Trump campaign in "Hospice Phase"

[Elixir]

I mentioned this yesterday, but didn't realize then that it was actually Charlie Sykes - a right winger - who said it:

"Trump's campaign has now entered the Hospice Phase. He knows he's dying and wants to surround himself with his loved ones"

This still cracks me up - it so totally encapsulates everything I am hearing about shakeups etc.
Does anyone get a DIFFERENT impression from Trump's apparent desire to relax, be his own asshole self and surround himself with yes-men?

 

[Angry Floof]

COME ONNNN, you can make it to November, Trump campaign! You can do it! Don't you fucking die on me!

 

[ideologyhunter]

Right -- hang on!!! I want you to be able to stop sucking on the respirator on Nov. 8 at about, oh, 11:00 PM, to let us know how it feels to LOSE TO A GIRL!!!!! You'll be bleeding from your whatever, and that will add to the fun, mi amigo.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

I am still convinced that Trump is doing this on purpose and that it has some connection to Hillary Clinton. I think she (or Bill or their people) prompted him to run hoping he would take out some of the moderate conservatives in the primary. I don't think they imagined he would do as well as he has, and I don't think he did either. I think he is now self destructing on purpose. He seems to come up with something new every day to try to tank his own campaign. He can't outright pull out because he intends to take the republican party down with him, and win the senate for the Democrats as well. Look at all the Republicans saying they are afraid and alarmed at him, yet still supporting him because he is not the Democrats. Their hatred of the Democrats have blinded them to his ruse and Hillary and Trump are playing them like an orchestra. Watch and see... if the Republicans do get to the point that they are about to turn on Trump or give up the presidency to save the senate etc, Hillary will do or say something to rile up the Republicans and make them keep to Trump to avoid their fears of her.

After what happened with Bernie Sanders, and how he was treated by Hillary's cronies in the DNC, is my conspiracy theory really all that impossible?

 

[laughing dog]

Hillary Clinton breathing riles up the Republicans.

Is your CT possible? Of course. Is it likely - no. Could Trump claim he threw the race for the Clintons if he loses - yes.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

After what happened with Bernie Sanders, and how he was treated by Hillary's cronies in the DNC, is my conspiracy theory really all that impossible?

Yes. While it would be refreshing to think that the next US President is a master Machiavellian manipulator who can play multiple simultaneous games of 3D chess while blindfolded and juggling, you don't need to overcomplicate things like that in order to figure out what's going on.

There are a lot of angry, disaffected people out there and Trump was able to tap into their rage. Catering to that subset of the population was enough to win a crowded GOP primary but using that same strategy isn't working in a general election amongst the population as a whole. All the outrageous crap which got him billions of dollars of free media coverage is still just outrageous crap which turns a lot of the population off. It still appeals to a sizable segment and that segment shows up in large numbers at Trump rallies and follow Trump online and cheer for him on Fox News and Brietbart, so he gets the reinforcement from his daily life that his message is resonating with people. All the "experts" telling him he needs to change his tune are the same ones who were saying that in the primary before their candidates lost to him, so he feels that he's correct to ignore them now like he did then.

The problem with Trump is that he's a political neophyte employing a losing strategy. Also, he's a bigoted moron and he has trouble hiding that from people. You don't need some Brietbart level conspiracy theory to understand the situation he's in.

 

[Shadowy Man]

After what happened with Bernie Sanders, and how he was treated by Hillary's cronies in the DNC, is my conspiracy theory really all that impossible?

I doubt there was any way she could have known that he'd actually win the nomination. So if she were involved it would have been a massive longshot that probably wouldn't have been worth getting involved in, considering the risk of being exposed as being behind it.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I am still convinced that Trump is doing this on purpose and that it has some connection to Hillary Clinton. I think she (or Bill or their people) prompted him to run hoping he would take out some of the moderate conservatives in the primary. I don't think they imagined he would do as well as he has, and I don't think he did either.

This doesn't fit because he should have been out before Iowa and not influenced the race at all for the Republican nomination. The fact they didn't think it could get anywhere near this far precludes even trying in the first place.

I think he is now self destructing on purpose.

Trump was being Trump, and it hurt him badly in the polls. Now he is acting a bit whiny and doesn't care anymore if he wins. He's still rich.

He seems to come up with something new every day to try to tank his own campaign.

But that isn't completely true. When he speaks from a teleprompter, he is safe. He wouldn't speak from a teleprompter if he wanted to just crash his candidacy. This implies he is trying on some level.

He can't outright pull out because he intends to take the republican party down with him, and win the senate for the Democrats as well.

The Senate? This is about winning the House!

Look at all the Republicans saying they are afraid and alarmed at him, yet still supporting him because he is not the Democrats. Their hatred of the Democrats have blinded them to his ruse and Hillary and Trump are playing them like an orchestra. Watch and see... if the Republicans do get to the point that they are about to turn on Trump or give up the presidency to save the senate etc, Hillary will do or say something to rile up the Republicans and make them keep to Trump to avoid their fears of her.

After what happened with Bernie Sanders, and how he was treated by Hillary's cronies in the DNC, is my conspiracy theory really all that impossible?

Not possible.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

After what happened with Bernie Sanders, and how he was treated by Hillary's cronies in the DNC, is my conspiracy theory really all that impossible?

I doubt there was any way she could have known that he'd actually win the nomination. So if she were involved it would have been a massive longshot that probably wouldn't have been worth getting involved in, considering the risk of being exposed as being behind it.

True, but you have to remember that these are the same people who faked some poor, half-black kid's birth certificate back in the 1960s on the off chance that he'd run for President one day and needed to pretend to be a citizen. They know how to pick their longshots.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

After what happened with Bernie Sanders, and how he was treated by Hillary's cronies in the DNC, is my conspiracy theory really all that impossible?

I doubt there was any way she could have known that he'd actually win the nomination. So if she were involved it would have been a massive longshot that probably wouldn't have been worth getting involved in, considering the risk of being exposed as being behind it.

I don't think she imagined he would win. I think she just wanted to rile up the crazies of the republican base and hoped that Trump would take out a few more moderate candidates before he himself dropped out. She didn't need him to win the nomination. She just needed to make sure he did enough damage, took out a few moderates, and kept the Republican talking points unelectable. When Bush and then Carson and Ron Paul dropped out I think that was pretty much her end game. She was probably hoping Kasich would drop out before he did too, maybe at the hands of Trump. I don't think she imagined her plan would work anywhere near as well as it did. It has now worked TOO well, and he is probably panicking and so doing all he can to self destruct politically.

It really is a brilliant idea. Obama has been facing republicans doing all they can to oppose him for the sake of opposing him his whole time in office. Hillary saw that as an opportunity. The Republican base was simmering and nearly ready to self destruct the party out of mere tribal hatred of democrats (and minorities etc) and it was and is totally to Hillary's benefit to do whatever she can to push that over the edge: Enter her good friend, Donald Trump.

Remember after Obama won last time some Republicans were going around saying they need to reach out to minorities so they can win the next time around. That needed to be silenced or drowned out. And Trump was one way to do it. Republican talking points have been building towards this for a long time now, and Trump pushed it over the edge. He has a longstanding friendship with the Clintons and I think they urged him forward with it.

 

[KeepTalking]

I doubt there was any way she could have known that he'd actually win the nomination. So if she were involved it would have been a massive longshot that probably wouldn't have been worth getting involved in, considering the risk of being exposed as being behind it.

I don't think she imagined he would win. I think she just wanted to rile up the crazies of the republican base and hoped that Trump would take out a few more moderate candidates before he himself dropped out. She didn't need him to win the nomination. She just needed to make sure he did enough damage, took out a few moderates, and kept the Republican talking points unelectable. When Bush and then Carson and Ron Paul dropped out I think that was pretty much her end game. She was probably hoping Kasich would drop out before he did too, maybe at the hands of Trump. I don't think she imagined her plan would work anywhere near as well as it did. It has now worked TOO well, and he is probably panicking and so doing all he can to self destruct politically.

It really is a brilliant idea. Obama has been facing republicans doing all they can to oppose him for the sake of opposing him his whole time in office. Hillary saw that as an opportunity. The Republican base was simmering and nearly ready to self destruct the party out of mere tribal hatred of democrats (and minorities etc) and it was and is totally to Hillary's benefit to do whatever she can to push that over the edge: Enter her good friend, Donald Trump. Remember after Obama won last time and some Republicans were going around saying they need to reach out to minorities so they can win the next time around. That needed to be silenced or drowned out. And Trump was one way to do it. Republican talking points have been building towards this for a long time now, and Trump pushed it over the edge. He has a longstanding friendship with the Clintons and I think they urged him forward with it.

To paraphrase and old adage, never ascribe to conspiracy that which can be explained by stupidity.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

To paraphrase another old adage, follow the money/power. Who stands to benefit from Trump? Hillary. And we know what she and her cronies did with Bernie Sanders. We know she was manipulating one primary. Why not another? We also know that Trump has supported her in the past and that they have been friends. I say they still are. Through is lifetime, Trump has been all over the political map, doing and saying whatever serves him. He's been on the left and on the right. He isn't a Ted Cruz who actually has policies he has thought out (as deranged as they are) and stuck with over a lifetime. He is the perfect tool for the job here, and also gets off on the attention and showmanship for than anything, so he could be convinced to do it.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Trump, take your campaign to Oregon and put it out of it's misery.

 

[Elixir]

To paraphrase and old adage, never ascribe to conspiracy that which can be explained by stupidity.

Heh! Either stupidity or serendipity could be used to "explain" the observable facts. But in this case, how can you determine that conspiracy is less likely?
I took it as tongue and cheek when an old FB friend started promoting the "Clump Conspiracy" about a year ago. In fact, he was serious then, and is still saying that they're all on the same side. It is becoming more and more difficult to ascribe this whole shit circus to stupidity, though considerable stupidity on the part of the mainstream repugs has been required to let it happen - but that's a given.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

To paraphrase another old adage, follow the money/power. Who stands to benefit from Trump. Hillary. And we know what she and her cronies did with Bernie Sanders. We know she was manipulating one primary. Why not another? We also know that Trump has supported her in the past and that they have been friends. I say they still are. Trump has been all over the political map, doing and saying whatever serves him. He isn't a Ted Cruz who actually has policies he has thought out (as deranged as they are) and stuck with over a lifetime. He is the perfect tool for the job here, and also gets off on the attention and showmanship for than anything, so he could be convinced to do it.

Yes, Hillary stands to benefit from Trump. But making the leap to therefore say that she's responsible for Trump is like saying that the reason factories dump chemicals into rivers is because they're being bought off by environmental cleanup companies. She's profiting from Trump in the same way that a football team profits from two of the other team's defensive linesmen crashing into each other and falling down but that doesn't mean that those guys crashed into each other because of some sinister manipulations of the other team ... unless that team is the Patriots, of course, in which case that's probably what happened.

 

[KeepTalking]

To paraphrase another old adage, follow the money/power. Who stands to benefit from Trump? Hillary. And we know what she and her cronies did with Bernie Sanders. We know she was manipulating one primary. Why not another? We also know that Trump has supported her in the past and that they have been friends. I say they still are. Through is lifetime, Trump has been all over the political map, doing and saying whatever serves him. He's been on the left and on the right. He isn't a Ted Cruz who actually has policies he has thought out (as deranged as they are) and stuck with over a lifetime. He is the perfect tool for the job here, and also gets off on the attention and showmanship for than anything, so he could be convinced to do it.

Trump also stands to benefit from Trump, or at least he thought he did at the outset. That's the stupidity right there, no need to look for conspiracy, and the money trail leads both ways.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

To paraphrase another old adage, follow the money/power. Who stands to benefit from Trump? Hillary. And we know what she and her cronies did with Bernie Sanders. We know she was manipulating one primary. Why not another? We also know that Trump has supported her in the past and that they have been friends. I say they still are. Through is lifetime, Trump has been all over the political map, doing and saying whatever serves him. He's been on the left and on the right. He isn't a Ted Cruz who actually has policies he has thought out (as deranged as they are) and stuck with over a lifetime. He is the perfect tool for the job here, and also gets off on the attention and showmanship for than anything, so he could be convinced to do it.

Trump also stands to benefit from Trump, or at least he thought he did at the outset. That's the stupidity right there, no need to look for conspiracy, and the money trail leads both ways.

Yes. Of course Trump thought he stood to benefit. He's got into this for himself of course; for the fame of it mostly. He's a reality TV guy that got to be HUUUGE on TV with everybody talking about him for a whole year and got to have supporters chant for him and got to knock out the competition. This was a dream for him before it became a nightmare. Hillary is smart. She's manipulated him and I think he only now realizes it.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

'E's not pinin'! 'E's passed on! This campaign is no more! He has ceased to be! 'E's expired and gone to meet 'is maker! 'E's a stiff! Bereft of life, 'e rests in peace! If you hadn't nailed 'im to the perch 'e'd be pushing up the daisies! 'Is metabolic processes are now 'istory! 'E's off the twig! 'E's kicked the bucket, 'e's shuffled off 'is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible!! THIS IS AN EX-CAMPAIGN!!

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Trump also stands to benefit from Trump, or at least he thought he did at the outset. That's the stupidity right there, no need to look for conspiracy, and the money trail leads both ways.

Yes. Of course Trump thought he stood to benefit. He's got into this for himself of course; for the fame of it mostly. He's a reality TV guy that got to be HUUUGE on TV with everybody talking about him for a whole year and got to have supporters chant for him and got to knock out the competition. This was a dream for him before it became a nightmare. Hillary is smart. She's manipulated him and I think he only now realizes it.

Other than a "Bush managed to use the 9/11 attacks to his advantage and therefore he planned the 9/11 attacks" type of argument, do you have anything to back that up?

 

[PyramidHead]

I used to buy into the idea that Trump was secretly throwing his campaign for Hillary, but it would really take a crazy amount of secrecy (in an era where nothing is really private anymore) to pull off. There are at least two possibilities. If Trump's whole campaign team is in on the joke--which they would almost have to be in order for surrogates to claim Obama was responsible for the death of Khizr Khan's son in 2004, or that he started the war in Afghanistan--then it's unthinkable that nobody has come forward by now. If Trump is the only person who knows that he is deliberately tanking his campaign, I'm not convinced he could keep such a thing to himself as a presidential candidate in the general election in this day and age. His gaffes don't strike me as planned, he backpedals and then re-affirms his original statements, and the Trump brand has actually taken quite a hit as a result of his actions. As for his friendship with the Clintons, I'm more inclined to believe Trump when he says he has to maintain appearances with political figures on both sides of the aisle as a businessman. I don't think he really has any love for Hillary, or would purposefully humiliate himself over and over again in the span of a full year just to help her with an election she pretty much had in the bag anyway. Nobody on the Republican side was much of a threat.