It’s not that Trump has never criticized Hillary Clinton before. But a speech Trump gave today focused on those criticisms. I’ve been expecting that to happen, because realistically speaking it’s his best and perhaps only chance—to ramp up the already-existent dislike and disapproval of Clinton (and the Clintons as a duo), and to make people vote for him as a reaction to her.
To me, the most powerful part of the speech—and a theme Trump should hammer home, because this is the sort of thing that could change the minds of people who are not already predisposed to vote for him, women and the LGBT community—was this:
I only want to admit people who share our values and love our people. Hillary Clinton wants to bring in people who believe women should be enslaved and gays put to death.
[NOTE: As an aside—I have never bought the “Trump is a stalking horse for Hillary and in cahoots with her” explanation of his candidacy. It seemed a possible but highly unlikely motive for a person like Trump who so very much loves to win. This speech should put that theory to rest—although it’s also a remote possibility that he initially agreed to the set-up and then changed his mind and betrayed her.]
The speech contained other elements, mainly his usual populist and nationalist appeals and promises. It was a good speech in the strategic/tactical sense, because that’s Trump’s main attraction for those attracted to him.
Anyone who’s been paying attention for the last year knows a great deal about how Trump operates and what sort of character he has. Those who already favor him will favor him even more after this speech. Those who don’t favor him but might reluctantly vote for him considering the alternatives (a group with which I can identify) will probably find it a smart speech (as I did; but I’ve always said that Trump is a smart or at least a clever man—street smart and combat-smart, that is). Those who will never vote for him (and they are legion) will probably find it further fuel for their anger or irrelevant to their opinion of him.
If Trump keeps pounding on these themes, will it change the opinion of a significant number of people, enough to help him win? My answer is that I haven’t a clue, although I don’t see why it would for most people, whose opinions on Trump are quite solidified. However, there are a significant number of “undecideds” in a lot of polls, and they’re the ones we should wonder about.
The odd thing about this election—actually, one of many many odd things about this election—is that the two opponents are people Americans know quite well. We may not know Trump in the context of political office, but we know him as a character and we certainly know Hillary both as officeholder and person. To me that indicates that opinions about these two are less likely to change than if lesser-known people were running for office. But since Trump has never held office and Hillary has, there’s more wiggle room (perhaps) in people’s opinions of what he would be like in office than there is about the possibilities with her. This could favor him or not favor him, depending on his behavior between now and November.
[Neo-neocon is a writer with degrees in law and family therapy, who blogs at neo-neocon.]
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Comments
This was Der Donald’s best speech to date…mostly because it WAS a speech and not his typical word-salad interspersed with “OK” every fifth word.
It was effective, and as to the part about Hellary, quite devastating. Look for her to adjust her position on immigration from Muslim countries.
The rest was typical T-rumpian bullshit about economics, trade, and jobs. At least all of it I could stand.
One of his handlers needs to get him to stop using those tiny hands when he’s speaking.
I love it when Trump throws out hand grenades of Truth and Common Sense! Boom!
In Obama’s remarks today about the Supreme Court’s refusal to approve his illegal amnesty scam, he said we need to welcome all immigrants, because just like our ancestors, they are coming here because they believe in the American ideals of equality. LOL.
LaRaza (everything for the race, nothing for those outside the race) and its “Make America Mexico Again!” supporters have zero interest in any American ideals, let alone in American ideals of equality.
And the millions of muslims that Obama has brought into the U.S. similarly have zero interest in American ideals of equality. Islam is a misogynistic, homophobic, supremacist ideology. Islam (and this is mainstream Islam, not so-called “radical” Islam) views women as inferior, homosexuals as inferior, and non-muslims as inferior, and teaches that all those groups deserve fewer civil rights than muslim men.
But Obama and the left have to keep denying reality, because that’s the only way their policies make sense.
The speech was fantastic.
He should read from the prompter from now on. Jimmy Fallon mocked his breathing between pauses, do he can get better, but the content was fantastic.
I’ve never understood the never trump ideology.
As a practical matter, it seems like something President stompy-foot would do, rather than someone who professes to love their country.
Is Trump the ideal candidate? Far from it, but given the dregs of the barrel candidates who were foisted upon us this time around (Yes, including a self-destructing Ted Cruz), Trump’s POSITIONS were the most conservative comprehensive platform of any of the candidate.
#1) Repeal and replace Obamacare
#2) Appoint judges to uphold the original intent of the constitution, to protect the liberties of citizens.
#3) Return control of education to local school boards
#4) Rescind unconstitutional executive orders.
#5) CONTROL the border.
#6) Reduce excessive taxation and regulation on business and the taxpayer.
#7) Re-negotiate trade deals to ensure America-first priorities.
#8) DESTROY ISIS.
#9) Reduce corruption and waste in government.
#10) Put America and it’s citizens as a priority in the decision making process at the highest levels of government.
Seriously, What is wrong with those 10 points outlined above?
To not vote for Trump is to vote for the slow decay of this once great nation, in my opinion.
Whether or not you feel he is a blow-hard, or a narcissist, he is promising point blank to work for Americans to restore prosperity for ALL citizens.
Ok, let me explain. It’s not about what he says because he’s not trustworthy.
Trump will never build his shiny beautiful wall. He will make the wall impossible to build in the future because the idea will be forever associated with his rhetoric.
He will not appoint conservative judges to SCOTUS.
He will destroy the conservative movement because he’s neither social or fiscal conservative or a foreign policy hawk. He already said that he wants to change the GOP platform on abortion.
He wants to hang out with the likes of Putin, but he’s out of his league there. Putin will have him for breakfast.
His economic policy will send the US economy in the tailspin.
He is for single payer “I will take care of you” healthcare.
His instinct is dictatorial.
He displayed no capacity for leadership (refused to repudiate his AltRight followers, for instance).
I can go on. Hillary in horrible, no argument there. However, if you got yourself familiar with NeverTrump, you know about the Hamilton rule. She is the enemy we can oppose:
http://thefederalist.com/2016/02/24/ill-take-hillary-clinton-over-donald-trump/
Try fighting for the unborn when your president supports partial birth abortion. Or try opposing his pro-kelo judges.
The explanation?
A Hillary supporter, spreading disinformation.
A liar, probably being paid by shrillary.
The vote for Hillary Clinton and enjoy yourself.
Paul,
Respectfully, it has not been about what Trump has said, but the credibility of the words. He has been all over the boards in his history (mainly supporting Trump, himself). In the present world – I am voting for him. The thoughts of ANY democrat winning is a disaster. Maintaining the Senate and the House is more important. Driving the Supreme Court selection will define the USA for decades.
Until something VERY significant occurs, I am voting Trump. I prefer the likes in no order: Perry, Cruz, Walker, etc.
Best,
Rabid
Thumbs up for general agreement, especially the SC point. At least with Trump we’ve got a chance at maintaining a conservative majority on the court because we know Hillary won’t appoint one.
I understand people begrudgingly voting for Trump because they hate Hillary or out of party loyalty. But please respect our choice not to. We told you we will not, but his fans went ahead and nominated him anyway.
A Hillary supporter, spreading disinformation.
A liar, probably being paid by shrillary.
Maybe not.
IMHO:
To be truly effective, a smart shill for Hillary would not attack Trump. Instead, they’d ‘defend’ Trump – but in the the most obnoxious and off-putting way they could.
In other words, a smart shill-for-Hill would want to come off as combining all the perceived negatives of Trump and the very worst of his supporters.
A really clever shill-for-Hill, would try to be indistinguishable from a profoundly not-too-bright – to put it charitably – Trump supporter.
“…but in the the most obnoxious and off-putting way they could.”
Sorry, but that is just your caricature. The average Trump supporter is smarter than the average shrillary supporter and just as smart as the kooky nevertrump crowd.
“In other words, a smart shill-for-Hill…”
There’s your problem, rite thar, no such thing exists even when paid.
“A really clever shill-for-Hill, would try to be indistinguishable from a profoundly not-too-bright – to put it charitably – Trump supporter”
You nevertrumpers are just brilliant, brilliant.
Dumber than a box of hammers, the natural state of nevertrump. You don’t even know when you’re being had.
Sorry Barry, I’m not really NeverTrump.
But don’t feel bad, I wouldn’t be surprised if your posts have pushed a few in that direction.
Barry said, “Sorry, but that is just your caricature. The average Trump supporter is smarter than the average shrillary supporter and just as smart as the kooky nevertrump crowd.”
Possibly, but irrelevant. I was only referring to the worst fringe group of Trump supporters – not the average Trump supporter.
“You don’t even know when you’re being had.” There seems to be a lot of that going around…
“Sorry Barry, I’m not really NeverTrump.”
What are you then? In all three paragraphs you disparage trump supporters. Maybe you should re-read your own writing, or be a bit clearer as to your intent.
“But don’t feel bad, I wouldn’t be surprised if your posts have pushed a few in that direction.”
That’s fine. Idiots generally need little pushing. Most are being led by the nose.
PaulM, you’ll find that Butt-hurt Barri is a TWOT (total waste of time).
The essential T-rump sucking troll. Not a “Trump supporter”, but a true cultist.
“What are you then?” I do not like or trust Trump. I’ve seen no evidence that he’d do a good job, or that he actually believes any of his current rhetoric. I’ll likely vote for him, but only because of how terrible a Hillary regime would be – and there’s at at least a chance Trump would be better.
As I wrote, I was referring to, “…the very worst of his supporters,” not all of them. There is a wide spectrum of Trump supporters, just as there are Hillary supporters, and even NeverTrump. No group is without their dregs.
However, let me attempt to clarify it a bit.
I think a smart Shill-for-Hill, would attempt to portray themselves as the personification of all the perceived negative traits of Trump and his ‘worst’ supporters. Not to influence the views of Trump supporters, or even the die hard NeverTrump – but to help create or reinforce a negative image of Trump in the minds of those on the fence.
A few Trump supporters – not all, or even most, but a few – say and do things that IMHO aid Hillary, by reinforcing negative impressions and/or breeding resentment.
Are they merely angry, overzealous, or a bit tone deaf? Or are they shills for Hillary seeking to sew dissension? How could anyone know?
“I do not like or trust Trump.”
Fair enough. I am misreading you then.
As for Rags, just a sore loser that can’t win an argument for his blinding TDS.
Barry, let me try.
I posted a link to Trump’s own words about women under Islam. Your reaction? You accuse me of being a stealth supporter of Hillary.
You can go to my blog and read what I said about the libs, including Hillary, probably, over nearly a decade. It’s not positive. I must be a sleeper cell, then.
I was also accused of being a Putin’s troll in the past. Again, if you go to my blog and read what I think of him. I’m sorry, but I know a little too much about Ukraine to buy into the romantic narrative. And besides, how is it possible to be at once a Putin and a Hillary troll?
You can argus that the link above is merely a joke to which I will retort that the leader of the free world does not make light of the oppression of women in the Muslim world. Still, it’s some sort of an argument. You didn’t make this argument. You made a paranoid accusation.
“You can go to my blog ”
Thanks, but no, judging by the quality of what you write here along with the complete stupidity of it, I have no need to read anything else.
You declared yourself for Hillary. You think she would be better than Trump.
To name but a few, Jeff Sessions, Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, Rudy Giuliani, Sarah Palin, and Ben Carson all think you are nuts.
I think you’re a kook, simple as that.
The Left has been and will always be anti-American because America was built on Christian principles and other ideas that makes America stand out from the rest of the world. They don’t like that because it hurts the feelings of our enemies and so-called Allies. No! America First is the way to go, always.
It’s worse than that.
The Left will always be anti-American because America was built on Freedom. And the price of Freedom is always and everywhere that everyone else gets to be free too. And that’s the one thing the Left can’t stand — having to let you make your own decisions about your own life.
“…although it’s also a remote possibility that he initially agreed to the set-up and then changed his mind and betrayed her.”
I prefer the theory that he initially jumped into the race for publicity — with the idea of creating a new conservative media empire. All the anti-PC stuff, and even the attacks on Megyn Kelly in the first debate, could be positioning himself for that.
I think his success surprised him, but now he’s trying to win.
But then I thought the same about Obama. I thought he put together a campaign in 2008 with the idea that he’d come in a strong second and be in a strong position either for VP or to be the candidate down the road when he had more experience and more of a record.
Isn’t it interesting though, that immediately after the 2012 election he trademarked his slogan “Make America Great Again”?
Sounds to me like he planned this.
And here is Trump on the enslavement of women on another occasion:
http://americablog.com/2015/10/donald-trump-says-women-in-muslim-countries-wear-the-burka-to-avoid-having-to-wear-makeup.html
A Hillary supporter, spreading disinformation.
A liar, probably being paid by shrillary.
Trumpaloos sound a lot like Obamabots. When confronted with your flaxen idol’s own words you stick your head in the sand or sling ad hominem.
And in case anyone has noticed, there are (at least) two of us named ‘Paul’ here and our viewpoints on Trump are decidedly different.
“Trumpaloos sound a lot like Obamabots.”
Nevertrumpers sound a lot like the GOPe, that supports Obama almost 100%, which by inference makes you obamabots.
There are more than a few things I don’t like about the guy, but I have to give Trump points for taking a sledgehammer to Hillary’s forehead. She deserves every bit of it and then some.
The same recycled crap from the usual never “T-rump” suspects.
Gawd, do you people have any other interests in life outside your hatred for “T-rump”? Every thread on this site ultimately comes down to a pissing contest from all of you over who can express their hatred of “T-rump” in how many ways.
Your preferred candidate went down in flames, what, 2 months ago? And still, every damned one of you continue to soil yourselves with unadorned abandon.
Yes, you are right. Our argument is still the same.
And it still sucks.
And your lame arguments still fall flat with actual, thinking Americans
“[NOTE: As an aside—I have never bought the “Trump is a stalking horse for Hillary and in cahoots with her” explanation of his candidacy. It seemed a possible but highly unlikely motive for a person like Trump who so very much loves to win. This speech should put that theory to rest—although it’s also a remote possibility that he initially agreed to the set-up and then changed his mind and betrayed her.]”
Wow. Wheels within wheels.
Did you actually read that before publishing it?
… realistically speaking it’s his best and perhaps only chance … change the minds of people who are not already predisposed to vote for him, women and the LGBT community … his usual populist and nationalist appeals and promises … that’s Trump’s main attraction for those attracted to him … knows a great deal about how Trump operates and what sort of character he has … at least a clever man—street smart and combat-smart, that is … most people, whose opinions on Trump are quite solidified … we know him as a character … there’s more wiggle room (perhaps) in people’s opinions of what he would be like in office …
It’s clear to me that you haven’t any idea what Trump’s appeal actually is. And from there you make the usual mistake of assuming that what you’ve missed doesn’t exist, and therefore anyone who sees something you don’t is cognitively impaired.
I don’t know what Trump’s appeal is; I don’t know what the American voter in the aggregate wants, any more than you do. I have no mind-reading powers which tell me what Trump’s master plan is; nor have I mystical powers of prognostication which reveal just what he’ll do when he occupies an office he’s never occupied before. But I can see clearly that he brings to the election some things which have been missing for a long time from American politics, and I suspect that they’re things some people think are valuable.
One obvious thing is that Trump’s most fundamental appeal is not the relatively trivial fact that he’s running against the wretched Hillary. He seems to have a vision of the relationship of country, citizenry, law, government, and the rest of the world which has nothing at all to do with the Democrats, aside from the fact that they don’t themselves have that vision. Trump is not running as Hillary’s nightmare; he’s running for President. There’s a world of difference between the ephemeral tactical goal and the strategic vision.
Trump’s eternally stubborn and unperceptive critics insist that a decent candidate must have some canned formulas to cover future American business, and that those formulas must fit in a box labeled “conservative”. And so they inevitably find Trump wanting. But apparently not all Americans suffer from such a blinkered perspective. They maybe see something that hasn’t been visible for so long that many others simply don’t recognize it when it’s right in front of them. That, I believe, is the secret of his appeal. But it should’t be a secret; he’s wearing it out in the open, apparent to anyone who hasn’t already decided that it isn’t there.
Trump’s appeal to most voters is that he’s not Hillary.
No, not most voters. Most of us see hope in him rather than ‘he’s not Clinton.’
Dog feces would make a better president than Hillary Clinton.
Dog feces would make a better president than Hillary Clinton, OR Donald Trump.
But,it would seem that either way, we are stuck with a steaming pile of dog feces.
And yet Trump is Hillary in Cheeto form.
16 other people were also “not Hillary”.
And he shellacked them all.
A record number of voters in a Republican Primary think your litterbox is FOS
16 other people knocked out each other. The record number of people voting for Trump is a function of the fact that he was simply unable to close the deal in any reasonable time. We had some thing like 25 supertuesdays. And that’s despite him being selected by the media to run against Hillary.
You do realize that you’re being laughed at, even by the other nevertrumpers?
Your the single dumbest commenter at LI.
Your first sentence is so laughable that it makes the rest of your comment go into ludicrous speed.
Tom ;
Thank you. It’s nonrepetitive comments like yours that makes sifting through all the repetitive crap that passes for thought worthwhile.
It’s always been laughable to me that Hilary is seen as “qualified” for the Presidency when she wasn’t even qualified to be Secretary of State. Since its so rare to highlight the fact that she isn’t qualified, I guess out of fear of being sexist, I really have to give credit to Trump here for making the case and making it stick. In all honesty I didn’t expect the speech to be anywhere near this good.
Before Hilary, Secretary of State used to be an office reserved for exceptionally smart people. The first woman to be Secretary of State was Madeline Albright, who held a PhD, taught at Georgetown, spoke four languages, was a subject matter expert in Post-Cold War Europe, and had already been a UN representative.
The next woman to hold the office, and first African American, was Condoleeza Rice, of course – another PhD, Phi Beta Kappa, taught at Stanford, spoke French and Russian, and was an expert on Soviet Studies and International Security, had helped James Baker develop policy on how to reunify Germany, and was a provost at Stanford. Before become Sec of State she had already been the first female NSA advisor.
You might disagree with either woman’s politics but there’s no way that you could say either of them weren’t qualified. And then who’s next? Hillary Clinton.
Hillary’s term was a disaster not because of her politics, or at least not just because of it. It’s because she wasn’t remotely qualified for the job. She had zero academic qualifications and zero international, diplomatic, or military experience. She had never lived overseas and didn’t speak any additional languages.
Her appointment was shamelessly political – she had stood by her progressive horndog husband for a decade expecting to be the first female President, so when that opportunity was taken away, she was given the nation’s top diplomatic job as a consolation prize. And the string of disasters that followed was entirely predictable, and would even be somewhat comical if it wasn’t getting good people killed and squandering decades of hard-won progress by Reagan and Bush 41 and 43.
And thanks to you also.
Perceptive comments need to be encouraged.
Well said.
Still, it doesn’t account for how lame in practice Albright turned out to be in her role as secretary. As lame as John Kerry.
Tyates, I would really love to copy and re-post this. Honestly this is the type of information about Hillary that needs to get out there. It explains her steaming piles of failure to a T.
Martin Luther King likely penned “I have a dream” before he hit the stump.
Trump also has a dream. More power to him. Literally.
The 2016 Hydra: it has two heads – Trump and Hillary.
Each time one of 2016 Hydra’s lies is exposed, two new lies regenerate in its place immediately. This giant serpent’s heads possess poisonous breath in addition to poisonous and acidic blood. Its lair is in the lake of Lerna in the Argolid. Beneath the lake was an entrance to the Underworld, which the 2016 Hydra guards, but has recently released the Underworld rabble into Twitter and blogs to fight for its life.
Cheetos anyone?
J. J.
Your buddy Mittens Sports Authority stores & their merchandize are in bankruptcy & in the process of liquidation by August.
You sure know how to pick the winners!
Who have you voted for in the past? And tell us about your special insight?
BTW: Those who have listened to Trump and were taken in by his hand waving have gone bankrupt. But go ahead, vote for Trump because…
Trump: “I have such good bankruptcies!”
You have descended into utter nonsense now.
The same recycled crap from the usual never “T-rump” suspects.
Gawd, do you people have any other interests in life outside your hatred for “T-rump”? Every thread on this site ultimately comes down to a pissing contest from all of you over who can express their hatred of “T-rump” in how many ways.
==============================================
See how insane you are? Just completely gonzo.
Insane can be entertaining. I love being challenged to be a better Tokyo Rose.
“See how insane you are? Just completely gonzo.”
Pot, kettle.
You and headinthesand-box are intellectually indistinguishable.
As noted earlier, this was probably Trump’s best speech since he hopped on the trail…it’s almost as if the GOP found a brawler instead of a partier to lead the charge. If he can give me a couple dozen more policy statements along this line, he might change my mind and actually consider voting for him–if he gets the nomination. But 70 year old people don’t change their character.
The reflexive responses to those who fail to see the appeal in a RINO crony capitalist as the GOP candidate is very much in line with other populist candidates: Ron Paul, Pat Buchanan, Bernie Sanders come to mind…in that, the supporters act like the progressive/liberal and hurl insults at the ‘lack of insight’ to their candidates skills and ideas. That response doesn’t convince anyone to change their mind; never has, never will. Political choices are often emotional in nature, not intellectual.
This time around, and I only say this from my perspective as I have no mind-reading skills or insight into the national character of these Disjointed States of America, as a conservative I’ve once again been tossed outside the mainstream GOP. Since 1988, there has been no nominee or President that has represented my conservative values and principles: the deficit is still growing uncontrolled and Congress has allowed it to happen; our military and space programs have become social experiments into behavior control–not efforts to project force or scientific insight; the bureaucracy is now in control of 90% of our allowed options in life, from food to business to electrical generation; and this Administration has placed even my citizenship into question.
And along comes another RINO–Trump. With no discernible interest in the Republican party other than as a vessel for his ambitions (or perhaps a Clinton stalking horse), and no clear principles or foundational insight into governing goals, Trump’s supporters demand that the intellectual principles that guided the GOP up until 1992 be tossed aside. I cannot do so; nor can many other conservatives.
Yes, the leadership of the GOPe is weak…weak in mind, weak in spirit, weak in leadership skills. They’d rather be loved by the MSM than do the hard work of restoring liberty to the land. And Trumpkins are demanding that the principles that guide conservative be tossed overboard in an effort to keep Satan from continuing the Obama destruction of the country. You might as well ask me to sacrifice my wife and kids to appease your values…not going to happen. Principles are not negotiable.
If the Devil continues his reign over the land in the guise of Hillary, so be it. It will not be because conservatives didn’t support Trump, it’ll be because Trump didn’t support conservatives.
Corroboration by Guccifer pending. Swing for the fences Donald.
There are several reasons why Hillary & Bill are not eligible to run for Federal office. Apparently, the Political Leaders think that it is OK for Hillary not to have to obey ” The Rule Of Law,” because she makes her own rules. Every office that she has held, She accomplished NothING. She should be too embarrassed to run for any office, but people with no moral compass, just charge ahead.