The Trump/Republican Primary/General Election Megathread

[ArcadiaGP]

Trump says he wouldn't necessarily honor NATO treaty if Russia invades a NATO member.

Donald Trump Sets Conditions for Defending NATO Allies Against Attack - NYTimes.com

Trump rejects idea that Erdogan staged the Turkey coup... and went with a little "Blame America" content for some reason.

NATO has responded to Trump's comments on the subject

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Cruz could have brought that house down had he flat out endorsed Trump. Not happy with him.

Cruz says he's not in the habit of supporting people who attack his wife and father.

I don't blame him.

We do remember those things, right? Suggestions that his dad helped kill JFK? That his wife is ugly? Would you expect him to endorse someone like that? Let's take politics out of it for a second

 

[JTScribe]

NATO has responded to Trump's comments on the subject

Even with that increase, are any of the NATO states meeting their funding requirements?

Edit - "Of the 28 countries in the alliance, only five -- the U.S., Greece, Poland, Estonia and the U.K. -- meet the target."

Which NATO members are falling short on military spending? - Apr. 15, 2016

They need to step up, we can't be Johnny Paycheck for the rest of the world.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Ex-Obama campaign manager: GOP could have won 2016

President Obama’s former campaign manager says the GOP could have won the White House this year with the correct candidate.

“This was a winnable race for the right Republican candidate,” David Plouffe said Thursday, according to Politico.

He's not wrong, at all. This election should have been a cakewalk for a good GOP candidate to win. Now it's all but guaranteed to go to Clinton.

 

[jamil]

NATO has responded to Trump's comments on the subject

In all fairness, the other NATO nations' contributions to NATO in money and blood are insignificant compared to ours.

Ex-Obama campaign manager: GOP could have won 2016



He's not wrong, at all. This election should have been a cakewalk for a good GOP candidate to win. Now it's all but guaranteed to go to Clinton.

I watched the interview with Plouffe. I can't say I disagree. I'm very disappointed with the performance of the GOP candidate after the FBI revealed the depths to which Hillary lied and carelessly stored sensitive emails on her private server. Any candidate--even Cruz--should be ahead of Hillary given all that. And Trump has gotten a sizeable boost from where he was in the polls. And he's STILL behind!

 

[T.Lex]

Truly bizarre year, polling wise.

Obama has a small positive favorability rating, but overwhelming "wrong track" numbers. This election is no guarantee either way.

Emblematic of this cycle, I wouldn't be surprised if Trump has only a small post-convention bump (or even a drop), but then surges after the Dem convention.

Almost nothing would surprise me. Although, I was pleasantly surprised about Cruz.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

I watched the interview with Plouffe. I can't say I disagree. I'm very disappointed with the performance of the GOP candidate after the FBI revealed the depths to which Hillary lied and carelessly stored sensitive emails on her private server. Any candidate--even Cruz--should be ahead of Hillary given all that. And Trump has gotten a sizeable boost from where he was in the polls. And he's STILL behind!

Dammit Jamil. Polls don't matter. Even the voting on election day will still be inaccurate.

No, he will win. He must... because reasons.

I expect most, if not all, of the new base of voters that Trump brought in will quickly fade away once Clinton takes office. 2020 will be a normal pre-2016 turnout.

 

[Ericpwp]

Cruz says he's not in the habit of supporting people who attack his wife and father.

I don't blame him.

We do remember those things, right? Suggestions that his dad helped kill JFK? That his wife is ugly? Would you expect him to endorse someone like that? Let's take politics out of it for a second

You can't take politics out of the convention. Trump. It is what it is. Meanwhile the D's are in lockstep behind HRC. All this infighting in the GOP is poison. The D's don't care how bad HRC is, they will vote for her and the numbers will be there.

Not anti-gun, anti-gun, abstain. Those are the choices. Pick one.

 

[miguel]

That's the most coherant argument I have yet heard in support of Trump, it sounds almost...pragmatic.

I happen to disagree, but I mean to do so amicably...no disrespect. From my perspective Trump's footings are deep under same flood waters as Clinton's...

...regardless, excellent post; rep inbound!

Thanks for the kind words. And there I was thinking, "How can I get them to let me block a mod?"

Binary choices generally suck. I know we have Gary and Jill, but I fear we're too deep into this cycle for them to mount a viable challenge to the status quo.

Do I want prison food served by HRC or do I want to listen to the crazy guy in the cel next to me and try to escape the night before I climb the gallows?

[video=youtube;iC6Cgb8nHwk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC6Cgb8nHwk[/video]

 

[T.Lex]

Hey, anyone listen to any of Newt's speech? If I'm not mistaken (will have to google for a transcript), he specifically said that "we" are "losing" the war against "radical Islam."

I think that's BS and blatant fearmongering.

What says INGO?

 

[ArcadiaGP]

You can't take politics out of the convention. Trump. It is what it is. Meanwhile the D's are in lockstep behind HRC. All this infighting in the GOP is poison. The D's don't care how bad HRC is, they will vote for her and the numbers will be there.

Not anti-gun, anti-gun, abstain. Those are the choices. Pick one.

I guess we have a difference in perspective. Where's the "not anti-gun" choice?

This comes down to two lines of thought... one that trusts Trump, and one that does not.

 

[Ericpwp]

Hey, anyone listen to any of Newt's speech? If I'm not mistaken (will have to google for a transcript), he specifically said that "we" are "losing" the war against "radical Islam."

I think that's BS and blatant fearmongering.

What says INGO?

My take was the status quo was not good enough. Too many people were dieing at the hands of radicals.

I guess we have a difference in perspective. Where's the "not anti-gun" choice?

This comes down to two lines of thought... one that trusts Trump, and one that does not.

I believe Trump is not anti-gun. Who trusts any politician? All that I can hope for is Non-anti-gun wins and he surprises everyone. What is the other choice? The SCOTUS picks are the stakes.

 

[bwframe]

Fancypants Case Western Offers GOP Convention SAFE SPACE | The Daily Caller

 

[ArcadiaGP]

 

[T.Lex]

Then this happened.

Donald Trump greets VP pick Pence with air kiss - BBC News

No meme about this?

 

[JTScribe]

Hey, anyone listen to any of Newt's speech? If I'm not mistaken (will have to google for a transcript), he specifically said that "we" are "losing" the war against "radical Islam."

I think that's BS and blatant fearmongering.

What says INGO?

If this is winning, what does losing look like?

Say what you will about Bush's war policy, when he left office no organized terrorist groups controlled large swathes of geography in the Middle East.

 

[Expat]

Well, at least we are finally all in agreement now.

 

[T.Lex]

That's an odd map. It actually includes areas where there aren't very effective Daesh factions and leaves out some that are.

But anyway, it doesn't really address how the US is losing the war against radical Islam. In the spirit of neo-isolationism, well... violence by US citizens has been FAR more disruptive to our social fabric than islamofascists in 2016.

 

[T.Lex]

Well, at least we are finally all in agreement now.

No we aren't.

(What were you talking about?)

 

[Ericpwp]

One analysis estimated that since January, 2015, some 30,000 people have been killed at the hands of terrorists. Let’s be clear, Donald Trump is right. We are at war with radical Islamists. We are losing the war. And we must change course to win the war.

Is this what you are talking about?

Let me be very clear, because I know the news media will do their best to distort this, we have nothing to fear from the vast majority of Muslims in the United States or around the world, the vast majority are peaceful. They are often the victims themselves. They are people we would be happy to have as our friends and neighbors. (APPLAUSE)
The challenge, the challenge is when even a small percentage of a 1.6 billion people support violence against those who disagree with them, that is still a giant recruiting base. For example, Pew Research finds that only 9 percent of Muslims in Pakistan view ISIS favorably.
Unfortunately, 9 percent is 16 million people, and that is just one country. So the truth is although we are losing the war with radical Islamists, we have been very lucky.