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Trump: 'I identify with some things as a Democrat'
The Hill ^ | 07/24/2015 | Jesse Byrnes

Posted on 07/24/2015 6:18:42 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

Donald Trump, a 2016 Republican presidential candidate, said Friday he sometimes identifies more as a Democrat when pressed to explain previous statements that the economy generally does better under Democrats than Republicans.

"I identify with some things as a Democrat," Trump said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" when pressed about the comments from 2004, adding that "generally speaking" he was "never a Bush fan."

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"When the economy crashed so horribly under George Bush because of mistakes they made having to do with banking and lots of other things, I don't think the Democrats would have done that," Trump said.

"Now, I see it both ways, but I hated what I was watching in the last two years of George Bush, because it was a bubble that was waiting to explode," he added. "What they were doing was a death wish, and I saw that."

"I have seen things done by Republicans that are not good and are not smart, and I would not do that," he said.

The celebrity real estate developer skyrocketed to the top of many polls following the launch of his GOP White House bid in mid-June, amid weeks of criticism and media attention to his controversial comments on Mexican immigrants.

Trump made waves this week after he threatened during an interview with The Hill to run as a third-party candidate. He played down that possibility Thursday, saying, "I want to run as a Republican. I think I'll get the nomination."

"Over the years as a businessman, I've always helped everybody," Trump said Friday on MSNBC, further explaining his past support for both Democrats and Republicans.

"I'm a conservative, I want to run as a Republican, I'm leading every poll," he said. "I do not want to do independent at all. Now, if I'm treated poorly, that's one thing. If I'm treated well and with great respect and don't win, I would not do that."

Trump had suggested to The Hill on Wednesday that the Republican National Committee "has not been very supportive." He said Friday that the RNC has been "very, very nice over the last few days.”


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2016elections; 2016issues; donaldtrump; rnc; trump; trump2016
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To: C. Edmund Wright
...but I don't think you have a grasp of how big the looney bin camp is. It's huge right now.

Trump's "crazies"? Instead of demeaning and belittling Trump's supporters, you need to ask yourself why he has been so successful vis-a-vis his more politically experienced opponents.

It is not only the Donald's personal charisma and money that have won him "probably 50% of the base." His messages are resonating with the base and others. For the first time we have a high profile individual speaking out against the trail of death and destruction caused by criminal aliens. The 2011 GAO report provided all the data, but no politician, left or right, wanted to touch it. The numbers are enormous. Millions of American citizens have been victims. And most of the criminal aliens are from Mexico.

The free trade Reps continue to press for more trade agreements that take jobs from Americans and are weighted in favor of our trading partners. Wages are declining and we have a massive surplus of labor. Jeff Sessions in his March 2014 article, Becoming the Party of Work: How the GOP can help struggling Americans, and itself.

"According to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, seven in ten voters believe that the Republican party is “out of touch with the concerns of most people in the United States today.”

When Americans went to the polls in 2012, the following was true: Work-force participation had sunk to its lowest level in 35 years, wages had fallen below 1999 levels, and 47 million Americans were on food stamps. Yet Mitt Romney, the challenger to the incumbent president, lost lower- and middle-income voters by an astonishing margin. Among voters earning $30,000 to $50,000, he trailed by 15 points, and among voters earning under $30,000 he trailed by 28 points.

And what did the GOP’s brilliant consultant class conclude from this resounding defeat? They declared that the GOP must embrace amnesty. The Republican National Committee dutifully issued a report calling for a “comprehensive immigration reform” that would inevitably increase the flow of low-skilled immigration, reducing the wages and living standards of the very voters whose trust the GOP had lost.

Over the past four decades, as factories were shuttered and blue-collar jobs were outsourced or automated, net immigration quadrupled. Yet the corporate-consultant class has pronounced that an insufficient level of immigration is the problem. A more colossal misreading of the political moment has rarely occurred.

Perhaps the most important political development now unfolding in the U.S. is the public’s growing loss of faith in our political and financial elites of both parties. To open the ears of disaffected voters, the GOP must break publicly from the elite immigration consensus of Wall Street and Davos. Republicans have a clear path to building a conservative majority if they free themselves from the corporate consultants and demonstrate to the American public that the GOP is the only party aligned with the core interests, concerns, and beliefs of everyday hardworking citizens.

Trump and to a lesser extent Walker seem to be heeding Sessions' message. The rest of the field led by Bush are tied to the past. They fail to recognize what is happening to the American worker.

141 posted on 07/24/2015 7:34:34 AM PDT by kabar
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To: The Ghost of FReepers Past

No one’s defending Bush, but last I heard, W. Bush is not running. Bush was too liberal. Trump is even more so over his lifetime...including recently.


142 posted on 07/24/2015 7:35:08 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright (WTF? How Karl Rove and the Establishment Lost...Again)
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To: Colonel_Flagg

Reagan identified as a democrat at one time, fully. Trump says ‘I identify with SOME things as a Democrat’ and the hyperpartisans go into “gotchya” seizures.

Big Tent? Nope,,it’s amazing how pure some conservatives think they are and how they think that somehow helps Cruz.

Hate on Trump all you want, it’s cool. It’s the pious, self-righteous “we’re so pure and you’re not as good or up to standard as a conservative” attitude that’s offensive and btw

that extra little churn is a victory for the libs,,,so spin your props all you want,,it’s not doing a damn bit of good.


143 posted on 07/24/2015 7:36:12 AM PDT by austinaero
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
This solidifies my position: Donald Trump is not a candidate I can possibly support.

However, his 'talking truth to power' has been spectacular, and has fueled his explosive poll growth.

Maybe Cruz will take notice.

144 posted on 07/24/2015 7:37:00 AM PDT by Lazamataz ("In a very short period of time, these will be the good old days." -- unknown Freeper, 2015)
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To: tumblindice

you so confuse the idea that Trump is doing us a big service (which I said from the start) with those who are into the kool aid. JR can answer for himself, but I believe he’s leaning Cruz and like me, happens to like what Trump is doing.

I realize that it may be hard for some to wrap their heads around the notion that one can like what Trump is doing now - and ALSO warn against him as “the answer” as nominee. Maybe you could try walking and chewing gum at the same time. I think Jim Rob is doing just that.


145 posted on 07/24/2015 7:37:09 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright (WTF? How Karl Rove and the Establishment Lost...Again)
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To: Ohioan

I like what you wrote. Personally, I know many DEMS who are disillusioned right now, but, are excited about Trump. I think Trump, himself is one of those. After all, he was a D from 2001-2009. I think he said he voted for McCain. He says so much, it’s hard to keep track of it all. I just think he is going after the Reagan Democrats and the moderate Republicans. He can evolve on issues later on - good heavens, once people get educated, they are allowed to change their point of view. I don’t believe some things I used to, and now believe some things I never did. That isn’t necessarily flip-flopping, but, becoming more educated and aware of issues. We now have a liar-in-chief, who won’t change his mind on anything, nor bend to anyone else’s expertise. Oh sure, he says he evolved on gay marriage, but, that was just another lie.


146 posted on 07/24/2015 7:37:21 AM PDT by Catsrus (WWWW)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

So, he absolves dems for the last recession???


147 posted on 07/24/2015 7:37:28 AM PDT by sitetest (If Roeas is not overturned, no unborn child will ever be protected in law.)
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To: VerySadAmerican

“This crap of “vote for a rino or you might as well vote for a democrat” is BS. Voting for a rino IS voting for a democrat!”

No, it is not. Voting for a RINO is getting half a loaf instead of a whole one. Voting for a Democrat is getting the whole loaf shoved up your rear end. I see a difference between the two.


148 posted on 07/24/2015 7:37:52 AM PDT by Mr Rogers (Can you remember what America was like in 2004?)
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To: CatherineofAragon

I’m predicting right now....rush is going to have some red faced moments over this. Remember, as good as Rush is, he fell for Rove’s bullshit way too long....he knows Trump and likes Trump...he knows Rove and likes Rove....and in those cases, he sometimes cannot be objective.


149 posted on 07/24/2015 7:38:18 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright (WTF? How Karl Rove and the Establishment Lost...Again)
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To: Responsibility2nd
But what I do not understand - especially among FReepers - is the blind and rabid devotion that Trump is truly a great conservative and really, honestly is the better choice over Cruz, Walker and so on. Those people are scary, nutty individuals.

Naw. Just a little gullible and a little desperate.

Don't we all feel desperate these days?

150 posted on 07/24/2015 7:38:28 AM PDT by Lazamataz ("In a very short period of time, these will be the good old days." -- unknown Freeper, 2015)
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To: Responsibility2nd

Unfortunately, the only other 2 worth voting for are sadly lacking in charisma. Trump might be immature in your book, but, he sure does show leadership, and that’s sadly lacking in most of the others.


151 posted on 07/24/2015 7:38:43 AM PDT by Catsrus (WWWW)
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To: The_Victor

Oh yes, it’s gonna dissipate for the reasons you stated.


152 posted on 07/24/2015 7:38:45 AM PDT by C. Edmund Wright (WTF? How Karl Rove and the Establishment Lost...Again)
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To: Steve_Seattle

The Democrats were big on board with propping up the banks at the time. It was put to a vote in the Congress.


153 posted on 07/24/2015 7:38:51 AM PDT by Calpublican (Boehner and McConnell are corrupt.)
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To: Colonel_Flagg
"The cult of personality around Trump is just baffling to me, especially among people who rightly go ballistic when Obama's ego puffs up as it so often does."

Thank you.

I've never been able to stomach egomaniacs and blowhards. For that reason, Trump has always turned me off.

154 posted on 07/24/2015 7:39:25 AM PDT by CatherineofAragon (("This is a Laztatorship. You don't like it, get a day's rations and get out of this office."))
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To: austinaero
"hyperpartisans"

So that's the new term to replace purists, huh? The one that will be leveled against folks who reject a liberal candidate?

Cute!

155 posted on 07/24/2015 7:40:59 AM PDT by CatherineofAragon (("This is a Laztatorship. You don't like it, get a day's rations and get out of this office."))
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To: lwd
I liked Bachmann on policy positions. Unfortunately that is only part of picking a candidate to get behind. For me at least, you need a blend of being right on the issues, being truly grounded in conservative ideology and understanding the oppositions arguments so you can counter them better, proving that you can win an election first, having charisma that can attract 50%+1 of the voting public, having the sales skills to always keep pushing a conservative agenda and winning over the public (yes, I mean the perpetual campaign), etc.

Bachmann was really good on policy, but I just never felt she had the natural charisma to win a national general election. But I consider her one of the proverbial good guys and if she could have been President, I think she'd have been excellent on the issues.

For the record I think she hurt her campaign most when she was doing one of the late shows and went after Perry on the HPV vaccine. As I recall she said something about it possibly causing mental retardation which didn't make a lot of sense. I think the opening on that HPV issue was that Perry initially agreed to it as an "opt out" instead of "opt in", but Bachmann ended up taking the argument in a different direction which was apparently not supported by science.

I was just going by memory here, so apologies for any inaccuracies. Anyway, I like Bachmann quite a lot and hope she hones her political skills further. Perhaps US Senator could be in her future next? Or Governor. Minnesota could definitely use more quality people like her.

156 posted on 07/24/2015 7:41:02 AM PDT by Longbow1969
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To: Lazamataz

So you prefer Hillary to Donald?


157 posted on 07/24/2015 7:41:20 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum ( Muhammad was a ruthless terrorist, mass-murderer, thief, slave trader, rapist and pedophile.)
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To: Gen.Blather

Trump doesn’t even know that the mortgage collapse was mainly caused by DEMOCRATS? That’s scary. I don’t think the guy would make a good president at all. Bob


158 posted on 07/24/2015 7:41:23 AM PDT by alstewartfan (If I should live to be seven I might forget Stephanie. Al Stewart)
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To: Political Junkie Too
A line got dropped from my original post.

I guess it was lost on him that the DEMOCRATS were completely in charge then???

Then what is the excuse with Republicans in charge with an opposite party President?

The answer is that both situations have the same thing in common: weak Republicans, whether it was "compassionate" Bush who wouldn't defend himself, or Congressional Republicans who won't fight.

When Trump says "I identify with some things as a Democrat," he's saying he didn't support the way the Republicans were handling the crises of the time. It doesn't necessarily mean he would have supported the Democrat alternative instead, just that he would not have done what the Republicans did.

He must still feel that way today, because he's running for President so he can decide how to tackle the nation's problems, not McConnell and Boehner. But he's running as a Republican, which to me means that Trump is rejecting the Democrat brand.

-PJ

159 posted on 07/24/2015 7:41:44 AM PDT by Political Junkie Too (If you are the Posterity of We the People, then you are a Natural Born Citizen.)
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To: CatherineofAragon

Well then I’m guilty. Not in terms of Trump but when I call Ted Cruz a gift from God and I believe that.

As for Trump, I’m onboard with him because he is speaking the truth. I believe truth has only one source and that is God. I scratch my head as to why God has chosen Donald Trump to be the purveyor of His Truth but it’s not my call.

Here’s the elements of God’s Truth that I see spilling out of Donald Trump (and don’t think I am saying Donald walks on water or that he is a prophet or any nonsense like that; it really has nothing to with Donald Trump (DT), it has to do with the message that is getting through):

1. DT says he loves the Mexican people and Mexico (so do I) but that elements of their leadership are more cunning that ours and that they are sending killers into our camp to murder us -—> Translation: God is telling us we have an enemy that is near but hidden.

2. DT says we treat our vets like 3rd class citizens (I agree) and that is unacceptable -—> Translation: God is telling us pay attention to our warriors and their families; be vigilant.

3. DT is saying the Iran Deal is a loser because out leadership is populated by losers -—> Translation: God is telling us we must change our leadership and is warning us of war ahead.

4. DT is saying Obamacare is awful and must be repealed completely and replaced-—> Translation: God is telling us we must do better in taking care of each other.

5. DT is telling is there is not much time left before our way of life collapses (economy) -—> Translation: God is telling us to hurry.

Again why God is bring this out through Donald Trump is a mystery but I think I hear the message loud and clear. Maybe Trump the New York loud mouth is the perfect megaphone to get the message out?


160 posted on 07/24/2015 7:42:00 AM PDT by Hostage (ARTICLE V)
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