donald trump

Donald Trump

Donald Trump - the billionaire casino magnate, reality TV show star, and member of the World Wide Entertainment Wrestling Hall of Fame - is running for president of the U.S. in 2016.

There are reasons to celebrate Trump's candidacy, but more serious reasons to oppose it. Those are discussed in more detail below, followed by posts detailing the huge problems with a "President Trump".

Trump's Completely Unrealistic Policies

Trump's signature policies are completely unrealistic. They might sound tough to Trump supporters, but they're actually very weak because they will never happen.

Those signature policies include temporarily banning all Muslims from entering the U.S. and forcibly deporting all illegal aliens. Neither of those will ever happen, as discussed at the links. Both of those policies are like Don Knotts in a muscle suit: they seem tough from a distance, but once you see them up close and in detail you realize how weak they really are.

"Seriously, have you ever heard me say something like that? I defend all the French people in France, regardless of their origin, regardless of their religion." - Marine Le Pen on Trump's Muslims plan

At the same time as promoting unrealistic plans, Trump refuses to promote realistic policies that are actually very strong, like attrition and much more stringent background checks for refugees. There will be more potential terrorists in the U.S. than there would be if Trump had proposed stringent background checks.

Some say Trump's unrealistic policies are just an opening gambit and that he intends to negotiate them down. Negotiating Trump's unrealistic policies down will make them more realistic, but will just make the problems the U.S. faces even worse.

A lesser version of banning Muslims would be allowing some in, which would involve much more stringent background checks. Why not simply promote much more stringent background checks from the start, and refuse to negotiate down such a commonsense proposal?

A lesser version of mass deportations would be letting some illegal aliens remain in the U.S. Amnesty supporters are very skilled and resourceful. They'd make sure that as many illegal aliens as possible get to remain. As with Trump's Muslims ban, why not simply support attrition from the start, and avoid negotiating it down by aggressively defending the plan?

To make all of that worse, Trump would follow his mass deportations plan with a mass legalization plan. Amnesty supporters have a tremendous deal of power and would work to make sure Trump legalizes as many former illegal aliens as possible.

Trump's Positives

Trump does have some positives in his favor:

  • Trump has caused Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina, and others to drop out of the race.
  • Trump has shown that conservatism isn't working for millions of Americans.
  • Trump is the closest the U.S. has had to a nationalist in recent memory. From a distance and despite his many issues, he presents a patriotic agenda. That presents a strong contrast to both the bogus patriotism of the GOP and the Tea Parties movement and to borderless globalism. However, Trump is to nationalism what Dr. Nick is to surgery.
  • Trump has shown how incompetent many intermediaries are. Despite Trump's huge vulnerabilities, most of the anti-Trump efforts have just helped him.

Trump's Negatives

At least at this point in time, Trump's negatives far outweigh his positives:

  • Some of Trump's supporters aren't pathological liars and aren't as vile as most in the Tea Parties movement. However, his supporters have been on the losing end of battles with the elites for decades and in some cases they don't even realize that. They aren't exactly the best judges of character. They hurt Trump by being uncritical fans of his rather than demanding better from him. Trump supporters aren't capable of showing intermediaries wrong and can't even conceive of the value in that. Trump supporters and those like them are a major part of the reason why the elites are able to get away with massive/illegal immigration and questionable trade deals: those in the Trump sphere either don't do anything about those issues or do dumb things that in effect help the elites. They're loud and they say and do dumb things that the elites use to get their way. Trump channels those people, saying on the national stage what they normally only get to say at bars in small Tennessee towns. Trump isn't representing their interests in smart ways that will achieve laudable goals of reducing immigration and preventing terrorism. He's simply playing to those who have repeatedly shown that they're no match for the elites. Trump isn't helping his supporters because doing things the way his supporters do things clearly doesn't work.
  • Trump has links to organized crime figures. If he becomes president, who knows what sway they'd have over him. Trump occasionally acts like a member of organized crime himself such as by encouraging his supporters to rough up protesters at his rallies.
  • Trump's campaign has been almost completely anti-intellectual. Trump has rarely made a valid argument for or against something. He also tends to lie and exaggerate. He tends to just make pronouncements without backing them up. Many of the things he says are simply personal smears. That certainly resonates with many people, but it's not going to keep the cultural far-left and amnesty supporters in check. Calling far-left leaders names isn't going to undercut them. Showing them wrong would undercut them, but almost nothing Trump has said and nothing his followers have said indicates that they're capable of showing even the least competent far-left leaders wrong. It would help Trump to show someone like John Oliver wrong, but he and his followers aren't capable of that and his followers aren't capable of helping those who can. Trump isn't encouraging his followers to do a better job and to improve their lot: he just wants them to wave his signs and vote for him.
  • Trump's response to protests illustrates various highly negative aspects of his candidacy, including that he can't figure out how to do things the correct way. His calls for violence against protesters have been used against him and obviously Trump realized calling for violence wasn't a point in his favor because he's backed away from it. If Trump could figure out the best way to do things, he wouldn't have called for violence in the first place and then had to back away from it: he would have realized that calling for violence would be used against him. Trump's response to the melee at his Chicago rally could have resulted in reducing the power Black Lives Matter and MoveOn have if he'd done things the right way. He instead did things his normal lunkhead way that plays with his followers but that doesn't have an impact outside that group. The Chicago melee might help Trump get more supporters, but Trump didn't use it to help the U.S. as he should have. Trump could help the U.S. by engaging a few of the protesters at his rallies. Trump's lunkhead supporters - including those like John Kobylt - will think that means kowtowing to protesters as Bernie Sanders did with Black Lives Matter activists. They and Trump can't conceive of a third option: intellectually engaging protesters and showing them wrong. If Trump got into an impromptu debate with a protester about policy, that would show that he's capable of defending his policies and it would help show that those who protest him over the same issues are wrong. That would also reduce outbursts at his future events. Almost all of those protesting Trump aren't the brightest people around: if they were they'd protest Trump in smarter ways. Yet, Trump isn't willing or able to engage them and show them wrong. If he can't do that, how is he going to deal with China, Russia, and the Middle East?
  • Trump's plans are completely unrealistic; see the links below for the details. Proposing unrealistic plans has kept Trump from proposing realistic plans that would help the U.S.
  • Trump is the ultimate loose cannon. Who knows what Trump would unleash as president.
Last modified Mar 22, 2016
Discussed in (click each link for the full post):

Why I voted for Trump - 11/01/20

I was forced into voting for Trump because his leading opponents haven't shown they'd be better on many issues and would be dramatically worse on many other issues. Since I'm in California my vote is completely symbolic, but this post is for those in states that matter in the national election.

Trump, Breitbart, GOP, Arthur Schwartz to target opponents exactly like Media Matters does - 08/25/19

Trump and his allies are - no big surprise - trying to engage in sleazy tactics just like the far-left Media Matters. From this:

After shootings, Trump helps the far-left by opposing "hate" - 08/05/19

Donald Trump has yet again enabled the cultural far-left by - after mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton - coming out against "hate". Here's what he said [1]:

Trump's 2019 immigration plan would harm the U.S. and everyone else - 05/16/19

Donald Trump has released the outlines of a new immigration plan [1]. He pushes skilled immigration despite the huge downsides to the U.S. and other countries.

Trump laughs after a fan suggests Border Patrol shoot illegal aliens. What he should have done instead. - 05/09/19

At a rally in Florida, Donald Trump yucked it up about how dim and deranged his base is, and showed yet again he isn't fit to lead. From [1]: [Trump said:] "When you have 15,000 people marching up and you have hundreds and hundreds of people and you have two or three border security people that are brave and great... And don't forget, we don't let them - and we can't let them - use weapons. We can’t. Other countries do. We can't. I would never do that. But how do you stop these people?"

Will Linda Qiu of the NY Times try real journalism on the "Migrant Caravan"? - 10/31/18

At the New York Times, Linda Qiu blogs the deceptive "Did Democrats, or George Soros, Fund Migrant Caravan? Despite Republican Claims, No / President Trump, echoing the assertions of a Republican lawmaker, said that 'a lot of money' was given to migrants traveling toward the United States. There is no evidence of that" [1]:

Trump has no intention of stopping birthright citizenship - 10/30/18

If Donald Trump tries to stop birthright citizenship using an executive order, it will be blocked by the courts for years and then, probably after he's out of office, quietly dismissed. Congress would probably get involved somewhere along the line ([1]). As in other cases, the establishment media would endlessly demagogue the issue, turning many against Trump's plan. What Trump is doing is all just a scam to increase turnout in the upcoming elections.

David Gelernter of Yale is very wrong about Trump - 10/22/18

David Gelernter - a computer science professor at Yale University - blogs "The Real Reason They Hate Trump" at the Wall Street Journal [1]. He decries Trump's vulgarity and so on, but says leftists hate Trump because he's a caricature of the average American. Leaving that angle aside, parts of this are patently absurd:

GOP wants to know what I think of Trump. I told them. - 10/21/18

The GOP has sent me (and a few million others) a questionnaire [1] asking my opinion of Donald Trump so far. Here are my responses: Q. Do you approve of the job being done by President Donald J. Trump?

"Pocahontas" alone should be disqualifying for both Trump and Warren - 10/15/18

Elizabeth Warren says a DNA test show she's part Indian. Now her supposed opponents are moving the strike zone and Donald Trump is claiming he never offered to donate to charity if she took a DNA test [1].

Notes on the NY Times Trump Resistance OpEd - 09/06/18

The New York Times recently posted an OpEd called "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration" [1], an anti-Donald Trump editorial supposedly written by a top administration official. This site normally doesn't do palace intrigue, but here are some notes:

Trump opposes family separation, unwittingly supporting open borders - 05/26/18

In a tweet today, Donald Trump said [1]: "Put pressure on the Democrats to end the horrible law that separates children from there parents once they cross the Border into the U.S. Catch and Release, Lottery and Chain must also go with it and we MUST continue building the WALL!..." 1. The misspelling might be intentional to appear folksy or to entrap his opponents into retweeting him. Or, it might just be because he's dim.

Jackie Speier unwittingly exposes how Trump Wall would completely fail - 05/20/18

For years, I've been accurately predicting how Donald Trump's grand plans would fail miserably. I've been pointing out that "Trump Wall" is a bogus plan because Congress would simply move to neglect it, defund it, or tear it down after Trump leaves office.

Is Mitt Romney really more conservative than Trump on immigration? - 03/27/18

Mitt Romney claims [1] he's more conservative than Donald Trump on immigration. In fact, both support a massive amnesty. Not only that, both make opposing amnesty more difficult by presenting the opposition to it as just something for conservatives.

Steve Bannon gives France's Front National incredibly bad advice - 03/10/18

Ex-Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon spoke at a conference for France's Front National and gave them incredibly bad advice. He told them [1]: Let them call you racist. Let them call you xenophobes... wear it as a badge of honor.

Trump can't figure out a key way Congress would undermine his "wall" - 01/26/18

One key way "Trump Wall" would fail is if Congress neglects upkeep. Trump, as always, can't think ahead and plan for what Congress - almost all of which supports loose borders - would do. Speaking to Joe Kernen of CNBC on his trip to Davos, Switzerland, Trump said among other things this (link):

John Kelly admits his role on weakening Trump on immigration; Kelly supports amnesty and opposes a full border wall - 01/17/18

From [1]: White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly told Democratic lawmakers Wednesday that the United States will never construct a physical wall along the entire stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border and that some of President Trump’s campaign promises on immigration were “uninformed.”

Trump promotes merit-based immigration, despite the downsides - 01/14/18

Trump tweets [1]: I, as President, want people coming into our Country who are going to help us become strong and great again, people coming in through a system based on MERIT. No more Lotteries! #AMERICA FIRST

August 2015: Trump supports mass deportations but also a revolving door amnesty (& inadvertently hints at repatriations) - 01/11/18

As can be seen from the Donald Trump page I've never once taken him seriously on immigration and I've always realized he's fake, his plans are bad jokes, and his arguments are unhelpful at best.

Can't Robert Samuelson figure out downsides of Trump's DACA for Wall deal? - 01/09/18

At the Washington Post, Robert Samuelson blogs "Building the wall would be so worth it" [1]: For years, I have advocated a wall along our southern border, which would (I believe) discourage illegal immigration without stopping it altogether...

Trump admits he'd sign DACA amnesty, says "comprehensive immigration reform" (a bigger amnesty) would follow - 01/09/18

From this: President Trump promised Tuesday to sign what he called a "bill of love" to extend protections to 800,000 immigrants who entered the United States illegally as children — if Congress can work out the details.

Joel Pollak supports amnesty, he just wants Trump to get a good deal - 01/08/18

Joel Pollak of Breitbart News supports an amnesty for illegal aliens, he just wants Trump to get a good deal as part of his sellout. Pollak writes [1]: President Donald Trump outlined the basic structure of a DACA deal on Sunday. The so-called “Dreamers” — illegal aliens brought to the U.S. as minors — would be able to stay legally in the country, but only if a border wall is built.

Fire and Fury on immigration - 01/07/18

Here are the parts of the Fire and Fury book that relate directly to immigration:

Is Trump playing 4D chess on amnesty? - 01/04/18

Donald Trump is keenly trying to make a deal on amnesty, even though such a deal is completely unnecessary, even a small amnesty would lead to much larger amnesties and other problems, and even though anything Trump receives in the deal wouldn't materialize. As in the 1986 amnesty, we'd get all of the amnesty and little of the enforcement.

Trump threatens amnesty yet again, thinking he'll get the Hispanic vote - 01/03/18

On January 2, Donald Trump tweeted this [1]: Democrats are doing nothing for DACA - just interested in politics. DACA activists and Hispanics will go hard against Dems, will start “falling in love” with Republicans and their President! We are about RESULTS. 1. That's yet another in Trump's long line of threats to push an amnesty for DACA and/or DREAMers. There's no way to read that as Trump being anything other than a keen supporter of amnesty.

Ann Coulter helps MSM yet again: DREAMers are "heinous", "anyone would want to deport them" - 12/26/17

On the video below [1], Ann Coulter says DREAMers are "heinous" and "anyone would want to deport them". That type of talk only helps the MSM: DREAMers are a highly protected group by the establishment media and the Democratic Party. Coulter is playing right into their hands, giving them a bogeyman they can use to push their agenda. All Coulter is doing is making things even easier for them.

Trump sends wrong message about immigration raids, commutes Rubashkin's sentence (Agriprocessors, Postville) - 12/21/17

From this: President Donald Trump on Wednesday commuted the prison sentence of former Iowa slaughterhouse executive Sholom Rubashkin, who was sentenced to 27 years for bank fraud and money laundering, the White House said.

Ann Coulter falsely says Trump Wall would be "forever" - 12/06/17

On the video below, Ann Coulter says that Trump Wall would be "forever". In fact, whatever is built of Trump Wall would be easily torn down by the next president or the next Congress.

Trump admin invites Congress to give amnesty to 100,000+ illegal aliens rather than making smart arguments - 11/20/17

From [1]: The Trump administration says it will end the temporary status that shelters nearly 60,000 Haitians from deportation, saying the island nation has sufficiently recovered from devastating disasters to take its citizens back.

Trump judicial pick Brett J. Talley supports amnesty [Update: WH withdraws nomination] - 11/10/17

[12/13/17 UPDATE: the Trump administration has withdrawn Talley's nomination. See below for what others wouldn't reveal about him.] From [1]: Brett J. Talley has practiced law for less than three years. He has never tried a case — or even argued a motion.

Why is Trump so unpopular, and what can he do? - 11/07/17

The main reason Donald Trump is so incredibly unpopular [1] is because he does things the "Breitbart Way", and the Breitbart Way does not work and is only popular with a fixed segment of the U.S.

Was Trump going easy on ISIS or just lying about hitting ISIS "10 times harder" after NYC attack? - 11/04/17

From [1] (bolding added): President Trump referred to [the perpetrator of the NYC bikepath attack] as "an animal" this morning as he took questions from reporters before departing for Hawaii and a 13-day, five-nation tour of Asia. "When we have an animal do an attack like he did the other day on the west side of Manhattan, we are hitting them 10 times harder," Trump said. "They claimed him as a soldier - Good luck. Every time they hit us [and] we know it's ISIS, we hit them like you folks won't believe."

Negotiating surrender: White House admits they want DACA amnesty, releases list of demands - 10/08/17

Donald Trump has now admitted that he's open to legalizing hundreds of thousands (or more) of DACA recipients, releasing a list of demands. Instead of fighting to stop amnesty, Trump has indicated he's open to negotiating the terms of surrender. It doesn't matter that Dem leaders have already rejected his demands: he's a deal maker and he'll seek some sort of middle ground he and they could be happy with no matter how it will harm Americans. His demands include (full document below):

DHS' Michael Dougherty says Trump admin wants citizenship for DREAMers; DHS' Tyler Q. Houlton says maybe not - 10/03/17

From [1]: ...At a Senate hearing, Republican Senator John Kennedy asked Homeland Security official Michael Dougherty about Dreamers. “Should they be allowed to stay?" “Under a rational bill these individuals would be able to become lawful permanent residents with a pathway to citizenship," Dougherty, assistant Department of Homeland Security secretary for border, immigration and trade policy, responded. “So the president believes they should be allowed to stay," Kennedy responded.

Trump "very supportive" of Succeed Act, GOP's anti-American DREAM Act - 09/25/17

Three GOP senators have introduced the anti-American Succeed Act, their own version of the anti-American DREAM Act. See that link for the huge downsides of any sort of DREAM Act, no matter what it's called and who it's from.

Rich Lowry embraces Trump's unpatriotic idiocy (NFL protests) - 09/23/17

Standing athwart idiocracy screaming Bring It On, Rich Lowry of National Review blogs "Why Donald Trump Is President" [1]:

Trump admits Trump Wall will be "see through", not an actual wall - 09/22/17

"Trump Wall" just became "see through". Speaking to his supporters in Alabama today, Donald Trump said this [1]:

Trump tells Mex president he's optimistic about amnesty deal; WH doesn't reveal it - 09/16/17

On September 14, Donald Trump spoke on the phone with the president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto. According to a press release from the Mexican government, Trump expressed "optimism" that Congress would reach a deal on amnesty for DACA recipients. That part of the conversation was conveniently left out of the White House readout on the call. Here's the totality of that readout [1]:

Trump admits he wants amnesty for DREAMers, using deceptive loose borders talking point - 09/14/17

After two tweets today, even Donald Trump's most delusional fans are going to have to admit that Trump supports giving amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens. He's not playing "12th dimensional chess", he's serious.

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