is Trump for real?

[ik9000]

Ok so at first I found him a bit of a joke, but this has got my ire. Look what baseless cack he's saying now:

http://www.itv.com/news/london/2015-...eir-own-lives/

chump more likely. Or perhaps trump is apt if it's describing what comes out of him, a load of heated fetid air that leaves a rather unpleasant after-effect to all unfortunate enough to encounter it.

[peterb]

I can't really reply to this in depth as I'd then have to suspend myself for bad language.

What is really frightening is that some of his comments have gained him some support in the US.

The only redeeming thought is that in the unlikely event he is elected President, he is unlikely to want to visit 'radicalised' London. After all US cities are so much safer with gun toting psychopaths roaming the streets. </sarcasm>

[ik9000]

I can't really reply to this in depth as I'd then have to suspend myself for bad language.

What is really frightening is that some of his comments have gained him some support in the US.

The only redeeming thought is that in the unlikely event he is elected President, he is unlikely to want to visit 'radicalised' London. After all US cities are so much safer with gun toting psychopaths roaming the streets. </sarcasm>

but don't you see, if we'd had guns that wacko at the tube station in Leytonstone would have been shot so we'd all have been fine. They don't seem to get that the only reason no-one was killed was that the wacko himself couldn't buy a gun...

[The Hand]

Is Trump for real?

I would say no personally. He's dictating events by being controversial and his Republican rivals can't wrestle back the initiative it seems.

[Saracen]

One political analysis is as follows :-

- a trait of US politics is that disenchanted Republican voters tend to turn out and vote, while disenchanted Democrats tend to stay at home, therefore ....

- Republicans often have a fire-up-the-troops candidate whose job, in the primaries, is to rabble-rouse and get that segment of the right wound up.

- the expectation is he might last the first few states, but no way will he outlast Super Tuesday

- he's not a credible candidate because he doesn't have the grass roots organisation to conduct a 50-state extensive campaign. Money isn't enough, though his 'out there' antics are good PR.

There's also the notion that a candidate that's otherwise of dubious appeal (say, oh, Jeb Bush) might look quite good if the alternative is a complete nutter.

The trouble is, these sorts of political calculations can come unstuck. After all, Labour MPs put a no-hope left wing nut on the ballot "to broaden the debate" and members had the temerity to actually elect him. Ooops!!!

Be careful what you wish for .... in case you get it.

[peterb]

I find the US election process quite complicated, but at this stage, even if he has popular support, he still has to be selected by the electoral college as a candidate for the popular vote...

Or I could just be clutching at straws...

[scaryjim]

I don't think Trump is any less "for real" than the rest of America, but that depends on your definition of what "for real" means.

For instance, to what extent does he believe the "controversial" statements he makes? I suspect he knows that most of them aren't entirely accurate, so you could say that he's not "for real", but I suspect he also considers them credible to the majority of Americans, even if they're not strictly factually accurate, so in that sense he probably believes in the ideas behind them, which is scary enough in and of itself. And let's not forget that it was only a few months ago that Fox News was describing Birmingham as a Muslim city that white people don't go into, so it's not like his recent comments on London are without precedent in American culture.

But if you mean is he a genuine presidential candidate? I suspect he is; at least in his own mind. And there's definitely a strong contingent in America who'll go out and vote for him. Whether it's enough to get him into the Whitehouse, or even to the pointy end of the campaign, only time will tell...

[TeePee]

He is selected by a series of primary elections by party followers in each state, and then formally elected as the Republican candidate at the Republican party convention. US citizens then get to vote for their candidate of choice from all candidates from each party. The Electoral college votes are apportioned for each candidate in accordance with each State's method. The Electoral College controls the actual outcome.

I might well vote for Trump. No, Really. Things may well change, but the current match up could well be Trump or Hilary. It's kind of like a choice between being kicked in the nuts or being tasered. You keep telling yourself it might just glance off your thigh, and you'll be OK, but then Trump opens his mouth and mentions he was the Punter for his college American football team.

[nichomach]

Is he for real? Probably, but not in a literal sense - what he's doing is moving THIS ; all of a sudden people like Ted Cruz look moderate by comparison.

[MrComputerSaint]

He really is an idiot in my eyes.
I can't believe that he said the Paris attacks would have been different if people in Paris we're armed.

He said the other day he wants to speak to Bill gates to get the Internet shut down
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/12..._the_internet/

[Macman]

Looks like petition passing 100,000 signatures to be debated at Parliament.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-35049955

[GreenPiggy]

He's not stupid, but he quite correctly calculates that in order to win the nomination, all he needs to do is hoover up the stupidest third of the stupidest party, so he's telling them precisely what they want to hear.
Trump doesn't believe any of this nonsense any more than anyone else - in fact for most of his life he's been bankrolling democrats - see here:
http://thefederalist.com/2015/06/17/...-trumps-dough/
One things for sure is that if he does secure the nomination, it's likely that he'll be obliterated by Hilary Clinton, and will likely lose the Republicans congress into the bargain(which would otherwise be almost impossible due to gerrymandered districts), so for that reason alone we should really be cheering him on.

[Jowsey]

At least the response to him has been a fantastic one.

The Met have slammed him, he's been offered a one way rocket trip and he could be banned from the country.

Next he'll think we're all crazy and terrorist sympathisers.

My only really worry is if he does become President and decides we need to be freed from our oppressive Muslim rulers and tries to give us a hot metal injection of FREEDOM!

[jimborae]

Is Trump For Real??? His hair certainly ain't!!!

[Macman]

Is it just me or in some of his interviews, he reminds me of Owen Wilson abit.

[peterb]

Looks like petition passing 100,000 signatures to be debated at Parliament.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-35049955

Some of those #trumpfacts are very funny - trouble is, he probably believes it.