Donald Trump: I Will Know The Difference Between Hamas And Hezbollah 'When It's Appropriate'

Guardian (UK) ^ | September 4, 2015

[aquila48]

” It’s blatantly obvious to me the answer is no. You see it otherwise. That is a puzzle to me.”

Well he’s embarking on a new business, that of being president (if he succeeds). A very different business than building hotels.

Given his ego he’ll want to be just as successful as he has been in the building business, (and show biz, and book writing, etc). So the question we have to ask ourselves is what do we think his vision of a successful president is, his vision of a great America. He has stated some of his positions on immigration, trade, the military, ISIS, health insurance, planned parenthood, etc. So do you agree with those positions or not? Or do you not believe he’s being sincere and that he may change them when he gets in?

[D-fendr]

So do you agree with those positions or not?

If I don't trust the person, what he says doesn't matter to me.

Or do you not believe he’s being sincere and that he may change them when he gets in?

Was he sincere when he supported Kelo 100%. Is that the antithesis of conservative?

But, yes, he will change anything if changing it benefits his own wealth and power and attention.

The one consistent thing about Donald Trump is that he is a self-promoter, that the one thing of value to him is himself.

This is what he has built his success on. It's worked for him. I think it would be a disaster for America. He has sacrificed what is best for the country for what is best for himself many times in the past. This alone should disqualify him from our consideration.

So the question we have to ask ourselves is what do we think his vision of a successful president is, his vision of a great America.

I don't see any vision here; just President/King Trump:" I'll be an American Bully - whatever you want that bully to do. China? BAM. Mexico? BAM." Honestly, it's very juvenile IMHO. Manipulative of popular opinion. Or, as he puts it: "the ratings king."

He's what would result if Don King and Don Rickles had a child.

Other than that, I think he's great. :)

[Democratic-Republican]

I can tell we've got a ton in common. I don't get invested in this stuff anymore either, I've really just come out of retirement politically because there looks to be a slim glimmer of hope to try something outside-the-box.

I have a lot of posts here going into the near impossibility on paper of winning the Presidency, whether it is a Conservative (R) or liberal (R)epublicrat. It is stacked against us in every way, the enemy starts with about 250 electoral votes to our 170-200, and they just need 270. I've called this longshot "threading a needle" and that may actually be an understatement.

The tangibles are stacked against us, the demographics and such, as are the intangibles like media bias and (R) party treachery. Most or all of this is our guys' fault. They let the enemy manipulate an invasion since 1980, an invasion force that now equals Canada in population according to some estimates. You probably remember when the talk began of the baby boom ending and the USA hitting and then falling below population "replacement levels". What it seems they did to counter that was to front load the workforce with foreigners to hide the Social Security Ponzi scheme, making it solvent ... for a while.

Then Perot comes along and threatens to kick the lid off this dirty little secret and the uniparty was born to fight for their common interests: keeping SS fraud hidden and keeping outsiders from rocking their party boat. I am guilty of this myself, voting for Bush41 a second time rather than going with what should have been obvious to me and everyone by 1992. Unfortunately Clinton, Bush43, 9/11, DingleBarry all entrenched the uniparty oligarchy, probably forever. And they managed to make it politically incorrect to even discuss any and all methods to undo the damage.

... Along comes Trump.

My instinct tells me that if he can do everything differently than the (R)epublicrats would, run in those unwinnable areas, avoid the media traps, court the enemy vote ( absolutely vital because every (D) that crosses over is worth two (R) votes as they decrease by one and we gain one ) like Reagan did, and essentially put America first, he has a very good shot. well, the only shot I can imagine given the situation.

I'm not vaguely concerned by his un-Conservative past, because I'm from the same place and I know what a New York City liberal looks like. I'm sure he's more liberal than I am ( even Reagan was a liberal compared to me so who isn't? ) but I don't see a President Trump having the time to screw around with social engineering experiments. I see him as a relatively agnostic blank slate ready to morph into something else ( as most Presidents do ), and my guess would be a Conservative like Reagan, except maybe on trade.

So I guess I'm cautiously optimistic given his statements thus far about staying in the race, not going 3rd party, going all the way, self-financing and winning. He says Alito is the Justice he likes. Cool with me. He will kick ISIS ass and bring back jobs, check. Tax cuts at least for the middle class, okay. I do absolutely need to here him discuss several other things: a 50 state strategy. That he will campaign in the heart of enemy territory in LA, SF, Chicago and NYC ( the latter is a given as he is based there ). This will tell me he is serious because that is expensive, but it will smoke the (D)ummycrat budget having never had to defend these locations. If the stupid party RNC understands this they can capitalize by then going after now-undefended (D)ummycrat areas because of the depleted campaign budget. The Nixon 1972 and Reagan 1984 campaigns were methodical like this, and merciless in defining the enemy candidate as radical liberals, and he will need to demonstrate the same killer instinct because he won't get a 2nd shot at this, and neither will we as a nation.

This is no cakewalk, it is a tightrope over Niagara Falls, in the dark, with eyes closed, walking backwards. But if anyone can do it I suspect he can because he does not like to take 'no' for an answer. Of course if he does win, there are a ton of things to do, and most importantly is tearing down the GOPe. I suggested in another thread the first step is to get Sarah Palin inserted as RNC chairman so someone can get primary challengers to the entire GOPe roster including every Senator. This would the first phase of many to take back the country.

[aquila48]

“The one consistent thing about Donald Trump is that he is a self-promoter, that the one thing of value to him is himself.”

I understand that you don’t trust him.

What I do trust is that he will do what he perceives to be in his self interest. Just like I trust you will do what you perceive to be in your self interest (even though I don’t know you).

So the issue is not so much trust as divining what a person perceives as his self interest.

Everybody (including you) looks after his interest first and foremost. We all have a variety of self interests and they are not all the same. Money is definitely one we all share to one degree or other. Fame is important for some, leaving a lasting legacy for others.

As I try to divine Trump’s self interests now, I see the following:

It makes no sense that he’d be doing this for money. He has all the money he needs, and if he wanted to get more he would keep doing what he’s doing. This run for the presidency has cost him money.

He does have a big ego and he needs to keep feeding it. Fame and power are definitely delicious ego food, after you’ve had money as an appetizer. So, at this stage of his life what better way to feed it than to leave himself a legacy of having been a great president, by, as he says, making America Great Again.

Of course you would want to know what his version of a “Great America” looks like. That’s something that each one of us has to figure out from what he says, what he’s done, what he believes in.

With Trump you’re not going to get a conservative ideologue, like for example Cruz (who by the way I like very much). With Trump you get Trump. He takes problems as they come and he solves them in accordance with his perceived interest (as any of us would do) using whatever resources he has on hand. He’s guided not so much by any particular theoretical philosophy (conservative or otherwise) as by how he was brought up, and his life experience. In other words his gut.

From what I’ve seen of him so far I think he’s a decent person who loves his country, and wants to see its traditional values (what made it great in the past) restored.

It’s truly as simple as that. Will he do stuff that will disappoint me sooner or later? No doubt, but who won’t. Will he compromise some of the values? No question, he’s a deal maker, but he will get the long end of the deal. (Remember what Reagan said, “Get the half a loaf today, and keep working on the rest tomorrow.”) But if he’s able to steer this ship of state back to the course it was on when Reagan left, I’d be quite happy, and I believe that is his intention.

And don’t overlook a very important trait of his that a lot of people deprecate. His salesmanship, his in-your-face style, his unPC way to get attention. That is worth gold in this environment of media censorship that we live in. He has proven that he can get the enemy press to cover the issues he cares about and not hide it from america’s consciousness. And he does it in a way that Joe Blow can relate to and that ignites his passion. As good as Ted Cruz is, this is one characteristic that he lacks and that has doomed him to single digit numbers. The two would make a great team - they definitely like each other.

Anyway, that’s my two cents. I’ll keep monitoring things and see if my gut feelings about this proves right or wrong, ...and adjust accordingly.

[conservativegranny]

You put a lot of thought into your choice. I have chosen a different path but thank you for just telling me where you are coming from instead of picking a fight with me.

I’m hitching my hopes on Cruz. I hope one of us at least is right and the country picks the one we need. I do believe this is our last shot at it.

[AllAmericanGirl44]

So tragic in a way, isn’t it?! I’m with you, too many fires and this one is not worth an ounce of effort. Name calling and labeling is for junior high!

I’m with you Mollypitcher1, we’ll get there.

[D-fendr]

As far not doing it for the money: Trump will never have enough money. Never. Nor enough power or attention. That’s the way with megalomania.

And he’s not losing money on this. His “brand” will benefit and his ratings will too. It’s not a money loser for him. Trump is bigger for this.

:)

And I don’t think his skillset translates to a good president. I don’t trust his judgement. E.g., he thought Obama picked a good team, and Hillary would be a good choice to negotiate with Iran.

Lacking in integrity, not a conservative, incompetent as a president.

Yeppers, not my guy.

Thanks very much for your courteous and thoughtful posts. I really appreciate your discussion.

[WTFOVR]

On what basis in FACT can you make such a statement? Any damn knucklehead could make that claim against anyone, but that does not make it so ... Rather, it is your own personal subjective and highly biased opinion - NOT FACT. You can no more have knowledge of how Trump would react than of how Cruz would react.

In fact, it is more reasonable to suspect that Ted Cruz - a politician, meaning he would analyze every angle to death before coming to a decision - is more likely to hesitate than Donald Trump, a business man who is used to making tough judgment calls, even when there is no perfect solution. We don’t need any more indecisive contemplatives sitting in the big chair (we got one of those now) - we need DOERS ... Men of ACTION!

[nickcarraway]

That’s the point - he’s not a man 9th talk. People who brag and talk incessantly are never men of action.

[nickcarraway]

Why do you say he’s a decent person? Would a decent person use the government to steal an old ladies house? What about all the other things Trump did which would have you trashing his character if he were a Democrat, which he was a few years ago?

[WTFOVR]

“People who brag and talk incessantly are never men of action.”

1.) Trump is worth $10 BILLION - What’s your net worth?
2.) It ain’t bragging if you can do it.
3.) You post “incessantly” against him, like a freaking stalker ....

Me thinks thou has a credibility problem.

[nickcarraway]

1.) Trump is worth $10 BILLION -

No, he isn't. He's worth $150-$250 million. There was a well-researched book that showed he was worth that much. Trump sued them and LOST. He admitted in a deposition UNDER OATH, that he exaggerates his wealth, and that he bases his wealth on, "how he feels."

What’s your net worth?

I never made claims about my wealth. By your logic, If Trump is a good candidate because of his wealth, George Soros or Warren Buffet would be even better. So you only want a liberal president.

2.) It ain’t bragging if you can do it.

Uh, yes it is. Most people who actually accomplish a lot don't feel the need to exaggerate and constantly remind everyone. That's the sign of deep insecurity. Do you know of any billionaire who brags and exagerates their wealth? The real billionaires try to downplay it.

3.) You post “incessantly” against him, like a freaking stalker ....

I just point out the truth about liberals. You think that;s a bad thing?

Me thinks thou has a credibility problem.

You haven't proved a single thing I said was wrong, you just posted a bunch of fact-free insults. The question remains: why are you supporting a liberal?