President Donald J. Trump

[JesusJuice]

When you say "commit more U.S. military force on his behalf" it sounds like you think we have forces committed or somehow fighting for Netanyahu or Israel. Is that what you meant?

[Dr. MD MD]

It's much easier being an agnostic.  I can choose to believe or not believe whatever I want whenever I want without pissing myself off or feeling guilty about it.   

I'm with you, bro. It just makes sense. It's the most hedged bet, offering you the greatest flexibility to explore 

Atheism's too all-in and believing in things without proof of their veracity is not for me either. So, agnosticism ends up seeming like the wisest approach to me.

[mikuthing01]

Oy Vey, the Goyim know! Shut it down!

[VtaGeezer]

Today's crucifixion:
In an interview on Bloomberg TV yesterday (which I watched) the interviewer asked Trump if he'd use nukes on ISIS.  Trump spent a few minutes explaining thoughtfully that potential military actions really aren't something that should be discussed in a casual TV interview, and that a prudent commander never telegraphs what he would or wouldn't do, and he concluded by saying "...that said" it would probably never happen, but he couldn't completely exclude it.  Then DT was asked if he would have used a nuke after 9/11, and Trump answered with a dismissive "No (with 'you clown' in his tone)".

Today, CNN, MSNBC and others are reporting with shock in their voice that Trump says he may nuke ISIS.

[chefist]

How long before Trump comes out with an ad for, "Democrats Challenge ISIS to A Dance Off!"

[VtaGeezer]

Look out, Donald is coming in HOT

Cruz had more than ample time to disavow the Melania ad when it appeared.  He didn't.  He let it go because he's a slimy ideologue that would accept anything that might have got another vote from the granny-dress polygamist crowd. Trump's quite right to fight fire with fire; Cruz has used smears as his primary tool throughout the primaries and only responds to direct and hard retaliation.  Today the a-hole from Alberta tried to smooth it over with a kumbaya tweet.  I hope DT really goes after the potential for yet another Goldman Sachs mole in the WH.

[Robert Ghostwolf's Ghost]

When you say "commit more U.S. military force on his behalf" it sounds like you think we have forces committed or somehow fighting for Netanyahu or Israel. Is that what you meant?

I meant that he seems quite eager to get us involved militarily in some way with Iran while ignoring that doing so would not be in our best national interest.

[WOTR]

Have you read any of Bart Ehrman's books?  If not, check him out because you probably would enjoy them.  He's one of the few people who is able to read the languages of the original scriptures, and he has a lot to say about typos and different translations of the same source documents.

I have not read his books- but I know that is a huge problem.  Between dead languages and translating copies of copies of copies (with some variations between them) I cannot imagine trying to do the work and stay accurate.

Thanks- I may have to look him up.

[VtaGeezer]

How long before Trump comes out with an ad for, "Democrats Challenge ISIS to A Dance Off!"

I hear that Michelle's twerking routine was edited out by CNN.
The whole trip has been a gross embarrassment.
What were they thinking?

[GuerrillaUnReal]

I've been amused by the trip as it's clear Obama clear has no fucks to give anymore. Obama's radicalization coming out massively aside, I've always kind of liked him just because he seems like a fun guy. Watching Obama's Cuban Vacation has given me some lols.

[chefist]

I hear that Michelle's twerking routine was edited out by CNN.
The whole trip has been a gross embarrassment.
What were they thinking?

My guess is a combo of his ego and indifference since it his last year in office...I just don't know...

[Value Of Pi]

I meant that he seems quite eager to get us involved militarily in some way with Iran while ignoring that doing so would not be in our best national interest.

These two guys believe in very different tactics for dealing with Iran, especially the threat of Iranian nukes. Netanyahu disapproves of Obama's approach but couldn't do anything to change his mind. Obama feels likewise about Netanyahu's approach and actively subverted the IDF's plan to attack the nuke sites in Iran. Actually, there were two instances of the U.S. betraying Israeli plans to the Iranians.

Netanyahu has seen more eye-to-eye with previous presidents and probably will again with the next. But if you want to talk about influencing another country's policies or actions, or trying to, that is a two-way street, like the diplomacy you mentioned before.

Myself, I judge that the U.S. acting as Iran's early warning system (and then signing a bad agreement) is a much more unfriendly and duplicitous set of actions than Netanyahu speaking before Congress about Iran without Obama's blessing.

[21st Century Man]

Election Day 2016.  Trump as the Republican nominee.

[PKaiser]

Additionally, as predicted, new polls indicate trump has no chance against Clinton.


http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/us/general_election_trump_vs_clinton-5491.html

Please.

Let me remind you once again that Reagan was down 15 points to SITTING PRESIDENT Jimmy Carter on the night before the election in 1980. On the morning after the election he had won a 44 STATE LANDSLIDE, the third largest in our nation's history.

Polls, especially ones eight months out from an election, don't matter a hill of beans right now....

[FightTheFuture]

Cruz had more than ample time to disavow the Melania ad when it appeared.  He didn't.  He let it go because he's a slimy ideologue that would accept anything that might have got another vote from the granny-dress polygamist crowd. Trump's quite right to fight fire with fire; Cruz has used smears as his primary tool throughout the primaries and only responds to direct and hard retaliation.  Today the a-hole from Alberta tried to smooth it over with a kumbaya tweet.  I hope DT really goes after the potential for yet another Goldman Sachs mole in the WH.

Oh, please. It was't even a pro-Cruz SuperPac that ran it! Further, the Pac that ran it -- Make America Awesome -- even told Donald as much. Trump is simply cashing in on the ignorance of the American electorate, as he has done so effectively all throughout this election cycle.

The fact is, trump is a disgusting pig. He is utterly incapable of engaging any woman with a triple digit IQ in a substantive conversation, so the pig denigrates the woman's looks. And his glassy-eyed followers cheer him on. Meanwhile, you virtually guarantee a double digit victory by HRC in November. Of course, you'll blame that on Cruz and media, too. Never mind the fact that Trump receives BILLIONS of dollars of free media exposure from Drudge to Fox News to most every rightwing radio talk host.

[FightTheFuture]

Please.

Let me remind you once again that Reagan was down 15 points to SITTING PRESIDENT Jimmy Carter on the night before the election in 1980. On the morning after the election he had won a 44 STATE LANDSLIDE, the third largest in our nation's history.

Polls, especially ones eight months out from an election, don't matter a hill of beans right now....

Keep dreaming. Nobody in this country's long history has ever won a general election with the level of negatives Trump has, which incidentally, are continuing to rise.


http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/donald-trump-favorable-rating

[Jackstar]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZRUtzX7iOA

[mikuthing01]

Nobody in this country's long history has ever won a general election with the level of negatives Trump has, which incidentally, are continuing to rise.

So your saying Hillary less of a chance than Trump, i like those odds..

Hillary For Prison 2016!

[SciFiAuthor]

Election Day 2016.  Trump as the Republican nominee.

To get the Cruz version, all you have to do is switch Utah to red.

[VtaGeezer]

Oh, please. ...

I repeat; Rafael Jr. had a full day to disavow and condemn the ad, but didn't. He's the pig for not condemning it and then hiding behind a consultant-run PAC.

[21st Century Man]

To get the Cruz version, all you have to do is switch Utah to red.

While that may be true,  I  think he could carry a few more midwestern states like Indiana and Ohio maybe even Pennsylvania  IF Kasich is his VP.  He would also do well in Virginia and North Carolina and maybe Maryland under the same circumstances.

It is all speculation on my part because Cruz will not make it to 1237 on the first ballot.  I do think it is still possible for Cruz to get more delegates than Trump but he will have to fight hard and April will be cruel to Cruz unless Kasich manages to beat Trump in several primaries in the Northeast which is possible.  Primaries are now more spread out during the next 3 months and there is a lot of time for candidates to make serious missteps and blow their chances.

In all likelihood, this will go to the convention and if Trump is over 1000 delegates he has a good chance to win the nomination on the second ballot.  There is also a chance that many delegates will leave Trump on the second ballot and move to Cruz/Kasich if the latter two can strike a deal.  There will also most likely be hell to pay if that scenario plays out and Trump has over 1000 delegates.

  The fact of the matter is Trump is a weak candidate for the Republican party.  So far he has not won a state with over 50% of the vote.  Like it or not,  Ted Cruz has.

[Dr. MD MD]

Please.

Let me remind you once again that Reagan was down 15 points to SITTING PRESIDENT Jimmy Carter on the night before the election in 1980. On the morning after the election he had won a 44 STATE LANDSLIDE, the third largest in our nation's history.

Polls, especially ones eight months out from an election, don't matter a hill of beans right now....

Just more evidence of all the corrupt BS that went on with government and that administration. They had a deal worked on not to release the hostages until Reagan got in. Rigged much?!  :

[SciFiAuthor]

While that may be true,  I  think he could carry a few more midwestern states like Indiana and Ohio maybe even Pennsylvania  IF Kasich is his VP.  He would also do well in Virginia and North Carolina and maybe Maryland under the same circumstances.

It is all speculation on my part because Cruz will not make it to 1237 on the first ballot.  I do think it is still possible for Cruz to get more delegates than Trump but he will have to fight hard and April will be cruel to Cruz unless Kasich manages to beat Trump in several primaries in the Northeast which is possible.  Primaries are now more spread out during the next 3 months and there is a lot of time for candidates to make serious missteps and blow their chances.

In all likelihood, this will go the convention and if Trump is over 1000 delegates he has a good chance to win the nomination on the second ballot.  There is also a chance that many delegates will leave Trump on the second ballot and move to Cruz/Kasich if the latter two can strike a deal.  There will also most likely be hell to pay if that scenario plays out and Trump has over 1000 delegates.

  The fact of the matter is Trump is a weak candidate for the Republican party.  So far he has not won a state with over 50% of the vote.  Like it or not,  Ted Cruz has.

I think Trump will probably just barely secure it and we'll avoid a brokered convention. If he doesn't and in turn doesn't get it on the second vote, then I'd support a Cruz/Kasich ticket if it came to that. I think most would, but if they tried to toss Romney in or something it would melt down.

What is certain is that anyone that gets Kasich as VP will win Ohio. He's one hell of a popular governor there. The problem is Florida and Virginia and I just don't think Cruz can pull all three of those states. In fairness, no establishment Republican could either and I'd be saying the same thing if it were Bush or Rubio up there. The truth is, I had this election written off long ago after seeing Romney's performance and looking into the reasons why. We had one path to victory through the electoral college with establishment candidates and it closed in 2012. And while Cruz is not establishment, he suffers from the same resonance pitfalls that they do so it's closed to him too.

All we've got left are two things. 1. The weakness of Hillary Clinton. The Dems have to be crazy running her as they are. Even if she doesn't get indicted, her turnout is pretty much guaranteed to be low, especially if Bernie's supporters feel slighted after he loses. 2. The Donald Trump wildcard. No standard political analysis has stuck with that guy. More or less every pundit has been wrong about everything regarding Trump since he first announced. I see no improvement there. Can Trump take states that are normally blue? I have a sneaking suspicion that he can due to his resonance with white working class voters. Will the polls look the same after the conventions? Almost certainly not.

[albrecht]

I think Trump will probably just barely secure it and we'll avoid a brokered convention. If he doesn't and in turn doesn't get it on the second vote, then I'd support a Cruz/Kasich ticket if it came to that. I think most would, but if they tried to toss Romney in or something it would melt down.

What is certain is that anyone that gets Kasich as VP will win Ohio. He's one hell of a popular governor there. The problem is Florida and Virginia and I just don't think Cruz can pull all three of those states. In fairness, no establishment Republican could either and I'd be saying the same thing if it were Bush or Rubio up there. The truth is, I had this election written off long ago after seeing Romney's performance and looking into the reasons why. We had one path to victory through the electoral college with establishment candidates and it closed in 2012. And while Cruz is not establishment, he suffers from the same resonance pitfalls that they do so it's closed to him too.

All we've got left are two things. 1. The weakness of Hillary Clinton. The Dems have to be crazy running her as they are. Even if she doesn't get indicted, her turnout is pretty much guaranteed to be low, especially if Bernie's supporters feel slighted after he loses. 2. The Donald Trump wildcard. No standard political analysis has stuck with that guy. More or less every pundit has been wrong about everything regarding Trump since he first announced. I see no improvement there. Can Trump take states that are normally blue? I have a sneaking suspicion that he can due to his resonance with white working class voters. Will the polls look the same after the conventions? Almost certainly not.

I would hope the Bernie supporters would be bitter and not turn up or even turn Billary events into riots but Democrats, even those on the far left, have a better history of coming together and supporting their candidates. They tend to act more strategic than many Republican voters who say "my way or the highway" and will not moderate or give-up principles towards a lesser goal or simply to beat a Democrat. Sad as I say it because normally I advocate more restrictions on voting I'm hoping Trump can bring out voters who normally stayed home (working-class whites) and cross-over voters from minority groups due to his celebrity and bling status.

[21st Century Man]

I think Trump will probably just barely secure it and we'll avoid a brokered convention. If he doesn't and in turn doesn't get it on the second vote, then I'd support a Cruz/Kasich ticket if it came to that. I think most would, but if they tried to toss Romney in or something it would melt down.

What is certain is that anyone that gets Kasich as VP will win Ohio. He's one hell of a popular governor there. The problem is Florida and Virginia and I just don't think Cruz can pull all three of those states. In fairness, no establishment Republican could either and I'd be saying the same thing if it were Bush or Rubio up there. The truth is, I had this election written off long ago after seeing Romney's performance and looking into the reasons why. We had one path to victory through the electoral college with establishment candidates and it closed in 2012. And while Cruz is not establishment, he suffers from the same resonance pitfalls that they do so it's closed to him too.

All we've got left are two things. 1. The weakness of Hillary Clinton. The Dems have to be crazy running her as they are. Even if she doesn't get indicted, her turnout is pretty much guaranteed to be low, especially if Bernie's supporters feel slighted after he loses. 2. The Donald Trump wildcard. No standard political analysis has stuck with that guy. More or less every pundit has been wrong about everything regarding Trump since he first announced. I see no improvement there. Can Trump take states that are normally blue? I have a sneaking suspicion that he can due to his resonance with white working class voters. Will the polls look the same after the conventions? Almost certainly not.

I think Trump will probably just barely secure it and we'll avoid a brokered convention. If he doesn't and in turn doesn't get it on the second vote, then I'd support a Cruz/Kasich ticket if it came to that. I think most would, but if they tried to toss Romney in or something it would melt down.

What is certain is that anyone that gets Kasich as VP will win Ohio. He's one hell of a popular governor there. The problem is Florida and Virginia and I just don't think Cruz can pull all three of those states. In fairness, no establishment Republican could either and I'd be saying the same thing if it were Bush or Rubio up there. The truth is, I had this election written off long ago after seeing Romney's performance and looking into the reasons why. We had one path to victory through the electoral college with establishment candidates and it closed in 2012. And while Cruz is not establishment, he suffers from the same resonance pitfalls that they do so it's closed to him too.

All we've got left are two things. 1. The weakness of Hillary Clinton. The Dems have to be crazy running her as they are. Even if she doesn't get indicted, her turnout is pretty much guaranteed to be low, especially if Bernie's supporters feel slighted after he loses. 2. The Donald Trump wildcard. No standard political analysis has stuck with that guy. More or less every pundit has been wrong about everything regarding Trump since he first announced. I see no improvement there. Can Trump take states that are normally blue? I have a sneaking suspicion that he can due to his resonance with white working class voters. Will the polls look the same after the conventions? Almost certainly not.

Despite Kasich's remarks saying that he is a Washington outsider, he is in fact a Washington insider and he would undoubtedly help Cruz in Virginia and other states around DC. 

[21st Century Man]

I would hope the Bernie supporters would be bitter and not turn up or even turn Billary events into riots but Democrats, even those on the far left, have a better history of coming together and supporting their candidates. They tend to act more strategic than many Republican voters who say "my way or the highway" and will not moderate or give-up principles towards a lesser goal or simply to beat a Democrat. Sad as I say it because normally I advocate more restrictions on voting I'm hoping Trump can bring out voters who normally stayed home (working-class whites) and cross-over voters from minority groups due to his celebrity and bling status.

They didn't do well strategically in 2010 and 2014.  The question is will the voter turnout be low or high for them this election?  I think it will be lower than average with Hillary as the nominee and I do think many Bernie supporters would stay home if she is the nominee.

[albrecht]

They didn't do well strategically in 2010 and 2014.  The question is will the voter turnout be low or high for them this election?  I think it will be lower than average with Hillary as the nominee and I do think many Bernie supporters would stay home if she is the nominee.

Although I want the Presidency to go with whichever Republican, and certainly not Billary, because the Executive Branch has become so powerful and for SCOTUS appointments I really hope at minimum Republicans keep, or increase, the House and Senate numbers. And assert control over State and local politics.

[FightTheFuture]

I repeat; Rafael Jr. had a full day to disavow and condemn the ad, but didn't. He's the pig for not condemning it and then hiding behind a consultant-run PAC.

It`s not Ted Cruz`s responsibility to ensure Drumpf isn`t offended by the thousands of  ads that are run everyday by non-affiliated Cruz pacs throughout the electronic media which, btw, accurately portray Drumpf as the shyster pig that he is. If that were so, Cruz would need to spend his entire day scouring the airwaves for ads that might damage the ultra thin-skinned asshole from NY.

Makes one wonder how Drumpf will react the first time Putin laughs in his orange face about how stupid he looks or some other trivial matter that Putin will use against him.

[VtaGeezer]

It`s not Ted Cruz`s responsibility...

It is if he's the devout Christian he portrays on TV.  But we know he's a phony with no ethics, so it's no surprise he said nothing when a PAC ran a slimy ad for his benefit.  Cruz and slime are never far apart.

[GuerrillaUnReal]

Strong rumor that it's going to be a brokered convention with Kasich coming out with the nomination.