The Art of the Donald Trumpocalypse

[Max Peck]

It's interesting that they are counting the unbound delegates in stating that he has 'clinched' the nomination. If you count unbound superdelegates, then Clinton will very likely similarly 'clinch' the nomination by winning New Jersey, without even counting California. So I wonder whether the AP will similarly announce that for Clinton as well.

Though Trump has no opponents left to dispute the 'clinching', unlike Clinton.

Bear in mind that the AP article is counting unbound delegates that are saying they will support Trump, not all unbound delegates, and they spell out that by "clinch" they mean he now has a total of 1238 delegates (either bound or declaring support for him), which puts him one over the magic number to avoid a contested convention. Given that he will undoubtedly gain more delegates in the remaining primaries, it sounds legit to me.

Then, by the very same token, they should count the superdelegates that say that they will support Clinton, and say that she clinched the nomination after NJ.

If that puts her over the top, then maybe they will. I just don't think there's anything odd about the Trump article -- the big story with Trump has been whether or not he would have to deal with a contested convention. If their sources and analysis say "nope, it's a done deal" then they are obviously going to run with that story.

[El Guapo]

It's interesting that they are counting the unbound delegates in stating that he has 'clinched' the nomination. If you count unbound superdelegates, then Clinton will very likely similarly 'clinch' the nomination by winning New Jersey, without even counting California. So I wonder whether the AP will similarly announce that for Clinton as well.

Though Trump has no opponents left to dispute the 'clinching', unlike Clinton.

Bear in mind that the AP article is counting unbound delegates that are saying they will support Trump, not all unbound delegates, and they spell out that by "clinch" they mean he now has a total of 1238 delegates (either bound or declaring support for him), which puts him one over the magic number to avoid a contested convention. Given that he will undoubtedly gain more delegates in the remaining primaries, it sounds legit to me.

Then, by the very same token, they should count the superdelegates that say that they will support Clinton, and say that she clinched the nomination after NJ.

If that puts her over the top, then maybe they will. I just don't think there's anything odd about the Trump article -- the big story with Trump has been whether or not he would have to deal with a contested convention. If their sources and analysis say "nope, it's a done deal" then they are obviously going to run with that story.

There isn't anything odd about the Trump story, especially since Trump has no opponents anymore so it's academic whether he has formally clinched or not. I'm just questioning the possible implications for the democratic race, which is not over, so that seems the material issue to me.

[Max Peck]

There isn't anything odd about the Trump story, especially since Trump has no opponents anymore so it's academic whether he has formally clinched or not. I'm just questioning the possible implications for the democratic race, which is not over, so that seems the material issue to me.

Technically, it didn't become academic until he reached the magic number that means he wins on the first round at the convention. Pragmatically, he was never going to fail to reach that number of delegates once everyone else dropped out. It was just a matter of time.

At any rate, apparently I completely missed the mark wrt your earlier comments. Sorry about that. Carry on...

[Carpet_pissr]

I feel like he's touched a part of me that I don't like where it is.

I figure a few people would prefer that he just stop touching them altogether.

Does no one find his tiny, orange hands cute?

[Fitzy]

I feel like he's touched a part of me that I don't like where it is.

I figure a few people would prefer that he just stop touching them altogether.

Does no one find his tiny, orange hands cute?

They are highly prized in Oompa Loompa society.

[Max Peck]

Trump declares: "I reject your reality and substitute my own!"

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told California voters Friday that he can solve their water crisis, declaring, "There is no drought."

[Defiant]

Apparently Trump wants to pick a Veep who will do the parts of the presidency he doesn't want to do:

“He needs an experienced person to do the part of the job he doesn’t want to do. He seems himself more as the chairman of the board, than even the CEO, let alone the COO.”

Also, women and minorities need not apply. So no Palin.

The campaign probably won’t choose a woman or a member of a minority group, he said. “In fact, that would be viewed as pandering, I think.”

[Max Peck]

Apparently Trump wants to pick a Veep who will do the parts of the presidency he doesn't want to do:

“He needs an experienced person to do the part of the job he doesn’t want to do. He seems himself more as the chairman of the board, than even the CEO, let alone the COO.”

Also, women and minorities need not apply. So no Palin.

The campaign probably won’t choose a woman or a member of a minority group, he said. “In fact, that would be viewed as pandering, I think.”

Heh, I like the editor's note at the end of the article.

Editor's note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims -- 1.6 billion members of an entire religion -- from entering the U.S.

Gosh, Howard, tell us what you really think.

[tgb]

That last is a Huffington Post thing and has appeared at the bottom of every piece about Der Fuehrer Teh Donald for months now.

[Max Peck]

That last is a Huffington Post thing and has appeared at the bottom of every piece about Der Fuehrer Teh Donald for months now.

Ah, OK, I obviously don't read that site much (OK, at all), but I see them referenced a lot so if they have an editorial bias, it's good to know about it.

[Holman]

That last is a Huffington Post thing and has appeared at the bottom of every piece about Der Fuehrer Teh Donald for months now.

Ah, OK, I obviously don't read that site much (OK, at all), but I see them referenced a lot so if they have an editorial bias, it's good to know about it.

Early on, they made a big show of announcing that they would be covering Trump's campaign in the Entertainment section rather than as Politics. When it became clear that Trump had a real shot at seizing control of the GOP, they moved his coverage back to Politics but with that note always appended.

Presumably they have a prominent place on the gilt-edged, oversized Enemies List.

[MonkeyFinger]

This really struck a nerve with me: Donald Trump's horrifying gullibility, as revealed in his energy speech. A highlight, so to speak:

Two things were evident throughout what was clearly intended by the campaign to be a Major Speech, showing Trump as a Serious Man.

The first is that Trump loves his rambling improvisations, and so does his audience, so he can scarcely be restrained from indulging in them. Time after time he would slip off script, tossing in a line about his border wall, his lead in the polls, Hillary Clinton's intention to "abolish the Second Amendment," or farmers. (He loves farmers.)

The second is that Trump was encountering his own speech, if not for the first time, then something close to it. The difference in tone and affect between the parts he read and the parts he freestyled was almost comical. He would squint at the teleprompter for a moment, read a fully formed English sentence with correct grammar and multisyllabic words ... and then grin, look out at the audience, and fire off a few hortatory exclamations.

What made this effect particularly disconcerting is that many of Trump's spontaneous interjections were reactions to his own speech.

Emphasis mine.

[tjg_marantz]

The guy is a joke. His supporters likewise. Pretty simple.

[tgb]

The guy is a joke. His supporters likewise. Pretty simple.

A joke who is doing as well as, and in some polls, beating Hillary. He's one terrorist attack away from a landslide, I fear. Then we'll see who's laughing.

I was going to make a snarky comment about Rip moving the servers to your house up there in America Lite, but Der Fuehrer Teh Donald has already offered him the post of Minister of Propaganda.

[Rip]

The guy is a joke. His supporters likewise. Pretty simple.

A joke who is doing as well as, and in some polls, beating Hillary. He's one terrorist attack away from a landslide, I fear. Then we'll see who's laughing.

I was going to make a snarky comment about Rip moving the servers to your house up there in America Lite, but Der Fuehrer Teh Donald has already offered him the post of Minister of Propaganda.

Actually I am hoping to be running The Gestapo Homeland Security.

[Max Peck]

The guy is a joke. His supporters likewise. Pretty simple.

A joke who is doing as well as, and in some polls, beating Hillary. He's one terrorist attack away from a landslide, I fear. Then we'll see who's laughing.

I was going to make a snarky comment about Rip moving the servers to your house up there in America Lite, but Der Fuehrer Teh Donald has already offered him the post of Minister of Propaganda.

Uh, where do you think OO is hosted?

And yeah, anyone that is still writing Drumpf off as a joke hasn't been paying attention lately. He's looking pretty damn viable, especially if something crazy (a terrorist attack is just one of many possibilities) happens between now and the election. The idea of him being elected president dismays me, but it has been awhile since it seemed unthinkable.

[Max Peck]

The guy is a joke. His supporters likewise. Pretty simple.

A joke who is doing as well as, and in some polls, beating Hillary. He's one terrorist attack away from a landslide, I fear. Then we'll see who's laughing.

I was going to make a snarky comment about Rip moving the servers to your house up there in America Lite, but Der Fuehrer Teh Donald has already offered him the post of Minister of Propaganda.

Actually I am hoping to be running The Gestapo Homeland Security.

Or the TSA, at the least. You could make the planes fly on time.

[hepcat]

In discussing why he thinks the Trump University investigation is still going on:

Trump added, "The judge, who happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think that's fine."

I feel like I'm watching a bad political satire being played out every day...but the blind rage that suppors this insanity really exist.

[tgb]

The guy is a joke. His supporters likewise. Pretty simple.

A joke who is doing as well as, and in some polls, beating Hillary. He's one terrorist attack away from a landslide, I fear. Then we'll see who's laughing.

I was going to make a snarky comment about Rip moving the servers to your house up there in America Lite, but Der Fuehrer Teh Donald has already offered him the post of Minister of Propaganda.

Actually I am hoping to be running The Gestapo Homeland Security.

You don't have the jackboots for it.

[msduncan]

I'm not a Trump guy, but I have to say that the hysteria here about him is both overblown and telling. Telling because you guys are beginning to think that he might be able to actually win this thing and it's fueling the hysteria.

[tjg_marantz]

The guy is a joke. His supporters likewise. Pretty simple.

A joke who is doing as well as, and in some polls, beating Hillary. He's one terrorist attack away from a landslide, I fear. Then we'll see who's laughing.

I was going to make a snarky comment about Rip moving the servers to your house up there in America Lite, but Der Fuehrer Teh Donald has already offered him the post of Minister of Propaganda.

Uh, where do you think OO is hosted?

And yeah, anyone that is still writing Drumpf off as a joke hasn't been paying attention lately. He's looking pretty damn viable, especially if something crazy (a terrorist attack is just one of many possibilities) happens between now and the election. The idea of him being elected president dismays me, but it has been awhile since it seemed unthinkable.

Maybe I should have been clearer and called him a clown or something else. I'm not saying he's not getting votes, I'm not saying he's not viable. I'm only referring to his platform, his racism and the other fun things about him. The fact that he's viable even after all that he's said is a very poor reflection on his followers. So yes, clown, buffoon, idiot, ignorant asshole, etc. None of this takes away from his results. Also doesn't exclude him from being a joke.

[tgb]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

They laughed at Reagan when he said he was running for Gov. of CA. Then they laughed when he said he was challenging the incumbent for POTUS.

Anything is possible, and a Trump victory has a real chance of happening.

[Rip]

The guy is a joke. His supporters likewise. Pretty simple.

A joke who is doing as well as, and in some polls, beating Hillary. He's one terrorist attack away from a landslide, I fear. Then we'll see who's laughing.

I was going to make a snarky comment about Rip moving the servers to your house up there in America Lite, but Der Fuehrer Teh Donald has already offered him the post of Minister of Propaganda.

Actually I am hoping to be running The Gestapo Homeland Security.

You don't have the jackboots for it.

That would be too German, we will be wearing these.

[Rip]

Bob Dole encouraged fellow Republicans Saturday to back Donald Trump and suggested the presumptive GOP nominee select Newt Gingrich as his running mate.

In an interview with CNN's Ana Cabrera, Dole -- the 1996 Republican nominee who said he spoke with Trump last week -- also suggested Trump apologize to Arizona Sen. John McCain and New Mexico Gov. Susanna Martinez for disparaging comments he's made about them in the past.

"I have been a Republican all my life," said Dole, who endorsed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at one point during the 2016 primary fight but has since backed Trump. "The party has done a lot for me. I hope I've done a lot for the party along the way. But when Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, it was an easy call for me. What's a lifelong Republican supposed to do, support the opponent? I don't think so."

Asked about notable Republicans who haven't yet supported Trump -- including Bush and House Speaker Paul Ryan -- Dole said, "Well, they still have time to get on the train. It's not moving that fast right now."

http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/28/politics/ ... index.html

[Max Peck]

That would be too German, we will be wearing these.

So, you're saying Trump is a bit of a heel?

Lately, for some reason, every time I read Make America Great Again, in my head I hear...

[tjg_marantz]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

They laughed at Reagan when he said he was running for Gov. of CA. Then they laughed when he said he was challenging the incumbent for POTUS.

Anything is possible, and a Trump victory has a real chance of happening.

Reagan never said he'd build a wall or forbid Muslims. Yuge difference.

[hepcat]

I'm not a Trump guy, but I have to say that the hysteria here about him is both overblown and telling. Telling because you guys are beginning to think that he might be able to actually win this thing and it's fueling the hysteria.

I love it when the Rippers here post this crap after spending all their time railing against Hillary.

I think the second biggest reason I'm voting for her is because I wanna see your heads explode should she win.

[Max Peck]

"I have been a Republican all my life," said Dole, who endorsed former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at one point during the 2016 primary fight but has since backed Trump. "The party has done a lot for me. I hope I've done a lot for the party along the way. But when Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, it was an easy call for me. What's a lifelong Republican supposed to do, support the opponent? I don't think so."

And people say that politicians lack principles. Loyality to The Party über alles, without worrying about whether The Party actually stands for something (or anything), is a principle held dear by political animals in every band of the spectrum. The important thing is beating the pants off The Other Party. Well, that and maybe making a few dollars along the way.

[Holman]

I'm not a Trump guy, but I have to say that the hysteria here about him is both overblown and telling. Telling because you guys are beginning to think that he might be able to actually win this thing and it's fueling the hysteria.

Hey, be fair. We were hating him and his ugly bigotry even when we thought his candidacy was a joke.

[Isgrimnur]

That would be too German, we will be wearing these.

So, you're saying Trump is a bit of a heel?

These go better with the Speedos:

[tgb]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

They laughed at Reagan when he said he was running for Gov. of CA. Then they laughed when he said he was challenging the incumbent for POTUS.

Anything is possible, and a Trump victory has a real chance of happening.

Reagan never said he'd build a wall or forbid Muslims. Yuge difference.

No, he didn't. But here are a few things he did say.

[Isgrimnur]

If everything you ever said were recorded, I'm sure you'd have some winners as well. Of course, no one makes public policy of of them.

[gbasden]

I'm not a Trump guy, but I have to say that the hysteria here about him is both overblown and telling. Telling because you guys are beginning to think that he might be able to actually win this thing and it's fueling the hysteria.

He just told California that we are not having a drought.

“We're going to solve your water problem. You have a water problem that is so insane. It is so ridiculous where they're taking the water and shoving it out to sea," Trump said at the Friday night Fresno event.

The apparent weather expert’s solution?

“If I win, believe me, we're going to start opening up the water so that you can have your farmers survive," he barked. “There is no drought. They turn the water out into the ocean.”

We are in the middle of an epic drought. The so called wasted water is to prevent the San Francisco bay from advancing into the San Joaquin delta and destroying some of the most productive farmland in the state.

This idiot talks in soundbites and couldn't care less about the reality of what he says. You really want him in charge of the country? He legit scares the shit out of me.

[GreenGoo]

I'm not a Trump guy, but I have to say that the hysteria here about him is both overblown and telling. Telling because you guys are beginning to think that he might be able to actually win this thing and it's fueling the hysteria.

Not at all. My opinion of him has been 30 years in the making. He's a complete shyster with exactly zero qualifications for the job. Why not nominate Fagin while you're at it?

[hepcat]

Could you add more hysteria to that post? You're at about 2 and we need you at around 8 or 9.

[GreenGoo]

Could you add more hysteria to that post? You're at about 2 and we need you at around 8 or 9.

It comes and goes. I'm sure I hit at least 7.5 at some point over the last few months.

[Rip]

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

They laughed at Reagan when he said he was running for Gov. of CA. Then they laughed when he said he was challenging the incumbent for POTUS.

Anything is possible, and a Trump victory has a real chance of happening.

Reagan never said he'd build a wall or forbid Muslims. Yuge difference.

No, he didn't. But here are a few things he did say.

"Facts are stupid things."

[YellowKing]

Yeah, I'm saying this as one of the biggest Hillary haters on the planet, but there is no way in hell I'm voting for Donald Trump. That guy has absolutely zero qualifications to be President.

In the past I've always chuckled at the people declaring the end of days should this person or that person be elected, but this is the first time in my lifetime that I've actually felt like a candidate would seriously fuck this country over royally should he be elected.

I'm not saying that half-jokingly, or with winking bemusement. I'm dead serious. I don't want that guy to be President of my kids. I will take a scheming ice-hearted frost queen like Hillary a thousand times over someone who is completely unqualified for the job.

For all the Republicans who complained that Obama was too inexperienced.....take a cold hard look at what you're voting for.

[GreenGoo]

My opinion is that if he's elected, he'll do pretty much nothing. He'll be a figurehead at best. He'll say stupid things and do stupid things, but those stupid things will be small and easily fixed once he's gone.

I don't think he'll do any more damage than if you left the seat empty for 4 years. Hell, he might get another term out of it if he stays out of the way.

But that's if he gets elected. I just can't be that pessimistic about the American public. I don't think he's got a shot, and I figure this will be the widest gap between candidates in a century. Even with the Hillary hate.

[gbasden]

My opinion is that if he's elected, he'll do pretty much nothing. He'll be a figurehead at best. He'll say stupid things and do stupid things, but those stupid things will be small and easily fixed once he's gone.

I don't think he'll do any more damage than if you left the seat empty for 4 years. Hell, he might get another term out of it if he stays out of the way.

But that's if he gets elected. I just can't be that pessimistic about the American public. I don't think he's got a shot, and I figure this will be the widest gap between candidates in a century. Even with the Hillary hate.

I couldn't disagree more. He can go to war on his own say so with no accountability. He can effectively shut down or neuter any number of government agencies and decide to strip mine Yellowstone if he gets the whim. He has a lot of power as head of the executive that he is manifestly unsuited for.