From Newsmax.com:
Real estate mogul Donald Trump, who has already flirted with a run for the GOP nomination in 2012, says he would still consider running as an independent if he did not believe the Republican field was strong enough to beat President Barack Obama. Trump also said on Fox News Wednesday that former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is underrated.“No, I’m not out at all. I mean, if I — and look, I’m not a Ross Perot who goes in and then decides to go out. I never went in. You understand that, OK? I’ve never said that I was running. I said I was considering it, and seriously considering it,” Trump told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren. “And then I’ve watched these terrible mistakes made by the Republican Party. And I say — I use the word it’s a death wish.”
Quite a bit. But it’s far from the only basis for my opinion.
As for his 2000 views after a a few quick looks:
* Guardian article: called Pat Buchanan a Hitler lover; said government should stay out of abortion.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/05/donald-trump-reform-party-2000-president
https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/25/us/trump-quits-grand-old-party-for-new.html
and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_2000_presidential_campaign
…. When pressed, Trump identified Oprah Winfrey as his ideal choice for a running mate,….
…Trump argued that President Bill Clinton could have been a great president, but destroyed his legacy with the Lewinsky scandal…..
….On the issues, Trump labeled himself “very conservative,” but described his views on healthcare as “quite liberal” and “getting much more liberal”, explaining “I believe in universal health care. I believe in whatever it takes to make people well and better. … [I]t’s an entitlement to this country if we’re going to have a great country.”….
… said he would like to see alcohol corporations sued in the same manner as tobacco corporations. …
….Trump proposed a one-time 14.25 percent “net worth tax” that would apply to individuals and trusts with assets greater than $10 million. ….
….He identified Senator John McCain, a Republican presidential candidate, as a possible Secretary of Defense. Trump said he would consider Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and mentioned retired General Colin Powell as a possible Secretary of State…..
It’s true that he has been consistent on some things:
I’d say none of the things he has been consistent on are good.
“Have you read it?”
No. But I’m aware of its contents. I wrote about it often in 2015 and 2016. I’m sure there’s some things in there he regrets but his views on trade and immigration have been consistent.
“But supposing he did know all along what he was doing, I don’t think it was anything good, nor ever could be.”
I don’t think he’s as bad as you say. However, I haven’t had previous dealings with him like you have. I don’t know how much of that has informed your current opinion of him.
I think it was more specifically about eating pizza with a knife and fork.
He became the phony anti-elitist candidate by turning himself into a cartoon character.
True, but many people (myself included, at times, though not always) ignored that many regular folks actually like cartoon characters, or people who make themselves into cartoon characters such as wrestlers, entertainers, etc.
He has since changed his mind, since Trump has trumped him in all things Nixonian.
I think it was more half-serious.
Have you read it? I think many of his supporters now would be shocked at many of his positions then. It would also be interesting to compare what has changed with what has not.
Maybe. I think it’s much more likely he started out just trying to get attention and stir up crap, and was surprised himself when it paid off.
But supposing he did know all along what he was doing, I don’t think it was anything good, nor ever could be.
1. The charge here is that Trump is an elitist out-of-touch with the common man, which is funny since the common man turned out to be Trump’s most loyal base. Trump became the anti-elitist candidate.
2. The media and elites not taking Trump seriously and laughing at him as a cartoon character allowed Trump to fly under the radar on his path to victory.
Despite having no chance, as a joke candidate, Trump won the Republican nomination as the establishment gasped. Then, despite only a two percent chance of victory (according to the Huffington Post), he won election to the White House as the elite’s conformist pawns screamed to the heavens.
3. In 1987, Richard Nixon wrote a letter to Trump saying that Pat Nixon was very impressed with Trump’s interview on Donahue and predicted that if he ever ran for office he would win. Nixon was just one of many who encouraged Trump to enter politics. Despite the interest, he decided against running for president in ’88.
Trump’s run in 2000 was a serious effort. He wrote an extensive book of political positions and went around the country touting his candidacy. If not for the infighting in the Reform Party, he could’ve been a formidable third party candidate that year. He certainly had support, given his victories in the California and Michigan primaries despite already dropping out of the race.
When Trump teased a run in 2011 he set the groundwork for what would be a successful run in 2016. He established himself as a Republican, questioned Obama’s citizenship to gain media coverage and cast himself as one unafraid to say things most establishment Republicans would not say, and ultimately chose not to run given the difficulty in unseating an incumbent president. By the time he announced his candidacy in 2015, again using provocative language to get coverage and set himself apart from the other candidates, he had already set his Republican bona fides in motion from 2011.
Trump knew what he was doing all along. He wasn’t doing it merely to get attention. It was all part of a strategy that ended in him being elected president.
I don’t approve of casually using “faggot” as a slur for all things bad, but I know a lot of people do that, and I know LG well enough to know she is not homophobic. As for the substance, it’s true.
That was and still is true. Unfortunately, a lot of people are easily duped. Apparently even more than even my jaded self thought possible.
That was certainly true at the time. I was surprised when he eventually did run after all the past non-starters but it remained true for that cycle.
Some things I found funny on this thread:
LibertarianGirl: “that faggot eats pizza with a fork and knife , way to alienate yoursef from the common man jack ass”
Jill Pyeatt: “I can’t believe anyone takes him seriously. He’s almost like a cartoon character to me.”
Kleptocracy and You: “Waste of time. Trump isn’t running he just likes the attention !”
Why? Seems pretty standard for conversations we have had here. The few substantive comments seem like they were pretty much correct, slurs and whatnot aside, even though he did subsequently figure out a way to con a lot more rubes than I would have thought possible with his transparent con.
LOL at this thread
Waste of time. Trump isn’t running he just likes the attention !
“If you don’t like Republicans and Democrats, You might be a Libertarian.” – http://www.lpstuff.com/shop/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=254
“The Libertarian Party LP.org” – http://www.lpstuff.com/shop/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=256
I like this one a lot —>
“MODERATE SOLUTIONS FOR A RADICAL WORLD Vote LIBERTARIAN” – http://www.lpstuff.com/shop/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=105
@ lake,
I’m not here much anymore and I’m only reading comments with my name in them. Please stop putting my name in comments that have nothing to do with me, I don’t have time to waste like this. If you keep doing it, I’ll put you along with Milnes on the list of people whose comments I don’t read even if you do address me by name. Please don’t do it again.
I am “down with the gay”
by faggot i mean nothing homo sexual at all , i use the word alot and it never has any sexual orientation attached to it , at least not in my mind…but since you have appointed yourself the politically correct word police ill say
how very unlibertarian of you
hyperoffensible much?
Okay, okay, Don… take a weeks’ free pass for yourself, too!
NewFederalist // Jun 2, 2011:
“……… it was a typo. Maggot, maybe?”
[Lake: er, um, ah, ‘Forget’?]
Jill Pyeatt // Jun 2, 2011:
“……… LG should get a free pass this week. She’s had a bad week ……….”
[a] Lake almost died twice in the past half year. Thx for your (paulie / Mister p like) even handed approach to politics! Any consideration for anti establishment veterans hated by smucks like Cody Quirk ????????? You not are only entitled to your opinions, you deserve them!
I think LG should get a free pass this week. She’s had a bad week.
Perhaps it was a typo. Maggot, maybe?
Faggot?
I thought libertarians were down with the gay? Way to be a jackass, jackass.
How very un-libertarian of you.
He is obviously clueless about ballot access laws. What a pompous ass.
I can’t believe anyone takes him seriously. He’s almost like a cartoon character to me.
that faggot eats pizza with a fork and knife , way to alienate yoursef from the common man jack ass