To ask if Donald Trump could actually be president again?

[tinkertee]

I've just seen a headline about him now being the front runner for the Republican nomination. Which I assume means it's entirely a possibility that he could then win.

I'm British (English) so I know our current government is a complete embarrassment. But I will never get my head around DT having been president once never mind possibly twice.

How could this happen??

So Biden got about 64% of the votes in New Hampshire in spite of not being on the ballot and everyone who voted for him having to write him in? That's not too bad.

I stand corrected on the NY voter registration details.

I'm not moved to change my stance on "Independents" who post outdated poll information, however.

This is a CRUCIAL election. For this country, the world, and, indeed, the future of humanity.

If you can't see that, and feel it is more important to weigh in with "both sides" bullshit, because you -SOMEHOW! - think it still plays, to be "above" partisan politics, I remain stunned that trying to look "smart" blinds you to the consequences of that ego boost.

General "you". :)

Yep @MissConductUS Defo isn't a Russian troll, unless she is one that supports Ukraine and hates Russia! (in terms of their invasion)

Puzzledandpissedoff
Like everyone else I can't possibly say whether Trump will be elected again, but so many insisted it really wouldn't happen last time and look what happened

Erm... Biden won?

😂😂😂

There are others, but they are polling so low they're not realistic candidates. Unless Biden decides to step aside or is forced to, he'll be on the ticket in November. But it may be too late for someone else to get on the early primary ballots, which would be a huge mess.

538.com is a good source that tracks all of the major national polls.

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/

I’m pretty sure @Puzzledandpissedoff is talking about the previous (and only) time Trump won, in the 2016 election.

I listen to a number of political podcasts and not one of them is saying it’s a fine deal for Biden. But I do recognise that Trump is more exciting to report on so the impression can be at times he is going to comfortably win

are Trump supporters as disillusioned as Biden voters I think voting apathy may be the real concern for the democrats

my family are not happy with Biden but I think shall mainly vote for him again. The Trump supporters are as passionate as ever and always seemed to believe he would absolutely be president again. As i mentioned in my previous I have been surprised who are Trump supporters (obviously not in any way an impact on the election) but this is also what my family abs friends say there

Yes, but Trump lost last time, and that indicates that he didn't do as well as he had the time before.

I don't think he will do better this time than he did last.

Since then we've had all the tantrums and obvious lying about having won last time and the bad boys stole from him waah waah (but absolutely no evidence at all that anyone did any such thing), and I suspect that his having produced nothing to talk about except his having been robbed, and him now being a victim of being called to account for criminal behaviour, plus the same-old same-old about the wall he didn't get round to building last time he was in power and the health-care he wasn't able to manage last time he was in power and his boasting about having deprived a huge swathe of the population last time he was in power of what they had come to regard as their rights, will have done him no favours with the independents and on-the-fence Republicans he has to gain in order to win the presidency.

If more than seventy per cent of the Republican voters who supported Haley in New Hampshire have been saying that they will not vote for Trump no matter what, that really doesn't bode well for him being elected. They may not vote for Biden, but their not voting for Trump must leave a bit of a hole in his numbers.

I’m sure many Republicans won’t vote for Trump I can remember Bush saying publicly he wouldn’t in 2016

How many will keep to that come the election is different, many Tories said they couldn’t support Johnson but those floating supporters certainly did in numbers

Im hope the apathy felt by many wont turn into I just don’t know who to vote for or I do not think either is with voting for

They have months ahead of full on campaigning. I was there in no 2008 for July - October and August in 2016 it is absolutely relentless compared to our elections

It's hideous and it would be a real shame for America. He has 91 "felony counts" against him, fgs. How could the US possibly think he was suitable?

Yes, as SpursFan2 just pointed out, I meant of course last time he was got in - hence why it was in the same sentence as "whether Trump will be elected again"

I think it's more to the point that he was then resoundingly not got in. That's an indication of his not having been such a wonderful president that they are sure to want him back again, isn't it.

Im hope the apathy felt by many wont turn into I just don’t know who to vote for or I do not think either is with voting for

Unfortunately that's exactly what I can see it turning into, and it's not unfamiliar as we have much the same thing with the dreadful choices in the UK

They have months ahead of full on campaigning. I was there in no 2008 for July - October and August in 2016 it is absolutely relentless compared to our elections

Exactly, and how they'll stand up to it remains to be seen - and that applies to both of them
It's true Biden's endless "episodes" get a lot of press and god knows what the Democrats will do if there's one which is impossible to brush aside, but then Trump's neither young nor squeaky clean either

@jasflowers, you must be following the Ukraine threads. They've been very informative, and I'm glad I have been able to contribute to them a bit. I do support Ukraine and abhor what the Russians have done there.

@AskingQuestionsAllTheTime, that's a good point about the Halley supporters. 43% of Republicans who voted for her in the Iowa caucuses said they'd vote for Biden if Trump were the nominee.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/poll-nearly-half-haleys-iowa-backers-say-ll-vote-biden-trump-rcna133821

I think a lot of "never Trump" Republicans will just not vote for President at all if Trump is the nominee. Hopefully, they'll turn up at the polls anyone to vote in the other races and leave that bit out.

For those who are planning to vote again for Biden, what are the main things you’ve been happy with from his time in office?

I was really unhappy with the way the US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan was handled. It was upsetting to watch the situation unfold on the news as it happened, and the effects of it have terrible for ordinary Afghan people.

I actually can’t name a single positive thing that Biden has done. The only thing I can think of is his interest in sustainable energy (I think that is a Democrat policy but I’m not sure). I’ve been really disappointed in him.

I follow the news a lot - I read lots of different British newspapers daily e.g. Guardian, Times, Telegraph, Mail, and BBC news and watch the news a few times a week. (I’m British by the way.)

They don’t really seem to report anything positive about Biden though. Their reports are mostly about failures that have happened during his time in office - e.g. the US troops withdrawal from Afghanistan - or about his gaffes and memory lapses whilst he’s been on public engagements.

Do you have any suggestions of US newspapers I could read to find out a more reliable view of him - if that exists? I used to read the New York Times when they had a reduced price offer for reading their online articles, but I found I didn’t have enough time to read it and I didn’t fancy paying full price once the offer ended. I think they are a good newspaper though.

Bizarre take that if someone doesn't agree with you the answer is they can only be AI. I live in the USA and have done for 25+ years with an American husband and large extended family of inlaws and groups of friends. They are spread across the political spectrum and across the nation with a good number who voted for Trump both times.

For those citizens who are committed MAGA nationwide their loyalties may not have changed. However it's the non-affliated independent voters and those willing to switch parties who decide USA elections much of the time, not the hard-core base in either party.

It's a lot of that population who were tired of Trump and were glad to see the back of him after 2020. Like most of the population I am not a fan of Biden or Trump. I look at both sides critically and listen to why people chose to vote for who they did.

I am not willing to demonize anyone or create caricatures of people or regions.

@Wallaw I think mainly down to cost of living, crime and horrendous homelessness issues

my nieces are very passionate about woman’s rights and feel no one is on their side and the Democrats don’t care enough

then a general feeling he is just too old this I hear a lot

SpursFan2
I actually can’t name a single positive thing that Biden has done.

Straight off the top of my head (I am also in the UK):

Got a cap onto the cost of insulin. (That would be four million plus people who benefited.)
Pardoned student debt for many people (the Republicans plan to repeal this).
Signed into law the most wide-ranging gun-control law this century (though not as complete as he wanted).
Managed to add really rather a lot of jobs to the US economy.
Steered a $1.2 trillion dollar bipartisan infrastructure package through.
Increased funding for mental health.

Working on preventing the banks from charging anyone who goes overdrawn (even by only $1) $30 per transaction and thus making it very difficult for anyone living from pay-cheque to pay-cheque ever to get out of debt again; that one is still in the pipeline and the Republicans may stymie it, but they seem to think it a good thing too.

Thanks v much Asking! Out of curiosity, which news sources would you recommend to read about US politics?

@SpursFan2 I am sure you are aware that all these mainstream media sources have a strong political bias, either right or left.

You have correctly identified your lack of USA sources is your #1 blindspot.

Websites that reveal the bias of what you are reading are a good idea, such as
https://www.allsides.com/unbiased-balanced-news

Also lots of blogs and political pundits will have different perspectives than mm such as CNN and the NYT.

Please also remember that the USA is heavily regional, influenced by history, geography and the local economy. Focusing on news out of LA, NYC & Chicago will very likely leave you with large gaps of political understanding of the nation.

https://politics.feedspot.com/political_blogs/

For a totally Democrat-biased outlook, RawStory.

For a wry take on a lot of things, Beau of the Fifth Column.

And of course for rabid frothing at the mouth, Bannon...

After having a look at those (or in Beau's or Bannon's cases a listen to those) I do a search on any story that has caught my interest in order to find out what the other side is saying.

Also just to confuse Brits:
Blue = Democrat/Left Wing
Red = Republican/Right Wing

Thanks water, this is really useful

@SpursFan2

You're welcome