Donald Trump

[UnseenParticipant]

I just watched a Trump press conference and the one thing that stuck with me was when asked about Bernie Sanders, he referred to the incident in Seattle where Sanders was forced off the stage by Black Lives Matter protesters.

“Believe me, that will never happened at one of my speeches. It shows that Bernie Sanders is weak. And his supporters just stood there like ‘What’s happening?’ They’re just like Sanders.” (That’s a paraphrase from memory, but it’s accurate, I guarantee it.)

If Sanders wants a successful run, including an infusion of money, he has to do better than draw big crowds. If he seriously wants to be President of the most powerful nation on Earth, he has to look like he knows how to handle power. Trump would seem to trump him there.

[.Spectator]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:

Is it just me or are the Democrats very silent? They must be loving this because it is doing their own campaign work for them.

Indeed, I think they are riding the wave to see when it crashes.

I am still asking myself how in the world anyone, could possibly let this happen? It is totally embarrassing to our country. Obama did a good job of regaining the world’s confidence after the mess of bullshit W left us. Now it’s back to bullshit….

I enjoy the fact that He is making them all look like bafoons and Trump’s lack of PC…ok, cool. I suppose we could say, “Only in America can a dumbass in a suit run for president as long as his bank account has enough zeros.” yep. Go us. We’re the land of the free all right. It’s become a fucking three ring circus with pony rides and apple pie.

[UnseenParticipant]

Here is the press conference by Trump in Michigan yesterday where he referred to Bernie Sanders and his followers as “weak” for letting Black Lives Matter protesters crowd him off the podium. Anytime an opponent in a presidential race says he feels sorry for you, you’re in trouble. Sanders is doomed if he doesn’t develop a way to handle people who are even further to the left than he is who want to crowd him out of the spotlight.

I’m nowhere near Trump politically, but I have to admit that when I saw what happened to Sanders in Seattle on the news, I lost a lot of respect for him. If you want to be at the helm of the most powerful nation on Earth, you need to display some ability to handle power and make tough/unpopular decisions.

He didn’t have any security people? I would have given the women maybe five minutes to say their piece after which they would have been physically removed. For him to just retreat and not give his speech betrayed the thousands of Seattleites who went out of their way to hear him. I’m not sure what was different at his next stop, my city of Portland, but it didn’t happen here.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by  Unseen.

[.Spectator]

@unseen – I think Bernie Sanders is not “weak”. Why was there no security? I don’t fault Sanders for what happened if there was no one to have his back.

[UnseenParticipant]

Belle Rose wrote:

@unseen – I think Bernie Sanders is not “weak”. Why was there no security? I don’t fault Sanders for what happened if there was no one to have his back.

He could have not given up the microphone. What could they have done then? Wrestled with an old man?

[.Spectator]

@unseen they were in his face. They were threatening Him. It doesn’t make him “weak.” he was probably scared. He looked scared. But What appalled me was how NO ONE (hello, security?) took the initiative to escort them away. That’s a security guard with muscles, hand cuffs and a radio’s job. Not a poor defenseless old man.

[.Spectator]

@unseen they were in his face. They were threatening Him. It doesn’t make him “weak.” he was probably scared. He looked scared. But What appalled me was how NO ONE (hello, security?) took the initiative to escort them away. That’s a security guard with muscles, hand cuffs and a radio’s job. Not a poor defenseless old man.

[UnseenParticipant]

Belle Rose wrote:

@unseen they were in his face. They were threatening Him. It doesn’t make him “weak.” he was probably scared. He looked scared. But What appalled me was how NO ONE (hello, security?) took the initiative to escort them away. That’s a security guard with muscles, hand cuffs and a radio’s job. Not a poor defenseless old man.

A lot of Americans are thinking, “Do we want an alpha fe/male as President, or a poor defenseless scared old man?” Perception is important in these races. Even an old man can refuse to give up the microphone.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by  Unseen.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by  Unseen.

[.Spectator]

@unseen maybe so, but that may have turned against Him. Refusing to give up the microphone to a black woman may have looked badly.

It turns out they were impostors anyway. He will likely get an apology. Sometimes strength is knowing when to back away.

[UnseenParticipant]

Belle Rose wrote:

@unseen maybe so, but that may have turned against Him. Refusing to give up the microphone to a black woman may have looked badly.

He looked spineless. I think he lost the nomination that moment in Seattle. The GOP and/or Trump will replay that moment over and over. It’s Sanders’ 47% moment.

[.Spectator]

But if he had stood up to her, black people everywhere would have called Him racist. He could actually use the moment in his favor if he’s smart.

[UnseenParticipant]

Belle Rose wrote:

But if he had stood up to her, black people everywhere would have called Him racist. He could actually use the moment in his favor if he’s smart.

(a) You’re making an unwarranted assumption that all black people would have viewed it that way whereas, having grown up and lived with black people, I know that a lot of them—and the middle aged women in particular who are the most reliable voters—don’t agree with that sort of behavior. They think it affirms many of the worst stereotypes of black people as lawless and out of control.

(b) You clearly haven’t factored in the negative effect on uncommitted white voters or on previously pro-Sanders voters who will now be shopping for someone with a spine or who at least can think on his feet quickly enough to handle and defuse such a situation. He had a few thousand sympathetic supporters there and he effectively wasted their time with his inability to deal with what should have been a manageable situation.

Biden? Biden would probably have taken that moment to negotiate something like “I’ll give you the mic for 5 minutes to say your piece. After that, you have to realize all these people are here to hear me, not you. Then, if they couldn’t be reasonable, he actually has goons in suits who would have “disappeared” them. If Sanders is smart, from then on he’ll have people to make sure protesters don’t even make it as far as the podium.

However, I think it’s too late. He blew it.

[.Spectator]

Maybe he did blow it. I don’t really know. All I’m saying is that my own perception from watching the video is that some security needed to step in and have a spine. I don’t fault Sanders for that.

If he’s smart he’ll respond to Trump with something like, “I allow women to have blood coming out of their eyes without taking offense to it.” I do think that he did the right thing. I think it will turn around in his favor.

I don’t completely disagree with you Unseen, but I do think that it doesn’t make him any less capable of being president. We’re all entitled to our opinion, and I choose who to vote for by their earnestness and evidence that they have the BRAINS to run our country. I agree it was a fuck up, but not anywhere near the level of fuck up that we’ve seen in the past from other nominees and presidents.

It’s not irredeemable in my opinion.It could end up being a positive thing if he gets a public apology. His composure might turn the black community in his favor. Who knows…we have a long way to go.

[.Spectator]

I grew up around the black community btw and I’m aware that many/most would not agree with that sort of behavior. But a minority can stir up controversy. We’ve seen that more than once now.

[UnseenParticipant]

Belle Rose wrote:

I don’t completely disagree with you Unseen, but I do think that it doesn’t make him any less capable of being president. We’re all entitled to our opinion, and I choose who to vote for by their earnestness and evidence that they have the BRAINS to run our country. I agree it was a fuck up, but not anywhere near the level of fuck up that we’ve seen in the past from other nominees and presidents.

Before they let Sanders wield American power, they want to see a man who’s comfortable with power, who knows how to deal with conflicting constituencies, and who tells them the lies they want to hear, just as Obama did. If Obama hadn’t told a few lies, we’d have Romney as President.

Also, “…he’s in an unusual position for a Democratic (or Democratic-affiliated) politician. Sanders’s Vermont is pretty homogeneous: 94 percent white, 96 percent American-born, relatively well-educated. Sanders has never had to win an election by working to appeal to white, black, and Latino voters all at once — he’s won election after election by successfully representing the concerns of a single constituency.” (source)

As a result, he’s lost when it comes to talking to urban blacks and Hispanics. He’d better get up to speed quick, but it will run contrary to the tune he’s used to singing, which is economics and general fairness. The minorities think that a general value of fairness isn’t enough. They feel particularly downtrodden and want to hear specifics about fixing THEIR problems. So, Sanders, like Obama, needs to start getting used to telling lies, because in truth only time, not a presidency, will fix our racial problems. They don’t want to hear that.

Sanders better be working on his demagoguery if he wants to have any hope of being President.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by  Unseen.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by  Unseen.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by  Unseen.

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