is it really possible that Donald trump could be president????? [Part 2]

[claig]

From now on the race becomes winner take all. If Trump wins Florida on March 15, it is probably all over.

'The Republican Party now has 14 days to stop Trump'

www.vox.com/2016/3/2/11144812/super-tuesday-results-donald-trump-wins

SenecaFalls, he has to adopt those positions now or he won't win the Republican race. Lots of conservatives don't trust him to stick to them once he gets in because they say he is really a liberal and not a conservative.

I agree with Claig, I don't think Trump is really anti-abortion and I am fairly sure that he is an atheist.

' and I am fairly sure that he is an atheist'

He is not doing a very good impression of an evangelical but they still support him. But if that is true and they find out, his polls will collapse.

Oh, most definitely. But just remember, you heard it here first!

'you heard it here first!'

I will keep stumm because I want Trump to win and that news could kill the entire campiagn

he has to adopt those positions now or he won't win the Republican race

That is true. But that makes him just the same as every politician and every candidate he says he's so different from.
He's a liar and a hypocrite. More so than the rest who don't portray themselves to be so much different from any other politician.
He doesn't tell it like it is. He says what he thinks his audience wants to hear.
He won't cause an earth quake. He will be just like your run of the mill president.
He won't bring in any jobs. He's more likely to further bankrupt the country.

I heard two funny things on the radio (NPR) today. One republican senior figure saying watching Trump was like being on an airplane (the republican party) and looking out the window and watching bits of the fuselage go past.

The other was another commentator saying it was like being on an airplane (again the republican party) that was hijacked and the passengers were cheering on the hijackers.

I was very "another robo-bot poster" about Claig to start with but I have to say she is right about the republican elites going off their heads here but being unable to control/react correctly. mind you they have only themselves to blame when they deliberately created a situation where extremists were welcomed and moderates were sidelined and the wealthy were lionised so no sympathy here.

We now have the unprecedented situation where senior republicans are saying they will not vote for Trump even if he is the Republican candidate (the Republican Governor of Massachusetts was the latest to say this). Many of them say it is because Trump isn't actually a republican conservative at all- which does give me hope as a democrat liberal.

I am also interested in seeing how Claig is subtly encouraging votes for Sanders. I think this is because every poll- and I freely acknowledge that polls can be absolutely wrong - says that Clinton will beat Trump but may not beat Cruz or Rubio.

Interesting times ahead.

Whatever his beliefs about abortion, his policy position is that he is against abortion, which is what matters. His actions as president will be in line with this position.

The fact that he may be an opportunistic hypocrite instead is really not much of a defense.

I for one do not find evidence that Trump is racist. In fact I have been surprised at his level of understanding:

1 - He doesn't have a problem with Hispanics, he has a problem with hispanics who are here illegally. This is not racist. I do not know of a single non-hispanic illegal immigrant.

2 - His reply to 'Black lives matter' was spot on. All lives to do matter and I think it is important we have a leader who recognizes that. As a middle class white female I too have had issues with the way the police have treated me and others in my community. I do however have enough sense to listen to commands given by the police, such as stop, put your hands up and please remove your key from the ignition and put it on the dash. I have been arrested before by the police and yes I was plucked from my car through the open window. It was over the top but considering the arresting officer didn't know what the warrant was for I can understand why they were heavy handed. After all there is the risk that I have a loaded weapon on me. I have driven past fatal shootings as they were happening and we had a neighbour car jacked at gunpoint in their driveway. Until you experience the severity of the crime here it is hard to empathise with the police. They have a close to impossible job and they are bound to get things wrong sometimes. However, if you listen to their instructions you are absolutely not in danger of being shot. The black lives matter campaign is racist IMO because all races are affected by the way the police operate.

3 - He hasn't shown any support for the KKK. In fact from what I observe I think he has done the right thing and tried to keep it from the news. Established GOP members have dragged it up and given the KKK and David Duke oxygen. It is also worth noting that Trump did not receive an official endorsement from David Duke. If someone doesn't formally endorse you it kinda makes it harder to refute that person, although Trump did do that.

4 - Muslims - he has been explicit in calling out extremist groups as 'Radical Islam'. This is a huge step forward and he is addressing a pressing matter for everyday Americans. We are experiencing terrorist attacks here in the US, in CA plus there was an attack at an Army base. Trump has been quite explicit about the need to identify those who pose a risk to American society [so they can be removed]. That isn't racist.

I am a staunch supporter of Sanders but I know quite a few Trump supporters and they are actually not the clinically insane idiots that I might have guessed that they would be. Many of them have well-thought-out, nuanced views on politics.

I do cringe at the thought of a Trump presidency-I just think that much of the world will think we are idiots if he is elected, and quite enough of the world thinks we are idiots already, thank you very much.

What about his statements about the Hispanic judge overseeing the Trump University case?

I do not know of a single non-hispanic illegal immigrant.

you don't get out much. Come to southie in Boston and you'll meet lots of them.

He hasn't shown any support for the KKK. it should be clear to even the most challenged among us that Trump was verbally dodging and weaving because he wanted to keep the white supremacist votes while actually not being a white supremacist himself. He wanted to hunt with the hounds and run with the hare. fine in the construction industry (I suppose) not so fine in the president of the USA.

Trump has been quite explicit about the need to identify those who pose a risk to American society [so they can be removed]. That isn't racist.. Fair enough. Could he have a go at disaffected white men then.

I do think that evangelicals know that he is not religious, but many don't care, especially younger ones. This election has seen a diminution in the influence of the religious right, which is altogether a good thing.

'I just think that much of the world will think we are idiots'

Unfortunately a lot of that is political. The bien pensant metropolitan elite intelligentsia think that about all right wing presidents - Reagan, Bush and then Trump if he makes it. I think it is a political thing really.

'What about his statements about the Hispanic judge overseeing the Trump University case?'

Yes, I saw that speech at his rally. In my opinion what he was doing was hinting that the case was political due to his position on the border and the Wall etc

Hope it is not the end of the world.

Most of us here disagree with Claig most of the time, but it is completely ridiculous to claim her posts are "hate speech"
Reading different views, left or right, outside the usual MN consensus, is far healthier than living in a protected echo chamber of virtue.

I have experienced hate speech and racist insults, as a mixed race child and then woman. No similarity whatsoever to that and the debates we have on these threads.

Pandering to racists is nothing new for Republicans; it's just that candidates up to now have been more subtle about it.

What is important is that Trump is indifferent to some key American conservative beliefs:
anti-abortion, religion, limited government, hostility to Russia

In fact, he probably has no beliefs, just does whatever is best for Trump.
Once he's elected, he can dump policy positions he had to pay lip service to - he would probably get too bored to want a 2nd term, so wouldn't worry about offending the SkyFairies for example.
He seems to like his fellow oligarch Putin, which lowers world tension a notch.

"Conventional" Republicans like Cruz and Rubio would cut US welfare even further - on principle - wage war against abortion - on principle - and maybe blunder into a proxy war, even shooting war, with Putin.
Now they really are dangerous.

Pitiliess The USA elected Dubya, so as vor worrying about idiots ....
Some of his thoughts on the economy and defence:

No, we most certainly did not elect Dubya, at least not the first time, and there would have been no second time had there not been a first term. He did, however, become president.

Oh, BigChoc, he was such an embarrassment! For me, it got to the point where at the end of his term I just couldn't bear to hear his voice.

Canyou Here in Northern NJ the illegal immigrants are hispanic (not just from Mexico). I get out and about do a lot of charity work with poor communities. I see the awful conditions caused by a policy of turning a blind eye to immigration laws designed to protect the most vulnerable. I might not be black or poor but I see it and know it is very wrong.

I do not know what you mean about him dodging questions about Dukes. He answered the questions three times making himself clear that he doesn't associate himself with David Duke who is a FORMER KKK leader. I don't know what else anyone could do to make it more plain and clear without giving Dukes more airtime. If anything I think the GOP are making themselves unpopular and they are being very shortsighted going after Trump in this way. Basically by going down this road they are supporting the KKK and Dukes.... Long term that isn't going to win the GOP supporters.

Why would he go after disaffected white young men? Wouldn't that be racist and sexist? From what I see there are plenty of young men and women in my area from all races who are disaffected. The homeless population in the last two years has exploded in the NY metro area and its young people (mainly men but women too) from all races who I see addicted to hard drugs (heroin and meth) because they don't see themselves having a future. I do think this is going to be something he addresses if he wins the nomination.

As one example, there are quite a few undocumented Irish immigrants in the Northeast.

Trump could have resoundingly and unequivocally condemned the KKK in the Tapper interview. He tried to dodge the question, as though he were talking about sugar subsidies or something.

Don't you think Trump is maybe just very truculent and quarrelsome? It seems to me as if he acts like he thinks that the whole election process is kind of stupid. He seems to take pleasure in not appeasing people.

Wouldn't it be nice for Hillary Clinton to win rather than Trump. All I can see is trouble written all over him. He said the first money he gets hes going to build a wall around Mexico not schools or hospitals, a wall.

I'm not sure I like Hilary Clinton either! I am sure it will say something about the genuine attractiveness of the Presidency is Americans are left with Trump and Clinton to choose between, but I don't know what exactly.