is it really possible that Donald trump could be president?????

[Bishopsbuddy]

I have zero understanding of American politics and wondered could some one give me an idiots explanation pls. Could trump really win???

Events are getting earth shattering.

"SCOTUS Analyst: Loretta Lynch 'Most Likely Candidate' to Replace Scalia"

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/scotus-analyst-tom-goldstein-loretta-lynch-most-likely-candidate-replace-n518916

'We discovered the judge in bed, a pillow over his head': Ranch owner describes moment he discovered Justice Scalia - as autopsy is ruled out following death from 'natural causes'

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3446926/Justice-Scalia-died-heart-attack-according-officials.html

This thread is gold.

Claig Are you suggesting that Scalia was bumped off? And if so, that it was something to do with Trump?

(I have to hand it to you though. Everyone disagrees with you, sometimes quite rudely, yet you remain unfailingly polite.)

Misturo
You should look up claig in other related threads.

Sorry
Mistigri (hands off, autocorrector)

'And if so, that it was something to do with Trump?'

Absolutely nothing to do with Trump. Scalia was a conservative judge. Obama will now nominate a replacement, most probably left wing which will make it 5-4 left-right which could change America. Huge implications.

Bernie Sanders finally joins Trump fans in recognising Trump's "brilliance".

Claig wrote; *The truth is US manufacturing output has actually increased & more automation & more productivity have brought about job losses, not bad deals.'

No, it is US manufacturers setting up in Mexico and China etc and closing down US plants. *

Rubbish, technology is reducing the need for lots of manual jobs in all developed countries. US manufactoring output has increased every year since 2010. See latest US Bureau of Labor stats;

research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/OUTMS

By all accounts Trump is owned by every bank on Wall St. He inherited wealth from his father who made his money from Federal Housing Authority subsides & loans to construct & rent affordable public housing. In the 1970s the Government contended that Trump Management had violated the Fair Housing Act & refused to rent or negotiate rentals because of “race & color.” Nice, eh?

www.documentcloud.org/documents/2186612-major-landlord-accuse-of-antiblack-bias-in-city.html

Trump may have his supporters but many Republicans, Democrats, independent & moderate voters cannot, really cannot, stand him. They are the people to watch. Some Republicans would rather Clinton wins than vote for Trump.

'Rubbish, technology is reducing the need for lots of manual jobs in all developed countries. US manufactoring output has increased every year since 2010.'

Yes, but are you denying that US companies are closing US plants and moving to Mexico, China etc which exacerbates job losses? That is what Trump has said he will stop happening.

'By all accounts Trump is owned by every bank on Wall St.'

He isn't. He is completely self-funding. They can't bully him or buy him. The banks are proponents of the globalisation that is stripping America of jobs, Trump opposes their neoliberal free tarde agenda by wanting "fair trade, not free trade" which could involve tariffs and Trump is against the TPP trade deal etc which is why Davos and all that lot are frightened of a Trump presidency.

The article that you quoted was that Trump was accused of that but Trump denied it and it was proved in court that there was no discrimination.

'Some Republicans would rather Clinton wins than vote for Trump.'

Absolutely, a lot of the Republican elite are in that camp because they are terrified of Trump because he can't be billied and he can't be bought, they can't control him and they are part of the same Wall Street types that also control the Democrats so they would prefer a controlled Democrat to an independent Trump.

But Trump has just uped the ante on them today by saying that the Republican Party is in breach of their pledge to him to treat him fairly after the coordinated booing at the Republican debate on Saturday night and that the prospect of Trump running as an independent is still open to him. What he has done in true "Art of the Deal" style is to have called the bluff of the "loser" elite of the Republican Party. Either they start falling into line fast and back him or he will destroy their chances of having a Republican president.

The ball is in their court.

It's Trump 2016!

I'll say this much, it's far from dull with all this going on. No idea where it will all end. I'd like to see Sanders in power. Interesting times to come.

TendonQueen, everyone is saying 2016 is a huge, huge year.

We have a possible financial crash again with the banks etc. We have a possible WWIII or a war between Turkey and Russia, we have Supreme Court Justice Scalia found dead which could lead to huge changes in America if the Republicans fail to stop Obama appointing a left wing judge, we have the US election and Sanders/Trump and we have our own EU Referendum. It is a huge year.

'By all accounts Trump is owned by every bank on Wall St.'

He isn't. He is completely self-funding. They can't bully him or buy him.

According to his tax return, Trump has hundreds of millions of dollars in loans from Wall Street banks.

www.redstate.com/leon_h_wolf/2016/01/22/every-bank-wall-street-owns-donald-trump/

The article that you quoted was that Trump was accused of that but Trump denied it and it was proved in court that there was no discrimination.

It wasn’t proven there was no discrimination. After Trump Management filed suit against the government, the two sides reached an agreement that “did not constitute an admission of guilt” by Trump or his company.

Of course I’m not denying some US companies are moving to other countries. Companies move to have access to the markets in China & there’s no direct measure of how many companies are moving plants from the US to Mexico so Trump has little evidence to support his claim there. Trump is a hypocrite because he invests in hotels abroad & imports clothing from China & Mexico for his own brand. What he is advocating protectionism & history shows that decreases output & competitiveness.

What fun. Between WW3, Putin & Trump (who if he became president would in all probability make NATO untenable) there would be no point in worrying about manufacturing output, where companies are based, whether the US appoints a left or right wing judge or the outcome of the EU referendum because it's likely most of us would be dead!

You are reading political hit pieces from Democrat sources. This is what the hit piece says

'As I reported yesterday, at various times Donald Trump has had hundreds of millions of dollars in loans from Citibank and Goldman, some of which have been repaid, some of which were discharged in bankruptcy when Trump's Altantic City casino went belly up. By Trump's own standard, Citibank and Goldman own him, too.'

It is at various times and some discharged over a decade ago when some of his businesses went into bankruptcy. Of course banks lend Trump's businesses money and he possibly has a personal mortgage but he pays the loans back at commercial interest rates, they are not funding for his political campaign or in suoer PACS like the billions from Soros that support Hiillary or the Wall Street money that is supporting Cruz's or Bush's campaign. Trump is self-funding, even though he hates losing or giving away money, because he purposely wants to avoid anyone having any leverage at all over his political campaign because unlike the puppets, he works for the American people and not for donors and special interests.

'It wasn’t proven there was no discrimination.'

And it wasn't proven that there was.

'Companies move to have access to the markets in China & there’s no direct measure of how many companies are moving plants from the US to Mexico so Trump has little evidence to support his claim there'

Yes there is, it is a matter of record everytime a company closes a US plant and lays off US workers to set up a plant in Mexico or China. Ford is closing down a US plant and sending $2 billion setting up a plant in Mexico and Trump tells the Trumpites at rallies that companies doing that will find they are hit with taxes for their manufactured goods that they send back over the border to sell in the US market. He tells how he will phone the bosses up and explain it to them. American workers know how many jobs are being shipped overseas and how many manufactured goods are then sold back to the US market. Trump says "not gonna happen anymore".

'Trump (who if he became president would in all probability make NATO untenable)'

NATO does what the US tells it, so if Trump is President, NATO will do what he says.

'because it's likely most of us would be dead'

Trump is the only US Presidential candidate who has the courage to say he thinks he will get on well with Putin, unlike some of the Esatblishment candidates like Kasich who said "we should punch the Russian on the nose". There will be no WWIII with Trump as he said in the debate on Saturday night when he was booed by the planted stooges, "we've spent $5 trillion in the Middle East and have got nothing, nothing and with Jeb's talk we will be there another 15 years" and mentioned the risk of WWIII.

This is what Trump said in a previous debate

"We've spent $4 trillion trying to topple various people that, frankly, if they were there and if we could have spent that $4 trillion in the United States to fix our roads, our bridges, and all of the other problems — our airports and all the other problems we have — we would have been a lot better off, I can tell you that right now.

We have done a tremendous disservice not only to the Middle East — we've done a tremendous disservice to humanity. The people that have been killed, the people that have been wiped away — and for what? It's not like we had victory. It's a mess. The Middle East is totally destabilized, a total and complete mess. I wish we had the 4 trillion dollars or 5 trillion dollars. I wish it were spent right here in the United States on schools, hospitals, roads, airports, and everything else that are all falling apart!"

There is no one else like Trumpet because Trump is not a puppet, he can't be bullied, he can't be bought. No military industrial complex backers of Wall Street banks and hedge funds own him, he doesn't need to make speeches for them asking them for money to help his campaign. He tells the tens of thousands of people at his rallies

"I don't need your money, I don't want your money, just get out and vote. Let's make America great again."

Trump 2016!

You are reading political hit pieces from Democrat sources.

IT was a conservative right of centre blog. The chief editor served 4 years on a city council as a Republican. But it was Trump’s tax return showing his liabilities I referred to rather than the article. The point being a significant amount of Trump’s wealth is tied up as collateral. He’s obsessed with the Forbes list & maintains a facade as America's most savvy entrepreneur although sometimes his wealth is hard to find.

In 1982 Trump said his wealth was $200m. A while ago I calculated if he invested that money in the S&P 500, he'd be be worth about $8.3bn. He was claiming his net worth is $8.7 billion. So based on his own claims, he has barely outperformed the S&P. His business record, & therefore his entire claim to be better qualified than all others for the presidency, is actually quite poor.

it is a matter of record everytime a company closes a US plant and lays off US workers to set up a plant in Mexico or China.

There are no public directories for US Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) companies established in Mexico. In order to obtain this information, you would need to contact the chamber of commerce or industry chamber who are often reluctant to share this information in each state. So there is no direct measure of how many companies are moving plants from the US to Mexico

NATO does what the US tells it, so if Trump is President, NATO will do what he says.

Being a member of NATO is a choice of a sovereign nations. Countries may leave & form new alliances. Difficult to see how Turkey with it’s Muslim population & strategic importance or other countries with Muslim populations/soldiers could stay after the commander-in-chief has lumped all Muslims together & rejects their visiting his country.

he thinks he will get on well with Putin
This alone worries me.

Putin would very much like to restore the USSR and Russia's influence during the iron curtain period. Some countries are still suffering from that.
But if the US electorate prefers the US to collapse inwards and become irrelevant internationally, then good luck to them. Germany won't kind taking the lead.

'IT was a conservative right of centre blog.'

OK, my mistake. But we all know that the Republican elite, along with the Financial Times, the Guardian, the BBC, Davos and the entire world's political class of politicians and bureaucrats are terrified of Trump becoming President. So who funds that "conservative" magazine, who backs them?

'The chief editor served 4 years on a city council as a Republican.'

Yes, but he may be supporting Jeb or one of the other puppets standing against Trump. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of the weediest, slimiest types of "poitician" you will ever see, can't stand Trump and backs Jeb. At Trump's rally last night in South Carolina, he said to the Trumpites "I like Lindsey Graham" and the thousands of Trumpites booed and Trump laughed "I just wanted to check because I'm in South Carolina". Trump then asked the South Carolina "will he get reelected?" and the crowd booed. There are lots and lots of Republicans who dislike Trump. The Republican National Committee packed Saturday's debate audience with rich donors who are supporting anyone but Trump because Trump has not a single donor because he is totally self-funding.

'The point being a significant amount of Trump’s wealth is tied up as collateral.'

Trump has perosnal wealth and the money tied up in his businesses. His persoanl wealth is fine which is why he can totally self-fund his campaign when the other puppets have to hawk themselves around to banks and corporations in an attempt to find the money to fund their campaigns so that they can remain in the race. As Trump says, Bush spent $44 million dollars in New Hampshire and he got 11%. Trump explained the way it works.to the Trumpites last night. Trump said the way it work in general is the candidates/puppets are given money and when they get in they decide to do something and then they get a phone call and it says "you can't do that, people worked hard for you, getting al that money for you" and if the puppet doesn't get it the phone call then says "you need to run again in two years' time, you're gonna need more money".

'He’s obsessed with the Forbes list & maintains a facade as America's most savvy entrepreneur although sometimes his wealth is hard to find. '

Of course he is. He is vain and funny as hell. He is a showan, he's not a "politician" like our wonks, he is the greatest showman on earth. Why do you think even the Democrats supporters at a Bernie rally all laugh their heads off when Bernie says "we all know that Trump is the greatest everything". They actually like Trump because he is human and not a wonk.

'A while ago I calculated if he invested that money in the S&P 500, he'd be be worth about $8.3bn. He was claiming his net worth is $8.7 billion. So based on his own claims, he has barely outperformed the S&P.'

I'm not an expert on figures, but this seems to be a standard line against Trump. The whole point about Trump is, he didn't just put the money in the bank and do nothing, he did something, he built real things and provided jobs for tens of thousands of people, he took business risks, he made America great again. He didn't just shuffle financial paper and speculate in derivatives.

'therefore his entire claim to be better qualified than all others for the presidency, is actually quite poor. '

Well he is leading the polls by far and he is not a "politician" and the entire Republican Establishment, the Financial Times, the Guardian and the donor class are in meltdown that this outsider is going to win. Trump is a "common sense conservative", the puppets aren't. That is why he is more qualified than them.

'So there is no direct measure of how many companies are moving plants from the US to Mexico '

But when local paper are laid off, local newspapers report it and publish it. It is not a secret, it makes the news.

'Being a member of NATO is a choice of a sovereign nations. Countries may leave & form new alliances.'

You have to understand how the world works. Do you mean ike we are a sovereign nation as our PM flies in and out of every capital in Europe asking them to help him stitch up a "deal" that will convince the British people that he has any control over our borders or anything else of real importance and sovereignty? When the President of the united States makes a phone call, Stoltenberg of NATO, former PM of Norway, trips over himself as he runs to get the phone.

'Difficult to see how Turkey with it’s Muslim population & strategic importance or other countries with Muslim populations/soldiers could stay after the commander-in-chief has lumped all Muslims together & rejects their visiting his country.'

Turkey has a bit of a bigger problem than that at the moment. But if Turkey tried to leave then it would find itself alone with only Saudi Arabia and some Jihadis helping them, and that wouldn't take them very far.

'Putin would very much like to restore the USSR and Russia's influence during the iron curtain period.'

This is propaganda, the type of thing put out by the BBC and Guardian and by neo-con warmongers. Putin just wants to get along, sell oil, do business and trade and try to improve the Russian economy. Trump knows that as a businessman and not a neo-con warmonger and says to the thousands of Trumpites "wouldn't it be great if we could get along with Russia?" That is why the warmongers and their newspapers and their bankers are all against Trump because he doesn't follow their warmongering line. Trump says the enemy is Isis who are "chopping off heads" like in "medieval times", not Putin and Russia. He said in Saturday night's debate "call me genius, i like the guy so far" which sent panic across the warmongers, their bankers and their media propaganda outlets.

'But if the US electorate prefers the US to collapse inwards and become irrelevant internationally'

America will never become irrelevant. Who will be relevant, the policy wonks form the world's political class of bureaucrats? Trump is going to rebuild America for the benefit of the American people, he is going to bring their jobs back. As he said last night to the Trumpites, he is going to end the situation where China will only buy Boeings if Boeing sets up a plant in China with all that fantatsic intellectual property "not gonna happen anymore". He explained last night how he travels all over the world and sees tremendous bridges and buildings and airports all over the world, built by the money that these countries made by trading with America with its huge deficits. He said he went to Qatar and teh airport was amaxzing, like nothing he had ever seen, and the guy showing him around said this isn't the airport this is only temporary and pointed to cranes that were building the real one that was going to be much better and then he flies back into La Guardia with all the potholes and it is falling down and it "it is so sad".

"Not gonna happen anymore"

Trump 2016!

And why is a Trump 2016 victory so great for us?

Because when Trump wins, our useless class of puppets will have to follow Trump's lead and our country will become great again, we will also start "winning" again just like America will.

It will be the end of political correctness, the end of lies and spin and the beginning of us getting our sovereignty back and Trump will smash Isis within weeks and we won't need to lose our liberties because our political class couldn't finish Isis and the London DJ rapper Jihadis off and of course, there will be no WWIII either because the neo-con warmongers will have no more power and some people will probably be going to jail for what they did to America and the world.

Trump 2016!

Putin just wants to get along
So, you definitely live in lala land.

'So, you definitely live in lala land.'

Do you really believe that Trump is what the Guardian and the BBC say about him? Do you really believe that Putin is what the Guardian and BBC say about him? Do you really believe Prince Charles that Putin is another "Hitler"?

Trump doesn't which is why allthe neo-con warmongers are against him and are desperate to have him lose.

Its just occurred to me, claig, that you are a reverse AIBU!

You paint such a horrible picture of what life for everyone on the planet would be if Trump were to be president, that it becomes hard to ignore. I go from being vaguely amused at the imbecility of American politics before I read your posts to imagining the nightmare place the world would be if even 10% of the dystopian vision you describe came to fruition.

Honestly, I thought you were being serious right up until 60 seconds ago.

To put it in non-MN language, you are just playing Devil's advocate (and you do it very well, I have to say!).

'You paint such a horrible picture of what life for everyone on the planet would be if Trump were to be president'

What is horrible about it? No WWIII, business booming, sovereignty for every country, lots of jobs and work and prosperity and trade and good realtions between countries. Why do you think that Trump leads the polls be such a margin among the people and so terrifies the elite?

'vaguely amused at the imbecility of American politics'

There is no imbecility. You have spent too much time listening to the condescending teenage wonks from Oxbridge who write for the Guardian and the BBC. American politics are the most important politics in the world and Trump is in a huge struggle to rescue America from the crazies and neo-cons who have been backing Sunni regimes who have themselves been backing the "chopping off heads" Jihadis.

Trump said last night to the packed hall of Trumpites - so we're fighting Isis who are fighting Assad and at the same time we're fighting Assad who is fighting Isis and we're backing guys who we don't even know who they are and if they win, they are going to turn out worse than Assad and then we're going to have to spend another $1 trillion to fight them.

"Not gonna happen anymore".

'the dystopian vision'

What is dystopian about jobs, business, trade, peace, "getting along well with Russia", defeating Isis who are "chopping off heads". What is dystopian about making America great again because without America being great again, we will never be able to be great again because our puppet class of wonks will have handed over all our sovereignty to an unelected bunch of bureaucrats and bankers.

"Not gonna happen anymore"

Trump 2016!

I am right though, aren't I? You are just playing Devil's advocate!

It was when I was trying to puzzle why someone who is non-American could be so enthused about the prospect of Trump as American president that it hit me. Even his supporters don't think he'll do anything good for the rest of the world. The ones who believe in him, are just thinking that America should be first at all costs, and to hell with everyone else.

Why bother trying to alert the British public to what he's like though? We don't have a vote. Its the American public who need to be warned.

Claig, I actually tend to read the Telegraph. But my opinion of Putin or Trump are not influenced by opinion makers. I only observe their actions.

'I am right though, aren't I? You are just playing Devil's advocate! '

Of course you're not right. I believe it, I am a Trumpite which is why I can make a case for it.

'It was when I was trying to puzzle why someone who is non-American could be so enthused about the prospect of Trump as American president '

Because Trump is everything I like - a populist conservative, what I call a real conservative, not an Oxbridge Cameron politically correct one. Trump will end political correctness worldwide and I like that because I think political correctness will destroy our liberties and our country because it is used to hide lies. Our system is rigged, the people will never win - Oxbridge will always win. But if Trump wins, everything will change because Trump is the direct opposite of the elite which is why they are all terrified of him winning and why Davos is davostated and why a Financial Times article said

"the nativists must not win"

Trump is a "common sense conservative" and that is what I want for our country and we will never ever get it because the system is rigged for Oxbridge and an incompetent politically correct elite of teenage wonks.

'Even his supporters don't think he'll do anything good for the rest of the world. The ones who believe in him, are just thinking that America should be first at all costs, and to hell with everyone else.'

I don't blame them. They are Americans, so they care about themselves first. I know our wonks and Guardian journalists say that is not politically correct of them, but that is because those people don't have the interests of the American people at heart. But it just so happens that if Trump wins then the useless wonks will be passe in other countries and a "common sense conservative" revolution will sweep the world and that will make the world better for business, prosperity and jobs which will help ordinary people and not the elites.

'We don't have a vote.'

Unfortunately we don't. all we can do is hope and pray and keep our fingers crossed (and watch the information broadcasts from the studio of the Stump for Trump sisters) that Trump will defeat the puppets.

Trump 2016!

'I actually tend to read the Telegraph'

They haven't got a clue, you'd be better off listening to Trump like the Stump for Trump sisters and Trumpites do.

Here is Tim Stanley of the Daily Telegraph tweeting live during Saturday's debate

"Feels like this debate ended sometime around when Trump said: "Bush lied and 9/11." Rest is just... awkward. #GOPDebate"

but Stanley is OK, he gets it really, he just wishes it weren't so

"Well, I for one actually admire Trump's honesty tonight. Do NOT agree with it but the guy's got cojones #GOPDebate"

"Not gonna happen anymore"
Trump 2016!