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Is this when Trump decided to run for President?

Is this the moment when Trump decided to run?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%

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    5

Centrist

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In my opinion Obama gave a "knockout" on this day however do you agree with the statement that this moment put in motion a sequence of events in populism mechanics that made Trump run and become president? I heard this theory on a PBS Frontline documentary. "America's Great Divide".

Video of the moment:

 
In my opinion Obama gave a "knockout" on this day however do you agree with the statement that this moment put in motion a sequence of events in populism mechanics that made Trump run and become president? I heard this theory on a PBS Frontline documentary. "America's Great Divide".

Video of the moment:



There were dozens of reasons why trump took the White House. This wasn't one of them.
 
In my opinion Obama gave a "knockout" on this day however do you agree with the statement that this moment put in motion a sequence of events in populism mechanics that made Trump run and become president? I heard this theory on a PBS Frontline documentary. "America's Great Divide".

Video of the moment:


It's a cute story, but I seriously doubt that a single event motivates such an undertaking. Its far more likely that the adulation fix Trump got from the Apprentice no longer got him high and he merely coveted a bigger stage.

What the Obama roast of Trump did show us all was just how humorless and thin-skinned Trump was, which we saw over and over again throughout his presidency, including his inability to accept the loss. Being a thin-skinned narcissist should be right up there with being a felon as an automatic disqualification for the office.
 
Trump told Oprah 34 years ago that he would consider running for president:

"If it got so bad, I would never want to rule it out totally [running for president], because I really am tired of seeing what's happening with this country." - Trump (1988)
 
It's a cute story, but I seriously doubt that a single event motivates such an undertaking. Its far more likely that the adulation fix Trump got from the Apprentice no longer got him high and he merely coveted a bigger stage.

What the Obama roast of Trump did show us all was just how humorless and thin-skinned Trump was, which we saw over and over again throughout his presidency, including his inability to accept the loss. Being a thin-skinned narcissist should be right up there with being a felon as an automatic disqualification for the office.
Yes, agree with all of that but let us not forget that also some "elites" do not fully understand "nationalism" or "populism". Underestimating the power of this phenomenon by many on the left brought upon us Trump too. Don't try to run away from the blame entirely and be 100 % partisan.

I promoted this article on other threads, is from a professor @ Harvard, great read for the critical minds out there:

 
Yes, agree with all of that but let us not forget that also some "elites" do not fully understand "nationalism" or "populism". Underestimating the power of this phenomenon by many on the left brought upon us Trump too. Don't try to run away from the blame entirely and be 100 % partisan.

I promoted this article on other threads, is from a professor @ Harvard, great read for the critical minds out there:

I do get why Trump was elected. There was a large percentage of the population that felt the American dream was out of their grasp and no one cared. It is a legitimate issue, which I attribute a great deal to income/wealth disparity, which I believe to be one of the great shortcomings of America and a very under discussed issue. The ground was fertile for a populist leader.

The problem, however, was Trump was neither true populist, nor a leader. He merely played one on TV. The man fundamentally stood for nothing but the personal glory of Donald Trump. He had no platform, no political philosophy, no real agenda, hence no clue how to actually address the needs of the people, nor was that problem for him. He just wanted their undying love. What Trump was good at, however, is reading the room and knowing how to manipulate the crowd. He was the consummate salesman without the goods, but he could sell a brand. However, as he woefully lacked substance, in the end, he was nothing more than a false hope; a fraud. Because his motivations were impure and his qualifications near non-existent, Trump was the wrong general for the right battle.

Though you bring up a great point about the American political environment as fertile ground for nationalism, which goes to somewhat explain why it allowed Trump to be elected, it does not explain the Trump presidency, which was fundamentally fraudulent by design.

I am not certain why you responded to my post this way, as I was merely making the point that Trump's character flaw as a thin-skinned narcissist should have been a disqualification for the office. What we observed that the White House Correspondents dinner so many years ago was what we saw over and over again in his presidency. This personality deficiency of his was a fatal flaw for a successful leader.
 
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I do get why Trump was elected. There was a large percentage of the population that felt the American dream was out of their grasp and no one cared. It is a legitimate issue, which I attribute a great deal to income/wealth disparity, which I believe to be one of the great shortcomings of America and a very under discussed issue. The ground was fertile for a populist leader.

The problem, however, was Trump was neither true populist, nor a leader. He merely played one on TV. The man fundamentally stood for nothing but the personal glory of Donald Trump. He had no platform, no political philosophy, no real agenda, hence no clue how to actually address the needs of the people, nor was that problem for him. He just wanted their undying love. What Trump was good at, however, is reading the room and knowing how to manipulate the crowd. He was the consummate salesman without the goods, but he could sell a brand. However, as he woefully lacked substance, in the end, he was nothing more than a false hope; a fraud. He was the wrong general for the right battle.

Though you bring up a great point about the American political environment as fertile ground for nationalism, which goes to somewhat explain why it allowed Trump to be elected, it does not explain the Trump presidency, which was fundamentally fraudulent by design.
I agree with some of the things here. Trump waits for economic despair, for things to get really bad in order to come in with a solution via words and rhetoric. In New York, he rebuilt the Outdoor Skating Rink that was out of order for several years (due to the city's incompetence). It was later reported though that he never paid those workers that rebuilt that ice ring. He got the credit and the fame but it was all built on a lie.

We strongly disagree with the "wrong general for the right battle" as I suspect your "correct" general is Bernie Sanders. This is to save us 10 pages of going back and forth. :cool: 2 fraudsters for the wrong battle in my opinion. One side has a better dressing though, I will give you that, the words sometimes sound better. ;)

@upsideguy

You will get used to my style I hope, I grew up in the Eastern European lands. I can come across as rude I was told, is just my style. Every man has his flaws.
 
I agree with some of the things here. Trump waits for economic despair, for things to get really bad in order to come in with a solution via words and rhetoric. In New York, he rebuilt the Outdoor Skating Rink that was out of order for several years (due to the city's incompetence). It was later reported though that he never paid those workers that rebuilt that ice ring. He got the credit and the fame but it was all built on a lie.

We strongly disagree with the "wrong general for the right battle" as I suspect your "correct" general is Bernie Sanders. This is to save us 10 pages of going back and forth. :cool: 2 fraudsters for the wrong battle in my opinion. One side has a better dressing though, I will give you that, the words sometimes sound better. ;)

@upsideguy

You will get used to my style I hope, I grew up in the Eastern European lands. I can come across as rude I was told, is just my style. Every man has his flaws.
I am not a Bernie Sanders fan.... sorry. I pretty much a centrist Democrat. I am very liberal on somethings; very conservative on others. Overall, however, I believe politics is like golf.... its best played in the middle of the course. You start shanking the ball, you accomplish nothing and frustrate everyone.
 
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