Trump campaign in "Hospice Phase"

[Elixir]

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.

He probably doesn't even know it himself - yet. But it might be dawning on him about now. He's probably more of an unwitting dupe whom the Dems have played like an out of tune fiddle.

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.

It's an experiment run amok! Donald thought "what a Great Thing it would be for my brand to have all the publicity of a Presidential candidate!". As a subscriber to the 'there's no such thing as bad publicity" canard, it probably took him surprise to find out that that's not quite true.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

It's an experiment run amok! Donald thought "what a Great Thing it would be for my brand to have all the publicity of a Presidential candidate!". As a subscriber to the 'there's no such thing as bad publicity" canard, it probably took him surprise to find out that that's not quite true.

It may still be true.... sadly... he may get a major book and movie out of this and his properties may actually increase in value due to his notoriety. Funny part is that if there is a major movie made out of this, even after he loses my a landslide, I bet he will insist on playing himself in the movie.

Also consider that Trump has been publicly talking about running for President for years and years, decades even, as a publicity tool for himself (which he admitted). Why should we suddenly believe that he is serious about it now? Even if Hillary isn't behind it, I bet he got into the election with no expectation or desire to win it. But I am heavily inclined to believe that Hillary is involved. She benefits from it immensely, she knows him well as a friend, he has long supported her both publicly and financially, and he has taken the Republicans to their breaking point. We also know what Hillary and her people did to Bernie in the other primary... so.. this isn't impossible.

 

[braces_for_impact]

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?

I do. Since I honestly believe he's a narcissist, I think he is refusing to acknowledge that the reason his campaign is failing is because of his own actions. Everyone is telling him to do the opposite of his natural inclinations, so the problem is them, not him. Trump fell in love with himself all over again when he started kicking ass in the primary, and he simply can't understand why it is he is a complete and utter failure now in the general part of the election. He really doesn't understand selection bias. I've heard him question several times now why he isn't doing well in the polls since he has so many people at his rallies. Brietbart has had a hard on for Trump since forever, and if you love Trump, he'll love you back. So the answer is simple: corruption, the media and bad advice are the reasons he's losing. Thus, surround yourself with admirers, let the media know you're on to them, and start watching for fraud.

 

[KeepTalking]

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.

So, is the conspiracy theory that Hillary manipulated Trump, or that Trump was in on it with her from the start?

That's the great thing about conspiracy theories, you can morph them into whatever shape you want, whenever your position begins to become untenable. This is often then followed by morphing back into the original theory once one or two holes have been poked in the "new, improved theory", and around we go.

 

[KeepTalking]

We also know what Hillary and her people did to Bernie in the other primary... so.. this isn't impossible.

Let's get at least one thing straight, "Hillary and her people" did nothing to Bernie in the Democratic primary. And just to head you off at the pass, I voted for Bernie in the primary, and would have preferred him as the Democratic candidate to Hillary. Bernie did well, he just was not up to beating Hillary in that race.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

It's an experiment run amok! Donald thought "what a Great Thing it would be for my brand to have all the publicity of a Presidential candidate!". As a subscriber to the 'there's no such thing as bad publicity" canard, it probably took him surprise to find out that that's not quite true.

It may still be true.... sadly... he may get a major book and movie out of this and his properties may actually increase in value due to his notoriety. Funny part is that if there is a major movie made out of this, even after he loses my a landslide, I bet he will insist on playing himself in the movie.

Also consider that Trump has been publicly talking about running for President for years and years, decades even, as a publicity tool for himself (which he admitted). Why should we suddenly believe that he is serious about it now? Even if Hillary isn't behind it, I bet he got into the election with no expectation or desire to win it. But I am heavily inclined to believe that Hillary is involved. She benefits from it immensely, she knows him well as a friend, he has long supported her both publicly and financially, and he has taken the Republicans to their breaking point. We also know what Hillary and her people did to Bernie in the other primary... so.. this isn't impossible.

His motivations and the timing behind them have been researched to death and the findings are available for free on the same internet you are currently using. There's no need to speculate this blindly.

Also, his properties are not doing well. Bookings are way down and the type of people who stay in luxury hotels and who play on expensive, private golf courses are not the type of people his campaign are appealing to. They're the type of people who don't want to get near him with a ten foot pole.

 

[RavenSky]

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.

^^^ That

I, too, entertained the idea he was doing it to throw the election to the Democrats (but not that HRC was the mastermind). Trump's ego is too big to let anyone else mastermind anything.

In hindsight, though, there is no way he would run to throw the election - though I don't think he actually expected to get as far as he has. As others have mentioned, I think he did this purely as a branding maneuver. He's been talking for years about running; so much so that he was becoming the butt of jokes about it. He almost had to run for real at this point. I think he expected to have a halfway decent showing, gain a "YUGE" amount of publicity, lose to Jeb, and then use the "former Presidential candidate" thing to up the cost of his brand and put more money in his pocket.

When he started doing so well in the primary against all odds, his ego got the best of him and he actually started to believe he could be President. He still hasn't come to the realization that he has destroyed his brand.

As for Trump and the Clinton's being best buds... nonsense. Trump likes to brag about how he has "bought" politicians on both sides of the aisle. He sucked up to every politician he could, and they to him for campaign donations.

 

[Treedbear]

... 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.

Exactly! Trump is the under-inflated football!

 

[aeebee50]

I believe Trump is alive. Seems to be getting better. I am waiting for the vote in November to see how to dress.

 

[Elixir]

... 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.

Exactly! Trump is the under-inflated football!

I always thought that if he got any more puffed up he might burst. Is that what happened?

 

[blastula]

I guess we'll never know the truth about the conspiracy until the Russians release the hacked emails.

 

[hurtinbuckaroo]

Could Trump claim he threw the race for the Clintons if he loses - yes.

Well, no, not if he ever wanted to feel safe going out of the house. Would you admit to millions of heavily armed knuckle-draggers that you'd perpetrated the biggest scam in history at their expense?

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Could Trump claim he threw the race for the Clintons if he loses - yes.

Well, no, not if he ever wanted to feel safe going out of the house. Would you admit to millions of heavily armed knuckle-draggers that you'd perpetrated the biggest scam in history at their expense?

They wouldn't care. Their opinion would be that he just said it to troll Clinton. Also, Trump takes a heavily armed security detail with him when he leaves his house.

 

[Keith&Co.]

Could Trump claim he threw the race for the Clintons if he loses - yes.

Well, no, not if he ever wanted to feel safe going out of the house. Would you admit to millions of heavily armed knuckle-draggers that you'd perpetrated the biggest scam in history at their expense?

First start a rumor that Hillary is going to force me to claim I threw the election. Because she wants to humiliate the voters who didn't vote for her.

Then admit that I threw the election.

At that point the story takes on a life of it's own, beyond the power of any mere mortal to alter or stop it.

The knuckledraggers will demand that Congress investigate Hillary's manipulation of the election.

At any point when an interviewer asks if I threw the election, start by asking them if Hillary or her people will see this interview, THEN say, "Well, yes, sure, I threw the election. For the Clintons. It's hardly as if I was scared of Her, you know."

 

[Funkytrip]

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.

So what you basically say is that Hillary is a genius master manipulator and you will vote for her because as a president she will manipulate the entire world into keeping America the greatest. She will manipulate Putin into giving up the Krim, she will manipulate China in giving up their claims on the chinese sea etc etc. She definately is *the* best pick for president.

 

[Funkytrip]

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?

I do. Since I honestly believe he's a narcissist, I think he is refusing to acknowledge that the reason his campaign is failing is because of his own actions. Everyone is telling him to do the opposite of his natural inclinations, so the problem is them, not him. Trump fell in love with himself all over again when he started kicking ass in the primary, and he simply can't understand why it is he is a complete and utter failure now in the general part of the election. He really doesn't understand selection bias. I've heard him question several times now why he isn't doing well in the polls since he has so many people at his rallies. Brietbart has had a hard on for Trump since forever, and if you love Trump, he'll love you back. So the answer is simple: corruption, the media and bad advice are the reasons he's losing. Thus, surround yourself with admirers, let the media know you're on to them, and start watching for fraud.

In my opinion, this really is all there is to is. A truelly tragic story of a narcissist bumping into reality.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Ya, it is tragic. It's important for us all to remember that Donald Trump is the real victim here.

 

[Keith&Co.]

So what you basically say is that Hillary is a genius master manipulator and you will vote for her because as a president she will manipulate the entire world into keeping America the greatest. She will manipulate Putin into giving up the Krim, she will manipulate China in giving up their claims on the chinese sea etc etc. She definately is *the* best pick for president.

But there's no indication that the tactics that worked on the Republicans will work on the rest of the world.
But, hey, after 8 years of people opposing the president just because they feel it's their job to oppose the president, 4 years of someone getting things done will be a welcome change, even if it's manipulation vice merit.

I'd just love it if "signed into law' became as popular a story lead as 'A Florida man...'

 

[braces_for_impact]

I'm not a huge Michael Moore fan. I find he stretches the truth when it's convenient for him. Nevertheless, I find THIS quite plausible.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

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.

So what you basically say is that Hillary is a genius master manipulator and you will vote for her because as a president she will manipulate the entire world into keeping America the greatest. She will manipulate Putin into giving up the Krim, she will manipulate China in giving up their claims on the chinese sea etc etc. She definately is *the* best pick for president.

Could be... if she has our interests at heart... which I really don't think she does. She is really just another bought politician. Just a really smart one.