The US Politics/Elections Thread 2.0

[Rindmelon]

Very nearly a Bobby Kennedy moment there. I dislike Trump intensely but the one thing you have to give him is he does seem to have an understanding of how imagery can be used to reach his followers affectively.

When he held up a bible (upside down) that may look stupid to me but there was a percentage of his followers that speaks to, & holding up his fist covered in blood will have the same effect. They will sell it on shirts, it will be used in campaign ads ect.

I would be stunned if he doesn't win now. I am surprised people are shocked this has happened though, 4 presidents have been assassinated & there's been many attempts over the years on them.

[jamillos]

On 6/29/2024 at 1:21 AM, downzy said:

Democrats only have themselves to blame at this point if they continue with Biden.  He's still a better choice than Trump, who has zero principles and is only doing this to keep himself out of prison (and will sell American domestic and foreign policy to the highest bidder), but he still shouldn't be President.

I have a six year old daughter.  I wouldn't let her walk a block besides Trump, but I also wouldn't let Biden driver her down the same block either.

Neither are fit to be President.

I've been advocating for the Democrats to dump Biden since February.  He just doesn't have it in him to win.  A big part of the job is communicating, commanding the stage, bestowing confidence, giving people hope.  There's no chance he can perform those roles in a second term since he struggles mightily with them now.

There's still time to replace the ticket.  VP Harris wouldn't be my first choice but strategically it would be hard for the party to boot the first female (and person of colour) from the ticket if she wanted to take Trump on.  She's the not best candidate to beat Trump (if it were me, my first choice would be Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, then Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom), but at this point she's better than Biden.  And I think she's a bit under-estimated partly because of how difficult the role of VP is to look in any way competent. 

Save Pete Buttigieg for 2028 or 2032. 

Democrats have a deep bench of potential candidates that could easily press the case against Trump and win a second term.

But Biden is done. 

The question is whether he wants to preserve his legacy or does he want to become this year's version of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. 

For the benefit of the country and his standing, he needs to step aside and let the party pick someone who cannot only beat Trump, but actually do the job. 

Just one thing - nobody with the name Pete Buttigieg can become US president. The names matter too, look into the past - all firm, reliable, ringing American surnames. Buttigieg? There's a butt, theres a geek, are you kidding me? There's no way for this guy, whoever he is. I'll eat my shoe if proven otherwise. 

[rocknroll41]

Apparently the shooter was only 20 years old, and he was a registered republican (but he also donated to Biden once, oddly enough).

Edited July 14 by rocknroll41

[downzy]

4 hours ago, jamillos said:

Just one thing - nobody with the name Pete Buttigieg can become US president. The names matter too, look into the past - all firm, reliable, ringing American surnames. Buttigieg? There's a butt, theres a geek, are you kidding me? There's no way for this guy, whoever he is. I'll eat my shoe if proven otherwise. 

Barack Hussein Obama

[rocknroll41]

2 hours ago, downzy said:

Barack Obama

That’s a little different though cause, despite the irony of his middle name, his first and last name roll off the tongue and are memorable and easy to pronounce/ spell.

Edited July 14 by rocknroll41

[AtariLegend]

It's the plot of several films/books. The person that survives the attempt almost always goes on to win the presidency afterwards, (with the exception of Stephen King's the Dead Zone)

I get that people are dead, but this just seems so very confusing/convenient. It's the photo op of the 21st century so far for a US politician and probably the biggest conspiracy theory fuel the internet has got in 2 decades.

It's pretty dark. Condolences to those effected. It just feels though that the shooter, has possibly sealed the outcome of this election.

Edited July 14 by AtariLegend

[downzy]

Zero chance the attack on Trump was fake. There’s a photo that shows the bullet wizzing by Trump’s head.

As much as I loathe Trump, what happened yesterday was heinous and one of the worst things a person can do.  Nobody deserves to be killed regardless of their political views. As much as I won’t celebrate Trump’s death, I wouldn’t rejoice in it either.

Besides the spectator, this incident almost certainly killed Biden’s re-election chances. He was already heading south in the polls. I don’t even think switching Biden out with someone else will matter. The photo of Trump fist pumping with blood running down his face and the American flag hanging behind him is such a compelling image (and one that Trump’s campaign will surely squeeze all the mileage out of they can) that I don’t see what Biden and the Democrats can respond with.

It’s going to be a rough four and a half years. 

[zeppelinrocksnexttognr]

4 hours ago, downzy said:

Zero chance the attack on Trump was fake. There’s a photo that shows the bullet wizzing by Trump’s head.

As much as I loathe Trump, what happened yesterday was heinous and one of the worst things a person can do.  Nobody deserves to be killed regardless of their political views. As much as I won’t celebrate Trump’s death, I wouldn’t rejoice in it either.

Besides the spectator, this incident almost certainly killed Biden’s re-election chances. He was already heading south in the polls. I don’t even think switching Biden out with someone else will matter. The photo of Trump fist pumping with blood running down his face and the American flag hanging behind him is such a compelling image (and one that Trump’s campaign will surely squeeze all the mileage out of they can) that I don’t see what Biden and the Democrats can respond with.

It’s going to be a rough four and a half years. 

100% agree. I live not to far from there and everywhere around here is all conspiracy theories. It's stupid. It was a nut job. That's all. N I can't stand the guy either, but this seals the race if you ask me.

[Gordon Comstock]

He was already going to win. The democrats only hope for this election was always a last minute replacement, but even that probably won't save them now.

Nobody should be assassinated for their politics. But every pedo deserves to be shot in the head, so... better luck next time.

[Graeme]

6 hours ago, downzy said:

Zero chance the attack on Trump was fake. There’s a photo that shows the bullet wizzing by Trump’s head.

As much as I loathe Trump, what happened yesterday was heinous and one of the worst things a person can do.  Nobody deserves to be killed regardless of their political views. As much as I won’t celebrate Trump’s death, I wouldn’t rejoice in it either.

Besides the spectator, this incident almost certainly killed Biden’s re-election chances. He was already heading south in the polls. I don’t even think switching Biden out with someone else will matter. The photo of Trump fist pumping with blood running down his face and the American flag hanging behind him is such a compelling image (and one that Trump’s campaign will surely squeeze all the mileage out of they can) that I don’t see what Biden and the Democrats can respond with.

It’s going to be a rough four and a half years. 

It's beyond insane that such an "image" could be enough to give a narcissistic sociopath and convicted felon standing on a policy platform of effectively ending the US's already tenuous status as a democracy even a chance of winning the Presidency. 

I would literally vote for an inanimate object over him, and I don't think I'm capable of empathising with anyone who thinks otherwise.

[downzy]

2 hours ago, Graeme said:

It's beyond insane that such an "image" could be enough to give a narcissistic sociopath and convicted felon standing on a policy platform of effectively ending the US's already tenuous status as a democracy even a chance of winning the Presidency. 

I would literally vote for an inanimate object over him, and I don't think I'm capable of empathising with anyone who thinks otherwise.

I don't disagree.  It's crazy that he would get anywhere close to 1 percent of the vote.  But this is America we're talking about.  They already elected Trump once.  They almost elected him again in 2020.  And considering how weak the Democrats are and how enraged his supporters have become, an incident like yesterday and the media pulled from it is absolute enough to sway such a soft country.  

[downzy]

3 hours ago, Gordon Comstock said:

He was already going to win. The democrats only hope for this election was always a last minute replacement, but even that probably won't save them now.

Yeah, this was my sentiment.

Democrats only chance was to run someone like Newsom, Shapiro, or even Michelle Obama (though there's little to no chance she'd do it).

But they were already dying with Biden, so what happened yesterday sealed the deal.  That said, I still think someone like Michelle Obama and maybe Gavin Newsom would still beat Trump.  And if being gay wasn't such an issue in the U.S., Pete Buttigieg would likely clobber Trump. 

[-W.A.R-]

My initial reaction when i seen the video of him fist pumping after the attempted assassination was oh no he just won the election. It was really quick and smart thinking in the moment for him to do that. However after the dust has settled i don't think it's going to have that sort of impact. It'll play amazingly well with his base but they were already galvanized to vote.

That doesn't mean Democrats aren't in trouble because they certainly are. Joe Biden's presser was better than his debate performance but did nothing to change anyone's mind. He was still incredibly dull and rambled on at times. The enthusiasm gap is pretty insane with 71% of R's happy with their nominee versus 33% of D's excited for their nominee (for comp, Hillary had 54% in 2016).

Biden said it would be hard to start from scratch but imo that is exactly what Democrats need. They can champion the good stuff Joe did, refresh the push of popular Democratic polices, and can re-position on politically devastating things like the war on Gaza. Also of course shed the albatross that is the constant question of cognitive fitness that is going to linger as long as Joe is the nominee.

Edited July 15 by -W.A.R-

[Gordon Comstock]

2 minutes ago, downzy said:

Yeah, this was my sentiment.

Democrats only chance was to run someone like Newsom, Shapiro, or even Michelle Obama (though there's little to no chance she'd do it).

But they were already dying with Biden, so what happened yesterday sealed the deal.  That said, I still think someone like Michelle Obama and maybe Gavin Newsom would still beat Trump.  And if being gay wasn't such an issue in the U.S., Pete Buttigieg would likely clobber Trump. 

 

If I'm going full chinstrap with my tinfoil hat: they'll drop Biden with some kind of 'medical issue' in 2~ months and Michelle will be the choice, and she'll win.

I have zero expectations that will happen, but it's their best choice. Trump will beat Biden though.

[downzy]

8 minutes ago, Gordon Comstock said:

 

If I'm going full chinstrap with my tinfoil hat: they'll drop Biden with some kind of 'medical issue' in 2~ months and Michelle will be the choice, and she'll win.

I have zero expectations that will happen, but it's their best choice. Trump will beat Biden though.

I think many in the party would love that, with the one big exception being Michelle Obama. 

From everything I've read about her she has zero interest in being involved in public affairs again.  She believes she served her time and likely wouldn't want to put her daughters in danger by going back to the White House.

It's going to be Biden.  He's an old man who won't give up the keys to the car.  The best Democrats can hope for is if he suffers from a real medical situation that forces his hand (like a stroke that makes him unable to speak).  Then they get Harris.  And I think Trump has too much momentum at this point considering what happened yesterday.

And not that I think Trump will pass anything close to what he's proposing on the campaign trail, but if he did be prepared for inflation to come roaring back.  Deporting millions of undocumented workers will cause the price of services and house building to skyrocket. Add in the 10 percent tariff he wants to slap on every product coming into the US (an and an additional 50 percent tariff on goods from China) and prices on almost everything will soar.  Then there's medium to long term interest rates, which will also get jacked up if Trump gets his way and massively cuts taxes (which will dramatically blow a hole in the nation's fiscal accounts).  Again, the man is more talk than action (unless he's attempting to upend election results he doesn't like), but if he passes anything close to what he's proposing it's going to be a rough four to five years. 

[dontdamnmeuyi2015]

Another judge has dismissed the case against Trump for stealing classified documents from the White House. Unreal.

Next up I bet he gets away with denying the 2020 election and inciting the riot of January 6.

America meet your next President and we will have 4 years of doom and disaster.

[rocknroll41]

Turns out my old classmate who is now a cnn reporter (Alayna Treene) was there in person when trump got shot. Small world!

[Sweersa]

21 hours ago, Gordon Comstock said:

He was already going to win. The democrats only hope for this election was always a last minute replacement, but even that probably won't save them now.

Nobody should be assassinated for their politics. But every pedo deserves to be shot in the head, so... better luck next time.

I agree on all your points.

[ZoSoRose]

15 minutes ago, rocknroll41 said:

Turns out my old classmate who is now a cnn reporter (Alayna Treene) was there in person when trump got shot. Small world!

Glad she’s safe. It’s awful someone died there. 

[Sweersa]

1 hour ago, dontdamnmeuyi2015 said:

America meet your next President and we will have 4 years of doom and disaster.

Trump was president for 4 years, before Biden. I don't expect doom and disaster, not as a result of the US president anyways.

[Rindmelon]

RNC is on, the crowd are chanting FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!!!!!!!! 

It's all a bit weird to a reserved Englishman like me, the RNC seems to be like half church service & half a business convention for a business that later turns out to be a pyramid scheme.

Seeing reports Trump will name Vance as his running mate

[downzy]

“Donald Trump has selected J. D. Vance as his running mate.

Writing in The Atlantic in 2016, Vance called Trump “cultural heroin”: “He makes some feel better for a bit. But he cannot fix what ails them, and one day they’ll realize it.””

[Gordon Comstock]

On 7/14/2024 at 2:35 PM, downzy said:

I think many in the party would love that, with the one big exception being Michelle Obama. 

From everything I've read about her she has zero interest in being involved in public affairs again.  She believes she served her time and likely wouldn't want to put her daughters in danger by going back to the White House.

It's going to be Biden.  He's an old man who won't give up the keys to the car.  The best Democrats can hope for is if he suffers from a real medical situation that forces his hand (like a stroke that makes him unable to speak).  Then they get Harris.  And I think Trump has too much momentum at this point considering what happened yesterday.

And not that I think Trump will pass anything close to what he's proposing on the campaign trail, but if he did be prepared for inflation to come roaring back.  Deporting millions of undocumented workers will cause the price of services and house building to skyrocket. Add in the 10 percent tariff he wants to slap on every product coming into the US (an and an additional 50 percent tariff on goods from China) and prices on almost everything will soar.  Then there's medium to long term interest rates, which will also get jacked up if Trump gets his way and massively cuts taxes (which will dramatically blow a hole in the nation's fiscal accounts).  Again, the man is more talk than action (unless he's attempting to upend election results he doesn't like), but if he passes anything close to what he's proposing it's going to be a rough four to five years. 

 

I don't think there's any chance she'd do it, but Michelle was really their only hope. Trump would easily beat Harris, even without the momentum of the shooting. It's gonna be a shitshow even if they don't fully enact project 2025.

[dontdamnmeuyi2015]

Didn't watch the Republican convention. Can't stand looking at Trump anymore. Now his VP is another bigot against the LGBTQ+ community. I have always had gay friends.  I feel if you're happy so be it. Nothing wrong with it. This VP elect isn't happy with anything normal Americans want. If Trump wins America is doomed and so is the free world. I have read that many ally leaders don't' want Trump.

I don't know what's going to happen, but this attempted assassination of Trump hasn't changed him one bit.  So sick of hearing about this thing. I have never lived through such horrible times.

[Rindmelon]

Kyle Kulinski's done a pretty good break down of more video that has appeared. Very clear from this that the people there interviewed by BBC and others were telling the truth when they said they were yelling there was a guy on the roof before shots rang out.