...to think surely nobody will vote Donald Trump now?

[QuizteamBleakley]

Donald Trump thinks there should be a ban on all Muslims entering the U.S.

Beeb news here.

I think claig told us she is not a US citizen or resident so is probably just watching from a distance for entertainment purposes.

'I suppose when/if he fails, the Republican survivors will stampede to disown him.'

It's looking bad for him. On Fox just now, Karl Rove, Bush's man, whom Trump does not like, said that Cruz will win Iowa and he was again bringing up this "brokered convention" thing which is where the Establishment could possibly stitch things up and keep the people from having Trump as leader. The Republican elite don't want him, the people do, it is the usual type of thing.

Trump said on Fox about Hillary

"She was truly — if not the — one of the worst secretaries of state in the history of the country," he added. "She talks about me being dangerous. She's killed hundreds of thousands of people with her stupidity."

and he hasn't even taken the gloves off yet but it looks like the Republican elite will do their utmost to stop him.

'Right, claig, it's not a problem to you if a candidate doesn't have the sense to avoid making stupid and inflammatory comments. Ri-ight.'

I'd rather he didn't, but there is no alternative to Trump, the rest are puppets, he told us that himself, he wrote the cheques for lots of them.

I'm sorry, but anyone who is capable of maintaining a consistent policy, not lying, and not making stupid and inflammatory statements, is a better alternative than Trump.

'I'm sorry, but anyone who is capable of maintaining a consistent policy, not lying, and not making stupid and inflammatory statements, is a better alternative than Trump.'

Jeb Bush? Are you kidding? He's "low energy", Trump told us that himself. They're all puppets, bought and paid for.

Imagine Blair only half as bad, that is what they are.

"Trump told us that himself"

Believing selected parts of what Trump says, about himself or his opponents, is very circular reasoning.

Are you saying that Trump is wrong when he calls them puppets and losers? Have you seen them? Believe me it is not pleasant.

'I think claig told us she is not a US citizen or resident so is probably just watching from a distance for entertainment purposes.'

Yes, I am English in the UK. I am interested in it because America runs the world and for once us real conservatives have a real conservative scaring the bejeezus out of the elites and saying "this climate change BULLSHIT has got to stop". It doesn't get better than that. That is why I am with Trump to the end, to the "brokered convention" and beyond.

"Trump told us that himself"

Well he would say that wouldn't he? You seem to place an almost childlike trust in the words of Trump and his former advisor.
They aren't oracles, the fonts of all Knowledge or neutral observers. You are also naive in the extreme if you believe for a second that because his campaign is largely self funded that he will act in an even handed, statesman like way and not be swayed by vested interests (least of all his own) and will act solely in the interests of the American people.

Trump is wildly popular with hard right white Republicans and practically no other group and he does a good albeit crude job of playing to the home crowd. He alienates far more people than he attracts. If he gets the Republican nomination (and I sincerely hope he does to prevent you crying 'it was a conspiracy by the professional class in the GOP') the Republicans will lose in every swing state.

Tell you what, why not stick £500 on him being the next US president? He's currently 6/1 and if you're that confident then those odds represent terrific value.

Compos, you are right that he will still be swayed by someone's interests but it is better than the current situation where they are outright puppets. People across the world want change - they kicked out the Labour elite here and replaced them with Corbyn, and they want to do the same to the Republican elite. There is no alternative to Trump for millions of voters, they can't hold their noses and vote for a puppet anymore.

Newt Gingrich, who would not have wanted a Trump to tip over the Republican Establishment of which he is a part, has reluctantly seen the writing on the wall

"EXCLUSIVE: Newt Gingrich: ‘The Country Is in Rebellion,’ Trump Can ‘Kick Down the Doors’

Newt Gingrich told Breitbart News that the country is in rebellion against the coastal power centers and that Donald Trump might be the candidate who can “kick down the doors” of the establishment."

claig, your political interest comes over as extremely naive. It doesn't seem to involve any analysis whatsoever: the process seems to be "Find someone who endorses my prejudices, believe everything he says implicitly until he says something utterly stupid and bigoted and then claim that was a joke, find a few highly selective quotes and claim that they back me up". It just doesn't work as a credible political philosophy.

Dipankrispaneven, I am with the 30% of Republicans, the largest proportion of Republicans expressing a view on their preferred candidate, who want Trump to win. I don't agree with you, I think Trump is better than the rest of them.

I am with the 30% of Republicans And therein lies the problem, 30% of the people who would vote Republican anyway. Yes it may be enough to carry the Republican nomination, but that is in all likelihood is about the limit of his support.

To win over voters in swing states he'll have to perform all sorts of u-turns and contortions that he simply isn't capable of politically or intellectually.

they kicked out the Labour elite

Have they? I must have missed that. Last time I looked the Labour front bench was stuffed with a lot of the same faces that had held office under Brown and Milliband. Those who wouldn't join Corbyn's shadow cabinet were those who took a huff rather than being 'kicked out'.

Also, whilst Corbyn's is extremely popular with members of his own party, we don't know what effect he will have on floating voters, polls show the Labour party trailing the Tories. Which after heavy cuts and their disastrous handling of tax credits doesn't auger well.

Also a US presidential election is more reliant on the personalities of the leader than a British parliamentary election, where the presence of a un/popular constituency MP can sway voting decisions.

Compos, I agree with you. It won't be easy for trump, for a start, the entire Republican Establishment is determined to stop him. However, I think he will go above the elite's heads and appeal directly to the people and he will tell so many truths that the people will be stunned and will vote him in, that is what the elites fear.

'he'll have to perform all sorts of u-turns and contortions that he simply isn't capable of politically or intellectually. '

I think he will change policies just as he chops and changes every 5 minutes, one minute saying that America must take Syrian refugees and the next saying that he would send them back. It is pointless believing what Trump says, because he is toying with the Establishment and media. He said "I want to be unpredictable" and that is what he is and that is why the Republican establishment are in meltdown mode over him.

'they kicked out the Labour elite'

I agree with you that it is not over yet. The Blairites and the Oxbridge teams and the Establishment stooges are all still there at the top of the Labour Party, but the members refused to vote for them in the leadership contest and voted for the 100/1 outsider. They hope Corbyn will defeat the stooges. I don't think he will, because from what I have seen he is too weak, just as farage was too weak to defeat his stooges. What the Republican elites fear is that Trump is not too weak, everyone in the world knows that Trump means business and when Trump takes the gloves off, the world will be stunned and will never have seen anything like it. Trump will "make America great again" and he will make us great again in the process. Trump is a winner and the whole world are going to be winners too.

on a plus note, as an American living in the UK; I've learned far more about my country while living abroad than I ever did growing up there.

FundraisingPTABitch, America is the most important, dynamic, optimistic freedom-loving country on the planet.

We are witnessing the most important election for a generation and the whole world will be shaped by the result. It is about principle, about policy, about the people and the takedown of the elites who have presided over a situation where living standards for ordinary Americans have fallen.

The Republicans have some good people - I like Carson, I like Rand Paul. The battle is of monumental significance. Here is Carson saying he wil not stand by and watch an establishment stitch up against the will of the people.

'Carson told ABC News on Friday that he had no plans to run as an independent. “But I certainly don’t want to be a part of corruption,” he said, stopping short of saying he would drop out of the race if he left the Republican Party.

“I’ll leave that up to you to speculate,” he added with a smile.

Just days earlier, Carson had suggested that a third-party bid by Trump could be unnecessary. "I believe that the party has pledged to be fair to him and to be fair to everybody," he told CNN. "So I don’t see where that would be necessary quite frankly. Obviously, if the people choose him, we have an obligation to respect the will of the people."

GOP candidates Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina on Friday jumped into the fray. In an interview with Boston radio host Jeff Kuhner on WRKO, Paul expressed solidarity with Carson and Trump. “If the establishment tries to block an outsider from winning the nomination, there’ll be war within the party, and they’ll destroy the party,” the Kentucky senator warned, adding that if voters’ efforts are “thwarted” there will be a “real problem.”

www.politico.com/story/2015/12/ben-carson-rnc-washington-post-216674

It doesn't get any bigger or more important than that. It is the people vs the elites and I am hoping that The Donald pulls it off and wins.

Well, Claig

as much as I love my country, I feel like the world as a collective is what makes my country amazing.

I don't like Ben Carson either. My mother worked under him at Johns Hopkins when he was there in the early-mid 90s.

The type of surgeon my mother is, there are only 12 people in the world who are qualified to do. Six of them are Muslim. Six of them were on her team that were Carson's underlings during his 'Gifted Hands' book tour./

Guess who picked up Carson's slack when he was too busy to see his patients? Guess who got to sleep when Carson's patients were suffering from complications from his 'Gifted Hands' and who stepped in?

Guess who were underpaid by 20% to do the very job Carson was being credited for?

Liars, cheaters, and reality tv personalities wont make America great.

'Liars, cheaters, and reality tv personalities wont make America great.'

That is a good point and there is a danger that Trump will remove liberties, some of the things he says are worrying. I hope he doesn't mean them, I don't know.

Yes, Carson is too whacky for me with some of his religious stuff and the stuff about his youth in his autobiography, i find hard to believe as Trump joked about with the belt "the belt moves". Carson seems a decent guy, but I wouldn't vote for him.

That is a good point and there is a danger that Trump will remove liberties, some of the things he says are worrying. I hope he doesn't mean them, I don't know.

Lots of people said that in the 1930's. When the person concerned got into power, he did what he had said and then very much worse.
Fascists always do.

he will tell so many truths that the people will be stunned

But you've already accept that he tells lies. So how do we work out where the so-called truths are in amongst the lies?

'So how do we work out where the so-called truths are in amongst the lies?'

It will be very obvious what the truths are. I think he will stun the public by spilling the real beans on what really goes on. Trump is "fearless, he can't be bullied, he can't be bought" and he is going to tell everybody how things really work just as he talks about how he is supposed to sign the cheques for the "puppets", but what he says will be far, far more devastating than that and after he says it, I think the election will be over and he will win.

but what he says will be far, far more devastating than that and after he says it, I think the election will be over and he will win.
Claig I fear we are going round in circles here.

The fact that a tilt at the presidency requires potloads of money and the fact that a lot of it is provided by corporate backers who expect something in return is well known. It will hardly come as a blinding shock to the American people or be the devastating revelation that will turn the polls upside down.

You still haven't explained how Trump can transform himself from someone who is beloved by a small yet fiercely partisan section of the electorate, yet widely mocked and disliked by a far greater number, to a politician capable of occupying the centre ground. What's the strategy? What are the policies? Who is the running mate? What are the alliances he'd have to build? And please, no more vague talk about telling so called 'truths'!

but what he says will be far, far more devastating than that and after he says it, I think the election will be over and he will win.

The way you are writing is quite worrying, it is almost like you believe that Trump has almost messianic powers. 12 months ago you were beating exactly the same drum, but your starry eyed hero worship was reserved for Farage and UKIP and you talked at length about how the People's Army being on a march to sweeping electoral gains. Remind me how that worked out?

It will be very obvious what the truths are.

What you mean is that, when he says something obviously bigoted, batshit stupid or totally inconsistent with what he's said in the past you will claim that he wasn't being serious and was joking. When he says something that happens to coincide with your prejudices, you will claim that that is the truth.

Why is there no room in your philosophy for some sort of objective assessment of the truth by reference to actual verifiable facts? Because your posts on the climate change thread don't suggest that there is.

' it is almost like you believe that Trump has almost messianic powers'

No, but Trump is nothing like Farage. Farage needs donors and money and is not a 100% free agent. Trump is as near to a free agent as it is possible to get. Trump has inside sources, Trump knows all the dirt, Trump will have poweful backers behind him. It is possible that Trump is tricking everyone and will drop out after having destroyed the Republicans so that Hillary can win, but I don't think that is the case. I think Trump wants to win to fix America so he will spill all the beans he knows in order to win.

'You still haven't explained how Trump can transform himself from someone who is beloved by a small yet fiercely partisan section of the electorate, yet widely mocked and disliked by a far greater number,'

I think Trump will offer economic hope, jobs repatriated to America, rising wages for working class and middle class America. I think he will offer what the corporate candidates aren't allowed to offer and I think he will tell some devastating facts that will shock voters of all parties.

'Who is the running mate?'

It could be Carson, maybe Cruz, I don't know.

'What are the alliances he'd have to build? '

He gets on with everyone inspite of his style. Clinton went to his wedding. Bill Clinton advised him to run for President. Trump is not partisan, he will get on with who he needs to "to get the job done."

'Why is there no room in your philosophy for some sort of objective assessment of the truth by reference to actual verifiable facts?'

There is, but what is really going on is hidden behind the scenes, is deal-making behind the scenes. Everybody said it was a fact that Trumpp was a joke and that he would be out of the race, he has been on top for 5 months. He may till fail or drop out but it looks like he wants this and I think he has a good chance of getting it.

'Could Donald Trump really be US president?'

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-35064717

The experts say no. If Trump really wants it, he will have to pull some rabbits out of the hat and I wouldn't put it past him to go all out for it.