Posted on 02/17/2016 9:37:41 AM PST by Signalman
The political class and pundits have been predicting Trump's political demise since his now-infamous speech launching his presidential bid last June, when his description of illegal immigrants as rapists and other criminals provoked a media backlash.
Trump has been embroiled in controversy at seemingly every turn since. He has thoroughly confounded the pundits, who have declared numerous times that Trump had crossed some line that would be the final straw for Republican primary voters.
Instead, Trump's blunt message of American exceptionalism and his distance from the political establishment continue to strike a chord with grassroots conservatives, who are fed up with the status quo in Washington.
Here are seven times the political class leaped to write the Trump campaign's obituary, only to be proved wrong.
-Trashing George W. Bush in South Carolina-
It's no coincidence that Jeb Bush is trotting out his brother, former President George W. Bush, to give him a boost in South Carolina ahead of Saturday's primary.
George Bush remains beloved there, and the state is credited with rescuing his 2000 bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
But at the Republican presidential debate in Greenville on Saturday night, Trump unleashed his most aggressive takedown yet of the Bush legacy concerning terrorism and the war in Iraq.
Trump made the case that President Bush did not keep the nation safe because 9/11 happened under his watch. He went further, saying that the Bush administration knew that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq but invaded anyway.
The remarks provoked backlash from some quarters, with conservatives pointing out that Trump's claims about the weapons of mass destruction put him in the company of liberals from Code Pink to Michael Moore.
"This is uninformed left-wing claptrap," conservative columnist Marc Thieessen wrote.
"If there is any state where such rantings should backfire on Trump, it is South Carolina."
But Trump's bombastic and fiery performance only appears to have boosted him in the eyes of conservative primary voters in the state.
Two polls released out of South Carolina on Tuesday found Trump with a strong double-digit lead over the field.
-"They're rapists"-
It didn't take long for Trump's candidacy to spiral into controversy.
At his launch speech in June, Trump warned about illegal immigrants crossing the Southern border.
They're "bringing crime, they're rapists," and "some, I assume, are good people," Trump said.
The controversy took on a life of its own and continues to hang over the race.
Corporations severed ties with Trump, and the real estate mogul was roundly rebuked by many in his own party, who worried the remarks would turn off the Hispanic voters the party is seeking inroads with.
Less than a month later, Trump would seize his first lead in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls.
-Saint McCain-
About one month after calling illegal immigrants rapists, the newly minted GOP front-runner denigrated the military service of Sen. John. McCain (R-Az.), who was once a prisoner of war in Viet Nam.
"He's not a war hero," Trump said in July. "He's a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren't captured."
Trump refused to apologize for the remarks, which were overwhelmingly condemned by conservative figures in the media, Trump's rivals, and McCain's colleagues on Capitol Hill.
The remarks drew countless headlines questioning whether this would finally put an end to Trump's unlikely run.
Less than a month later, Trump would open up a two-to-one lead over the next closes GOP contender in the national polls.
-Trump versus Fox News and Megyn Kelly-
Donald Trump has gambled big in taking on conservative media behemoth Fox News and one of its most beloved and respected anchors, Megyn Kelly.
Trump feels he was treated unfairly by Kelly at the first GOP presidential debate, when she challenged him on past remarks that were derogatory towards women.
Several days later, Trump responded with another remark that many viewed as derogatory toward women.
"You can see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever," Trump said.
That comment provoked influential conservative pundit Erick Erickson to disinvite Trump from a GOP presidential forum he was hosting. Erickson and others predicted it would finally lead to Trump's demise.
Instead, Trump has continued to bash Kelly and Fox News with the kind of vitriol that most Republicans save for the mainstream media. Trump even skipped the final GOP debate before Iowa because Kelly moderated.
Trump has instead found other outlets to get his message out, leaving his rivals and critics to marvel and complain at his media mastery.
-No Muslims-
In early December, shortly after the San Bernardino terrorist attacks, Trump proposed barring all Muslims from entering the country.
The proposition was met with derision from those who said it was an impossible proposal, and anger from those who said Trump was racist and a xenophobe.
The remarks were also viewed cynically by some, who viewed it as a ploy by Trump to dominate the media cycle at a critical juncture in the race.
But it hasn't damaged Trump yet, and it instantly put him to the right of the rest of the GOP field on immigration and the terror threat.
-No forgiveness-
At a forum in Iowa over the summer, Trump said he doesn't ask God for forgiveness - an act that's one of the core tenets of Christianity.
Many believed the admission would doom him in Iowa, where evangelical voters make up a strong majority of conservative caucus-goers.
But Trump stuck to that claim in subsequent interviews.
His lack of fluency on evangelical matters was mocked by some, but more than 45,000 Iowans voted for Trump on caucus day, the second most in history only to Ted Cruz, who won.
He now holds a double-digit lead ahead of the South Carolina primary - another state with a strong contingent of evangelicals.
-Commander in chief test-
The Nov. 13 terror attacks in Paris, which left more than 100 dead, and the subsequent terror attack San Bernardino, Calif., the worst on U.S. soil since 9/11, were supposed to boost the contingent of GOP candidates with foreign policy experience.
Many Republicans believed the terror attacks would be a sobering reminder to those entranced by Trump's spectacle about the seriousness of being president.
Jeb Bush began pitching himself as the steady-handed executive and policy wonk.
Marco Rubio, one of the party's foremost national security hawks, pointed to his position on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Donald Trump said he would "bomb the shit out of ISIS" and his polling numbers went up.
After the latest debate this week, Trump LOST my vote.
For sure.
I’m sure he’s experiencing sleepless nights.
Does this idiot realize how pissed off Americans are? Does he realize what he is promising? Does he realize if he doesn’t do it he’s signing his own death sentence?
I think this moron is dangerous to himself let alone the country.
BS! It will be like any other election. Republicans democrats will vote for whoever their respective nominee is and Indies will decide the outcome. Although Trump will get many dem crossovers.
only seven?
Based on what the pundits are saying about Trump, you would almost think that Ronald Reagan has been president the last 7+ years.
Trump and we do not care!
Speaking of idiots. You probably just made the Secret Service list of idiots with your veiled threat.
You might want to ask the mods to pull your reply.
I think that's only partly true.
In fact, I think Trump's candidacy will fracture the Conservative coalition as deeply as it fractures the Republican Party.
I came of age in the 1960’s. My heroes were Barry Goldwater, William F. Buckley, and Milton Friedman.
Trump is not a man of political principle.
He is just a man of high intelligence, high energy, high self-confidence, and impulse.
I can't support him for president.
That wasn’t a threat. I was speculating, only an idiot would take it as a threat. You don’t think the people are getting fed up with change and promises and borders, none of that crap will get done.
Besides only democraps shoot presidents.
I think there are people so desperate this time that dumb ass who just might be the next president doesn’t realize that people know this is the last days of Rome and they think this moron is their savior and when they realize he is just another LIAR and then where will we be, with more misery and more suffering.
“I can’t support him for president.”
It’s looking more and more every day that he’s going to be the nominee for the Republican party.
If you and all the other “conservatives” decide to put your money where your mouth is and stay home, you’ll know where the blame lies if the dem’s win in November.
The problem is not any of us.
Secret service is/will be data mining any comment made by anyone on any candidate they are watching over implies a threat or danger.
If they did not do this, they would not be doing their job. They have no sense of humor when it comes to doing their job.
The 2nd Amendment was ratified on December 17, 1791 along with the other nine amendments that make up the Bill of Rights. While it is a very short amendment, its exact meaning in terms of what types of weapons are protected is still in contention today.
Text of the 2nd Amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
PERIOD!!!
Now we have people who are mentally ill... they should never be granted a firearm of any kind, but they do....you can buy a gun on every street corner in America for a certain amount of money....or if you can’t do that, people will pay someone to purchase a firearm in their name for that other person....only problem with this is if that ‘unlicensed’ person gets caught in a killing or robbery, your name is on the registration and license and your going down, not the killer or robber...
So now our government is trying to take our Second Amendment away, and how they are going to do it is thru Mental illness....
The strategy is to use the wide acceptance of the idea that the mentally ill should not have access to firearms, as a front for prohibiting a broad array of ‘normal’ people from possessing guns or ammunition. As with most things, the devil is in the details. What is mental illness? Who is mentally ill? How mentally ill must one be to warrant revocation of a fundamental human right? Who makes that determination? Who is ‘normal,’ and how ‘normal’ do they have to be to own guns?
While this anti-rights sneak attack is just getting underway, you can be sure it is well planned and well-funded, so expect to see a flood of bills dealing with mental health in general, and firearms access by the mentally ill in particular, introduced in Congress and state legislatures nationwide in the coming months. These bills will be promoted as ‘common sense,’ but they will contain definitions so broad that hundreds of thousands - possibly millions – of regular folks who have been, or are being, successfully treated for common, minor, mental and emotional issues will be denied their right to arms as ‘mental defectives.’ People suffering from mild depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, even women treated for PMS, could be lumped in with violent schizophrenics and the criminally insane.
Read more: http://www.ammoland.com/2013/12/mental-health-the-next-gun-rights-assault/#ixzz40RULjWm7
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
So when you hear that Donald Trump is against the Second Amendment, read this so you know what Trump is supporting:
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/second-amendment-rights
Trump won that debate hands down. No one was stronger.
He bloodied them all in a classic cage match
Thanks for the ping.
Thanks for the post.
Trump is the American Vladimir Putin.
Who is renowned for using earthy and blunt language to get his message across.
And Trump projects strength, a quality conspicuously lacking in the rest of the GOP field.
Voters love it as evidenced in Trump’s huge lead in national and state polls.
Trumps attitude and presentation was more than simply words. He was not worthy of true respect IMO.
War is ugly.
But I don’t want another Romney in a debate against Candy Crowley and Mrs. Clinton.
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