Trump cheats at golf - the ONE and ONLY politics thread

Donald Trump got, by some reports, $2 billion worth of free media.
It isn't surprising he got the nomination with that kind of free press.
It would be surprising if he failed to get the nomination with that kind of free press.
If you want to END his campaign then stop covering and talking about the sonofabitch.

 

Sounds like something a Scripps student would say.

 

Much of the free press was negative.

If you're going to present it as a reason for his win, you also have to credit it for his high negatives.

And, if you listen to TV anchors and producers, Bush, Rubio, and Cruz were all offered as much airtime, but they turned it down.

I wish we had a candidate, who was informed on the issues, could articulate a conservative argument, was optimistic, and who could incorporate some of Trump's positives.

A 21st century candidate has to be comfortable doing media. He/she has to be accessible. Can't be too worried about the "message of the day" that it makes them avoid answering questions on other topics.

And, you have to push back against the media narrative.

Trump might get swamped, but he'll go down fighting.

Bush or Cruz would have lost going away, just like Romney and McCain.

 

Trump still won because his opposition couldn't narrow itself down until it was too late, no more or less.

 

Which of the candidates would have beaten him in even a three way race?

It didn't actually take that long to narrow. Trump got big numbers considering the number of rivals he had, and they went up as candidates dropped out.

When it got down to two/three candidates he started scoring over 50%. Not sure why I should believe the same would not have happened if the field had narrowed sooner.

 

If it is down to two in February or early March, any of them beats him.

By late April he had months of winner bonus and was the only viable option for avoiding a contested convention.

 

"Any of them" is a non answer. If one had become the chief rival, Trump would have hit them hard, and the press would have provided greater scrutiny.

Kasich had high approval numbers only because he wasn't a threat, and had been ignored.

Little Marco wouldn't have beaten Trump. Neither would have low energy Bush, or Lyin' Ted.

 

"Has to be"?

Hillary Clinton is none of these things. And she is likely going to be the president. Maybe she's the exception.

 

If your position is that Trump attacking an opponent means he automatically wins, my only response is a shrug and "ok."

 

If there had been no Donald Trump, if he'd just gotten excited about some new golf resort idea in 2014 instead, it seems to me the likelihood is that the Republican race would still be unsettled, probably down to one "establishment" candidate and Cruz. For once I agree with YF. None of the other candidates were capable of uniting a bloc of support to match Trump's. None of them appear capable of ever having earned majority support at this point.

 

Trump: Less popular than Nickelback.

Good News: Americans Like Nickelback More Than They Like Donald Trump

 

They seem almost to be suffering for their success in the mid-terms and other Congressional and gubernatorial races. Too many stars in too many eyes all at once.