon he will be getting daily Intelligence Briefs. And I don't trust him with that kind of information. He'll blab something in his 'riffs' that his fan base loves, hurt our military and country without even thinking about it. He has no filter, no censoring of himself. He thinks he can roll over China economically without heavy consequences to us and the world?
I pray Americans learn from Brexit and reject this man. We don't want to wake up to Buyer's Remorse.
What scares me the most right now is that soon he will be getting daily Intelligence Briefs. And I don't trust him with that kind of information. He'll blab something in his 'riffs' that his fan base loves, hurt our military and country without even thinking about it. He has no filter, no censoring of himself. He thinks he can roll over China economically without heavy consequences to us and the world?
I pray Americans learn from Brexit and reject this man. We don't want to wake up to Buyer's Remorse.
16
Sophia, I don't trust him with those 'briefings' either. He'll use the info as insider trading or quiet blackmail. The one thing he won't do is keep it secret.
"He has no filter".
You've got it.
"He has no filter".
You've got it.
2
Ugh. The Donald is a man child who refuses to grow up. His wig is slipping and his rhetoric is childish. Can anyone imagine this careless idiot running this country, or going up against Putin?? I am voting for change, which is why I am voting for Hillary Clinton.
11
If anyone is waiting for a buffoon like Trump to stop being a buffoon they need their head examined.
10
it amazes me how Republicans like the author of this piece will bend over backwards to stay away from any ownership of the anxiety and discontent of its base. it's not trump who deserves the credit for hearing them, its the Republican party who gets all credit for creating their base as currently is. you created this monster, and trump just jumped on it. own your creation already.
16
"Our voters, in decisive numbers, picked a guy who embarrasses us."
The republican party and its voters are an embarrassment to whatever good America stands for. Will you ever nominate a SCOTUS judge? You make US unlikeable around the world with your lies and deceitful ways. Cheney should be in prison.
The republican party and its voters are an embarrassment to whatever good America stands for. Will you ever nominate a SCOTUS judge? You make US unlikeable around the world with your lies and deceitful ways. Cheney should be in prison.
20
Ms Wallace, great piece of satire since you and I both know as bad as Trump is, and he's pretty darn awful, Trailer Park Sarah was worse, and you got behind that train wreck without lamenting in the Times for better. What some of us see is a GOP willing to run any ideologue, religious extremist, hypocrite, and fool, man or woman if they think the con will work. Christie representing trustworthiness? You folks have lost what little minds you had left.
23
Waiting for a narcissist like Trump to change is like waiting for the North Pole to warm up to 80 degrees F. He can change - for 5 minutes or one speech - then the need for self-congratulation becomes too strong and he is off on another rant on another subject or person.
9
All this talk about Trump somehow magically becoming presidential is naive and stupid. The man is 70 years old and extremely self-satisfied. And, being Trump, he has won the Republican nomination. It's just sad that the Republicans chose to follow up a dud like George Bush with a dud like Trump.
16
All this ink spent trashing Donald Trump, but not word acknowledging that those supporting Trump have been a reliable chunk of voters who have supported Republican candidates for at least the past 36 years. Trump is delivering the message many, many Republicans have been long for a very, very long time. If you can't understand that, and openly accept this fact, and then promise to reject this kind of thinking from now until forever, your message proves you are lacking in the very morality you claim to be in favor of supporting.
It may be difficult to find fault with your party, but trying to lay blame on one man, while ignoring these uncomfortable facts, is disingenuous at best. In one way or another, your party has supported the very policies you now want to reject. You may be disappointed now, but you should understand that you have been complicit if you haven't publicly denounced the same sort of rhetoric in the past. If you had a truly clear conscience, I doubt you'd be a Republican in the first place.
It may be difficult to find fault with your party, but trying to lay blame on one man, while ignoring these uncomfortable facts, is disingenuous at best. In one way or another, your party has supported the very policies you now want to reject. You may be disappointed now, but you should understand that you have been complicit if you haven't publicly denounced the same sort of rhetoric in the past. If you had a truly clear conscience, I doubt you'd be a Republican in the first place.
13
"Mr. Trump still bests his Democratic opponent in a recent poll on questions about trustworthiness, fixing Washington and fighting terrorism."
Trump trustworthy? Seriously? Trump knowing anything about Washington? Not to mention fighting terrorism; good god.
They are really burning down the house. That should be the theme song for the Trump campaign.
I just can't EVEN......
Trump trustworthy? Seriously? Trump knowing anything about Washington? Not to mention fighting terrorism; good god.
They are really burning down the house. That should be the theme song for the Trump campaign.
I just can't EVEN......
8
How did u manage to go that far into the article?
"He deserves credit for acknowledging their economic despair and mounting fears about Islamic extremism."
He didn't recognized, he exploited. A big difference.
He didn't recognized, he exploited. A big difference.
12
Absolutely correct. And he offers the kind of simplistic non-solutions that people with only a basic understanding of the world and US economy think are the answers to their problems: a wall, more water boarding (and worse!), a ban based on religion, tearing up trade agreements, etc. etc.
1
Dear Ms. Wallace,
You've got great credentials. I mean, communications director for G. W. Bush?
That must have been one heck of a sales job for you, "Sure, Iraq is responsible for 9/11"; you did a fine job on that.
I won't even get into Mr. McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin who is now endorsing, guess who, Mr. Trump!
So the bulk of your commentary is the usual drivel from those, like yourself, who saw NO problem with absorbing the "Tea Party" and then attaching the financial strings from the Koch brothers; I do not remember any columns from ANY Republicans complaining of those two actions.
Yet now, with the specter of a HUGE defeat looming, you guys are wringing your hands all over the press, the visual media and social media networks.
It seems that the monster YOUR party willfully created is poised to smash the whole lot of you into little, tiny pieces that even "all the queen's men" won't be able to re-assemble.
I can hardly wait!
You've got great credentials. I mean, communications director for G. W. Bush?
That must have been one heck of a sales job for you, "Sure, Iraq is responsible for 9/11"; you did a fine job on that.
I won't even get into Mr. McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin who is now endorsing, guess who, Mr. Trump!
So the bulk of your commentary is the usual drivel from those, like yourself, who saw NO problem with absorbing the "Tea Party" and then attaching the financial strings from the Koch brothers; I do not remember any columns from ANY Republicans complaining of those two actions.
Yet now, with the specter of a HUGE defeat looming, you guys are wringing your hands all over the press, the visual media and social media networks.
It seems that the monster YOUR party willfully created is poised to smash the whole lot of you into little, tiny pieces that even "all the queen's men" won't be able to re-assemble.
I can hardly wait!
20
Ms. Wallace sets the bar pretty low. Reading a scripted speech off of a teleprompter does not signify a fundamental pivot. Anyway, I thought Trump was supposed to be the antidote to our current "teleprompter" President?
8
The silver lining in this very dark Trump cloud is how Republicans, like Ms Wallace, are eating themselves up over what they've created, including the columnists in this paper. Trump still could win, but the odds are against it, and will the Party learn this time that using social dog whistles to continue to fuel their supply side mythology, might not work, and has never been in America's interest. Well, on that latter point they'll never learn as seen in Ryan's "budget".
7
Waiting for Trump to change, at age 70, is the most pathetic form of self-delusion one could imagine. WYSIWYG: what you see is what you'll get, indeed it is likely just "the tip of the iceberg."
Some factions and people in the GOP have pinned their hopes on the idea that El Lider Boca Grande either could grow up on his own, or could be "managed" by some strict nanny ... into presentability, with perhaps an acceptable number of lapses.
Ah, fond memories of Dick Cheney, eh? Harsh Jeeves to GWB's Bertie Wooster?
But then you say "For his part, Mr. Trump is waiting for respect" ... the most delicious schadenfreude there is ... is watching the bully take a beating. it's the plot staple of every feel-good kids movie -- Karate Kid etc.
Watching Trump spend his own money to get the whole world to pay attention to all of the ugly truths about his grifting business deals, his shabby bluster and lies is hilarious. Watching him get beaten by HRC, on the face of it the most beatable Democrat who has come forth since Dukakis, will be the cherry on top.
Some factions and people in the GOP have pinned their hopes on the idea that El Lider Boca Grande either could grow up on his own, or could be "managed" by some strict nanny ... into presentability, with perhaps an acceptable number of lapses.
Ah, fond memories of Dick Cheney, eh? Harsh Jeeves to GWB's Bertie Wooster?
But then you say "For his part, Mr. Trump is waiting for respect" ... the most delicious schadenfreude there is ... is watching the bully take a beating. it's the plot staple of every feel-good kids movie -- Karate Kid etc.
Watching Trump spend his own money to get the whole world to pay attention to all of the ugly truths about his grifting business deals, his shabby bluster and lies is hilarious. Watching him get beaten by HRC, on the face of it the most beatable Democrat who has come forth since Dukakis, will be the cherry on top.
9
You minimized Mr. Trump's major weakness, which is that he doesn't know much about the things a president needs to know. He may be a savvy businessman, but as a politician, and especially as a public servant, he's an empty vessel. This is why he strings so many empty adjectives together when he responds to a question; he has nothing substantial to say. This is why he needs to stick to a speech written by a speechwriter. This is why he keeps making off-the-cuff errors; he's stuck in the spotlight with nothing. This is why he so often lies. He's not really lying; he just doesn't know the actual facts. He can't do the intellectual heavy lifting politics requires. He can't assimilate an ideology since he doesn't understand the ideology's tenants, so he says things that make conservatives cringe, like that he favors Social Security as it is. And when he must think on his feet, his gaffs are alarming because he is depending on the knowledge of a very common, unread man. Republicans understand they have a dud. They hope he can play the part of a puppet. It's their only hope. But I pity Mr. Trump during the debates when he runs out of adjectives and insults and has to give a substantial answer. That could be ugly, unless his handlers can wire his ear somehow to Gov. Christy. Moreover, I pity the American people if he wins the election. Sending Mr. Trump on diplomatic tours, to operate among politically worldly figures, would be embarrassing, at best.
315
Good points, but Mr. Trump's major weakness is the lack of a moral center. Give me a choice between a highly principled person without a depth of knowledge, and a highly knowledgeable person who doesn't have a well developed set of principles to live by, and I'll take the former any day. But of course an unknowledgeable person without character is the worst of all worlds.
1
Too bad he wasn't married to Nancy Reagan; she could whisper the answers without moving her lips, and the rest of the Charlie McCarthy story is now history.
1
He doesn't have to know a lot of things. Mr. Obama was elected twice, the first time not knowing a lot of things, and who knows about the second. Mrs Clinton, missed the 3 AM call while Secretary of State, appears to have failed with her "diplomatic resets" (ie: spawning if ISIS), was, at best, a mediocre Senator, and has some dubious links to countries that have contributed heavily to the Clinton Family Slush Fund (aka: Clinton Foundation). Bottom line is we don't have a lot of choice in this upcoming election. We can do another Democratic "first", or go with the Republicans offering. Either one will require a very long shower after leaving the voting booth.
Can't contradict Ms. Wallace on any of this. As she points out, it's all about messaging. And in that regard it's instructive to note that just yesterday Mr. Trump hired as his "communications coordinator" none other than the son of my wife's first cousin, one Michael Abboud, a person all of 26 years old and with little experience (let alone success) with political campaigns at any level. Of course, Michael is the nephew of another of my wife's cousins, one Andy Abboud, who just happens to be the chief political operative and bag man for Trump's fellow casino mogul Sheldon Adelson--and I hear The Donald needs money for his campaign. Ya think?
153
i would rather have a honest person in politics evolving in his or her thoughts versus a politician like Hillary Clinton who lies and deceive the American people time and time again. Print that NYT.
1
Look up Politifact. Hillary Clinton says the most truthful things of any politician, judging by percentage of things said that are really true. Trump, on the other hand, lies like we breathe. Almost everything he says is not true. You could look it up.
1
Evidence, please, of this evolution.
Your beloved "speaks his mind." But is it a mind worth speaking?
Your beloved "speaks his mind." But is it a mind worth speaking?
1
There is absolutely NO evidence that what you say is true. Saying over and over again - like the RWM does - doesn't make it true.
3
How will NW finally decide that Trump has matured so she can justify her vote? What's the acid test? She doesn't say. How convenient.
4
This election is all about the ground game. Forget about ads, or even campaign stops, people have already made up their minds. No amount of Hillary speeches or ads will change the mind of that blue collar worker in Ohio--that ship has sailed. We have a lot of angry white men and women who need to vent, no matter what damage it will due to their already bad situation. Now it is all about getting your base out, getting those who detest Trump out, and those fringe independent voters in the suburbs out -- and don't forget college students.
1
'While it annoys Mr. Trump to be criticized, he understands what Sarah Palin understood — his supporters are rooting for him, not the talking heads on TV. So when pundits count him down or out, his fans defend their guy against the arrogant members of the “rigged” media, whom Mr. Trump lovingly describes as “among the most dishonest I have ever met.”'
The problem, politically, is that to win elections you have to broaden your appeal beyond a group of followers like that. Palin seems to have figured this out and focused on capitalizing on her minor celebrity.
The problem, politically, is that to win elections you have to broaden your appeal beyond a group of followers like that. Palin seems to have figured this out and focused on capitalizing on her minor celebrity.
2
He won decisively because he appealed to the basest instincts that the GOP has always espoused indirectly and stealthily. A party with monstrous ideas has produced a monster. No biggie.
13
Yes, this is the same Nicole Wallace who helped unleash Sarah Palin on the country now wringing her hands about Donald Trump. I would argue that this woman personally bears a great deal of responsibility for the national disaster that is Trump. She and the venerable old coot McCain started this nonsense when they trotted out the Wasilla Barbie and pulled her string. What they neglected to do was properly program her, so she was only capable of speaking gibberish that sounded vaguely like English. Now we have the action figure Trump, who makes the Barbie seem like a quaint nostalgia piece. Thanks so much Nicole, you either have no insight or really do want the country to go up in flames.
16
I can't hear the name without thinking of NYPD Det. Robert Goren's nemesis on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent."
Is Donald Trump interested in governing the country? The daily activities of a president involve detailed deliberations on multiple topics, dealing with members of Congress on forthcoming legislation, managing emergencies, and formulating long term budget and policy plans. Would Donald be bored with this mundane stuff? Yes. These actions could be boring for someone with a short attention span who is accustomed to joking with Howard Stern and has been fixated on the gossip contained in Page Six.
6
Trump is not an adult and never will be. People have compared him to a child, but that insults thoughtful and well brought up children. The problem the Republicans have is a base that has not grown up. They have been in a "gimme" phase for a long time and just appear to be getting worse. And I would second the opinion of those that say there is some thing organically wrong with the guy. Yesterday, I watched as the news switched to him because he was going to add some insight on Turkey. They cut it off after all he could mutter was "bad" over and over again. His thinking does not move forward in any kind of rational progression.
8
The choice any reasonable and ethical person would make is to abandon the GOP that is wrong on everything and now has the most unqualified individual ever running for POTUS.
Try thinking for a change.
Try thinking for a change.
6
Interesting that Chris Christie of Bridgegate fame, whose top people are being charged with fraud, whose approval in his own state just reached a historic low, is advising Drumpf on trust "has been given the vital behind-the-scenes assignment of head of the presidential transition."
4
Shiver me timbers - waiting for Donald Trump to grow up is futile. He's still on his tricycle bloviating and demagoguing to his followers that he will "Make America Great Again". And Lord have mercy, expecting Melania Trump to be our First Lady is an exercise in demented planning. Face it, George Will has left the Republican Party because he woke up and smelled the coffee - a Trump Presidency would be as bad for America as BREXIT is now (and into the foreseeable future) for Tiny England. Only a few weeks left till the RNC meets in Cleveland, Ohio. The GOP is waiting for some sort of denouement, deus ex machina, to descend upon the Tea Party Conservative convention - dollars to donuts Trump will be nominated. He only needs Spiderman for his Vice President. And George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to root for him.
2
The reader would have been much better served, Ms. Wallace, had you aired your own views about the fundamental competency of Donald Trump to hold our country's highest office, and not his inability to be taught to stay on message - he more or less stayed on message yesterday outside Pittsburgh by reading a speech off a teleprompter that promised "massive" jobs in a steel industry by tearing up trade agreements and somehow transporting western Pennsylvania back in time to post-WW11. It was utterly untrue, bizarre, xenophobic, economically disastrous, and immediately rejected by the Chamber of Commerce and other bastions of GOP support.
247
Ms. Wallace hopes Trump will morph into another sockpuppet president along the lines of Saint Ronnie and Bush the Lesser. Deep down she knows that Trump will never abide being a mere teleprompter reader of someone else's words, his ego would never allow it. "Grow up" is code for parrot the party line their way.
1
Interesting how people who vilified Obama for stooping to use a teleprompter now glorify Trump for learning how.
3
Ms. Wallace's Op-Ed piece is the same gobbledygook that her "Morning Joe" patrons have been saying for months. If the NYTimes paid her $20 for this Op-Ed piece, that was $19.99 too much. She wrote nothing inaccurate; however, this column isn't even mediocre ... which is what her appearances amount to on MSNBC.
4
Imagine a world with top rulers like Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Vladmir Putin. Diplomacy would be a dirty word with self aggrandizement, and empty promises being the order of the day.Yesteday the best Trump could muster in response to the Instanbul attack was:
1. The world better wake up (ie. Trump has some inside knowledge most of us do not have);
2. Some bad things are happening (where was he on 9-11?);
3. We must be tough(torture, punishing families, banning Muslims) or
4. We will lose our country ( Trump will save us with his secret plan)
Quite the leader?
1. The world better wake up (ie. Trump has some inside knowledge most of us do not have);
2. Some bad things are happening (where was he on 9-11?);
3. We must be tough(torture, punishing families, banning Muslims) or
4. We will lose our country ( Trump will save us with his secret plan)
Quite the leader?
6
If, as Ms. Wallace did not, you did not grasp the banality of Sarah Palin, why would you expect anything better from Trump.
3
If anyone knows how hard it is to teach the unteachable it is Nicolle Wallace. She had the unenviable task of teaching Sarah Palin, the one who knows by peering into a pair of binoculars.
And when she opines that the Donald will never ever learn, we ought to listen. The Donald is interested in listening to two things: his own voice and a thunderous applause when he pauses for breath before spouting the next sentence. He is uninterested in governing.
I can only hope that more GOPers will publicly rebuke the Donald. I hope enough Americans are seeing how Brexiters are backpedaling from all the promises they made. And seeing all this, I hope that enough Americans have the sense to not vote for him in the general election.
And when she opines that the Donald will never ever learn, we ought to listen. The Donald is interested in listening to two things: his own voice and a thunderous applause when he pauses for breath before spouting the next sentence. He is uninterested in governing.
I can only hope that more GOPers will publicly rebuke the Donald. I hope enough Americans are seeing how Brexiters are backpedaling from all the promises they made. And seeing all this, I hope that enough Americans have the sense to not vote for him in the general election.
188
The presumptive nomination of Trump is the Republican equivalent of the Brexit referendum. And there seems to be a quite similar buyer's regret. It is now the job of the leaders, not to get Trump under control, but assure that he does not get elected. Every statement he makes reveals his political, economic and diplomatic ignorance. He would be a disaster for this country and the world.
5
Re Dana: Personality disorders are notoriously resistant to psychotherapy. Progress in that arena requires some ability, as well as a willingness, to self-reflect. When a patient's modus operandi is self-aggrandizement and blaming, it doesn't look good. He is a narcissist through and through.
As for medication helping him much, that's a pipe dream too. The personality damage has been done.
As for medication helping him much, that's a pipe dream too. The personality damage has been done.
4
I really do not think Trump really wants to be president, he just wants the attention. As president his time will be taken up so who will run his business? He loves money most of all and being president is not a money making deal! Will he fly to a new golf course on air force one, painted in the Trump colors and sell Trump products from a store on the south lawn of the white house? Maybe he'll leave Governor Christie in charge of the country, he's done destroying New Jersey!
3
Ms. Wallace as a former senior advisor to McCain and G.W. Bush your column has some serious "street cred". The only aspect lacking is an admission from you and all other GOP political operatives that almost 5 decades of GOP politics from the "Southern Strategy" to "Cadillac Driving Welfare Queens" to "Willie Horton" and the "Sanctity of Marriage" have created this Frankenstein monster known as Trump.
5
Ms. Wallace, during your dating days, if on the first date your acquaintance implied that the POTUS was implicated in a terror attack, or that the father of a senator may have been involved in the assassination of JFK; bragged about his contributions to charity which you suspected were false; repeatedly referred to himself as the best in everything; referred to people who disagreed with him as losers or worse, would you really have waited for him to change? Or would you have excused yourself, gone to the bathroom, and crawled out the window?
13
I was trying to sort out the tone of the article. It sounded like another polishing of the Thing left on the floor in a red cap. She starts off seeming critical about the Thing (understanding we are Times readers) and then tries to steer us into some sort of appreciation of its accomplishments. I scrolled down to see that the author was a senior campaign advisor to John McCain in 2008. The campaign that dumped Sarah Palin on the world stage. Keep Polishing Nicolle. I hope you are as successful at it this year as you were in 2008.
4
As part of the teams that tried to foist Sarah Palin off on us and gave us non-existent Iraq-9/11 ties and imaginary WMDs, all while twiddling their thumbs as the economy went over a cliff, you helped make Trump, brick by brick and stone by stone. Put that in your upper-bracket tax cut and smoke it.
11
I keep wondering what the GOPers are so afraid of - Our system works, when we allow the rule of law to function. But the GOP would rather burn down the House, the Senate, the judiciary, the Presidency if they don't get their way. They bill themselves as the law & order party - but they really anarchists.
3
"Be careful with a fool, 'cause someday he may get smart." B.B. King
2
Perhaps if the party had become reliant of facts over dogma the base would still be more representative of who we used to be. This is not the party of pragmatists any longer. Raving slaves to dogma indulge in fact-free hyper partisan pronouncements that repel rather than attract. This is indulgence not governance.
2
Trump would not be anywhere if it weren't for the fact that he has money to "buy in" to the political system. Ironically, the GOP, who have worked in earnest the past few decades to ensure money/wealth is required in order for one to enter into and influence the political process and policy, have now been foiled by the same system "best Government money can buy" that they crafted.
3
Always makes me vomit just a little when a former GW Bush acolyte finds fault with any candidate in either party. My gosh, the woman was the communications director for the worst president in U.S. history! That she takes no responsibility for helping create the monster that leads her party at the present time is a classic case of GOP amnesia mixed with hypocrisy.
11
Waiting for Donald Trump to grow up? That's like waiting for the entire Republican Party to grow up.
See list of characteristics of maturity: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donna-labermeier/25-signs-of-maturity_b_64...
The GOP and Trump deserve each other.
Trump is the raw id of the Republican Party--selfish, self-centered, mean-spirited, and too spontaneous and disorganized to conform to adult demands. Trump is like a 3-year old--out there, he is who he is, and even he does not know what he wants to do or say next. But he loves the attention and knows no shame in getting it.
Like many 3-year olds, Trump's conscience is far from formed, and he is relatively unencumbered by true feelings of guilt. When confronted with his wrongdoing, he merely feels irritated and mad he got caught, with nary a pang of conscience about the harm or hurt his actions do to others.
The GOP is more like young adolescents that are full of themselves. Unlike the single atom, more immature Trump bouncing around, GOPers, while self-centered, are loyal to the gang; they enjoy conniving, strategizing, and playing dirty tricks in the game of squashing their opponents and getting away with what they can. Instead of being concerned with helping others and taking personal and social responsibility, they spend a lot of time and energy showing off for each other to gain status in the group.
Running a government requires concern for all people. Trump & the GOP lack the concern & the maturity
See list of characteristics of maturity: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donna-labermeier/25-signs-of-maturity_b_64...
The GOP and Trump deserve each other.
Trump is the raw id of the Republican Party--selfish, self-centered, mean-spirited, and too spontaneous and disorganized to conform to adult demands. Trump is like a 3-year old--out there, he is who he is, and even he does not know what he wants to do or say next. But he loves the attention and knows no shame in getting it.
Like many 3-year olds, Trump's conscience is far from formed, and he is relatively unencumbered by true feelings of guilt. When confronted with his wrongdoing, he merely feels irritated and mad he got caught, with nary a pang of conscience about the harm or hurt his actions do to others.
The GOP is more like young adolescents that are full of themselves. Unlike the single atom, more immature Trump bouncing around, GOPers, while self-centered, are loyal to the gang; they enjoy conniving, strategizing, and playing dirty tricks in the game of squashing their opponents and getting away with what they can. Instead of being concerned with helping others and taking personal and social responsibility, they spend a lot of time and energy showing off for each other to gain status in the group.
Running a government requires concern for all people. Trump & the GOP lack the concern & the maturity
2
Trump can't even handle a TelePrompter. I noticed in the video snippet of his speech attached to a NYT article yesterday that the first thing he will do as President is "...withdraw the United Strates [or should that be spelled "Straits"] from the Trans Pacific Partnership...," and he came close to fumbling "Trans" as well. His natural speaking style is utter a few inane to outrageous phrases, then slap a smug grin on his face and look around, beaming, as the applause rolls over him. Tough to do when you are struggling to keep up with bouncing ball. Take your eyes off the screen for a second and...holy crap, where was I?!! Hyper-confidence is replaced by a deer in the headlights.
Trump, intellectually and maturationally, is frozen between adolescence and puberty. It has ever been so and it ever will be this way. Cement, once set, cannot be remolded.
Trump, intellectually and maturationally, is frozen between adolescence and puberty. It has ever been so and it ever will be this way. Cement, once set, cannot be remolded.
8
It's difficult to take seriously anyone who was a cheerleader for the Iraq war and staunchly defended torture...
4
We must band together, recognize that this man can be elected, and all vote to make sure he is not elected. Hillary Clinton is not a perfect alternative but she is an infinitely wiser choice.
8
Here's all I have to say about this. I will not vote for the man. He does not manifest the character I expect in someone that's to represent me on the domestic and international stage via the Power Oval. I expect better of our leadership ranks than him. And I'll go one further. I will not vote to return to their roles any State or Local representative who expresses fealty to this man. I will not vote for anyone who equivocates over it. Because by their actions they will have made clear they are less interested in their constituency and more interested in self. In which case I will vote them OUT as well.
Now bring on Election Day. I grow tired of the endless, incessant, write-ups and evaluations about our little domestic political drama. Let's get this thing done and over with.
John~
American Net'Zen
Now bring on Election Day. I grow tired of the endless, incessant, write-ups and evaluations about our little domestic political drama. Let's get this thing done and over with.
John~
American Net'Zen
8
Let's stop all this bull about whether Trump can "grow up" and whether is will hurt the GOP in November.
The real problem that no one can afford to ignore with a Trump presidency is that he would be Commander in Chief and have the nuclear codes. It is only too easy to imagine him escalating what started out as a small diplomatic problem into a full blown crisis and then a shooting war. First his mouth eliminates any chance of quiet diplomacy, then he starts moving troops and ships around in a threatening manner then a few shots get fired without orders and then the war is on.
The man is dangerous.
The real problem that no one can afford to ignore with a Trump presidency is that he would be Commander in Chief and have the nuclear codes. It is only too easy to imagine him escalating what started out as a small diplomatic problem into a full blown crisis and then a shooting war. First his mouth eliminates any chance of quiet diplomacy, then he starts moving troops and ships around in a threatening manner then a few shots get fired without orders and then the war is on.
The man is dangerous.
4
Donald Trump is 70 years old and is not going to change, especially his "everything is always about me" approach to the world. What the Republican Party would really like is that this cross between Rufus T. Firefly and Silvio Berlusconi with just a dash of Benito Mussolini, would stop sounding like a spoiled and angry ten-year old and stick to one script instead of bouncing around like a ping pong ball in a Bingo hopper. It's not his beliefs that bother the so-called "reasonable Republicans" but Trump's shotgun approach to everything - blast away long enough, loud enough, and in enough directions and you're bound to hit something. Good luck with that.
4
I see parallels to Trump on the co-op apartment board on which I used to serve. It was a mix of successful professionals, corporate types and business owners. The business owners were impatient (they would say action oriented, but it was impatient) and tended towards "my way or nothing", which was not surprising given that in their day jobs they functioned as king. The others were more ready to negotiate, build consensus, accept compromise.
3
To many of his followers Trump doesn't have to grow up. They are impervious to his distortions and lies. They are not interested in the vapidity of his solutions. In fact they don't need explanation merely the promise that he is going to do something. Sad to say, he can win. The American people have been blinded before. However, this time much more damage will occur.
1
"And the problem with the party's waiting game is that." .... it is just a game. Sorry Wallace, people have woken up to the deceptiveness of the establishment. You play games like:
Say your going to do this, bu t when it comes time to act dont'
Stop the democratic process of bipartisan action
Spread hatred and use scare tactics
Etc. Etc... The GOP is an immoral quagmire of entropic thinking...
Stop pretending, or is only a game?
Say your going to do this, bu t when it comes time to act dont'
Stop the democratic process of bipartisan action
Spread hatred and use scare tactics
Etc. Etc... The GOP is an immoral quagmire of entropic thinking...
Stop pretending, or is only a game?
3
This column is so depressing because it is essentially about winning and the fact that Trump isn't following known paths for a successful campaign.
Ms. Wallace doesn't seem to care or be concerned that her party's candidate is a disaster and has zero business being president of the United States.
Republicans have, for decades now, put party before country and it is at our country's peril.
Ms. Wallace doesn't seem to care or be concerned that her party's candidate is a disaster and has zero business being president of the United States.
Republicans have, for decades now, put party before country and it is at our country's peril.
12
Ms Wallace, Donald Trump is'nt the candidate you hope he becomes between now and November. He's the candidate we've been listening to for the past year and that candidate is an arrogant,egomaniacal, fear mongering, bullying racist who, hands down, is the least qualified nominee for president in my lifetime.
17
We face a difficult choice between an immature skyscraper building 30K job creating self made billionaire or a lying corrupt satanic shrew who proceeds in the direction 70% of Americans want changed. I'm going with the builder.
1
J
Self-made billionaire?
Try a head start of 27,000 apartments for low income renters built by his father Frederick Christ Trump who used every government handout and tax abatement program that he could get, plus a few additional millions in cash supplied by daddy.
"Self-made"? Not exactly.
Read a little before you emblem Little Donnie with heroic attributes he does not deserve.
He is a prevaricating egotistical megalomaniac.
Self-made billionaire?
Try a head start of 27,000 apartments for low income renters built by his father Frederick Christ Trump who used every government handout and tax abatement program that he could get, plus a few additional millions in cash supplied by daddy.
"Self-made"? Not exactly.
Read a little before you emblem Little Donnie with heroic attributes he does not deserve.
He is a prevaricating egotistical megalomaniac.
3
Yeah?
90% of this country wants gun control.
80% want abortion with no or few restrictions.
I'm with the Shrew.
90% of this country wants gun control.
80% want abortion with no or few restrictions.
I'm with the Shrew.
4
J, in what country are the 30K jobs you refer to?
The core of Trump's campaign is built on free media coverage. Tone down the outrage machine and the whole thing collapses altogether.
7
"...isolationism, protectionism and nativism that President George W. Bush worried about when he faced difficulty mustering support for trade pacts, immigration reform and war in the Middle East.
Bush had no trouble "mustering support" for war in the Middle East. The Big Lie that has set the world afire for the last 15 years was swallowed whole by the press and by a credulous public. Trump used that against Jeb, quashing the chance for W. to aid his brother's failed run. This is the endlessly unspooling outcome of the butterfly effect: referring in this case to the "butterfly ballot" in Palm Beach County that gave us the disastrous Bush presidency which reverberates daily in its awful incompetence and still hasn't finished poisoning the planet, politically and environmentally.
Bush had no trouble "mustering support" for war in the Middle East. The Big Lie that has set the world afire for the last 15 years was swallowed whole by the press and by a credulous public. Trump used that against Jeb, quashing the chance for W. to aid his brother's failed run. This is the endlessly unspooling outcome of the butterfly effect: referring in this case to the "butterfly ballot" in Palm Beach County that gave us the disastrous Bush presidency which reverberates daily in its awful incompetence and still hasn't finished poisoning the planet, politically and environmentally.
6
There is an article in the NYT explaining what "false flag" conspiracy theorists are. It occurs to me that the distorted "reasoning" of these people shares some characteristics with Trump's. If you present him with irrefutable facts he simply blames them on his enemies conspiring to take him down or he says they are lies. He is the Liar in Chief and his mind is very scary. I am still waiting for a someone in the media to ask him publicly--if the Clintons are such horrible people, why did you invite them to celebrate your marriage (a holy sacrament among true Christians)? But then Donald Trump probably doesn't even know that, despite his recent support from the repulsive, hypocritical Evangelicals.
4
Or why did he support Hillary's candidacy in '08? He doesn't care about the GOP or their principles- this entire election is retaliation for the media mocking him during the birther stuff. I have a feeling it has gone farther than he ever anticipated and is probably pretty scared about actually having to BE president if elected.
Decades of Republican political strategy based on undermining responsible public discourse, manipulating fear and ignorance and denigrating the role of government has produced exactly the candidate one would predict.
Nice photo.
Nice photo.
13
Pure gold, Doug !
1
It's irritating to me that this opinion piece was written by Nicole Wallace, who is ironically partly and directly responsible for the rise of the right-wing nutty Tea Party that largely voted for Trump in the GOP primaries. By helping to elevate the buffoonish Sarah Palin to a national stage, Ms. Wallace encouraged the establishment to patronize the low-information, angry, rural voters that Palin and her ilk stirred up. And by serving the incredibly ill-informed and poorly-managed George W. Bush Administration, Wallace herself advocated and pushed the very policies that led to a massive, record-setting depression under Bush, record unemployment levels in the US, economic blight among the poor, and a massive income equality problem. The eight years of horror the GOP bestowed upon its base, and the racist anti-Obama sentiment that Wallace herself has helped encourage, that's led to Trump. He's the direct result of Nicole Wallace's actions.
15
Do you honestly believe that this clown is going to change?
Why does the press insist on carrying on the delusion that this guy is remotely fit for the White House? Are you that depraved and deluded?
The republican party had better wake up: You are headed into very dangerous waters with this guy. Foist him on the nation and there will be a generation of tears and regret. Count on it.
Why does the press insist on carrying on the delusion that this guy is remotely fit for the White House? Are you that depraved and deluded?
The republican party had better wake up: You are headed into very dangerous waters with this guy. Foist him on the nation and there will be a generation of tears and regret. Count on it.
6
Who is an expert on being an adult?
Can we stop this petty, censorious whining about Trump's personality, and being all shocked by the latest hearsay clumsily interpreting 5% of what he said--which are his personal opinions, not settled policy, and try him out for 4 years?
No, the world will not come to an end. And maybe some useful re-positioning will be possible.
Such a lack of vision, as people cower.
Can we stop this petty, censorious whining about Trump's personality, and being all shocked by the latest hearsay clumsily interpreting 5% of what he said--which are his personal opinions, not settled policy, and try him out for 4 years?
No, the world will not come to an end. And maybe some useful re-positioning will be possible.
Such a lack of vision, as people cower.
1
I agree with your conclusion, Ms. Wallace but take issue with a few of your statements:
1. "Our voters, in decisive numbers, picked a guy who embarrasses us." As has been amply demonstrated, the GOP establishment is incapable of embarrassment. Most have perfected some degree of superficial political sheen that, among themselves and too many of their base, shamefully passes for substantive thought and action. In truth, the GOP is a hollow party seemingly incapable of nothing more than mouthed adherence to its empty orthodoxy.
2. "The party would like to be brought along." Actually, the tension results from the GOP trying to bring Trump along; a move he correctly intuits would harm his candidacy.
3. "he vanquished the aspirations of 16 accomplished rivals..." Let's be honest: except for one or two, perhaps, the initial field of GOP contenders was anything but accomplished. Trump quickly showed them to be tasteless exemplars and high priests of the superficial GOP orthodoxy. Though he lowered the bar for crass behavior, we should all thank Trump for this.
4. Doubts about and animosity toward Clinton. Trump is benefiting from the decades-long sustained attack on Clinton. In this, Trump and the GOP ruling class, show their shared colors: they attack and denigrate very well (it's easy), but add little or nothing constructive to our national dialog (it's hard).
5. "a move toward statesmanship will never materialize." Agreed. Trump cannot change (and not because he's a man).
1. "Our voters, in decisive numbers, picked a guy who embarrasses us." As has been amply demonstrated, the GOP establishment is incapable of embarrassment. Most have perfected some degree of superficial political sheen that, among themselves and too many of their base, shamefully passes for substantive thought and action. In truth, the GOP is a hollow party seemingly incapable of nothing more than mouthed adherence to its empty orthodoxy.
2. "The party would like to be brought along." Actually, the tension results from the GOP trying to bring Trump along; a move he correctly intuits would harm his candidacy.
3. "he vanquished the aspirations of 16 accomplished rivals..." Let's be honest: except for one or two, perhaps, the initial field of GOP contenders was anything but accomplished. Trump quickly showed them to be tasteless exemplars and high priests of the superficial GOP orthodoxy. Though he lowered the bar for crass behavior, we should all thank Trump for this.
4. Doubts about and animosity toward Clinton. Trump is benefiting from the decades-long sustained attack on Clinton. In this, Trump and the GOP ruling class, show their shared colors: they attack and denigrate very well (it's easy), but add little or nothing constructive to our national dialog (it's hard).
5. "a move toward statesmanship will never materialize." Agreed. Trump cannot change (and not because he's a man).
4
" He believes he deserves the party’s admiration for his political achievements, his success as a businessman and his potential to transform and broaden the party’s appeal. "
Why not throw in the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny while we're at it? He has no political achievements. Business success? Let's see his tax returns or they don't exist. Broaden party appeal? He's made it clear that angry and uneducated white people are the only people he wants on board. There are only so many of them available. Good luck with that.
Why not throw in the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny while we're at it? He has no political achievements. Business success? Let's see his tax returns or they don't exist. Broaden party appeal? He's made it clear that angry and uneducated white people are the only people he wants on board. There are only so many of them available. Good luck with that.
25
I’ve been waiting a while, too. But, then, I didn’t expect to see major changes until he’d secured the nomination; and he hasn’t done that yet, despite the millions of votes. Not when party elites still talk about “releasing delegates” and finding an alternative, even to fielding a third-party Conservative candidate, which would guarantee a Hillary win. He deployed a manner during this primary season that secured him the unquestioned support of millions of Republicans: we’re not likely to see a change in that successful manner until the challenge of the general election becomes more certain that it’s one HE’LL be offering.
So, it’s frustrating for me waiting around for Trump to grow up. But, then, this is the first election in a very long time, maybe during my life, that I have an heir and a spare. If Trump proves himself to BE as unable to rise to the demands of the presidency, then there’s always Hillary, the low-risk alternative who wouldn’t move us much in the teeth of congressional resistance but who probably wouldn’t get us into really bad trouble, either. Not much to excite one about a presidential election, but not a bad spare to have in the bassinet.
But Ms. Wallace’s smarmy certainty that the transformation cannot and will not take place strikes me as journalistically opportunistic, to say the least. If it doesn’t happen, she can smile and say “told’ja so”; but if it does … well, it’s not Tom Friedman saying it and nobody will remember.
So, it’s frustrating for me waiting around for Trump to grow up. But, then, this is the first election in a very long time, maybe during my life, that I have an heir and a spare. If Trump proves himself to BE as unable to rise to the demands of the presidency, then there’s always Hillary, the low-risk alternative who wouldn’t move us much in the teeth of congressional resistance but who probably wouldn’t get us into really bad trouble, either. Not much to excite one about a presidential election, but not a bad spare to have in the bassinet.
But Ms. Wallace’s smarmy certainty that the transformation cannot and will not take place strikes me as journalistically opportunistic, to say the least. If it doesn’t happen, she can smile and say “told’ja so”; but if it does … well, it’s not Tom Friedman saying it and nobody will remember.
4
So all he's said and done over the past year, all the bigotry and lies, can still be forgiven? So too all the phony scam businesses over the decades?
None of that disqualifies him, so long as this experienced network TV performer can learn how to put on a convincing act over the next four and a half months, with the motivation of being handed more power than anyone else on the planet?
We should be ready to assume deep personal growth in this particular 70 year old, based on all we know about his exceptional capabilities for self-reflection?
You can't say Hillary would be worse. You know better: you've already said she's the low-risk alternative.
None of that disqualifies him, so long as this experienced network TV performer can learn how to put on a convincing act over the next four and a half months, with the motivation of being handed more power than anyone else on the planet?
We should be ready to assume deep personal growth in this particular 70 year old, based on all we know about his exceptional capabilities for self-reflection?
You can't say Hillary would be worse. You know better: you've already said she's the low-risk alternative.
4
Hillary is hardly a safe bet. Relying on Pentagon brass to mess with the Chinese and Russians on their borders is what she will do. The Cuban missle crisis taught us that great powers become very dangerous when other great powers mess with them in their near abroad. We learned that lesson in Georgia and the Ukraine, and we will learn it in the South China Sea.
1
Funny, Trump gets a fresh start every day, while conservatives hold Ms. Clinton responsible for things her husband did decades ago.
5
If Trump turns into a conventional candidate, his lack of coherent policies will be exposed. And the more he becomes a conventional politician, the more he is beholden to the special interests.
Just look at his latest blathering about trade policy. He wants to rip up trade agreements with China and renegotiate. What exactly is he going to renegotiate? His tirade on currency manipulation is a day (or years) late and a dollar short. A traditional Republican ally, the US Chamber of Commerce, disagrees with him. He has managed to find issues that divide the traditional Republican base.
His only chance at success is to keep up the bombast. His fans love him for it. The programmed Trump is just another empty suit, who wants to be part of the Beltway Establishment.
Just look at his latest blathering about trade policy. He wants to rip up trade agreements with China and renegotiate. What exactly is he going to renegotiate? His tirade on currency manipulation is a day (or years) late and a dollar short. A traditional Republican ally, the US Chamber of Commerce, disagrees with him. He has managed to find issues that divide the traditional Republican base.
His only chance at success is to keep up the bombast. His fans love him for it. The programmed Trump is just another empty suit, who wants to be part of the Beltway Establishment.
18
So Cruz, Bush, what's that Docs name?, Rubio, et al., would be much better than Trump? Please explain. They are all crazy.
74
"Republicans" are "embarrassed?" What a mild word. They should be horrified, terrified, and, in the end, vilified. For a decade or more they have smugly sat in their comfortable parlors and watched their party change course, like the Titanic, into the path of an iceberg, but allowed the music and the dancing to go on, as long as they were given the riches to which they believed they were so eminently entitled. Now they have to actually contend with their creation: a hollow candidate with empty proposals, vacuous lies, an inflated ego, and the colossal ability to say anything, anytime, to anyone all in the realm of self-promotion. They have almost hit rock-bottom, bread and circuses, revolution for revolution's sake, but have no-one to blame but themselves.
274
If only Republicans had the good sense to be ashamed of themselves. That could be a step forward.
1
Why are we treated to the thoughts of Nicolle Wallace? Ms. Wallace was a paid employee of the W administration and in the John McCain campaign. As we learned in Game Change, she did no even vote in the election in which she worked for a candidate. She couldn't stand Sarah Palin. Okay, I get that. But, to not vote? There were other options available to her. Now, she is at it again. She does not support her party's nominee, Trump. She makes sure to tell us her parents do, though. Yet, she won't support Clinton, Stein or Johnson. Her money is made by being a republican so she won't risk that. She is disloyal to the party which enriches her and questionable in her civic duties as well. Running around with the New York media crowd and projecting a softer manner is not enough to make her different from Rush Limbaugh. She's just another bloviator who doesn't vote.
58
I didn't realize that the First Amendment right to free speech (especially in an opinion piece) was contingent on casting one's vote and demonstrating party/employer loyalty.
Trump's "The Art of Politics" has him preempting accurate descriptions of himself by characterizing his opponent first with those words. Haven't we heard the con-man who cheats people enrolling in "Trump University" and whose business model is not to pay his business' bills and force creditors to sue and then drag out the litigation, forcing a cut rate settlement, him Clinton,"crooked, dishonest, etc. ? Respond with kindness: say that his supporters call him: "the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life," just what the brainwashed soldiers called Raymond Shaw in the Manchurian Candidate, and watch people laugh before thinking "Who is Donald Trump ?"
99
Trump is a good representation of his party. The author doesn't fully understand this fact, or is not willing to face up to the consequences of it. The party is full of racists, bigots and imbeciles - it was built that way.
105
Just consider the other member of this "party." Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, G.W. Bush, Dick Cheney. Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Ryan. Mitch McConnell, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, John McCain,Trey Gowdy, Kevin McCarthy, Steven Scalise, Jason Chaffitz, Pete Sessions, on and on and on. It's like the plague, spreading to every corner of the US. Not one of them is fit to serve our country, and should be tarred an feathered, and run out of town on a rail.
2
And with your relentless attack on Trump you are enabling the "Dump Trump" movement in Cleveland to succeed. Trump is a godsend to Democrats that will give us control of the Senate and maybe the House, but not if Ryan is nominated. Please refrain from turning Republicans away from Mr. Trump until after Cleveland.
32
Republicans can dump trump, but that is only as a means to save the party long term. If they manage to oust him he takes his racists, bigots, furious xenophobes, mindless angry old drones with him. The party survives but loses heavily in the 2016 cycle. If he stays he destroys the party from within and the Republicans go the way of the party they rose from the ashes of, the Whigs. And they lose heavily in the 2016 cycle.
Oh! We are found out, comrades!
I agree! After he is locked in as the nominee there will still be 3 months for him to make a further fool of himself and his party (well deserved). Then is the time for the Democrats to attack full force.
"He deserves credit for acknowledging their economic despair and mounting fears about Islamic extremism"........and fears of blacks and hispanics and women of substance and gays and especially trans-genders and evangelicals who want a Christian theocracy and health care for all and, and, and.......
29
Economic despair cause by people like....donald trump....and which will be greatly exacerbate by policies like those of .....donald trump........and fears of Islamic extremism which will be made real and far worse by the only American featured prominently in al qaeda and isis recruiting videos......donald trump.....
1
Didn't Hillary advocate mass incarceration for African-Americans calling them super predators?
ljahru, nope.
1
It's too late. Donald already has given the Clinton campaign what is necessary to win--endless video of him him making racist, sexist statements, mocking a reporter with disabilities, bragging about how Brexit will help his golf course, vowing that he will never change, attacking the Republican party, expressing his love for Vladimir Putin, changing his positions on major issues, etc. etc. etc. Between now and Election Day, the Democrats should saturate the airwaves with ads showing Trump for exactly what he is. He fancies himself an expert on the media, but TV will be the key to defeating him.
TV and radio commercials should be aimed not only at firing up Democrats and independents but at increasing distrust of him among Republicans. HIs flip-flops on issues considered his strengths are especially important. Dialing back on threats to ban Muslim immigrants and to punish women who have abortions should hurt him with the GOP base. The more acceptable he futilely tries to become to the general electorate, the more of his current supporters he will lose.
The coup de grace will be delivered at the debates. Trump will perform terribly because he cannot stay on script. Clinton's campaign should carefully strategize ways to bait him.
TV and radio commercials should be aimed not only at firing up Democrats and independents but at increasing distrust of him among Republicans. HIs flip-flops on issues considered his strengths are especially important. Dialing back on threats to ban Muslim immigrants and to punish women who have abortions should hurt him with the GOP base. The more acceptable he futilely tries to become to the general electorate, the more of his current supporters he will lose.
The coup de grace will be delivered at the debates. Trump will perform terribly because he cannot stay on script. Clinton's campaign should carefully strategize ways to bait him.
382
Connie - those Donald clips should be followed by the GOP leaders lining up to endorse him.
Wallace - You are either for the full package or none of it. You can't pick and choose what part of Donald you want to be in the White House. Right now you are a self declared racist bigot who hates Islam and believes in unobtainable autarky because you back Donald. Own up to it.
Wallace - You are either for the full package or none of it. You can't pick and choose what part of Donald you want to be in the White House. Right now you are a self declared racist bigot who hates Islam and believes in unobtainable autarky because you back Donald. Own up to it.
2
Would that it were so Connie. But, many voters are tired of scripts especially failing ones.
I like your thinking but I disagree with one important aspect.
Saturating the airwaves with his own video lunacy will make the citizenry bored with it, accepting of it and it will become only so much background noise. Selective and creative use of his lies and hypocrisy is what is needed.
Give the electorate something to look forward to, a new creative ad maybe each Sunday....starting in September after Labor Day when we start to pay attention., build up the excitement, the expectations.
Saturating the airwaves with his own video lunacy will make the citizenry bored with it, accepting of it and it will become only so much background noise. Selective and creative use of his lies and hypocrisy is what is needed.
Give the electorate something to look forward to, a new creative ad maybe each Sunday....starting in September after Labor Day when we start to pay attention., build up the excitement, the expectations.
If and I hope he loses, if Trump loses the election maybe he will leave our country for his historical home Sweden. Oh wait, he lied about that also, when he claimed Swedish heritage. I'd be happy if he left America forever. I guess Mexico does not have to worry about him moving there. Although since 2/3 of his wives hail from eastern europe, maybe he will move there to hunt the next wife.
19
Maybe ISIS will take him.
Trump leave the country if he loses? No, my fear is that, having made it this far, he'll hang around, plotting for the next election. We can't get rid of Palin--what makes you think we'll ever be rid of Trump?
2
This column acts as though the only question is whether he can fool the voters into thinking he's a serious candidate. But after that comes governing. He doesn't have a form problem. He has a substance problem. Whatever the base may think serious people in the GOP must realize he's a disaster.
46
This advice may have been appropriate to Senator John McCain had he made similar mistakes, but is irrelevant for Donald Trump. He is what he is and that is what enough Republican voters wanted as their candidate.
The real question is not whether Donald Trump can pretend to be something that he is not long enough to win the Presidency but can the GOP which has long pretended to be something it is not can reconnect with the American people. Can the Party break its dependency on Super Pacs and Special Interests enough to actually become a governing party again?
The real change required for survival of the Republican Party is the core GOP institutions and leadership. Trump is merely the catalyst.
The real question is not whether Donald Trump can pretend to be something that he is not long enough to win the Presidency but can the GOP which has long pretended to be something it is not can reconnect with the American people. Can the Party break its dependency on Super Pacs and Special Interests enough to actually become a governing party again?
The real change required for survival of the Republican Party is the core GOP institutions and leadership. Trump is merely the catalyst.
14
Honestly, Nicolle, what are the chances that Trump is going to sit down and read "The Looming Tower"? What are the chances he reads anything other than a carefully curated selection of favorable tweets and news headlines. If you ever get the chance to interview him again, you should ask him what are the last five books he has read. His attention span stops about halfway through "Pat the Bunny", and he only starts it because he thinks it's a Hugh Hefner biography.
49
Ha ha--love that last line, JD!
1
Trump's competition for the nomination were a pretty poor bunch. He simply bullied them into submission and it was not a pretty sight.
If Elizabeth Warren had been on that debate stage she would have whittled him down to the pathetic little creep that he is.
If Elizabeth Warren had been on that debate stage she would have whittled him down to the pathetic little creep that he is.
49
In spite of all the negative analysis and comment, Trump stands a fair chance of winning the White House. The GOP establishment and the oligarchy will hold their noses knowing Trump would give them a tame SCOTUS. Trump would be gone in four years, but his SCOTUS can last for 40.
16
The GOP oligarchy, like the Weimar Republic, think they can control this "necessary evil". They will be just as mistaken, but it is the American people, not the oligarchy, that will suffer.
Waiting for a woman to change may not work out much better (in politics or in real life)
1
Saying racist, misogynist, bigoted things is not politically incorrect utterances - it's saying racist, misogynist, bigoted things.
51
Tarting up a pig, in order to fool the voting public yet more one time. Yet in your hearts, you know you're tarting up a pig. Have you at long last no sense of common decency?
49
Please don't disparage pigs by comparing them to Trump.
1
It's clever business, don't underestimate it. Pigs are cheaper than prostitutes and you can eat them when they get old and loose their good looks.
Please, don't insult pigs. They're smart and not cruel.
3
Trump has already showed us and the world who he is by his words and actions. He can change all he wants in the coming weeks and months; his actions have clearly showed us he is a bully and a compulsive liar; there is no changing who he is as a person. His advisers can wait all they like, he is a sham and the sows ear...no silk purse to see folks.
27
I am amazed that no has mentioned that Trump's plans to deport millions of people, breaking up some families in the process, and to launch close serveillance of American Moslems can only lead to a vast increase in domestic terrorists. His isolationist ideas might be effective at keeping a few new terrorists out, but they will surely push many more dissatisfied residents of the US (some legal and some not) toward violant acts.
18
The only reason why the Republican elite have gone 7 days to condemn a Trump statement is because the bar has been set so high by all of his previous comments. I guess the comment about the pound drop being good for his golf business didn't reach that bar.
In my opinion, that should have been yet another headline about why this man should never become president.
In my opinion, that should have been yet another headline about why this man should never become president.
17
If the G.O.P. understood Donald Trump's fundamental motivation—the mission that everything in his life is built upon—they would realize what a lost cause he is. Scripting the words that come out of his mouth won't change the man. Trump is hopelessly addicted to adulation, a primary symptom of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. The issues don't really mean anything to him. For people with NPD, the central mission in life is receiving adulation. Everything else is secondary. This is why Donald Trump is incapable of showing empathy in situations like the attack in Orlando. Even in such dire situations, he will always twist things around to paint himself as the hero.
America loves heroes, but this one is a fake.
America loves heroes, but this one is a fake.
45
I want to go a bit further with what you say. American individualism and being convinced of our excetionalism has turned many of us into narcissists. The attraction to Trump is a natural reaction, recognizing yourself in him; it strokes your "wannabe-a-star" nerve. Is it a wonder we worship "stars," living our lives surreptitiously through them? This fancily dressed empty shell is a hero to people who only see his "armor," the armor he created to protect himself from his own inadequacies. Ultimately, he's to be pitied.
No, he is mentally ill. Seriously.
3
The thing I can't figure out... If the sickness is the pervasive scam of our economic interactions- low wages, student loans, health insurance deductibles, phone contracts, baggage fees, bank fees, tax loopholes, mortgages, court, fees, small print for everything, all the opposite of a honest, straight up hand shake deal- how does anyone think the Donald is the answer?
22
Waiting for Donald Trump to grow up is like waiting for Sarah Palin to grow up. Never mind that it simply won't happen--they both got where they are by behaving and speaking offensively. In essence, that is the entire strategy--continue to say things no one else would dream of saying because, not in spite of the notions that it will sound stupid, racist, bigoted, rude and/or arrogant; the media will repeat it over and over so your name will appear on the front page of every newspaper on earth.
It's not shocking that Trump got chosen as the presidential nominee for the Republican party but it is continuing to surprise me that so many Republican politicians are "cool" with it.
It's not shocking that Trump got chosen as the presidential nominee for the Republican party but it is continuing to surprise me that so many Republican politicians are "cool" with it.
364
Here in the NY area you can choose which newspaper to read and which radio and tv station to listen to. Stay away from such rags as The New York Post and the Daily News. Avoid Fox News and follow WNYC-am and fm 93.9, And get more news from Public Broadcasting- channels 13 and 21 and 8. Then you have a better chance to get more accurage news.
Donald Trump--if he isn't scary enough on his own, just add the idea of Chris Christie being his close advisor. That's got to inspire tons of confidence.
The Republican Party created this monster, and they are getting what they deserve. Let's hope the entire nation doesn't have to suffer for it.
The Republican Party created this monster, and they are getting what they deserve. Let's hope the entire nation doesn't have to suffer for it.
27
Wait a minute. This opinion piece--not the one Thomas Friedman wrote today--should have been titled "You Break It, You Own It." As the veteran of George W. Bush administration and John McCain presidential campaign, you'll get no sympathy from me (and most NY Times readers) for the political GOP Frenkenmonster that is Donald Trump. Who is Donald Trump but a business suit wearing, New York version of Sarah Palin? What political and policy path is Donald Trump walking on but the one blazed by George W. Bush and Dick Cheney where equal parts of willful ignorance and bold-face lie passed for leadership? The party establishment gleefully broke the GOP with the help of Fox News, NRA, right-wing "think-tanks," and crazed conspiracy theorists from birthers to Tea Party activists the elites tacitly and openly supported--the GOP establishment owns Donald Trump. How do you like them apples?
49
"He deserves credit for acknowledging their economic despair and mounting fears about Islamic extremism."
But mainly their racism and bigotry.
But mainly their racism and bigotry.
21
After reading Nick Cohen's column in the Guardian about the leaders of brexit vote this excerpt particularly reminded me of Donald Trump-
"Now they have won and what Kipling said of the demagogues of his age applies to Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage.
I could not dig; I dared not rob:
Therefore I lied to please the mob.
Now all my lies are proved untrue
And I must face the men I slew.
What tale shall serve me here among
Mine angry and defrauded young?"
"Now they have won and what Kipling said of the demagogues of his age applies to Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage.
I could not dig; I dared not rob:
Therefore I lied to please the mob.
Now all my lies are proved untrue
And I must face the men I slew.
What tale shall serve me here among
Mine angry and defrauded young?"
17
The GOP may wait forever for a narcissistic, megalomaniac to see past his own reflection even when there is no visible reflection. Donnie is incapable of staying on any message that does not feed his ego.
His supporters, however, are so disillusioned, racially biased, and connected to reality by only their fears may do anything that allows them to believe that "the good old days" of Jim Crow and low-skill, well-paying jobs will return. They cannot as long as the technologies are owned only by the top 1% continue to allow their bank accounts to burgeon at the 99%'s expense. There is a greater likelihood that I, a 50 year old man, will start menstruating than Trump become a Statesman or respectable or uniting. He may win because too many Americans are racists, bigots, and xenophobes.
His supporters, however, are so disillusioned, racially biased, and connected to reality by only their fears may do anything that allows them to believe that "the good old days" of Jim Crow and low-skill, well-paying jobs will return. They cannot as long as the technologies are owned only by the top 1% continue to allow their bank accounts to burgeon at the 99%'s expense. There is a greater likelihood that I, a 50 year old man, will start menstruating than Trump become a Statesman or respectable or uniting. He may win because too many Americans are racists, bigots, and xenophobes.
10
the gop has lost time while dithering over trump and they've missed a chance...if they had done their job and backed their nominee they might have more prepared for hillary's flummoxing rhetoric when tested by the realities of the world she wants to lead...her brexit and turkey responses have been soft, those of a mid-level bureaucrat positing a "next window please" sign rather than a leader calling the troops to attention.
1
I would like to see Ms Wallace read the speech on 'globalization' Trump gave yesterday in PA. http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/full-transcript-trump-job-plan-spe... Then here her comeback to it. No comments on whether he is lying about his intentions (he might be. He running for office, after all). No comment on whether he CAN actually implement what he says he wants to do. (he would be dealing with the greatest do nothing Congresses in American History). No comment on his hair. Or what he talks about in Scotland. Or whatever. Just pretend, Ms Wallace, that it is not Trump making the speech. And then I would like to hear your position on the intellectual and policy implications of what he said yesterday. I challenge you on that.
11
A friend suggested a theory about the cause of Trump's erratic behavior, wildly incoherent but consistent speech patterns and innate narcissism: early onset of Alzheimer's. Interesting thought.
8
We had a President in his 70s who not long into his second term began to fade. Though it was years later before Alzheimer's was diagnosed, he clearly showed memory lapses while still in office. And now we are about to have two candidates who are the same age as that President was when he ran the first time.
3
And, why not?
Ronnie Reagan had Alzheimer's while he was in office.
Though I'm not sure that that was why he repeated, "I don't remember" over 50 times in the Iran-Contra Hearings.
Republiklans... who knows when they're telling the truth..?
Ronnie Reagan had Alzheimer's while he was in office.
Though I'm not sure that that was why he repeated, "I don't remember" over 50 times in the Iran-Contra Hearings.
Republiklans... who knows when they're telling the truth..?
4
Nicolle's old boss GW Bush never grew up, why would she expect more from Trump?
17
Why do the republicans seem to gather like moths around privileged white men with little intellectual heft? Bush 1, bush 2, the Rominee, McCain and now dumb Donald Drumpf.
14
For most it's been 'NEVER trump' or 'trump über alles' for months and months... He hasn't hidden his ignorance and his bombast.
Some of the press, however, keeps looking for an alchemy that will turn organic fertilizer into Abraham Lincoln...
Stop looking....
The only question left is whether or not Americans have the good sense to throw the G.O.P out of Congress...
THAT will 'Make America Great Again' !
trump the clown show will soon retreat into his clown car with a grin and loads of cash pilfered from the rubes... to return when he needs more $$$....
Some of the press, however, keeps looking for an alchemy that will turn organic fertilizer into Abraham Lincoln...
Stop looking....
The only question left is whether or not Americans have the good sense to throw the G.O.P out of Congress...
THAT will 'Make America Great Again' !
trump the clown show will soon retreat into his clown car with a grin and loads of cash pilfered from the rubes... to return when he needs more $$$....
7
Well Ms. Wallace I have some bad news for you. That three-headed dragon on roller skates is actually the sins of your party rapidly overtaking you. Should get even with you about Nov. 8th.
As a successful professional operative yourself from the party on the wrong side of the isle and history, you should have noticed that most of American is really mad at you. You and your circle of professional enablers and your fat cat masters are really in for it this time. No amount of poll quoting and hand wringing will get you out of the comeuppance waiting just around the corner.
In the mean time enjoy your new career as a talking head on Morning Joe. It is at least honest work. And you get to spout off.
As a successful professional operative yourself from the party on the wrong side of the isle and history, you should have noticed that most of American is really mad at you. You and your circle of professional enablers and your fat cat masters are really in for it this time. No amount of poll quoting and hand wringing will get you out of the comeuppance waiting just around the corner.
In the mean time enjoy your new career as a talking head on Morning Joe. It is at least honest work. And you get to spout off.
14
The joke is on us.
Trump is an insecure and immature personality who is totally unqualified to be a leader of any sort, let alone President of the United States of America.
If elected, he will bring catastrophe to the country, and to the world.
Every thinking, responsible American who loves his country has a duty to make sure this does not happen!
Trump is an insecure and immature personality who is totally unqualified to be a leader of any sort, let alone President of the United States of America.
If elected, he will bring catastrophe to the country, and to the world.
Every thinking, responsible American who loves his country has a duty to make sure this does not happen!
21
Should Donny make it through the turbulent convention and beat back the palace coup, as he most certainly will, the Democrats need to make sure they are not made the fool by the joker himself.
7
Movies I hope they make:
"Forrest Trump," about a rotten box of picked over chocolates, a metaphor for this anti-Midas touch.
"Cool Hand Trump" about a guy running for president on a cool handful of nothing.
"Catch me if you can" the sequel.
"The Martian," about the lengths some people will go to in order to avoid a Trump presidency.
"Forrest Trump," about a rotten box of picked over chocolates, a metaphor for this anti-Midas touch.
"Cool Hand Trump" about a guy running for president on a cool handful of nothing.
"Catch me if you can" the sequel.
"The Martian," about the lengths some people will go to in order to avoid a Trump presidency.
3
"..but in the case of Mr. Trump, it may be the fools’ only choice." Ms. Wallace almost has it. It should read, "but in the case of Mr. Trump, he is the fools’ choice."
9
Just how do you define fools, John? Those that disagree with your ineffective liberal agenda? I cannot wait for the day when you will have to address the fool's choice as Mr. President!
Your piece reinforces Donald's claim of dishonest media. When will someone define his "racial divisiveness"? what races? Mexican is not a race. Many look like your gardener but many look like Trump's sons. That's dishonest. Maybe you meant his pause in immigrants from radicalized Muslim countries. Yet some Muslims look like the Boston bombers and some look like the San Bernadino bombers. Where's the race part? The temptation is to call a man a racist to feed your bias against a rookie politician. Trump's plans need more meat on the bones, but the "dishonest media" certainly doesn't have time for that. They do have interest in stirring "racial divisiveness" of their own.
3
"Trump's plans need more meat on the bone" Really?
How much more meat do you want to his simplistic, idiotic plans to: build a wall on the southern border, tear up all trade treaties, depart 11 million illegals, arm japan and korea with nukes, default on the national debt, get out of NATO and last but not least, start a trade war with China. His plans don't need meat on the bone; his boneheaded plans need to be thrown to the dogs.
How much more meat do you want to his simplistic, idiotic plans to: build a wall on the southern border, tear up all trade treaties, depart 11 million illegals, arm japan and korea with nukes, default on the national debt, get out of NATO and last but not least, start a trade war with China. His plans don't need meat on the bone; his boneheaded plans need to be thrown to the dogs.
6
You can't outrun a rolling dumpster fire. Have to wait until it crashes into something, then clean up the mess.
14
The rest of the country is waiting for the GOP to understand that they are the REASON Trump is at the fore, not in spite of them. You guys think that people were voting for you previously because they like your ideas on smaller government? Wrong. They love their Social Security and Medicare and all other government programs that benefit them. They were voting for you because of all the things that Trump says out loud that all your other candidates used to just allude to and wink and gesture toward - isolationism, xenophobia, and racial prejudice. Trump just didn't understand how the game was played- he didn't know it was supposed to seem like it was a secret so you could "wink, wink" deny it. Trump is like when you hear your own voice on a recording - it sounds weird to your own ear because you are not used to hearing it that way, but it's what everyone else hears and it's yours.
13
As Paul Begalia said on Bill Maher's program last week - Donald hasn't changed his hair style in 50 years. What makes you think he will change anything else?
14
Flim-flam man
The Donald ran
To boost his brand
And flaunt his tan.
Supporters, dim
And mean, love him.
But sane folks hope
He'll tank,
We'll win.
The Donald ran
To boost his brand
And flaunt his tan.
Supporters, dim
And mean, love him.
But sane folks hope
He'll tank,
We'll win.
6
" he vanquished the aspirations of 16 accomplished rivals in less time than it took Hillary Clinton to shake off Bernie Sanders. "
He only won BECAUSE there were 16 other candidates. He didn't get 50% of the vote in any primary until New York. Most Republicans didn't and don't like him. At all. You can't win a two-person primary with most of the voters in your party against you. You CAN win a split field if you only need 30% to win.
And it only took him "less time than it took Hillary Clinton to shake off Bernie Sanders" because Cruz dropped out and Bernie didn't. Cruz actually did better than Bernie.
"While it annoys Mr. Trump to be criticized, he understands what Sarah Palin understood — his supporters are rooting for him, not the talking heads on TV."
Sarah Palin may have lost McCain the election. Trump spends his time appealing to the angry minority that feeds on anger, and is doing nothing to expand his support beyond the extreme right.
The Republican Party has a candidate whose base of support hates the Republican Party.
He only won BECAUSE there were 16 other candidates. He didn't get 50% of the vote in any primary until New York. Most Republicans didn't and don't like him. At all. You can't win a two-person primary with most of the voters in your party against you. You CAN win a split field if you only need 30% to win.
And it only took him "less time than it took Hillary Clinton to shake off Bernie Sanders" because Cruz dropped out and Bernie didn't. Cruz actually did better than Bernie.
"While it annoys Mr. Trump to be criticized, he understands what Sarah Palin understood — his supporters are rooting for him, not the talking heads on TV."
Sarah Palin may have lost McCain the election. Trump spends his time appealing to the angry minority that feeds on anger, and is doing nothing to expand his support beyond the extreme right.
The Republican Party has a candidate whose base of support hates the Republican Party.
237
What is sad is that Republicans seemed to thing Ted Cruz was a mainstream candidate.
2
Nicolle Wallace's is refreshingly honest. Not only is the Republican party still waiting for their guy to 'act presidential' no one he respects enough has been brave enough to tell him that the Emperor (that would be him) has no clothes! By now you would have thought he had learned to dress for success.
2
This is the Trump campaign's dilemma. The candidate can stay on message (from a teleprompter) for brief periods, but when he does so, he loses his appeal to the rabid base that responded positively to his original nativist, racist, name-calling, fear-mongering stance. They miss his 400-word vocabulary and his schoolyard bully ideolect, which they mistake for "telling it like it is."
Even during those brief periods when he's able to impersonate an adult he slips off-script periodically to inject little jabs and insults, and to float innuendo and conspiracy theories, because he never trusts the message his writers come up with to be extreme or provocative enough. Trump will always sabotage his handlers' plans because he thinks he's the smartest person in the room, which isn't true even when he's alone in the room.
Even during those brief periods when he's able to impersonate an adult he slips off-script periodically to inject little jabs and insults, and to float innuendo and conspiracy theories, because he never trusts the message his writers come up with to be extreme or provocative enough. Trump will always sabotage his handlers' plans because he thinks he's the smartest person in the room, which isn't true even when he's alone in the room.
524
It's little wonder that Don the Con's parents shipped him off to military school to try to knock some sense into him, but he managed to manipulate family wealth to get his way. He never grew up.
(In poorer families, the kids are simply kicked out to fend for themselves, or married off in their teens in the often vain hope that marriage will mature them.)
The Donald learned to get the attention his family didn't give him by bewitching the media; in the day of 24/7 coverage, this has a very low threshold (so long as it doesn't show full frontal nudity or sex with children or animals).
We now see the results.
(In poorer families, the kids are simply kicked out to fend for themselves, or married off in their teens in the often vain hope that marriage will mature them.)
The Donald learned to get the attention his family didn't give him by bewitching the media; in the day of 24/7 coverage, this has a very low threshold (so long as it doesn't show full frontal nudity or sex with children or animals).
We now see the results.
4
Absolutely brilliant last line! Thank you.
1
A person with Narcissistic Personality Disorder will heed only the call of the inner circle in his mind and insatiable psychological need. I was looking at the photos of him zipping around his golf course, pressing the pedal of the cart with his garnish white loafers. And I thought, "this man is an embellished version of a car dealership owner...but, a Saturn dealership, on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, or one of the crumbling Long Island suburbs." The Trump kids need to have a chat with Dad about taking away the car keys, before he backs the family wagon through the front window of the world. Problem is, he owns the dealership where they all work, and so he'll never surrender his license. Wait until his kids find out there really is nothing to inherit.
8
"Trump understands what Sarah Palin understands." I guess, Ms. Wallace, as one of the brain trust responsible for foisting Sarah Palin on the American national political scene, you'd be among the first to know. But you also ought to be honest enough to recognize how well that's worked out.
Trump represents the devolution of the Republican Party. You don't believe in governance and your party's policies and behavior are responsible for so much of why Congress enjoys a 15% approval rating. Witch hunts, symbolic votes to repeal the ACA, blocking presidential appointments to federal agencies and the federal bench.
I hope Trump is the end of you because you and your party deserve to be gone.
Trump represents the devolution of the Republican Party. You don't believe in governance and your party's policies and behavior are responsible for so much of why Congress enjoys a 15% approval rating. Witch hunts, symbolic votes to repeal the ACA, blocking presidential appointments to federal agencies and the federal bench.
I hope Trump is the end of you because you and your party deserve to be gone.
18
I've always told my children and grandchildren that "what you see is what you get" when they've raised concerns about a dating partner, potential spouse or a close firend. People do change over time. They may become more "mellow" with age and more experiences in life. They can become more bitter, more angry, more cynical from those experiences as they age. But, WHO they are usually doesn't change significantly.
Someone who is self centered and thinks only of themselves doesn't change without the right motivator and a desire to change. A person with a chemical dependency will battle that addiction all their lives regardless of whether they quit their substance of choice or not. Some behaviors and perspectives just aren't going to change. Ever.
You can help someone who has already decided they need to change. Bottom line, you cannot control anyone's behaviors, attitudes, or reactions but your OWN! So, where does that leave the GOP with Trump?
Ms. Wallace is correct that waiting for a person to change is a fool's errand. Trump is ALWAYS going to speak before he thinks. This is NOT a good characteristic for a president to have. The GOP created the opportunity for someone like him to rise to power with their twisted crazy-making, gaslighting manipulation of reality and often outright denial of reality! They have no one to blame but themselves. Thinking they can control someone who really does think as they've acted!
What you see is what you get with Trump!
Someone who is self centered and thinks only of themselves doesn't change without the right motivator and a desire to change. A person with a chemical dependency will battle that addiction all their lives regardless of whether they quit their substance of choice or not. Some behaviors and perspectives just aren't going to change. Ever.
You can help someone who has already decided they need to change. Bottom line, you cannot control anyone's behaviors, attitudes, or reactions but your OWN! So, where does that leave the GOP with Trump?
Ms. Wallace is correct that waiting for a person to change is a fool's errand. Trump is ALWAYS going to speak before he thinks. This is NOT a good characteristic for a president to have. The GOP created the opportunity for someone like him to rise to power with their twisted crazy-making, gaslighting manipulation of reality and often outright denial of reality! They have no one to blame but themselves. Thinking they can control someone who really does think as they've acted!
What you see is what you get with Trump!
7
According to the latest national poll by Quinnipiac University, Trump is tied with Clinton, and receives high marks for how he would manage the economy, and for his "leadership." So perhaps it is that the tired old Republican mantra is tired and old. Maybe Americans DO want a wall around our shores, Muslims kept out, immigrants rounded up and deported, trade deals canceled, and vituperation, not vision, insults over intelligence. Sounds like a perfect game plan for a collapsing economy, cultural strife, higher prices for everything, and a ticket to second or third class world stature -- sort of like Brexit.
7
One can only hope that Trump has grown up past the "terrible twos" and rebellious teenage years. As Trump might say, the hung jury is still out.
A fact-free strategy memo for a fact-free candidate. Ms. Wallace apparently views momentous policy choices ahead of us as irrelevant. All that matters is that a leader offer simple, digestible choices that get cheered in the right moments by the right surrogates. Absent from her assessment about the scripted Anti-Clinton speech is that it was largely false, even slanderous according to one right- lea ing pundit. The problem was the media cheering section wasn't cultivated and aimed properly!
The writer and the candidate are a fine match: A soul without a brain, analyzed by a brain without a soul. Heaven help us if they truly find each other!
The writer and the candidate are a fine match: A soul without a brain, analyzed by a brain without a soul. Heaven help us if they truly find each other!
4
You can put a tux on a know nothing, loud mouth bully and he'll look pretty good, but once he opens his mouth he is exposed again.
3
The only thing missing from Trump's Scotland show was a seven-minute reading from The Pet Goat.
4